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By admin, July 8, 2010 11:22 am

This post is part of our series of posts showing the most inspiring images from the biggest galleries on the web . Continue reading 'Daily Inspiration'»

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By admin, May 23, 2010 8:44 am

I’ve been compiling a list of questions and ideas about ethics and philosophy that parents or teachers could discuss with children. I keep a running list going and when I accumulate a fair number of them I compile and post here on my blog. Sometimes I’m not too good at noting the source, so please forgive me my lack of detail. Some of the thoughts come directly out of my head, but most really are from other sources.

 -          What makes something beautiful?

-          What does something have to have to be beautiful?

-          What does it feel like when something is beautiful to us?

-          Is this always true?

-          For something to be beautiful does someone have to think it is beautiful?

-          If something is beautiful, is it always beautiful?

What does friendship mean – specifically between a human and an animal? Think about these qualities with a human friend and then imagine which of them applies to animal friendship, too.

 -          What is a friend?

            If someone is a friend is this true:

            We talk a lot.

            We share thoughts with each other.

            I like him or her.

           We help each other.

           She/he thinks I am her/his friend.

The following is from the Northwest Center for Philosophy in Children:

1. What can you do with time? Waste it? Spend it? Kill it?

             Are there better or worse things to do with it?

             My favorite way to spend time is to…

            And the reason why is…

      2.  What is the strangest thing that ever happened to you?

             What made it strange?

             Is there anything in the world that isn’t strange?

            Why is it not strange?

     3.  Does doing something dangerous show you are brave?

             What if someone has made you do it?

      4.  What’s the difference between “feeling” brave and “being” brave?

The following questions are of my design. I came up with these as I wrote my children’s book series. This is a short selection of the thousands of questions that can be raised from the contents of that series. I absolutely meant the books to be thought provoking!

Changing into something/someone else:

1. Could you change into something/someone else by wishing it?
2. If you could change into anything/anyone else what would it be?
3. Why? What would be a good reason to change into something/someone else?
4. Can anything you imagine really exist?

What is real?

Give an example for each, please.

1. If you can touch it?
2. If you can see it?
3. If you can smell it?
4. If you can hear it?
5. If you can taste it?
6. If you can ‘sense’ it?
7. If you can dream about it?
8. If you can measure it?
9. If you can read about it?

10.  Are colors real?

11.  Are other dimensions real?

12.  Are some things more real than others?

Have a thoughtful conversation about others’ rights. Think outside of a human frame. What about animals’ rights. Explore the boundaries of those rights – are there different rules for different species? If this is so in the child’s mind, have them explore their reasoning. Take it  even farther – what about other living things? What rights do insects, trees and other organisms have and why?

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By admin, May 13, 2010 11:02 am

This post is part of our series of posts showing the most inspiring images from the biggest galleries on the web. Continue reading 'Inspiration'»

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By admin, April 18, 2010 11:08 am

Test then tease your friends! How much do they know about Quantum Mechanics?

Ask them: Which state do you prefer – Particle Reality or Wave Potential?

At the risk of coming off like a geek it might be fun to ask if they have ever felt like they were coming apart at the seams. You can then explain to them that they were, perhaps, merely experiencing a moment of collapsing back to their wave potential!

If you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about it is time to visit the wretched Wikipedia… or if you want a real answer you might try to Google particles and waves.

Or… just wear this shirt and pretend you actually know what it’s all about – I do! (wear the t-shirt, that is…)

Wave potential T-shirt!