DMalcolm eng340

More Forking to be Done! (Project and Addressing LFT)

2008-04-23T15:12:00.001-07:00

There is more forking to be done! I don't think this exploration will ever be complete. It has been fun thus far and will definitely continue. So many other aspects to consider and perceptions to view the concept. One thing is for certain, Educational Space is very complex! Is it society trying to navigate the lives of individuals? Is it trying to limit the potential of individuals? Will a more creative approach to education be a better form of education?

These are questions that need to be considered and addressed. So for now this is my POAM of educational space and its analysis. More investigation will be coming forth in thought and possibly documentation.

The LFT, overall, has altered my process of thinking and considering alternative methods. It is a rational approach to all aspects of life. If used the correct way, I believe the potential of the LFT is never-ending. Forking will forever be part of my life now! Thanks for this experience Ms. Moss (Proforker!)

A consideration applied to Project:

2008-04-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

A fellow classmate posted the following in his blog, and I thought it relevant to consider within my project...
"

thoughts on teaching

The truth of the matter is, we will probably not see a classroom strategy that goes for less test and teacher talking at us and the system staying the way it is. This is especially true at the University of Michigan because it is a traditional place, it has to uphold certain aspects of the universities. Plus this university, as much as we want to believe, is not the front-runner in creative thinking. I say this because as a whole we are known for putting young people in the world to become CEO's, neurosurgance, and stock-brokers. Not for people who are poets, muscians, and acotrs (exclude Lucy Lu). Plus the system in place works: they want to churn out people who get jobs and that's is what the University does. So why, at least in the presidents eyes, would you change up your strategy. For these two reasons I think that you should no t hold your breath for any changes."

Should we even change educational space as it works in our society? Why fix what is not broken?... Thank you for this post classmate... it has given a new perception and approach to consider in my project...

English 340 Project: Framing of Educational Space

2008-04-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

As a final concept to be addressed of LFT in the "Framing of Educational Space", discussion of symmetry in "Framing of Educational Space" is discussed in this blog post. Let's fork it out...

English 340 Project: Framing of Educational Space

2008-04-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

In this post, my comrades join me again in discussion of "Framing Educational Space". At this juncture, another aspect of the LFT is addressed in relevance to educational space, the concept of surface. Unfortunately, due to the disturbance of other people, the discussion is broken into 3 segments. Again enjoy, comment, and fork!

English 340 Project: Framing of Educational Space

2008-04-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

In this episode of forking out the "Framing of Educational Space", I have yet again asked for the assistance of my dear friends to accompany and assist me in my journey. The topic of discussion, as a form of exploration, is "allness", in its reference to the LFT. Enjoy, comment, and fork it out!

Further Identifying Framing within "Educational Space"

2008-04-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

English 340- Limited Fork Theory Project
Topic of Exploration: The Framing of Educational Space

So, let’s focus again on the idea of educational space… As a physical institution…
Our educational space would then be the University of Michigan as considered by society. This is the location that is the primary area of our education practices. How are these physical buildings framed for in the context of educational space? The following buildings illustrate some physical entities in which we may learn as UofM students.

You all get the picture…

These physical entities can be viewed as educational space, if the term applies to an area in which education takes place. How could this be refuted? It is indeed an educational space. Well, then, does this educational space have boundaries, better yet, what would the frame of this educational space be limited to?

This is an aerial view of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus… Is this the frame in which this system of educational space exists? The boundaries of the last institutes at the perimeter of campus? One could say, “Sure, why not?” It is indeed a frame in which an educational space is bound… but wait… there are all those study abroad programs, then also, the two other campuses of University of Michigan (Dearborn and Flint). And they are definitely part of the University of Michigan still.
… Can educational space even be framed???.....

While working through this idea, one idea that was brought up in class later that I thought very interesting to view educational space was the pop-up books that Mrs. Moss brought to class. The representation of buildings that moved from 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional entities, it was intriguing. Can educational space be included in this representation? By simply making a school that would pop out of a book, just as a representation? I didn’t dwell on this for long as it captured my attention to a different, yet related idea….

With pop up books you see the pop up illustration create itself into a new portrayal… So it got me to thinking of how the former Frieze Building on Washington St. had been deconstructed and currently is still under construction. It would have been interesting, given that I understood Limited Fork Theory in its basic tense, to have conducted a project by taking pictures from start to finish (or rather the current state of construction) and have the result play as a backward slide-show as to represent the stripping of educational space to its smaller, more finite aspects and how it may hinder creativity (process of deconstruction). Too late now, but definitely something to be thought of.

