Untitled
ddसत्य दायरे
Professor David Christopher Lane Presents
CRITICAL THINKING / Phil 8
Mt. San Antonio College | REGULAR COURSE
FALL 2014
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INTRODUCTION
This course is designed to help us think and write more critically over a broad number of issues, including such subjects as religion, mathematics, physics, psychology, and biology.
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NO TECHNOLOGY ALLOWED DURING CLASS
No smart phones, no computers, no texting, etc. whatsoever
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General website: http://www.neuralsurfer.com
General library of free materials: http://www.runnebohmlibrary.com
Neural Surfer's Youtube channel for original films: http://www.youtube.com/user/neuralsurfer
Email: neuralsurfer@yahoo.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/neuralsurfer
If you have any questions or confusions, please write to your professor at the appropriate email (neuralsurfer@yahoo.com) and you should receive a response within 48 hours. If you do not receive a reply within two days, it generally means that your professor did not get your email. Be sure to write again until you get a reply.
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INSTRUCTIONS
[Online Students]
1. Be sure to create your own personal website using google sites. [Here is a link to a brief instructional video on how to create one very simply within seconds.]
2. Keep a copy of everything that you do for the course on your website.
3. Do all of the assigned readings to the best of your ability. There will be some reading that you may skim read, provided you understand the basic materials being presented.
4. Watch all of the assigned films.
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REQUIRED TEXTS
Required Books for this Course. There are several small books to purchase. They are available only at amazon.com.
Amazon offers PRIME free for 6 months for students. So when you order the book you will get it at your door step the next 1-2 days and delivery is free!! Here is how to sign up for free amazon prime: http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info (you have to use your student mtsac email to sign up). Purchase price for all 6 of the books together: around 40 dollars (reasonable considering traditional text books usually sell for over 100 dollars). I am recommending that you buy these books from amazon.com at once as a "bundle" (all at once). This will save you some money, they arrive your door together in one package, and you will only have to order once for this class. The books are not available at Mt. Sac bookstore since there is about a 40% price hike if purchased there. Also, many students are taking this class outside of the Mt. Sac local area and are not able to commute to the campus for book purchases. The books are not for profit. I recommend using PRIME so that you receive the text within 24-48 hours of purchasing it. You can start reading it early as well. You will need the books as soon as possible.
In addition to these small books, there will be online (free) readings assigned in the weekly lesson plans.Where do you find the online readings for this class? Go to the weekly lesson plans and when you open up a lesson plan you will see the required reading there. Moreover, we have made a series of original films which augment your readings.
PDF VERSIONS: Here are the online versions that are now ready. Please be aware that this is a beta test and not all books are listed.
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Course Outline
INTRODUCTION
Required Introductory Readings (online and free):
Thinking and Writing Clearly | A Field Guide to Critical Thinking | A Mini Guide to Critical Thinking | Critical Thinking and Writing |
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WEEK 1 and 2 and 3: MATHEMATICS
Required Text: YOU ARE PROBABILITY
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EXTRA CREDIT (not required): Voodoo Voodoo and 2 More Waves
Required Online Readings: The Hidden Side of Wolfgang Pauli | Patternicity |
Required Films: Voodoo Voodoo | Bertrand Russell on Clear Thinking | Quantum Thinking | Godel's Paradox | The Delos Cube | Geometric Philosophy |
Write 6 responses to the readings/films and post them on the class forum (also keep a copy of your postings on your own website)
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WEEK 4 and 5 and 6: PHYSICS
Required Text: ADVENTURES IN SCIENCE
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Required Online Readings: Are you Living in a Computer Simulation? | Turing on the Mind and Machine Intelligence |
Required Films: Is the Universe an App? | Quantum Uncertainty | The Shiva Nature of Science | The Feynman Imperative | Feynman's Flower | Is the Universe Made out of Rubber Bands?
Write 6 responses to the readings/films and post them on the class forum (also keep a copy of your postings on your own website)
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WEEK 7 and 8: BIOLOGY
Required Text: COSMIC CREATIONISM
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Required Online Readings: Natural Selection | Darwin's Life |
Required Films: Evolution Trilogy | Darwin's DNA | We Are All Scientists | Evolution Explained in 4 Minutes |
The Genetic Connection | The Darwin-Wallace Debate | The Magic of Evolution |
Write 6 responses to the readings/films and post them on the class forum (also keep a copy of your postings on your own website)
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MIDTERM IS DUE:
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WEEK 9 and 10 and 11: PSYCHOLOGY
Required Text: IS THE UNIVERSE AN APP?
