To Know Everything Is To Know Nothing

Art is a snapshot of society painted by the hands of geniuses. Unlike a snapshot with the click of a camera, it isn’t just the picture seen generally. Painted art consists of the artist’s feelings implied in the picture itself. Therefore, as the painting grows in life and color, so do the feelings in it. The feelings of the painter, another person who is part of the society. The painter’s feelings are communicated through messages in strokes, details, and emotions lingering in the art. Essentially, the viewer will be able to read these messages, and even though they may or may not be able to connect with the painter’s feelings, it is that one more person’s input on his or her view of society that more people, as they gaze at the painting, can explore and take account of. From the audience’s point of view, they are able to see the scene from another person’s perspective.

Obviously back in the Renaissance, cameras had not been invented yet; therefore the only means of taking a snapshot of a scene would have been through art. Therefore, each scene is painted with such precision and care as to show every detail. Overall, the details combined create the bigger picture, but if examined carefully and closely, the details all have hidden messages in them as well. It doesn’t have to be the drawing itself, but the colors and how the object is represented have effects too. For example, Aristotle and his master Plato are presented to be the focal point of the painting “The School of Athens.” Aristotle’s clothes are blue and brown, the colors of the ocean and Earth, elements that are held down by gravity. This is significant to the representation of Aristotle because his studies were more tangible, as opposed to Plato’s more spiritual studies that were not experimental.

In this artwork, Raphael’s idea was to put all the geniuses who had contributed greatly to knowledge, under one roof. In that case, this painting would be a humanist’s dream. The RenProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ssance was a time of rebirth of knowledge, where people inquired more about subjects, as opposed to relying only on the Church’s answers. In the Renaissance, people had been able to explore about subjects such as anatomy, science, math, art, and others. But it was through their curiosity and inquiry that people stumbled upon scientific explanations, rather than religious explanations being their only resource. Therefore, with all the geniuses under one roof, this painting represents the Renaissance greatly because these geniuses discovered and contributed greatly to the knowledge that was studied and built upon in the Renaissance. Art mirrors society not only in the big picture seen at first glance, but also by the actions of the people in the painting, and the implied feelings of the painter, a person part of society his or herself. Art mirrors society’s thoughts as well as actions, completing the picture overall.

Who Would I Be?

If I were to be someone in Raphael's painting of the geniuses, I would be Socrates. He was a Greek philosopher, who took on to Plato's studies of the abstract and intangible. His greatest contributions were logic and epistemology, the theory of knowledge. Socrates once said, "All I know is that I know nothing." The more one knows, the more that person doesn't know. As people gain more knowledge, the less knowledge they have. An answer leads to another question, and therefore as you learn more and more, you start to question things more and more, therefore you have less answers to your questions. In the end, you are left with gained knowledge that leaves you to lack of knowledge. Apart from his theory of knowledge, Socrates was a man of arguments and contradiction. The Socratic Method is a form of debate, and Socratic paradoxes contradict with themselves. An example of a Socratic paradox would be his famous quote, "I know I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing." In this sentence, Socrates contradicts the idea of knowing anything with the idea of knowing nothing in the process of learning more and more. So not only was he a man of logic and epistemology, but also of arguments.

Like Socrates, I argue a lot, with valid reasons to support my arguments. This is evident in Humanities itself, in the Socratic seminars we have. I find myself participating a lot during these seminars, arguing or agreeing with others' ideas. When arguing, I have reasons to support my statements, and although others may not agree or understand my statements, I myself have a valid reason to support it. But I can relate most to Socrates because I have a profound side, in which I question knowledge. My cousin once said to me, "The more you know, the more you don't know." And it was then that it hit me. This is a true statement. We will never stop inquiring about subjects as soon as we start to learn about them. I was able to grasp the idea of not knowing anything as we learn more, and from then on, I questioned knowledge. It is best, at times, to not learn anything about a certain subject, as to not question it any longer. Logic is essential to life, as it is applied to almost everything we do. Therefore, I believe that I need to develop my logic, which is why when it comes to logical thinking, I try my best to understand the concepts, just like Socrates. Like Socrates, I understand what I know, and I know that to know everything, is to know nothing.

