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The Education Continuum WARNER CHILCOTTED

2011-05-18 · John · watch on YouTube · Everyday life · reflection essay

Lower-confidence wave

2011 videos did not pass the QA gate (17 %); their analysis is shown but less reliable.

Prompted by Hank's commencement poem, John rejects the hard-soft continuum of school subjects: math and literature are both studied to learn a language and to understand our place in the universe, literature has wrong answers, authorial intent is the uninteresting question, and the brain is neither a math nor a literature organ.

What is said

00:00:00 — Date and Button Your Button Day; John has finished the big revision of his novel and watched Hank's poetic commencement address

  • ★★★ John says that in the last 24 hours he finished the big revision of his novel. — 00:00:04
  • ★★ John says Hank's poetic commencement address made him think about education and why we're alive. — 00:00:08 · education

00:00:13 — The soft-hard continuum of subjects (math hard, literature soft, history, physics, biology, psychology, economics) and John calling it Warner Chilcott

  • ★★ John describes the common view of education as a soft-hard continuum: math at the hard end with one right answer, literature at the soft end about being a person among others. — 00:00:13 · education
  • ★ John jokingly ranks subjects: history soft, physics hard, biology in the middle, psychology thinks it is hard but is soft, economics thinks it is soft but is hard. (playful) — 00:00:34
  • ★★★ John says that in his opinion the soft-hard continuum is complete nonsense, using 'Warner Chilcott' in place of a swear word. (playful) — 00:00:49

00:00:54 — Studying math is learning a language and understanding the universe; literature is studied for the same two reasons; the claim that math has one answer and literature none

  • ★★ John says studying math is first learning mathematical language, from the abstract idea of seven to algebra's letters, a language that grows ever more complex. — 00:00:54
  • ★ John says reading Brotherhood 2.0's resident mathematician Daniel Biss makes him feel illiterate. — 00:01:12 · Daniel Biss, Brotherhood 2.0
  • ★★★ John says math's second purpose is understanding the universe: knowing the square root of four is two helps us build cathedrals, think about space and make out with people. (hedged) — 00:01:17
  • ★★★ John argues we study math and literature for the same twin reasons: to learn a language and to understand our place in the universe. — 00:01:34 · education

00:01:56 — Not every answer is right in literature (Huckleberry Finn); authorial intent is the uninteresting question (Paper Towns' Great White Wall of Cow and Moby-Dick); critical reading opens the big questions

  • ★★★ John says what angers him most is the claim that math has one right answer while every answer in literature is equally correct: math often has several, and literature has wrong ones. — 00:01:45
  • ★★ John says anyone who thinks The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a pro-slavery novel is as wrong as someone who thinks the square root of four is strawberries. (playful) — 00:02:04
  • ★★★ John tells students that most questions asked in literature classes, such as whether the author intended a symbol or metaphor, are not interesting. — 00:02:14
  • ★★★ John says it doesn't matter whether, writing Paper Towns, he meant the Great White Wall of Cow to reference Moby-Dick's whale; it is there to make readers think about nature's apathy toward individuals and the heroic response. — 00:02:30 · Paper Towns
  • ★★★ John says critical reading for theme, metaphor and symbol matters because it is a way into the big questions, many of them the same ones math tries to answer. — 00:02:46 · close reading

00:03:00 — The brain is neither a literature nor a math organ; nerds understand relativity and kiss well; messages to math people and literature people

  • ★★★ John says most people see themselves as literature people or math people, but the brain is neither a literature organ nor a math organ: it is both and more. — 00:03:00
  • ★★ John argues that understanding the universe and its inhabitants helps in almost every endeavor, which is why nerds are likelier to understand special relativity and to be good at kissing. (playful) (hedged) — 00:03:11 · nerd
  • ★★★ John tells math people that imaginary stories can be as engaging as imaginary numbers, and literature people that set theory is as beautiful as The Great Gatsby. — 00:03:23 · The Great Gatsby

00:03:37 — Sign-off muddle over which day it is; days of the week are both math and literature

  • ★ After muddling which day he will see Hank, John concludes that days of the week are both math and literature. (playful) — 00:03:37

Humor (significant)

  • After laying out the soft-hard continuum of school subjects, John gives his verdict on it. — 00:00:49 > «that continuum is complete and utter... Warner Chilcott.»
  • John insists, shouting, that not every answer is equally correct in literature. — 00:02:03 > «I am a giant squid of anger!»
  • Thinking Huckleberry Finn is a pro-slavery novel is wrong in the same way as a math error... — 00:02:04 > «You’re as wrong as you are if you think that the square root of four is strawberries!»
  • Understanding the universe helps in every endeavor, which is why nerds are likelier to understand special relativity... — 00:03:11 > «and also more likely to be good at kissing.»

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