HS Jazz Band
Wednesday 23rd September:
Now I have attended one of the jazz band sessions and my second one will be tomorrow. This is an exciting opportunity that despite having the restrictions on the number of wind and brass instruments (as well as the mandatory of practising in sections and not as a whole ensemble), I am quite excited for this ensemble and what we will be doing.
The piece we are working on right now is “Don’t you worry ’bout a thing” by Stevie Wonder and the bass part is quite easy now (especially when compared with the bach pieces in Chamber ensemble) so it is a nice and easy start. I think the biggest difficulty is just the rhythm if anything because I have noticed, just like with the orchestra piece, that sometimes, I have difficulty switching from the classical way of thinking and the 20th American century music (or rather African American as jazz, blues and rock all originated from African American culture and was “stolen” by white American musicians). This is because classical music includes baroque and romantic have an emphasis on the one and three of the beat while jazz emphasises more on the two and four so switching from that to that is a bit difficult. Also the switch from the swing style of eighth in jazz and the tight and articulated notes in classical.
The rhythm isn’t complicated, but it has happened when I practised that I mess up the syncopated rhythms (as the 2 and 4 make it feel more like syncopation). But really, my main emphasis is having fun with this piece and with the people around me. An interesting thing about this piece is that has the feeling of Latin rock and a little bit of bossa nova. Anyways, I will aim to develop my skills in music including in jazz and continue learning on my relatively new instrument (though with experience in the cello and piano has helped me with the double bass).
#LO1, #LO2
Thursday 12th November:
Today we had our recording session for a jazz piece we have been working on called Fables of Faubus by Charles Mingus. It is a politically motivated piece that was written n as a direct protest against Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, who in 1957 sent out the National Guard to prevent the racial integration of Little Rock Central High School by nine African American teenagers, in what became known as the Little Rock Crisis. The piece is played sardonically and there are even elements of cacophony that makes this piece not only difficult to channel the right emotions but also a very unique and different piece. The jazz bass piece wasn’t too difficult in terms of rhythm and I guess the only most difficult thing was the notes which are in F minor which has a lot of flats.
Now because my instrument is an accusing piece and is very quiet when played pizzicato (using plucking of the fingers rather than bow) I usually have some pickups plugged into an amp so I can hear even when the drums, guitar and all other instruments are being played. When we did the recording piece, we didn’t have the amp but a speaker plugged in so that in the editing stage, the bass will be heard. However, that meant I could not hear my self-playing so I was playing blindly and had to rely on muscle memory (there are no frets). This made it quite difficult. Despite this new experience of recording and playing without an amp, I still had lots of fun and it was the first time I wore a suit so that was interesting. I hope that soon, we can play as a live performance but for now, because of the coronavirus, recording sessions will have to suffice.
#LO2
Thursday 17th December:
This was the last session for this year and I am truly grateful for the experience. I will still be continuing Jazz band next year and I will definitely keep playing jazz and the double bass in the future, hopefully in University. Below is an image of one of our recording sessions for the Fables of Faubus piece which we showed to our community through a streaming video. It was great and fantastic to share that experience and I will not forget this experience. I have been able to improve on my listening skills, my walking bass lines, new double bass techniques like slapping, and playing with others effectively without any need for a conductor, just by listening. It has been so fun to play music and one way I have shown this passion is that recently I have used LogicPro to record my own jazz and funk pieces playing all the instruments like a one-man orchestra which has been really fun. I will continue playing music for the rest of my life and I will never forget this experience.
#LO1, #LO4
Running Club
Monday 1st September
Investigation:
Today, I had my first running session with the running club and ran 6k around the school. It was a bit tough but not too bad, and through this activity, I hope to get better at running. But more specifically on my stamina. I don’t run particularly slow or fast, but at some point, I do feel very tired and need to walk which was what happened after 4k today. But by pushing through (so for instance when I do get tired run slower rather than walk) I should be able to improve my stamina.
#LO1
Tuesday 22nd September
Today I had another running session which was a bit more interval training in away. In the sense that one circuit around the school was an easy 4-5 RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion) and the other a 6-7 RPE. It was slightly difficult but I know that through this activity I aim to improve both my speed and my stamina, and through stamina, I will improve my speed so it works hand in hand. To really improve on my running, I aim to run at least twice a week or even more in order to build that momentum. It doesn’t have to be very difficult and could just be 3k, but even then, it is good practice and regular running sessions will help me to run quicker and longer.
