Einstein, the defiant student

The following information was excerpted from Creating Minds by Howard Gardner.

Only a few months from passing away, Albert Einstein credited a certain school for his success. Einstein attended a “progressive Canton school” in early adolescence. They offered a humanistic approach to subjects and emphasized the importance of visual understanding in the mastery of concepts.

Einstein recalled that he liked the teachers there because the teachers "based themselves on no external authority." He resented rote memorization and regimented learning, favoring instead open ended, problem solving type learning. “He revealed his contempt by performing poorly and acting defiantly in class.”

The point this makes is that a gap exists in many schools between the types of learners and thinkers that some students are, and the kind of education they are receiving.

Navigating the Cyber-Learning Environment

New movements in consumer behavior sometimes sneak up on us. Consumers want to do things their way, and if they can find an easier, cheaper way to get what they want - They'll go after it. Take MP3s for example. There was nothing wrong with CD's in terms of ease of use and sound quality. But consumers, at times, wanted to download one or two tracks and not the whole album. They wanted to mix their own CDs and the freedom to instantaneously download and then play music. It took a while, but the music industry caught up to them. Proving this phenomenon was real, Apple's iTunes music store has already passed the billionth download of a song and the system they are primarily played on, iPods, have completely restored Apple to being a hugely profitable company.

Technology and the bottom-up revolution

MP3 players are not the only technology to make a bottom-up revolution possible. People can choose where they get their news and information or write their own on easy-to-use blogs. Companies like Technorati make it possible to syndicate a blog, or pick up news phenomena even if it is not being handled by one of the major news organizations.

Effect on Education

Will technology bring this type of bottom-up consumerism to education? Leaders in education have been quick to follow technological innovations. If teachers aren't driving it, then technically literate and game savvy students will. Adopting new technologies is unavoidable, but is also complex. Imagine being a teacher or administrator and trying to come up with plans that take into consideration podcasting, blogging, blog-portfolios, video-casts or even instant messaging. All the indicators show growth in these areas, which is why it is imperative to begin discussing creative and effective combinations. Thomas Friedman and Daniel Pink have been making the argument for more conceptual thinkers and generalists to help guide the way. In fact, in a recent article Friedman says that India and China will need more of these types of thinkers if their engineers, software developers and other technically trained people are to succeed.

Growth in Private Instruction

Growth in the tutoring markets also points to, what I think will be the next great combination, that of private instruction and instant messaging, AV technology. Imagine a system that will allow for expert opinion, coaching, assistance and teaching in real time, from anyone to anywhere. Given enough choices in this market, students and adults will be able to locate instruction and help from people who more closely match their needs and learning styles, creating an adaptable, catered learning environment. Watch for news from a company called Facebridge Research. They are developing a system which will help to monetize cyber-tutoring. The real creativity in all of this will come in the potential applications and combinations of this technology.

Craigslist on Google Video

Some random thoughts on Google Video: 1.) will it be a substitute for Blockbuster, netflix, DVDs, etc.? 2.) How does it compare to iTunes video downloads? 3.) Will there be anything of educational value there, and if so, will they offer a teacher discount? If I find out anything, I'll report back.

In the meantime, there's a video called "24 Hours on Craigslist," which looks interesting. According to the Mercury News, Craigslist had 8.7 million visitors in September of 2005. The same article, excerpted below, compares Craigslist to a new service by - of course - Google.

"EBay and craigslist are the dominant online marketplaces for now. But there are signs that Google may try to shake up the status quo. The Mountain View company recently launched Google Base, an online database that accepts a variety of content from individuals, including classified listings. And Google has also filed a patent application for a service called Google Automat, aimed at making the posting of classified-type ads fast and easy. As usual, however, the company has been vague about its long-range plans."

The Power of Randomness

"It seems that creativity will flourish when we increase our chances for seemingly random events to occur. The best way to work this randomness into our thought patterns is to develop the habit of being exposed to new ideas, people and concepts on a regular basis. If we take the time to plan for this randomness by limiting our distractions, we can increase our ability to solve problems."


The quote is from Mark Sincevich, writing in his column called Creative Corner, which appeared in the latest Small Business Opportunity Magazine.

