Reflections on Thinking
By: Kristen McFeeley
IDST1114 Final Project
Introduction
“Mother Culture, whose voice has been in your ear since the day of your birth, has given you an explanation of how things came to be this way. You know it well; everyone in your culture knows it well. But this explanation wasn’t given to you all at once. No one ever sat you down and said, ‘Here is how things came to be this way, beginning ten or fifteen billions years ago right up to the present.’ Rather, you assemble this explanation like a mosaic: from a million bits of information presented to you in various ways by others who share that explanation. You assembled it from the table talk of your parents, from the cartoons you watched on television, from Sunday School lessons, from your textbooks and teachers, from news broadcasts, from movies, novels, sermons, plays, newspapers, and all the rest.”
–Ishmael p. 40
Just as Ishmael stated, I’m the product of my past and my environment. So, how have I gotten here? I come from a typical middle class family, have a good home life with my mom and dad, was a very good student in high school, particularly good in math, and decided to become an engineer. After one year, I found engineering to be too rigid and not what I expected. I did not find it satisfying. What I realized now, was that I wasn’t required to do much thinking. I was learning what was put in front of me by instructors and basically gave them back the same information.
That’s why this course was so unique. This course was like a “wake-up call” to start thinking. I found it to be mentally stimulating!
The course offered the greatest variety of reading that I have had in my college career. It also made me aware, by introducing or for some areas reintroducing, important ideas and concepts. The following are some of the things that I will take away with me from this class.
• Traditional versus nontraditional thinking
• The value of differing points of view
• Thinking about my own thinking style (My use of reason, emotion, and creativity)
• It’s ok to question things. It’s important to question things, too!
• The sharing of ideas with others (chat room discussions)
• There are no ultimate truths or at least we can’t know them
• Structures of power, “Regimes of Truth”, who is in control, who has influence
• Knowledge of power
• The limited importance of man. Don’t take yourself too seriously. I’m not the center of the universe, just the center of my own world!
• Be your own person
After reflecting on the course, the lessons that I learned were most closely related to the following goal areas: Multilevel, Systematic, Critical Thinking; Multifaceted Communication; Cultural, Political, and Legal Literacy; and finally Metacognitive Reflection.
Please continue to explore my experiences by clicking on the links below in order.
IDST1114 Information
Multilevel, Systematic, Critical Thinking
Multifaceted Communication
Cultural, Political, Legal Literacy
Metacognative Reflection
Final Thoughts
Works Cited