Thursday 19th November
Now I have had quite a few training and now two times a week during the mornings. We are no training at Bedok reservoir and we do a mix of long runs, 5ks, intervals, and pace run. So far I feel like I am getting better, already I can control my pace better and I am running a lot faster. However, what I am noticing is that I don’t mind the distance, but my pace is still quite slow, or at least, I feel like I can pace myself slightly faster. I can run long distances but I am very slow and my average 5K time is around 25-30mins. 10km is about an hour and usually more. So I am not that fast at running. If I try pacing a little harder I can get 21 minutes as a 5k time. My ultimate goal is going sub 20 minutes for 5K. It has been difficult because I can pace myself quite hard for 1-2K but after that, I drop down really quickly. This is a challenge I am working on and hopefully, I will be better at running and especially at running faster at the same distances I can run now. So I plan to try and go easy first and go faster and faster towards the end of a run or end of a 5k for instance.
We have a schedule every week so we are always ready and now what our training session will be all about:
#LO2, #LO4
Thursday 17th December
Although I will be continuing with the running club and track and field next year, I feel that the running club this semester has been quite fun and challenging at times which is good. I have been able to run faster and keep my stamina in long distances. Even though I am not a particularly fast and great runner, it is still enjoyable and worth undertaking the many challenges in the club. Sometimes, despite it saying perhaps an easy loop around Bedok Reseviour on the schedule, I still feel as if it is a big challenge. However, that isn’t a problem because I need those challenges to grow as a runner, to build speed and so on. Reflecting on my time, I have been very consistent with my running and have always shown up to every session. This has allowed me to become focused and to maximise the hour in the club two times a week. During this holiday, I will try to run a few times a week to continue that stamina and build up so when I come back I don’t have to start from scratch. I will continue running in the future and at school.
#LO1, #LO4
12 Angry Men (1957) and ToK
As of this year, I have a new TOK class so it will be a bit difficult to catch up and getting back on track in terms of TOK.
Anyways, yesterday in our TOK class we looked at a film from 1957 called 12 angry men. At first glance, it seems to be a film that represents the attitude we should have in TOK in the sense that we should be open-minded and not assume certain things about a topic for instance. To have doubt and be open to change so that we do not let our own judgements to cloud certain things as in that we don’t just say that is right that is wrong or something similar to that.
However, I believe, there was a deeper sense of meaning in the film in terms of TOK. In some ways, the art of filmmaking was used to describe the transition and the journey that each of the jurors took to go from deciding whether the boy was guilty to not guilty. At first, all of the jurors except for juror number 8 voted, without any doubt, that the boy was guilty assuming that the evidence they heard was undoubtedly convincing and determined. Yet, as juror #8 decides he wants to discuss about the crime, each fo the juror goes from being angry (mostly because of believing that it was obvious that the boy was guilty and felt that they wasted time discussing), to feel a sense of doubt. Art was used to conveying that journey of emotion, for instance, the transition from the weather being hot to rain (hot-headed to more emotional), removing their jacket (the darkness to visibly lighter converting that emotional transition). However, the reason they switched their vote was mainly due to each of their own personal emotional connection to reason.
In the film, many of the jurors used to reason to decide whether the evidence was certain using logical arguments to make their case. In some ways, they use reason along with other ways of knowing such as intuition, imagination, sense perception, emotion and language. For instance how language is used to determine the motive or causation to action (that you might say I will kill but it is only a threat and doesn’t mean you will actually kill). Another point is using imagination to imagine the situation and using the intuition they have and the sensory perception of the past (the sound of the train and voices for instance. Although a minor point, one could argue memory was used by the jurors because using their own past experiences and judgements shaped by their life to argue about the evidence. In one case, the emotion was used by on juror when the 10th Juror and 5th Juror get into an argument over 10th Juror’s citing the boy’s slum background as evidence for his being “trash.” 5th Juror is angered by this, having grown up in a slum himself.
So in that sense, their emotional response to each of their switch sort of brings up the equation if there is an ability to remove any bias because of the fact that they didn’t switch until something personal came up (like the glasses marks of one juror, to the old man to the juror’s slum background and so on). Therefore, in larger more serious cases like this shown in the film, it would be extremely difficult for individuals to be neutral especially when there is an emotional connection. Although a minor point, speaking with a partner about the “illusion of rationality” and how these jurors believed they were rational but only when they were confronted with some emotional connection, that rationality was lost.