The blogosphere and Internet as a whole, certainly, are great ways of increasing the power of randomness.

About the photo: it comes from a site called VisualComplexity.com .

"VisualComplexity.com intends to be a unified resource space for anyone interested in the visualization of complex networks. The project's main goal is to leverage a critical understanding of different visualization methods, across a series of disciplines, as diverse as Biology, Social Networks or the World Wide Web. I truly hope this space can inspire, motivate and enlighten any person doing research on this field."

"The intent of WebTraffic is to develop prototype 3D visualizations of online behaviour - user paths across cyberspace. The project is lead by Antoine Visonneau, with colleagues in the Center for Design Informatics, Harvard Design School. Their latest designs used VRML to visualize traffic within a website, with the vertical gray bars being individual pages and the red lines links between them."

Note: Wouldn't it be interesting if one of these visualizations of online behavior turned out to look like dendrites in the brain?

The Chuck Norris Phenomenon

In between annoying TV commercials for a place called Rich’s Tire Barn, I began wondering how this whole thing with Chuck Norris got started. Chuck, if you read this, I'm not implying that you're annoying. Seriously, you have to believe me. By now, Chuck Norris facts are as widely circulated as gossip about Paris Hilton. Then, to my good fortune, someone pointed out to me that Wikipedia tracks such Internet phenomena. But, I still had questions. You see, sometimes I get pretty deep into philosophical and scientific discussions. I wondered what Chuck Norris would say if he were to read some of my blog posts.

“Proponents of higher-order theories of consciousness argue that consciousness is explained by the relation between two levels of mental states in which a higher-order mental state takes another mental state. If you mention this to Chuck Norris, expect an explosive roundhouse kick to the face for spouting too much fancy-talk.”

I guess that answers my question.

Connecting people who love to teach with people who love to learn

MindSync was created by Jason Robinson as a service to both teachers and students. Students can find out about classes and workshops or find someone to help them with their studies. Teachers and tutors can post information about their services.

MindSync just put together this new flyer, giving you an idea of what you'll find at the site.

Gaming across disciplines

Also in the current Wired, author Steven Johnson explores the idea of virtual worlds colliding.

"One way or another, consolidation is all but inevitable. A single, pervasive environment will emerge, uniting the separate powers of today's virtual societies. And then we really will have built the Matrix."

Imagine an educational world that follows this metaphor ... allowing students and teachers to create connections where they see them... an adaptive system - bridging disciplines, filling gaps, forming new concepts, etc.

Picture credit

Video games and how students learn

In the current Wired Magazine, Will Wright has some interesting observations about video games and non-linear thinking. I've been putting the idea out there for years now, for the need for an online, interactive educational game. If you go to this site (not fully functional), you'll see the type of game I'd like to get out to the public. I'm hoping that someone in cyberspace can connect me to someone who can make this a reality. The game would have the additional benefit of teaching students about diplomacy and international relations.

"In an era of structured education and standardized testing, this generational difference might not yet be evident. But the gamers' mindset - the fact that they are learning in a totally new way - means they'll treat the world as a place for creation, not consumption. This is the true impact video games will have on our culture."

...

"Games cultivate - and exploit - possibility space better than any other medium. In linear storytelling, we can only imagine the possiblitiy space that surrounds the narrative: What if Luke had joined the Dark Side? What if Neo isn't the One? In interactive media, we can explore it."

The ADHD - Creativity Connection

In an earlier blog entry, I posted some information regarding a connection between mental illness and creativity. Now, it's time for some possible reasons for that connection. In this essay, author Justin Genovese discusses some of the reasons why those with ADHD might be more creative. What concerns me is that there is no recognition of this unique style of thinking on standardized exams. What I'll be looking for next is a study on whether or not students with ADHD do well on these tests. Is it possible for conceptual and creative thinkers to do well on tests which require such focus and linear thinking ability? What might a test look like if it were written by someone with ADHD? One more thing to think about - what if, rather than answering a series of questions, students (in a hypothetical class) were asked to compose their own questions at the end of a unit of study?

