Teachers dream of a-ha moments
The story of Helen Keller's cognition is the story of humanity
Last week, I appeared on the What’s the Big Idea? podcast hosted by Dan Kearney, a practicing teacher in California. Somehow, we recording this on Tuesday morning and then Dan went and taught for the rest of his day—teachers are unreal.
I’ve probably appeared on 50 or more podcasts in my lifetime and I’m grateful for each and every invitation, but if I had to pick just one that encapsulates my reverance for human cognition and the role of human teaching in fostering its development, this is the one. Dan graciously granted me wide latitude to tell Helen Keller’s cognitive story, not just the famous moment wherein she learned the word for water from her teacher Anne Sullivan, but the entire arc of Keller’s childhood cognitive experiences, her (in her words) “plunge into unconsciousness” after becoming blind and deaf, and the “awakening of her soul” through human language and dialogue. It’s a wondrous human story, and one that stands in stark contrast to the pale imitation of cognition we find in large-language models.
You can find the podcast, titled We Should Be Skeptical of AI but really covering so much more, via these channels:
Plus, Dan’s got one of the best podcast voices you’ll hear, and he’s the one who oberves that, “as teachers we dream of the a-ha moments,” gifting me with the headline above. Indeed they do, and what an elegant testament to fostering human imagination and flourishing through dedicated pedagogical practice. By humans.
Just one more thing. Kearney’s broad range of questions allowed me to give a few shout-outs to some friends and intellectual influencers of the Cognitive Resonance project. In rough order of appearance, you’ll hear me pay my respects to:
Michael Pershan (teacher in NYC)
Eryk Salvaggio (artist-scholar)
Murray Shanahan (scientist and science advisor to the film Ex Machina)
Gary Marcus (godfather of AI Skepticism)
Paul Cisek (neuroscientist)
Alison Gopnik (cognitive scientist)
Stephen Fitzpatrick (teacher in NY state)
Chanae Bond (teacher in Texas)
So I hope y’all fire up the podcast—and if you’re pressed for time, Helen Keller’s story starts at the 18-minute mark. Thanks for reading, and potentially listening too.