Robinson Crusoe and Thursday

“December 27th—The desperate fight against the cruel storm had been going on for an hour or so. Our attempts to keep the sail up were in vain. The gusts were tossing us from side to side. Fanni discovered a tiny leak at the bottom of the run-down wooden boat. That was to be our death sentence. The Lord, however, showed mercy to us and a piece of land appeared through the mist. As the storm was taking us in the right direction, we soon stranded on the island. To our astonishment, a set of exquisitely arranged weapons was awaiting us. After a heated debate, we agreed to take five clubs and finally set off to explore the unknown.”

This excerpt was taken from our travel diary, which we think serves as a perfect explanation for our two and a half month long silence. However plausible it seems, we understand if you don’t believe it. Fine… it never actually happened. We just felt miserable for not posting anything for such a long time. We nonetheless hope it didn’t fail to entertain you.

There are countless points to be covered in our agenda. First and foremost, we are proud to announce that Balázs has officially become an organizer of the club. The first effect of this thoughtful move has manifested as an abrupt extension of The organizers page. Another piece of good news: the spring season is going to last longer (10 meetings hopefully), as we don’t seem to care about the exam period any more – increasing deviance of young university students.

Here’s an incomplete list of the topics to be discussed in the upcoming season:

In what way the spread of e-books will affect our reading habits?
Is it feasible / appropriate to criminalize homelessness?
Do you look at Internet piracy as a serious crime?
What do you think about reality shows?

Of course you will be able to find everything in order under ** SCHEDULE ** within a reasonably short period of time. May the stars guide you!

We have been planning to make a loud comeback on February 27th, but you can expect greater changes in the life of the club than ever before. So, brace yourselves! In order to satisfy your intellectual hunger in your impatient anticipation, let us present to you an absolute gem of the TAKE FIVE folk poetry.

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The Moral Debate

Two weeks ago we dived into the rather intangible world of morals and ethics. Starting this year children in first and fifth grade have a new mandatory class in their timetables, which is either “erkölcstan” (moral and ethical education) or “hittan” (religious education) based on the parents’ choice. The core question was:

Should we teach/talk about morals EXPLICITLY, within the frames of a separate class, or rather IMPLICITLY, through other already existing subjects like history and literature?

Our way to the final debate was fairly adventurous. First and foremost, we clarified the meaning of three words that were crucial for the discourse: morals, ethics and etiquette. In groups of two, we tried to define and compare these words.

Secondly, we raised a moral dilemma: On a long-distance trip, the bus driver offers you a half-price ticket with no receipt. Would you accept it? The question divided the group. While some were in support of the supposedly underpaid bus drivers, others opposed the idea saying that one day the entire bus will want to pay the reduced price, which would definitely lead to bankruptcy in the long run.

We subsequently shared a few personal stories of extraordinary classes we had in pri-mary or secondary school, such as teambuilding, self-knowledge, or etiquette.

Eventually came the debate show. The members formed two groups: FOR and AGAINST explicit moral education. Although the for team, consisting of only three people, was rather an “in-between” team, we had quite an overheated debate. Here’s a short excerpt:

Cons: There should not be any kind of separate classes for explicit moral education, as kids can develop the necessary skills and sensitivity better through, for instance, cathartic experiences upon reading a novel.

Pros: What if the children are not mature enough to grasp the deeper messages of a written text by themselves?

Cons: We should improve their reading skills rather than compensating with an additional class to get such messages across.

The conversation went on for one and a half hours. In the end, the two groups agreed that children should have a so-called “debate class” which would comprise nothing but contro-versial topics with no definite “right” or “wrong” answers – a class that already exists in some parts of the world, for example in the US.

For the upcoming topics, check out our schedule or visit our Facebook page where you can find and join the latest event.

The Frosted Glass and Beyond

was the title for our season opening, referring to the foggy windows of Hungary’s brand new national tobacco shops. In brief: the government decided to centralize tobacco sales. As a result, you will no longer find cigarettes at grocery stores, supermarkets or news-stands. Only licensed “tobacconists” between the walls of specially designed stores are allowed to sell any kinds of tobacco products. Some (or all?) of the official reasons are: preventing the young from smoking and cutting down on tobacco trafficking.

