Badminton reflection – End of season 1

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At the end of the first season, it is time do some reflections on the service that I have been collaborated with during these first 6 months of grade 11. Special Olympics Badminton has given me more than what I expected. At the start, I did not enjoy the first sessions because I found myself unsure about how I could have really contributed to this service, seen that I was not able to play badminton but things changed when I started looking at it from another perspective. My relationship with the service and with the Special Olympics athletes changed when I understood that my work was not just playing badminton with them but instead it was more about creating a relationship and a friendship while playing. Being able to talk and interact with them has become with the time more important than actually being able to play badminton and this gave me confidence and desire to continue working in this service. I personally took initiative several times in suggesting games and activities as warming up before playing. I feel my contribution to this service has been relevant bringing with my enthusiasm and initiative contaminating everyone that surrounds me. One thing that I would like to improve in the next times is trying to interact with as many athletes as possible, in fact, I haven’t had the chance to play and talk with every one of them.

Until now, this experience has already given me a lot and I am looking forward to giving and receive more from Special Olympics Badminton service in the next season.

 

TOK religions day: some thoughts

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On January 31th, the whole day starting from the second block was dedicated to TOK and to the analysis of religious systems.  I find good the idea of dedicating an entire day, as a full immersion, into the topic. What I have enjoyed the most and find most interesting it has been the 3rd block. Here students have had the chance to listen to little talks of 20 minutes held by different people (school teachers and people from outside school) about their personal experience and beliefs about religion. I participated in 3 talks and, each of them showed me how different can be the perception and consideration of religion and faith.

I generally liked this TOK day. I found very interesting the talk given by James Shailbeer in conclusion of day. It helped me summarise the idea and perception I got during the day and the various discussion I had. On the other hand I think that the first introduction lead by Mr. Sharry was too long and maybe not very on focus.

I think it has been a very helpful experience, despite the huge disappointment brought by the people who skipped the day of school that clearly considered this TOK day not deserving of their attention.

 

Intuition: can we rely on it?

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I consider intuition as a way of knowing that can be reliable only in situations where there are the right premises. We affirm that a problem or a situation can be either solved or understood using intuition when we come up with a conclusion that we just feel it’s right, apparently with no logical reasoning to support it. I think that intuition, as a way of knowing, can be distinguished into two branches:

Intuition as automatic reasonings = In some occasions, as in the example analyzed in TOK class, intuition can be defined as a very rapid reasoning that a person can elaborate, based on the many experiences he/she had on that area of interest. Because of the understanding developed in the specific area, he/she can quickly solve the issue by just looking at it, requiring no time to comprehend and analyze the controversy. I think this type of intuition can be very reliable and, if understood its reasoning, can lead to the same answer as a slower logical reasoning.

Inexplicable Intuition = There has been, at least once in everybody’s lifetime, a moment in which we just knew the answer, an instant where an idea appears in your mind faster than normal thinking, resulting as right. There is no logical explanation for such thing as this kind of intuition and therefore there is no right answer to what extent we can rely on it.

Ultimately I think intuition should play a role in our acquisition of knowledge only in some certain areas of knowledge, not all of them. Intuition can be easily associated with “The Arts”. How many time we heard talking about pieces of art, or pieces of theatre, or great scenes in films where the artist just felt the way the artwork needed to be addressed to. Intuition is required, in this case, to purely express feelings and emotions that would have been modified and forced if thought too much. On the other side, it is not recommended to apply intuition as a way of knowledge to Mathematics or Natural Sciences because it would be placed in contrast with the objective reasoning required in these areas.

TOK- Describe a time when you made a bad decision

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I have always liked cinema theatres. On November I started searching for a nice cinema theatre to go to in Singapore because until that time I only saw mall cinemas or IMAX which I don’t personally like because they are too dispersive and crowded for me. Thanks to my researches I discovered a cinema near to the stadium called “The projector”. I checked online tickets prices for regular screenings and I found out that the price for one ticket is 15 but they have 5 Singapore dollars discount for students. The price for me would have been 10 dollars which, translated into euro, is equal to 7.5 euro. Evaluating that I used to pay 5 euro to go to the cinema in Italy I concluded that going to the cinema it’s way more expensive in Singapore than in my city so I decided to search my movie online.

