...The Wisdom of Crowds By: James Surowiecki Reflection In The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki explores the many benefits of collective intelligence in a variety of cases. Through detailed theory, he explains three problems (cognition, coordination, and cooperation), and the conditions necessary for crowds to be wise (diversity, independence, and decentralization). He also includes many case studies that show examples of collective intelligence being successful or floundering. The idea of a crowd is broad in this case. A crowd can span from all users of the internet using a search engine such as Google to a small team of scientist working to find a vaccine for SARS. His general theory includes four main characteristics to what makes wise crowds. They must include diversity in opinion where everyone has their own private information or interpretation of the information. Also, there must have independence of opinion. Opinions can’t be based off of the opinions of others. Next, decentralization where people can draw from their own local knowledge is a key to wise crowds. Lastly, information must be able to be aggregated. This is the ability of judgments to be turned into a collective agreement. With these four characteristics, crowds are able to collectively create a better source of information and decision making. After reading this thought-provoking book, my eyes were opened in terms of how I view business and management. Management cannot be successful without...
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...“love of wisdom.” In contemporary philosophy there are as many definitions of philosophy as there are schools of philosophy.1 What is interesting is that one school defines philosophy to the exclusion of other schools. For instance, the analytic school defines philosophy as the clarification of the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences, and it rejects metaphysical propositions as cognitively meaningless. Its emphasis is logic and language. On the other hand, the continental school defines philosophy in terms of the meaning of life and one’s relationship with the world and the Other (other human beings and/ or God). It considers the activities of the analytic tradition as meaningless to one’s life. Its emphasis is life. It is therefore advisable to just leave the definition of philosophy in its original etymological meaning, although even this is not safe. Quite recently, Hans-Georg Gadamer (1989), an hermeneute, has rejected epistemic wisdom as within the realm of human control. The ancient Greeks defined philosophy as love of (epistemic) wisdom. Thales, who is traditionally considered the father of philosophy, was interested in “knowing” the ultimate reality, or the funadamental/basic stuff out of which everything comes into being and to which everything eventually returns. Metaphysics is the study of ultimate reality, but to “know” the ultimate reality is to engage in an epistemological inquiry as a part of metaphysics. In other words, the wisdom to know...
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...Heneral Luna: Reflection Paper Unlike most films about heroes, this one manages to tell a compelling story about the brilliant and fiery general. In this film, Antonio Luna is depicted as a real human being, full of virtues as well as faults. It stimulates a special kind of reflection we need in rethinking our own state of patriotism and sense of nationalism and nationhood. This film enables us to understand not just the life of Luna but also the historical context of his struggle and heroism. The Choleric Filipino General Antonio Luna as what I have perceived from the movie has this notoriety of being a “hot-headed” individual but he is beyond than that. I find Antonio Luna as powerful, passionate and resilient. He is fierce and is not afraid to go after what he wants. He has a very complex personality he is extremely powerful and capable but is also highly emotional. I would see him if he is in the right people that surrounds him as a very capable General and able to accomplish anything. But when he goes dark side (his demons) and out of balance he can become a terrible tyrant, equally capable of using power for destruction and manipulation. He is fearless in any conquest and will not back down to anyone. He doesn’t take no from anybody. On the outside I see him as tough, mysterious and unable to be broken. Deep down, he is quite fragile and complex. He has this deep wisdom but often comes with it are resentment and contempt for the common man. He only really respects those...
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...What in the world is philosophy? The word itself comes from the two Greek words: philia and sophia. Philia is the Greek word for 'love' (a bond of friendship), while sophia is Greek for 'wisdom'. Philosophy is literally the "love of wisdom". But what does it mean to love, pursue, and possess wisdom? To understand this better, consider that most of us know through experience that not everyone who is knowledgeable is wise. Some people have a great deal of learning, but very little wisdom. Clearly there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. What exactly is the difference between the two? Let us begin with knowledge of the scientific kind, since most of us are more familiar with it; for even kids can possess it. The word "science" comes from the Latin verb scire, which means "to know". Science, therefore, is about possessing a certain kind of knowledge. Some people are under the impression that science is about knowing facts. But science is much more than that; for everyone knows certain basic facts, such as "leaves are green", or "the sky is blue", or that "people get cancer", etc, and that doesn't make them scientists. A person has science, however, when he knows the reason for the fact, such as why leaves are green, or the reason for cancer, etc. Science is about reasoned facts. In other words, one has science when one knows the cause of the fact. Now that which manifests a desire to possess "science" is the act of questioning. The word question comes from the Latin...