Jurors must have lots of reliable facts to make their fair judgements. But ever having enough facts may well be impossible in order to make completely fair judgements (and what counts as fair is a whole other question, but assume the basic values of what counts as fair let say in the UWCSEA community). This is because these jurors were not there at the act nor were they the actual victim and perpetrators themselves. As of right now, it is impossible to know exactly what another person is saying even if they are big as open and honest as they can. Thus, the jurors can not fully believe in the motive or claim the perpetrator says. Of course, they must use the evidence but there is always a certain of doubt in everything so even if the case is ruled out to be completely true and the perpetrator is found guilty, how can capital punishment be a fair judgement. Therefore, not only is the question of what is fair debatable, but also that we can not truly know the whole truth. That brings up the area of knowledge of ethics because in this film the ethical judgement is that the juror’s decision determines the boy’s life. That also brings another dimension to the film.
TOK End of Year Reflection
TOK has been quite unusual this year in the sense that it has been quite confusing at times. Perhaps it is the difficulty to understand the TOK concepts and so I need to go back to the textbook quite often and look for resources to understand. In the beginning it was really difficult, especially what knowledge questions and statements where but gradually, through self-studying it made more sense.
TOK I guess is the course that allows me and other students to reflect on knowledge and how we know, what we know. The concepts we’ve been looking at is the Ways of Knowing and Areas of Knowledge
- Ways of knowing: (sense perception, reason, emotion, faith, imagination, intuition, memory, and language). How do we gain knowledge of the world, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each way in which we learn of the world and our place in it.
- Areas of knowledge (mathematics, natural sciences, human sciences, history, religious knowledge systems, indigenous knowledge systems, the arts and ethics): their distinct natures and methods of gaining knowledge, the types of claim each makes and the issues to consider (e.g., “How do you know that the scientific method is a valid method of gaining knowledge?”, “What is the reason for having historical knowledge, and how is it applied in life?”).
In that, we look at the methodology of each area of knowledge, link to personal and shared knowledge, historical development, the scope/applications as well as the language and concepts.
I kind of enjoy TOK both because I find the philosophy aspect quite interesting but also because it is fun to categorise knowledge into different groups. In some ways, us humans love to categorise and make patterns and links, but of course, there is, unfortunately, a danger to categorise thinks to dangerous concepts like racial categories, or categories people into different groups that could eventually become prejudice or dehumanising these people.
I feel like with knowledge comes responsibility, similar to that with power comes responsibility. Knowledge is also power because in the sense that you have something more useful than others and you know something that others don’t know perhaps. This could be exploited and similar to people having power, one can get consumed by it and eventually has this dire consequences on others of the environment. Using knowledge for good is the key thing and so with knowledge does come to the responsibility to limit any unethical and immoral consequences on others or the environment around us. Knowledge is powerful.
Interestingly, I feel like culture has a huge part in knowledge. In my TOK presentation, he primary knowledge question that I examined is How might culture conflict with the reliability of models in the human sciences? In a way, also can models of human behaviour ever be reliable? Cultural values, which in turn has a large influence on our human behaviour, have played a large role in decision making in politics, communal activities, systems and other models. This is no different to the real life situation of Sweden’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting countries all around the world but each country is experiencing their own epidemic and have used certain models in order to fight back against it. Sweden has been controversial with it’s approach to the pandemic because of the government’s refusal to lock down, approaching the outbreak with a ‘mitigation’ strategy to save lives and to ease the spread. Anders Tegnell, the chief epidemiologist and in charge of the swedish strategy and model, in a quote in the Financial times, described the model as “It’s a big mistake to sit down and say ‘we should just wait for a vaccine’. It will take much longer than we think. And in the end, we don’t know how good a vaccine it will be. It’s another reason to have a sustainability policy in place.”
This is not a herd immunity approach but rather a model that aims to allow society to continue except for high-risk areas, high-risk groups and the trust to abide by social distancing rules. However with that said, Sweden stands alone in Europe in which some schools continue to remain open and restaurants and bars continue with its business apart from minor precautions. As of June the 1st, Sweden has 37,542 confirmed cases and 4,395 deaths. This is much higher than any of the neighbouring Nordic countries and also keep in mind that the number of confirmed cases may be higher as Sweden isn’t as aggressive at testing as other countries, and mainly test those who are very sick.
Sweden’s government has made a priority to protect risk groups like the elderly and have strongly encouraged them to stay home and others to not visit them. Groups of more than 50 people are not allowed and all universities and Gymnasium schools are closed. Many work from home and restaurants are ordered to close if they don’t follow social distancing rules. Sweden’s model works by placing trust in citizens to abide in social distancing practices while still being able to live freely.
