Devin Hess KSU - EDCI 888 March 28, 2013

BOOK REVIEW

Overview:
Provides a meta view of human intelligence and

development.
Sets criteria for positive vs. self-destructive development.

Smart vs. Dumb

Demonstrates role of technology in shaping future

nurturing the Smart side of human potential

Humans are very stupid!! But can learn to be smart.

Evidence that humans are stupid:

People believe things that are manifestly false:

Dinosaurs and humans on earth together.

Saddam Hussein was connected to 9/11.

Confirmation bias:

We seek out and remember information that reinforces our beliefs. We ignore information that does not.

Memory very unreliable:

Changes upon each recollection.

Manufactured memory.

Part I:

WHY WERE SO STUPID

What it takes to be smart:

Basic process: Circuit of Human Reflective Action:
Create mental simulations (think before acting).
Act on thoughts. Assess the outcome toward intended goal (reflect).

Adjust or choose new action.

Act again.

Problem for humans:

Smart =
what works
OR

Smart = Meaningful, positive response in the world

Real smarts requires:

Initial mentorship (learning is a social process) Lots of prior experience

Clear goals
Something at stake (it matters to us emotionally) Opportunity to act to elicit meaning response from the world

pay attention to how the world reacts adjusting based on reflection on the outcome

Opposite from typical schooling!

OBSTACLES TO BEING SMART

Limits of human memory:

Not like computer hard-disk.

Ours are updated and changed each time its accessed.

Highly unreliable
Can be manipulated and manufactured

Human Comfort Stories:

Stories supply meaning to events, experiences or questions: Self-medication:

Exist in absence of evidence or knowledge of reality:

Persist in defiance of new evidence or knowledge Reinforces power:

Language:
Use words not for truth but for persuasion: No neutral language: Mind captures reality then filters

it through language.

Other ways we are stupid

Lack of Experience Lack of Agency

Institution Create Frozen Thought

Fact-Free Stories that Sound Good Imagined Kin Lonely Groups of One Evading Knowledge Flight from Complexity

HOW TO GET SMART

BEFORE ITS TOO LATE

Inclusive We:
What if we are meant to be parts of a networked Mind and not just a mind alone?

integrated with tools?

Networked minds and tools working together: . . . Termed a Mind (with a capital M)

Big Minds:
Empirical game:
Probe the world based on theories seeking evidence &

counter-evidence.
Orient towards evidence and truth with empirical questions. Use theory to generate hypothesis. Then test hypothesis.

Multi-player, social, collaborative game.

Connect through internet.

Requires Moral Choice:

Must choose what Minds to plug into. Based on sense of purpose of life and of our lives.

Mind Vision what is good, right, necessary?

Dilemma: What is the purpose of life, and of my life? What is good, right, necessary?

are not an empirical questions!

Choosing Mind Vision:

What do you think WE should do?

- Think critically about the goals, objectives, methodology.

- Argue convincingly for your position.

- Listen, and transform vision based on

empirical evidence.
- Incorporate science and humanities.

Synchronized Intelligence:

A well-coordinated dance among humans and tools in the service of a better world

Affinity Spaces:
Learning space and democratic forum. Multiple tools, diverse people w/ diverse skills networked

together.
Makes everyone smarter. Becomes a form of collective (synchronized) intelligence.

Features of Affinity Spaces:

Voluntary participation. High standards.

Focused on knowing and doing.

Flexible leadership and status. Proactive stance on learning. Based on truth and evidence: Diverse

people must argue to support their claims.

Orientation of Affinity Spaces:

Devoted to any passion:

The Sims; recruiting civic participation; investigating issues of womens health; solving environmental problems etc.

Participants goal:

NOT: to get job, make money, gain power or status or to be practical Goal: pursue passion, make the world a better place.

Diversity of participation wisdom of the crowd.

A synchronized intelligence in a high-stakes world.

Visions:
Colleges of interlinked affinity spaces built around import

problems.
Creation of storied possibilities
Creation of storied evidence:

Digital tools to make us smarter:

Used to create meaning, not just information. Engage young children w/ both digital media and with print.

Need to learn persistence past failure.

Must interact with books and digital

media critically.
Digital material beyond entertainment

requires passion.

Paradoxes & Issues:

Requires good schooling, but schools in crises: Work to solve big problems in hands of those with access to

and understanding of tools.

Issue of morals and values not

resolved by empirical game.

Divergent material stakes

sustain conflict.

References:
Gee, J., P. (2013). The anti-education era: Creating smarter students through digital learning. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan