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It may be prevalent in niche industries. But it's largely not culturally apart of historically western culture. And would you apply that problem approach prior

by tenken 6y ago

It may be prevalent in niche industries. But it's largely not culturally apart of historically western culture. And would you apply that problem approach prior to becoming a physics expert, did they teach that in kindergarten? Eg in school we learn as kids derivatives, rote routines to solve a type of problem, and we plug and chug, but we are not shown (necessarily) by govt education the underlying theories that may create a solution. This/my opinion is of course dependant on how expert an instructor is ... The best anecdotal example I can give off the net offhand would be: https://www.google.com/amp/ask.metafilter.com/105309/Tao-thinking-and-problem-solving/amp https://www.google.com/amp/ask.metafilter.com/105309/Tao-thi... Thanks for your feedback Edit: Also in the usa we're taught do your own homework for example. In asian cultures often students band together to succeed in classes (I work in higherEd and this is culturally visible in peers in classes). This is another example of this philosophy being different between cultures.

bouncycastle 6y ago
Creative/critical thinking is taught heavily from kindergarten in western schools. In contrast to eastern education which tends to greatly focus on memorization through repetition.. (i.e https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_learning https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_learning) The quote you have included is based on Taoism. Is that common? I was under the impression that Confucianism has the more dominant influence on values and thought. Anyways, at least that's one thing we can agree on - Taoism's philosophy encourages an open mind and awareness.
- oreally 6y ago
  > In contrast to eastern education which tends to greatly focus on memorization through repetition.. Wouldn't quite say that is true. People use a variety of techniques to get scored higher and there's always a certain percentage who will use such rote learning techniques, be it eastern or western. I think what what's missing in the discussion is the western focus on individualism as compared to east asian communitarianism. Both have their pros and cons and mutual dislikes. There was a book by 2 high level western/eastern women managers in Hewlett Packard that highlights this dichotomy. It's a great read.
  - bouncycastle 6y ago
    > individualism as compared to east asian communitarianism Again, that's because of a deep rooting in Confucianism. Also, "Communitarianism" is a western (Christian) philosophy. It may have been borrowed from Confucianism? I'm not sure. A lot of religions and philosophies share these kinds of values, so it's not unique to just one region / culture, IMO. Anyhow, neither is better or worse, and probably a balance between communitarianism and individualism is best. All cultures can learn from each other.
    - oreally 6y ago
      > Also, "Communitarianism" is a western (Christian) philosophy Hm probably a better word would be collectivism
lotsofpulp 6y ago
> Edit: Also in the usa we're taught do your own homework for example. I went to a mix of 7 private and government schools between K through 12th grades in the US, and I don’t remember any of them not having group projects. Some, or most of the homework is individual, but there’s plenty of group work too.
- sidlls 6y ago
  He's referring to the phenomenon of certain groups of students cheating on homework and justifying it by claiming it's a cultural difference in approach to learning. It's not. It's outright splitting up work between peers, often with the use of illicit solutions manuals, for the purpose of gaming the grading system. It's especially beneficial in classes where the professor just writes exams from homework problems or problems very similar to them. There isn't anything special or insightful, mystical or different or "eastern" about cooperative learning. I'm thoroughly "western" and had plenty of homework groups in both undergrad and grad school. Nor is there anything special about the cooperative cheating I described: "certain groups" applied to plenty of western peer groups I saw in undergrad especially, though they didn't claim what they were doing was some "cultural" thing, as they knew it was simply cheating.

by tenken 6y ago

bouncycastle 6y ago

Creative/critical thinking is taught heavily from kindergarten in western schools. In contrast to eastern education which tends to greatly focus on memorization through repetition.. (i.e https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_learning https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_learning) The quote you have included is based on Taoism. Is that common? I was under the impression that Confucianism has the more dominant influence on values and thought. Anyways, at least that's one thing we can agree on - Taoism's philosophy encourages an open mind and awareness.

oreally 6y ago
> In contrast to eastern education which tends to greatly focus on memorization through repetition.. Wouldn't quite say that is true. People use a variety of techniques to get scored higher and there's always a certain percentage who will use such rote learning techniques, be it eastern or western. I think what what's missing in the discussion is the western focus on individualism as compared to east asian communitarianism. Both have their pros and cons and mutual dislikes. There was a book by 2 high level western/eastern women managers in Hewlett Packard that highlights this dichotomy. It's a great read.
- bouncycastle 6y ago
  > individualism as compared to east asian communitarianism Again, that's because of a deep rooting in Confucianism. Also, "Communitarianism" is a western (Christian) philosophy. It may have been borrowed from Confucianism? I'm not sure. A lot of religions and philosophies share these kinds of values, so it's not unique to just one region / culture, IMO. Anyhow, neither is better or worse, and probably a balance between communitarianism and individualism is best. All cultures can learn from each other.
  - oreally 6y ago
    > Also, "Communitarianism" is a western (Christian) philosophy Hm probably a better word would be collectivism

lotsofpulp 6y ago

> Edit: Also in the usa we're taught do your own homework for example. I went to a mix of 7 private and government schools between K through 12th grades in the US, and I don’t remember any of them not having group projects. Some, or most of the homework is individual, but there’s plenty of group work too.

sidlls 6y ago
He's referring to the phenomenon of certain groups of students cheating on homework and justifying it by claiming it's a cultural difference in approach to learning. It's not. It's outright splitting up work between peers, often with the use of illicit solutions manuals, for the purpose of gaming the grading system. It's especially beneficial in classes where the professor just writes exams from homework problems or problems very similar to them. There isn't anything special or insightful, mystical or different or "eastern" about cooperative learning. I'm thoroughly "western" and had plenty of homework groups in both undergrad and grad school. Nor is there anything special about the cooperative cheating I described: "certain groups" applied to plenty of western peer groups I saw in undergrad especially, though they didn't claim what they were doing was some "cultural" thing, as they knew it was simply cheating.