Phase 1 Presentation

18th October 2022

Week 3 - Presentation

Presentation contents

I will present the 4 topics that I have researched, demonstrating my interests within these themes as well as giving some insight into the specifics that I have dived into.

Philosophy

Origin of Philosophy - names and dates
Basic philosophies and what they believe in
Progression of philosophies
Timelines

Parkour

What it is? - History, discovery ... etc
Difference between free running
Examples of movements

We were allocated a fixed time slot (of 2 weeks) to research our chosen points of interest in as much detail as possible. 8 minutes is the amount we have been given to present all 4 topics. After the presentation, I will be given suggestions and ideas for each topic (how I can develop the theme and progress further).

Growing Up

General psychological outlook
Hormones & Happiness
Case Studies
Social activity & creatures

Meditation

Origin of Meditation
Early forms - Yoga & Yogis
Breathing - Techniques and Benefits
Zen - Thinking about not thinking

Starting Points : Presentation

Philosophy Intro:

I began by explaining that western and eastern philosophies differ. They both have a different place and date of origin. For my research, I focused on the west to limit confusion and content. I mentioned key figures in western philosophy : Plato, Aristotle, Thales and Socrates ; and what they believed in.

I followed that up by presenting some timelines and developments of thoughts throughout Ancient Greece and later periods such as the Renaissance. In order to simplify things, I selected the "main" philosophies and their later iterations, as well as their opposites. I attempted to quickly and simply explain the relationships between each philosophy , followed by each of their definitions.

Growing up Intro:

For this topic, I covered the brief psychological developments and focuses our brain has during its growth. From a young age - figuring out how things work and how we work in our environment, to how relationships, to then being an adult (having a good understanding of how the world and everything inside it works). As you grow up, you lose any feeling of magic and things become ordinary and less special/ exciting.

I then looked into hormones and studies surrounding play. I was only able to find one which showed the effects of stimulants and depressants on how playful rats are. Additionally, a study I looked into was giving a monkey and rat a choice of food or play. The results were fairly predictable (when not hungry, play would be the more popular choice and when given the option of food they don't like, play would be again more popular).

I concluded this section by talking about how the human race is a social species and as we grow up, our social circles become smaller. We become more independent and have different priorities, with social interaction becoming less of one. As a result, there is less play in all forms that are linked with social interaction.

Parkour:

I was conscious of timing, and this theme was one that I could very briefly introduce as it did not require as heavy delving into - as my other 3. For that reason, I kept it short and sweet.

I began by giving insight into the history of climbing, free running and parkour. When they came about and who is publicly recognized as the original creator.

Following up, I provided examples of movements and established a clear definition of parkour and free running by explaining their differences.

Meditation:

This is the topic I am most curious about, and so I attempted to leave enough time for me to talk a fair bit about it (by limiting the time I spoke about growing up and Parkour).

I introduced the audience to one of the oldest forms of meditation called Yoga - and the people who practice it, Yogis. After giving a brief introduction, I attempted to show how yoga has changed and what Yoga is now. Whilst showing the differences, I highlighted a key similarity which I felt was crucial in most forms of meditation : breathing. Taking this feature further, I explored different techniques that are taught and practised by Yogis.

Upon further reading and research, I came across TedTalks, presented by well-respected scientific minds that have conducted experiments to prove health benefits of partaking in these breathing techniques. I listed a few specific benefits and referred to 2 TedTalks.

My final thoughts were on Zen meditation - a pathway that I am curious about since secondary school. I explained what it is and what it is used for.

Feedback:

During our presentations, we created nodenogg.in pages where our peers would leave comments and feedback on our presentation. Our peers would also vote on which topic sounded most interesting to continue researching. The majority voted for my "Growing up" topic. I chose to continue with Parkour (2nd in votes) as the topic would be easier to look into.