the human condition

This question was prompted by Binyam's contribution on the "observer effect" thread.

Do you think that the human sciences (such as psychology) or the arts (such as drama, or novels for that matter) provide better descriptions of human nature? Do we learn more about the human condition (what it is to be human) from the objective scientific modelling approach or the more subjective artistic narrative approach?

Objective versus subjective
Scientific versus artistic
Model versus story

Are these useful dichotomies or a gross over-simplication?

Is facebook infantilizing our minds?

I thought this was interesting.

Facebook and other social networking websites have come into being fairly recently (in the case of facebook, five years ago).

It may be worth considering the possible effects of this new form of communication.

Should we work to combat such developments or do they represent progress?

TOK weekend: arrangements

Dear Everyone,

This is to announce that lessons for IB1 will end at lunchtime on Friday. Immediately after your lunch, we will meet in the AVR in order to make some vital logistical arrangements, and it is crucial that you are there for this.

You should make your way promptly to the hostels immediately after this meeting to gather your possessions for the trip. WE WILL LEAVE TEMA AT 3pm. I SAID 3pm. When? Yes, 3pm.

For the weekend, you will need your TOK file and (very important indeed!) a PEN. In addition, all your normal toiletries and so on, and bed linen and suitable clothing. Remember we are going for two days, not two weeks! We have arranged to take 70 mattresses with us, so there should be no need to bring any more. Some of you might even get a bed to sleep in!

You have just two days left to organize and rehearse your presentation, so I suggest you get down to it tonight or, latest, tomorrow. Friday will be too busy to rely on.

The full programme for the weekend will be released by Friday morning.

“If you see a friend without a smile; give him one of yours.”

When some body is smiling does it really mean he/she is happy!
If so can we express our happiness by magnitude (can we measure our emotions?)
As I know happiness has different levels so is language efficient to describe each and every level of happiness? And also does our sense organs are able to describe exactly what we are feeling!

The Mind

The question of the location of the mind came up at a Socrates Scribes meeting a while back but somehow we never came to a solid conclusion as to what or where the human mind was.

Is the mind the same thing as the brain? is some 'by product' of the brian? Why is that when we talk about the mind's eye we point to our heads?

When we talk about 'great minds' we are referring to intelligent that have provoked thought people. But isn't intelligence related to the brain? I don't believe the mind and the brain are one and the same but then where is the connection between the mind and the brain then? is thsi just a matter of language and its many problems?

emotion and action

We, human beings, are most of the time depend on our emotion to take action.

I am wondering whether this is reliable because sometimes when we take action based on our emotion may cause some negative outcomes. So how do we justify this?
Also does our emotion affect by our language. If so how?

truth in Natural science

How much accurate are the instruments that we use in measuring, during experiments?
So how can we be sure that the value we get could be accurate or not? Is science more of agreement than Prof? Get some information using this link.http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=h1q3778238488455&size=largest

for all of u...

is an idea positive or negative? ..i do believe that it is the way we think that divides ideas not ideas that exist!!!

Judgment and belief

We most of the time say “Don’t waste your time!”, but do we really realize what we are trying to say? I recognize one important thing from this, which is “WHEN DO WE WASTE OUR TIME?”
In which of the below situations do you think we waste our time? The chose’s are related to one another.
1. I have planed to go to college at 9:00am and arrive there at 10:00am, and then unfortunately my house tutor gave me some work to be done. Due to this I arrive to the college at 10:05am.
2. While I was going to college I saw something written on a board at a distance. At that time I wanted to read the information that is written there. I stood for a while but I did not go and read the information that is written on the board. However, I arrived at 10:00am to the collage.
I have a belief that, we waste our time when we don’t do what our brain plans at that specific moment.

observer effect

Why we pretend not to let other people know the truth about ourselves? For example if I was in a leadership position, then the way I act when my headmaster saw me is quiet different when he is not around. Why we act as if we are, knowing that God knows every thing.

sense perception

Those who are doing magic are they really doing it or are they decieving our sence perception
how do you judge this?

the eye and the mind...

i found this qoute a while ago "The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend" , do you think that it's true. If so then are we resricting our knowledge because we simply don't believe in the existence of something. Could we see fairies if we wanted to, what then isthe difference between a day dream and what actually is?