The use of models through influence of human behaviour and culture is best examined through the knowledge acquisition and application in the human sciences because of the use of assumptions of human behavior and prior knowledge in the field to make models and predictions where culture can play a large role in influencing these models and assumptions. Behaviour is never a fixed thing, we can’t quantify behaviour, so these assumptions must be considered carefully.
In the human sciences, the mathematical modelling behind the creation of models that are theoretical and are to be applied in the real world which can be good representations of what is happening in the real world. All models have to have mathematical representations in order to quantity and be able to apply and predict, with assumptions such as the assumptions of human behaviour. However, some aspects of these models are assumptions where the scientists and in this case the epidemiologists have to be honest with the assumptions they make. Although some things are factual behind the models, the assumptions have to be made as no model can be applied to all contexts.
What I have learned is that the reason why the model could work in Sweden is because of perhaps three things:
- Trust. Trust is seen to be a basic component in Swedish society. Trust is mutually reciprocated: Trust in the government and trust in each other. Instead of the draconian laws established in other countries, the Swedish government has trust that citizens will follow guidelines and behave in a civil and considerate manner. About 70% of Swedes support their government’s approach. In fact, there has not been much public debate or organised opposition to the model proposed by the Swedish government.
- Responsibility and independence. Since a young age, the concept of responsibility is articulated clearly and encouraged across the home, school and workplace environment. Therefore, taking up responsibility without the need of micro-management becomes a social norm and is expected of citizens. Most young people live alone and many children are independent at a very young age. In addition, unlike many other European countries, it was assumed that swedish people meet less people on average, especially in greeting where the kisses and shaking is not as prolonged as in for instance France or Italy. However, unlike in Norway where the nursing homes are much smaller, there was a huge wave of infections in the large nursing homes in Sweden which accounted for most of the deaths, especially in the Stockholm region. This assumption was not taken in and perhaps made the model less reliable.
- Long-term thinking. Success is very much attributed to the outcome in the long term. A long term and holistic view is the attitude that Swedes have approached the COVID issue. For instance, Instead of just considering infection rates and fatalities, the total long term impact of lockdown on overall health, on the treatment of other illnesses, academic achievement, employment possibilities and other lifetime outcomes has been taken into consideration. Instead of short term personal benefits, citizens have been accustomed to thinking about what is best for the community as opposed to the individual.
In some ways I do hope that the Swedish model will work but so far it doesn’t seem so. Anyways, it seems to me that culture really does have a huge influence on knowledge.
The Extended Essay
The Extended Essay or EE, will be an exciting journey because of the fact of choosing a topic you are passionate about and writing about if in a lot of words. The topic I have chosen is a world studies EE where my interdisciplinary focus is on DT and ESS. The research question is
How have design principles of Tesla car designs and its fundamental environmental ideology, been so successful in Norway despite the influence of Big Oil and auto manufactures on politics and our society?
I might change the wording a bit, but the idea is that I would need an environmental and design perspective to see why Tesla has been so successful in a country like Norway despite and due to the conflicting perspectives between the oil industries that made Norway prosperous and the environmental values important in Nordic culture.
Reflection 1 (May 1): So today I had a quick catch up on how the EE process is going and the outline as well. Going forward, first steps would have to be to really decide upon the three or four detailed concepts that I will be exploring and delving into and put these concepts in a structured and detailed outline of a plan. So sort of a paragraph by a paragraph of what evidence, topic sentences and analysis/points that I want to add so I have a very clear picture on not only my research but when I start the 1000 words. Other than that, a key thing to remember is to not make too many assumptions (so evidence to back up points), paint the picture clarity of the context and having an equal balance between ESS and DT. It can’t just be ESS and DT side points. So far I do not have any worries but that may change as time goes on. I feel like I have lots of thoughts all whizzing around already, and as I mentioned, the key thing is to focus all this down. My main worry is if I am able to fit everything I want to in the EE all from the case study in Norway and some of my insights on Norway and the rest of the world in terms of EVs, Climate change and even insights on culture, religion, fears and more than critically relate to the world studies issue. Also, since it is a world study extended essay, I need to have a balance between the two subjects. For instance, on the ESS side, I could examine through EVS, politics, pollution, human systems, human resources use, climate change, energy production, atmospheric systems and societies, and lots more topics. On the DT side, I can focus in on green technology, psychological and physiological factors, sustainability in terms of resource management and production, materials, innovation and design, classic design, UCD, markets, commercial production, business and more. My main worry is if I am able to fit everything I want to in the EE and having a balance between DT and ESS.
