#3: light bulb

The Age of Enlightenment was a movement over two hundred years ago, to restructure society through reason and science rather than tradition and religion. The introduction of the encyclopedia in the 18th century inspired people and made them think about the world in a new light. As Wikipedia quoted Imanuel Kant, it was the "empancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error." Facts had now been spread for the common citizens to learn and create their own train of thought and people could be more independent thinkers. I'm glad that tradition began to be questioned. In definition it means inherited patterns of thought and the recent generations are becoming less traditional because the concepts of the previous cultures are fading. This idea is depicted in the RSA Animate: 21st Century Enlightenment as thinking differently. The video discussed the model of self-aware autonomy which refers to personal independence and being able to make moral decisions and act on them. It may not be of morals, but I can relate to being untraditional in a sense that I never attended any high school dances. Everyone at school would be talking about prom and it really didn't phase me; I had no interest in getting dressed up to go stand around in the gym and listen to music from the radio. I'm sure plenty of girls were crushed because either no one asked them to a dance or who they wanted to go with went with someone else. How petty is that? I feel enlightened, or at least unconventional, in a way that I don't feel the need to conform with popular thought or what the Bible says is right. Wikipedia stated how philosophers in France used to be "imprisoned and hounded into exile" just for believing in something unconventional. The people had been ignorant for so long that these new concepts were hard for some to open their minds to. Conformity is an issue that the RSA Animate: Changing Education Paradigms addressed in the issue of standarized testing. This form of testing I see as an insult, not everyone has the same skills yet they are judged with a rubric that bases all students on the same level. The video even showed a study that the number of students with ADHD has risen with the increase of standardized tests. School were portrayed as factories with a production line mentality but kids now have the ability of divergent thinking. New generations, according to the RSA video, don't see the point in traditional schooling anymore and I believe I am a part of that group. I breezed through high school but once I got to college I had a futile view of life and didn't want to waste my precious moments stressing over assignments and exams. My mom was so desperate for me to be in school that she bribed me with paying the next six months of my rent. Most people don't even get jobs in the field of their degree but apparently you can't be well off without one. The 21st Century Enlightenment video brought up the question of what makes up happy and I'd like to find out for myself.