Conflict and Knowledge

"A man never tells you anything until you contradict him.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)"

This is today's quote and interestingly I proposed something similar for the TOK presentation:

To what extent would you say conflict promotes the growth of knowledge?

Race and IQ - Dangerous Knowledge?

When does Knowledge become dangerous? On the issue of 'should scientists study race and IQ? Steven Rose asked, "Are there some areas of potential knowledge that scientists should not seek out? Or, if they do, should they keep the knowledge secret, hidden from the hoi polloi? Certainly Francis Bacon, that great theorist of the birth of modern science, thought so. For with knowledge comes power — potentially dangerous power. In his utopian novel The New Atlantis, scholars determined which of their findings were too dangerous to be shared." To read the full article click on the link.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7231/full/457786a.html

cartoon humour

If you are switched on to the news, you might have heard about this row concerning a cartoon allegedly portraying Barack Obama as a chimpanzee. Here's a link to the cartoon and background:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/18/new-york-post-cartoon-race

But George Bush was regularly portrayed as a chimpanzee by Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell for years, without any uproar or complaint - here's an example:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/cartoon/2008/sep/04/george.bush.us.elections

Can or should there be a "level playing field" for humour, or must it always take note of historical and cultural background?

decisions decisions....

Should i be the Plato guy or antye504? Which is more like me?

Judgement

The world is built on impressions. My 17 years have taught me this. However, I've also come to learn that these impressions are not always true. I was having an argument with a friend about stereotypes and i came to realize that as much as stereotypes and first impression judgments are largely wrong, they are not entirely wrong. To what extent would you agree?

Presentations for the TOK Weekend

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You have now settled on your real-life situation and knowledge issue for your presentation during the TOK Weekend. Now you need to find time to plan how you are actually going to put together the content of your presentation and the way in which you are going to present this content. Don't under-estimate the work involved! This presentation will make up an important component of your TOK grade for this semester.

A few logistical matters. On this occasion you will not have access to data projectors or other items of electronic technology (for your final presentation in IB2 you will be able to use whatever you want). Many of the knowledge issues you have identified have been discussed for thousands of years and have never relied on powerpoint! Think about how to make your presentation engaging without these kinds of support. You can use skits. You could use paper charts or whatever. Your presentation is supposed to last for between 10 and 12 minutes, so you will have to rehearse it to be sure.

Please use this thread for questions on how best to do your presentation. Any question will get a quick answer, so let's hear it! Time is short.

law enforcement.

I've got just one question for u guys, that is, How does the enforcement of laws (rules) work? Is it something psychological? (i.e we make up our minds to abide by them). Is it by this that institutions succeed in the implementation of rules?

hi... guys....

is natural science or social science important in our day ato day activity!

Chello

Puppy has arrived. Woof!

Hi Guys

Morality and Multiculturalism

(This is a news item I read from the Daily Graphic on Monday February 16, 2009)

The authorities at the Central University in Ghana have decided to introduce dress codes and hairstyles for students with the aim of fighting indecent dressing on campus. According to the code, dresses that expose the breast, upper thighs, loins and panties are regarded as indecent. Examples of these clothes are transparent and tight-fitting blouses, sweaters and sleeveless tops, short blouses, T-shirt and dresses with low necklines. Others are shorts and tight-fitting slacks and skirts and trousers with stylish cuts. The students are also not allowed to wear more than one earrings and T-shirts with offensive inscriptions are not permitted. The men are required to wear trousers and shirts with collar and tie or decent African wear. According to the Head of Public Relations Department, the code was developed based on the philosophy of the school which are faith, excellence and integrity. Failure to comply with such directives attract sanctions. Among many other knowledge issues one can raise include this:

To what extent are we justified for making moral judgments in a multicultural educational institution?