Reflecting now, after have been listening to Dan Gilbert talks about mistakes we regularly make on evaluating odds and values, I understood I made the error of confronting this new price and students discount with what I was used to paying in the past without considering the context that that price had. This cinema in Singapore is the only one that offers no-blockbuster movies and it has no the same size as the other multiplex in the city. At the end, I now realize that paying 2.5 more euro to have a cinema like that it is not such an insane idea as I thought before because it is offering something unique between all others offers which make it gains value.

Analyzing the reasoning of my choice through a syllogism it is possible to better understand the mistake I did:

The kind of cinema I like costs 5 euro

The kind of cinema I like in Singapore costs 7.5 euro

Therefore

Singapore cinema is too expensive

Without context, this syllogism may seem right but the problem here is that I am only comparing the price with what I was used to paying and I am not considering the new context I am in now, that in this case is Singapore. For this reason, I did not go to the cinema for all this time thinking that this price was too much and I couldn’t afford 2.5 euro of difference. I have now understood that it is important to consider all aspects of an offer, comprehending the reason of that cost, not just only comparing with my little experience.

I think I’m going to the cinema this weekend.

Why we can use mathematics in real life? And why we cannot?

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Mathematics, as it is usually described, is used by everyone in big and small actions every day. Also, it is common to hear people saying “Math regulates the world” or “ It’s Math!” as broad expressions. All of this made me reflect on the reliability of these phrases, analyzing examples of why math is actually used in real life and why it is not. Evaluating different possibilities to obtain a specific result is one of the requirements to better understand the mathematics logic. In a mathematical problem, several methods can be used to obtain the same result, using for example logarithms instead of geometric sequences or probability, could all led to a common result. Applied to the real world, being able to interpret a problem, watching it from different points of view, could help you to identify the most convenient way to achieve your goal. We can take as an example an argument between two friends. Being aware of the reasons why the argument started, not only from one side but also from the other, would make see the problem from both prospective, making realize the two friends aspects they did not consider from just their personal opinion. Thus, this mathematical skill is helpful in interpreting social relationship and dynamics. Another possible reason why mathematics can be used in every day is to find in its use of axioms. In order to work, mathematics needs basic logic reasonings agreed by everyone to be commonly understood. To resolve complex problems it’s fundamental to have these axioms if not, every mathematician could create its own math. In real life, we can compare axioms to social values. If in a culture it is not socially acceptable a romantic relationship between close members of the family, this social “rule” regulates how romantic relationships work in that population ( just an example). This is because people need rules to work as a society, to live in harmony and without them, chaos would be been what rules, as an anarchy, where singular individuals behave as they think they should.

On the other side, many are the reasons why math could not and should not be used in everyday life. The first thing that comes to everybody’s mind is the effective use and utility of mathematics in regulating and controlling our daily life (unless you are a physic or en engineering). I think that math cannot be used in real life because there are too many variables in human being’s behaviour that cannot be objectively examined and evaluated by numbers. As an example in TOK’s class, we had been watching a video about the use of an algorithm in evaluating with 90% percentage of accuracy how much time will a couple stay together. This algorithm is based on assigning plus or fewer points to the ideas and opinions expressed in a conversation between two partners, creating a graph meant to show the trend of the conversation and to give an evaluation given by a formula. I feel very sceptical about this method because at the end it all comes back to the objectivity of the scientist who is grading the emotions and reactions of the speakers. How can a stranger evaluate the weight and the importance of expressions on a person  ? I think it is not an accurate and objective way to analyze emotions. Is there a fair way to analyze emotions?
Mathematics is a useful tool but, from my perspective, it is not universally applicable to everything, specifically not to human beings. Humans are not fully predictable and their mentality differentiates from individual to individual because of their own singular experiences that lead to impossibly categorize them and work them out as a calculus.

