RLS 2 (Jan 16)

[ST. JOHN]

This week's posters: Dionne, Logan, Tulsi, Liz, Camila, James, Ryan, Carol.

Post a real-life situation that somehow addresses the prescribed title you have chosen.  In a few sentences, explain how it relates to your PT.  *You do not have to post a RLS that you will actually use in your essay.*

Everyone else, choose one of the RLSs from the people above and describe how it relates to your own PT.

Posters, reply directly to this message.  All others, reply directly to the individual whose RLS you are addressing.

Original posts due by midnight Saturday.  All replies due by midnight Wednesday.

[JamesHood8]

Lately there has been a lot of talk between central banks such as the FED on changing interest rates saying that they would stay low until unemployment fell even lower. This decision was however simplified so to allow it to be understood by everyone easier. In reality there were many other more complex things that needed to be achieved before they altered the interest rates. Now the central banks are using more complex language so to more accurately relay what is needed to the public. This example of the natural sciences relates to PT #6 which says "In knowledge there is always a trade-off between accuracy and simplicity." Evaluate this statement in relation to two areas of knowledge. This relates to the PT as it demonstrates the trade-of between accuracy and simplicity.

[CarolLin8]

British physicist Isaac Newton came up with the gravity theory from watching an apple fall from a tree. He then used the scientific method to determine why the apple fell, and why the apple sped up while falling then stop upon hitting the ground. In order to test his theory, he compared the acceleration of the moon and the acceleration of objects on earth. From this, he was able to draw a conclusion about the dependence of gravity upon distance. He was also able to conclude that the force of gravitational attraction between the earth and other objects is inversely proportional to the distance separating the earth's center from the object's center, and that force depends on the mass of the earth. Then, he gathered his conclusions to create an equation known as the universal gravitation equation. This relates to my prescribed title: "In gaining knowledge, each area of knowledge uses a network of knowing." Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge, because it deals with the area of knowledge: natural sciences, and I will be able to discuss the network of ways of knowing, such as reason, sense perception, memory, and language, Isaac Newton uses to create his equation. 

[DionneWareham5]

Recently four new elements have been discovered. Dawn Shaughnessy discovered three of the four new elements. Shaughnessy said her motivation for discovering the new elements was "to refine our theories about the existence of matter and how the nucleus  is formed." This RLS relates to PT #3"( the knower's perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge. To what extent do you agree?") because her motivation, to some extent,  led her to the discovery and knowledge, but it was more so personal knowledge. Before her discoveries became shared knowledge, she had to be put through review processes to determine if her work could be considered knowledge in the scientific community. In short, her perspective led her to personal knowledge, but not sharable knowledge.

[JeetenMistry8]

This relates to PT 3 concerning the necessity of perspective in creating knowledge in that Newton's worldview caused him to question what was around him. His perspective allowed him to develop effective methods of observation so as to discover gravity and the laws of motion. With a different perspective, he could have had different approaches that would have never led him to this conclusion or might have never questioned the phenomenon we know as gravity.

[LoganSweeney5]

  The Manhattan Project was created 1942 to combat recent concerns of German engineers creating nuclear weapons. Their task was to create nuclear weapons of their own. They did this through Electromagnetic separation, gaseous, and even thermal diffusion. These concepts helped United States engineers to develop the "Fat Man" atomic bomb launching weapon and even the similarly named "Fat Man" implosion type nuclear bomb. Both were used to bomb the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended the second world war.

  This RLS relates to my knowledge question (knowledge without practical applications is useless ( #4) through the practical applications of the atomic study founded by those working for the Manhattan Project. These scientific concepts developed the superweapon that ended the second world war, and gave these same concepts a viable use within the world.

[LianaHa5]

This RLS also relates to the PT "In knowledge there is always a trade-off between accuracy and simplicity." because it discusses a complicated area of science that very few people have ever ventured into. When Sir Isaac Newton came up with the theory of gravity he was picking accuracy over simplicity, whereas people had never questioned why things were attracted to the ground for the sake of simplicity. Isaac Newton continued to venture into the world of science for the sake of accuracy when he drew his conclusions about the dependence of gravity on distance. 

