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Alexandrea Anderson-Romero
Jeff Blume
“Ecology of Mind” Movie Review
September 6, 2014

The movie “Ecology of Mind” had many interesting ideas and concepts. The biggest concept that changed my thoughts about was how they acknowledged that everything in this world is based around relationships. Every living organism has a purpose in the world, even if it is as small and insignificant as a fly and is connected to another organism. The movie brought up the point that humans are naturally destructive of these ecological systems and connections. We are so concerned about our own lives and are so disconnected from nature that we forget that we are not the only living organisms on this planet.For example, in my own personal life, I am so concerned about school and my own problems that I forget to take a moment to spend time with nature and appreciate it. So when the class went outside and lied down in the rocks, it was a good experience to observe the world around us for a couple of minutes. What we do as a species affects every organism out there, and we either just don’t care, or we feel we are the only organisms that matter on this earth. If the human race does not change the way they think, and the way they view the world, there will no longer be a sustainable planet for us to live on. Natural resources eventually will become scarce, and enough damage in the environment will no longer be able to live on it. Another concept that caught my interest was when the speaker compared nature to musicians in a jazz group and how they all improvise together. Another similar concept was how the expression of arts are the most pure and honest form of communication. Both concepts are interesting because they compare art to nature, and how art is honest and pure, similar to nature. This movie changed my way of thinking because it helped me change the way I looked at the world and my relationships with something as simple as a tree. How do my actions affect that health and well being of that tree or the earth? The message of the video was to show people that they need to be more aware of their surroundings and change the way they think about the world.

Alexandrea Anderson-Romero
Jeff Blume
“Ecology of Mind” Movie Review
September 6, 2014

The movie “Ecology of Mind” had many interesting ideas and concepts. The biggest concept that changed my thoughts about was how they acknowledged that everything in this world is based around relationships. Every living organism has a purpose in the world, even if it is as small and insignificant as a fly and is connected to another organism. The movie brought up the point that humans are naturally destructive of these ecological systems and connections. We are so concerned about our own lives and are so disconnected from nature that we forget that we are not the only living organisms on this planet. What we do as a species affects every organism out there, and we either just don’t care, or we feel we are the only organisms that matter on this earth. If the human race does not change the way they think, and the way they view the world, there will no longer be a sustainable planet for us to live on. Natural resources eventually will become scarce, and enough damage in the environment will no longer be able to live on it. Another concept that caught my interest was when the speaker compared nature to musicians in a jazz group and how they all improvise together. Another similar concept was how the expression of arts are the most pure and honest form of communication. Both concepts are interesting because they compare art to nature, and how art is honest and pure, similar to nature. This movie changed my way of thinking because it helped me change the way I looked at the world and my relationships with something as simple as a tree. How do my actions affect that health and well being of that tree or the earth? The message of the video was to show people that they need to be more aware of their surroundings and change the way they think about the world.

Ecology of Mind by Alex Anderson-RomeroAlex Anderson-Romero, 06 Sep 2014 23:43

Marisa Erazo
Dr. Bloom
9/3/14
“Ecology of Mind” Reflection
Gregory Baetson once said, “Change may be scary, but not changing is even scarier.” This is my life in a sentence; moreover, it is the perfect sentiment for how every college freshman is feeling. Going to a University is an intimidating situation. The previous year we were the top of the school but now we are thrown to the bottom again. We must pick up on all the new patterns and ways of life to try and avoid looking like the freshman we are, even though it is futile because we wear our lanyards for everyone to see.
Change is a funny thing, we always crave it until you have it. We are so eager to go to college but it is always in the distant future, until suddenly it is thrust upon us when we walk into our first college class. That is when everything gets real. Nobody really prepares you for the leap from being in high school, where everything is laid out for you, to going to college where the teachers do not know your name and syllabuses are actually important, not just some slip your parents sign.
On the other hand, I have tried to imagine what life would be like if I would have stayed in the same place. Yes, it would have been extremely easy, I even thought about going back when I first moved in, but then after those initial jitters wore off what would you be left with? You would be at home with your parents breathing down your neck, surrounded by “devices of convenience” that may be nice to begin with but at some point in life one must take responsibility and become their own person. I believe whole heartedly that no change is the scariest thought of all.

