Some time ago, I watched an interesting video from TED in which education and media expert Jonathan Drori challenges us to answer some apparently simple questions and then presents answers which may be surprising to many.
I will reproduce the two questions which are in my opinion were the most interesting. If you want to see the others, watch the video!
1. An acorn grows over time into an enormous oak tree. Where does most of the material which makes up the oak tree come from? That is, where does the tons of 'stuff' which gets turned into wood, bark, leaves etc. mostly come from?
2. Why is it hotter in the summer than it is in the winter?
I won't tell you the answers here, but why not have ago at answering them and then you can find out if you were correct by watching the video (it is only 12 1/2 minutes long). If you think that the answers are obvious, chances are you are wrong!
This video is a great jolt for getting us to start thinking things through for ourselves and to stop assuming that the things we were taught as children are correct. It is also something of an indictment of our education system as it stands.
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