Leonid Meteor Shower Field Trip

Online Surveys & Market Research

Mission to Mars

If there was a call tomorrow by NASA to join a band of pioneers on the first manned-mission to Mars, would you drop everything you were doing and sign up? In other words, would you give up your present lifestyle and hopes and expectations to be one of the first humans to travel past the asteroid belt and step on another planet?

7 Billionth Baby

Should we celebrate, mourn, or dread the symbollic birth of the world's 7 billionth baby that took place today?

Moral Dilemma 9

If you had access to a magical love potion that could make a person fall  in love with you, would you use it? Explain your reasons.

Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences proposes that intelligence is the ability to create something of value to one’s culture. He says there are many ways of being intelligent: The ability to play sports or music, dance and paint, reflect and introspect, emote and role-play, empathise and sympathise—are all different ways of being intelligent.

Take for instance this video with the music of the marvellous composer Astor Piazolla of a couple dancing the Tango (which, along with Bossa Nova, is one of the two great musical genres to come out of South America). My thoughts as I watched the video:

The dancers in the video tell a story—a tale of love, from the exhilarating flush of limerence to the solid bond of an abiding relationship. Note the initial distance and diffidence of the couple as they stand apart. Observe the hesitance as the man walks towards the girl and she steps back, uncertain, unsure, timorous, but still romantically interested. After she grapples with her initial doubt she walks towards him—but he walks gently away, she follows him, captivated… And as they begin to dance they hold on tight—jealously clinging to each other—their arms and shoulders close—almost touching—not daring to let go. But as they dance and twirl and pirouette in perfect synch, and as the relationship develops, the woman resigns herself to the man; he literally sweeps her off her feet as he lifts her into the air. They begin to grow in confidence and trust, and reach a point where the man feels he can let go and release her—firm and assured in the knowledge that she will come back to him. The dance ends with an intimate and serene pose, almost symbolic of a deep and enduring love, perhaps even the eternal embrace of death.

So, the question is:

Is being able to dance a talent or a type of intelligence? (Or is there no distinction between the two terms?)

Winchester Astronomy Club

The Winchester School is inaugurating its first ever Astronomy Club next Tuesday. We’ll meet weekly after school to watch videos and presentations and discuss the stars, the mysteries of deep space, the possibility of extra-terrestrial life, and various wonders of the cosmos. (We will definitely not be discussing horoscopes and astrology).

We’ll also be going on field trips to Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG) events and to the desert (we’ll use my Celestron CPC 1100 2800mm GPS telescope to view the rings of Saturn, the red spot of Jupiter, the polar ice caps on Mars, the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda galaxy, and various other astronomical events like meteor showers etc.) Our first field trip is to the Sharjah Planetarium on 20 Oct.

Club Presidents: Raya and Shafnaa (11G)

Lead teacher: Mr. Roberts
Website: Winchester School Astronomy Club 

Points to Ponder

If you knew a grown person who believed that Santa Claus was real and lived in the North Pole with his elves and went around in a flying sleigh drawn by reindeer, what would you tell the person?

Would your response be the same if it was a teenager? Or a child?

Utopia on the Map?

Oscar Wilde once wrote, "A map of the world that didn't include Utopia wouldn't be worth glancing at."

[Utopia: A morally, socially, politically perfect and just state. A ficitonal island in the Atlantic Ocean."]

Do you agree or disagree with Wilde's statement?

Which is Reality?

This spectacular image above of the Aurora Australis was captured by the International Space Station on 17 September.

In Greek mythology, Aurora was the Goddess of Dawn and sister of Helios, God of the Sun. She was depicted as a having rosy cheeks and opening the gates of heaven for the chariot of the sun to traverse the sky.

The Innuit people of the Northern regions believe that the aurora is the light of the torch flames that light the stairway to paradise for the spirits of their ancestors.

In Medieval Europe, people believed that an aurora was a sign of war.

