Knowing More About The Things We Take For Granted
3 min read
Over the weekend, as I was searching for something on my phone, it struck me how little I understand this device that I use countless times each day.
What happens when I touch my finger to the screen? What is the technology that enables my fingertip - but not, for example, a finger in a glove - to effect reactions within the phone. While I could probably do a decent job explaining the software and data components of this interaction, I would have - at best - a highly speculative breakdown of how the hardware worked.
And taking a step further back, once we understood how the hardware worked, how many people could explain where the hardware was sourced from? Who has an informed insight into how people live in the places where are things are sourced and built?
Once you start asking questions, our surrounding world is filled with them. How many people can explain what happens with other, more pedestrian interactions: what chain of events are set into motion when we flick a light switch? Does the chain of events described there end at the wall, at the fusebox in the building, or further up the power grid? Where does the wire come from that carries electricity? Where and how is your electricity created?
Look at the label on a piece of clothing - where was it made? How did it get from its point of origin to you?
While driving a car, what happens when we hit the accelerator, or the brake, or the turn signal (except, of course, in California, where using a turn signal is a sign of weakness)?
Using questions like these as starting points, the connections between our immediate life and the laws and theories that govern these interactions, and the art and literature that situate it against a larger backdrop, become essential knowledge.
Is anyone approaching teaching STEAM in this way? Has anyone - at the high-school level - completely jettisoned the traditional curricular structure of Arts, Sciences, Math, and Humanities and adopted an inquiry-based approach? If so, I'd love to hear about it.
NOTE: some of the thinking behind this post was put into motion by putting some random thoughts onto Twitter. Thanks to Chris Blow for responding to this.
Image Credit: "steam" taken by westy ford, published under an Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license.
