How Cultural Narratives Influence Perception

This kind of silly video is a great example of how 'framing' an idea can really affect how people then perceive that idea.

Narratives are constructed not only about ideas, but about products, political parties, minority groups in society. Parents construct a narrative about their kids, and that narrative affects their kids' perception of themselves.

Basically, the stories we tell influence our thinking as much as or more than the subjects of the stories do.

Like last week, we're going to practice using our critical faculties and intuition. As we watch the video together, we'll share the thoughts that occur to us, and create the discussion together.

Video Transcript:
Here are definitive scientific facts that prove that cats are better than dogs.
Here's a picture of a dog after a grueling and demeaning day working the pole at a local strip club.
Here's a picture of the cat after only five minutes, at the same club.

Coding a Better Government

Today we're going to try a little experiment. We'll watch the video together, and I'll keep my hand hovering over the 'pause' button. The instant anyone has a question or comment we'll stop the video and talk about what they have to say.