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...Shaniqua S. Boyd Instructor: Hall, J March 6, 2015 THEO 104 Reflection Paper #2-Wisdom and Faith I. Introduction: As a Christian of God, having wisdom and faith are the key elements of your religion. How to practice faith is putting your trust in god instead of oneself. Faith is another way we as Christians humble ourselves to God by letting him have the power and authority over our lives. As Christians we also can expand in faith by seeking wisdom in God word. As we ask the lord for wisdom and knowledge to help us understand his word, we mature as Christians and are able to share his holy messages to others. II. Part One- Wisdom A. Theological Definition- What is Wisdom? Wisdom is the ability to discern what is right. Wisdom is not knowing good and evil, wisdom is knowing good from evil. So as we see it, wisdom is knowing what is good and seeking its application in life. B. Biblical Foundation- When we read the bible, the bible tells us that we should seek wisdom in God, not in ourselves or people out in the world. God states (Proverbs 3:7) “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. Wisdom does not come all at once. People gain wisdom with time, education, and experience. Meanwhile the knowledge that we use will only make us wiser when applying it to different situations in life. C. Practical Application- By being able to read the word of god, and having the wisdom and knowledge to understand the difference from good and bad, we can...
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...Stop. Listen. Who do you hear whom do you feel. Is there something calling to you can you not hear its song: but no this cannot be for how can a tree, a rock, or the coldness of the air sing a song to you. When you are struck down by a disease, is that not your soul singing to you, when you bite into a juicy red apple does not that apple sing to your body. All things sing songs of joy and sorrow the songs of joy bring happiness and pleasure and the songs of sorrow bring wisdom and learning, so stop and listen, do not resist, do not run away. Listen to the mosquito buzzing in your ear, the tree swaying gently in the breeze and the songs of hot and cold. As a tear drips from your eye it sings its song of sorrow, as a smile comes to your lips...
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...rising. Statistics also show the reasons that drive adults to enroll in adult education as well as the advantage and or disadvantage they possess over a younger person. To develop a more adequate adult learning system, the federal and the states governments, have united efforts to come up with satisfactory methods of approaching adult educational environment, which would aid education institutions and teachers to develop styles to support adults to reach their educational goals. In an attempt to explain the reasons an adult seeks to achieve a higher cultural level, the essayist is going to summarize the perception from different scholars. Follow by the author’s personal experience in the field and seal the writing with the writer’s personal reflection on the discussed theme. The technological advances from the present digital era have engendered the need for highly trained laborers. Presently, jobs for unskilled workers are scarce, while trained labors have a considerable demand. This phenomenon triggered the individual interest on adults to seek for a better education. Besides the highly competitive rate from the contemporary operational forces, there are other peripheral compels, such as parenthood that urge the adult population to hunt for a better education, (Dorch, B.; 2012.) Durch explains, that by “September 2009, BMO Capital Markets” assessed that in this country alone the “continuing education” trade was as high as “$104 billion annually.” In addition, many of the adult inhabitants...