[SalmaHuque5]

This RLS is related to Prescribed Title number 4; "the value of knowledge without application is diminished." The equation for universal gravitation has become a useful tool to scientists and mathematicians planning out voyages to space. It helps them know how close to planets and asteroids a shuttle can go without crashing and it most famously helped with the rescue of the Apollo 13 moon mission. Furthermore, the universal gravitation equation has been used a building block for later scientific and mathematic theories, including those of Albert Einstein. Without this application, the creation of the equation of universal gravitation has very little purpose. The creation of the equation would essentially be a waste of time if it wasn't being used to help people.

[TulsiPatel5]

Starbucks' traditional christmas cup is just red; it doesn’t have a pattern or design. There are no snowflakes, stars, or snowmen. This has outraged many people who see the move as an attack on Christianity.

This relates to PT #2 "The knower's perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge.” To what extent do you agree? The people who think that this cup is controversial believe in certain things and have different experiences which led them to this conclusion.

[JustinHendee5th]

This real life situation relates to the 6th prescribed title the best out of the others. This is because quite simply without the complex mathematics, the atomic bomb could not have been created as there would not be enough accuracy to allow it to work. Due to the complexity of the math, the scientists were able to figure out how to not just create but utilize the newfound nuclear weapons.

[CamilaVizcarraGuevara8]

During a basketball game between Oregon State and Utah, it appeared one of Oregon State's players, Jarmal Reid, tripped the referee after falling down himself. This has caused the player to be suspended for a minimum of the next four games. According to Sean Meagher of the Oregonian, Reid was apparently frustrated with a no-call before the trip. It came at an inopportune time, as the game was tied at 52-52 with 2:56 remaining. The official called aflagrant-2 foul against Reid, and Utah outscored Oregon State 7-1 the rest of the way. "First and foremost, I would like to apologize to Oregon State University, Beaver Nation, the Pac-12 Conference, my family, my coaching staff and teammates, and the game officials," Reid said. "I'm well aware that my actions not only embarrassed my family, but also the university and the Oregon State basketball program." Many fans on Twitter have been claiming that the school is making a big deal of the mistake Reid had made and are overreacting in suspending him. Others, though, believe this may have been Jarmal Reid's worst decision. This RLS relates to PT #3: "The knower's perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge" for it establishes different possibilities of punishment for Reid, if any, based on how serious they have believed the action the player has committed to be. 

[LeahHardigree5]

This RLS relates to PT #6 because it demonstrates how the public understands the simpler decision, however it is less accurate. Then, they used more complex language to be more accurate, however less people understand what is happening because it is not as simple.

[ChristineJones8]

This RLS relates to my prescribed title, "the concepts that we use help us construct knowledge".

The concept used in the scenario was the idea that the scientific method is a sufficient method for developing theories.

Because of this concept, Isaac Newton's use of the scientific method in the development of his gravitational theory allows it to be considered knowledge in most academic systems.

[SydneyPalmer5]

This also relates to PT #4: "without application in the real world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished." If Dawn Shaughnessy's discoveries did not affect real world and our lives, it would not be considered relevant because it would be useless. Her knowledge of these new elements affects the natural sciences as well as history, so it has a lot of relevance in those areas and some others.

[Chris Kauffman8]

this realtes to my prescribed title, by talking of newtons perspective, which is very similar to, what content we use to create the answers we find? Could newton of had a different perspective of the world?

[DestinyOkpomo8]

This somewhat relates to the 4th prescribed title that discusses whether information is considered knowledge if it has no real life application. In this situation, there is a limitation on the application of her personal knowledge, which overall decreases the value

[LindseyStanley8]

   The prescribed title that I have chosen to address is as follows: " 'Knowledge within a discipline develops according to the principles of natural selection.' How useful is this metaphor?"  Newton's discovery of universal gravitation and the question stated above are connected because Newton's discovery has survived despite the development of other ideas that have been introduced and established in the field of physics.  This demonstrates that, according to natural selection's main concept of 'survival of the fittest' in which only the best can survive, his theories were among the "fittest" ideas.  In addition, other concepts have been based upon his discovery which has allowed other developments to be made within that same field.  Thus, the survival of his theory has contributed to how the knowledge in the discipline of physics has been allowed to develop.

[KhalylaWarrington8]

This RLS relates to prescribed title #6 by showing that there is a trade-off between simplicity and accuracy. In this situation central banks have opted to using more complex vocabulary in order to accurately give the proper information to the people. Without doing so they can not get out all the necessary information, so in this case simplicity takes away from the accuracy of the information being given out. 

