1. Can you please introduce yourself?
My name is Josiah Spears and I am 17 yrs old and I’m from San Francisco, California.
This is my first year at ISB.
What experience are you going to talk about in your life?
I am going to talk about the experience I had playing basketballsince the 4th grade and
the valuable lessons that I have learned from it.
What are the four ways of knowing and which ones will you be covering?
The four ways of knowing are perception, language, reason and emotions.
Perception is our view of the world through our five senses.
Language is form of communicating that is rule-governed, intended, creative, and
open-ended.
Reason isthe power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking especially in orderly
rational ways. It is using logic to solve problems and come to conclusions whether that be
deductively or inductively.
Emotions is derived from the Latin word movere, to move, and refers to feelings,
passions, and moods.
The two ways of knowing that clearly apply to my basketball experience our reason and
emotion.
How does reason apply to basketball?
In any sport but especially basketball, reason and emotion are essential character traits for
a player who wants to be effective and prolific. Reason enables a player to make smart
and intelligent plays with the basketball in his hands and even when he or she does not
have the ball. Without reason, I would not know the right circumstances under which to
dribble the ball toward the basket for a lay-up or rather to pull-up for a jump shot. I
would not know when or where to pass the ball to a teammate for a nice assist. Also,
without reason I would not be able to play efficient defense because I would not know
whether to play zone or man defense. Reason also helps me recognize weaknesses in an
opponents game that allow me to exploit them when they are on offense. For example, I
usually observe my opponent carefully to see which hand is his strong hand, the one he
dribbles with. Then, I use reason to design methods of forcing him to dribble with his
weak hand, which usually allows me to steal the ball quite easily. As a point guard, I
must have reason in order to discern what defense the opponent is running, either man or
zone, and then I use reason to determine what play will work best to exploit the
weaknesses of the defense so that my team can score. The best basketball players have
great basketball I. Q., which is reason. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are two of the
greatest basketball players to ever play the game. One of the reasons for this, is that they
have unmatched Basketball I.Q. This high Basketball I. Q. allows them to know the right
time to pass the ball to an open teammate for an easy shot or, to drive the lane for the
layup, or to shoot the jump shot.

2. Why is emotion important in basketball?
Although reason is important in basketball, emotion is also just as important in order to
be successful. A player may have all of the reason in the world but if he does not have
emotion he will have no motivation or passion to play the game. He will have no reason
why to play the game. Plus, if someone relies too much on reason then he will hesitate
before he makes any decisions. This is a problem in basketball because in order to be
effective you must be able to make decisions in a split of a second. Indecisiveness usually
results in a turnover, bad passes, or a bad decision. This is where emotion comes in to
play. Emotion helps a basketball player to react quickly. Using intuition and hours of
practice a player learns to act naturally or instinctively when certain situations present
themselves.If a player can channel his emotions he can use the energy he gains from them
to overpower less passionate opponents. Controlled passion is one aspect that allows
people to play at their highest level. I can tell when I am really passionate about a game
but am still under control. I play better. In fact, my best performances have come when I
have controlled but very strong emotions. However, I have to agree with the James Lange
Theory. When I am having a good shooting night and make 2 or 3 threes in a row then
my emotions become very strong and I continue to play well. However the physical
effects come first and then the emotions follow as a result of the physical action of
shooting very well, which is exactly what James Lange said. Emotion is very pertinent if
a player wants to play at a high level.
Which one is more important in basketball emotion or reason?
I think that their both equally important. As already stated, without emotion I could not
make decisions quickly or efficiently. However, too much motion causes me too either to
play too fast or too sloppy. Think of emotion as the engine to the car. It gives me power
to play hard and my best. Think of reason as the tires of the car- it controls, guides and
regulates my emotion. A car without an engine cannot run, and a car without tires is
ineffective as well. A car needs both the engine and the tires to run effectively. The same
thing is true with me as the player. I need emotion so I can have energy but I also need
reason to guide the energy. Without one I am ineffective, I must have both.
What has basketball taught you?
Basketball has taught me to balance my reason and emotion.
Where can you apply what you have learned?
I can apply the lesson of balancing my reason and emotion to almost any decision in life.
However, when I am in college I can specifically apply this lesson. I am going to study
electrical engineering in college and will need reason to do well in the course. Without
reason I will not do well in my classes. I also will need also need emotion to give me
motivation to study hard and be successful in college as well. Without a balance of these
I will not be successful in college.