Abraham Contos

“I have a friend who is fond of saying, “If we both think the same way, one of us in unnecessary.”

I really like this quote; however, I have the opposite problem if either. I always tend to position myself opposite of others, refusing to accept what they say simply because I didn’t think of it myself. I am too narrow minded. On the one hand I don’t necessarily suffer from the Ophelia syndrome but I have trouble allowing myself to consider other perspectives which can be equally inhibiting.

Sometimes, sheer practicality or necessity require us to take the short cut to knowledge. It’s nice when you can afford to invest in a truly open minded, investigative approach to learning, but sometimes you simply need to know things so you can move on to more important things. Sometimes, you aren’t going to get to a usable answer without trusting some other authority.

That said, I find it refreshing to ask other’s their opinion without them immediately going on the defense because they assume I’m attacking their position, only inquiring so as to plan my attack. I also hate when people who agree with you dominate a conversation pointing out things that you may even agree with but without allowing for consideration of other perspectives. As far as they are concerned, they are right and it is heretical to discuss anything else. Even if you disagree with a perspective, exploring that perspective can only inform your own perspective.

I crave conversations that are open minded without defensive assertions or attacks on other mindedness, but I find myself perpetually timid about engaging in conversation with people for fear that they will either attack my position or go on all out defense to shore up theirs. Both parties have to be open minded for a productive conversation to ensue, not just me.

Posted in class reading, Learning Journal

I will be interested in political attitudes in my research. Since a lot of political rallies and such focus on younger actors, I can envision myself looking for opportunities to “hang out” with people my age, doing things that they would normally do in order to engage in common everyday political conversation. I can see myself hanging out in bars (sipping on coke or fanta) having wonderful conversations with half drunk men who are more than willing to provide their “superior perspective” on life.

“We would recomnzend thatresearchers choose settings in which the subjectsare strangers and in which they have no particularprofessional knowledge or expertise:”

–I disagree with this idea. For some traditions of research, particular the interpretive tradition, it is actually recommended that the researcher immerse themself in the culture and he is often not even taken seriously unless he has spent years in the field. This provides a different kind of insight than the recommended fashion of unfamiliarity, but allows the researcher to better interpret the behavioral characteristics of individuals and why they do what they do. I prefer this approach more than the objective one. Because of my background I am also in a good position to use this approach  whereas others would have to invest much more than me to get to the desired point of immersion.

Posted in class reading, Learning Journal