Debate and Discussion
For more formal discussion for politics, religion, current affairs and other matters
364 topics in this forum
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- 1 reply
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Hi, I'm starting IB soon but lately I've heard rumours about the IB finals- where apparently the November papers are easier than the May papers. Is this true and why so? Thanks!
Last reply by kw0573, -
- 11 replies
- 1.5k views
We talked about this in TOK today under the subtopic 'values'. Although it didn't seem to me that there was much 'value' in this issue, but it was quite interesting. We have read that article about David Sharp, the climber who died on his way to the Everst mountain summit. Here's the article: David Sharp His death was a huge debate in our class and world wide, as many climbers passes by him and didn't offer any help. He needed first aid and oxygen supply more than anything more demanding. We were asked, if you were a climber that happened to see him like that, would you stop to help him, call rescue team or whatever, or would you just keep on going and hope he's going to …
Last reply by Psychobabble, -
- 12 replies
- 2.8k views
One of the major points of the IB, as I understand it, is that it aims to make everybody into something it calls a "global citizen". Although this comes across to the public as one of the more well-intentioned but ultimately scarily brain-washy aspects of the diploma programme, I personally found that it was also the emptiest part, the IB Learner Profile and the concept of global citizenship being, together, the most redundant parts of the programme. Then again, maybe this is inevitable. After all, nobody really knows what "global citizenship" entails, or even what it is at its core. Is there such a thing? Is it desirable? Does it simply mean that we pay some sort of att…
Last reply by bobE, -
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- 4.6k views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rymHYhlbBmw I think Emma has a great point here - how are we to achieve equality when often half the world isn't invited to the conversation? I will talk a bit about first world feminism here. It is time we stopped the "us versus them" mentality. When fighting for rights, we unknowingly develop this attitude, and it is simply not helpful for the cause. This mentality causes many actually egalitarian men to develop a disdain for the feminist cause. Men - I will be the first (apart from Emma) to say that there are prejudices against you too. It is not fair for me to constantly talk about inequality against me, when there are many ag…
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- 44 replies
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I'm doing a TOK presentation, about the Theory of Evolution, and I, obviously, need to relate it to TOK. So I was wondering why people did/did not believe in the Theory of Evolution. There is two types of arguments, the classic arguments, and the others ( Why people think differently) which I have assiociated with those ways of knowing: Reason, Intuition and faith So, could you answer the question which is in the Topic Title, and give reasons why?
Last reply by Richard Bankole, -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2319145/A-mother--aged-15-Thought-horrified-stories-schoolgirl-mums-Then-read-jaw-dropping-interview.html The article above ^ has the story. Basically, a 12-year-old girl from Nottingham got pregnant and gave birth. She then had sex with the same guy 10 months after the first baby was born, and now has a second one at the age of 15. The father has seen the first baby once and hasn't seen the second one ever. He also allegedly has children with three or four other sexual partners. (Take the overt father-bashing with a grain of salt since this is the Daily Mail.) The UK is currently funding this girl and her mother (who is singlehande…
Last reply by r1111, -
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34 Senate seats, all 435 House seats, 37 governorships, and too many local issues/candidates to name will be up for grabs in three days, on November 2nd. Pres. Obama's approval/disapproval rating currently sits at 46/48. Due to a combination of various factors including a poor economy and the unpopularity of the recent healthcare reform, Republicans are poised to take control of the House of Representatives as well as ending up with 30 state governors. The Democrats, lucky to have the class three Senators up for re-elections in this hostile environment, look likely to retain a slim majority of somewhere in the neighborhood of 52-48, though their leader Harry Reid may lose…
Last reply by wombat123, -
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http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/article/34515/ Have a read, say what you want. I think it's a bit of a joke, but the logo DOES need reworking.
Last reply by Sandwich, -
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- 524 views
Hi, for the ones who are going to have ib exam in 2021, here is the WhatsApp link that you would like to join our fruitful discussions about ib https://chat.whatsapp.com/E5DMfJ67q5QBLLH80XN2Bc
Last reply by Esmayasarxxxxxx, -
- 47 replies
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since ib students should be "knowledgeable" i would like to tell you that several hours ago a palestinian senior boy just like us was killed by israeli defence forces, several hours after he left his school. He had plans for the future just like us, he wanted to go to a university just like anyone of us, but now and because there is no one to ask the israeli soldier why did you kill the boy he will not be able to do any of his dreams. So i would like everybody to know whats going on in palestine and how people in our age die for no reason. And this photo shows the boy at his last moments today! btw the soldier meant to kill him since he shoot him in his heart. Image (not…
Last reply by SallyShariff, -
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Hey there! I just wanted some advice and tips on what to do if I found someone cheating in my class on their homework in quizzes. It's hard for me to tell my teachers about this because my teachers really like this student and find no fault in this student.
