Friday, April 6
6:30 am McLeans Ridges, NSW, Australia
17 C forecast high 26 C Possibility of showers.
Today looks like another perfect day.
Early morning mist
Sun on the valley
View from the veranda
9:30 am Musings
I have been struggling with the idea of why this web site exists for the last couple of days, thanks in large part to Sue's prompting. This has brought back memories from when I first began creating such learning journals. The original idea was very personal and myopic. I was curious to see if I could keep some form of record of my learning activities.
At the same time I wanted to be able to share these records with a few colleagues. The sharing led quickly to the idea of a website rather than a word processor.
One of my interests has always been mathematics. Unfortunately technology is (still) unable to handle the notational intricacies of most mathematical notational conventions. This is much more easily handled by cursive writing and the creation of special symbols. Thus I quickly realized that for mathematics, paper and fountain pen are my tools of choice.
I MUST get back to this! The notes I have made on this website provide an excellent way to return to what I was doing previously. A quick check shows that it has been over a year since I began reviewing some abstract algebra. At the moment I am away from both pen and paper so I will put this on temporary hold until I return home. But then it will be a priority.
Behind the idea of creating a Learning Journal was the idea of trying to create a role model of an approach that seemed to work for me, while at the same time adapting the approach to that of web page development. I have liked the idea of a personal dialogue with myself. Thus I often try to make some form of content note and then follow this with some form of commentary about the note (see March 5 entry).
I want to capture the notion of learning in two different senses: one is that of a student taking a course or courses, the other is that of a self-motivated learner who is trying to learn more about a topic of interest. Thus the student could be trying to learn about Abstract Algebra as taught in an introductory course at MIT. Or one could be trying to learn more about birds while engaging in the recreational hobby of bird watching.
At the moment I have a number of books that deserve attention. Let's have a look at Elliot Perlman's latest novel, The Street Sweeper". I have read 2 of his previous novels: "Three Dollars" and "Seven Kinds of Ambiguity" and thoroughly enjoyed them both. Perlman is an Australian author who is recognized as being a particularly incisive social commentator.
Now to try a little dialogue.
11:00 am Literature
Perlman: The book begins with a quote by the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova.
Me: I love it. She is one of my favorite poets (I have a large book of her collected poems). She is relatively unknown in the West, and this is the first time I have seen her mentioned in another context. Perlman and I have something in common. Great.
Perlman: (chap. 1): The first character we meet is Lamont, who is remembering his time in prison.
Me: There are a number of impressive statements in this chapter about the nature of memory - penetrating asides that apply to us all.
Perlman: (chap. 1): "... seventy-two months was the national average of time served for robbery. ... What did it mean? Did this cover all states? What about federal cases? Did it include armed robbery? What about cases with more than one charge, where only one of the charges was robbery? What if you had no prior convictions?" [p. 2]
Me: Beautiful! An excellent short course in applied statistics. This should be read by everyone.
Perlman: (chap. 1): "The trick was to stay calm, and to avoid or outlast the problem." [p. 3-4]
Me: This seems a simple rule of thumb for getting through prison, and through life, but in the story it soon becomes problematic when a passenger on the bus becomes unruly and begins to harass the driver. What should one do in such a situation? It could happen to anyone. Regardless of what one decides to do, or not do, the consequences are not clear and the situation remains fluid. As a reader I can feel myself being enmeshed in the situation as well. And I am only on page 4.
Perlman: (chap. 1): "Lamont wondered, what does reason have to do with memory?" [p. 4]
Me: Indeed. How could one even address this question? I have many books on memory, but I doubt any of them would be of help.
Perlman: (chap. 1) After the incident in the bus resolves itself without any action by Lamont, he arrives at work. It is his 4th day as a hospital services man while on probation for 6 months. His supervisor has failed to appear and an elderly patient in a wheelchair asks Lamont to wheel him back to his room on the 9th floor. This is strictly against hospital rules for Lamont to do this, but the man whispers in Lamont's ear, "To hell with the rules" and Lamont takes him to his room.
Me: Lovely. Life is a balancing act, and Lamont is capable of personal autonomy as he navigates everyday decisions. This is a great introduction. Yet even something as simple as deciding to help a stranger may have life-altering consequences.