Graduated Certification for Applying Common Sense by James Dunn

Ajay Bhatla,

Thank you for providing inquisitive feedback.

quote: ...how relevant might that [teaching Common Sense] be to steering to the future?

To grow broad opportunities for Physicists, and to recruit young people to pursue careers in physics:

1) requires a broad capacity to consider and relate logic (mathematics, scientific method, critical thinking...)

2) broad business development must take place to support grants and related research (research is the first to get cut in suffering economies)

3) educational programs are currently funded to support Science, Technology, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Mathematics (STEEM), so that teaching Common Sense can easily fall within existing programs if a focused effort is made. This means that the efforts cited are implementable, and not just rhetoric.

4) to recruit students to "learn" to enjoy physics requires a system of continuous engagement (see Dr. Nader Vadiee's "Vertical Integration Pathway") so that the concepts of physics are incrementally introduced and relationally manageable. By this I mean, do NOT just introduce students to Black Holes and the Universe as simply emotional awe, that only smart people can think about. To also provide them with social and logical tools to articulate their ideas into a career pathway. The Common Sense tools provide teachers with the tools to share with students to interact with physics even at a very young age.

5) .... don't want to dwell on

quote: Can common sense really be taught?

Yes, but it will take implemented action to verify. Though the bases I believe is strong enough to acquire grants for implementing verification (assessments), the tools need to be firmed up into Educational Materials so they can be distributed to Teachers. Khan Academy is an initial partner being considered.

quote: 1. Extremely vague meaning [regarding dictionaries]

You are very correct in the Dictionary References providing a generalized nature of definitions resulting in multiple logical pathways of interpretation depending upon the context in which it is used.

I intentionally created a lexicon with word definitions that fall within public knowledge, but restricted the definitions and further defined them related to emotional, social, and logical communication processes.

The system of words are set up so their use does not produce contradictions. However, as other experts in sociology, psychology, philosophy ... become directors or otherwise provide works related to grant activities, I am sure the present structure will evolve to be more inclusive of broader considerations. Of significant importance is persons with specific disabilities and children. So child-centered professionals I am sure will produce additional valuable tools.

Self-Esteem is based in the skills needed by particular social groups. This is partly why the 501(c)3 structure was selected. The broad effort by "experts" requires monetary compensation. To develop the tools to teach Common Sense specific to specific social groups needs social group characterization. This requires time and money; and I cannot do everything, I am providing the seed and potting soil to get things going. The 501(c)3 is expected to evolve beyond myself and I will eventually be replaced by systems of diverse professionals.

I encourage any recognized professional to become a member of the UA-KiTS.com Board of Directors; whether or not this essay wins. This essay spawned development, but the teaching of Common Sense will continue regardless.

quote: 2. Very Loose Knowledge Set

I can only put just so much information in an "essay" before it becomes a book. Also, there is a concern about Trade Secrets related to the 501(c)3 and protecting IP in the interest of sustaining growth. Though the examples provided use of many of the relationships presented, the details become dry for use in an essay written for a general audience. Persons who have a keen interest are encouraged to become more involved.

quote: 3. Is any aspect of the future open to being a trade? I think not for one simple reason: - we understand something because someone has seen it before. And when no one has seen the future, we have no way to define what we may want to teach.

Very many of us anticipate the future and through Result Management ensure the Future becomes what we anticipated. Skills in Common Sense are required for good Program and Project Management. As we approach our anticipated results of our efforts, we often find better use of our resources for yet greater returns on our investments. Project Managers often predict the future and create related Statements of Work (SOW). This is how complex projects are built, by predicting the future by management. Competent Management requires useful skills in Common Sense.

Would you say it is easier to predict the future with, or without, applied Common Sense?

Would you rather enter a business initiative with a person who is irrational, or someone who demonstrates reliable use of common sense?

What group of people has a better chance of producing businesses that provide physics related occupations? Those with Common Sense, or those that are irrational.

What group of people will pursue careers in physics more often, those who are irrational or those with common sense?

...

These were trick questions. A person with strong skills in Common Sense at times makes irrational decisions based upon emotional or social pressures, or not carefully considered logic. Consider the Challenger explosion. But a person with well-developed common sense makes these errors less often. We ALL can benefit from stronger skills in applying common sense.

