Can you measure creativity?

This article in the Guardian describes an experiment which tries to demonstrate the effect of listening to music on creativity. We had interesting discussions about the design of the experiment and whether the methods of science are appropriate to investigating human qualities.

Colour and emotion - is it a science?

How does something as basic as the wavelength of radiation affect how we feel about things? This documentary talks about the use of colours to evoke emotions without once mentioning Art. The language used is very interesting, as is the certainty with which they describe their principles. The glasses which reverse colour blindness are very cool.

Color In Sight: A Documentary on the Details of Color in Design by TEALEAVES from Tealeaves on Vimeo.

What does a musical performer do?

What is the relationship between a composer and a performer? How important is interpretation? How do musicians from different cultures manage to work together? What if the composer dislikes the interpretation?

This podcast explores the arts, interpretations and music from different cultures

Emotions vary from culture to culture

In this article, the writer argues that the classical view, from Descartes to Pinker isn't supported by the scientific evidence. We learn our emotions and different people experience them differently.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/26/why-our-emotions-are-cultural-not-hardwired-at-birth

Is "learning styles" a neuromyth?

Many teachers and students feel intuitively that the theory of 'preferred learning styles' reflects their experience of teaching and learning. But according to many experts in neuroscience, there is little evidence to support it as an effective teaching practice. In a letter to the Guardian, 30 experts warned against belief in this practice.



https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/mar/12/no-evidence-to-back-idea-of-learning-styles

Versions of English spoken in England

In this Guardian article, there are some great examples here of adaptations of the English language. Some argue that some dialects are superior to others.

What is original?

After watching Part 1 of Everything is a Remix, my class and I had an interesting discussion about influence and appropriation in art. The examples it uses start with music: Led Zeppelin and hip hop, both of which the class had some knowledge of. When you ask the same questions about the visual arts, it becomes hard to define originality.

An art teacher who was visiting the class brought up the work of Marcel Duchamp and the Mona Lisa postcards he defaced. The more you know about it, the more original the concept becomes.

A theory of genius

Malcolm Gladwell is making podcasts. Revisionist Histories is thoughtful and, as ever, the Hallelujah episode covers many bases. It is built around the idea that there are 2 sorts of geniuses he calls Picassos and Cézannes. To illustrate he cites literature and cinema, but the middle section of the podcast is about Hallelujah for which Leonard Cohen wrote 60 verses in the search for perfection. From 18 min 30 sec, Gladwell tells us of the series of unlikely events which have led to this song becoming so popular (apart from it being near-perfect).

http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/07-hallelujah

You can be blind and still work as an astronomer

We all like TED talks, although there are so many these days it's hard to keep up. But the TED Radio Hour does a great job of distilling the best. Moreover, they edit the salient points and then weave them together with interviews with the talkers. There are many great ones. This one on the 5 senses is excellent for ToK in reminding us of the peculiarities of sense perception. It's worth listening to the whole episode which touches a lot of ToK bases but the first story of the blind astronomer is a great place to start.

Is art the best way to deal with taboos?

The Love and Radio podcast fearlessly considers the odder sides of human sexuality. In this episode, a biologist explains how he combines his experiments with genetics and his sexual preferences. The last 15 minutes considers some of the ethical implications.

 

Inspiring music by lifers in an African prison

Musician Ian Brennan gained access to Malawi's Zomba prison. He overcame the natural suspicion of the inmates and they have now written and composed three albums together. The musicians live in inconceivable conditions yet they make beautiful and provocative music. The story of the song 'I will never stop grieving for you, my wife' is one of the most moving things I have heard.

Branding legal marijuana products

The Allusionist podcast teems with fascinating ideas about language. In this episode, Helen Zaltzmann talks to a marketing person who invents names for products which influence the consumer to think in a particular way. There are some very interesting thoughts about appropriate names for marijuana products in Colorado.

People who live in glass rooms...

The Glass Room pop up store in New York is an art installation which combines real and imagined consequences of the digital world. Visitors are invited to think about the effects of mass surveillance as performed by the devices we willingly carry with us everywhere.