Plato ’ s Cave to Unite Americans
in science discussed by Clark ( 2008 ) in his book Supersizing the Mind : Embodiment , Action , and Cognitive Extension with idea of the third wave discussed by Case in his book , The Third Wave : An Entrepreneur ’ s Vision of the Future . The technology we are exploring for research and application , we view as related to what Clark writes in his chapter 3 , Material Symbols . He has sections on Language as Scaffolding , Augmenting Reality , and Sculpturing Attention . This is further explicated in an internal item of ACE titled Understanding the Analytical Tools for Complex Adaptive Systems .
Providing the Mind with a Tool
We aim to provide the learner ’ s mind with a tool that can serve as an extension of the mind . The mind is going to select information , process it in a paradigm , utilize a value system , and operate to defend or advance interests . Clark ( 2008 ), in his book Supersizing the Mind : Embodiment , Action , and Cognitive Extension , in his chapter 3 , Material Symbols , have sections on Language as Scaffolding , Augmenting Reality , and Sculpturing Attention . In that third section , the discussion may help us understand how to empower the learner . 2
To empower the learner , we as innovators , start with a foundation for the analytical tools . That foundation , assuming that we build it on the counterpart of the periodic table , specifying rules and tools for interaction of agents that foster favorable emergent behavior in developing and sharing knowledge , leads to choices that support emergent patterns with greater likelihood for favorable outcomes that other options . It is like choices in checkers or chess or in neural networks as discussed by Holland ( 1998 ) in his book Emergence : From Chaos to Order .
In short , as stated in the opening of the home page of ACE , “ The mission of this enterprise is to improve policy at levels ranging from the individual level to the societal level through educational innovation dealing with the nature of complex adaptive systems utilizing the thrust of advancing research so as to better understand the emergence of patterns of interactions .” It would be helpful to have a social science counter-
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Empowerment is what education is all about ; in part for one ’ s own life and in part for the communities within which one functions . A sense of place is one way to approach the empowerment , especially because it involves networks and emergence that impacts structures . Sense of Place and Empowerment This essay , Sense of Place and Empowerment , is the first of a two essay series . The second essay , Empowerment of a Society , carries the idea of empowerment from that of the individual in small-scale relationships to generating an impact on the structure of the environment . Sense of place contributes to both self-empowerment and the empowerment of an individual by others . The intent of the analysis is to explore an innovative opportunity to get closer to an equitable representation of the American public in the development of the societal structure . That exploration starts with gaining a better understanding of how an individual ’ s sense of place can impact the generation of power . Empowerment of a Society Individuals can gain empowerment by networking with others who have a sufficient commonalty of interests . It takes brains and commitment for an individual to progress through the structure that imposes constraints . There is a co-evolution of environment and mental content . The process generates empowerment . Empowerment as the exercise of power is a major route to changing the direction of the evolution of American Democracy . This essay is a segue to the six essay treatise that is intended to foster the process by fostering better analytics and an improved level of morality that contributes to building social capital and enhancing the presence of humanity in American Democracy .
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