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IS IMAGINATION MORE important than knowledge?
Albert Einstein certainly thought so. He said: “I’m enough of an artist to draw freely on my imagination, which I think is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
I have looked at imagination at work in life and it never ceases to amaze me. When I see my children share the knowledge they have learned I encourage and applaud with pride but when I see their imagination shine through I really stand back in awe… it is theirs, it is unique and it is truly amazing!
So yes, I do believe imagination is more important than knowledge, but I also think that if you combine both you are really tapping into life’s power. What does science have to say about it?
Imagination is creativity in action. It can be using our brain and our senses to create an image within our mind. Imagination draws on our experiences and knowledge of the world around us and combines them with the complete unknown to make something new.
It allows us to explore beyond the constraints of our environment and our reality, into a world of dreams, where creativity and invention are at their strongest.
How does it work?
Science has long held that the complex nature of imagination must involve more than one area of the brain. The idea and the proof have been hard to amalgamate but recent studies using advancements in the monitoring of complex neural interactions within the brain provide new evidence for this theory. The findings from this study suggest that imagination uses a large portion of the human brain, creating an interconnecting network of activity across many different areas. Imagination really does light up our brains!
It would appear that imagination (at least in its complete form) is a uniquely human experience. It has allowed us to modify and develop our surroundings and to create and invent new ideas, new structures, new technologies. Imagination also allows us the very human emotion of empathy as we can literally imagine another person’s life experience without ever having actually experienced any of it.
In the words of JK Rowling… “Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and, therefore, the foundation of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.”
Our early ancestors, the hominids, showed basic levels of imagination in their tool making abilities, cooperative hunting skills and social interaction and colonisation. It would appear that their level of imagination was limited, though, perhaps with respect to their brain size and their compartmentalised thinking.
As modern humans evolved, scientists have reported an increase in brain size, advances in technical skills and creativity, and a development in social complexities. Farming, sophisticated tool making, complex language development, the performance of rituals and the development of art and crafting all required a complex development of thought and mental interaction… Imagination!
A more developed neural network within the brain, connecting the different areas of brain function, must have had some part to play in all this. The majority of these changes evolved between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago, to the eventual emergence of the modern human.
As a parent this is the part that I am most interested in. What part does imagination play in my children’s development?
Science has shown that imagination stimulates brain function and activity. It literally expands the mind as it encourages connections between so many areas within the brain.
Both neurologists and psychologists agree that play in early childhood is necessary for children to develop at a normal rate and to reach their full potential.
Imagination and play have been shown to increase brain development and growth in children. At a neurological level imagination can increase the number of neural connections within the brain, linking different regions. These links need repeated stimulation and activation to be maintained.
Imagination is an activity that used the whole brain rather than isolated, individual sections. Use of the whole brain in this way increases a child’s problem solving abilities, emotional development and social interactions.
Early childhood (between the ages of three and six) is usually when children are most actively involved in their imagination. Through pretend play children create their own imaginary world, allowing them to develop and learn from the new experiences they explore.
When children start school there is often a shift in how they play, moving towards games with more social interaction and rules. These games still engage the children in creative play, often with a more cognitive imaginative thought process.
Imagination is a vital learning tool within the classroom. Children will learn and remember more powerfully when imagination is included. Imagination will create more neural links within the brain, engage more regions within the mind and it will bring the subject to life!
This holds true for all subjects not just the ones we consider more creative. I have always loved maths, for example, and I remember from a young age that each number took on a personality for me. This probably increased my enjoyment of the subject and certainly would have increased my memory and ability.
As children grow it is important therefore that their imagination is constantly stimulated and encouraged. As they enter their teenage years imagination will allow better social interaction and social awareness as it encourages a better sensitivity to the needs and feelings of those around us.
Imagination can also decrease stress levels as it encourages problem solving and the possibility of positive outcomes and solutions.
A powerful imagination is a wonderful skill to have and a very important one to nurture throughout all stages of life. To really reach our full potential I believe imagination and play should be as important in our daily lives as love, nutrition and health.
We all have imagination within us, that is what makes us human. We do not need to instil it within our children but perhaps we can encourage and assist what is already there. Starting from a young age we can encourage pretend play, imaginative fantasies and the belief in some things unknown.