EE writing day (May 12th): This was a great opportunity to get headway onto my EE where I did a lot in terms of writing more than my first 1000 words, getting the momentum and for the first time visually seeing how my essay will turn out. The difficulty now is that I realise the 4000 words can come quite quickly and what I need is to really focus on the most important aspects of the topic I want to discuss and make sure to cite the sources while having a clear a coherent structure.
Track and Field
February 13th 2020
Investigation:
Last year, I also took part in the track and field team where I was not too bad at running long distance and quite good at high jump. So it is an experience I have done before, but I will try to challenge myself more, by running more often than I usually do, and jump higher and farther in the high and long jump part of the field which I have decided to take part in. Also, I have been thinking of joining the cross country team next year instead of pursuing football. This was because I have started playing football during breaks as I have always done before, and noticed I was a bit rusty but also that with football, the sport I love the most, is the sport I just want to play for fun and not have to worry about competitions, just for the love of it. But with cross country, I feel like it would be a good challenge and something I wouldn’t be too bad at it. With running, one needs to train quite often and keep that momentum going sort of like swimming. My father is a great long-distance runner, and running with him perhaps once a week might make that momentum going. We have run quite a lot together in the past.
February 19th and 21st 2020
Preparation:
Today (February 19th), long jump and the high jump was on the schedule and despite being almost a year since I last trained, I was still able to regain my former strengths and skills. Since I have grown, I able to jump over 1.60m which was the highest I jumped last time. I have a feeling that I will able to easily beat my personal record and perhaps even able to jump over 1.70m. So my goal for this season is to clear 1.70m.
Today (February 21st), I went back into the long-distance running I did last year but started challengingly with interval training. After a hard session of interval training, I did some full-body exercises, and it is a bit different from last year because of the virus. Now we are running in quite unusual places like the Bus Bay for instance or anywhere around the campus. I am looking forward to and hoping to gain some more stamina in my long-distance running and running longer with a slightly higher pace than I am usually comfortable with. In other words, I hope that through Track and field, I will not only jump higher but challenge myself to increase my stamina and running faster.
#LO1,
16th March 2020
For the past few sessions, I have worked quite a bit on my high jumping, beating my personal best of 160cm and now stands at 165cm. With high jumping, it is a bit of luck because it is sort of the jumping at the right time and hoping that when you arch your back as well as lifting your legs you will go over. Also, the more you jump the worse you become in a session because you are putting all your effort in one jump. But I am really happy that I was able to clear 165 and I want to preserve to go higher.
In terms of running, I have been doing some interval training to try to increase both my stamina and speed. I am not a particularly fast runner nor a runner which can run really far (but still a relativity good distance without stopping). However, I am really good at maintaining my speed. Below is an image of the times I did for one 800, then twice 1600 and finally 800 with a relatively fast pace with 3 to 5 minutes rest in between:
What this shows is that I can hold my pace in between 14 seconds in this case and that I can maintain my pace for a sustained period of time. What I need to be working on now, is to increase my speed. Yesterday I tried the Parkrun at East Coast Park for the first time where you can volunteers can time your 5K run and show you where you are at among athletes and the average your age and fitness. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 virus, it was cancelled just that weekend, but I still did a makeshift run for 5K and resulted in a time of just under 25 minutes. That is not a bad time but not a very fast time if compared to many athletes. So my aim and goal for the next few weeks are to increase my speed in middle distance running.
Aside from track and field, I also climbed with the UWCSEA Dover Climbing team both at the East Campus and the Dover campus this week and last week. It was exciting to climb with others that are really good and it invites a challenge and insight into what a climbing team goes through and how they train. Although the holds and routes are relatively easy at both our climbing walls, to challenge our selves, we tried climbing with only the rock face and smearing, or using only specific holds and routes or climbing with no hands-on an inclined wall. It was a great opportunity and a chance to develop my skills as a climber.
#LO1, #LO2 and #LO4
2nd May 2020
We are unable to have track and field training because of the pandemic but there are still ways that I can exercise and continue my running. My family and I have created a challenge for all of us to run a marathon but split it up to 2 km a day every day. So we have been running 2k every day and right now I am on my tenth run so 20km in. The route is quite small as we are not allowed to go so far from our house and my challenge is to go at a slightly paced run so it is still quite a challenge. I actually injured my knee from roller-blading just before the circuit breaker which is sort of Singapore’s version of lockdown, but it is getting better and hopefully, by the end of the challenge, my knee and my pace will get better. This is a great opportunity to continue my training and to prepare for Cross Country next year. Yesterday, it took me just over 10 minutes to run 2k and I am hoping that time will get smaller.
