A Bear of Very Little Brain

[shazzieb]

"The Hazel encourages us to seek out information and inspiration in all things and emphasizes the value of the enquiring mind and of learning of all kinds. Just as the hazel concentrates all its goodness and its continued existence in the kernel of its fruit, so we attain wisdom by reducing knowledge down to its purest form and passing it on down the ages. Through meditating on the essence of wisdom, we gain creative inspiration. Like the limbs of the hazel, we must remain pliant in our approach to learning. Concentrated thought in an open mind can, like the hazel, become a connection with the divine source of all things. The hazel teaches us the noble arts of learning, teaching, communication, and healing." Gifford, J. 2000 The Wisdom of Trees

"Irish tradition speaks of the sacred salmon who swim in a pool surrounded by nine hazel trees. When these trees dropped their nuts into the water below, the salmon ate them and then carried them to the sea and back in their annual spawning run. This endless cycle was seen as a metaphor for the passing of wisdom from age to age and from person to person." Matthews, J. and Worthington W. 2003. The Green Man Tree Oracle

[shazzieb]

When we act in the world we do so after thought, and in thought. In this way a synergy is manifest in thought and action. They become one and are balanced. Each of us within the Landscape of Transformation has the potential to accept that we are in a ‘state of becoming’. We have, in the words of Chardin (1959), the potential to create a new ‘Spirit of the Earth’. This new ‘Spirit of the Earth’ is about the re development and movement of the mind, or the human psyche. Since research, education and teaching is “of the mind”, as Swanson (1973) reminded us, this new ‘Spirit of the Earth’ is particularly relevant for educators and researchers, who are significant change agents within society and have the potential to be the ‘challengers of society’ rather than be the maintainers of the status quo. The retelling of our research journeys and the unravelling of our perceived truths, through new consciousness, have the potential to move humanity forward into the ‘Landscape of Transformation’. That is to transform itself and reach the next level of its evolution.

Dyson, 2007. Australian Journal of Teacher Education Volume 32, No. 1 http://ajte.education.ecu.edu.au/ISSUES/PDF/321/Dyson.pdf

[shazzieb]

The potential power of autoethnography to address unanswered questions and include the new and unique ideas of the researcher is inspiring to me as one who wishes to find my niche and make my own special contribution. Certainly my knowledge has jumped forward through my encounter with this emerging, unconventional method, in contrast with the slower, incremental growth that I have experienced in interacting with more traditional approaches and texts. I cannot deny that my conventional habits are challenged by this entirely new way of thinking, but I suspect it is precisely the fact that I am forced to bend in a new way that is the reason behind the growth I see in myself.

Wall, S. (2006). An autoethnography on learning about autoethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(2), Article 9. Retrieved [date] from http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/5_2/html/wall.htm

[shazzieb]

Hydra continued...

It's lovely when you get the same images/thoughts popping up for other people.

In our reading last week, Badminton (2003) also referred to the hydra - how chopping off one head led to two new heads sprouting out.

Thinking about that, and reading Sian's article last night (Bayne, 2010), the quote "fragmentation, by a flexible, fluid movement between groups and applications which requires individuals to re-make their identities - to double themselves - every time they register for a new network, a new service."

In our case, unlike the mythological hydra, we're not gaining two heads at the loss of one, we're gaining extra heads without any loss... unless you consider, as Sian does, the Cartesian view "as having to do with the de-coupling of body from soul".

Are we gaining heads - connections - but losing our souls? In light of seeing Harry Potter at the weekend, are we indeed creating too many horcruxes - how many fragments can we divide our soul into?

[shazzieb]

Haraway Reflections... thoughts, images, trying to make sense :)

[shazzieb]

Haraway (2007) in A Cyborg Manifesto, speaks of us finding "ourselves to be cyborgs, hybrids, mosaics, chimeras" - this "mythic" "here be monsters" theme has popped up previously (e.g. Kress, 2005; Carpenter, 2009, Shields, 2006) and got me thinking... me as a hydra, my multi-headed online form - all parts of the one me, or am I Tiamat - is my online life more dark and chaotic?

[shazzieb]

With thanks to Michael for posting his presentation to his Tumblr and showing me how nice it could look :)

[shazzieb]

Yeay, yeay, yippee! Back to GMT! It always gives me such a burst of energy and at last, and for the next six months, I'll feel as if I'm back 'on time' instead of askew on BST - long live GMT! :)

[shazzieb]

Mark's plans to dig out his Lego for his ethnography, and Jen's comments about her Lego avatar on her window have brought out my inner child. I found the Mini-Mizer 3.0 tool and created this Lego-like mini-me - so very cool :)

[shazzieb]

Quote from Spalter and van Dam (2008) p 96 with ref to people creating their own posters rather than using design software "work begins to look somehow amateurish and deficient when these tools are not uses"

Image shows the work of Cardon Copy (New York), who take handwritten flyers from telegraph poles and redesign them before replacing with the new version.

Definitely grabs your attention, but does it convey the information as easily as the original? See others at the Guardian slideshow

[shazzieb]

He: "That picture reminds me of you, love"

She (looking quickly away, embarrassed, just as the shutter clicks): "Don't be daft! And stop looking, someone will see you!"

He: "Well, I do think it looks like you, and aren't you lovely, my dear"

She: "Gettaway you old softie!"

[shazzieb]

I finished reading The Neuromancer this week, and reflected on it while viewing one of the movies we were watching in the film festival - the red/blue pill scene from The Matrix.

Would I take the red pill? If I did, would I decide, like Cypher, that I'd prefer to be in a world where the grass is green, sky is blue and everything is "normal", or wake up in a world of metal and poisoned air?

In The Neuromancer, jacking in leads to a Tron-like matrix, something more akin to the matrix as Neo sees it later in The Matrix Trilogy, or via sim-stim units to "piggy-back" on another person's experiences. Otherwise, it's a world again that is urban and grey, except for carefully bred and tended trees and grass for those that can afford it. Like Flatline, I'd be asking to be wiped rather than following the example of others in the book and paying for any way to stay alive, in a world where life is drugs, operations and a preserved horse.

The nearest to something remote and wild and pure is when Cage meets The Neuromancer on the virtual Moroccan beach - Cage is so far removed from the wildness that his mind reels from it, from the haunting cry of the seagull.

By refusing to follow the rabbit to Wonderland, am I denying my adventurous spirit, am I "conditioned to a life of security and conformity"?

Now if I was book-jumping like Thursday Next, that would be a different story :) - it is books vs machines that make the difference for me?

Is this a reminder of something I have been considering over the past couple of weeks - that it is wonderful to connect with like-minded people online, but a virtual community should not be at the expense of our "real-life" communities?

[shazzieb]

Couldn't resist hunting out an image of Scylla and Charybdis - went for this one because of the similarities with The Fool image. Aaah, the joy of connections!

[shazzieb]

I was thinking about bridges and connections - thinking that transliteracy is more akin to a rope bridge, tying multiple strands together. Searching for images of rope bridges brought me to this - love the organic feel - back to the old rhizome discussion :D Comes from an interesting website too, so two for the price of one!

[shazzieb]

Just finished reading William Gibson's The Neuromancer last week, and that, coupled with Taylor et al.s (2007) article and the concept of dreamtime, led me to this movie

[shazzieb]

This image, and the previous image, linked to my thoughts on The Fool and the wisdom of taking a chance and just stepping off the cliff - nevermind what ghouls and monsters lurk in the depths!

[shazzieb]