ToK Topic Choice

The topic which interests me most and that I would enjoy writing about most is that one which says, ‘”Imagination is more important than knowldge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” (Albert Einstein) Do you agree?’

My reasoning for choosing this topic is quite  because I feel as though I agree with this but also have very much to say about it. In my opinion, I believe that in order to have an imagination that will benefit those around you than knowledge is required. For example, Albert Einstein himself was an incredibly intelligent man who used his knowledge alongside his imagination and came up with so many various inventions that helped the world to advance and ultimately become what it is today.

Also, I would agree with the claim that knowledge is limited as opposed to imagination, which, ” …embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” For if it was not for imagination, nothing would change in life. Knowledge only expands when imagination allows it to. Without imagination, knowledge would be limited to what we know at that point in time and there would be nothing new. Looking at the light bulb, which was perfected by Thomas Edison, had it not been for his prior knowledge, electricity would never have taken flight but once it did so many more things were done with it.

It was further advanced and became everything that we have now; electric cars, television, computers, microwaves, etc. With one man’s imagination, an entirely new array of objects was able to have been invented and the lives of billions were able to be improved.

Thus, in conclusion, using this topic will allow me to write about something which I am very interested in and will allows for me to have fun while writing this essay. This will not need to be one of those assignments that students hate and procrastinate on.

Thought Log #

Can reason minimize mistakes? When would you use reason, logic and facts to minimize mistakes and when would you not?

In class, we discussed that reason can bring certainty, but what are the costs and trade-offs for trying to know knowledge claims in this way?

I believe that reason can minimize mistakes. We use reason everyday in our lives and as a student we use it to argue our points in class all the time. We use reason to back up claims and support our opinions. Using reason can surely be used to minimize mistakes from being made.

Just about everyone has heard of the saying, “Think before you act,” and this saying is basically the exact definition of using reason to minimize mistakes. When you “think” before doing something, you are considering the consequences that can come from your actions which directly relates to reason. When you put reason into something, you are giving that thought or action meaning and justification which in return would ensure a careless mistake from being made.

Using reason however will not always prevent mistake from being made. Everyone thinks differently and so just because you put your reasoning and justification into something does not necessarily mean that your peers will agree with you. An example of this can be found in the common, everyday classroom. ‘A student is caught texting in class by their teacher and the teacher takes their phone away. The student then goes on to make up an excuse about how it was an emergency and they needed to talk to their parent. By doing so they are trying to justify their actions, however, because texting is not allowed, the teacher would just end up saying something along the lines of, “You should have asked to go to the nurse to call your parent.”‘

Thus, with this we can see an example how reason cannot always prevent mistakes from being made. Just because you can use reason to justify what you did, does not mean that what you did follows the rules set around you. There are other things which need to be considered besides just your personal justification.

Now if you use the rules set around you in your reasoning than you would have a solid and full-proof argument for your actions. This means that if the student from the previous example really did have an emergency and needed to speak with their parent, they could have raised their hand and asked their teacher if they could be excused to talk with their parent because there was an emergency. By doing so they would not have gotten into any trouble, the teacher would have most likely allowed them to go and they would have been able to do what they needed.

So in conclusion, both logic, reason, and facts should all be used if you want to minimize a mistake because by using them all together, you are making sure to prevent a mistake from being made. The costs of using reason however, are that your reasoning may differ from those around you and also, by taking the time to justify everything you are doing takes up a good amount of time which you may not have at that particular time.

Thought Log #3

Your thought log should examine and explore an example of how perceptions can either hinder or help mistakes from being made.

 

There can be many examples found as to how one’s perceptions can help or hinder a mistake from being made. Firstly, however, what exactly is a mistake? Is it merely an unintentional event or is there more to it than that? What about mistakes which we realize only after they are brought to our attention from an outside source? A mistake, to me, can be either intentional or unintentional, but in the end it must be something which you regret doing or when you realize that you have done something wrong. The next question which must first ask ourselves before answering the main question is what are perceptions? Well, I see perceptions as being information that one obtains from their senses. So now how can one’s senses help or hinder a mistake from being made?

Firstly we can talk about sight. Sight is arguably the most important sense that we as humans possess. We are able to see an extraordinarily vast array of colors and objects, and with that information we can tell what is going on around us. So now an example of how sight can be used to help a mistake from being made can be applied to school. If you see a someone being bullied in school and see how hard of a time other kids are giving that person, you will most likely use this new gained information to try and act nicely towards that person and maybe even make him feel better instead of being mean, or ignoring them.