Last reply by Merril889, -
- 34 replies
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Hey everyone! I've finally gotten around to deciding what my EE topic will be about. It's basically researching how "Islamophobia" has become socially accepted in Western [i.e. in the States] society (or if it hasn't; more research to come). The reason I started this thread was to see what you guys felt. I'm not necessarily asking what your view is on the religion, but what your view is on society's view of the religion. I understand how some people fear their safety, which is rather understandable, but to what extent? I live in a pretty conservative area of the United States (West Texas, to be exact) and most (not all) of the opinions are pretty biased and one-sided. Te…
Last reply by Proletariat, -
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Prescription-only Adderall and its chemical relatives (Vyvanse, Concerta, Dexadrine...) have been the source of widespread debate in colleges everywhere as more and more students are using such medications to treat ADD/ADHD on a daily basis. However, Attention Deficit [Hyperactivity] Disorder is not a communicable disease nor an epidemic, so although legal prescriptions are increasing exponentially every year, it can be reasonably inferred that these are not all legitimate cases of ADD/ADHD. After all, the only way to diagnose the condition is through an easily-faked behavior test with a psychologist. Adderall has been called "steroids for students" and for a good reason,…
Last reply by Arrowhead, -
- 34 replies
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i got this idea from....Vvi and its a very serious issue....i agree.... infact...my real TOK Presentation(not the mock one)...was about AIDS in africa....and i attached a copy of my presentation....just incase you want to take a look at it:)..i've done with my best friend...although our aim was to actually discuss the issue of african being ignored....we had to include some other stuff... anyhow... so yeah...about africa....i agree...it IS sad:(....because like...african is just like any other continent in the world...africans are proper human beings like anyone else...how come they're not treated the same way...?! and what gets me more...is the HUGE AMOUNTS of money spen…
Last reply by exploretheworld, -
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Agnostics..! Why can't agnostics take a position for once..! Either become atheist or accept the existence of God. Are agnostics too weak to make an opinion and join either side? Are they using pascal wager argument and think that by not denying the existence of God that they may at least have a little bit of hope?
Last reply by Johann, -
- 6 replies
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Does anyone feel or think that a lot of the comments over the United States are more stereotypical than fact? From your experiences do you think people are prejudice towards Americans? I think it is obvious that the United States is not well liked anymore throughout the world (especially in certain areas of Central and South America)... I would just like to hear your thoughts over how the United States is portrayed and if you find this accurate... Thanks! Hopefully I didn't sound biased..
Last reply by Miccol, -
Anders Breivik:The fear of multiculturalism
by Guest kenshi64- 2 replies
- 1.2k views
Well the Norway incident has definitely shaken everyone up, 70+ deaths is a lot to digest for everyone, What do you have to say to this heinous crime? Could it be that he was actually islamophobic just because the news says so or was he just a regular terrorist. I had this as a MUN topic last year, and I was the delegate of Afghanistan a 98%Muslim population, isn't it high time that more attention was given to this since globalisation implies that people travel and set up shop in different countries and produce there, but what if they're not safe there, then the foundations of the current global economy is, safe to say, weak? Is definitely isn't fair to associate peopl…
Last reply by C.James, -
Animals vs humans 1 2
by Haney- 30 replies
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ok, so we're in tok one day, and the teacher pops the topic- what makes humans different from animals. I say nothing, or very little. we're advanced, sure, but that doesn't mean we hav something animals don't. its the same, cept that perhaps ours has developed more? what do you think? be prepared- i might argue this- i love arguing
Last reply by Mahuta ♥, -
[Anonymous message to US]Have you heard of this group? What do you think of its actions? To what extent do you agree?
Last reply by Jyrgen, -
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I wrote a paper on gingerism a couple of years ago, focusing on gingerism in the UK. I thought the situation sounded really awful as I am such a ginger-lover myself. I think it is such an interesting topic, but since I lack exposure to redheads I thought I'd take advantage of the IB student body being as international as it is and ask about your experiences from where you live. Do you think gingerism/teasing gingers acceptable in some social circles where you live? Have you ever seen redheaded people get picked on because of the colour of the hair? (For those of you who don't know, gingerism is the term used to refer to prejudices agains people with red/ginger hair.)