Modern science tells us auroras are caused when charged particles from the sun are pushed to the north and south poles by the earth's magnetic field where they interact with oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon in the upper atmosphere and consequently glow with spectacular colours.

Which interpretation of the Aurora is "true" - which story represents "reality?"

How Rich is too Rich?

Is there something wrong with the wealth distribution in our world? Is it obscene that we have multi-billionaires when thousands die of starvation every day?

In his blog, Sam Harris says, "Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, the two richest men in the United States, each have around $50 billion. Let’s put this number in perspective: They each have a thousand times the amount of money you would have if you were a movie star who had managed to save $50 million over the course of a very successful career. Think of every actor you can name or even dimly recognize, including the rare few who have banked hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years, and run this highlight reel back half a century. Gates and Buffet each have more personal wealth than all of these glamorous men and women—from Bogart and Bacall to Pitt and Jolie—combined.

"In fact, there are people who rank far below Gates and Buffet in net worth, who still make several million dollars a day, every day of the year, and have throughout the current recession."

Click here to continue reading: How Rich is too Rich?

So the question is:

"How much wealth should one person be allowed to keep? A trillion dollars? Ten trillion? (Fifty trillion is the current GDP of Earth.)"

Points to Ponder

Is Mathematics discovered or invented?

To elaborate: is mathematics like the DNA molecule that was discovered by a scientist, or is it like an ipod that's invented by a technician? Were the concepts of arithmetics, calculus, trignometry, and algebra invented by some mathematician or the other, or did these concepts always exist - just waiting for someone to discover them? Did someone invent the equation that proved that the area of a circle is the number Pi times the radius squared, or did this equation always exist since the dawn of time and was just waiting for someone to discover it?

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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert

Thunk 34

If you lived in an infinitely large cage, would it still be a cage? (Alternatively, is the Earth a prison?) 

2011 IGCSE English Success!

Fabulous results once again!

Out of 24 students who did the IGCSE English as a First Language Paper this June, 15 scored an A* and 8 scored an A.

In IGCSE English as a Second Language, 89% of our students scored between A*-C.

End of the World

Here's another date for your calendar: the world's going to end (again) on May 21st

Click here to read

Why are people obsessed with the end of the world?

Space Exploration

From 1958 to 2008, NASA's budget amounts to $471.23 billion dollars—an average of $9.06 billion per year.

Should we or should we not be spending money on space exploration?

Shakespearean Insults 2

You scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian! I'll tickle your catastrophe!

Post what you think it means in the comments section

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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert

Thunk 33

Where does a headache go when it goes away?

Eye for an eye for an eye for an eye...?

Retribution granted to woman who had acid thrown in her face by man she refused to marry.

Do you agree or disagree with the ruling?
Click here to read: The Guardian

Unspoken Truths

Until cancer attacked his vocal cords, the author didn’t fully appreciate what was meant by “a writer’s voice,” or the essential link between speech and prose. As a man who loved to talk, Christopher Hitchens turns to the masters of such conversation, both in history and in his own circle.

Click here to read

Is Everything Open to Debate?

If someone believed the earth was flat, would you engage with them in a debate or discussion?

See the flat earth society.

What are some ideas that are not open to debate? (If any.)

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 A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert

Thunk 32

Is a hurricane evil? (An earthquake? A tsunami?)

Was this deliberate?

Watch this footballer crash into a female referee. Was it on purpose or an accident? Post your comments here.

Body Modification

Since time immemorial, people have been modifying their bodies, whether through make up, or piercings, or tattoos, or branding, or scarring or using neck rings, implants, lip plates, coloured lenses and so on. A few years ago, a man got his sclera (the white of the eye) tattooed. Here's a new fad: corset piercing.

 What are your views on body modification? Should there be a limit or not?

Moral Dilemma 8

Is it right to keep animals in zoos and cages?

Language

Should English be made the official language of the world? (Is it already?)