Another example can be derived from touch. With our sense of touch, we are able to feel different objects and know if something is safe or not. For example, if you pick up a hot coffee pot one time and burn yourself when you touch it than you would now know to not repeat that same mistake. Thus touch has now helped you from re-doing a mistake which had previously hurt you.

Lastly a third example can be found from hearing and this example, once again can be applied to a student’s everyday school life. Whenever you are at school, it is common knowledge that you should pay attention and listen to your teacher or instructor so that you are able to learn and obtain good grades. Now, when you slack off which every student has done so at least once during their lifetime at school, they end up seeing the result of their actions from a poor or less than desirable grade. Now, it is also to every students knowledge that they know why they got that grade and it is simply because they weren’t listening and paying well enough attention so now they would begin listening more and achieve better grades. This cycle repeats throughout school, for every time you get a bad grade, you make sure that the next time you listen better so as to fix your previous mistake.

In conclusion, mistakes are not always bad things, they can always be learned from and it is our perception and senses which allow us to learn from these mistakes and help or hinder them from being made the next time around.

Thought Log #2

• What ways of knowing can you use to minimize and rectify a mistake?
• How do you minimize and rectify a mistake?
• Are there certain things we should know or think about before we do something that can lead to less mistakes in life?

Although “This America Life” made mistakes and false accusations in one or more of their videos, they can use this as a learning opportunity and they can even fix their mistake. Making a mistake isn’t that bad when you are able to own up to what you have done wrong and explain your reasoning as to why this had happened.

Thus a WoK or (Way of Knowing) which can be applied to minimize or rectify “This American Life’s” mistake is reason. According to the podcast of Mike Daisey and Apple, Daisy revealed that his show should not be looked at as journalism but instead as theater. This shows the viewer and lets them know that some of what they are listening to is fabricated information or is obtained from a source other than the one exposed in the podcast. Mike Daisey explained to his audience this and the “This American Life” team apologized for not letting its viewers know about this and they did own up to their mistake. When you have the courage to accept your falsehood and let your audience know this, than you are greatly making up for your mistake.

As for me, I would apologize and admit to being wrong in order to minimize or rectify a mistake. Doing makes you a bigger person and it brings you respect from your peers. It is always much better to just admit to being wrong instead of lying or coming up with excuses. No one likes a liar and also if you just admit to being wrong than it also isn’t as if someone is going to hold anything against you. A mistake only gets worse the longer you hide it from those around you.

I do believe that there are certain things which we should do and think about before doing something that can lead to a mistake in life. First and foremost, I believe you should always look at the consequences that your actions may have. This way, if something were to go wrong you would at least know what to expect. In addition to this, if you feel that you wouldn’t be able to handle or cope with these consequences than it would be best to rethink your actions. Thinking about what you’re doing before you do it is another thing which you should always do. This lets you know whether or not your actions have a point to them and if they are truly worth going through with. Sure going with your gut feeling isn’t always a bad thing but if you’re in that situation where you have to choose between two serious decisions in life than I would think it be best to do whatever you can to prepare yourself for the outcome.

In conclusion, it is never too late to rectify or minimize a mistake. You can always make a mistake better if you can accept it and admit to it. To prevent a mistake from ever occurring is very possible as well, so long as you think about your actions and about the consequences.

http://www.this…

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory

Fountain Construction day #2 Cont.

In this picture you can see me fitting and measuring the dimensions of a tile. Also you can see how the fountain looks from the outside and in. All that is left now is to attach the final pieces to the fountain and drill holes for where the water will be flowing out from.

Fountain Construction day #2

Here, you can see a group member cutting a piece of tile which will later be attached to the fountain. The tiles will give our finished product a more delicate and smooth design.

Fountain Construction day #1 Cont.

In this photo you can see two of our group members using a nail gun to attach parts of the fountain together. Also you can see how the layers are beginning to look and how the water will be flowing from the outside in.

Fountain Construction Day #1

This is the outer-most layer of our fountain. This will be the area labeled, “Areas of Knowledge.” The fountain will go inside getting smaller and smaller until it reaches the, “Knower” level, after which the water will flow down the drain and get pumped back up into the “Areas of Knowledge” layer.

ToK Fountain Project

My ToK group have decided to create a fountain which represents the ToK diagram for our project. We will have water pouring out from the top of the fountain which will then flow into the different parts of the diagram, The Areas of Knowledge, The Ways of Knowing, and finally into the Knower. The different levels will be represented by different colored tiles and just like the diagram, we plan to make the fountain hexagonal in shape.

Once the fountain is complete, we will be making a power point to represent the different steps in the fountain creating and also to explain why exactly we chose this design. In addition, we will be posting up pictures on our WordPress blogs of the different phases of construction that the fountain is in.

We look forward to sharing our project with you !