I'm not sure I mentioned this. If this Essay wins, the prize money will be used for startup costs of the Non-Profit for teaching Common Sense

UA-KiTS.com

I, of course, have already invested personal funds, but I did not want to be characterized as a person seeking prize money for personal gain.

Corruption is "unethical allocation". To fight corruption from the bottom/up requires people to have strong skills in common sense. To fight corruption from the top/down requires ethical management of the NSA; again, strong skills in common sense (as I defined) are required.

Helping to eliminate corruption provides greater numbers of high-tech businesses and physics related opportunities.

Common Sense = Self-Esteem (social group based) Logic Predicting Consequences

James,

A large part of the problem with the concept of common sense in today's world is that what might seem logical in one context, might not in another and as soon as you get away from a few core precepts, it just gets fuzzy. Personally I grew up on and continue to live on a family farm, mostly horses and cattle and I do feel I have some common sense. Of course, I also feel I'm stuck in the 19th century, in some aspects of my life.

Now with regards to your essay, it is a piece of writing and a professional writer would have to consider it hopelessly garbled. Common sense for a writer would be to develop some form of compelling narrative arc which draws the reader in and and carries them along. Like a lens, it should gather the required information and focus it on a specific point. Especially in this fast paced world, with many distractions, since common sense for a reader would be to skim over or put down a piece of writing which doesn't seem well organized, or the point of which is obvious.

Having read your responses in this and other entries, your are certainly an otherwise organized and thoughtful person and I can understand being frustrated with the way the world is run, yet sometimes, it isn't due to stupidity, culpability, or criminality. Sometime what seems logical and commonsensical in one context is simply off base in another. For instance, anyone living 500 years ago would consider it common sense the sun is a hot orange orb, moving across the sky and anyone thinking it was really the earth spinning the other direction either had their heads in the clouds, or had been drinking too much wine. A point I've made in some of the prior contexts, that time is not so much a vector from past to future, but the process by which future becomes past, seems quite commonsensical to me, but it is also reasonable for others to assume the geometry of spacetime is physically real, because so many well educated people believe it. So put on your common sense cap and decide which fits; Does the present move along a vector from yesterday to tomorrow, or does tomorrow become yesterday because the world turns? How would common sense resolve that issue? If you agree with me, you find you have gone against not only Einstein and company, but the conceptual basis for the narrative effect on which history and thus civilization is based. To which you might say, of course, I am wrong!

That's the problem with common sense. It is based on our store of knowledge and so what we need to do is inform people as best as possible and let them make best decisions based on that knowledge, but given the amount of information out there.....Some people do find it commonsensical to retreat into a cocoon, such as that created by various political movements. Which is not intelligent.

Regards,

John Merryman

John,

quote: for instance, anyone living 500 years ago would consider it common sense the sun is a hot orange orb, moving across the sky and anyone thinking it was really the earth spinning the other direction either had their heads in the clouds, or had been drinking too much wine. A point I've made in some of the prior contexts, that time is not so much a vector from past to future, but the process by which future becomes past, seems quite commonsensical to me, but it is also reasonable for others to assume the geometry of spacetime is physically real, because so many well educated people believe it.

My definition of Common Sense is:

Common Sense = Self-esteem Logic Predicting Consequences

Self-esteem is generated within social groups. In a healthy group Respect is shared between members as they each learn and share useful information. What is useful in one group (Earth as the center of the Universe) does not translate completely to another group (quantum physicists). Though there will be some admiration (emotional) and appreciation (social) depending upon the situations. A physicist and the Earth is the center of the universe person are both certainly able to appreciate art, and the talents each might have. But bitterly disagree upon their perspectives of cosmology.

To "fit" within a social group of quantum physicists requires practiced experience in expressing common emotional, social, and communication processes. The knowledge set changes from one physicist to another; string theory, GR, Gravity Loops, Quantum Causality... To have self-esteem within a group, a member must be able to learn and share information that is "useful" for the related group. Therefore, a foundation of knowledge is required depending upon specific groups. Artists and Politicians may become extremely bored listening to banter concerning Axiom of Choice as it applies to the foundations of mathematics. Artists talking about types of art media might be equally boring to a physicist; not all.

So to develop Common Sense within a social group, depends upon what provides for Self-esteem within a social group so that a member is "useful" to the group.

A farm-hand is well versed in issues of the farm, and was taught the related logical relationships and consequences by their parents, and self-esteem reinforced by practiced experience and social engagement with other farm-hands.

