1. Select Five video clips from "Talks on Concentration and Meditation" in Module 1 "Preparing The Mind". Identify and clarify (explain what it means) with your own example one main point on concentration or meditation from each of these five video clips. Ask an essential question on each of these points.
Module1link of five videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlxJL_4bIu8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc3fqkwHWJA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpeR3i_K8DI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB6yNs8sLUo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFygPz97oyw
2. "No questions equals no understanding." (Module 2: "The Role of Questions") Clarify the meaning of this statement and examine whether it is reasonable.
3. "The art of questioning as a means to deep and broad understanding consists in asking essential questions about a claim, issue, or topic, rather than non-essential questions." (This claim is based on Module 2 reading "Asking Essential Questions") Clarify the meaning of this statement with your own example..
Practice the art of questioning on the claim "Iran is a threat" and explain how your questions have led to a better understanding of it. Use this link to a video clip of an interview with Noam Chomsky on Iran to facilitate your questioning.
Link (Links to an external site.)
4. Set up your chess board following the first diagram on p. 9 of your chess text Teach Yourself Visually Chess (TYVC). Select black or white to move from their starting position in the chess board. If you select white, stick with it for consistency. The same holds true of black.
a. List all moves you can make on your first move in accordance with the rules of chess. Identify in chess notation (TYVC, pp. 5 & 17) the starting square and finishing square. Example: (White) pawn a2 - a4 (This means that you have chosen to move the white pawn in the a2 square to the a4 square).
b. List three successive moves you can make in the starting position for black or white. Use three different pieces (pawn, knight, rook, or bishop, or king, or queen) for these three successive moves. You will have to move one of the pawns in the second rank so that the piece behind it in the first rank can make a move. Identify in chess notation (TYVC, pp. 5 & 17) the starting square and finishing square. Example: (White) pawn a2 - a4 (This means that you have chosen to move the white pawn in the a2 square to the a4 square).
5. How would you categorize the following questions based on the readings on types of questions in module 2? Justify your answer in not more than three sentences. The alternate/alternative categories are given in parentheses.
a. "Did Jesus get resurrected?" (empirical or conceptual?)
b. Do aliens (ET's) exist? (one system or no system or conflicting systems)
c. "Is capital punishment morally justified?" (one system or no system or conflicting systems?)
d. "Is Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton the best presidential candidate ?" (one system or no system or conflicting systems?)
6. Identify and clarify briefly the central messages of the following songs in Module 14. Complete the tasks given in parentheses below. Ask Two questions on each of these songs and their messages:
a. Tom Paxton's song "What Did You Learn in School Today" sung by Pete Seeger (Watch also the first two video clip excerpts from Chomsky's talk in "Chomsky on Education and Indoctrination" in the module "Critical Thinking And Mass Media Propaganda" and relate the contents of these video clips to the messages of Tom Paxton's song.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHI5NIlD6aU
b. "Ball of Confusion" sung by Temptations (What are some of the "confusions" identified in this song? How does critical thinking help in resolving them?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iwLvmPUEo4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9NcvZJxAlM
c. "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" by Tom Paxton (What is the nature of the "wondering" described by this song? How does critical thinking help to give us a sense of direction in our lives?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2ANwbmLHgM
d. "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder (How does this song describe superstition? What's wrong with it? How does critical thinking help us to steer clear of superstition?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CFuCYNx-1g
e. "American Remains" sung by the Highwaymen (What is the central message of this song?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Q0sX2cv-Q.