Not only that, but I am also doing some other exercise at home from time to time to improve and train other areas of my body that running might not. I guess it is important to stay fit and healthy during this circuit breaker because we aren’t moving that much and are almost only at home. One realises how much one moves every day on any given day.
Anyways, track and field was a great experience because running, in some ways and sometimes, is quite fun especially when running with others. I met a lot of new people and improved my running over the course of just a few weeks. I pushed myself from the very beginning despite not attending the cross country early this year. Also, what I miss most about track and field is the high and long jump part of it. I beat my record and jumped 165 and that was amazing. I wish I could try harder because I know I could, or rather have more time to do it. However, hopefully, next year I can be apart of it. The high jump was really the highlight for me of this activity because of how much joy I have of jumping over a bar and landing without the bar falling. This will be an experience I miss but there are other similar opportunities next year.
#LO4
12th May 2020
Today was the last day of the 21-day marathon challenge where I split each day to run 2k. I feel like it was a great experience for my whole family and me, and a good way to stay fit and exercised during the COVID period. Through this experience, I noticed that even though I was getting faster, it wasn’t by that much and some days I ran a lot slower. In total, if I add up the time, I would have run a marathon in 4 hours and thirty minutes but taking into account that I would be much more tired in a marathon than 2k, it would more realistically take me 5 hours. Although much slower than the best marathon runners, I still feel it was that bad of a time and I can get better. I do aim to do at least one marathon in my life and this is sort of like a warm-up to it. I am not a particularly fast runner nor a runner with great stamina, but that is something I can continue working on.
My fastest pace was 4:42 per km meaning that it took me about nine and a half minutes to do 2 km. Although the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge would have easily run 2 k in less than 6 minutes, I still feel like under ten minutes is a pretty good time for myself. Perhaps in the future, I would aim to run less than 8 and a half minutes and I feel like this can be very realistic because 2k isn’t particularly long and sprinting for a large chunk of the distance wouldn’t be that difficult I think.
#LO1, #LO4
14th June 2020
In some ways during the Circuit Breaker period, I feel like I have been running a lot more often than I usually. This is obviously because there isn’t much to do, and is an easy way to do some exercise. I have definitely noticed an improvement in my stamina and speed. For instance, running a 10k would be very difficult for me and I would stop many times to rest or stop. Now, I don’t need to nearly stop as many times to rest in a 10k and last time I did a 10k, I only stopped for 4 times compared to about 8. I haven’t really been that great at speed and stamina at very long distances, but this is a great chance for me to improve those skills.
Track and Field, as I have said previously, was a great experience and hopefully I will join the cross country team next semester. I am a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to attend track and field training sessions as they were quite fun. A lot of activities are of course closed and it’s the same feeling for all activities as they were all great in each of their own unique ways. I guess what I have to do is to make most of the situation I have now and one way is to, because I have more time on my hands as I don’t have as many activities, running more often can help me to improve many of the skills in running and ultimately make me a better runner.
#LO1
TOK Arts Common Assessment
What counts as knowledge in the Arts?
Knowledge in the arts is something quite subjective and is not as intuitive as other areas of knowledge such as the natural sciences or religious knowledge systems. This may be because the scope of the arts can in some ways seem unlimited unlike other Areas of Knowledge like the Natural Sciences where there is a clear scope and the content lies within the physical and natural properties of the universe. Art can also in some ways feel exclusive yet also too inclusive of everything in that anything can be art. Since art can be used as some sort of social function and in shaping belief to express ideas, that could be the knowledge generated through arts.
However, personal and shared knowledge can be quite different from each other and reveal another possible knowledge created in the arts which are quite similar to the relationship between shared and personal knowledge in mathematics where intuition, emotion and imagination can give huge insights and discoveries in maths. For instance, a parent may have an emotional attachment to a piece of hand-drawn artwork their kid drew them (even if it may not be a masterpiece) however the wider community do not share that same experience of evaluability and knowledge that the parent has. However, where mathematics and arts differ, is the accumulation of shared knowledge. While maths builds upon ideas and creates new proofs, concepts and axioms, the arts can sometimes completely throw down ideas, conventions and values in the art to create something completely different, although some art styles are built upon others. Historically, knowledge in the arts is constantly changing yet there is the point in that most present-day art forms have had influence of older art forms. In other words, it can create confusion about what counts as knowledge in the arts.