Without Self-esteem relavent to a social group, a person will defer (and reasonably so) to those more experienced in the context of the social group. Arrogance (loathing of others) has no intention of sharing useful information, and often is deceptive to acquire a personal agenda outcome. Arrogant people in a social group are usually political (social/emotional) more than logically useful.

So this is more detail regarding how Common Sense is common to everyone; with self-esteem being relavent to social groups in which we want to become involved.

Teaching Common Sense (as I defined in the related lexicon) can allow for people to transition more smoothly from one social group to another, from one career to another, ... from one perspective to another.

James,

I certainly agree a group sensibility is necessary to function, but what might seem logical on one level, may not from another perspective.

Frequently what is necessary at ground level has to be consolidated the further up the ladder and that seems unworkable. Consider scientists and science writers. Trying to edit what has been painstakingly constructed often seems facile and stupid, but the writer has to translate for a broader audience.

We tend to think top down, but reality builds bottom up and top down is a consolidation process. Which is how our minds work, to distill a perspective from all the information. So even the process of developing a coherent thought introduces bias. Good and bad are not some cosmic dual between righteousness and evil, but the biological binary code of attraction to the beneficial and repulsion of the detrimental. So just as we make decisions by sorting through all the pros and cons, society often has to makes choices which seem negative from different points of view.

So, yes. Within a particular frame, there is a necessary common perspective, but there are multiple frames and when necessary, some prevail over others. Which isn't to say those that prevail are the best long run decision, because often what might seem criminal or stupid is a limited point of view which is simply gathering energy/information into its frame. Then the larger view might then view that frame as unworkable and shed it, or confine it.

Regards,

John

Mr. Dunn,

I've read your constructive, structured and humanly improving essay. It is challenging to organize basis for assertive humanistic cybernetics or organization. Black Sky Thinking shares with you the focus of reducing or disappearing corruption that seems to be a field of destruction. I admire your dedication to transform in structures and systems into solutions; also I admire your vision, eagerness and warmheartedly nature of creating fields of self-improvement. We can not avoid to be product of our experience and that is why extending our comprehension of other people's vision may turn us into more assertive. It is of extreme importance to understand the nature of the creators of the essays because like in your case it is very clear your creation has the deep purpose of extending in a rational way benefits for people to improve their life. Your essay clearly is an expression of yourself and not technological, approved and competitive scientific answer to win a contest; it is transparent your eagerness of real, assertive, applicable and on time solutions for the well-being of human kind.

One of the flows of science has been to reduce human being's nature to mere technological or scientific assertiveness. If we carefully pay attention to cosmos and what we know about it, life as structured, self-directed and improvable reality it seems to be only here in earth. With this thought comes out the understanding of the value of uniqueness. Admirable is that you as many other people, have experienced negative realities but you turned toward it with a creative, structured and improving reality answer based in the well-being of human kind.

I understand your term "common sense" like a substitute for a "clear, assertive and realistic comprehension of reality ". I hope to have the right interpretation of your term. In the experience of living abroad in different countries one realizes that "common sense" could have different basis or values that is why by reading all your organization in the essay I dare to interpretate it like "comprehension of reality".

Black Sky Thinking also understand the deep need of a feedback loop for human kind of their actions this that you express like graduated certification. Labeling people is a very common process in the technocrat society that was of deep help. As we move forward from this technofield toward a new fields of development, we can turn this certification tool into apersonal feedback loop. Most of human beings find difficult to receive a critic or a "no", we may be very subtle, gentle and careful of making this process. When a certification is not obtained, this could bring out a sense of lackness of value. We may just change the term certification for a feedback loop maybe but the system of making people aware of their actions is an OUGHT TO. I agree with this purpose with you.

Graduated certification for applying Common Sense and BST (Blacks Sky Thinking) value education because it reduces the need of correcting adults and of creating strict systems of control. In deed good education (personal values with knowledge) generate persons with less psychological issues who dedicate themselves into improvement, curiosity, creativity and intellectual interests. For this purpose is also necessary a field that provides opportunities to develop this goals.

I also share the focus of minimizing risks while efficiently and consistently producing systems that efforts toward predictable beneficial outcomes.