Citing a study by Bonnie Cramond (The Coincidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Creativity, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, 1995), Genovese writes,

In a 1992 study, a group of ADHD children and a group of normal children with similar backgrounds and IQs were compared. The ADHD group was found to have a higher creativity and more use of imagery in problem solving, as well as more spontaneous thoughts during a problem-solving exercise. One researcher hypothesized in 1980 that "Intelligent individuals who are bombarded by ideas seek to make sense of them by organizing them into new perceptual relationships. Thus the creative, original idea is born" (Cramond).

One creative solution to ADHD behavior, comes from Dr. Alejandro Terrazas at MediaBalance. He has invented a wireless device which rewards students/ clients with points for positive behavior. These points can then be used for television time (pay per view).

In search of dry humor

If you're looking for some unconventional humor, try this site. It's called "Tooth paste for dinner."

iTunes offers lectures from major universities: with so many educational choices, who will help us decipher good from not-so-good?

For those of you who don’t know, iTunes now has lectures available from Stanford and MIT. How popular are these downloads? IP & Democracy reports that:

Through the end of the Fall semester in December, Stanford’s content was getting 15,000 tracks a week accessed at iTunes. The university plans to expand the coverage to include sports, with Stanford’s athletic matches slated to be available in video podcast form at iTunes.

Thought of the day: With so many forms of education available to all humans of all ages, i.e. public school, private school, charter school, tutoring, e-learning, cyber-learning, podcasting, I think (and remember, you heard it here first) a new type of service will become necessary – that of an education broker / consultant. The job of this person will be to assess students (of any age) and put them in touch with the type of learning program that most fits their needs.

For example, “alright, I’ve looked over your portfolio, spoken to your teachers, examined your test scores, and here is what I recommend: one year of home-schooling, supplemented by weekly podcasts and participation in this online educational game.”

Who coordinates all these activities? The educational consultant, paid on a monthly retainer.

Related links:

• ITunes University
• A wireless device to help those w/ ADHD. This device uses a token economy system to reward users with points for positive behaviors. Points can be converted to pay-per-view time. One idea might be to allow users to “cash in” points for downloads of music, podcasts and videos at the iTunes music store.

The intersection of video games and education

I'm finding more evidence lately to support the concept of using video games in education. Two years ago, approximately, at a video game conference in San Jose, I talked to vendors about the idea. At that time, I found it hard to generate interest, but things could begin to change. I had been interested in the idea of an Everquest, or Final Fantasy- like game filled with all types of educational content. It would be an endless learning environment, where lines between subject areas could be crossed and students would be allowed to be as creative as necessary to achieve game objectives. Through clever programming, standardized test content could be embedded in such games. This article shows both the positive and negative aspects of this type of learning.

"Experts in pedagogy and game design began the conference by discussing specific attributes of video games that lend themselves to learning applications and went on to examine areas of knowledge and skill development to which game features could be applied."

"The decision environments provided in gaming are great training for all sorts of high-performance teams," said Jan Cannon-Bowers, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida and formerly senior scientist for training systems for the U.S. Navy. "Though gaming provides a good medium for instruction, good instruction must transcend the game."

Can video games be used in the treatment of ADHD?

The link above will take you to an interesting overview of how video games might be helpful to people with ADHD.

"Video game play is a form of neuro-feedback, Owens says, which teaches patients to self-regulate brain-wave patterns to improve learning."

Henry Owens is a Melbourne, Florida clinical psychologist who has a patented video game, using NASA technology. I would be interested to read a write-up about this in a scientific journal, where they explore exactly how it works - but, this is a good starting point.

Credit to Jason Robinson for the link to Slashdot. "Zonk" posted this piece on slashdot.

You can read more about the company Smart Brain Games here.

Understanding “Lost"

I recently got hooked on the ABC series “Lost,” but this is one addiction I think I’m going to stick with. In fact, I actually think I’m supposed to be watching it. If you have read this blog before, you know that there’s a lot of writing about emergence, chaos theory, complexity, etc. Well, Lost seems to tap into all that. I’ve been looking for some places in the blogosphere that touch on these subjects and can recommend a few sites:


The numbers
Lostpedia
Egoplex

Any other ideas?