The Framing of Educational Space: an Intro

2008-04-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

English 340- Limited Fork Theory Project
Topic of Exploration: The Framing of Educational Space

What is educational space?
Educational space is such a vague term, and this is very useful in this journey for Limited Fork Theory! The term educational space can be broken down to have a myriad of different definitions.

For basic foundation for this exploration, let us turn to wiki (wikipedia.org) because in our modern times, wiki seems to have a nice summary for nearly everything ☺. Wikipedia defines education as:
“Education encompasses teaching and learning specific skills, and also something less tangible but more profound: the imparting of knowledge, positive judgment and well-developed wisdom. Education has as one of its fundamental aspects the imparting of culture from generation to generation (see socialization). Education means 'to draw out', facilitating realization of self-potential and latent talents of an individual. It is an application of pedagogy, a body of theoretical and applied research relating to teaching and learning and draws on many disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, computer science, linguistics, neuroscience, sociology —often more profound than they realize—though family teaching may function very informally.”
^→→→→ * I already see similarity (symmetry maybe) to LTF via “mapping”!!!
Wikipedia’s summary of space is a little more complex so we will focus space pertaining to its controversial aspect dealt with in Psychology:
“In philosophy

Main article: Philosophy of space and time

Space has a range of definitions:

* One view of space is that it is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a set of dimensions in which objects are separated and located, have size and shape, and through which they can move.
* A contrasting view is that space is part of a fundamental abstract mathematical conceptual framework (together with time and number) within which we compare and quantify the distance between objects, their sizes, their shapes, and their speeds. In this view, space does not refer to any kind of entity that is a "container" that objects "move through".

These opposing views are relevant also to definitions of time. Space is typically described as having three dimensions, see Three-dimensional space and that three numbers are needed to specify the size of any object and/or its location with respect to another location. Modern physics does not treat space and time as independent dimensions, but treats both as features of space-time – a conception that challenges intuitive notions of distance and time.”

Wiki puts a light of clarity on each word separately, now let’s put the two together. Educational space can mean a dimension or mental state where education takes place (the actual process of learning…). It could mean the intangible realm in which a range of topics exist in which education is able to take place.

…this must be a very LARGE realm…

^→→→This sense of educational space will be looked at as (but not limited to!) the primary concept explored through this forking of “The Framing of Educational Space”. The actual rationale behind the idea of educational space as a system that may be (and is, depending on individual perceptions) flawed and may be a primary factor that can hinder one’s creativity.

AN ALTERNATIVE PERCEPTION OF EDUCATIONAL SPACE:

Educational space could also be viewed as a physical entity (i.e. a building) where education is practiced. This could include the larger physical view of education of an entire institution that regulates education to certain levels, graduating to the higher levels based on performance and acquired skill; basically school, university, college, etc. This idea of education is very well applicable to our forking of educational space. The physical organization of education is apparent in society; we (not all of mankind, unfortunately due to a myriad of reasons) all go to school from a very young age and (for much of the general population) hope to go to higher educational institutions where more focused education is emphasized, aspiring to a degree of a field in education.
• What if this didn’t exist?
• What if we were able to choose to go to school or not from a very young age?
• What if there were alternative educational systems (spaces) in which one was able to learn, improve, and acquire same levels of skill as the one implemented in society today?
• Is Limited Fork Theory able to be a system of education space? Is it not already? We are learning from it as we conduct our project explorations… this will be looked at, for sure, throughout this project.

…Ok, I’m going out on tangents now, but then again, as I have conversed with the PROFORKER, tangents are part of forking, indeed….

FOCUSED... again on this alternative perception of educational space with a sense of forking…
If educational space can, also simply be a location in which education is practiced, then couldn’t anywhere really be an educational space?
- The entire U of M campus…
- Espresso Royale, Starbucks, and all the other numerous cafes that exist in this nation and tutoring, studying, teaching and learning all take place..
- Libraries…
- Personal homes…
- In the oceans where people are researching, learning, and teaching others about marine biology, for example…
…THE LIST GOES ON!!! IT COULD BE INFINITE IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT….

Please, continue to join me on my exploration of “The Framing of Educational Space”....