Your eagerness of effectiveness can be diminished when expressing other people's incapability of grasping "common sense". Let's better think on systems and fields of improvement and avoid pointing those who "we" could consider that lack of this ability. It is evident by your proposal that a wide range of interests that you have leaded you to provide an integral solution. An integral solution is never easy, expresable in short terms or appreciated. The human brain has to cut information and focus in specific things in order to succeed in the understanding of cosmos, this nature of the brain challenges our vision, focus and creation of systems that turn into complexity.

There is an evident need of creating a radically different economical system, we are not the only ones working on that, look at this:

Biomimicry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE-2rDZwMXA

also this city: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgSLOWrFFFs

Definitely as you kindly and structured expressed that you could include Black Sky Thinking in your projects receive a welcoming of creating a mutual improving relationship to create assertive solutions for human kind.

I appreciate your attention for topics that are fundamental in the search of modifying and improving reality.

Orenda

James,

Very interesting view on common sense. You seem to consider a lot of implications and ramifications, and even linked to a common sense test! Good luck with the contest!

Cristi

Orenda,

I appreciate the feedback.

Graduated Certification is potentially a harsh consideration. Like an IQ test is something most people will not attempt. Many IQ tests are a small aggregate of samples of questions that people with certain backgrounds would be exposed to. So a person that comes from a different background never being exposed to the "key words and tricky phrases" will score lower.

Emotional IQ is almost never assessed. Social IQ is almost never assessed. Only communication processes involving logic and memory. IQ tests are fun to take but they tend to be representative toward supporting our present school systems and not the needs of people broadly.

A nurturing mother of 6 children that all have grown to be well-respected in their respective communities will likely have skills in teaching emotional and social relationships that IQ Tests I have seen and taken do NOT at all address.

Art, Humanities, and Creativity in-general are an important part of (using a term I do not like to use without qualification) "IQ". Traditional IQ Tests are completely invalid assessments unless they are qualified as being only applicable to a specific group set based on age, demographics, and educational exposure. People are allowed to think that IQ scores represent something innate within themselves that cannot change. The more a person exposes themselves to the environment from which the IQ test is made, the higher the related testing scores are going to be. So IQ Tests are NOT representative of innate aspects of being human.

Conversely, graduated certification for the teaching of common sense scores a dozen different areas of broad human skills. A socially adept mother will likely score relatively high in related areas; while scoring lower in the logical complexity test areas. A scientist may tend to procrastinate and score lower in areas of social acumen, while obviously scoring well in the logical communication processes. Potentially, there will be people who can come to score 100 (not a percentage) in the related examination. As cited in the instructions, this means the test taker has demonstrated skills that exceed the usefulness of the assessment in those areas.

Other more advanced systems of relationships and perspectives will need to be developed if there is a desire to grow beyond the intentional limits of the assessments. This would be done most likely in areas of Self-Esteem because of a particular skill set that needs to be learned for engaging a particular social group. A scientist that wants to run for a political office for instance. Each dominant political group will have many common features, but there will be a collection of features that need to be practiced to engage effectively with each group; jargon, expressing certain relationships without exposing certain sensitivities...

I agree with you that the word Certification may have a negative social and emotional influence on many people. From my own background a certification is a motivating challenge for which a form of achievement can be derived. But considering life experiences of other people certification could represent another area of potential failure. "Certification" as an excessively-used word may make it difficult for certain people to engage themselves in the system.

For similar reasons "Black Sky Thinking" as 'words' has a similar stigma associated with the broadly perceived ineffectiveness of holistic endeavors.

The word "Study" is a sensitive word for those that are academically burned out; Academic PTSD. :.)

Though not as functionally descriptive, would "Learning to Teach Common Sense" be less imposing? The act of participating in the learning of common sense also engages others and self to learn common sense.

Your concept of wearable technology, what features do you propose? This may integrate well with monitoring for weak considerations in the form of a cell phone application. Something like a simplified interface for interacting with a project management software; i.e. what are some of the risks associated with what I am about to propose? Why is ...... reacting to my present situation by ....

I think we have opportunities for collaboration.

P.S., I will use the following rating scale to rate the essays of authors who tell me that they have rated my essay:

10 - the essay is perfection and I learned a tremendous amount

9 - the essay was extremely good, and I learned a lot

8 - the essay was very good, and I learned something

7 - the essay was good, and it had some helpful suggestions

6 - slightly favorable indifference

5 - unfavorable indifference

4 - the essay was pretty shoddy and boring

3 - the essay was of poor quality and boring

2 - the essay was of very poor quality and boring

1 - the essay was of shockingly poor quality and extremely flawed

After all, that is essentially what the numbers mean.