Last reply by Ezak, -
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Hey there! I've been thinking about investing in real estate, and I'm seriously considering buying an apartment in Dubai. Do you have any recommendations or tips on how to go about booking one?
Last reply by ricerick3, -
- 11 replies
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Well, insofar as I am concerned, Apple are particular culprits when it comes to this. I bought my new iPod Nano (the latest generation) only to find that both my sets of speakers and my iPod charger are now all qualified as "unsupported devices" and although the Nano will play music on the speakers, it will no longer charge off them, nor will it charge from the wall-plug charger (which is actually Apple brand). Unlike iTunes, I can't just download a previous version of these things The question is, to what extent do you think these companies should be allowed to try and force a market monopoly? Monopolising a market, technically illegal (so I believe - they have big inst…
Last reply by Daedalus, -
i liked the idea of those of you who asked what everone thought of americans and australians... so i thought i realy would like to know what you guys think about the arabs and muslims....say it honestly please....because we seem to feel that the world is taking this very mistakable impression on us...so...give me your opinions please:)...+ reason.....and i will answer if i have anything to reply..thanks (i already gave my opinion on americans...but australians....i dont really know much about them to judge)
Last reply by sberkmetin, -
- 4 replies
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I and my TOK teacher got into an argument about ethics. I've asked would it be important to write about in my TOK essay that ethics (one of the keywords of the title) are dynamic, i.e. that ethical principles change over time. She disagreed and said, that there are some principles that might change, but most of them stay the same. I've said that I believe there are few, if there are any, ethical principles that are always true and do not change, and asked her to give me an example. Her example was: It is always morally wrong to kill another human being solely for your own enjoyment. Even though it was a tough one, I replied that during slave-trading era, it was believed t…
Last reply by aldld, -
- 7 replies
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Here in the good old U.S. of A., we currently playing with the idea of strikes and protests as a way of voicing our disapproval of the current regime. So, I was curious what you all thought of the idea of strikes against the government.
Last reply by Rosalina, -
- 145 replies
- 25.4k views
i find that in my school IB students tend to clump together in "packs." I think that in general, because we share so many classes together IB students tend to hang out with exclusively IB students with some mingling between regular students. In my school people seem to really take pride in the fact that they are part of the IB program and i sometimes feel as if it's very exclusive. Does anyone feel the same? Or is it different?
Last reply by EllaMilo, -
- 45 replies
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Hey, just voice your opinions!!!!! Are smart people more introverted than less intelligent people. To me, it seems as if the REALLY smart people are in a world of their own and are perfectly content with being by themselves. I don't know, maybe that;s just what it seems to me???
Last reply by blindpet, -
- 58 replies
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I was looking at the GIF thread about planets and stars and couldn't help but wonder, is there life out there? (I'm not talking about illegal foreigners.) I personally would think that it'd be impossible for us to be the only ones in the entire universe. It's huge! (excuse the random topic, I've been on a TOK essay all day )
Last reply by Ezak, -
- 28 replies
- 2.9k views
To insects and creatures far smaller than we are, humans appear large and extremely powerful. Thus, are we seen as a "God" to a creature like a mosquito. If this is the case, might it imply that our "God" if he exists, is not aware of his role as our protector? I don't know if I am making any sense, but I was thinking about this for a while the other day and decided to pose this question to you guys.
Last reply by Austin Glau, -
- 82 replies
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Do you believe in gender equality? do you believe in feminism and what it stands for? If not, Why? This is purely out of curiosity and is not meant to attack anybody.
Last reply by GooseTea, -
- 3 replies
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Hey guys, I am from Turkey, and I've been keen on researching about Armenian Genocide. I need a poll for a project, so I would be glad if you can take a few seconds to answer. I'm not gonna give you my own opinion so that it wouldn't influence you. "Armenian Genocide" is stated (by Armenia) to be a planned murder of Armenian race by the Ottoman Empire (old-Turkey) in the 20th century.