*All quotes taken from the movie Ecology of Mind

Nicky — This "place" is the wiki's blog. Please feel free to develop ideas here. And, you can create more pages from your member's page and throughout the wiki. Thanks for exploring.

wiki blog by JeffBloomJeffBloom, 25 Jan 2013 19:34

Lauren — You could use this as a blog page, which would be cool! And, you can post other things from you member page and throughout the wiki. Thanks for taking the time to explore!

wiki blog by JeffBloomJeffBloom, 25 Jan 2013 19:31

The film chapters by Gregory Bateson Provided several interesting topics. The one that jumps out to me has to be the topics about perspective. Gregory Bateson talks about how we as humans should look at things differently as frequently as we can. Looking at things as you always have for too long doesn't excercise the potential of the brain which I think was an interesting and powerful point.

“Multiple Kinds of Knowledge” is a writing by Mary Bateson that discusses different thought processes and how we think. She spends a lot of the time talking about her childhood and how her parents were studying anthroplogy which allowed her to start thinking differently. Even at a young age, she interpreted everyday things like Gregory Bateson did, which is still something I want to accomplish.

“Lessons of 9/11” is another writing by Mary Bateson about the tragic attack on our country 11 years ago. She talks a lot about the impact the attack had on government and how it affected our government. She also spreads light on the fact that so many died and how many of those who past had family that will miss them dearly.

The film chapters by Gregory Bateson conferred many distinctive topics that I found interesting. The one topic that stands out to me the most is definitely how he talks about how we can perceive everything in a new way. Ever since I was little I always thought of things in many different perspectives just to have a better understanding of it. Because I did this with almost everything, it became easier for me to figure out problems that came into my life. I would be able to think of an abnormal way to solve it.

“Multiple Kinds of Knowledge” is a writing by Mary Bateson that discusses different thought processes and how we think. She also talks about when she was young and how her parents did work in anthropology and how it surrounded her all the time. She observed behaviors of others and began to perceive things in a different way at a younger age, which is remarkable.

“Lessons of 9/11” is another writing by Mary Bateson about the tragic attack on our country 11 years ago. She talks about the reactions our country took against this attack and it made me think in a different view about how the government took action. People now perceive everything in a different way and were more vulnerable to the real world. People lose loved ones and witnessed a horrible tragedy, which is bound to change people, and I agree with her.

“Form, Substance, and Difference” is a writing by Gregory Bateson about our enviornment and if we choose to destory our enviornment, it will be destroyed. Humans have been ignoring the simple fact that keeping the enviornment clean is important and necessary to live. Eventually, if we don't change our ways enviornmentally, we wont have a place to live anymore.

All three of these readings all have a common theme, which is the way we perceive things in the world. They all allow you to think in a different way given a different perspective. I think that if everyone considered everyones perspectives and appreciated what they had to say, things would get done faster and more efficiently.

One of my favorite videos watched in this course was the film “Ecology of Mind” by Nora Bateson. The movie provided insight on subjects such as patterns in life, double binds, change, relationships, and much more. It provides insight from a great professor, Nora Bateson's father. Because Nora was his daughter, she was able to understand his teaching probably the most. She was also able to have all of his teachings and thoughts interpreted which I think she does a great job putting in the movie.

“The Wisdom of Recognition: Activism & Aesthetics” provided information that I found intriguing and insightful. One of the first things that came to mind for me in this movie was the part of metapatterns that it goes over. There was a lot of mutual information betweeen this and the Nora Bateson movie as well as projects presented in the class. I also understand the concept a lot better. As far as the character Mary goes, because she opened her eyes and her mind to the thoughts of these teachings, she has bettered her thinking about everything in life.

Being in this class was one of the best things that I have done this year in college. Not only was the material interesting and insightful, but the class was low stress and provided diversity in my schedule, considering this class was nothing like my other ones. This class allowed my normal thoughts and feelings to be challenged by the teachings of professor Blooom as well as the movie. There were also a lot of interesting people in the class that allowed me to befriend people I wouldn't normally be friends with which I thought was really cool. I will never forget this class or what it taught me.

Reflection #3 by connormatthews223connormatthews223, 04 May 2012 18:54

One of my favorite videos watched in this course was the film “Ecology of Mind” by Nora Bateson. The video is a summary of her fathers thoughts and reasoning’s in his life. One topic that I am interested in is the change in life and how it is everywhere. People may not know it, but change makes the world a better place because without it we would be making mistakes over and over again. With change, people learn from their mistakes and become better people because of them and they change their mistakes to something that is correct in their eyes. “The Wisdom of Recognition: Activism & Aesthetics” talks about this type of change and how people react to change.