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For some, nothing has changed, and this might be the most senseless topic to talk about. But for others, the whole process of distributing the licenses, and the – more or less – well-functioning stores have raised questions.

“Where there are questions, there are take-fivers” as the saying goes… er… or something like that. Anyway, we collected the most exciting approches to the matter which the ever-enthusiastic group of visitors covered with dignity. We discussed the following (straight from the event description):

What do you think of the new stores?
Do you agree with all the aspects of the big change?
Is it a fight against illegal tobacco sales? Is it about preventing the young from smo-king? Or is it just political jiggery-pokery?

Apart from certain differences of opinion, we all agreed that this whole change is far from the romantic story of saving the poor youngsters from the devilish cigarettes. Although it wasn’t too much of a riddle to come to that conclusion, it was interesting to hear every-one’s thoughts and even some personal stories.

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In the end, we played amusing games. If you want to take your share of the amusement, join us next week! Follow our Facebook page, so that you can easily find our events and stay up-to-date.

Just one more thing… If a club meeting begins at 6:00 pm, some people have the feeling that it is perfectly fine to be 20 minutes late, while the rest of us are just waiting, since we wouldn’t like anyone to miss a minute of the interesting conversation. We did a triple blind test with eyes wide open and noticed that if we shift the session to 6:30, people from the previously mentioned group will arrive at 6:50, accordingly. Therefore, the triumvirate of organizers have decided to reset the time of sessions to the original 6:00 pm. We promise not to make such mistakes in the future. God save the Queen!

Dear Take-Fivers…

Dear Take-Fivers,

It’s been two months since we last met. The vacation was a bit long, but now we are ready to reopen the gates. You’ve been faithful fans, and I hope this will remain so. I’m writing to you to express my gratitude and to fill you in on some important things.

There are a few changes to the course of the club. From now on, we will meet only every second week. The reason is quite simple: we never had the time to prepare for a topic thoroughly. We were always in a rush and didn’t let the topics really unfold. We aim to bring only hard issues to the clubroom in the future that are truly worth chewing on. An elevated conversation is just as important as improving our language skills.

A bit of appetizer: cultural coexistence, policemen in schools, teaching ethics in elementary school, genderless newborns. And the list doesn’t end here. Each topic will be presented to you one week before the club meeting, so you will have enough time to check out the related material and organize your thoughts.

The other new thing is that we start at 6:30. We noticed that at least half of the people could never arrive on time because of school or work.

For those who couldn’t make it to the last session, here’s a brief recap. Originally, the topic was “urban legends”. My plan was to bring some of the funniest or most astonishing stories from all around the world. After gathering at the gallery, we all hit the road and marched down to Deák square to find an outdoor bar. We sat around a table, and the session quickly turned into a fantastic night out with a couple of beers, chit-chat and lots of laughter.

On the left: my hat from Rome snatched by Nóra

I hope that the TAKE FIVE club has always been a way to escape from the troubles of everyday life, and that you will visit us with the same enthusiasm as before. If so, I’m looking forward to seeing you next Thursday, and don’t hesitate to drag your great friends along. Also, we would gladly take your suggestions on how to make the club better.

Regards,
Zsombor
The Founding Father

Top of the World

This Thursday we had the great honor to welcome Krisztina Szalay, our beloved literature teacher from ELTE. She mingled with the youth so perfectly that if we posted a transcript of the session using first names, nobody would believe that she has gray hair. Upon being asked how she liked the club, she kept answering: ‘Very pleasant.’

group_corrected — The Take Five Court – Front row, right: Chief Justice Fanni Petrák

Our topic was meant be thought-provoking, and it may have fulfilled that goal. However, we agreed on almost every point, so this time no heated debate could take place.

Weeks ago the media was overwhelmed with articles on the unfortunate case of Zsolt Erőss and Péter Kiss – two climbers who disappeared on their way to the summit of Mount Everest. This is not at all unusual. Climbers are ceaselessly exposed to accidents. What possibly drew the Hungarian people’s attention to this particular event is the raw fact that Zsolt Erőss, a highly experienced climber, lost no fewer than six of his companions throughout his trips. The very last one, Péter Kiss, actually left his master to return to the ground, but finally turned back to help him.