Dare To Stand Out

The Alchemist reminds me of another book, Stargirl, written by Jerry Spinelli. In this book, the main character's name is Stargirl. Her name alone reflects her bizarre personality. She stands out in the crowd, her vivacious personality propelling her to talk to students she doesn't know. Unfortunately, she's not accepted by anyone. But a boy named Leo takes the time to befriend her, and later becomes her boyfriend.

An important trait Stargirl possesses is persistence.

Steadfast Persistence

Determination

Determination prods you off the back of your heels
Blanketed in steadfast persistence
Tenacious until you reach your goal.

Santiago, in achieving his destiny, needed to be determined. For without determination, he would not have succeeded and overcome trials.

Curiosity is Genius

Renaissance was a time of rebirth of knowledge. Cultures, art and architecture from past eras were revisited and incorporated into the Renaissance. The Renaissance evolved from a time of strict belief based on the Church, to a time of curiosity and opening up to other ideas that were not just based on the Catholic Church.

Geniuses such as Leonardo Da Vinci can be recognized as a true Renaissance man because of his inquiry. Being a curious person, he explored and experimented with a lot of concepts, such as flying. He also reflects the ‘rebirth of knowledge’ by incorporating some of the Ancient Roman ideas. The basic concept of a dome derived from Ancient Roman architecture which was explored by other architects. Da Vinci took this knowledge and included it into his own designs. Leonardo Da Vinci is very well known as the painter of the all around famous, ‘Mona Lisa.’ But he was not just a painter. He was a scientist as well. An inventor.

While trying to find the formula of having the same area of a square and a given circle, Leonardo Da Vinci was able to use this knowledge to draw his people to scale. Although his calculations failed, it helped him with his paintings. In the painting, ‘Baptism of Christ,’ by Andrea del Verrocchio who was Da Vinci’s master, Andrea del Verrochio let Leonardo paint one of the angels, as it was common for the master to allow their apprentices to paint sections of a master’s painting. The angel Leonardo drew stands out from the rest of the painting, with its intricate detail. In Leonardo’s own painting, the ‘Virgin of the Rocks,’ the Virgin and babies are all to scale with details such as the shape of their muscles clearly shown.

He was able to paint with such accuracy because he was also a scientist. He liked to open up corpses and study their anatomy. Da Vinci has numerous sketches of bodies and their insides. They clearly show muscles and tendons, and how they look like in different positions. Apart from dissecting corpses, Leonardo also spent time outside carefully studying people’s body movements such as hands. He sketched them in their different positions and drew with a lot of detail. Therefore, this helped him with his paintings such as the very famous ‘Mona Lisa.’ If the painting is studied carefully, her hands are in a carefully placed and elegant position with the bottom hand supporting the top hand.

Leonardo Da Vinci also asked a lot of questions about other concepts, such as flying. He spent a lot of time observing birds and their flight as well. After studying them, he invented devices that would help man fly. Based on theory, knowledge and observation he constructed the actual devices and while some of them failed, some of them worked as well. In fact, he invented a parachute, something that we now have today. Leonardo Da Vinci was indeed a very curious person. And his curiosity led him to becoming a genius. A true Renaissance man.