Mathematic method

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My mathematics experiences are not the best ones. Since I was in primary school I always found mathematics a nice subject but I was convinced that It was not for me. We were just two separate and far worlds. My mathematics education it started as classical Italian one consisting of learning a formula or a geometric theorem and, once understood and memorized, applied it to exercises that will make your test. This all finished with a simple process of memorization and exercise that not include a lot of freedom and flexibility in thinking. When I joined this school I understood since the first lesson the enormous difference in the approach of teaching and learning mathematics. From what I experienced here I can say that mathematics is not about finding the solution but the method to reach it. That’s what really stimulate your intelligence and improve your skills in reasoning. Because of all humans are different and every human being has a unique intelligence and way of thinking, millions are the solutions and the possible paths to follow to solve a single problem. To solve a mathematics problem it’s fundamental to use the mathematics method that is (for me very interesting and stimulating) characterized by certain rules, fixed in order to establish basic common logic thinking. These rules are called axioms that,as  definition, are statements or propositions which are regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true. After agreeing about this, logic starts to guide the situation. In order to get to the solution, you need to find your own path helping yourself with logic, rules and formulas pertinent to the case. In some case the solution is easy to find, the problem is just in the way the numbers are written down that doesn’t make it is easy for you to comprehend, so it’s just necessary to convert those numbers in a form more understandable for you.

Having studied the scientific method it is now possible to compare it to the mathematical one.

What really differentiates mathematics from the other sciences is the fact that there is no practice in math: everything is just theory, there is no needing of physical experiments but everything could be proved on a piece of paper. If in the scientific method. The mathematical knowledge is purely abstract instead, the scientific knowledge studies the physical world that does not take place just in our mind but it comes from inductions from the real world. Comparing the logic behind “axioms and theorem” to the more scientific terms “observation and hypothesis” I think the main difference between them is that mathematics method, taking place in our mind, it completely depends on our perspective and own logic but scientific hypothesis are consequences of a visible objective phenomenon that, for sure could be interpreted through several ways, but it happens inevitably, not depending on you. This brings me to my conclusion: mathematics it’s a human creation. It’s a method which we can use to elaborate pieces of information as knowledge. It’s a useful tool we can use to unpack problems and create solutions but it is not in itself a

Which questions does this presentation force you to ask yourself?

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This presentation helped me to reflect on a matter that is not usually discussed in class:  the men sexualization in society.

Following this, my classmate’s presentation made me ask myself some question about the topic:

How, do sexual advertisements are used in order to attract consumers?

If the figure of the woman has always been sexualized, is it right to do the same for men?  Is the male sexualization a revenge form the female society?

These questions still have no answers… but I’m working on them.

 

Mentoring Primary School

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During this term I’ve been involved in the mentoring activity with primary school. I really enjoyed stayed with my class from grade 5. The purpose of this activity is to interact with the children and create a connection with them in order to learn, from my side , new learning techniques , and to let them have the chance to know me and discover about my country and my culture. I met my class two times since the beginning of October and I talked with them about my hometown and what impressed me the most when I first arrived in Singapore, also I taught the class about games from my country and I talked them about my experience in grade 5 back in Italy. Also they explained me about and the activities and the subjects they study all along the year and how  primary school works. Throughout this exchange both sides learned about how education can be different looking at different culture and environment. I really glad of this experience because it gives me the possibility to learn and teach at the same time and to be aware of the whole community of UWCSEA, which is not only composed by the high school where I belong to, that involves and educates since the kindergarten.

Culturama Mexico

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I decided to join Culturama because I think it is a great activity!Even before coming to the school I knew about Culturama and when I saw videos of the event I couldn’t wait to join it in the new year.I did the  audition for the mexican dance and luckly I got in.I loved the dance since the beginning and with practising I started getting better and better.Doing culturama has improved my skills in dancing and team working, in fact our performance requires coordiantion between every person who is involved: the times, the steps and the movements need to be done and executed in a fixated moment due to obtain the best performance. I’m looking forward for the final show and I can’t wait to collaborate more with my dancemates

Cuban salsa dance !

piroz86711@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Uncategorized 0 Comment

The Cuban salsa dance class is what I choose as an activity. I always enjoy dancing, but I’ve never attended a regular course or lessons.I joined this activity because, when I was little, I’ve seen several salsa performances and I really liked it, so I want to challenge myself trying to do imitate those dancers that I saw when I was a child. After some lessons, I can say that I really enjoy it! We already learned things that I thought I would have never able to do. Also, we dance with a partner so, I learned throughout having it, to collaborate and create a relationship that let us have a better connection and so a better performance.Also on the next lesson, as a class, we are going to film our dance! I’ve uploaded to this post a short video showing our dance so what we have learned during the lessons.

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