Response to frame style: preparing to expect the unexpected

2008-03-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Music Notes: Each of the lines and dots represent part of a whole note which is in turn part of a whole song. The music is merely a connection of notes which are lines on a page that you read in order to represent the sounds of a song. The same is relevant in terms of education, when thinking about my project idea. Each item you learn comes together to build into a whole idea that makes up what you have learned in school and in life. They are merely lines on each scale of music that are all make the song that is life. The beauty of your knowledge of each note of all you know is the translated in the mind into one fluid, dynamic work. The work that embodies you and the souls experience.

Mardis Gras Beads: A reoccurring question that pops up when pondering over my project is "Is creativity limited through the structure and framing of educational space?". When considering the representation of Mardis Gras beads you see a loop, ring, or whatever you want to call it. One way we can consider each necklace is as a form of educational space, or a structure of a certain educational space (i.e. the structure of a educational system of a specific country). Each bead then could embody a specific studied subject within the realm of educational space, then connected to the other beads as other forms of education. With this structure, the frame of educational space shows symmetry as all the subjects are connected through the necklace. Is creativity one of these beads? Should it be within each bead itself? Is creativity its own separate necklace?
If another necklace is twisted within another and are locked, it could show the representation of the symmetry and interaction of two separate educational systems, say of two different countries. This could then be connected to another necklace of educational system and again and again showing the connection of multiple educational systems.

Returning again to the questions of creativity and its absence from educational systems, as I was twisting around a necklace it snapped and was one simple strand of beads no longer united together from beginning to end. This appeared to me as the breaking of educational system, or educaitonal space. The only question and thought that came to mind in response to this was then: If educational systems broke down, would there be a return of creativity that was once absent? Something to think about....

Representations in Supevision!!!!!

The following pages give reference to images that can be found in the book Supervision. Depending on how the appearance of each image is perceived, and/or the meaning of each image given, they are able to be metaphors representing entire different thoughts and ideas. The six explained show their relation to the idea of "Framing of Educational Space".

Page 76, "Wires sans Resistance": From the appearance of the image, it could be perceived that the large circle is the image of educational space system as created by society. The many little circles could then be seen as the alternative views of education and how they would like to charge, improve, or alter education but are not able to impose the structure that is fixed in society.
Page 87, "Reading the Code": This image can represent the system of education built up of its many subjects each connected, each related, and each affecting the overall system of education; much like the human genome actually represented within the picture.
Page 113, "Weld Art": This image is able to show how when looked at closely, the different subjects studied that comprise of education are aligned next to each other building up education as it is known. Each very different, but interaction of each beam represented shows how education evolves to what it is known as.
Page 157, "Freezing a Bullet": This image is able of representing what would happen if educational space or systems were broken or de-constructed. Would creativity then be more apparent? Is the bullet actually representing creativity? Could the destruction of education be creativity? It suggests many questions relevant to that of educational space...
Page 164, "Fluidity": "To the eye, a clear fluid like water looks homogeneous. Even when it flows and has an irregular surface, it still looks as though there is no real internal structure, but such a structure exists nonetheless." This could be considered true within the appearance (surface) of educational space.
Page 199, "Point of No Return": This image of a black hole to me grasped me as an image of education. Education grasps all aspects of life, one could say, even creativity in the representation of art schools or what not. Education involves all forms and when ideas are shared, education happens. Educational space involves all and all can be applied to educational space. Much like how nothing can escape a black hole, nor can it educational space.

Response to A System of Temporary Framing, Shifting Frames

2008-03-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

A visual representation to Proforker's blog post "A System of Temporary Framing, Shifting Frames" can be seen in Deepak Mangla's blog. We created this spiral representation to show shifting perceptions and interpretations of ideas or concepts by the confusion when looking at a spiral from different angles. Depending on the point of entry to the surface, perceptions are skewed and shifted and interpretation of the spiral temporarily has new meaning. View this representation at http://d340.blogspot.com/2008/03/la-spirale.html .

* When considering “La Spirale”, we assumed it meant spiral. More specifically, Deepak envisioned a spiral that comes to a tip for the end (sort of like a coned spiral on either end). Therefore it had its limit and structure through the style of spiral. When then taking into thought the idea of our question 2 about the last lines of the poem “Moreover, they are not deformed by style,/ That fire that eats what it illuminates.” If we had read those lines first, would you view the poem differently? How would you frame it? And, how would it integrate with the examples differently? So, in other words, how would a different point of entry affect your framing of the poem in its entire dynamic form?

