[Xmca-l] Re: The 5thD in 2D

[mike cole]

With respect to the Video about conducting three "5thD systems at one
time."  I personally thought that
Andy brought out the feel of the doing of the work in a way that is quite
difficult to communicate in print.
The film was scheduled to coincide with my elevation to rank of professor
emeritus last June, but life has a way of getting in the way, so to speak.
It was nice to have it appear, as if brought by the wizards themselves, on
new
year's eve.

I am not sure the shape of the pot you are thinking of, Huw. I will assume
its a pot for a plant? A growing thing in its environment. If so, I like
the idea of the film as a potted version of the 5th D; the change in medium
and the perspective of a film maker who has his own point of view on the
whole enterprise, create an interesting way of "shaping" the growth process.

For those of you interested in the line of work, it is probably relevant
that we began arrangements for this
film several years ago, at a time when we could show three living systems
created on principles of CHAT as I misunderstand them were all in operation
at once. The rule of threes is big in my life, and three is the minimum
number we needed to represent the overall conceptual foundations of this
line of joint activity between university and community setting. I knew
this from personal experience-- whenever a visitor came from afar to see
"The" 5thD I would always make sure that the person saw three such systems
as a minimum. The reaction to the first encounter is "Oh,so that is
how *IT*is done." The reaction to the second encounter is "What? How
is the one the
same as that one I saw yesterday?" The reaction to the third encounter is
"Oh, I get it. Each is its own thing, living as part of the social body
within which it has "taken root," "planted there" by some mixture of
university and community people/entities."

I can report that in a message such as this, but what kind of ridiculous
evidence would that be? So how about a narrative by a sympathetic outsider
with the skills needed to provide a representation that could communicate
to a broader community?

In the film, the community is UCSD. My residence. UCSD is undergoing a
multitude of simultaneous changes along with 99% of the post-secondary
educational institutions in the US. We are so predominantly Anglo- and
Asian American in our makeup that it is now officially embarrassing. So one
audience here was my colleagues
at UCSD. Couldn't we address issues of diversity very effectively through
such courses? And achieve other
presumably valued pedagogical goals at the same time?

A second audience were those who fancied such modes of pedagogical activity
in higher education a walk in the park on a breezy June afternoon. Its a
long walk through sometimes rough terrain. To these people we want to
provide a demonstration proof of that such forms of activity can be created
and sustained. We do not go into detail, but it requires at least the
combined efforts of local citizens, university faculty and students, and
the university administration.

The third audience are those among you who are interested in the
relationship of all this work to Vygotsky and CHAT. For you it does not
suffice as theoretically explicated. Rather, it is an alternative
representation (perhaps an anecdote) that enables you to figure what in the
hell is behind the fourbit words in the academic stuff we write.
Note however, when Jay starts to professorize about cognition and emotion
he is a whole lot easier to understand than his writing.

And, if you want the written stuff, there it sits on its developmental
spiral. :-))

mike

PS- (Fourbits is how much the price of a scientific concept is worth these
days) (In 1950 terms it was four
quarters or one dollar). :-)


On Wed, Jan 1, 2014 at 4:50 AM, Luisa Aires <laires11@gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Mike
>
> This is an amazing way to begin the new year.Thank you for sharing this
> fantastic project.
>
> Here, we can find a good way how to think, ground and develop theory and
> ethics in collaboration. And a good motive to rewrite texts ;-)
>
>
> Happy new year to all XMCAers
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Luísa
>
>
> On 31 December 2013 22:19, Huw Lloyd <huw.softdesigns@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Its great to have a potted 5d open film.  The "simplicity" helps to bring
> > out the variety of challenges.  Its nice to have to simply watch and
> ponder
> > too.
> >
> > I had to skip about a bit to work out what "the bus children being
> squeezed
> > out" (15 mins) meant ("bus kids" came from the inner city -- i.e. buses
> > used for distance rather than safety).
> >
> > Best,
> > Huw
> >
>