Zoom Session 34

Where Do Ideas Originate? –

This week we talked about the origin of our ideas. We split into groups and discussed where we felt our ideas originated. In our group we had quite an interesting discussion. When we returned to the main group the conversation became even deeper to encompass concepts such as the divine and spirituality. One of our group members told us about being baptised in the river Jordan and explained what a life affirming event this had been. It’s great to hear of these experiences. For someone brought up in the Christian faith, to be baptised at the same place as Jesus must have been truly amazing!

We also discussed the Dunning-Kruger effect. Essentially this is where someone naively thinks that they know more about a topic than they actually do. It could be described as being at ‘Peak Stupid’. Hopefully as they begin to learn more, they drop down from ‘Peak Stupid’ into ‘The Valley of Despair’. At this point they gradually rise from ‘The Valley of Despair’ as they gain more knowledge and become more masterful at their subject.

Interestingly, I had already been introduced to the Dunning Kruger Effect by a colleague of mine. He is a film and photography tutor. This particular day he was lamenting how some photography students think they know everything – until they realise (usually quite quickly) that they actually don’t. I think he was considering sharing the Dunning Kruger graph with some of them.

As always it was great to see everyone. I’m really excited about next week, as we are going to have a couple of weeks of mini critiques. I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone has been up to.