Determination

In life, we have to keep moving forward. In the present, we have to face the consequences from the past. Facing these consequences aren't always easy, and usually they're quite scary. But it's your determination that helps you overcome them and look forward to the future. Determination keeps me moving forward. It's the thought of getting through each day successfully that determines me to always strive for my best. Every achievement in life must be earned, and there is no easy way. I feel that if I don't work hard for something, I don't deserve it. Which is why I always (at least try to) exert my best effort in everything. Everyday, I try to be an attentive student in school, because this leads to overall success in the end. I'm always determined to do my personal best when playing sports. Even though some people will always be better than me, I take this as a way of improving. A way of challenging myself. Sometimes the thought of giving up comes, but I realize that if I give up, I acquire nothing. In dance, I'm always determined to perform to my best. Yes, there are times I fall. But being able to get up from falling is a big achievement in itself. I know that determination doesn't always lead to success. But I think that the thought of exerting my best effort in trying to acquire something is a success in itself. Therefore, determination plays a big part in achieving my destiny, whatever it may be. It will keep pushing me forward, the thought of getting closer to my destiny each day motivating me. Each step towards your destiny, is each step closer.

The Drops of Oil on the Spoon

“I’m like everyone else – I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.” (Coelho 38) The Alchemist is a story of a boy going on a journey in search of his destiny. He shows that in this pursuit, you might lose everything that you’ve ever worked for as a result of one wrong decision, but in the end, you will be rewarded with the accomplishment of the destiny and the treasures it brings along with it. Santiago, a shepherd wanting to travel the distances of the world, leaves everything behind to achieve a destiny that started with a recurring dream. He sells his beloved sheep, and starts with nothing but the money that the sheep were worth. Showing lack of good judgment, Santiago's naivety leads to the loss of his money because he trusted a stranger too easily. Consequentially, he has to work hard to gain it back. Along the way, Santiago meets people who teach him valuable lessons that guide him on his journey. Starting in Andalusia under a sacred tree, he travels all the way south to Africa where he sees the true beauty of the Great Pyramids. Santiago uses his courage, ability to self reflect, and determination to successfully achieve his destiny.

Santiago’s courage helps him overcome the obstacles that challenge him on his journey. After getting robbed in Africa, he works for a crystal merchant who is afraid of changes. Santiago, by reading omens, slowly modifies the shop and therefore sells more crystals. Because of his continuous success, the merchant lets him restyle the shop, believing in the prosperity the boy will surely bring. “ ‘Never stop dreaming,’ the old king had said. ‘Follow the omens.’ “ (59) Santiago’s confidence in his ability to read omens results to a flourishing shop and a pleased merchant. When Santiago leaves the crystal merchant, he travels to an oasis in Al-Fayoum, Egypt after days of traveling. He meets a girl named Fatima who he instantly falls in love with at first sight. Knowing he has to depart the oasis to further move on in his journey, he confidently confesses his love for Fatima. Not wanting to lose her, Santiago asks for her hand in marriage. She leaves without an answer, but on their next encounter, Fatima declares of her responding love. She tells Santiago that she would be willing to wait for his return. The boy then meets a man who convinces him to leave his loved one so that he can continue his journey. On Santiago’s first confrontation with this man, his courage is being challenged. The man, an alchemist, interrogates the boy. In return, Santiago confidently, yet fearfully responds to his questions. “ ‘It is I who dared to do so,’ said the boy.” (105) By choosing to reply with “dared,” he shows the alchemist he is brave enough to withstand whatever punishment is in store for him. His ability to reply with such confidence also shows that he believed he made the right decisions. Santiago, to have found his bravery, had to study himself closely and reflect not only on his surroundings, but his own self as well.