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...FAITH AND REASON ARE TWO COMPATIBLE REALITIES Introduction In the first stem of discussing the truth validity of this statement, we need to understand the meaning of Faith and Reason. Faith in my own opinion would be the entrusting or bowing oneself to others while Reason would be the use of our intellectual capacities to arrive and certain truths. In about to find the truth validity of faith and Reason being compatible realities, we are going to base on what some Philosophers and Religious people have send about the two to give its validity. As a human being may be defined as the one who seeks the truth, life cannot be grounded upon doubt, uncertainty or deceit. It would constantly be threatened by sear and anxiety. A search so deeply rooted in human nature cannot be completely vain and useless. One does not ask question about something one knows absolutely nothing about scientists who try to explain something will not give up until they find an answer. The same is true for ultimate questions; “the thirst for truthful answers to them is so deeply rooted in the human heart that ignoring them would cast our existence in leopard.” There are different kinds of truths “most depend on immediate evidence confirmed by experimentation, philosophical truth obtained by the speculative power of the human intellectual finally the religious truths of the different religions traditions to some degree grounded in philosophy.” Philosophical truths are not the domain women direct...
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...lasted, we passed it to teacher cherry and start a new lesson about the EIGHT FOLD PATH. It is the middle way to avoid extremity. The eightfold noble path is divided into three (3) groups: wisdom, ethical conduct and meditation. In wisdom group there are right understanding which is no self and reflection and contemplation, and right thought which the clear vision of right understanding is. In ethical conduct there is right speech which is abstinence from falsehood, slandering, harsh words and frivolous talk, another is right action which is abstinence of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, and last to this group is right livelihood which is trading help, knowledge and many thing to others and living in proper way. Last group is meditation there are right effort which is cultivating positive state of mind, right mindfulness with regards to feelings, thoughts and mind objects, and right concentration or meditation in simpler word. In that meeting, I learned that Buddha taught us the different ways on how can we experiences true happiness but we people don’t use, apply and reflect those ways so that we can reach true happiness and be like Buddha. I learned that all people can be Buddha as long as you have this WISDOM, ETHICAL CONDUCT and MEDITATION then...
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...about the gods, believing that it is futile to worship gods. Confucius thought that gods were irrelevant, while Buddha taught his people that it was hopeless in praying to the gods. Although Confucius never stated outright the gods didn’t exist, he never rejected spiritual mysterious. Both Confucianism and Buddhism believe wisdom to be a fundamental part of life. To the Buddhist wisdom is perfect enlightenment and understanding. Using meditation and reflection the Buddhist spend much of their lives finding understanding and enlightenment. Confucianism looks up to the elderly because they consider them to be the wisest. The elderly receives the most respect and have the most authority. Three practices of Buddhism are: Sila: which represents morality, good conduct and virtue. Samadhi: Mental development, such as meditation and concentration. The path to wisdom is to develop one’s mind to lead to personal freedom. Mental development can also control and strengthen the mind to help maintain good conduct and spirit. Prajna: The real heart of Buddhism is the practice of wisdom, discernment, enlightenment, and insight. If your mind is calm and pure, then wisdom will emerge. Around 1500 BC the roots of Hinduism can be traced. Back then Hinduism was very different than it is today. In the west Hinduism is viewed as a polytheistic religion as followers worships many gods and goddesses. There are also some who view Hinduism as Trinitarian, one God, being three persons. Earlier Hindu...
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...1 WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? The word philosophy is derive from the compilation of two Greek word which are the word Philo which means love and the word Sophia that represent wisdom. So, philosophy is refer to “the love of wisdom”. (Sejarah Falsafah, Edisi Kedua, pg.9, para.1) Pythagoras was the first man who call himself a philosopher which means one who is attempting to find out. According to him, men and women of the world could be classified into three groups which are; [1] those that love pleasure [2] those that love activity [3] those that love wisdom. (Sejarah Falsafah, Edisi Kedua, pg.10, para.2, 3) Basically, philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind and language. (Sejarah Falsafah, Edisi Kedua, pg.25, para.2) Chambers Concise Dictionary Philosophy is the rational attempt to formulate, understand and answer fundamental questions. It also search for truth and knowledge concerning the universe, human existence, perception and behaviour, pursued by means of reflection, reasoning and argument. On the other hand, philosophy is a set of principles that serves as a basis for making judgements and decisions. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy Philosophy in its shortest meaning is thinking about thinking. Philosophy itself, is a rationally...