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EXTRA CREDIT (not required): In Search of the Perfect Coke
Required Online Readings: Human, All Too Human | Civilization and Its Discontents |
Required Films: Pivotal Consciousness | Gumby Land | The Octagonal Philosophy of Errol Flynn | Mummy vs. the Wolfman | Maya |
Write 6 responses to the readings/films and post them on the class forum (also keep a copy of your postings on your own website)
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WEEK 12 and 13: THE PARANORMAL
Required Text: THE UNKNOWING SAGE
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Required Online Readings: Cargo Cult Science | The Physics of the "Paranormal" | What is a "Cold Reading"? |
Required Films: Ancient Astrology | The Himalayan Connection | UFOs and the Chandian Effect | Crop Circles | | Ivash's Caution | Russell's Teapot |
Write 6 responses to the readings/films and post them on the class forum (also keep a copy of your postings on your own website)
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WEEK 14 and 15 / CONCLUSION: TECHNOLOGY
Required Text: DIGITAL PHILOSOPHY
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Required Online Readings: The Singularity is Near? | Brave New World Revisited | Technopanics |
Required Readings: Global Positioning Intelligence | The Codex Funeral | The Future of Informational Memory |
Required Films: The Singularity | The Limits of Science | The Codex Funeral | GPI: Global Positioning Intelligence |
Write 6 responses to the readings/films and post them on the class forum (also keep a copy of your postings on your own website)
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NEW EXTRA CREDIT
and
Read, Review, Discuss
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FINAL EXAMINATION IS DUE
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GRADING
GRADING:
A = receive a B+ or higher on both your midterm and your final. Regular posting and create a well maintained website with all your work. Excellent participation and excellent attendance.
B = receive a C+ or higher on both your midterm and your final. Regular posting and create a well maintained website with all your work. Excellent participation and excellent attendance.
C = receive a C- or higher on both your midterm and your final. Regular posting and create a well maintained website with all your work. Good participation and good attemdance.
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NOTE ON ATTENDANCE
If you don't miss any classes and are never tardy it will help your grade significantly. I recommend never missing. It always helps raise your grade.
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NOTE ON EXTRA CREDIT
There will be several opportunities for extra credit throughout the semester.
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Add/Drop Deadlines
• September 5 is the last day you may add the class (unless later admitted by me).
• September 08 is the last day you may drop the class without receiving a ‘W’.
• September 25 is the last day to change grading option for 16-week classes.
You can view this at: http://www.mtsac.edu/schedule/calendar.html
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Cheating and Plagiarism
The term “Cheating” includes but is not limited to:
• Plagiarism
• Receiving or knowingly supplying unauthorized information
• Using unauthorized material or sources
• Changing an answer after work has been graded and presenting it as improperly
graded
• Illegally accessing confidential information through a computer
• Taking an examination for another student or having another person take an
examination for you
• Presenting another person’s work as your own
• Forging or altering registration or grade documents
• Submitting collectively developed work as your own, unless specifically allowed by
the professor
A professor who determines that a student has cheated may give the student a failing grade
for the assignment and should report the alleged academic dishonesty to the Student Life
Office, which will maintain a record of the report and appropriate action under the
provisions of the Administrative Procedures on Student Discipline (AP 5520).
Students are advised that allegations of dishonesty are serious, and can lead to disciplinary
sanctions including suspension and expulsion. (AP 4290).
For webpage: http://www.mtsac.edu/distancelearning/_resources/2013-
14_Catalog_StudentHonestyPolicy_1.pdf
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Disability Accommodations
Students with disabilities, whether physical, learning, or psychological, who believe that they
may need accommodations in this class, are encouraged to contact Disabled Students
Programs & Services (DSPS) as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are
implemented in a timely manner. Their phone number is (909) 274-4290 and they are located
in the Student Services Building, Room 9B. Webpage: http://www.mtsac.edu/dsps/
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The Neuralsurfer website founded in 1994 is designed to present a variety of information
for free via books, magazines, circulars, forums, and films.