INTRO
In our quest to “know”, we’ve established systems & we must scrutinize those systems. Here’s a good way to begin asking questions of these various disciplines…
- Questions for the Disciplines-T4
- Role of Questions in Critical Thinking
MATHEMATICS
Readings:
- Mathematics – Intro Quotes
- Justified True Beliefs (Jeffrey Olen CH 16) PART 2 – A Priori/Logic & Math (PDF p. 4) to Final Word (PDF p. 9)
- Mathematics – Loss of Certainty-Morris Kline
- Mathematics – Search for Knowledge – Failing of Senses-Morris Klein
- Useful Invention or Asolute Truth – What is Math?
- Think Maths – Grand Design or Figment of Human Imagination? Ian Stewart
- What Is Mathematics? (Devlin)
- What’s Math Got to Do with It? (KC Cole)
- The Joy Of Mathematics-Pappas
- The Mobius Strip
- The Mathematically Annotated Garden-Pappas
- The Polls Weren’t Great, But That’s Pretty Normal (Nate Silver 538)
- Professor Who Solved Fermat’s Last Theorem
- An Engineer’s View of Santa Claus
- A Million Random Digits, Number-Crunchers’ Bible, Flaws Exposed (2020)
- Finding an Odd Perfect Number – New Front in Mathematics (Wired 2020)
- The Mathematics of Global Connections – From Cell Phones to Diseases (Scientific American)
- Mathematicians Finally Prove That Melting Ice Stays Smooth (Wired)
Interactives & Graphics:
- The Monty Hall Problem (See Puzzle #13)
- INTERACTIVE: Try the Monty Hall Problem for yourself!
- Infinite Loops Handcuffs Puzzle (YouTube :2 mins)
- INTERACTIVE: FACTFULNESS QUIZ (Can Math Correct Misperceptions?)
- 23 Graphics Showing the World Is Getting Better (Note: Pre-Pandemic 2018)
- Does the News Reflect What We Die From? (Our World in Data 2019)
- Will We Ever Run Out of New Music? (Vsauce- YouTube :11 mins)
- 538 BLOG (Nate Silver)
Viewings:
- 6 Degrees of Separation (or fewer on Facebook) & Implications (:3 mins)
- A 6 Degrees Article, too
- Infinite Loop Handcuffs Puzzle (YouTube :3 mins)
- 6 Mobius Strip Paper Tricks (YouTube :6 mins)
- Hans Rosling Ted Talk: The Best Stats You’ve Ever Seen (:20 mins)
- The Beauty & Power of Mathematics (TedTalk :13 mins)
- The Ascent of Man: The Music of the Spheres (Jacob Bronowski :50 mins)
- How Is Mathematics Truth & Beauty (Closer to Truth :10 mins)
- Pi (Official film trailer)
- The Art of the Impossible: MC Escher & Me – Secret Knowledge PART 1 (:15 mins)
- The Art of the Impossible: MC Escher & Me – Secret Knowledge PART 2 (:15 mins)
- Escher: Journey Into Infinity (Trailer)
- MC Escher – Distorting Perspective (PBS 5 mins)
- Escher Collection of 222 Works (:20 mins)
- The Fantastic World of MC Escher (:50 mins)
- Forced Perspective @ Disney Theme Parks (:18 mins)
- The Most Beautiful Equation in Math (:4 mins)
NATURAL SCIENCES
Readings:
- Science Intro Questions
- Science Knowledge Questions
- Covid on Airplanes Study (Who Conducted This Study?)
- Science And Our Knowledge of the World
- Metaphor And Science
- Scientific Explanation – Olen Ch 17
- Evidence And Hypothesis – Semmelweis
- On Being A Scientist – The Nature of Scientific Research
- Is There Such a Thing as Scientific Objectivity – Cole
- How to Read a Coronavirus Study Or ANY Science Paper (NYT)
- Everest Is Two Feet Taller – The Highest Point on Earth Has Newly Announced Elevation
- The Curse of “White Oil” – Electric Vehicles’ Dirty Secret (Extended Read)
- Can Prayers Heal? Can You Study It?
- Ig Nobel Prizes: Upside Down Rhino (BBC)
- Life On Venus? (NYT)
- 10 Myths of Science (For a quick-hit, pick any 1 & check it out)
- The Baloney Detection Kit (Carl Sagan)
- Is It True Was It True Will It Always Be True
- On Being A Scientist – The Nature of Scientific Research
- Science – On Right and Wrong – Cole
- Science and Aesthetics – Life on the Mississippi
- What Is This Thing Called Science – Chalmers
- Dinosaur in a Haystack (Summaries of Stephen J Gould Essays)
- Maya Angelou’s “Brave & Startling Truth” Meets The Pale Blue Dot & Carl Sagan
- Ancient Footprints Yield New Clues About First Americans (WSJ)
- The Moon Is Leaving Us & We Can’t Stop It (Atlantic)
- Life May Actually Flash Before Our Eyes Upon Death (BBC)
- WHAT ABOUT BIAS IN SCIENCE?