The following is a general observation:

Is it not ironic that so many authors who have written about how we should improve our future as a species, to a certain extent, appear to be motivated by self-interest in their rating practices? (As evidence, I offer the observation that no article under 3 deserves such a rating, and nearly every article above 4 deserves a higher rating.)

Hi James,

I'm working my way through the essays I promised I would read. My understanding of your essay is that you are suggesting that people in various stages of life and in various professions be given some assessment/self-assessment to see if they are actually competent in their field of study, in their profession, etc. I think this is a great idea and it would improve humanity -- if everyone is really competent at what they study/do/work society would obviously benefit.

My main criticism though is one of style in that you are calling this a "common sense" assessment. From what you write I think it would be better to call it an assessment of critical thinking based of logic/data/scientific method. In any case my impression was that this is what you were advocating -- checking if people did their jobs based on a logical/scientific analysis of data. The reason I object to "common sense" and would prefer the other term is that it used to be common sense that the Sun went around the Earth, it used to be common sense that the Earth was flat, it used to be common sense that if you shoot an arrow even in a vacuum it would eventually come to rest since this was its natural state of motion (also it was common sense that you couldn't have a vacuum since Nature abhorred vacua). But I *think* that your meaning of common sense and what I describe above (briefly) as a scientific/logic/data driven approach to things are similar.

Now while I agree that people should be assessed in terms of their competence -- good luck in actually getting them agree to allow you to do this. In my profession (university professor) there is no way professors would agree to such a thing even if it would ensure that they would thus be forced to stay current in the field in which they teach. The ugly fact is that many (but not all) professors decline in quality after tenure (their teaching becomes shoddy and out of date, they cease to publish, apply for grants, go to conferences, etc.). Thus they have a vested interest in *not* being assessed. And I think a similar thing can be said about a lot of professions.

Let me go into this a bit further with an example. In the past several there *has* been an assessment movement at US universities (at least at non-R1, more teaching oriented universities and colleges). The administrators at my university have made a big show that we need to assess the effectiveness of our teaching i.e. are the students learning what we say we are teaching them. This is fantastic idea. However, guess who has to actually do the work of assessment? Yep the professors who are being assessed (actually the assessment usually goes by department so the assessment is of a whole department so this can not be used against a particular faculty member during tenure review. So if you see a problem of the group being assessed making up their own assessment you have come to the same conclusion I did when I mentioned this to the administrators requiring this assessment. My suggestion was that in order for the assessment to mean anything and to be at least semi-objective that the administrators who wanted to assessment should be the ones to carry it out. The one problem with this is that if you do assessment properly it does take a lot of time and this is one thing universities administrators do not want to give -- time and work. Thus they give the assessment work to the faculty being assessed and only and idiot would assess themselves and say they were doing a bad job. In fact some professors are really honest and do a rigorous self-assessment and do find areas they are a bit deficient in. Their reward for this honesty? They are the ones picked on by the administrators to now make a change in what they do (all the time this is taking away from their teaching and research). In the end what they do is lower the standards of their course so the pass rates increase and now they have a "good" assessment.

Anyway I agree and like the idea that *everyone* should be tested periodically to see how they are doing in respect to their profession, but there is a lot of vested interest that would oppose implementing the such testing. But the point is still a good one.

Best,

Doug

James,

I applaud your intent and aims. I agree that the Georgina, Doug's etc views above are somewhat semantics but there is a good point to consider; Particularly in the UK the very common definition of 'common sense' is; "that which cannot be taught." So, while I understand your perspective, it is none the less valid that although you clearly know what you mean, and there are few other words or terms to describe it, most or at least many people won't understand it in the way you intend.

Perhaps you should consider adding an additional descriptor to distinguish it from it's established usage; perhaps "predictive..." or "intuitive.." or "common sens-ibility" or anything appropriate just to distinguish it.

I must also admit that I feel we may need to go further and deeper in revolutionising human education. Alice and I managed to escape the conveyor belt of mathematics when we noticed it heading into Dodgson's Wonderland. The best thing I then did was study Architecture. The first year is all about re-teaching us how to think. It's a revelation and I recommend it to all. Even Wittgenstein was bowled over seeing it it 2nd hand.