An imaginary friend can be encouraged rather than feared. Dress up clothes are a great facility for a child’s imagination. There are many simple toys that can assist a child in a wonderful make believe world. It is also a wonderful reinforcement for children to see their parents actively involved in the imaginary worlds that they create.
Dr Naomi Lavelle is a mum to three junior scientists who are always asking “how”, “why” and “what if”. She blogs at Science Wows where she aims to answer all their questions, one post at a time. She can also be found on Facebook and as @sciencewows on Twitter.
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I know cyclists get a raw deal being shoved into bus lanes or not having any lanes at all but in the city centre they can be lethal, going the wrong way on streets, breaking lights etc…so at least some enforcement would be good I think
why do our political elite kick the shite out of the ordinary person every day in this country ,and the boys that are doing irreversible damage get a pat on the back,humphreys we are getting tired of listening to your horse manure go after seanie and his cronies
I’d say now we have bigger fish to fry in this country than trying to batter the poor auld peddler .
You have to catch’em first!
19% break red lights.. hmm I don’t think so! the amount of times I’ve almost been killed by a cyclist breaking a red light is ridiculous. a few weeks ago I seen a Garda stop 3 cyclists at one junction after they broke a red light, he gave them tickets, and rightly so.
Proper order cyclists should be required to do some form of training and licensing to use the road as the rest of us have to. Majority of cyclists I’ve seen show no regard to either themselves or other people, weaving in and out of traffic
“The use of footpaths by cyclists is particularly dangerous to the elderly and it is a constant issue in many areas of the city”
So why are so many cycle lances just a painted white line on a footpath, which legally have to be used if cycling along the route, a rule which I don’t follow
See the picture of Samuel Beckett bridge, the cyclist there are actually breaking the law as that is a Bus Only lane, there is a cycle lane on the bridge, but is part of the Footpath, if you use the cycle lane you are likely to hit pedestrians. If cyclist are given half decent cycle lanes they won’t break the law as much
You are never under any obligation to use cycle-lanes – nor even to hug the kerb. Under the law, cyclists safety supercedes motorists convienience.
er… no.
In Ireland it seems to be acceptable for cyclists to break lights, cycle on footpaths etc. Equally drivers still drive and talk/text on their phones and it’s become acceptable for cars to break red lights up to 3 or 4 seconds after the lights have changed which is lethal for all concerned. Jaywalking seems to be a national pastime for pedestrians! The problem isn’t any particular mode of transport or the law, the problem is enforcement.
Tell Kevin to piss off..fines and bulls..first you need to build infrastructure before you even start thinking of revenue collection.
The more corrupt the republic, the more numerous the laws.
— Cornelius Tacitus, 55-117 AD
But we are not a republic.
Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.”
— Cornelius Tacitus
“A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought.”
Dorothy L. Sayers
“There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know.”
― Ambrose Bierce
Nothing better than breaking your record cos ya flew through every red light on the way :)
Badly needed, they get away with murder! As a motorist I have no problems just show patience and give space and all will be good but as a pedestrian they are shocking, especially in the city centre, sail wrong way down one way streets fly through red lights, cycle down tight pavements with no cycle lane marking and worst of all try to weave through pedestrians at crossings, should be forced to register and have insurance like other road users!!
‘On the spot fines!’ You’re having a laugh!! It is a stupid suggestion for one reason – it is totally unenforcable! So a guard pulls up a cyclist and goes to give a fine, how is he going to give it to the person, they are not required to carry any ID! Therefore it will be so easy to give a false name and address, so now you’ve wasted garda time, issued an uncollectable fine and probably clog up the courts with outstanding fines with false names ‘n addresses.
The only way of enforcing such a fine system is to make it compulsory to carry a National ID card or confiscate the bike till the fine is paid!
ID cards or cyclists breaking the law? Hmmmmmmm, difficult decision Jack. I’ll take the cyclists breaking the odd red light or some other MINOR law over an ID card for potential Fascists wanting to know me or my business. We had terrorists here for years, probably still do, and you want ID cards to catch cyclists. I was in favour of punishing the evil doer cyclists but not at the expense of my civil liberties. Confiscating the bike? Well I’ll go for that one.
its not so much the rule breaking that is causing the problem – but the disruption to other road / path users! i’ve both broken red lights on a bike and cycled on a footpath – but when i do so i know i have no right to do so – so i’ll yield to anyone else who actually has the right of way!
fully agree with frustrated pedestrians who nearly get run over while crossing with a green man!!