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...So entering into this meditation I only had rough a grasp on cruciform theology, and was really struggling to apply it to my life in any way that made sense or felt tangible. The meditation began as I read over the passage several times, building together a definition of cruciform based on what Paul said. As I read the passage, one of the first things that I realized was the outright necessity to live a cruciform life; which is a life centered on and living out of Christ’s crucifixion. The second insight I had during this portion of the meditation is that in God’s wisdom he has chosen to make the cross of Christ the way we can understand Him. Without truly knowing and loving the cross of Christ we can’t know God, we can only know things about...
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...enterprise, in that it is driven by fundamental social values as well as the imperatives of social justice. These values and imperatives powerfully shape every dimension of educational theory, policy, and practice. From this perspective, education requires a normative frame of reference. Democracy, understood as not only a political system but more fundamentally as a way of life grounded in specific values and principles, provides a powerful point of reference. At the heart of democracy is the value of liberty, understood as self-determination. Self-determination requires that there should be careful reflection upon and rational deliberation concerning social values and, in turn, the imperatives of justice that inform the purposes and practices of education. It will be argued that philosophy constitutes a mode of inquiry and a discipline that enriches the capacity for reflection and rational deliberation, and hence it is essential for both democracy and the study and practice of education in a democratic society. Education as a Normative Enterprise There are a number of ways in which education is normative. While what follows is not an exhaustive list, it is arguably sufficient to demonstrate the normative nature of education. 73 In Factis Pax Volume 6 Number 2 (2012): 73-84 http://www.infactispax.org/journal/ First, education is an intentional activity. The planning and implementation of education isn’t arbitrary; it is purposeful and...
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...Essay Question #3: Describe the teachings of Hebrew wisdom on diligence and laziness. How does this correspond with the contrast between wisdom and folly? Include Scripture references and quotations as appropriate. I. A Summary of what Hebrew Wisdom Teaches about Diligence and Laziness. The dictionary defines diligence as “careful and persistent work or effort” and laziness as “the quality of being unwilling to work or use energy”. By these definitions we can see that diligence and laziness are the exact opposite of each other. “The eagerly sought after trait of diligence is often addressed within the book of Proverbs. Laziness – diligence’s lethargic antonym – is likewise frequently mentioned due to the severity of its consequences. Solomon illustrated both diligence and laziness in a unique way that emphasized key concepts such as personal discipline, integrity, and wisdom.” (Heart of the Wolph, 2014) Throughout all the proverbs we learn that lazy behavior results in poverty, while diligence results in wealth(Hindson, Yates 2012). In other words, diligence is rewarded, laziness is punished. We get this idea reiterated over and over again throughout the Bible. In Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty”. And again in Proverbs 10:4 “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.” I could go on, but I think we get the idea. When...
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...PHILOSOPHY ACCOUNT OF MAN & (HIS ENVIROMENT) Abstract This is a reflection in how man has influenced the universe or the world which he lives. From the origin of man till date, he has substantially brought nature under control and his existence is all about how nature and d universe has influenced man and vice-versa. What is philosophy and why is it necessary that we provide the philosophy account of man? The challenge here and the probable answers to the question raised rest on our ability to understand and correctly define first what philosophy is and from there we proceed to give reasons why it must be built on some foundation of man, in this case a philosophic account (foundation). Philosophy most time deals with the probe into the essential nature of things. Based on approach, philosophy can have different definition. To understand that which is philosophical, we must first appreciate what ‘philosophy’ is before explaining the attitudes that derives from it, which is the ‘philosophical’. The term philosophy is derived from two Greek words, ‘Philo’ which means ‘Love” and ‘Sophia’ which means ‘Wisdom’. Thus, literally, ‘philosophy’ is ‘love of wisdom’. Love is a feeling in the head or in the heart that makes us depending on who we are and who we are relating with. My love feeling for example towards my dog would not be the same love feeling to my siblings neither will it be the same with that for my parents and in particular that for my mother. The point here is that...
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