I never got a chance to finish the film. But what I saw was thought provoking at least. I appreciated the sentiment that we are capable of deciphering objects and thoughts that are alien to us. It gives me hope for my academic career in general, and math in particular. I did have a big problem with one specific aspect of it though. The thought process that seems to have established that Native Americans were incapable for a time to see Columbus' ships approaching is implausible. I will try to explain why, using the little I have learned thus far of critical thinking.
The statement presented as fact is that indians could not see Columbus' ships because they had no concept of the ships design/appearance. First I would accumulate info about the people and geography and come up with ideas why this may have happened. After processing this info, try and understand the underlying principles of my ideas and the ideas of others. Afterwards, I would create an opinion on the knowledge I accumulated and come up with an informed conclusion. There are enough plausible alternatives to the opinion presented in the movie that make believing this conclusion impossible. The indians were capable of distinguishing other large objects in their vision such as boulders, strange animals, land masses and such that even if they did not recognize the object their depth of vision captured the reflection of light that was the new image and that would have provoked thought.
That said, I can't wait to see the rest of the movie. Thanks Prof Wiseman for introducing us!
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