“The Wisdom of Recognition: Activism & Aesthetics” has many points that I found interesting. The first is how they discuss the patterns within different cultures around the world. Another point was how they talk about aesthetics, which is the appreciation of beauty in something. Another topic discussed was metapatterns, which are multiple patterns that make up one big pattern. Also, even to this day, the ideas from Mary’s parents are still affecting her today. She has been surrounded by it her whole life, but every time she looks at it differently and understands it a lot more in depth.

Being a part of this class this semester has definitely opened my eyes in the world. With this class I look so much more into depth about common things I see everyday. This course was very lenient and it was a good break from my major classes that I am taking. Learning all the new material this semester has opened my eyes so much to where I see double binds in my daily life. However, the more I realize that they are there, the more prepared I am for future situations. This class was the first step to a different realm where I can relate multiple things to my life much more in depth and figure out different situations. Finally, the film that we focused in the class was the main aspect to making me think differently in my life and to really look into profundity.

Reflection 3 by Garret VanderlindeGarret Vanderlinde, 04 May 2012 03:44

The film, "Ecology of Mind" by Nora Bateson was an inspiring overview of her father's astonishing findings and reasonings. She explains how change may be uncomfortable and scary, but no change is even worse. The topic of changeability comes up a few times and is explained in depth about how change makes the world work better and better. Without change we would make the same mistakes over and over. If people couldn't change things either about themselves or things they did we would live with the mistakes and wrong paths we have taken instead of learning from the mistakes we make and have the chance to fix them and change them to what was supposed to be. The changeability has become an unconscious act that society does.

“The Wisdom of Recognition: Activism & Aesthetics”
-Patterns between people, society, different cultures.
-Aesthetics: The appreciation of beauty and how beauty is defined within a person or even as a whole.
-M.C. Bateson describes how with the ideas her father published, she still is learning from to this very day. Yet there information has always been there, she seems to look at it differently and understand it more in depth each time she reviews it.
-The division of patterns to make up one big pattern considered a metapattern. Things are divided, then creating patterns of the division and the relationship between things could make up their own patterns.

Attending this Ecology of Mind course has expanded my mind to a realm of understanding and explaining of ideas that i never understood or even contemplated about. These ideas are simple but yet overlooked. I feel in touch with society and understand the reasoning. The topics we have covered in class make me thing about Gregory Bateson's reasonigs and how he came up with these things. I constantly find myself intrigued when i discover a new topic and then relate it to my life. This has been an incredible and rewarding class and i feel as if i really can say i have learned real life and valuable information.

Reflection #3 by JacklynJacklyn, 02 May 2012 01:51

“Change may be scary, but not changing is even scarier” (Nora Bateson). This quote was taken from the film, “Ecology of Mind” and describes the concept of changeability. Ultimately the idea of change presented in the film describes it in a very clear manner but broad at the same time. This idea is broad because it has the ability to describe various things such as people and situations. If someone is faced with a similar situation that they have previously been through, they will tend to act in the same manner as before. This concept of slipping back into the old ways is described in the reading, “The Wisdom of Recognition: Activism & Aesthetics”. These consistent reactions result in that person not changing. Without changing, no one will ever move forward in life. Even though change may appear bad at first, without every change from our past, we would not be who we are today. Whether it be a slight change or a huge life alteration, it is a necessity to move forward in life.
“The Wisdom of Recognition: Activism & Aesthetics”
• Revisiting the ideas from Margaret and Gregory Bateson now that she is older and can understand them from a better perspective
• Patterns within different cultures
• Cybernetics
• The effects of World War II on both Margaret and Gregory Bateson and their thought processes. Regardless of their opposing views on social action, they seemed to be fully committed to the same cause when it came to World War II.
• How the ideas from her parents such as science and art are still affecting Mary Catherine Bateson today.
• Things are constantly being divided into smaller parts which could either cause a larger pattern or the loss of a connection within a pattern.
Throughout the duration of this course, my thinking has only slightly been changed. Personally, I have always looked at things through many differing perspectives. This class has taught me more ways to see things. For example, now I can see how things relate to each other and see more patterns in everyday things. This idea of relationships and patterns go hand in hand with one another and I have become much more aware of them. Also, whenever I discover a double bind I will think of the possible solutions to it. Furthermore, the film made me think about how much more there is to think about in the world.