Furthermore, what counts as knowledge in the arts can get even more confusing when looking at truth and art expressing that truth of us in humans. On one hand, photography and realistic art could be considered as the highest form there is due to its realistic nature, although, that being said, even photography can lie. A piece of artwork is not actually showing, for instance, an apple, and is instead just a picture. On the other hand, art could also be considered as artificial and is something unique that is only itself which could indicate that there is another purpose or another way to gain knowledge. Despite this confusion, art may create knowledge that is emotional and moral and possibly even something that is attractive or aesthetic to look and experience. Think about the last time you listened to music or read a book or looking at a piece of artwork. You felt some sort of emotion and possibly even some insight into morality or your own self-awareness.
In that case, art provides something for us and provides knowledge that possibly science and mathematics cannot, in which the emotions and thoughts that arise from art counts as knowledge in the arts. While mathematics has direct and explicit rules and knowledge created, the knowledge in the art is vaguer in that it is created in the opinions and thoughts created by the reader through his/her experience. In other words, our interpretation. How the creator and viewer interact with art is both unique and varied, and that knowledge created can be very valuable. What counts as knowledge in the arts is in that case, similar to the proverb—in the eye of the beholder.
Project Week
November 29th, 2019
Investigation:
At UWCSEA, we have a wonderful opportunity to go on a trip with others all by ourselves and planned all by ourselves throughout South East Asia in order to complete one or more of the CAS objectives. (maybe more)
For my project week, I am quite interested to do an activity, most likely hiking, but I would most like to do an environmental service, especially with my GC—Gili Eco Trust. This is because we need to maintain a relationship between the school and the NGO we are working with.
Initially, we had some mingle activities and introduction to what Project Week is. At first, it was difficult to find a group that had similar interests and groups that I could find myself working well with. However, almost to the last minute of the deadline, I found a group that I could work with and I have some hopes and worries. Fortunately, there are some people I know including one person from Solar for East and another a member of my GC (is the co-vice chair with me). They seem to be a group that will do work and won’t slack off. However, I am not so connected with them at the moment and I am worried because 4 of them are in a relationship and that could end in a disaster both for them as a relationship but also onto the rest of the group members. But hopefully, everything should be good. Our group are planning to go to Gili and with the GC and hike on Rinjani Dawn. So it that sense, it has really lived up to my hopes for project week.
December 5th, 2019
Preparation:
For our preparation, we have made a plan (and it got accepted) and contacted our supervisor. We are planning a schedule and draft email to the NGO among many things that need to be done. As of right now, our preparation is looking pretty good. In this group, I actually haven’t done a lot of work and it has been spread out, which is a positive and benefit in working in a group. Also, in this case, things are going much faster than if I were to do this individually and in this kind of project it is always better to be in a group assuming those group members not only work well with each other but are somewhat productive.
Right now, my only main concern with our plan is about hiking. I’m quite an adventurous person and don’t mind hard work so, if anything, I would like for the hike to be as challenging as it can be. Some of my group members are not as adventurous so we need to compromise a bit. So far, we have a provider that will help us, and I am a bit worried that they will provide us with too much, meaning that they will do all the cooking, carrying and setting up the tents. The only good thing would be that we are supporting mainly locals but for me, I would feel too privileged and lazy if this were to happen. So, my hope is that I can at least relieve the load on these providers and help them too.
#LO5
January 24th, 2020
Preparation:
So far in the planning process, we have done a lot, from contacting the NGO and action providers to picking hotels to plan flights to doing all the necessary requirements for medical information and lots more. A lot of forms have been stamped and signed as well.
The process has been quite hectic and there has been lots of planning that I never thought of when going on a trip albeit it is also an unusual trip with lots of hiking and working with service partners. But despite this, there is a lot of planning involved in this sort of trip, even for just a few days. I feel as though project week and the whole journey from planning to execution, is an amazing opportunity that will help me in future projects and really just planning and working together as a team. It is a very special and privileged opportunity and I am quite excited.
February 11th, 2020
Unfortunately, due to the 2019-nCoV situation or Coronavirus, the school has decided to cancel all overseas trips until August 2020. This was decided by the Singapore government in support of international crisis management. It is quite disappointing and it was a once a lifetime opportunity but one cannot get or do everything in their life, and I already have a very privileged life and so I perhaps shouldn’t complain. Although sure, it would be a great experience and I would love to embark on this exciting opportunity, the actual trip part was the only thing left we needed to do. We did a lot of planning and this is a great learning experience that I can use later on in life as planning and organisational skills that are similar to planning trips or just planning, in general, are essential to keep on top of things and in some ways reduce stress.