The themes that I like are: 1.) the science-based Jack versus the more faith-based John. I know there have to be others out there, who believe as I do that the two really need each other – the two people and the two theories. Think of all the parallels to the state of politics in the U.S. Is no one broad enough in their thinking to bridge the gap? Maybe Lost will show the way. 2.) Order out of chaos: what a great opportunity this show has to show how the most unlikely of people can come together to achieve a greater purpose. You should read about Mitch Resnick’s slime mold experiments in Stephen Johnson’s book Emergence (links available on this site). Instead of “what do I want,” the question, as Locke puts it, is “what does the Island want?”

Making sense out of chaos is a great theme – the struggle is what makes it interesting. Putting all those unique brains and characters together, they might be able to figure out the mystery of the random numbers. It’s going to take a larger theme like this to get the folks on the island to work together… but does that make for good ratings? We’ll have to see.

There are so many ways to go with this. I’ll put a few out there. First, are there teachers out there who are using this show as a metaphor? I can see government teachers using this as a way to show the need and purpose of government, math teachers using this in a number theory lesson, world history teachers to explain the development of civilization and on it goes…

And, for the love of God, is anyone on the island going to make some coffee?!

…or did I miss that episode.

Chaos Theory, Self Organization and the Role of Government

Painting by Rudi Nadler of Tucson, Arizona

A series of random links and clicking spasms lead me to Dave Pollard's site... one of the more thought provoking blogs out there. I was inspired to find out that there are people who believe we can model social/ political activity after things we find in nature. In one of his latest posts, he uses the cell as an example of a good organizational unit. Taking things past the metaphor, he began showing how we can start taking the steps to bring this emergent (anti-hierarchical) style of action into reality.

I have yet to post something I've been thinking about on this very topic...that large institutions, which are slow to react, may be hindering creativity and progress. But, that's something I'll get to later. For now, I thought I would add to the discussion by going back to something I wrote before the 2004 election. This excerpt gets into the idea of using chaos and complexity theories to help solve the problems of government. If you like where this is going, send me your thoughts. I'll gladly post more information to keep the discussion going.

Excerpted from A Complex Adaptive Solution to the Polarization of America

Understanding the nature of complexity

Using a more open, complex, and yes "nuanced" way of approaching government, one can look to other areas for answers to the problems vexing government. We should turn our attention to what we know about chaos and complexity theories.

In a boxed-in linear world, no one thinks to look beyond theories of government to answer questions about government. It is convenient to look to philosophy, history and essays on democracy and capitalism to find answers to current social problems. Yet, there are answers to organizational and systemic problems that exist all around us – if we would only take a closer look.

One example of how to take advantage of complexity lies in the very structure of an organization. A study by Basadur and Head and published in The Journal of Creative Behavior in 2001, revealed that heterogeneous groups (or different types of thinkers in the same group) produce the most creative results. Specifically, the experiment examined different configurations of groups, dividing MBA students into 49 teams of four members each. In the study, four types of thinking were represented. Some teams had all of one type of thinker. Other teams had four of each, etc. After assessing the groups' behavior, the study concluded that the group of mixed thinkers may not have enjoyed working together as much, but they did perform better. Maybe friction does make the pearl.

Taking this a step further, imaginary lines have existed over the centuries, making sure to keep scientists, artists, writers, mathematicians, physicists, educators, etc. in separate departments. Like spokes emanating from a hub, they go in their separate directions. As they go down the spoke, their ideas, rather than coming together, spread further apart. So, what if we were to bring people back to the "hub"” at least momentarily in order to solve some serious problems. To do this, we ought to at least have a better understanding of chaos and complexity theories.

In a nutshell, chaos theory tells us that everything in the universe has an emerging nature, from the evolution of organisms, to volcanic eruptions, to weather patterns, to the growth of civilizations. Secondly, the greatest creativity, evolvability and progress appear to take place at the “edge of chaos.” In chaos theory, random forces can converge to form a higher order. Research in the field has gone from the study of planets to the study of the weather to micro-organisms, to the growth of companies to organizational and group behavior. What one learns from a study of complexity is that random forces converge to form a higher order behavior. Keep your eye on the larger picture as we delve into the details.