Reflection 3 by Kelsey AnlikerKelsey Anliker, 01 May 2012 20:19

“The pattern which connects.” This is a quote that Gregory Bateson often used. This quote I believe ties in all of the “chapters” in the film “An Ecology of Mind.” Obviously patterns are mentioned, “connections” can be interpreted as relationships or meta-patterns, there is a double bind when you think of the way in “which” it connects, and it also ties into that all things are connected, and have similarities. The reading “The Wisdom of Recognition: Activism & Aesthetics” discusses the relationships and personalities of Gregory and his wife Margaret. As different as they were they had a shared interest in whole systems, and how interactions happened. I love reading about Gregory’s studies and how different and abstract they all were. He got criticized because “he just doesn’t stick to any one subject.” One of the first readings we read also talked about Gregory’s struggle to find out what he wanted to be, and how finally “it became clear that he had been working on the same kind of question all his life.” This relates to me perfectly, I don’t have one major I secretly have two along with two minors. I don’t know what I want to be or do, so for now I’m trying to do it all “studying Balinese to alcoholics to dolphins and octopuses.” There’s no limit, and that’s how life should be.
No limits means no lines, no categories, no imaginary things that make something what it’s not for the sake of “science.” This is something I’ve learned to recognize from this class. Gregory said that the most honest and pure form of communication was the arts, and I think this is because a piece of art work does not have categories. People’s art show exactly what they see, or don’t see, it is not limited. The way in which I define things and view things is different in all aspects. Relationships; how do you define this? After taking this class you don’t, it’s not something you define; it’s something that just is. The quote that has changed me and opened my mind the most by Gregory is “You have probably been taught that you have five fingers. That is, on the whole, incorrect. It is the way language subdivides things into things. Probably the biological truth is that in the growth of this thing – in your embryology, which you scarcely remember – what was important was not five, but four relations between pairs of fingers.” This quote describes how we are taught to categorize, to assume, and to break what is to define what isn’t.

Reflection 3 by Lundon HatcherLundon Hatcher, 01 May 2012 04:09

Knowledge is a very useful tool to have to, however until we know how to use it be cannot become very wise. In Form Substance and Difference, I thought it interesting how following the pattern of things was once discarded. As the story goes one more things seem to pop into my attention such as “If the organism ends up destroying its environment, it has in fact destroyed itself.” This statement sent my mind into motion about we tend to think of ourselves as separate from our environment but that sort of thinking gets us nowhere. In modern times we have done so much in destroying our environment and only now are we panicking with more CO2 in the atmosphere and less fossil fuels to run our vehicles. Compared too much longer ago we worked with nature to get what we wanted not just used it. Another thing that pops out are differences. We separate ourselves by differences and rarely think of how it all works together.
In 9/11 by Mary Bateson, it never ceases to amaze me how judgemental we can be. How one event will forever alter our suspicions of anyone not us, and even for those that are us we can to judge anyways. For example I have a friend who was telling me a story of how when she was in elementary school she was personally blamed for the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. What this shows it that people tend to let their emotions control them rather than logical thought. Two people could share the exact same thoughts but because they appear different from each other they persecute each other. Does this seem right?
In multiple Kinds of Knowledge, Knowledge goes both ways. The teacher must be willing to teach but they must also have the attention of the person they are trying to teach or not much information is going to go across. Sometimes the only way for information to effectively bridge the gap between people is money. Money will grab anyone’s attention however that is not so much the case in classrooms. Many classrooms feel like they are just giving information that other people thought were important. The tests/ papers in that class is basically the same information that the students has learner to relay. It seems like very structured learning to me rather than how it should be with the student learning to think for themselves and discover that truth rather than be taught as this is it and all it is.

Reflection #2 by Taylor BrownTaylor Brown, 25 Mar 2012 17:03

The film chapters by Gregory Bateson conferred many distinctive topics that I found interesting. The one topic that stands out to me the most is definitely how he talks about how we can perceive everything in a new way. Ever since I was little I always thought of things in many different perspectives just to have a better understanding of it. Because I did this with almost everything, it became easier for me to figure out problems that came into my life. I would be able to think of an abnormal way to solve it.