So Project Week will not be happening this year and hopefully, next year’s Grade 11s will be able to embark on this exciting opportunity.
TOK Portfolio Post: Natural Sciences #1
For a few lessons, we’ve been discussing the Natural Sciences which is the study of the natural and physical world using the scientific method of observation and experiment to find the truth about phenomena. The natural sciences include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology, Astronomy and Cosmology. Most people agree that natural sciences is the most reliable and trustworthy of all the Areas of Knowledge in terms of truth, because of the methodology. In other words the scientific method where a hypothesis is made, a prediction is created afterwards and then through experimentation and observation, the hypothesis is either proven wrong (and thus a new hypothesis is created) or it is proven right and along with other hypothesises, it can make a theory. Theories are not like possible truths, they are rather the most closet things to truth there can be. The name itself may seem misleading, and theories could be considered as laws, as they are of the highest form in natural science. However, theories can be tweaked, improved and even falsified with new evidence. Models, assumptions and other methodology also contribute to the reliability of science.
Another important factor in that the Natural Sciences is trustworthy is the application of shared knowledge. Science is always built upon many different individual’s knowledge and improved to get closer to the truth. Science is dynamic and always changing. When a new theory is proposed or added to an existing theory, the science community conduct peer review journals to really validate the claim. In terms of the Ways of Knowing, language, perception, reason and in some cases emotion, intuition and imagination are all ways in which sciences contribute and add to knowledge. Quite surprisingly, emotion and imagination can be important qualities and ways of knowing to science because of the need for curiosity and interest to move forward in science.
Of course, they can interfere which is why reasoning, perception and language are more reliable ways of knowing in the case of the sciences. This is because science is partly based on observations and reasoning from experiments and observations and this is important in the distinction of uncertainty and certainty. Uncertainty doesn’t mean that the scientists are wrong but rather that no evidence can reach 100 per cent certainty. That is why experiments are repeated to reduce the uncertainty for instance. Language is very important in science and they are usually derived from Greek or Latin (more of a traditional reason than anything else) Science uses specific language, models, diagrams, mathematics and graphs to represent, explain and deduct knowledge. In some cases, the same words can mean differently in the public compared to scientific meaning such as positive feedback where it might mean good response in the public but in science, it is a self-reinforcing cycle. As we can see, natural science could be considered the most reliable fo the AOKs
Furthermore, we are going to have a debate and we’ve had a debate (with the whole grade with other TOK teachers and other teachers as well) on natural science and ethics, and a whole grade debate on which has more value, the arts or science. For me, the distinction between science and ethics is simple. Science is just a tool and a system to get closer to the truth but ethics is needed to make sure that the scientific innovations and quest for knowledge is beneficial for us humans and the environment around us. Science is the one that has proven that climate change is real and serious (there is no debate in that) but it is ethics and in some cases other AOKs that allow us to make change and reason what is right, so in this case to solve the climate crisis.
The arts for me has a purpose and no purpose. The arts are uniquely human and depending on different people, the arts have a different purpose to different people. Some find it life motivating, some find it beautiful and care only for the attractiveness of it. Others believe that art gives purpose to life while others believe it should represent life. Some people may argue that the arts are a way to express feelings, emotion, and change for activism while others care only for its symbolic and thought-provoking ideas. Others just see it as fun and enjoyable, to give colour to the arts. I have been told that I can’t say that science and art are of equal value (which is sort of why I believe) so I will choose a side.
At first thought, along with other thoughts, the art has more value because it has always existed and gives life more purpose (because of it’s nature to have any purpose) and also to give life more enjoyment and emotion which are human. With only science, it becomes dull and no one wants that and most people love the arts. Also, it is science, or at least the quest for growth and discovery, that lead to climate change due to the innovation in fossil fuel technology. However, this is where I change, although arts has for the most part been more valuable than science before the industrial revolution era, science is now the most valuable. It was science that realised the effects of what it had done, so now it uses other AOKs, to change it, mainly ethics with science. The arts may give stories and make a change in terms of awareness more than the statistics in science, but it is the tools in science that allow to make a profound change. On the other hand, people in the arts hae faith that science is valuable for instance when flying aeroplanes. Also, one could argue that science has existed, even without the scientific method in the form of curiosity and the development of new technology. So in that sense, it is science that gave fuel to the arts, that allowed new art forms to form and progress. So, although they both are valuable, it is science that is the most valuable from the ground up.