What would it be like if everyone in the world could speak the same language - say, English or Chinese or Spanish?

Moral Dilemma 7

If you had to choose between the last two tigers on the planet and a human which would you chose and why?

Points to Ponder

The Importance of Words

If there was no word such as 'freedom' would we know what it meant? Alternatively, if we didn't have a word for 'Green' would it exist in our consciousness? Or, if the sound 'L' didn't appear in any language would we know to say it?

Multiple Intelligences

With the growing acceptance of Howard Gardner's ideas on Multiple Intelligence, the question "How smart are you?" has changed to "How are you smart?" Here are a few questions catering to the different intelligences that revolve around the number six.

Choose a couple and post your responses in the comments section.

How would life be different if we worked in base 6 instead of base ten?
Write a poem entitled ‘6’
What’s the most important thing about 6.00am? 6.00pm?
Why do insects have six legs and not more? Or less?
How would you make someone laugh in only 6 words
Tell the story of Cinderella in only 6 words
Come up with 6 uses for a fork
You are marooned for 6 days in the Hatta wadis – what are the first 6 things you would do?
Get from the word ‘dog’ to ‘cat’ in 6 steps
Get from 6 to 666 in 6 steps
Name 6 things that make you happy.
Name 6 things you want to do before you die
Name 6 things you’d save if your house was on fire? What if it was your school on fire?
What are the 6 longest words you know?
If you typed ‘6’ into Google what do you think would be the first 6 things that would come up?
What 6 things could you do if your computer was running slow?
What are the 6 worst things you could to a friend? The 6 best?
Name the 6 most important inventions in the history of the world and say why?
You have a pen, some paper, a mobile phone, a spoon and computer connected to the internet – name 6 ways you could make money just using that equipment.

© Ian Gilbert and Independent Thinking Ltd 2010

Shakespearean Insults 1

Shakespearean Insults:

Thou bootless guts-griping popinjay!

Time

If you are fortunate enough to live to be 75 years old, you will have lived for 900 months. Of that, 300 months would have been spent in sleep. Another 300 months would have been spent in the shower, stuck in traffic, at school or work, eating, brushing your teeth and arguing with your parents. That leaves you with 300 months. If you are 15 years old, you've already spent 180 months on this beautiful planet. That leaves you with 120 months to do something that really matters.

If there was one thing you'd like to do in the 120 months you have for your self, what would it be?  

Dubai on Empty

Below is an article about Dubai that appeared in Vanity Fair this week. Do you think this article portrays Dubai accurately or not? Is it a fair representation of this city?

The only way to make sense of Dubai is to never forget that it isn’t real. It’s a fable, a fairy tale, like The Arabian Nights. More correctly, it’s a cautionary tale. Dubai is the story of the three wishes, where, as every kid knows, with the third wish you demand three more wishes. And as every genie knows, more wishes lead to more greed, more misery, more bad credit, and much, much, much more bad taste.

To read on, click here.

Cyber Trolls

What are your experiences with trolls on the internet?

Click here for an interesting overview of the trolling phenomenon: Trolls

Click here to read a shocking example of trolling: Tormented by Trolling

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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert.

Thunk 31:

If you own land, do you own the earth below it and the air and sky above it as well?

Strange Atmospheric Phenomena

Sun Dogs

We all know about rainbows. Sun dogs are a related phenomona fully explained by physics.

Click here for a wonderful video: Sun Dogs

Has anyone observed strange atmospheric phenomena?

Valentine

by Carol Ann Duffy

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.

It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.

It promises light

like the careful undressing of love.

 

Here.

It will blind you with tears

like a lover.

It will make your reflection

a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.

Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,

possessive and faithful

as we are,

for as long as we are.

Take it.

Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,
if you like.

Lethal.

Its scent will cling to your fingers,

cling to your knife.

Write your own poem in which you take an unorthodox object and make it a symbol of love. Post your stanzas in the comments section.