“Multiple Kinds of Knowledge” is a writing by Mary Bateson that discusses different thought processes and how we think. She also talks about when she was young and how her parents did work in anthropology and how it surrounded her all the time. She observed behaviors of others and began to perceive things in a different way at a younger age, which is remarkable.

“Lessons of 9/11” is another writing by Mary Bateson about the tragic attack on our country 11 years ago. She talks about the reactions our country took against this attack and it made me think in a different view about how the government took action. People now perceive everything in a different way and were more vulnerable to the real world. People lose loved ones and witnessed a horrible tragedy, which is bound to change people, and I agree with her.

“Form, Substance, and Difference” is writing by Gregory Bateson and is one that stands out to me a lot. He talks about how if we destroy our environment then we ultimately end up killing ourselves. I really like this because I agree completely that if we take advantage of our environment and treat it like garbage, then we will end up hurting or even killing ourselves in the long run.

All three of these readings all have a common theme, which is the way we perceive things in the world. The film chapters show people a new perspective to the world and how if we take a step back, we can look at the world in a whole new way. This can help people act on situations in a new way, which can help them in the long run. These films and readings can optimistically influence so many people if they take the advice and just simply think in a changed way.

Christine Baldauf
Ecology of the Mind
Jeff Bloom
3/20/2012
Reflection 2
Knowledge is one of the most important things a person can gain. With more knowledge and understanding of something, it is said that one can do anything. That is why I really enjoyed learning about epistemology. Knowledge can be based on truth and beliefs. One person’s beliefs cannot be said to be wrong. Though others may disagree with one person beliefs, they cannot tell that person they are wrong. Someone can mistake their beliefs though. At one moment they may find themselves to be correct and the next moment be proven wrong by a study, or some sort of scientific research proving them to be wrong. Gregory Bateson says in “Form, Substance, and Difference”, that difference is an abstract matter. Difference can be the difference between me and the chair I am sitting on. It can be anything, even the energy passing between two different objects.
One article that I really liked was Mary Bateson’s Lessons of 9/11. I liked how she talked about people’s change in attitude and perception. After the events of 9/11 occurred the American people perceived everything as “different”. Bateson describes Americans as more vulnerable. I completely agree with her. After the tragic events happened people were scared. Some had even lost loved ones and were very vulnerable and upset.
Reading the articles make me think about things a little more abstractly. It makes me reconsider that there is only one right answer to a question. There are always more ways to look at something. I feel like these things will definitely help in my future career. I want to be a therapist, and work with people. If I have the understanding that everyone thinks differently and has different views, I will be able to connect with people easier and see where they are coming from.

Baldauf Reflection 2 by Christine BaldaufChristine Baldauf, 21 Mar 2012 04:56

Christine Baldauf
FS 121
2/6/2012
Nora Bateson’s “Slippery Rigor” was very similar to her film “An Ecology of Mind.” She explains how her father has made a big impact in her life, especially the way she learns and thinks. She mentions Gregory looking at things from many different perspectives. Ways that most people would not think to look at a simple object. We got to experiment with different ways of looking at things in class by going outside and really looking at an object of interest outside. We were not just looking at the object though; we were really observing it in depth and paying closer attention to its details than you normally would not notice. It really opened my eyes to a different way of thinking.
Gregory Bateson had a strong impact on more people than just his daughter. Marilyn Price-Mitchell is also fascinated by Gregory and his way of thinking. In the reading, “Where the Sea Meets the Land,” Price-Mitchell talks about her first encounter with Mr. Bateson. In one of her memories of Gregory, she recalls him saying, “When man lost touch with nature, he lost touch with himself.” The fact that we are nature and that our minds are nature was something else that she got from meeting Bateson.
Something that really had an impact on me personally was in “Where the Sea Meets the Land.” There is a dialogue between Marilyn and Gregory, and Gregory says, “We are simply a part of something much bigger than ourselves. I found my beauty in seeing the patterns that connect us.” Until reading this I never stopped to think about how we really are just a small part of a huge world. But there are connections between us and every aspect that makes up this huge world that we live in.

