Paideia - the complete education of mind, body and spirit. Contribution to the Reed community

For one week at the end of January, Reed students upend the traditional classroom hierarchy and teach classes about any topic they love, academic or otherwise. This week is known as Paideia after the Greek term signifying "education" - the complete education of mind, body and spirit. What would you teach that would contribute to the Reed community? (200 words minimum, 500 words maximum)

Martian

I am a movie geek. I especially love to watch science fictions because futuristic science/tech truly excites me particularly when it comes to astronomy. Combining two of my passions, I have found a way that can be both very entertaining and educational at the same time, a movie commentary. If given the chance, i would start a discussion or commentary on the movie Martian and the physics behind it.

First of all, you may be wondering can movie commentary really be educational? Yes, it can because i will be reviewing the movie in terms of science and explain the concepts it covered. I am positive that many audience have wondered whether the scenarios in sci-fis are accurate and such things are possible or not. For example, is it really possible to harvest potatoes on a Martian soil? How is Martian climate compared to Earth's? Clearing that out would be a great pleasure for both me and my fellow reedies.

Even though study should be our first priority at Reed, we should not forget to relax and have a little fun. Why not start by enjoying ourselves with a great movie? It is an great opportunity for the community to take a break from some rigorous courses. While entertaining ourselves with open discussion, we can still learn some worth-knowing lessons that we never had a chance to grasp.

Most importantly, the main purpose of my temporary course would be to foster independent thinking in the community. Ideally, we should be able to evaluate the information in our head and come up with an answer. I hope that my commentary will inspire others to approach any science source with smart questions regarding the credibility and possibilities of the concept.

@l3atjin
Batjin, it's pretty good. I believe it can be better if you fix some grammar mistakes. I believe you know "I" should be capital. Some sentences are awkwars even without a mistake. For example, "both entertaining and educational at the same time", you should delete "at the same time" because it's redundent. It is an great opportunity for the community to take a break from some rigorous courses.

Clearingthat outthese questions would be a great pleasure for both me and my fellow reedies.my fellows and me

Hope it help.

Batjin, why don't you do the opposite during Paideia week? You can still watch the movie, The Martian, but, since the movie has already been Scienced out in discussion by Neil De Grasse Tyson and other scientists, why not look for the flaws in the movie and discuss it instead? That sounds like it would be more fun than actually looking for the science in the movie. Doing that would also open the movie to non-scientific minds of people who are observant and may notice some flaws in the movie that may or may not be connected to science? The connection with Paideia will be that just because a movie seems scientifically accurate, does not mean that it is 100 % accurate. Such an essay presentation will make the topic you chose more interesting and allow for a wider discussion and / or debate after the movie viewing.

Thanks guys, yes Holt i will definitely consider that. Should i stick with the movie commentary idea or just find another one?

You can actually keep the movie if you want to. Like I said, the education of the mind, body, and spirit in this instance will come from the way that your class will observe the faults in a seemingly perfect movie. Yes, I said seemingly perfect because the movie still has its flaws. Check the movie trivia for the possible conversation starters that you can have for the class. I am sure you will find the mistakes of the movie as fascinating as the scientific correctness of its other aspects. Sometimes, the education of the person is not limited to the propriety of the information that is shared, it can also come from the faults of a person. So you could focus on the imperfection of the prefect science in the movie in order to give them a unique movie learning experience.