Steven Johnson, in a book called Emergence: the Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software (2001) wrote about studies of slime mold in the 1960’s by Mitch Resnick. The studies revealed that micro-organisms displayed collective intelligence. Instead of one large organism moving across a floor in search of food, it was revealed that the "slime" was actually hundreds of single celled organisms coming together for a larger purpose.

In fact, evidence of self-organization is everywhere. Prigogine and Stengers in their much-cited compendium Order out of Chaos (1984) said that the biosphere as a whole and all its components existed in a state far from equilibrium. Based on this, they said life, as part of the natural order, was the "supreme expression" of a self-organizing process. Simplified, this means that the air, land and sea are all part of a complex system that tends towards equilibrium. It does so because it is adaptive. If it doesn’t, – if it were rigid – it would cease to exist, and we would cease to exist.

According to Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind, the mathematician John Nash proved on page six of his thesis that every non-cooperative game with any number of players had at least one equilibrium point. The trouble is that if you narrow the spectrum to the middle of one political party, you lose hundreds if not thousands of options (This idea comes from James Fallows, writing for Atlantic Monthly). Collective action and intelligence only exist so far as there's a collective (Read more about the "radical middle").

With the earth’s population at over six billion and communication existing at all levels unlike any time before, the possibility for thoughtful, productive interaction could inspire great, imaginative progress. One does not need to live in a coastal city to experience contact with other peoples and ideas any longer. The Internet, e-mail, text messaging and other wireless communications have made possible a world of interaction from any place at any time of the day or night.

Perhaps, without any direct awareness of these principals, the previous administration may have known about this. Richard Florida wrote that "Clinton, especially in the early years of his administration, had the loose, unstructured management style of an academic department or a dot-com, manic work hours, meetings that went on forever, lots of diffuse power centers, young people running around in casual clothing, and a constant re-appraising of plans and strategies." Leaving out the part about the casual clothing, (though it may have contributed to the tone) it is arguable that this type of interaction and activity led to much of the progress in the 1990's.

The idea is not to necessarily seek out chaos and hope for the best. Rather, organizations ought to look for what Stuart Kauffman described as the "edge of chaos.”

Kauffman, a researcher at the Santa Fe Institute has done extensive research on complexity and self-organization. One of the many experiments he conducted consisted of a Boolean network of light bulbs on a lattice like grid. The bulbs were connected and tested using various mathematically driven combinations. Many of the results have a significant relationship to life in organizations: (a) sparsely connected networks showed internal order; (b) densely connected networks go into chaos; (c) networks with a single connection tend towards a frozen, dull kind of behavior, and finally; (d) a chaotic system is very sensitive to small changes.

Going back to what was said during the 9/11 Commission Hearings regarding the need for systemic changes, is it possible that we experienced the kind of “frozen" and “dull" behavior that Kauffman discovered in his experiments? Kauffmann, himself, said that the “edge of chaos" may even provide a deep new understanding of the logic of democracy. This area, he discovered, was best able to coordinate complex activities, best able to evolve. The best compromises appeared at the phase transition between order and chaos.

Prigogine and Stengers, in 1984, concluded that living systems were open systems in constant interaction with their environment. In other words, nothing operated in isolation or without interaction. They discovered that these systems were self-organizing, operating according to their own principles, patterns and structures. According to Irene E. Karpiak, writing in 2000 in the Journal Studies in Continuing Education, the behavior of living systems is determined by responsiveness, creativity and dialogue with its environment. To grow and change, therefore, a living system has to communicate and respond in a continuous feedback loop. "A" gives information to "B." "B" performs a certain way and "A" takes note of this. After "A" sees the behavior, he gives more acutely tuned information to “B" and so forth. The organism progresses forward, always learning and evolving as it goes.

Stephen Johnson wrote about ideas dying in "rural isolation" with no activity, and Karpiak wrote that open systems dialogue with the environment, and therefore, grow and change. From micro-organisms, to cities, to the Internet to video games, emergence and complexity lead to higher order thinking, growth and productivity. Conversely, in a rigid hierarchy, one voice or idea, or a memo on someone's desk alerting them to potential terrorist attacks, can easily go unnoticed.