One fundamental is '3 steps forward 2 steps back' as default mode. Testing then reviewing in overview. Organising complex evaluation and comparisons of and against multiple criteria is another, how to use of both lobes of the brain together (the whole is FAR greater than the sum of the parts), and learning how to identify and root out hidden assumptions intuitively. Tracing consequential paths is a critical one most simply don't apply. Thinking outside each box in sequence ('Russian Dolls') is also implicit. How to inspire, the 'scientific method' but with morality, selflessness, the hippocratic oath but not medically..

I could go on. The fact is that could be simplified and packaged into teaching progressively from a young age. I try to show subtly in my essay as a sub plot the potential effects and results of thinking outside the 'Earth-centric reference frame'. An alien concept to most but the next great step on from the Copernican revolution. Rationalisation of the stupidities of QM emerges. Stupidities that will remain all the time we underutilise the vast potential of the quantum computers in our head. I just call it 'learning how to think'.

Perhaps your work is a good and realistic first step. I can't see the teaching profession adopting new thinking that they themselves don't understand any more than physicists will adopt new physics. We must start somewhere, or try at least! I'm reminded of the 'Friends of Wisdom promoting teaching wisdom in universities. Few understand what they mean and they all define it differently. A clear message is task 1. Well done and keep it up. I hope you can read and like my own essay. Do comment or ask questions.

Very best wishes

Peter

Peter,

I like your model of incremental broad and ethical assessments during development. This is a common technique used in software engineering. Create a code segment and test its viability. Object-oriented coding. I hadn't thought about more broadly using this principle. I can see potential use in the teaching of common sense related to general problem solving skills. Thank you.

Interesting that the Urban usage of the phrase "Common Sense" in Great Britain is so different to the definition provided by Oxford Dictionary.

"Good sense and sound judgement in practical matters"

However, you are quite right that up until my efforts "common sense" here in the United States was thought only to be taught by good families and hard knocks.

My developments included Ethos (emotional), Pathos (social), and Logos (logical communications) to correlate the types of reasoning with intended outcomes. What is available for public viewing is a small part of the larger model that has evolved since this essay was first written.

Previously, it was thought Common Sense could not be taught, this is the equivalent of a new technology; my original works.

As of this Thursday and Friday I will be teaching my first workshop with the principles of teaching common sense incorporated into the coursework. I'm looking forward to comparing results as compared to the same materials I had previously taught. Additional metrics being monitored are student to student interactions and sustainability of student interactions after the workshop.

"The Common Sense of eCommerce"

Presently I am told to expect 10 to 15 participants and a Foundation staff member.

The Foundation I am incorporating is moving to the next step.

I have written a business model whitepaper to a philanthropic foundation in an attempt to both grow their influence and outreach while supporting the overhead needed by the UA-KiTS.com Foundation.

Regardless of whether or not this essay wins the competition, the resulting effort is going public; as soon as this Thursday.

Assessment will include a short questionnaire both before and after the workshop to capture related metrics to characterize the effectiveness of course materials presented. A follow-up questionnaire will be emailed to participants six months from now to capture their continued use of the materials presented.

Here in the United States, well-recognized is the lack of common sense possessed by a large segment of our population. Also, courses based in Common Sense sound less threatening to non-traditional students.

Everyone believes they are well-prepared with skills of common sense. Yet people procrastinate, become involved with DRAMA (useless emotional interactions with no hope of useful outcomes), sit in front of a television instead of pursuing public social activities with their children ...

Common Sense can only be learned from practiced experience; it cannot be learned from just reading about it. Therefore, my teaching model has changed significantly and I am hoping it will also be much more fun for the participants.

James,

Time is growing short, so I am revisiting and rating.

You said in your response, "Common Sense is Group-centric." I can not agree more. My "common good" contention in Looking Beyond and Within is similar in meaning. The common good motivation and the concepts of using your brain (like Einstein) and looking beyond short-term gain is my ingredient for "steering" success.

Jim

Dear James,

Your essay in the spirit of deep Cartesian doubt lifts very important philosophical problem of "Common Sense". You well prove extreme importance of a subject for modern Humanity and its future. I understand you very well, it is possible because I also the engineer - electrician and perfectly I know that such "safety" and value of human life. You give very interesting ideas which show your deep critical reason and spirit. The "Common Sense" problem is very important today for science and society. Thanks to your essay I went deep into history of philosophy of common sense, in particular into history Scottish "philosophies of common sense".