On his journey, Santiago had to be metacognitive to understand his inner self. On his way to Al-Fayoum, he rode a caravan where he met a camel driver. This camel driver taught him to live in the present, leave the past behind, and let the future come if it does. Santiago heeded this advice, and it especially came to his mind when he was in danger of getting killed. When he reflecting on the happenings in his life one day, two hawks’ flights showed an omen about the oasis being in danger of an attack. Santiago tells the tribe’s chieftains of this, and when they hear it, they are shocked. They took note of Santiago’s warning, but threatened to kill him if it did not come true. When this happened, Santiago reflected on his life so far and realized that he would not have minded dying at that moment. He had come further than any shepherd and he had met the love of his life. Santiago was living in the present and reminisced in the past, but didn’t mind if the future was not to come. But on he lived, as the omen resulted to be true, and he proceeded in his adventure. One of the obstacles he had to get through was his heart’s fear. “ ‘When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.’ “ (125) Santiago listened to his heart, taking in its fears, but also advising it. Because his heart was afraid of failure, it was holding him back from achieving his destiny. But Santiago told his heart that they had traveled a long distance, and that nothing should hold them back now. By listening to his heart, he was able to understand it, therefore allowing Santiago to be in control of his heart. When he achieves his destiny, Santiago reflects on his whole journey and the little things that helped him accomplish it. He understands that if not for all the people he met, he wouldn’t have come so far. He learned valuable lessons along the way, and he applied all these lessons to life to be able to achieve his destiny. By understanding his inner self, Santiago learns he’s determined to achieve his destiny and that he’ll do anything to accomplish it.

Santiago’s determination helps him overcome obstacles, therefore leading him to his destiny; finding the treasure he dreamt about. “ ‘Well I’d like to see their land, and see how they live,’ said [Santiago]. …’Amongst us, the only ones who travel are the shepherds.’ [Father] ‘Well, then I’ll be a shepherd!’[Santiago].” (9) This conversation between Santiago and his father shows Santiago knows what he wants, which is to travel and see the world. In order to live a life that he is happy with, he chooses a career that wouldn’t necessarily make him a wealthier person, but instead one that would allow him to travel. Santiago had the choice of being a priest and earning money to travel the world, knowing they can’t afford for him to just be a traveler, but he decides not to take this choice. One of the challenges Santiago had to attain was to turn into the wind. In the process of doing so, he shows his persistence by asking however many resources he thought could aid him. The wind itself couldn’t help Santiago; even after he explained how it was possible for him to be a part of the wind. Not understanding what Santiago was suggesting, he was passed on to the wiser sun. He had a similar conversation with the sun, but still did not succeed in getting help to turn into the wind. Yet he didn’t give up. At last he was channeled through to God’s soul, the wisest. The connection between God’s soul and Santiago's soul was so strong, they communicated without words. Santiago’s perseverance led him to connecting to God’s soul, which helped him turn into the wind. Further on in the novel, Santiago finally discovers the Great Pyramids. An omen suggests where he should dig for his treasure; a spot in the sand in front of the Pyramids. Tired and weary, Santiago becomes weaker as he digs deeper for his treasure, when suddenly a group of men interrogate him. They try to steal his gold, and Santiago let them, out of his weariness and also his belief in finding his treasure. He finds the determination to keep digging, even as the men harass him. The leader, after beating up Santiago, decides to leave him alone, stating that he is a fool for deciding to give up everything just to follow a recurring dream. He told Santiago of the dreams he had of treasure under a sycamore tree in an abandoned church in Spain. It is from this that Santiago finally learns where his treasure is. If Santiago did not possess his determination, he wouldn’t have come far in his journey, because it is his determination that pushed him to achieving his destiny.

On Santiago’s journey, he loses all he has more than once and works hard to gain it back every time. As his story progresses, Santiago starts seeing the world as it really is, and not just how he wants it to seem. Although allowing yourself to see the world as desired can help in achieving one’s destiny, it is also very important not to be naïve to its trials. Santiago accomplished his destiny with the courage that aided him through the toughest parts of his journey, his reflections about his life and lessons learned, and the determination that pushed him to keep moving forward. After his quest, Santiago, from a doubtful boy, becomes a self-confident young man who reflects on happenings in his surroundings to read omens that will help him in his life. “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.” (31) Like Santiago's journey, this quote suggests that even though you're appreciating the wonders of the world, you must always focus on your goal and never ever forget it.