[CarsonWiles8]

The RLS about Isaac Newton relates to PT number one because it shows the different ways that Newton was able to gain his knowledge. In this pursuit of knowledge, he used different networks to know. These networks included are all part of the natural sciences but also could be considered under mathematics. The only difference is that sense perception is not a WoK that would apply as well under mathematics.

[DeviDayal8]

This RLS relates to the prescribed title To what extent do the concepts that we use shape the conclusions we reach. Newton used many concepts to reach final conclusion. He took everything he knew and used it to reach conclusion. 

[ShambaGriffin8]

This RLS relates to the prescribed title that I chose, "Without application in the world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished.", because if the discoveries of Dawn Shaughnessy did not become shared knowledge, the science world would not have been able to improve their findings in regards to the formation of the nucleus. This also raises the question of whether or not Shaughnessy keeping her findings as unshared knowledge would have lessened the value of her findings. To what extent can what one does not know be beneficial?non-beneficial?

[Joe Caldwell8]

My PT is PT#3 which is ""The knower's perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge." To what extent do you agree?" I believe that this RLS relates to my PT because from some citizens' perspective, the FED is simply trying to cheat the people of their money by making the economic system overly complicated or not tell them all the details by making it under complicated. From other citizens' point of view, the FED may simply have the people's best interest in mind. Maybe a FED worker does believe that they are trying to cheat the people and make themselves rich, while a different FED worker is trying to change the interest rates to actually help the people.

[JovanyDorsainvil8]

This real life situation relates to PT#4 in a variety of ways. Back then, the bombs were actually used; however, now the US produces many nuclear weapons with what seems to be no desire to have a nuclear war. In addition, military funding is incredibly high, though the conflicts we engage in are sparse. If this knowledge of bombing and military funds exists, and we do not have war, what is the point of all of this knowledge and all of this research into developing military knowledge? This relates to my PT because it illustrates that even in the natural sciences, knowledge can become useless to people; if it is not a directly involved aspect of someone's life (if it isn't being applied in their lives), it is typically hard to appreciate and give value to.

[AndyAustin8]

This RLS easily relates to PT #6 which states "In knowledge there is always a trade-off between accuracy and simplicity." The RLS challenges this claim entirely because the end result of Newton's work was a simple equation to apply to most situations. However, the simple equation can give accurate results for any gravitational problem one could test. This simple yet accurate equation diminishes the thought of a trade-off between accuracy and simplicity, and conjures up ideas of true knowledge for all.

[AbbyLhoste5]

I agree with Leah's response about PT#6. The public often understands concepts or events at a much more basic and simplistic level than those who are educated in that subject. When we simplify it we lose the complete accuracy of an event or concept.  

[SavonteMcCuller8]

For my TOK essay, I chose to write on PT #4. The Manhattan Project relates to my prescribed title because it revolves around the application of scientific concepts for the invention of nuclear bombs. To the German engineers who invented the weapon, these scientific concepts were extremely valuable to them because the engineers needed to understand the concepts and apply them in order to achieve their end goal.

[MarnageeScott8]

 Dionne and Carol's RLS could be used for prescribed title number 1. They both relate to gaining knowledge in the Natural Sciences. For both scientist to make new discoveries they had to use multiple ways of knowing. If only reason had been used during the experimentation process, the discovery would not have been made and the scientist would not have gained knowledge. Instead, reason, sense perception, and language had to be used together to reach a new discovery and gain knowledge.

[MaverickBeaudreau5]

This RLS can also be related to prescribed title #3 (perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge) since there are multiple ways to look at the Manhattan Project and the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are some who look at the bombings as good things, since they ultimately ended World War II and saved countless lives by preventing further war efforts. However, others would see it as harsh, since many innocent lives were claimed on that day. 

[SierraGray5]

This RLS can be related to PT#6 in the sense that these natural science findings are helping us (and scientists of the world) to become more accurate and precise of their knowledge about the inner workings of the cell. The tradeoff? The chemical testing and processing for these elements in order to get usable data, is complex. The objective knowledge is complex and (presumably) accurate.

[SymonneMartin8]

This real life situation also relates to PT 4 "Without application in the real world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished". Having knowledge regarding whether or not the player intentionally tripped the referee is valuable because it has many applications for the player personally, but also the rest of his team, his friends, his family, and his school. If Reid tripping the referee did not have an impact on the outcome of the game/future games, the information would become valueless. 