Relevance of philosophy of common sense is caused also need of the solution of an old problem of justification of knowledge, a demand of epistemological potential of Common Sense in consciousness philosophies, the solution of a scientific problem of consciousness. The Humanity any more isn't able to afford to ignore in a nuclear century basic instructions of the common sense, having system character. In too time a phenomenon of common sense still deeply unreflected

in philosophy. Also it is a big problem. Solutions of a difficult problem of consciousness completely is in harmony with installations (principles) of Common Sense. The modern scientific picture of the world has to include limit meanings of the "LifeWorld" (E.Husserl), so the primordialny principles of Common Sense. Your essay and your ideas extremely important and on the contest subject.

Excellent appeal for Humanity to action for the maximum overcoming of existential risks and more reliable steering the Future: "Take the Common Sense self-assessment to see for yourself if there are certain areas you might want to better develop. " Yes, Philosophy and Ethics should be introduced widely in the educational process, including the Philosophy of Common Sense. High score.

New Generation tells us: "We start the path " .

We must find the will for the future of our children and grandchildren!

Hope-our compass earth... Common Sense and Great Common Cause.

I invite you to read and evaluate my essay .

I wish you good luck!

All the Best,

Vladimir

Hi James,

The presentation seemed a bit rough, but you've presented some interesting ideas in this entry. I think assessing common sense is probably a difficult prospect; inattentiveness, inexperience or simply a lack of what is now basic knowledge can be construed as a lack of common sense. I would be interested to see what your course and certification entail.

I was particularly interested in your description of instructors and receivers of information. I've had ideas about delivering education that involves more of a peer-to-peer structure that have some features in common with your discussion their. I'm hopeful that a system of education that places student and teachers on more equal footing would give people greater cause to practice respect and compassion.

Let me know if you'd like further feedback or to discuss any ideas. Thanks again for your comments on my essay entry.

Cheers,

Toby

What I have tried for the first time in a workshop on teaching introductory eCommerce, is to compare conventional teaching to that of Refereed Debate. Many participants did not have internet access and were artists exploring the potential of marketing their products online. Of the 14 only 5 had somewhat developed skills in working with computers.

I presented the basic materials the first day in a traditional class setting with hands-on browser experience, and provided a large variety of information for them to explore after class.

Out of 14 adult participants, only two indicated they had independently explored the material and worked on their website since the last class. The workshops were 3 hours, and a week apart.

The next class I explained a method to explore new concepts more actively; Refereed Debate. I set up myself and two participants in Refereed Debate; similar to a judicial court. I explained the rolls of each and the limitations of what the Referee was allowed to say. The three of us presented as we rotated the position of Referee until all three had a chance to act as Referee. Each person was limited to 5 minutes to express themselves to provide sustainable support for online marketing of a specific piece of artwork that happened to be in the room.

The remainder of the workshop, I divided the class into groups of three. I chose the initial referees based upon their demonstrated skills in using a computer. This ensured a certain amount of distributed computer expertise. I gave everyone the same common goal regarding marketing online.

The Referee is not allowed to guide presentation. The only comments the Referees were allowed to make were if something was said that was not logical, words were used where their meaning was out of context, the connection of relationships to achieve the goal were not logical because of missing information (gaps), or if other relationships that could be related are not being exposed.

The Referee writes down the faulty logic and gaps for each participant presenting, and writes down what is the best information presented.

What happened is that the first day of the workshop, only two participants interacted, everyone else was either quiet or asked a question but did not attempt to help others.

On the second day, the participants were laughing and arguing. I learned I also needed to have a flag to indicate when emotional issues popped up to call me over to work things out.

After 2 rotations of referee, the referee's rotated to new groups and the process repeated.

All the participants recognized each other in a personal way by the end of the class.

This is too early to tell if that was related to Respect, and how that affects learning uptake. But it is encouraging.

James,

Thanks. I wish your project well. I hoe you also become more ambitious about teaching different ways of thinking, to find and drop assumptions and better analyse complex issues and 2nd and further stage consequence. I hope my essay shows the success of that but it seems to have polarised views (and scores!). It seems most still consider symptoms not fundamental driving cause.

On that matter I'm disappointed yours, which doesn't, hasn't attracted more attention and higher scoring, I'm applying mine now which should help (I hope you'll do the same for mine if you haven't yet).

Very best wishes.

Peter J