Erőss left two little kids behind who will grow up without a father because he felt he needed to go on an “ego trip” instead of settling down at the age of 45.

Two serious moral questions arise in light of his past:

As an experienced climber, do I have the right to drag along people who trust me blindly?
Do I have the right to choose the mountain over my family after a series of misfortunes? Isn’t it a dumb way of pushing my luck?

Our opinions were unanimous. Professor Szalay even pointed out how “banal and boring” the nature of this issue is.

For an elegant ending we went around the room and each person shared one story with him being in danger or having a near-death experience. We had everything from getting stuck in the center of Lake Balaton to jumping off the balcony. Not to mention climbing a fence with barbed wires to a “maximum security” property with gigantic oil silos – under the favor of the night, in a high school camp.

We took out the good old Taboo game to have some fun near the end. Join us next week when we are going to bring up an extremely controversial topic. The time has come for an overheated debate!

Back on 27th!

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Organizers on their period

We exactly know how you feel, my friend. As we announced earlier, the entire crew were going to disappear due to the forthcoming exam period. We have immaculately fulfilled this promise. We nonetheless forgot to inform you about the future. ‘Cause we do know the future.

On the last Thursday of June, the mighty organizers of the club will emerge from the depths of the red haze and regain their human shapes. Thereafter, you will be able to enjoy FOUR sessions in a row before Take Five goes on vacation. There will probably be some changes from the next season. Stay up-to-date!

Here’s a brief recap of the last two meetings:

May 9th: The Hipster Paradox

We talked about a proliferating subculture that has recently arisen from its ashes: the hipsters. Who are they? A community whose goal is to stay away from everything that is considered to be mainstream. They aim to avoid being under the influence of popular culture. However, they seem to overlook a teeny-tiny detail that immediately defies the whole concept: they desperately fight against everything that is popular, which ironically results in being under control of the society. This phenomenon has been wisely named the hipster paradox. We made an attempt to figure out its underlying social aspect.

We discussed the questions of fashion, and finally talked in groups of two about our clothing habits.

May 16th: The Myth of Multitasking

We listened to an 18-minute long NPR interview. “How long can you go without checking email, or glancing at your smartphone? Clifford Nass, a psychology professor at Stanford University, says today’s nonstop multitasking actually wastes more time than it saves—and he says there’s evidence it may be killing our concentration and creativity too.”

Many people claim that they are capable of multitasking, but is it really multitasking? We shared our experiences with each other, and concluded that real multitasking is quite rare. Our minds are basically adjusted to deal with one thing at a time.

We would gladly take your comments on both topics.

Diagnosed with SLA

I remember my English class in first grade, elementary school. We played a game. If the teacher said ‘yes’, we had to jump towards the windows. If she said ‘no’, then jump towards the door. I also recall sheets of paper with color blots on them. They were lined up on the chalkboard ledge. That’s how it all began. Six years later three of us took part in a local English competition. My teacher had a dream. She imagined us winning the first three places, and even had an order in her mind. To our astonishment, it all came true. It was hard to believe first. However it happened, it was the first real impact on my English studies. The next one came when I went to high school, and my placement test returned with the best result in the class. On top of that, I had the most fantastic teachers from the very first moment up to the final exam. I could write tens of pages of stories, and I’m just a drop in the bucket.

Two weeks ago we went around the room and everybody had a chance to tell their stories regarding their language studies. It was incredible to see how many different ways there are to acquire a foreign language. First of all, Fanni familiarized us with a bunch of linguistic expressions, such as the one in the title: SLA, which stands for Second Language Acquisiton. So, it’s not the name of a serious disease. We discussed what an important role our enthusiasm and persistence plays in the process of learning. Moreover, we posed the question: is there an aptitude (inborn ability) for language-learning?

We concluded the conversation by sharing one of our best and worst experiences with foreign languages. For instance, spending half a year in a native speaking environment, or getting a terrible teacher who makes you hate the language.

During the second half of the session, we played a funny game. I don’t think it’s my invention, but I swear I hadn’t looked it up before the meeting. So… I bought a few thick A/4 sheets of different colors, and then we cut them into small cards. First, we made three teams. Everyone got four cards and had to put down a single word, an expression or a saying on each of them. Then we collected the cards, shuffled them, and dealt them out randomly among the teams.

