BQ1 Foundations Lesson 9

Context is everything

Learning Objective:
I can explain the implications of Beau Lotto’s statement that ‘context is
everything’.

Starter:
How truthful is the information your senses are giving you about reality
right now? How certain can we be about that question?

- There are more than just 5 senses, we have balance (equilibrioception),

temperature (thermoception), kinesthetic sense (proprioception), pain
(nociception), and internal senses - hunger, needing to use the bathroom,
etc.

Think, Pair, Share

“The senses deceive from time to time, and it is prudent never to trust wholly
those who have deceived us even once.”

● What did Rene Descartes mean?

- He means that our 5 senses deceive us every time, because they have
deceived us once. Those led him to having doubts about everything.

● To what extent should we follow his advice?

- Here comes the truth theory, when you believe someone, you want to see
it to get your answer proven.
“your brain is locked in a vault of silence and darkness in your skull”

Discussion: What point do you think neuroscientist David Eagleman was making
about the information our brains receive from our senses?

- That when you obtain information, your brain will receive the information
through our senses. He says that it is full of darkness, that might interpret
that you may not have information or that you are not being introduced to
new ideas or things.

‘Context is everything’

1) Make sure you can explain what he means by the end of his talk.
- Context gives meaning for what we think and do.

Watch the yoghurt experiment video. What does it reveal about our sense
of taste?

- The color of the yogurt determines the taste. We base our taste on
context.

EXIT:

What did Beau Lotto mean when he said ‘context is everything’, and what
are the implications of this?

- He means that context gives meaning for what we think and do. It provides
meaning, clarity and key for objects and subjects etc. If we don’t have
context then it is meaningless. Processing information.