Monday, September 15, 2014

September 2014

"Curiosity is the beginning of science."

Everybody :

Read Elder Bednar's talk on education:

Read these statements by Albert Einstein spirituality and science:

Take this Curiosity Self Assessment.
(Answer these questions with a scale of 1-10)
- I keep a journal or notebook to record my insights and questions.
- I take adequate time for contemplation and reflection.
- I am always learning something new.
- When I am faced with an important decision, I actively seek out different perspectives and search for truth.
- I am a voracious reader.
- I learn from people of all ages.
- I am skilled at identifying and solving problems.
- My friends would describe me as open minded and curious.
- When I hear or read a new word or phrase, I look it up and make a note of it.
- I know a lot about other cultures and am always learning more.
- I know or am involved in learning a language other than my native one.
- I solicit feedback from my friends, relations and colleagues.
- I love learning

Leonardo da Vinci carried a notebook with him at all times so he could jot down ideas, impressions, and observations as they occurred Find a notebook you can use as your "DaVinci Notebook"--a composition book or a sketch book or any kind you like, with lined or blank or grid pages. Use it to start recording thoughts, ideas, things you learn, sketches, doodles, questions, drawings, musings, etc., as you study in Eureka this year. Bring your notebook to class each time.

Prepare 1 of these for class on the 23rd:

  1. Chose a line or section from Elder Bednar's talk and identify a principle to help guide you in your curiosity and learning.

  1. Read The Faith of a Scientist, Henry Eyring, 1969, 53pp.

  1. Make a list of all the areas of learning that DaVinci studied. (If you don't know what one of the fields is - look it up) Can you think of any fields he didn't study? How did his learning in one field of study overlap and benefit his learning in other areas? How does learning in all areas help prepare you to be a "complete servant"?

  1. DaVinci was once called "undoubtedly the most curious man who ever lived." Great minds ask great questions. Most if not all inspiration and discoveries have come about from asking questions. Joseph Smith received the First Vision after he asked a question. Make a list of 100 questions that you would like to know the answers to (not questions you already know the answers to!!). These can be ANY KIND of question, simple or complex. (Think who, what, where, when, why and how.) Record your list in your notebook. Choose 5 questions and research answers to them (you may or may not find the answer, depending on the question but at least make a record of what you discover and learn in the process.)


  1. Build your own lexicon. Leonardo noted and defined words that were of particular interest to him. After defining over 9,000 words he commented, "I possess so many words in my native language that I ought rather to complain of not understanding things than of lacking for words to express my thoughts properly." Start a section of your notebook for words. Add any new vocabulary. What is etymology of words? Find 10 words and look up the etymology of those words.

  1. Research some of DaVinci's inventions. Make a model of one of them and bring it to class OR make a model of an invention of your own that was inspired by his drawings.

  1. We are commanded to learn about many things. Read the following scriptures: D&C 88:77-80, 118-119. What do you learn from these scriptures about how we should study and what and why? Make a list of 25 things you would like to learn about or be able to do. What are some things in your life that you can change in order to have more time/energy/motivation to study and learn?


  1. Choose one of the following to research:

    Galileo Galilei
    Rene Descartes
    Pierre de Fermat
    Blaise Pascal
    Leonhard Euler
    Carl Friedrich Gauss
    Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
    Benjamin Franklin
    Antony van Leeuwenhoek
    Robert Hooke
    Johannes Kepler
    Copernicus
    Robert Boyle
    John Napier
    Gottfried Leibniz
    Johann Bernoulli
    Edmond Halley
    Anders Celsius
    Carl Linnaeus
Michael Farady
Alessandro Volta

  1. Practice thinking in questions. Choose one of the following topics and make a list of 15 questions about it. Try to think of unique questions and think about the subject from all angles. The first one is an example:

1. a bird in flight
• Why does it have two wings?
• Why does it have feathers?
• How does it take off?
• How does it slow down?
• How does it accelerate?
• How high can it fly?
• When does it sleep?
• How good is it's eyesight?
• What does it eat?
• How does it know where it is going?
• How do birds know when to fly south?
  1. the human body
  2. the earth
  3. stars
  4. trees
  5. a species of animals
  1. Visit this website:
Check out the drawings of DaVinci behind the modern day inventions. Observe something mechanical from many angles so you can figure out how it works. Sketch a drawing of the machine in your notebook or invent something new and sketch it.

  • What is the function of this machine?
  • How many moving parts does it have?
  • How are the moving parts connected to each other?
  • What does each moving part do in the machine?
  • Which parts are elements of machines?
  • Sketch the machine from your own point of view first.
  • You might add arrows or written notes to indicate directions of motion for each part, or label the elements of machines involved, and explain connections.
  • Draw systematically, starting at one point and drawing each part and connection in order.
  • In this kind of drawing, it is not important that the drawing look exactly like the machine; instead it should show how the machine works.
  • Getting the exact proportions for the parts is less important than showing how they connect to each other.
  • Experiment with sketching enlarged views and cut-away views to show parts that are very small or obscured by other parts.
  • Leonardo often left out the casing and structure surrounding machines in his illustrations so he could show the workings more clearly.

    Add your findings to your DaVinci notebook/journal. You can write, draw pictures, sketch diagrams, etc.

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