Picture Smart:Spatial Reasoning and Its Role in Cognition
There are many theories about the nature of intelligence. The formal definition of intelligence is "the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge." One aspect or kind of intelligence, according Dr. Howard Gardner, founder of the multiple intelligence theory, is spatial intelligence(1). Spatial intelligence is one amongst eight kinds of intelligence. The most common description of spatial intelligence is the ability to be able to recreate one's visual experience and reasoning about shape, measurement, depiction and navigation.
Spatial intelligence might be one of less familiar kind of intelligence, however it has wide implications in many academic and professional disciplines. It is extremely important in disciplines such as mathematics and computer science. Spatial Intelligence also accounts for the thinking process of engineers, architects, designers, sculptors and inventors. This paper is an over all comprehension of spatial reasoning and why it is important in learning and problem solving, it is an investigation into what spatial reasoning is and its role in learning and cognition. This paper will also address the neurobiology of spatial reasoning and discuss the specific areas and organization of the brain that accounts for spatial intelligence.
There are many theories and models attempting to define spatial reasoning. The first model is called the MV/PD model. According to this model, spatial representation consist of two parts. The first is a metric diagram, which includes quantitative information and provides a substrate, which can support perceptual-like processing. The second part of the model is termed place vocabulary, which makes explicit qualitative distinction in shape and space relevant to the current task (2). Therefore, spatial reasoning is not just visualization of objects and space but also the ability to take qualitative information and then transformation them to spatial representations so that it can be better understood.
Spatial reasoning is useful in physics, math and computer science and can be applied to different industries. Engineers use graphs to express complex relationships, such as temperature-entropy or pressure volume plots, Often these graphs are sketches, intended to convey qualitative information about the shapes of curves and relative magnitudes rather than precise numerical values(2). Therefore, spatial reasoning is an essential part of the thinking process of scientist and engineers because they need to understand and interpret qualitative information in graphs and models in order to gain critical understanding of the problems at hand.
What exactly is the process through which humans use spatial reasoning to solve problems?
While the studies at Governor’s School are noticeably more advanced and require more effort than at regular public schools, I see this rigor as the key to my academic success. For me, the classes I take that constantly introduce new thoughts that test my capability to “think outside the box”, are the ones that capture all my attention and interest. For example, while working with the Sierpinski Triangle at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth geometry camp, I was struck with a strong determination to figure out the secret to the pattern. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the Sierpinski Triangle is “a fractal based on a triangle with four equal triangles inscribed in it. The central triangle is removed and each of the other three treated as the original was, and so on, creating an infinite regression in a finite space.” By constructing a table with the number black and white triangles in each figure, I realized that it was easier to see the relations between the numbers. At Governor’s School, I expect to be provided with stimulating concepts in order to challenge my exceptional thinking.
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines intelligence as the capacity to apprehend facts and propositions, to reason about them, and the ability to understand them and their relations to each other. A. M. Turing had this definition in mind when he made his predictions and designed his test, commonly known as the Turing test. His test is, in principle, simple. A group of judges converse with different entities, some computers and some human, without knowledge of which is which. The job of the judges is to discern which entity is a computer. Judges may ask them any question they like, "Are you a computer?" excepted, and the participants may answer with anything they like, and in turn, ask questions of the judges. The concept of the test is not difficult, but creating an entity capable of passing the test with current technology is virtually impossible.
As the issue is examined from the view of social justice, it appears that women are still not at the equal level that Mills proposed in this bill in Parliament. While women are entitled to the basic human rights of employment, land and business ownership and voting, there remains an inequality in expectations for an adult female. These expectations are garnered from long-standing traditional views held by a large portion of society that will take many years to eradicate.
For me geometry is the most basic concern for artists. Roland Shearer quotes poet Apollinaire where he explains, “geometry is to the plastic arts what is to the art of the writer”. This is not to say that artists are geometers, because most of us are far from it (Shearer 1992:143).
Levine states that children have two ways in which they organize the information they receive from the world around them. He refers to these methods as sequential ordering and spatial ordering. He defines spatial patterns as, “assembled parts that occupy space and settle on the doorsteps of our minds all at once” (Levine, p.151). Many examples are given of when spatial ordering is prevalent, for instance, when a student draws a map or recognizes the features of a person’s face. Levine defines sequential patterns as information gaining “admission to the minds one bit at a time and in an order that’s meant not to be missed” (Levine, p.151). He says that sequential ordering is used when students try to master a science project or learn a telephone number. Neurologically, Levine states that sequential ordering is carried out on the left side of the brain and spatial ordering is carried out on the right side of the brain. He also makes references to the possibility of childr...
The ‘where visual pathway’ is concerned with constructing three dimensional representations of the environment and helps our brain to navigate where things are, independently of what they are, in space in relation to itself (Mishkin & Ungerleider & Macko, 1983).... ... middle of paper ... ... The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.