To explore this question in relation to Deepak’s vision of the tapered spiral, we decided to form a visual representation and record first an orbit of the tapered spiral. Then we would compare that to a spiral that came to its smallest cycle in the middle, and its orbit. It is interesting in comparison when you view both orbits and whenever the spiral is viewed from a top view or bottom view they seem quite similar; similar enough to consider that they were the same figure, when in all actuality they are completely different. When reading the poem, the point of entry of the poem will affect how one views the rest of the poem and the individual lines that are comprehended. In its style and structure it builds up to an overall understanding of the meaning of the poem with previous notions of understanding by individual lines have been misunderstood. à So, it again raises this question of if the point of entry effects your framing of a POAM or poem as well. When in practice this visual representation evidently justifies that a difference in point of entry will account for a difference in framing. When further exploring the spirals, the thought of framing affecting the point of entry also came into mind. If given a specific frame, are you then following the intentions of the maker of that product? Moreover, is that frame the view from only that direction or does changing your angle of viewing direction within the frame (such as shown with the spirals) affect the points of entry you have for exploration of thought provoked by the product of an act of making? It seems as if there is a reciprocal question and answer set forth when analyzing this idea. There definitely is a relationship between the interaction of framing and point of entry within a POAM. Did the maker intend for an exact frame, or is the entirety of the images in a frame open for perception?

Also noteworthy is the ideas of lack of interaction within the poem, “Style”, and its representation in the coned spiral video created and how in both views of spirals they are never fully connected in the middle. The portrayal of this lack of interaction is obvious, whereas we intended for this representation, was that also the intention of Nemerov? In fact, we call them POAMS (Products Of Acts of Making), are all products made with specific intentions?

Where could we apply these ideas and this model in other areas of life?

Response to Symmetry Hunting

2008-03-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

In the LFT, symmetry seems to have a different meaning than itstraditional definition, of "1.the correspondence in size, form, and arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a plane, line, or point; regularity of form or arrangement in terms of like, reciprocal, or corresponding parts." (taken from dictionary.com) It means more of a plane of similarity between two or more entities. Similarity plays a large part in the connection of all things in the universe under the LFT. "Symmetry" in this sense creates a further significance of objects and ideas and their relevance to the ultimate meanings of rationale and purpose of these concepts.
In Proforker's blog post, "Symmetry Hunting", we are presented with the two paintings from Van Gogh, "Starry Night" and "Sunflowers". In the book Supervision we are presented with two pictures that resemble the paintings. Although not perfectly symmetrical in conventional terms, they do indeed show similarity of form and appearance. This along shows symmetry under the LFT.
Also, we are presented with Samuel Beckett's play "Come and Go". It's representation of allness is portrayed with the three ladies saying similar messages to each other as one will leave the group at times. It is known to be a representation of infinity, which can be seen by the consistent cyclical manner of the dialogue and leaving and returning of each woman. Symmetry is seen in the play by the clothes and alignment of the women portrayed.
When asked to find a form of symmetry between a print poam from each Tokyo Butter and Poems for the Millennium, I was wondering, if there is symmetry always between all objects I chose to arbitrarily choose a poem from each book. When doing so I ended up with "Accidental Culture" in Tokyo Butter and "Letter to Her Brother" by Amelia Roselli in Poems for the Millennium. In both poems you seem symmetry between the two by their relevance to an Arab culture, and also with the representation of death nearby. Perhaps it was made easy by chance to find poems that have such similarity but the fact that symmetry exists everywhere was seen at this moment.

Surface Delight: Explored through Poem

2008-03-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

"The Die" by: Dmitri Malcolm and Dapo Abioye

The dichotomy of death
The roll of the Die
The mapping of life
The morbid song

My reverse birth

My faceless being
My unbeaten heart
My soul an illusion
My mind a prison

All and nothing

My surface unsurfaced
The earthlessness of spirit
The beauty of dust
My disdain for love

The life of death

My faceless bring
Being faceless my meaning
Of texture of death
Lucidity of breath

Infinite girth

The limits are limitless
I start where I begin
I begin where I end
Oh shell of mankind
You contain me so well
Prison of my surface
The limit of a person.

Ostrich Culture... What does that mean???

2008-03-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

Two Young Forkers Exploring The (Un)Limited Forking Theory! BAMM!

2008-02-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

Learn as these young makers create greatness with the fallacy of the english language.