Everyone as One

Matt Harding's belief in unity is expressed through his actions in his video and his essay. True, our world as we know it is getting bigger and bigger. To a point where it is nearly impossible to understand everyone. Where it is hard to imagine everyone as one. But, as Matt Harding points out, he is able to do something as simple as dancing to unite everyone, in which no one is alien to anyone or anything.
I had never even thought about the world's unity, let alone how hard it would be to unite the people. But something so complex can be done in such a simple way. And I learned from Matt Harding that to do something as big as uniting everyone, you need to do something that everyone knows how to do, and that is by movement. Movement through dancing. And not a complicated, routine either. Just movement.
Matt Harding also pointed out that the problem is that people's brains have not grown enough to be able to take in this humongous world we live in. We may have brains of cavemen, brains that have not evolved the speed the world has, but in time, we will get there. Just as Matt Harding does, we need to break the unity up into little sections, little things we can do to be successful. Matt Harding's way of uniting people has touched me, and so has his essay. Now I understand more about unity, and that it is not as complicated as it may seem. Even with a big world like the one we live in today.

Love Through Your Dance of Life

Love is of the essence.
"Life is an oxymoron; you need to balance opposite concepts. I believe in our dance of life, in living through the movements to express ourselves. I believe in loving these movements that we need to do everyday. I believe in love."















"Moon Dance"
Alfred Gockel.

Colors of a Dream

As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes is a poem about dreams, like a lot of the other poems Langston Hughes writes. I chose this poem to annotate and make an iMovie on because after skimming through the choices we had, I thought this was easiest to interpret. Basically, it is about someone's dream fading as one grows older. I also made this connection with the Susan Boyle and Paul Potts video because they showed their persistence to achieve their dream while a lot of people were doubting them. This poem talks about normal people who aren't like Susan Boyle or Paul Potts. Normal people who usually forget about their dream because of the lingering cynicism in the world. And because this happens so often in the world we live in, this is why I thought this poem was a fairly easy poem to annotate.
For Langston Hughes' poem I chose soft music that I felt implied a sorrowful person reminiscing to when his/her dream was still vivid in his/her mind, and as the music goes on a lower scale, the time when darkness overshadowed this person's sky. Its tempo also helps with the mood of reminiscing and sorrow. As for the pictures, I chose light colored paintings for the first few lines to show that this dream does exist. And this person knows it. Most of the paintings used in Langston Hughes' poem were painted by the same artist. His technique is to blend colors and make it a hint of abstract. Not a clear image, but still justifiable. For the middle of the poem, I chose darker colored paintings since the light of this person's dream has vanished because the dream has faded away. And then again it turns into a lighter color showing the dream is back.
For my own poem, I chose colorful paintings by all different artists because I was talking about me having a multi-personality. I also chose pictures that were literal such as the dictionary but I think it makes a big impact too because it is not a plain picture of a dictionary, but instead composed in an interesting way. I specifically chose the paintings to have a blend of colors for the bit about the chameleon because a chameleon needs to blend in. Apart from that painting, I chose my paintings to have an intensity of colors to symbolize the different personalities that live in me. Unlike the music for Langston Hughes' poem, the music for my own was more cheerful. I chose this song because it isn't as depressing as the previous one, and it also goes with the rhythm of my poem. I think the change of instruments was a good transition in terms of music between the two poems. And lastly, I think the 2 end clips for my poem makes a big impact because the words are isolated and has a distinct alignment.

