The Art of the Idea and How it Can Change Your Life:Questions and Vocab

Greta Cahill

Introduction:
Page 14-15
-Coaxed- persuade (someone) gradually or by flattery to do something.
-Swirling dervish- whose ritual consists in part of a highly stylized whirling dance.
-Paradox- a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from
acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or
self-contradictory.
-Pontificate- express one's opinions in a way considered annoyingly pompous and dogmatic.
-Meticulous- showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.
Page 16-17
-Body corporate- of or relating to a corporation, especially a large company or group.
-Intuitive-using or based on what one feels to be true even without conscious reasoning;
instinctive.
-Intangible-unable to be touched or grasped; not having physical presence.
-Eureka-a cry of joy or satisfaction when one finds or discovers something.
1. What struck you about this excerpt from the book The Art of the Idea?
What struck me the most about this article was the sort of socialization that they brought up.
They said, There are many reasons for this reaction. They range from schools that teach us to
learn, but not to thin, to companies that are actually embarrassed by someone who has a new
idea. This struck me because I never realized it but it is sort of true. We as a society have a set
and stone way of doing things and being original and creative is labeled as weird.
2. What does it mean that soon..original thinking will be the only currency of value?
When the article states this, they are talking about how soon we are not going to value learning
old information as much. But we will crave a sense of new history by creating a sense of
imagination.
3.Does the author believe that most people understand what it means to have an idea?
Why or why not?
The author does not believe that most people can grasp the concept of ideas. He believes that
most people see the experience as mystical or is confused with incremental change.
Observation 1: You Get Sunrise Or Sunset People
Page 20-21
-Calibrated- work jointly on an activity, especially to produce or create something.
-Sloping- inclined from a horizontal or vertical line.
-Rhetoric-the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of
speech and other compositional techniques
Page 22-23
-Stimuli-a thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue.
-Irrespective- not taking (something) into account; regardless of.
-Signifier-a sign's physical form (such as a sound, printed word, or image) as distinct from its
meaning.
-Fruition- he point at which a plan or project is realized.
1. In your own words, what is belief?
In my opinion the word belief means to have trust in something. Belief can be seen all over the
world from simple things such as I believe in you! Belief is so important in imagining and
creating ideas, because that is the final step that pushes an idea to be brilliant.
2. What is a sunrise person? What is something a sunrise person would say working on
our exhibition together?
A sunrise person is someone who looks at the bright side of things, like the bright sun stays out
after it. This person believes in ideas and contributes to creating and refining them. They are
very open minded. In a group, they would encourage people's ideas and persist through a
challenge. They are enthusiastic and optimistic. They exert energy to the group.
3.What is a sunset person? What is something a sunset person would say working on
our exhibition together?
A sunset person is a more close minded person who doesnt necessarily believe in ideas and is
not that encouraging. Sunset people are more negative and suck out energy from the idea. A
sunset person in a group person would not be optimistic and would not contribute as much.
4. Do you think you are born a sunrise or sunset person, or is it something that you learn
through trial and error?
I think you learn it through trial and error because when you experience your peers acting a
certain way towards new ideas and society acting a certain way, it rubs off on you. I think that
when you are younger you are more receptive to ideas and are more of a sunrise person and
then depending on your experience is then when you are shaped.
5. Thinking of your experience so far as a collaborator and student at AHS-- are you a
sunrise or sunset person? What is your evidence?
I think I am a sunrise person because I am pretty optimistic about what we are doing and I can
be see leading things in the classroom. I encourage ideas while keeping reality in mind. I am
enthusiastic about what we are learning and go above and beyond.
6. Thinking of others first, how can we help each other grow as sunrise people? Give at
least one concrete idea.
When it comes to being a sunrise person the main thing that I think you need is compassion and
commitment. So getting people's interest involved more in the project can really spark
something.
Challenge extension:
To be successful from now on, having ideas will be the organising principle, not just an eureka
moment
1. What does this mean in your opinion? Why do you think the author believes this? What
is this a change from?
Eureka moment is lengthened back to ancient Greek polymath Archimedes, and this moment is
an aha moment the a person experiences while finally understanding a complicated problem or
conflict. This quote means that instead of the aha! Just being once in awhile thing, it is know
going to be a constant thing in our future. To be successful in our ever evolving society we need
to create and imagine new ideas and new plans. The author believes in this because he
believes ideas create space for change in this world not just knowledge. As he states in the text
its the ideas that prod and push the world forward. This is a change from our idea of
knowledge is power, this pushes into imagination is power. Although we have learned a lot
about the past, which is interesting, it is time to focuse on our future and the present by creating
new ideas.