Apr 9 2012: Of course, on the one hand beliefs and customs are not ingrained deeper than, say, those basic human needs including what you refer to as "scanning". Nevertheless, i think that on the other hand they can also shape your mindset and change the way you see the world and yourself, not differently from what sensory experiences do.
I would not regard one's beliefs and customs as simple "clothes" either, but rather as "home" in its broadest sense. To make myself clear, I think religion and traditions help you to feel at home and represent the best method whereby men are trying to drive away their profound inner loneliness, so to stop groping in the dark. Being an atheist myself, it's not easy for me to really pin down this feeling either, but i'm sure this is one of the major advantages of having faith and religion.
Apr 8 2012: Granted that I am not competent in this specific field, i think we get into a somewhat contrived argument if we don't take into account that culture does play a key role in our innermost selves, since you have been surrounded in it from the very beginning of your life.
Mindsets, beliefs and customs are deeply ingrained in our psyche and soul as we are brought up in a given environment. That's why i find myself unable, in some respects, to separate culture and nature, which are distinct concepts indeed, yet it's difficult to say (as concerns the human perception, mark these words) where the borderline lies deep in our mind. An immediate example that comes to mind is that we are not living like monkeys and we're not walking around naked because it's not socially acceptable. I don't think that's something different from other more peculiar or local aspects of culture (which include religious constraints).
Apr 6 2012: I partly agree with Robert Winner: it's true that syllabi are meant to give you a good grounding in various subjects, which are necessary to further your studies or advance to the next stage. On the other hand, I think syllabi should be designed in such a way as to make you well disposed towards learning. They should also be more flexible so to allow a teacher to modify the schedule in response to student interests.
Apr 3 2012: I personally regard this as more complicated than it seems. It's likely that a team of generalists may have a better understanding and more flexible thinking. Yet I cannot deny specialists could often provide more positive contributions within the field they are expert.
This could be illustrated for example by the difference between a journalist and an historian. The former has a well-rounded background in many fields (say economics, history, art, and so forth), which could result in them being more skillful at connecting different disciplines in an over-confident fashion. In turn, over-confidence could lead to superficiality and/or inaccuracy while setting forth their views. By contrast, a more thorough and exhaustive study will bring about a more valuable contribution indeed.
The point is, an expert finds himself forced to cope with weighing up pros and cons (or taking divergent opinions into account anyway) more often than a generalist/non-expert does for a whole host of reasons. I must admit i often run across obnoxious know-it-all generalists and I can't take whatever they say as gospel truth. In such cases, I feel experts' opinions are way more reliable than others'.
TEDCred score: 0.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.
A reply on Conversation: Is it not absolutely natural to watch one's facial expressions, body posture, natural body qualities - the whole compound of them all?
I would not regard one's beliefs and customs as simple "clothes" either, but rather as "home" in its broadest sense. To make myself clear, I think religion and traditions help you to feel at home and represent the best method whereby men are trying to drive away their profound inner loneliness, so to stop groping in the dark. Being an atheist myself, it's not easy for me to really pin down this feeling either, but i'm sure this is one of the major advantages of having faith and religion.
A comment on Conversation: Is it not absolutely natural to watch one's facial expressions, body posture, natural body qualities - the whole compound of them all?
Mindsets, beliefs and customs are deeply ingrained in our psyche and soul as we are brought up in a given environment. That's why i find myself unable, in some respects, to separate culture and nature, which are distinct concepts indeed, yet it's difficult to say (as concerns the human perception, mark these words) where the borderline lies deep in our mind. An immediate example that comes to mind is that we are not living like monkeys and we're not walking around naked because it's not socially acceptable. I don't think that's something different from other more peculiar or local aspects of culture (which include religious constraints).
A comment on Conversation: If schooling is supposed to be about personalizing learning why do governments continue to impose mandatory syllabi on schools?
A comment on Conversation: Does society need more interdisciplinary work? Or more well-rounded individuals working together?
This could be illustrated for example by the difference between a journalist and an historian. The former has a well-rounded background in many fields (say economics, history, art, and so forth), which could result in them being more skillful at connecting different disciplines in an over-confident fashion. In turn, over-confidence could lead to superficiality and/or inaccuracy while setting forth their views. By contrast, a more thorough and exhaustive study will bring about a more valuable contribution indeed.
The point is, an expert finds himself forced to cope with weighing up pros and cons (or taking divergent opinions into account anyway) more often than a generalist/non-expert does for a whole host of reasons. I must admit i often run across obnoxious know-it-all generalists and I can't take whatever they say as gospel truth. In such cases, I feel experts' opinions are way more reliable than others'.