One of the main concepts I was able to grasp from Monday's class is that most of the time, human beings are functioning under craft. The reason is because the results of the action is reproducible. It involves repetition in a familiar circumstance, where a persons body has retained and remembered the knowledge of performing that particular action. Thus, a lot of art and academic learning is repetitive craft task. However, this does not make it any less valuable, because without it, nothing could ever happen while keeping one sane.
A perfect example of this is concentrating on walking as you are doing it. More than likely, you will not get very far. Mr. Achtermann quoted, in so many words, the definition of walking by stating that "walking is simply the act of falling and catching yourself time after time after time". I find this idea to be completely accurate. It made me think back to a time when I was in 7th grade, being my first year at the Middle School. It was at the beginning of the year, and I was wearing a brand new pair of light washed express jeans, a little white t-shirt, and my new adidas sneakers that were white with orange stripes over blue circles on the sides. Needless to say, it was field hockey season. Anyway, I was walking down the hall, by myself since it was between classes, and I was casually carrying the plastic red hall pass in my right hand. I was coming from Ms. Bailey's Math class when I looked up and saw, who I insisted, was the love of my life at the time. Before I knew it, I was clutching the hall pass with a death grip, and so inconveniently forgetting how to walk! Yes, that is the affect a cute boy has on me. I remember that I had to keep telling my body what to do in order to make it down the hallway without my knees giving out. Seriously though, at that moment, walking seemed like one of the hardest things I ever tried to do. Fortunately, I made it to my destination without tripping over myself, but more importantly, that boy became my high school sweetheart. Now that's one craft I'm thankful for.

Understanding the concept of how all human activity can be organized into the categories of Philosophy, Art, Craft, and Science is proving to be more complicated than I first anticipated. I have to admit that when I first read the description of this class, I thought that it seemed easy enough, so I didn't give the material too much thought. My initial rational was that Philosophy, Art, Craft, and Science are all simultaneously a part of each human action. Thus, this was the extent of my explanation. However, within the first few weeks of class, I have come to realize that it is not merely that simple. Humans are complex creatures, making our actions difficult to classify and explain on a universal level. I think that this is because each person has their own definition of what constitutes a particular action. Therefore it is tricky to determine which category is the most dominant.
Furthermore, the whole notion of the explanation of human activity is hard for me to grasp because as of now, there is no standard definition or set diagram to relate the information. I have always been taught to "go by the rules", study, accept, apply, and abide by the universal teachings of all that constitutes life. The freedom to pave my own path or develop my own theories concerning subject matter has not been something that was instilled in me. Therefore, trying to train myself to come up with "my own rules" is proving to be extremely difficult. I find myself constantly looking to others in hopes of adopting one of their theories that seems logical. More importantly, I feel that just the recognition of the problem I am facing is a breakthrough for me and has opened my eyes. Personally, I view this realization as the most significant part of my understanding. I now know that should not believe anything anyone tells me until I have tested it for myself and believe it to be true. Therefore, I will at the least, be able to move forward in my way of thinking by being able to broaden my horizons.