- Common Sources of Bias in Health Research
- Influence of Industry Sponsorship on Research Agenda (scroll to Plain-Language Summary)
- “They Would Say That, Wouldn’t They?” Author & Sponsor Bias in Clinical Research
- How Bad Science Clouded Our Understanding of Covid-19 (Vox)
- Countries’ Climate Pledges Built On Flawed Data (WaPo)
Viewings:
- The History of our World in 18 Minutes (TED)
- Big History Project (featured in above TED talk)
- The Fascinating Science of Bubbles (TedTalk :15 mins)
- The Universe in a Nutshell (Michio Kaku- The Big Think :40 mins)
- Higgs Attends Higgs-Boson Particle Announcement (CBS :2 mins)
- Coronavirus: Focus on Surfaces Distracts from Actual Spread (PBS :6 mins)
- Cargo Cult Science: Richard Feynman’s 1974 CalTech Commencement Speech (narrated)
- Text of the Speech Here
- Where Did the Universe Come From (PBS Hawking & Friends- Full Episode)
- EXPLAINED (Netflix Series)
- EXPLAINED on YouTube
- Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (Official Trailer)
- Science Can Answer Moral Questions (TEDtalk Sam Harris :20 mins)
Before We Leave Natural Science Behind, Here’s An Interesting Innovation Story:
- Homaro Cantu: Genius Chef Who Wanted to Change the World
- Homaro & MOTO Restaurant TedTalk (:10 mins)
And A Little Something About Where Science & Miracles Meet:
- Of Miracles & Multiverses: Believers & Non-Believers May Have More in Common Than They Think (Atlantic)
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Readings:
- Social Sciences – Intro Questions
- Comparing Natural and Social Sciences
- Historical Sources Exercise – Strengths and Weaknesses
- Why We Believe Mis- & Dis-Information (:5 min video + ABC article)
- John Lennon’s Report Card – Who Writes Our History?
- Was This Famous War Photo Staged? (Vox)
- Grandson of 10th President Dies in 2020 – How YOUNG is America?
- President Tyler, Born in 1790, Still Has Living Grandsons (YouTube)
- Lies My Teacher Told Me (NPR Interview with James Loewen)
- 2 States. 8 Textbooks. 2 American Stories. – TRY THIS INTERACTIVE! (NYT)
- North Carolina Approves New Guide for Social Studies, But Language Controversy
- Publisher Tries to Tackle Systemic Racism in Textbooks
- The Social Science of Teaching Climate Change Science to Skeptical Kids (WaPo Opinion)
- The Historian & His Facts (Carr pp. 7-30)
- WHY HISTORIANS DISAGREE_ Facts Versus Interpretations (Alan Brinkley) (Alan Brinkley)
- Why Do Historians So Often Differ? (Alan Brinkley)
- Historians Disagree About Everything, Or So It Seems (What to Remember & Teach)
- Why Do Historians Disagree?
- Knowing History & Knowing Who We Are (David McCullough Speech 2005)
- The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race (Diamond – Discover Mag)
- Can History Predict the Future (Atlantic)
- When America Decided to Rule the World (Washington Post Interview 2020)
- The Founding Fathers: An Age of Realism (Hofstadter)
- What’s So Great About a Written Constitution? (Atlantic)
- What’s the Difference Between Anthropology & Sociology?
- Machiavelli’s Political Doctrine
- Scholars Skirmish Over War’s Origin
- Americans Learn More About Civics the Hard Way (WSJ)
- Suffrage WITH Segregation? Alice Paul’s Story
- Was Chopin Gay? LGBTQ+ Collision with Poland’s Conservative Tradition (CNN)
- Louis Armstrong & the Spy: How the CIA Used Him as a “Trojan Horse” in Congo (Guardian)
- Who Was “The Falling Man” From 9/11? (Esquire)
- They Created Our Post 9-11 World & Think They Got This Wrong (Politico)
- Here Comes the Covid 19 Baby Bust (Atlantic)
- From Pros to High School, Teams Change Mascot Names (NYT)
- Hundreds of Schools Still Use Native American Mascots (538.com)
- 15 Teams That Dumped Mascot Names
- David Foster Wallace: “Ticket to the Fair” (Harpers 1994)
- Indigenous Tour Guides Educate Tourists (Washington Post)
- Indigenous Activist Named to TIME Most Influential List
- Monkey Gang Wars Kill 7 People – Is it a human problem?
