Good day fellow youths,
You are being invited to an exclusive group of “elite” “scholars” to delve into the intricacies of our Universe and explore our role in society. Haven’t you noticed how school has emphasized rote memorization at the expense of critical thinking and exploring one’s own interests. We want to provide a different experience, in which students can learn for the simple pleasure of learning, distill our rapid and chaotic world, and shatter boringness through sheer silliness and fun.
How will we facilitate such a delightful romp, you might ask? (This is ironically pretentious on some meta level, are we making fun of ourselves or providing critical social critique?).
Well, we shall hold a 90-minute seminar every week via Zoom in which we will present a brief “lesson” on a range of fascinating topics, ranging from virtual reality to the Big Bang. Input from participants is encouraged, and suggestions will be thoroughly reviewed for future use in the class.
The point of this class is, in a word, curiosity. It is to come to know what you do not know, to realize how much there is out there is the universe that has yet to be discovered. Your ordinary university classes only teach what is already known, but this class will expand your thinking beyond the known world.
If you are in any capacity interested in this class, please indicate so on the attached Google form and indicate your availability on this Whenisgood. We eagerly await your responses.
-Mary
AND NOW – A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR:
Hello there my fellow Clarksoneers, Clarksonites, Clarksonians, whatever the official term is that we’d like to use for the day. I’ve been thinking a lot about our role in society, and I think a large part of grappling with this relies to a large part on our imagination as to what kind of society we want to live in.
Ever since I was a kid, I was always curious about this world we seem to find ourselves in. I questioned everything, and that meant nothing was out of bounds, and I quickly learned what I was not supposed to question. I wondered what kind of world we lived in that did not value certain kinds of questions, all of the things we are automatically taught at a young age to accept without questioning. I wondered about the extent to which these arbitrary things we took for granted actually shaped our lives.
I wondered about the kind of world we could shape for ourselves if we understood each other more. I wondered about the oddity of the position we find ourselves in, as no era has ever had access to all that we do today in terms of technological possibilities. I learned endlessly about the intricate machines and the culture that reflects our human condition, how it has changed through time, and the impacts of being immersed and saturated with information overload.
How can we know what is true? How can we know how to think? What is the purpose of a college degree? Are we to work for the rest of our lives? What does work mean? Where does our meaning come from? Why do we shy away from asking tough questions? How can we grow as people? How can we try to understand and empathize with others that live completely alien lives? Why do we learn so much, yet we don’t seem to integrate our insights into our real lives? Why can we go to war at age 18, yet must wait until we are 21 to drink?
Some people question things very little, and they get by just fine. But it’s more fun to have an expansive perception of the world.
And I’m sure you’ve learned quite a lot too. You might still be confused at the chaos of it all, these modern times are too much for one mind to deal with alone. And so we’re not going to do it alone, because no one person has all the answers here. It’s not possible for one person to have all the answers, because of their limited point of view. And that’s sort of the point of this class, how to deal with the complexity of life, integrating different points of views, and the narratives that shape up what will become our future.
How do we ask the right questions? How do we practice true critical thinking?
In short, you’re going to be given a framework with which to deal with an incomprehensibly fast and changing world. What you will do with this framework is completely up to you.
This class is about big questions, the biggest questions of all. It will be about wondering about these questions, seeing where they lead. It will be about trying to understand how this kind of thinking can inform meaning in our own lives, and how it can inspire us endlessly.
The reason I am offering this class is that I want to share this way of thinking with others, and hopefully inspire others to embrace pure curiosity.
-Alif
—————————————-
This class will be administered by Alif Jakir and Mary Donnelly, who have no qualifications whatsoever and you should not take anything they say at face value.
Caption 2: This is what is known as a statement
This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
