Ideas for curious minds
29 May 2018
The opportunity to explore life’s big ideas proved irresistible for the senior students who chose to attend a philosophy conference at St Andrew’s College on Monday 14 May.
Topics as diverse as the physics of sound, complete with an aural demonstration of string theory; ideas of truth and logic and how social media can re-shape our perceptions; the arguments and evidence for life after death; how to achieve a gold medal mindset; plus a debate about whether or not everyone should tell the truth at all times, gave the boys plenty to think about and discuss.
Head of Academic Wills Wynn Thomas says it was a unique and very enjoyable event, where like-minded students from schools all over Christchurch could acquire the tools to explore more abstract philosophical and ethical ideas.
He was particularly interested in the talk about achievement – liking the concept of “learning to judge yourself by your potential, by what you could do” – and appreciated “rock doctor” Dr Mark Lewney’s quantum physics guitar solo rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