- Choice Blindness: How Well Do You Know Yourself? (BBC)
- Emotional Intelligence: Butterflies v. Geniuses? (Quick hit)
- Common App Drops Question About Discipline Citing Racial Disparities (WSJ)
- The Future of College is Online – And It’s Cheaper (NYT Opinion)
- Is Giving Out Free Money the Best Way to Solve Homelessness? (Vox 2020)
- The Great Resignation: Pandemic Leads to Worker Revolution (Atlantic 2021)
- U of Chicago English Dept Prioritizes Black Studies Graduate Students
- Trump Pushes for “Patriotic Education” (NPR)
- Bad Teaching is Tearing America Apart (Hirsch – WSJ Opinion)
- The Unbelievable Tale of the Wife of Jesus (Atlantic)
- Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife? (Atlantic 2020)
- Gospel of Jesus’s Wife – Fooled Harvard Scholar (CNN)
- Why Are Babies So Dumb If Human Are So Smart? (New Yorker)
- A Caveman Would Never Do Crossfit-Why There’s Nothing Natural About Exercise
- You Can’t Be It If You Can’t See It – Women Breaking Glass Ceilings (NBC)
- A Lesson From Leaf Town – The Rise & Fall of a Society Built By Children
- Stanford Prison Experiment
- What We Can Learn From the Stanford Prison Experiment
- The Anatomy of a Lie: The Most Famous Psych Study is a Sham (Ben Blum)
- Critical Race Theory: Inside the Fight Over What Kids Learn About America’s History (TIME)
- Is There an Uncontroversial Way to Teach America’s Racist History? (VOX)
- In what ways is history “story”? Manufactured? What are the “silences”?
- Census Data Shows Widening Diversity: White People Numbers Drop For First Time (WaPo)
- Why SAT Test Prep Doesn’t Help Those You Think It Helps (NYT)
- Why Men Are Disappearing On Campus (WSJ- Opinion/Commentary)
- Scholors Unlock Last Letters of Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots (NPR)
- Historians Asked to Imagine How 2021 Will Be Remembered (Politico)
Interactives & Graphics:
- Iowa Electronic Markets (Markets-based Political Predictions)
- Online Game to Experience Supply Chain Crunch (NPR)
- BeerGame App: Supply Chain App
- The FlipSide (Liberal & Conservative Perspectives aggregated)
- The Big History Project
Viewings:
- Was This Famous War Photo Staged? (Vox)
- What Makes a Good Historian? (:2 mins)
- What Is “Historical Thinking”? (:2 mins)
- Thinking Like a Historian (Khan Academy :8 mins)
- Teaching Students to Think Like Historians (:2 mins)
- What is History? (IB TOK intro :12 mins)
- Evil Baby Orphanage Idea (John Green & Friends)
- EBO & George Washington
- EBO Game
- Bias Isn’t a Police Problem. It’s a Pre-School Problem (NPR)
- A Science Odyssey: In Search of Ourselves (PBS Psychology 2 Parts-2 hours)
- 100 Humans (Netflix Series)
- 100 Humans on YouTube
- Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam (:84 mins)
- Online Version of Dear America
- Roger Ebert Review of Dear America
- How Kids Raise Their Parents (TEDxHS :12 mins)
- Teach Girls Bravery, Not Perfection (TED :12 mins)
- America Wrote the Pandemic Playbook & Then Ignored It (NYT Opinion :20 mins)
- Indigenous Activists Patrol Amazon Rainforest (PBS)
- The Self is an Illusion -Sam Harris (The Big Think :5 mins)
- Joseph Campbell’s Woman Problem: The Heroine with 1001 Faces (The Atlantic)
- The “Direct Line” Between 9/11 National Unity & 2021 Partisan Polarization (PBS)
- Quilts Tell America’s Rich & Complex History (PBS)
- The History of Jeans (PBS)
BETWEEN THE WORLD & ME (TA-NEHISI COATES)
The Book/Film:
- Between the World & Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates (HBO)
- The Craft of BTW&M (YouTube :3 mins)
- Official Trailer of BTW&M (YouTube :2 mins)
- LOTS OF COMPLEMENTARY RESOURCES @ OUR FENCES PAGE
Reparations:
- The Case for Reparations – Ta-Nehisi Coates (Atlantic)
- Should America Offer Reparations? (Vox Interview w/TNC -YouTube :56 mins)
- Ta-Nehisi Coates Before Congress- Opening Statement (PBS :5 mins)
- The Hard Truths of Ta-Nehisi Coates (NY Magazine)
- The Impossibility of Reparations – David Frum (Atlantic)
- What Is Owed (Jones NYT Mag 2020)
- What America Owes: How Reparations Would Look & Who Would Pay (ABC)
- How the Media Created a “Super Predator” Myth Harming a Generation of Black Youth (NBC)
- Hank Aaron Never Forgot How America Treated Him. We Shouldn’t Either. (Sports Illustrated)
- Would Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Lesson The Racial Wealth Gap?
- America’s Political Roots Are in Eutaw, Alabama- A Riot & Its Aftermath (Atlantic)
- Catholic Order’s Slave Labor, Sales & Reparations (NYT)
Coates, The Next James Baldwin?:
- James Baldwin Debates William F. Buckley (Cambridge 1965)
- The Gospel of James Baldwin (BrainPickings)
- Art Shapes Civil Rights Debate in Russia (See last line for Baldwin quote!)
MEDIA LITERACY (See Senior Seminar Main Page + My Media Literacy Course Page)
- Why We Believe Mis- & Dis-Information (:5 min video + ABC article)
- How a Fake Persona Laid Groundwork for Biden Conspiracy (NBC)
- Strategically Manufactured Ignorance & the Information Ecosystem (Data & Society)
- What Google Search Isn’t Showing You- Hard to Imagine Something Better (New Yorker)