[BradleyHutchinson5]

This relates to my Prescribed Title of "Without application in the world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished.” Consider this claim with respect to two areas of knowledge." because Newton's observation simply allowed him to recognize that objects were pulled downwards by a force. By taking this concept and applying it to what he continued to observe around him, Newton was able to greatly add value to his theory of gravity and this revolutionized how we go about advancements in life today. 

[JordanBenedict8]

This can also go with PT #2: "knowledge within a discipline develops according to the principles of natural selection" How is that a useful metaphor. With the discovery of new elements within the natural science area also comes new/ more developed knowledge."to refine our theories about the existence of matter and how the nucleus is formed" is the reasoning behind why she wanted to discover these new elements. This is a motivational and differentiating factor that comes from the natural selection process therefore making this example useful for why it is a useful metaphor.

[ErikaPadierna5]

This relates to PT 5 "to what extent do the concepts that we use shape the conclusions that we reach" because the perspective on the cup is a cultural thing. Concepts are generally defined as being ideas or notions, something that is ingrained into who we are as people and how it is that we think. Conclusions are generally the decisions and judgements we make. Therefore, the fact that some people are bothered by the cup being a plain red shows the concepts that are a part of who they are. If they hadn't been raised with certain ideals, then they wouldn't be so gung-ho about something like that. Especially since it is not an outright attack on any religion which also shows that they have a concept in their minds about their religions being oppressed. 

[KiranLakhani8]

This RLS relates to the PT because it involves a situation where emotion can interfere with the way one perceives an issue. The Starbucks red cup can be seen as the company being more open-minded and accepting other beliefs and religions but because the change is so abrupt people who don't see the other side of the coin feel that the red cup is an attack on their religion. 

[SpencerCaro8]

This RLS relates to PT 6 with the "trade off between simplicity and accuracy" in one way through your presentation of it. To say that Newton developed the theory of gravity while watching an apple is a simplification of what most likely happened. Instead, sources suggest the apple prompted his ideas about downward acceleration which he would eventually develop into the theory of gravity. This is, however, a less simple explanation, but we can use it to discuss the past slightly more accurately.

[PaulaTorres-Wilcken8]

My prescribed title is: "In gaining knowledge, each area of knowledge uses a network of knowing." Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge. I will relate this to my area of knowing, the natural sciences, and discuss how the ways of knowing (reason, language, sense perception) are the foundation to a more objective piece of knowledge. The scientific method that was used, in which reason plays heavily during data processing and drawing conclusions, eliminates some possible biases and errors as it must be repeatable for scientific peers. If the scientific method is repeatable and outputs the same results or conclusion, it leaves to possibilities: either the knowledge gained is universally correct and has been tested to be as such, or a systematic error has occurred for all testers, meaning the knowledge is precise (correct within experiment) but not accurate (does not correspond to the actual real world). 

[MayaJackson5]

This relates to my prescribed title (#4 without application, does the value of knowledge diminish) because she was obviously some sort of scientist. She had to take the scientific knowledge she had gained and use it in her discovery of the new elements. She applied her pure knowledge, possibly put things together, conducted experiments and was sable to find something new. The knowledge she had prior to applying it might have been of some value, but it would automatically increase in value once she began conducting experiments to find the new elements.

[LaurenWheeler5]

I am unfamiliar with how exactly the decision itself was simplified, but I do know that oversimplification can lead to absolute falsehood. Furthermore, just because some people understand how something is said when it is simplified does not mean that simplification is the best thing to do. However, when more complex language is used, it is possible that fewer people will actually understand the message that is being conveyed. People interpret knowledge differently, but I believe that the knower should have basic, general knowledge about economics in order to understand what is being presented to him. This problem of language relates to my knowledge question, question #3: "'The knower's perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge.' To what extent do you agree?" In this case, if the knower wants to understand the information that is being presented to him, he must first learn the basic principles of the subject. In this manner, he can use reason from sense perception to obtain the most accurate knowledge.

[CarlosBeasley5]

This relates to PT 4, because the value of knowledge is relevant to the knower. This decision by the FED does concern nearly everyone in the US. However, most people only have a slight understanding of economic concepts and therefore the necessity for simplistic language is needed however, for people who are heavily economically involved such as a stock broker, who requires a very in-depth knowledge of the economy and the market. Therefore knowledge such as specific wording for raising the interest rates is valuable to mostly to a stock broker and not an average person. The simple language would be more valuable to someone with less of an understanding of economic concepts.