Study of Geometry gives students the tools to logical reasoning and deductive thinking to solve abstract equations. Geometry is an important mathematical concept to grasp as we use it in our life every day. Geometry is the study of shape- and there are shapes all around us. Examples of geometry in everyday life are- in sport, nature, games and architecture. The game Jenga involves geometry as it is important to keep the stack of tiles at a 90 degrees angle, otherwise the stack of tiles will fall over. Architects use geometry everyday- it is essential when designing buildings- shape, angles and area and perimeter are some of the geometry concepts architects
...ut more importantly Mencius' core conception that human nature is also aware of its actions, and considers the well-being of others and that people are morally obligated to do so is also key to attaining our full potential. This conception of human nature and proper order together is what has shaped East Asian political and social thought for centuries. It is credited with creating an East Asia that is economically robust, and socially coherent and once again will be the center of human society in the decades to come. And contrary to popular Western belief, East Asian political thought does appreciate the necessity of the individual in defining society. In fact the only way to attain our human nature is to healthily self-cultivate ourselves morally and materially so we can reach our highest potential and in that way be a valued and contributing member to society.
Mencius brings up many examples in this argument on why all humans are essentially good. He says that naturally all humans have compassion and empathy inside them. The example he brings up is that all humans cannot bear to see another suffer, if someone saw a child about to fall into a well as human would automatically be filled with compassion, distress, pity and alarm. He argues everyone is filled with pity and compassion for others and that if they do not have these feelings they are not human. Xunzi argues that human nature is evil and goodness comes from training. He thinks that one is born with a feeling of envy and hate and over time with loyalty and good faith the evil in us goes away. From reading both of these arguments I felt that I agreed with Mencius more than Xunzi. I felt like when reading them that Mencius gave more arguments and examples of how people react to situations and why that made me agree more with him than Xunzi. I felt like some of Xunzi arguments were a little too much for me in the sense that he felt that all human beings are born with so much evil in us. I did not think his portion of this was as convincing as Mencius.
We’d all like to believe that we are equals within our society, but democracy doesn’t necessarily ensure equality. We all must work for a living, and the constitution would have you believe that racial minorities and women would have equal opportunities and equal wages as white men. But this is not the case. For many years people, mainly girls and women, have fought to equalize genders with some success, specifically in the work force. Gender inequality is not only a historic issue but one that still exists today in the form of the gendered pay gap.
... only an idea but a standard to be followed for all Chinese youth. An easy way to see the differences between Mencius and Hsun Tzu is this, Mencius believed that nature was good and nurture was important only to re-enforce what was already there. While Hsun Tzu believed that nature was bad and that the nurturing effects of teaching and work were the only way to overcome mans natural disadvantage.
In the book, groups of successful people are broken down and Gladwell compares their individual characteristics to see if there are any abnormal trends. He starts with talking about how the chance birthdates of a large number of professiona...
Mental rotation Mental rotation is another classic cognitive psychology paradigm, which was devised by Roger Shepard at Stanford. To understand how this task works, take a look at the shapes in the top panel (A) of Figure 12.3. The two shapes are the same; the one on the right has been rotated clockwise by about 90°. By contrast, the pair of shapes on the bottom row (B) do not match. If you look carefully, you will notice that they are mirror- Earworms and Imagery 5 images of each other, so that even if you rotate the shape on the left clockwise by 90°, it won’t match up with the shape on the right.
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence focuses more on how numerical expressions of human intelligence are not a full and accurate depiction of people’s abilities (McFarlane, 2011). He includes and describes eight intelligences that are based on skills and abilities that are valued within different cultures. The eight intelligences include visual-spatial (e.g. sailor navigating with no navigational systems), verbal-linguistic (e.g. poets, writers, orators, and communicators), bodily-kinesthetic (e.g. dancers, athletes, surgeons, craftspeople), logical-mathematical (e.g. mathematicians and logicians), interpersonal(e.g. salespeople, teachers, clinicians, politicians, and religious leaders), musical (e.g. musicians and
Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard, introduced his theory of multiple intelligences in 1983. Multiple intelligence’s is a theory about the brain that says human beings are born with single intelligence that cannot be changed, and is measurable by a psychologist. Gardner believes that there are eight different intelligences in humans. The eight are verbal linguistic, visual spatial, bodily kinesthetic, mathematical logic, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist. Understanding these intelligence’s will help us to design our classroom and curriculum in a way that will appeal to all of our students. We might also be able to curve discipline problems by reaching a student in a different way. One that will make more sense to them and more enjoyable. We can include all of the intelligences in lessons to accommodate all of the students’ different learning styles at once. By reaching each students intelligence we can assume that a student will perform better which, could mean students retaining more important information. A students learning style can also help lead them into a more appropriate career direction. As a teacher you can also learn your own personal learning style or intelligence to help improve the way you learn and teach.