I Think Therefore IB

Every day I peruse newspapers and magazines online, just to keep myself properly informed about happenings in the world. Frequently I encounter articles for ToK – and quite often these relate to the sciences. There are many, many absolutely intriguing articles on scientific progress out there and I would highly recommend you start reading some of them!

Here is one I came across today, relating to a new development in headphones-technology. Unfortunately, it does not explain all too much about the science behind this invention (which is what I personally find most interesting):

Really Feeling the Music

The New York Times also recently published a fascinating article on the role of ‘gut instinct’ in math. Here too a number of Knowledge Issues are raised:

Gut Instinct in Math

Finally, I have number of webpages I would like to share that relate to the scientific method and “scientific proof” (or lack thereof). I include these as the natural sciences have come up a number of times in class and I have noted that several of you have some misconceptions about this AoK. I hope that you will address these misconceptions in your respective science classes (ask your teacher!) – I myself distinctly remember learning in one of my first IB Biology classes that “you can only disprove things in science”. (-:

We will discuss this AoK in detail next semester, but I do suggest you at least skim these webpages not only to get a headstart but also to avoid erroneous comments in ToK presentations:

Scientific Method/Scientific Proof 1

Scientific Method/Scientific Proof 2

Scientific Method/Scientific Proof 3

Scientific Method/Scientific Proof 4

So, always remember: There is NO such thing as scientific proof, only overwhelming evidence that provides highly probablistic knowledge.