Susan Boyle, The Dream Keeper

Everyone has had hopes and dreams at one point in their life, if not more. But a lot of the time, their hopes and dreams get lost in the cynical, judgmental world we live in. If your dream is ridiculous, you’re judged. If you cannot achieve your dream, you’re judged. If you’re trying to achieve your dream, but your appearance shows you cannot live up to your dream, you’re judged. It’s so common to be judgmental about dreams that we needed a wake up call.
Susan Boyle made this call. In Britain’s Got Talent, a woman at the age of 47 walks out confidently on stage with her curly, gray hair, yellow dress and heels. With a cheeky grin, she introduced herself. Susan Boyle. Her dream? To become a professional singer, as big as Elaine Paige. Like Simon Cowell, who we all know to be honest whether it’s a bad comment or not, Amanda, Piers and all members of the audience, I was very skeptical of her dream and how much talent she could really have. I very highly doubted if she could even sing. She saw the looks on everyone’s faces, from the judges to the audience sitting in the back row. And yet, she smiled and got ready to sing. On her face, I could see the yearning to prove people wrong, to wipe all the cynicism off their faces. Her confidence came from the inside.
Finally, Simon Cowell gestured her to sing. Susan Boyle looked at the backstage crew, nodded, and they started the music. She took a breath before belting out, and when sound came out from her mouth, my jaw dropped in shock. Like the audience and the judges, everyone in class was shocked too. Amanda, one of the judges, said that the audience had been too cynical, and we needed a wake up call from the harsh judgments we make of people from their appearance.
Paul Potts has a similar story. He does not look like someone who knows he has the talent of such an amazing opera singer and he isn’t that confident. But his dream is to become an opera singer, and thus he joins Britain’s Got Talent to pursue his dream. Again, cynicism, but upon opening his mouth to belt out, everyone is proved wrong. Both Paul Potts and Susan Boyle challenged themselves to overcome everyone’s judgments and contempt of them to pursue their lifelong dream.
These videos were such an inspiration to me, as well as a wake up call that being judgmental never gives the right impression of people. You can never really have the right first impression of people if all you do is look at their appearance and decide who they are to you. On Youtube, both videos have had millions of views and comments. I think this shows what an inspiration the two have been to others and pursuing dreams.
In all senses, this links to Langston Hughes’ poem The Dream Keeper. In his poem, he says, Bring me all of your dreams. He connects it with “heart melodies.” Not only is this literal to Boyle and Potts because their dreams are to sing, but also in a more literary sense. Dreams come from the heart, singing its melodies that tell you what to pursue. The people’s cynicism is what Langston Hughes describes to be the “too-rough fingers of the world.” It’s a good representation because dreams are delicate, and if rough fingers were to break them, they would be gone; away from your grasp, too far to reach and dream of again. And thus, as his poem says, dreams need to be wrapped in “blue cloud-cloth” to be protected. Obviously, Paul Potts and Susan Boyle’s dreams have been carefully wrapped in this cloth because it has been protected for a long time from the world’s contempt.

"The Dream Keeper"

Who Am I?

I'm Indefinably Defined

I am a chameleon

Adapting colors to match my mood,
One minute brown,
A camouflage,
Unseen.
Inconspicuous.
Then a flashing,
fluorescent purple,

Ostentatious.

Standing out.

Calling attention to myself.
A box of Crayola,
A vivifying intensity.

"Portrait of Jacqueline"

I’m a wave of colors,
A glittering rainbow ocean.
Creating my own ripples
turning into heavier waves,
Surging with the flow
Letting the current drag me
Back

And

forth.

I am an abstract artwork,
One of Picasso’s.
You tilt your head,
Squint your eyes,
Trying to figure me out.
As soon as you think
you understand
me,
You stand
back,
Tilt
your head
And squint
your eyes
again.
And then you see
There’s more
than meets the eye.

I am not definable
with just one adjective or noun.
Nor a verb or an adverb.
I’m not a bolded word
with its definitions
printed clear
in the dictionary.
I am the dictionary,
All the words that describe me
Filling the thick,
white pages.

The best word to describe me
Is not a best word at all.
A short word
with a long description.

Indefinably defined.

Simply complex,
Contradictory,

an oxymoron,
a paradox.
Just…
Me.

"Tête de Femme"/"Portrait of Jacqueline Face II"

I picked the paintings by Pablo Picasso because it showed multi-personalities in one person. The paintings show its abstractness in a sense that every time you look at it again, you notice something new about it. I also find that it is hard to describe with just one word, and the only word to really describe it is "abstract," which doesn't really say much in the first place.