What is the K Project?

The K project is an experiment to discover if the mesoscopic components of computation can be stimulated by advanced complex tennis training methods. In lay terms, the project seeks to discover if computational skills can be improved through tennis training. The K-project uses volunteer children with special needs (those lacking normal components of computation or analytical skills).

Katherine Richards, our volunteer test subject, was born with hydro encephala and missing 1/3 of here occipital lobe. However, Katherine is a very accomplished and world class special olympics athlete. We assume that her mesoscopic components of athletic ability are developed and now we ask if the development of these components will assist in the development of the components of computation (such as abstraction, analogy, generalization, association and related abilities needed for academic and analytical skills).

With this orientation in mind we first evaluated Katherine using the WCST. The WCST was uses as a baseline starting point fro evaluation of her current state of analytical ability. We found that there was virtually no ability to complete this test in a coherent fashion. In essence, she was a blank page by testing standards. Hence, we decided on another avenue guided by the Langer Protocol used in, and well established in, our tennis training program.

Our first experiment (using the Langer Protocol) following the results of the WCST was to present K with a variety of triangle drawings and ask her to count the number of triangles in each figure. Then we asked her to reproduce them.

The triangles are placed on a photo of an animal because K likes animals.

At the first session, her reproductions followed the same lines as the WCST and were not encouraging. However, in the second session one week later, she reproduce them quite well, correcting her previous mistakes and even extending the ideas. All of this is consistent with the Freeman model of mesoscopic components and our conjecture that the components of action are somehow involved in the components of computation.

Based on these results, we introduced another experiment. From Toys R Us, I obtained several plastic models that required assembly by following instructions and included example figures. I removed the instructions and discarded the packaging so that she would have no guide and just presented her with a zip lock bag of parts and asked her to build a "monster". The result was less than interesting. In fact, she produced an unintelligible structure of random parts that made no sense what-so-ever. I left her with a home work assignment: Construct the"best" monster" having the fewest parts. Two weeks later, I returned to see the results (May 2, 2011). She had built two monsters of 29 and 27 parts respectively, but she had disassembled them so I had nothing to look at. I asked her to build one for me while I watched. In 15 minutes she assembled an excellent figure, efficient, coherent and aesthetically pleasing of only 19 parts. See photo below..

Katherine's "monster" (19 parts) constructed in 15 minutes

This result is sufficiently impressive that its needs reproduction using another subject. Further, I left her with another more complex assignment to build a toy having 100 parts from an illustration from Lego's without any instructions.

Note that every part plays a role, and by removing any part, the monster loses something of its value. .In addition to having all of the parts possible from the set of components provided, she added a little flare with the head piece that looks like an antenna. Further, Katherine went beyond my instructions to make a monster that can rotate about its center demonstrating the ability to expand on an idea and create more than was expected. This ability was also demonstrated in the triangle experiment. .

One explanation of this development is obtained by assuming that her athletic mesoscopic components were utilized in some fashion, after a period of gestation, to successfully carry out analytical tasks. Further testing will continue and we will be looking for another volunteer subject.