Tag: University of Virginia

Week 6 – Know Thyself | Now you have hit a nerve, Prof Green!

Old Dog/New Tricks In listening to Lecture 11.4, I was silently agreeing with the idea that a two year old probably cannot will to change his/her behavior, when I was struck by a sentence further on which stated that we may lose the ability to change the way we behave as we get older. Now that is…

April 14, 2013
Week 5 – Know Thyself | The adaptive unconscious – my brain is a computer with programs running in the background

My favorite novel of all time is Jane Eyre I found it interesting when I saw that Jane Eyre was mentioned in the title of one of the lectures, and now I must say that the fifth week of Know Thyself has made me even more glad that I am participating in this adventure! Prof…

April 8, 2013
Week 4 – Know Thyself | Was that a Freudian slip?

For my generation, learning about Freud and Freudian slips was an eye-opening experience We were pretty innocent of the ways of the world even as college students, so Freud’s ideas were very startling and, as such, really had an impact. Once one learns about Freudian slips, they seem to be a constant theme of life that…

April 1, 2013
Week 3 – Know Thyself | Maybe I am smarter than I thought!

I feel more intelligent – Thanks Gilbert Ryle! I have aways known that I am much better at learning how to do things such as speak a new language or write a computer program or solve a physical science problem than I ever am at memorizing a lot of facts or dates.

March 23, 2013
Week 2 – Know Thyself | Learned a lot about Descartes, but more about myself

The last time that I studied Descartes was over 50 years ago. In those days books with assigned readings were put on reserve in the library, and students had to sign up for a time slot in order to read them. When the appointed hour arrived

March 15, 2013
Week 1 – Know Thyself | Thanks, Prof Green for helping me stay calm!

Now that I have completed this week’s assignments, I feel as if I have just returned from a time-travel adventure to ancient Greece where I listened in on all the gossip about Socrates! The UVa Coursera course, Know Thyself by Professor Mitch Green, opened this week, and (at least for me) it sure was the…

March 7, 2013