Animal Planets

If animals were planets, what planets would they be? Explain your reasons. 

e.g. Mercury could be a fire ant because it is small and red and hot. Jupiter could be a T-Rex because of its huge size and how it devours comets and asteroids and captures wandering satellites. 

Now think about what animal Earth could be. What about Saturn? And Venus and Mars and Neptune and Uranus and Pluto (even though Pluto has been declassified as a planet. You could also include the Moon if you wish, even though it's a satellite and not a planet.)

Understanding a Billion

A billion is difficult number for us to comprehend. If we travelled back in time to a billion seconds ago it would be 1981. The universe has about a 100 billion galaxies each with on average about a 100 billion stars. That number is so big that it is more than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of our planet. 

McDonalds announced that they had sold a 100 billion burgers. Neil Tyson de Grasse puts that astonishing number into perspective in this short clip: 100 billion burgers

The question now is, is his Math correct and are his figures accurate?

Post  your response in the comments section. Show how you worked it out. (Imagine a burger is about 10 cm. The circumference of the earth is about 40,000km. The distance to the moon is 384,000 km. 1 metre is a 100 centimetres. 1 kilometre is a 1000 metres.)

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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert.

Thunk 30:

If you can't see, taste, smell, hear, imagine or experience something, then does it exist?

Season's Greetings

Email vs. Facebook

Click here to read the article: Is Email Dead?

What do you think about the future of email? What are the advantages and disadvantages of Email and Facebook?

I trapped my arm... so I cut it off

Ralston had been climbing the narrow canyons of Utah alone when a dislodged boulder fell on to his right arm, trapping him against a rock. He was entombed in the wilderness of Bluejohn Canyon, carrying a small rucksack with just one litre of water, two burritos and a few chunks of chocolate. He had headphones and a video camera but no mobile phone – and there was no reception anyway. Most foolishly of all, he had not told anyone where he was going. He eked out his water, futilely chipping away at the 800lb rock and slowly entering a state of delirium, until he was eventually forced to cut off his trapped arm, with the small knife from his cheap multitool kit.

Click here to read the rest of the article: TheGuardian

Student Blogs

The year 11 English as a First Language students are maintaining excellent student blogs. Click on the image for the links.

Crazy things people do

Click on image to view video

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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert.

Thunk 29:

Should a person be punished for a wrong they did 60 years ago?

Recommedations

Click on the image to view recommended books and films

Half of Newly Qualified Teachers Quit

Click below to read an account of one teacher's experience in some of the classrooms across England.

The Guardian: Why are new teachers leaving in droves?

In your opinion, why do you think some students behave poorly in some lessons?

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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert.

Thunk 28:

Are you the same person you were ten years ago?

Chance to get Published!!

Emirates Festival of Literature

Winchester Students,

We have some awesome writers in our school. Now is the perfect time to hone your skills and show off your talent.

Budding JK Rowlings and Darren Shans can sharpen their literary teeth and polish their scripting skills by entering the annual Student Writing Competition, organised by the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature, which runs from March 8-12 next year.

The theme is “The Mystery”, and entrants are required to be as creative and clever as they can with their short stories, including using clever characters, twisty plots and – most of all – a big, fat mystery. All the lucky winners will have their stories published by Jerboa Books, and each winner will receive five copies of the book as a keepsake for their efforts.

Don’t miss this opportunity. Getting published would be truly amazing!

Click here to register: Emirates Festival of Literature

Deadline to submit: 12th November '10

Schools Kill Creativity

I posted this last year, but I'm posting it again for my new students. This could be the most important video of your life. The TED conference is dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.” Here, Sir Ken makes a witty, poignant, highly entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

 

He’s one of those rare speakers who is both funny and intelligent! It’s 15 min. or so long, but well worth it. Watch it and make your parents watch it as well.

Click here to view: TED

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A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. © Ian Gilbert.

Thunk 27:

If science could find a way to transplant your brain into the body of someone named John, would you then be you or John?