This episode’s vocabulary
Sense of accomplishment
n — a feeling of pride because you have been successful in doing something. → Finishing the project gave me a real sense of accomplishment.
Payoff
n — a positive result or reward from an action. → You get the payoff from the effort you put in.
Manual dexterity
n — skill in using your hands to perform tasks. → Some children might not have the manual dexterity to build complex models.
Cognitive ability
n — the mental capacity for reasoning, problem-solving, and other higher-level thinking. → The game is designed to test your cognitive ability.
Turn someone off
phrasal verb — to make someone lose interest or enthusiasm. → The complexity of the task can turn some children off.
Creative outlet
n — a way of expressing your creativity. → Art classes provide a good creative outlet for students.
Work-around
n — a way of dealing with a problem without completely solving it. → If something isn't working, you have to find a work-around.
Crystallize
v — to make an idea or opinion clear and fixed. → Art helps people crystallize or represent various ideas.
Well-maintained
adj — kept in good condition through regular checks and repairs. → The public buildings are very well-maintained.
Walks of life
idiom — refers to people from a range of jobs and social positions. → The events bring together people from different walks of life.
Sentimental value
n — value that an object has because of its personal or emotional associations. → Handmade items often have more sentimental value.
Mass-produced
adj — made in large quantities, usually by machine. → Mass-produced products don't have the same unique features.
By the same token
idiom — in the same way or for the same reason. → By the same token, a handmade item can be rubbish if the person doesn't know what they're doing.
Historian
n — an expert in or student of history. → I'm not an art historian, so I don't know too much about it.
Questions and answers
Do children these days still like doing arts and crafts?
I think so. You can always see toys like Lego in shops and they seem quite popular. So it seems like a reasonable, logical conclusion that kids still enjoy stuff like that. If anything, they might have even more options and opportunities to do it.
Why do some children enjoy making things by hand?
Well, I suppose there's a sense of accomplishment that comes with it, isn't there? You took some materials and put them together to make something you can enjoy. So you get the payoff from the effort. And then you have something else that you can play with or use as a result.
And why do some children dislike making things by hand?
Well, it might be too complex for them. So they might not have the manual dexterity or the cognitive ability to kind of process what it is they're doing, which can put people off things like that. Or they might just not find it interesting. So that could also be something that turns them off as well.
Do you think art classes are important for children?
Yeah, it's good to have a creative outlet like that, and it gives them a chance to experiment with different ways of doing things and to find solutions to various problems.
And why is that?
Well, if you have to put something together and it's not working very well, then you've got to find a work-around for that. I mean, an adult could obviously do it for you, but it would probably benefit your, well, at least your cognitive processing or your problem solving skills to try and do this yourself at first.
Does art, like music or theater, have an impact on society?
I certainly think so. Art provides a space to represent different social issues and aspirations and it can inspire people to be better versions of themselves or to take action to improve their lives. Alternatively, it could just calm them down and prevent chaos as well.
Has this always been true?
Probably. I'm not really an art historian, so I don't know too much about it, but I would say as long as people have been creating art, it's given them an outlet from various emotions that they might be feeling, or it's helped them crystallize or represent various ideas. Otherwise, what's the point?
Is it good to have creative people in a team?
Well, we're all at least a little creative, aren't we? So it's pretty much unavoidable. As for whether it's good or not, I think it comes down to what you're trying to achieve, really. If it's some artistic project, then you might benefit from having different perspectives. But if it's more about maintaining an existing way of doing things, then creativity in work might just throw things into chaos.
What impact can artistic buildings have on society?
Assuming they're well-constructed and well-maintained and used, they could be great for bringing people together from different walks of life and across the community to enjoy different events. They could also be a good place for local businesses and artists to advertise their work.
Do you think handmade items are more valuable than factory-made ones?
I mean, that probably depends on the type of value that we're talking about, as well as the quality of what's produced. So if it's something, if it's a sentimental value, then yes, they probably will have more value just because mass-produced products don't have the same effort put into them compared to something that's made by hand. And they won't have the same unique features, because if they did, then they wouldn't be mass-produced. Then the other thing to think about is what's actually being made. Sometimes things that are made in factories can be absolutely awful and don't work properly, because they have some kind of flaw that's been replicated over and over again. Although, by the same token, you could have something made by hand which is also absolutely rubbish if the person doesn't know what they're doing. So a lot of this is dependent on the context really, isn't it?