+1
At the moment we are not obliged to use cycle lanes. I live out in Dublin 15 and nearly every time I use the cycle lanes they slow me down! People rambling along , blocking the lane without a care in the world like . And the bike lanes are never swept. Full of glass and debris .
It is spectacular to watch gobshites on bikes trying to cycle up the footpaths in O’Connell Street at rush hour on fridays…and they get upset because of all the damn pedestrians walking on the footpaths! Mad country!
Well if you want to fine cyclists wife minor infringements you will also need to fine pedestrians who walk on cycle lanes, bus drivers who pull out thoughtlessly in front of cyclists, taxi drivers who pull into cycle lanes to let off passengers. You will also have to consider how you can offset the disincentive of fines to keep cyclists using their bikes and your green carbon neutral policies on track. Or you could just forget all about it and accept that nobody is perfect, not even us cyclists!
Il second that :) cycling is probably the only thing you can do without government infringement.. I hope they back off
What is the point in investing in all these cycle lanes. The Waterford County Council has got over 1/2 million to invest in cycle lanes and foot paths as part of the Smarter Travel program from the government but a lot of the cycleist do not even use the lanes and cycle beside them and nearly causeing accidents. So I say bring in fines for them they can’t float the law and get away with it.
You should need to get a license for urban cycling. These people are a danger to themselves and others.
This is just dumb.. A licence for owning a bike… Dude all these regulations sound an awful lot like fascism
eah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man
Semperit???
Did they not close down donkey’s years ago??
I think the government really to be all honesty be focusing on other matters… How this even makes the government to do list is beyond me.. This is a local matter and if councils desire to create new by-laws let them..
By providing a better infrastructure for cyclists and educating basic safety rules should be the first step before sanctioning any legislation to enforce on the spot fines.
Our government should look to the Netherlands for advice.
Here’s a short video about the historical problems the Dutch faced and why it’s now safer for cyclists and motorists to co-habit the streets.
http://video.repubblica.it/mondo/olanda-cosi-sono-nate-le-ciclabili/89068?video=&ref=HREC2-5
We will end up with many roads like this…
http://www.google.ie/search?tbm=isch&source=mog&hl=en&gl=ie&client=safari&q=cycle%20lane%20stamullen&sa=N&biw=320&bih=416#i=0
It’s difficult to make out in that pic but it was insisted that cycle lane be put in place so now the road is not wide enough for two cars to pass each other without driving in the cycle lane… Which is illegal.. Ridiculous
IMHO putting cyclists with cars/vans/buses/trucks in the same space is more dangerous than cycling on the footpath. cyclist vs car = one dead cyclist – cyclist vs pedestrian, not so much.
also consider cycling against the flow of traffic: why is it the recommended way for pedestrians to use a road if no footpaths are present? you see the threat approaching and are able to take avoiding action – same applies to cyclists.
As a road user (walking, cycling & driving) its my responsibility to look out for my safety as well as the safety of others. that’s why when i’m cycling *and the conditions dictate* i will continue to cycle on the footpath or against the flow of traffic.
I will also continue to wear a helmet, reflective vest and ensure my lights are on.
Many of cyclist have dashed right in front of me on Pathways that is against the Law” as you can be Fined up to 40 euro “The Road is For cyclist” Not Paths where People and children or a blind man or old lady are walking on” as they could easily endanger that Person” there are Cycle lanes on The road” that is where they are meant to be driving on not the Footpath for the safety of the Public
I think cyclists are a law unto themselves. Many of them are a menace on the roads. At night a lot of them dont have lights so they are impossible to see. And those guys wearing the cycling gear? They cycle up to three and four abreast with no thought for the drivers behind them. None of them seem to have heard that you tuck into the left hand side of the road when a car comes up behind to pass. We were always taught, never to cycle more than two abreast, and preferably in single file. In the city cyclists weave in and out of traffic like it was an obstacle course. Parents dont seem to teach their children anymore how to cycle safely. Kids dont have lights at night. They speed down hills. Weave in and out of traffic. Hang on to cars and lorries. Maybe cycling should just be banned altogether for everyones safety!!!! Thats tongue in cheek, by the way.
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