Theory of Knowledge

Fun math site

2006-03-31T18:13:00.000-08:00

Althought we won't talk about math for a while, I just found this neat little site about math and its influence in some everyday aspects. Take a look at some of the articles if you have a chance and I think you'll gain an appreciation for the utility of math in some interesting cases.

Preview of a future class

2006-03-21T06:01:00.000-08:00

This article discusses what logicians refer to as logical fallacies. In particular, it discusses the political use of rhetorical device called "the straw man" fallacy. We'll discuss this fallacy and others in class very soon.

Blog Assignment - Worthy of Respect or Condemnation

2006-03-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

A man faces the death penalty in Afghanistan for converting from Islam to Christianity. Is this a cultural tradition worthy of respect or violation of one man's rights that should be condemned? Create a rational argument for your perspective on your blog site.

Something fun

2006-03-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

I don't know my Slithering from my Dumbldor, but I'm guessing many of you do. See how you do on this Harry Potter quiz.

Science and philosophy - Blog Assignment

2006-03-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

Philosopher Alexander Rosenberg argues that philosophy only addresses two issues: (1) the questions that science (physics, biology, psychology, etc.) cannot answer and (2) the reasons for that incapacity. Write a blog entry assessing Rosenberg's stance. Is it true? How do we use the Ways of Knowing to assess this claim? Does science offer answers for the other Areas of Knowledge? Does this imply that science will ultimately find answers for all questions? Or, feel free to take Rosenberg's contention in any direction you see fit.

(This blog entry was inspired by E. O. Wilson's book Consilience. We might read this next year.)

Art and philosophy - Blog Assignment

2006-03-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Instructions:
1. Look at picture
2. Think about picture
3. Write blog entry explaining picture

Why crappy music sells

2006-02-09T20:38:00.000-08:00

With the Grammys just finishing, this article attempts to answer the question, why does Maria Carey keep winning awards for making "music"?

Combining areas of knowledge

2006-02-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here is an essay from the NY Times detailing the connection between Mozart and Einstein. It's a nice account of how one area of knowledge can inspire achievements in another.

Practice paper

2006-02-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

This is just a reminder that your first practice TOK paper is due on Friday 2/10 by 4:00 pm. I will review your papers using the TOK essay rubric provided by the IBO. You received that rubric on the first day of class. I fully expect many of you will find the expectations of the rubric to be a bit confusing, so do not hesitate to stop by my office (room 222A) and ask for help. The best times to find me in my office are the 8 - 9 each morning and 3:10 to 4:10 each day. While this is our first practice essay, take the time to write the best essay possible so that these early attempts are as useful as possible. Good luck!

Politics and self deception

2006-01-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

This article about politics, emotion and self-deception ties in nicely with the article "Seeing What We Want to See" that was assigned for this week. Read over both articles and see if you can make some connections.

Should all superstitions be honored?

2006-01-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

A construction project in Scotland was interrupted by, believe it or not, fairies. Does this represent a reasonable accomodation of cultural traditions or the unreasonable power of irrational thinking? Take a look.

Geometry Innate?

2006-01-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting study about geometry being easily understood by folks with no prior exposure to it. Is it possible that geometry is somehow hard wired into the human brain? Hopefully we'll have a chance to talk about this in class sometime.

USA Weekend Article

2006-01-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

This is either really funny or really sad. I can't decide.

Science and nationalism

2006-01-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Take a look at this article about the impact of scientific fraud on the nation of South Korea. As you may or may not know, Dr. Hwang Woo Suk claimed to have made significant advances in stem cell technology, including the cloning of a human embryo. Over the past 6 months, his research has been questioned by other scientists and Dr. Suk has now admitted to falsifying some of his research. There is an interesting collision of science, politics, nationalism, greed, etc. in this story. Read the article, think about the issue as TOK students and post a few comments to your blog.

Blog Assignment 1/16

2006-01-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

Throughout the year, we will use our blog spaces to continue class discussions or to start new ones. As part of these discussions, I may link to a website, news article or another blog page to start the discussion. Your participation will require you to read the article or web page and analyze the ideas/information in the article as TOK students by considering the Ways of Knowing and the Areas of Knowledge. You will post your analysis to your blog site. Your analyzes do not need to be long, but they do need to be articulate, well-written and demonstrate a mature level of analysis and reflection. A 200 word, well-written response is better than 500 words of a poorly-written, poorly-developed argument. I hope we'll use the blogs alot, but in terms of grading, effectively taking part in about 50% of these blog discussions will satisfy your participation requirement. Let's get started.

Read this NY Times article (you may be asked to create a free user profile to access the article) about the different perspectives people have on different diseases and other health threats. As the article will outline, sometimes our level of concern for a particular health risk does not make sense with the actual risk. Sometimes people overestimate the risk of high-profile health concerns, while undervaluing the importance of lesser known but more prevalent problems. After reading the article, write an analysis discussing how the Ways of Knowing affect this situation. You will notice that some of the Ways of Knowing are specifically mentioned in the article. I'm not asking you to summarize what the article says. I'm asking you to analyze the information and discuss its implication like thoughtful TOK students. Think depth, not breadth.

First Blog Assignment

2005-12-20T18:09:00.000-08:00

As you surf the internet during the holiday break, be on the lookout for websites that would serve as good references and resources for TOK information and stories. These could include newspapers, online journals, encyclopedias, philosophy websites, art criticism websites, etc. - just about anything goes. Find at least six sites you think will be helpful and create links to them on your blog. Try to diversify the types of sites you link to develop as useful a collection as possible.

Rhetoric and the War on Christmas

2005-12-20T16:58:00.000-08:00

Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson claim that "Merry Christmas" is being banned from department stores as a part of a liberal conspiracy to legalize drugs and gay marriage.

Assignments for TOK

2005-12-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

Be sure to create your blog site by Monday 12/18 and send Dr. Crane the url address via email (todcra@bergen.org). Also, read Ch. 2 and 3 of Man is the Measure and be prepared for a quiz on those chapters.

A New TOK Year

2005-12-14T05:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome Juniors! We will be using blogs to take the class outside of the classroom. Be sure to create your blog page and send the url to Dr. Crane by the end of school on Monday 12/19. After you create the blog, figure out how to create a link to Dr. Crane's TOK blog page.

Science and Humanism

2005-06-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

The title of this entry is identical to a book written by physicist Erwin Schrodinger in 1951. In his book, EW offers the following: "Who are we? The answer to this question is not only one of the tasks but the task of science." Offer some examples supporting EW's claim. Is there another area of knowledge more capable of offering the answer to EW's question?

Foxes and Hedgehogs

2005-05-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

Compare and contrast the roles of the artist, the historian, and the scientist. Focus your comments on the ways each member of this trio obtains knowledge by recalling the four ways of knowing discussed in class.

For some real fun, try to make a connection between the title of this post (Foxes and Hedgehogs) to the content of your comments.

Art, Science and Reality

2005-04-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

Finish the following thought:

Science and art organize reality. Science rationally organizes the reality of the natural world through our sense perception. Art organizes the reality of ...

Introduction

2005-03-29T19:20:00.000-08:00

We'll be using this space to discuss various issues pertaining to the Theory of Knowledge class. Feel free to comment when the spirit moves you, but keep it professional and on topic.

Dr. C