Baldauf Reflection 1 by Christine BaldaufChristine Baldauf, 21 Mar 2012 04:55

Jacklyn Hipkins
Reflection #2

From the chapters of the movie, I learned and pondered these ideas closely. For example, epistemology, the nature of knowledge, when we expand our minds and open them to new things we become more curious and thrive to learn. Epistemology, branches thoughts into other related areas; this impacted my thinking because I never really paid much attention to the nature of my knowledge. So I pondered the idea, and came up with that I do in fact strive to learn and learn about new things so that I can share my findings with others. These film chapters shaped my thinking because I noticed my subconscious actions and worked to learn more, and teach others around me.

The assigned readings made me more enthusiastic to really expand my thinking and reason with my thoughts. In the reading “Multiple Kinds of Knowledge” by M.C. Bateson, she reminisces when she was young the work he parents did in anthropology was brought into their lifestyle and in her upbringing. Bateson claims that she learned about herself that she was an observer of all things. She began observing other people’s behavior while participating in it. At a young age I feel that Bateson was incredibly aware of all knowledge and had a conceptual understanding of her parents’ work and applying it accurately.

In the reading, “Lessons of 9/11” by M.C. Bateson, I got a vibe from Mary Catherine that it, in a way, is incredible that the entire population as a whole participated in the change of our nation. Yet incredibly horrifying and tragic our country changed. But not how M.C. thought it would be, “trauma works against learning. In my opinion, it was a bandwagon effect, yet I do care a lot about what happened, it was as if the government created this huge defense and started supporting our allies but when we personally were attacked it was more of a competition of who could locate Binladin first. I pray for those killed in the attack but instead of turning our attention to the victims it was more about enraged retaliation.

The TED videos we watched in class over the topics we were studying were surprisingly enjoyable, I liked that I could relate to their studies. The host always had me thinking about my real like experiences and relating them together. The other activities done in class like the picture clip and we had to come up with the rest of the photo was interesting to me because I came up with an entire story for each one and they all seemed to have the same related topic in my eyes. It was even more interesting that a few of the clips were all included in the same big picture. As for the “big picture” I feel that life works the same way, the six degrees of separation is included in the big picture, and we are all little clips of one big photo sequence.

Ecology of Mind Reflection #2 by JacklynJacklyn, 21 Mar 2012 01:00

“Form, Substance, and Difference”, written by Gregory Bateson, discussed many varying topics. The main topic that stood out was how he talked about thinking in new ways. “The most important task today is…to learn to think in the new way” (Gregory Bateson). Throughout my own life I have always tried to think of things through multiple perspectives. By doing so it becomes much easier to figure out any complication or problem a person may be faced with. “Multiple Kinds of Knowledge” also talks about different thought processes. Qualitative and quantitative are two types of thinking and research discussed in this literary work written by Mary Catherine Bateson. “Lessons of 9/11” was also written by Mary Catherine Bateson. This was written in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Ultimately, this article makes readers think more in depth about the response of the United States to the attacks. “This change in perception following 9/11 was not a simple subtraction, because it was pervasive, affecting the whole experience as if the new present were viewed through a gray or yellow filter” (Mary Catherine Bateson). This particularly displays how fragile Americans were after the attacks and how skeptical they became for good reason. Overall, I think all of these readings tie in with the film “An Ecology of Mind.” All three of the readings discuss varying thought processes which was something that was widely seen in the film. The impact of the film was that it gave the viewers the insight needed to see everything and anything from a new point of view. The result could cause individuals to take a step back and really examine a situation or an idea before acting upon it. Simply by just thinking in a different way, people could be positively influenced by these readings and viewings.

