Jordan

Tuesday Sept. 23rd

Connections assignment [A]

Link these two something-or-others

A haiku, by Basho

Nothing in the cry

of cicadas suggests

they are about to die

Sept. 22, 08

Connections Lab

by Jordan

Purpose: To draw all possible connections between ‘something-or- other #1’ and ‘something-or-other #2’

Question: Are the two ‘something-or-others’ related or connected in any way? How are they connected and does knowing biologically what the two ‘something-or-others’ are help or hinder the connections that are made?

Controls: - The ‘something-or-others’ shown to each subject

- The question asked of each subject

- The information about each ‘something-or-other’ given before “Connection #2”

Materials: - 2 ‘something-or-others’

- 20 unique subjects (students of Waterloo)

- Paper and pencil for collecting data

Procedure: 1. Gather both ‘something-or-others’

2. Find a random subject, who is a student at Waterloo and who is willing to answer a few questions

3. Ask for their full name, spelled correctly

4. Ask what program they are currently studying in

5. Record these answers

6. Show them the two ‘something-or-others’, ask what connections, if any they can conclude or observe between the two (this will be the “Connection # 1”)

7. Insist that there are no right or wrong answers and that they do not have to have an answer if they see no connection

8. Record any answers or responses

9. Next educate them on what ‘something-or-other’ #2 is and answer any question they may have as to what each ‘something-or-other’ is

10. Ask what connections, if any they can conclude or observe between the two ‘something-or-others’ (this will be the “Connection # 2”)

11. Record any answers or responses

12. Repeat steps 2-11 for 19 more subjects

Observations:

① ‘something-or-other’ #1

② ‘something-or-other’ #2

---------- they saw no connection

Personal Answer

Name: anonymized

Program: Knowledge Integration

Connection #1: ① words have neg. connotation – cry, die .. relates to death, or even connected with evil

② also has a neg. connotation. Light/dark imagery, shadows, dark .. death .. evil

Connection#2: ① poem of nature = Nature in Art

② art forms of nature = Art in Nature

Subject 1

Name: anonymized

Program: Sceince

Connection #1: ----------

Connection#2: “maybe they eat the algae and then they die”

Subject 2

Name: anonymized

Program: Computer Engineering

Connection #1: ----------

Connection#2: ----------

Subject 3

Name: anonymized

Program: Planning

Connection #1: cell?.. living things = life and death

Connection#2: one cell organism and cicada have short lifespan

Subject 4

Name: anonymized

Program: Honors Arts

Connection #1: cells? Maybe cells of a cicada

Connection#2: ① Algae blooms in bursts, reproduces very rapidly … this means their presence is very well known

② Cicadas presence is very known …because of the intense sound it makes

Subject 5

Name: anonymized

Program: Rec. & Leisure

Connection #1: bug eyes … the cicada’s eyes

Connection#2: one cell algae die fast like the cicada

Subject 6

Name: anonymized

Program: Electrical Engineering

Connection #1: “ nothing in the cry..” is related to the holes between the gaps which lead to nothingness

Connection#2: ----------

Subject 7

Name: anonymized

Program: Management Engineering

Connection #1: dots at three corners are attacking the cicada, making it die

Connection#2: cicada is going to kill the one cell algae

Subject 8

Name: anonymized

Program: Systems Design Engineering

Connection #1: -----------

Connection#2: maybe they (cicadas) eat them (algae)

Subject 9

Name: anonymized

Program: Environmental Engineering

Connection #1: cell of a cicada

Connection#2: cicadas are in larva stage for a long time … when they reach the prime of their lives they also reach death… one cell algae also lives for a short period before death

– both are not afraid of death

– both meant to reproduce

Subject 10

Name: anonymized

Program: Electrical Engineering

Connection #1: Cicadas larva

Connection#2: ----------

Subject 11

Name: anonymized

Program: Honors Arts

Connection #1: “nothing in the cry … suggests” … nothing in the picture on the left would suggest the picture on the right

Connection#2: ----------

Subject 12

Name: anonymized

Program: Math

Connection #1: ---------- a turtle shell?

Connection#2: the cells kill the bug

Subject 13

Name: anonymized

Program: Mechanical Engineering

Connection #1: ---------- a trap?

Connection#2: cycle .. of life, death and rebirth

Subject 14

Name: anonymized

Program: History

Connection #1: ①“cry” = crying = water

② looks like the bottom of a pool = water

Connection#2: ----------

Subject 15

Name: anonymized

Program: Honors Arts

Connection #1: Before / After –

① life than death

② closed, than it dies .. opening up to show its true emotion .. ( relating to the emotion in “cry”)

Connection#2: ----------

Subject 16

Name: anonymized

Program: Political Science

Connection #1: ----------

Connection#2: both living things

Subject 17

Name: anonymized

Program: Religious Studies

Connection #1: cicada shell … or their tomb one they die

Connection#2: “diatoms” … they die from the tone (sound from cicada)

Subject 18

Name: anonymized

Program: Computer Science

Connection #1: ---------- exponential function? .. beehive?

Connection#2: ---------- virus? … “where’s the nucleus?”

Subject 19

Name: anonymized

Program: Fine Arts – History Minor

Connection #1: we’re unaware of death … we can’t suggest we know when death is upon us

Connection#2: The cicada’s cry does not suggest it knows about pain or death .. the one cell organism doesn’t have the capacity to know about death … it is not focused on death ..

Subject 20

Name: anonymized

Program: English Literature

Connection #1: ①Haiku = 5-7-5, longer in the middle

② longer in the middle

① three lines all ending in verbs

② three points all ending in dots

Connection#2: ①about to die… “suggests” .. so we wouldn’t think it was about to die.

② closed then opens up to reveal its vulnerability

Conclusions: It can be concluded that many diverse connections were made throughout the experiment. It was interesting to note that many who did not have a “Connection #1” had a “Connection #2” and vise versa. More often than not a students educational interests had a direct correlation with their answer. It was also evident that a students program could have an affect on which connection they were able to make. As a generalization many of the ‘arts’ students were able to make a clear connection between the poem and the image. These same students often found it difficult to make “Connection #2”. The same can be said for the ‘science and math based’ programs. Students studying in these areas found it difficult to identify with something they did not have a biological definition for. These same students came up with much more concise connections once they had a name to the object, and they could relate to a thing instead of just an image. Everyone thinks differently and since the students were all form different areas of study they came up with many creative and unique connections.

Analysis/Application: It think it’s fair to say that there is a distinctive difference between the connections made knowing what the ‘something-or-others’ are and not knowing what they are. Connections can be drawn with or without knowing, but the knowledge of having a societal definition does alter the outcome of the connections made. This activity was useful in making a connection between the two ‘something-or-others’ because it opened them up to so many different minds. Connections are made based on our own experience and our own knowledge. Everyone thinks differently and everyone has different strengths. It’s these different backgrounds and strengths that make for endless connections.