“You go on a blind date. You arrive at the café/restaurant and accidentally go up to the wrong girl.” This was the beginning of the story. The three teams had to continue the story using all the words and expressions on the cards, then present it in first person. One of the teams wrote a poem…

It’s that much fun to attend the TAKE FIVE club!

A Touch of Fate

It has been three weeks since we last posted on the club sessions, so this is a summary of the last three events.

To begin with, I would like to show you a picture. This is the entrance door of FISE, and what you can see there is the very first Take Five poster ever to appear on the street. We are planning to pin a couple of more on the bulletin boards of the university soon. If you have any ideas as to where else we could spread the posters, let us know.

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April 11th:
The meeting was canceled due to the low number of visitors. We passed the topic on to the following week.

April 18th:
“Would you pay a fortune-teller to look at your palm?” The conversation revolved around occult sciences. First, we shared our experiences related to homeopathy, naturopathy or any other science of the sort. To what extent is our psiche connected with our illnesses or the recovery from them? Do the words of a fortune-teller manipulate us, that is, predetermine our deeds? Then, we moved on to the seemingly inexplicable phenomena of life, such as instincts, intuition, or specific events that look more like divine intervention than simple coincidences. How can we dream of the future? Why do film-like things happen to us? Is it really a touch of fate? We ended up discussing what an important role self-knowledge plays in our personality development. Are personality tests useful? Do they have anything to tell that we would never figure out ourselves?

April 25th:
What if you were walking the streets and somebody collapsed in front of your eyes? And what if you were the only one there to help? Would you know what to do? Our topic was first aid. Many people don’t know what to do in a situation like this, or simply don’t have the courage to make the first step. However, if we kneel down to the lying person without thinking and do a few simple things, we can save a life. You only get to know expressions like recovery position, chest compressions or kiss of life if you are studying to get your driver’s license, or if you decide to take a first-aid course. It shouldn’t be this way! We all agreed that giving first aid should be taught in high school in the first place. You have 2 to 6 minutes to restart a heart, otherwise there is an extremely high probability of irreversible brain damage. While the paramedics are on their way, you are the unsung hero.

Here is a song called Resuscitation by Sheryl Crow. It could be heard in the fifth season of the well-known drama series ER.

You can expect some inconsistencies with regard to the upcoming club meetings, as all three of the organizers are university students, and the dark clouds of the exam period are approaching. Check out our pages every week to stay in the loop.

Facebook me!

Last week we began with a TED talk recommended by Nóra. In her 20-minute long presentation, Sherry Turkle talks about how social networks have changed relationships and the way we shape our self-image. The witty title Connected, but alone? suggests that even though we are able to get in touch with a huge number of people via the net, it isn’t necessarily the way out of solitude. As a matter of fact, it might have the opposite effect.

Zoli reflected on the presentation in detail by giving a speech offhand. He pointed out that it’s not the technology that influences social behavior, but the way we use it. He says that a weak-minded person or somebody who is inherently socially awkward will easily fall victim to virtual reality. It is up to us to keep it under control. You will be able to read more in his upcoming post.

After discussing how much time we spend socializing online, we attempted to collect the pros and cons with regard to social networks. Among the most useful features are organizing groups or events. The advertising potential of these sites are also worth mentioning. In addition to inviting all your contacts to check out your new page, you have the possibility to invest money into advertising. You can even narrow down your target audience based on age, gender, or anything.

The most irritating downside is obviously the loads of spam we encounter on these sites. Besides constantly receiving requests from friends (asking to vote on their pictures or videos for a contest), we come across the most malicious invention of the internet: hoax – scientifically doubtful writings that warn us about the dangers of butter, or fake solicitations with stock photos… and the list goes on forever. Unfortunately, people don’t take the trouble to look them up on sites specializing in scams and hoaxes, just carelessly click on share.

We finished our discussion with the question “Have you had any unpleasant experiences with online communication?” The most frequent answer was related to the previously mentioned socially awkward people who act totally differently behind the screen and in person.

We will keep pursuing exciting and controversial topics. Check our Facebook page for the latest event.