The universe is governed by certain rules. Violate these, and one might end up dead. Ask the pilot about the Bernoulli Principle, the engineer about stress, and the NASA astronaut about gravitational pull or centrifugal force. Scientists, teachers, astronauts, chemists, physicists, engineers have all made great effort over the thousands of years that we've been on the planet to learn and understand how nature behaves. This information can be helpful in places where it was not intended to be used... if we care enough and we are willing to be more creative in our thinking.

Kind of Blue: An Excercise in Interdisciplinary Studies

Going through some old papers from graduate school, I came upon a short essay that I wrote about Miles Davis and the album Kind of Blue. It seems even clearer to me now that Jazz is the perfect example of how an interdisciplinary education works. There are many ideas and lines of information coming together under a broad theme with minimal control from the top. Everyone “knows” what to play and where to come in. The popularity of this album lends support to the idea that “emergent” systems have it right and that top down control and rigid hierarchies would produce lifeless, or mechanized-sounding music.

Here is an excerpt from that paper (edited for this blog):

I think this also proves something else of educational value. Right combinations produce right things. Just like the concept of emergence, if software, a city, circuit board, building or whatever is put together the right way, it will yield great things.

In the case of Kind of Blue, one has the perfect combination of instruments and musicians. Davis came together with Julian "Cannonball" Adderly, John Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. Here's how you know they were the right musicians; they had no rehearsal and only one take. Maybe this setting, being around equally talented musicians inspired each to do well. One great artist inspiring others - creating synergy.

I'm finishing up listening to the album as I write this, and, already I want to replay it. They say (whoever they are) that anyone can make something complicated - the real genius knows how to make it simple. Kind of Blue is just that - perfectly simple. Great musicians converged at Columbia Records on 30th street in New York City on March 2nd and April 22nd, 1959 and created something truly great.

The inspiring story of Jason McElwain

I turned on the TV today and caught only a glimpse of an inspiring story about a high school student with autism. I've talked a bit on this blog about certain creative powers that are inherent in mental illness, but this event should open up discussion on what is possible with autism. Jason McElwain scored 20 points in the last four minutes of a basketball game to help his team win. Think of the state of focus and concentration one has to be in to make this happen. You can see a video of this event here.

Promoting Innovations in many fields...

Right Brain World is quickly becoming a website which promotes innovation across disciplines. Creative thinkers are always looking for combinations of new things – which is why it is a disservice to put up lines or barriers to new solutions and ideas. An idea in engineering could answer a question that an educator or entrepreneur has, and a mathematician could provide insight to a psychologist or web designer.

By rewarding creativity and innovation across the board, wherever it occurs, the possibilities for new combinations and solutions increases greatly. The hope is that this site will become a launching pad and source of inspiration for all kinds of new and innovative thinking.

If you’d like to have your idea considered for publication, please send a sample of your work to lchazen@gmail.com

The picture above is of Buckminster Fuller and was designed by the people at the link above (click on the title).

"We are on a spaceship; a beautiful one. It took billions of years to develop. We're not going to get another. Now, how do we make this spaceship work?"

R. Buckminster Fuller

Are students ready for "the conceptual age?"

Standardized tests exist in every sector of the educational landscape. From the SAT to the GRE, LSAT and more, there is considerable interest in numbers. It makes it easy to quantify learning. But, if you give someone two separate ideas and ask them to combine them into one usable idea, or ask them to explain a phenomenon or interpret data, some of these great test takers might fall short. Why? Because the emphasis in education is on standardizing knowledge, not on creativity or abstract thinking. Even in 2005, we still expect students, for the most part, to think in a linear fashion. Yet, our world is changing... quickly. Daniel Pink, in A Whole New Mind, reports that we are entering a "conceptual age," when we will need people to think in new ways. Employers, according to Pink, will need students to see a larger picture, one where they can see trends, merge ideas and create new strategies. Richard Florida reports that there are nearly 40 million people now in the U.S. who are part of a "creative class." This group of teachers, musicians, artists, scientists and others makes up approximately 30 percent of the workforce. Also consider the observations of Tom Friedman in The World is Flat,that places like Bangalore and Beijing are becoming rival economic centers to US cities, and we have to ask ourselves, as educators, if we should make changes or additions to the curriculum.