Reflection 2 by Kelsey AnlikerKelsey Anliker, 20 Mar 2012 20:24

After viewing “An Ecology of the Mind” a few more times I have started to relate things that I have learned in that film to the readings we do. “Form, Substance and Difference” had many key points that made me think. One thing that stood out to me was “the organism which destroys its environment destroys itself.” I believe greatly that we take for granite the earth and its resources. I took an FS class last semester that focused on Native American’s, it taught me a lot about the earth and why we should not treat it like its “mine.” It’s not mine at all, it’s not yours either, it belongs to everything inhabiting it and I think humans are selfish when thinking about this topic. Another thing that Gregory said that made my mind puzzled was “in the world of mind, nothing- that which is not- can be a cause.” This is something that I don’t completely understand but that I would like to further explore.
“Multiple Kinds of Knowledge” is written by Catherine Bateson and explores the concepts of research, cultural systems, and the difference between quantitative and qualitative thinking. One thing that she said was “the structures of attention and the structures of intelligence are what determine our decision making as a society.” This reading and her other reading titled “The Lessons of 9/11” strongly tie into something that was said in “An Ecology of Mind.” It’s all about context and perspective, we see and make sense of things differently; however we do not take into account that people are different. We usually get a first impression and keep it, even if we are shown differently. All of the readings especially these three tied into that concept. As humans we often do not take into account that we share this world with animals and plants and how our actions affect them, it’s about how we profit.
After thinking about context and perspective and how we are all different and make sense of things differently I’ve realized that is our biggest hurtle as a society and world. I mean if we all understood how the Muslims or people in Iraq perceived us, and for what reasons they did, then we probably wouldn’t have such a social problem with them. We need to always keep in mind that we are all raised differently, think differently, learn differently and see things differently. We shouldn’t argue and get mad we should listen and try to grasp and understand others ways of thinking and life.

Reflection 2 by Lundon HatcherLundon Hatcher, 20 Mar 2012 05:51

Composing a Life Story
I think that what Nora Bateson was saying in this summary was what she was saying in her movie. That how we interpret things and how we view things, even everyday things such as cups on a coffee table, is always up to us, and how we want to view that object.
An Ecology of Mind Film
Like states in her summary, I think this film was about how we view things and how we interpret things. Learned from her father, Nora Bateson tries to shed light on how important it is to explore your mind, and reach deep into your brain to better understand the world we live in, and to make the best of it.
A Slippery Rigor
I think that it becomes apparent how important Nora Bateson's father was to her, and how he affected her as a film maker. She makes it obvious that he was extremely important, and provided a sense of mind that only she could've obtained from her father her taught her how to take advantage of the full potential the mind offers.
Where the Sea Meets the Land: Remembering Gregory Bateson
Gregory Bateson seems to me as someone who should be widely recognized as someone who contributed to the study of the mind, and how to use it. He seems as important as Sigmond Frued, an extremely well knwon psychologist who is mentioned in psychology all the time. However, the work and thoughts Dr. Bateson had seem just as influential to me. He taught something extremely important, which was to use your mind.

Reflection #1 by connormatthews223connormatthews223, 13 Feb 2012 03:53

Yadi Santos
Ecology of Mind Reflection #1

Marilyn Price’s “Where the Sea Meets the Land”
- Patterns of thinking and nature
- We have lost our very basic roots with nature
- We are part of something much bigger than ourselves
- The relationship of the sea to the land is always changing.
- Bateson saw circular processes in the natural world

Nora Bateson’s “Slippery Rigor”
- The thing was never the thing.
- Gregory Bateson had not many, but infinite ways to examine everything
- The map was not the territory.
- We should never get stuck down on the linear line of thinking
- “Bateson-thought” is not only an academic pursuit; it is ultimately a way of life.

Margaret Wheatley’s “Introduction” Chapter
- This is not a book of conclusions, cases, or exemplary practices of excellent companies.
- She believes that our present ways of understanding organizations are skewed
- We must learn to see the world anew
- We need to stop seeking after the universe of the seventeenth Century and begin to explore what has become known to us in the twentieth century
- This book attempts to be true to that new vision of reality

What parts of these articles resonate with you and your viewing of the film,” An Ecology of the Mind”? How so?
- Learning never stops
- Finding little thing in big things is complicated
- We are bigger then the sum of our parts
- There’s a lot of thing that we are capable of doing or that we already do and we don’t even know why.
- Our thoughts are not ours, but the cultures thoughts.

M.C. Bateson’s “Composing a Life Story”
- We make a visual composition of form and color
- One of the most striking examples is the way people talk about divorce
- Much of coping with discontinuity has to do with discovering threads of continuity
- Narratives have canonical forms
- The availability of multiple interpretations of a life story is particularly important in how the generation communicate with each other

What parts of this film had an impact on you and your thinking? How so?
The video had not particular audience she said that if an 11th grader couldn’t understand the video than it was not worth it. In reality there is no real economy. Most importantly we are each a system. The video from Harrison Bergeron also had some things that can be tied to the video Ecology of Mind because it goes deeper on how individuals can make an impact on the world.

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