Prediction in the human sciences

I wanted to discuss this topic in class (in fact I started it) but there was not enough time. We all know that a one criterion of a good scientific theory is making testable predictions – very good theories make numerous predictions. But when we come to the human sciences many think that prediction is impossible because the human sciences deal with human behavior which is unpredictable because people have free will. However, when we study people as social groups they tend to behave as a unity with shared values, codes of conduct and some kind of order and structure. (I think, despite our free will we all stop at a red light.) So, personality variable can be irrelevant in describing social fact. What we can say about prediction in the human sciences is that it cannot be precise as in the natural sciences and some times it can completely fail. For example, no one saw the credit crunch coming. The reason for this is that economic systems are so complex they suffer from two problems (like all complex systems) . One is that they cannot capture the full detail of the underlying system. We cannot measure everything that affects the system and sometimes it is difficult to measure them with precision. This is called the problem of initial conditions. The other problem is that complex systems (like the economy and the weather) are susceptible to minute changes. Slight mistake in the measurement of the initial conditions will have very big consequences. They call this the Butterfly Effect (A butterfly flapping its wing over Japan can cause a storm in Brazil). This is not literal; it is just a sort metaphor. But the reality is not far from it, especially when we talk about highly complex systems where everything affects everything else. I think that the more economic systems grow complex the less our predictive ability becomes. Or may be we will discover more powerful tools of understanding. Every crisis paves the way for a revolution.

economics does not lie...?

Hi everyone - welcome to the blog.

Click on the topic title to access the article I'm talking about.

In this piece from last year, Guy Sorman claims that the discipline of economics has come of age as a true science. To support this view, he puts forward 10 propositions that he claims economics has shown to be true beyond doubt. These are:

1) The market economy is the most efficient of all economic systems
2) Free trade helps economic development
3) Good institutions help development
4) The best measure of a good economy is its growth
5) Creative destruction is the engine of economic growth
6) Monetary stability is necessary for growth, and inflation is always harmful
7) Unemployment among unskilled workers is largely determined by how much labour costs
8) While a welfare state is necessary in some form, it isn't always effective
9) The creation of complex financial markets has brought about economic progress
10) Competition is usually desirable

What does anyone think about this? Do you think economics has shown these things to be true? How do these claims compare with the sorts of things that scientists claim to be true? Can economics be a "true" science? Let's try to apply some of the concepts we have been discussing over the last month.

Bring it on!

meeeeeeeelan

OK, time to be a grumpy old man.

Why has every broadcaster in the English-speaking world decided that AC Milan should now be pronounced AC Meeeeeeeelan? Surely the Italian is "Milano", with the emphasis on the "a", so how do we get from Milaaaaaaano to Meeeeeeeeelan?

I find it extremely irritating. Now for the TOK - why should I find it irritating? It's just a word, and I understand what it is supposed to represent, so what's my problem?

global warming

Click on the topic title for an article disputing the reality of global warming, or at least the data that have been used to support it. Could be used to base a presentation on data collection and processing problems...

satanic verses

Real-life situation: twenty years since the Ayatollah's fatwa on Salman Rushdie.
Knowledge issue: on what basis can we know what to do in situations where there may be conflict between free speech and respect for the fundamental beliefs of others?
Or maybe: to what extent should people's beliefs be respected regardless of whether they are true or not?

Anyone got a better formulation? I think the second one is better.

shah of iran

I've just watched a great BBC programme on Iran with some fantastic footage of the Shah in the 1970s. I'd forgotten how he tried to militarize his country (using oil revenue) into almost a superpower with one of the largest armies in the world. The interviews were compelling viewing - he came across as pregnant with arrogance, associating the various interviewers with their countries of origin (UK mainly) and lecturing them on how the West was in terminal decline. Little did he know... I think I'll have to read Ryszard Kapuscinski's "Shah of Shahs" to compare with his masterful description of Haile Selassie.

Then there was Jimmy Carter toasting him on new year's eve with champagne - a Muslim leader celebrating a Christian festival with alcohol. The beginning of the end... The second part of the documentary is in two weeks time.

OK - there's a real life situation. Now find the knowledge issue!

clever enough?

One of my favourite quotes concerning the human sciences comes from the Godfather author Mario Puzo - something like:

"If our minds were simpler, we'd be too stupid to understand them."

A nice self-referential twist - maybe there are limits to our understanding of ourselves - as we get cleverer we develop a more complex brain, but then we can't understand it, so we need to get cleverer in order to understand it, but for that to happen the brain needs to get more complex still, so we can't understand it...

The Meaning of Everything

This is my favourite quote. Douglas Adams once said, 'There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.'