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       This week we first discussed methods for changing how the class works to fit our needs. Our professor said that overall it seemed that people thought it was working, but there were some issues to be addressed. To better facilitate discussion such that everyone is able to have her say, we decided that raising hands could be a tool, but that overall we should listen to each other and try to be spontaneous enough so that we don’t have to deliberate too much before saying something. We decided to  have a question and writing time at the beginning of class, and to enable ourselves to use the forum as a way to post afterthoughts from class. This could be a positive way to keep us thinking about our topics. It was agreed that the topics for papers could be flexible to speak to the student’s needs. The point of editing papers, our professor said, is not just to change a few things around but to revise your actual ideas and method for presenting them.

       We discussed tacit knowledge: knowledge that you know without being aware of how you know it. People seemed very interested in this topic. Together we came up with a long and interesting list, after writing individually for five minutes, of what tacit knowledge is and what our own examples were.  Tacit knowledge can constitute many things, involving instincts, feeling something before you know why you feel it (such as tension before you realize why you are tense), perceiving things without being able to describe what they are in words (such as colors or faces), intuition of other’s feelings, dreams from subconscious influences, emotional  responses to pieces of music that come without being told how they are supposed to make you feel, putting things into categories, and motor skills that come naturally with practice. In summary, a great part of tacit knowledge comes from the older part of the brain, below the neocortex, which is not identified with conscious thought but really encompasses most of our mental operations.