But I can make up examples.
Sort of.
So, I will tell a somewhat amusing story of failure and success all in one, followed by random links to funny snapshots of life in my house to make up for two months of nothing.
Scene: Western Thought class, last day of school before THANKSGIVING BREAK.
Characters: Several students, and, of course, me.
I have just given them a highly important bit of information: "Cogito, ergo sum," commonly translated "I think, therefore I am" is better translated, "I am thinking, therefore I am." I have said several useless things such as "Because in Latin the present tense might be the present progressive, and in English we have a way of showing this, and Descartes must have meant the progressive." and then realized how useless they were.
Finally, I stop mumbling grammatica, and try to explain why this is important:
ME: See, if you say "I think, therefore I am" you could mean something more along the lines of "I have the capability of thinking" or "I am a thinking being" or "I have thoughts sometimes." Descartes doesn't know he exists because he thinks sometimes. In between the thinking, he can't know what's going on. He knows he exists when he is thinking.
I get [probably justifiedly] blank stares.
ME: Okay, so imagine you're using your computer. You know how the computer has a sleep mode? Well, you're watching a film on your computer. You hit sleep, and then the computer is off. Then the computer starts again. It starts exactly where you were in the movie. It is as if there were no break. So, imagine your experience of life is just like the movie on that computer. There could be eons of time between one moment and the next, but you only know about when you're thinking--the movie is playing--so you can't really know where you are or that you're existing in the in between times. You can only be absolutely sure about your existence when you're experiencing it, like the movie playing. And you can't know that there is no in between time.
I get nods and OH!!!! I SEEs and generally more comprehending looks. I feel like a successful teacher for a moment.
STUDENT 1: Okay, so when Descartes talks about the computer turning off...
ME: [OH NO! EXAMPLE FAIL!] Descartes doesn't talk about the computer turning off. He lived in the 17th century.
STUDENT 1: Oh, yeah, of course.
ME: [Maybe I was too harsh, and he was trying to get at something else. That was mean.] So that was just an example to try to explain why it's a better translation to say "I am thinking" not "I think." What were you...
STUDENT 2: WAIT! Descartes didn't say that?
ME: No.
STUDENT 2: SO YOU JUST MADE THAT UP?!?!?!?!
ME: Yes, it was...
STUDENT 2: YOU MADE THAT UP JUST NOW?!?!?!? WHOAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ME: ...
So... does anyone have any questions?
----------------------
Anyway, that was the story of the day. And here now are some links:
School Teaching:
Fun with the Faculty
ADELE
Pagan Studies
Kindergarten Sunday School: OUCH!
I Love My Family:
Snowstorm!
(Il)Logical
Do you remember?
Memory, Part 2
Studying
Riding in the Car
*Phew*
