Twentymiglia
Currently viewing the tag: "Descartes"
The key to learning, according to Descartes, is to take large problems and separate them into smaller, more easily solved problems.
Not surprisingly, this method is often applied to artistic ventures.
After all, making something new –something that never existed before– is difficult. That’s why people often look for formulas for success. A whole industry of “how-to” books emerged on this basis.
But does any one believe this approach works? I used to. Now, not so much.
Of the many articles and interviews that praise Elon Musk, few focus on the aspect of his thinking immediately applicable to our own lives. That is, his method of problem solving.
Musk calls it “proceeding from first principles,” but for those of us who can’t grasp what he means by this, we need only look to the year 1637.
For long before there was a YouTube, transistors, or even Calculus, there was Descartes’ “Method,” and it’s one of the most powerful problem solving tools ever invented.
Every age-group has its genius and the genius of the teenager is their love of speculation. I don’t think this gets enough play in education circles. Kids love to wonder: Why are we here? Who has authority and why? What the hell am I doing in school? What are we learning? And while the adult perspective often frames this as impractical, juvenile rebellion, I see it as a hunger for a better cut of meat: Philosophy.
So, here’s a brief summary of how I bring speculative thought into my classroom.