Last reply by Clockwork, -
- 10 replies
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So, being the only Visual Arts HL student in my year (among the history of my school having only had three), I've also noticed, based on your signatures, that many of you don't take an arts subject. Not that I look at this in disdain, given certain university/career choices. But I've been wondering, what are your views about the importance of art, especially its context of being optional in the Hexagon, should it be taken more seriously, etc. On a personal note, I always found it annoying when people asked me about my hobbies, and when I replied I illustrated, they would usually think I was the kid who just doodled or was the fangirl type person -- until they saw what I …
Last reply by khalid, -
- 30 replies
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There has been recent controversy in California over the legalization of gay marriage. Proposition 8 seeks to rescind the decision to allow gay/lesbian people to marry. A yes vote on 8 will take away gay marriage. A no vote on 8 will keep gay marriage as is. Right now, I am not allowed to vote but I wanted to make sure that all California voters understand what prop 8 means. A lot of people are confused and think that a "yes" vote will keep gay marriage. It is the other way around. Personally, if I had the right to vote, I would strongly be a "no" on proposition 8. Everyone should be given equal rights regardless of their sexual preference. It goes with the opinion that g…
Last reply by josephchoi, -
- 6 replies
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OK, so as some of you may have heard, an alleged copy of the "Top secret" (well, I guess that’s a little disputed now) ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) website blacklist was released today on wikileaks.org (a website frequently used by anonymous whistleblowers to release confidential information to the free world), and as it would appear, has subsequently been added to the list, (none of my methods of getting around on the net yield me with their homepage, so they may just be getting hammered be people who want the list, but most likely they have been blocked out). The ACMA Blacklist is completely run by the ACMA – a Department of the Australian Fed…
Last reply by deissi, -
- 2 replies
- 947 views
Good chance it will be repealed once the GOP takes over next year, but assuming it stands, what are your thoughts? I don't really care tbh...
Last reply by IBVeryStressed, -
- 6 replies
- 1.5k views
Dear readers, Welcome to this discussion it's a very weird topic and its been bothering me since the day i was managed to ask questions. Have you ever thought about the very beginning of time and the universe, I myself am not a very big believer in god and religion, it's not my thing. I am in love with Physics and to me it's a key in answering a lot of this big questions. The main question's that has been bothering me is what was before the big bang? How did energy just come to be (as stated in Conservation of Matter in chemistry is that matter can't be created or destroyed.) so how did this matter come to "life"? When exactly did time start, was it before the Big Bang …
Last reply by Vioh, -
- 3 replies
- 814 views
So, I plan on becoming a criminal attorney. Defense or prosecution, I really don't know yet. Just wondering people's opinions on the matter of colleges for law.
Last reply by JoeG, -
- 14 replies
- 1.9k views
As Plato suggested in the Republic, the best form of government is a dictatorship in which the dictator is both benevolent and competent. Some examples of such dictators off the top of my head are: Peter I of Russia, Den Xiaoping, and Kemal Ataturk. However, every type of government has it's faults. But some are arguably better than others. So what form of government do you guys think is the best in terms of efficiency, justice, economy, etc? Thought?
Last reply by theswizzlerbruh, -
- 14 replies
- 3k views
Hey mates, I am now studying and revising for my mock exams. Yeah its time for the May 2017 exams, unfortunately. So what do you think are the best subjects, not only from the ones I am taking (see below on my signature) but also other subjects to help out for other people, what do you think are the subjects that are more prone for you to attain a 7 with a hard and constant study? And high grades (5 or 6)? You can comment on your situation and how you are feeling with it, or the main "criteria" to get elevated marks.
Last reply by onlinenerd, -
So, we have the English only position believing that english should be the main language in english speaking countries, its a national identity. But what is the position behind bilingualism? Is it a loss of identity? Or is it a gain of another culture? For me it is a gain of another culture as it is for my fellow IB-ers. Not only do we have the peruvian culture but we have the british culture due to our teachers. What do you think? Is it good to be bilingual? Or is it bad to be bilingual?
Last reply by Blackcurrant, -
- 2 replies
- 1.6k views
Hey Guys, I found a neat article about how individuals with mental disorder who have committed a crime can have their punishments alleviated or even exempt. Here it is: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2013/nov/12/brain-states-criminality-heart-humanity-located What do you guys think???
Last reply by Arrowhead, -
- 6 replies
- 1.5k views
7 goals? 4 goals in 6 minutes against Brazil, who were at home (and previously had not lost at home in 42 years)? Speechless. Just speechless. I really wanna hear people's thoughts on this game.
Last reply by IctEcon, -
- 2 replies
- 952 views
Well I realise that not everybody will be able to take part in this and that some people won't have much if any knowledge of it, but for anybody who is interested by it, whether or not they're eligible to vote, I thought it would make a good discussion -- largely because the outcome is, in my opinion, very undecided. Unlike in other big elections (e.g. in the US) where the agendas are at extremes and you can have some person-politics as the President is very significant, I personally think the agendas of both main parties are close and none of the candidates really qualify for people-politics. Actually, I would go so far as to say that we now have three main parties rathe…
Last reply by paullaucm, -
- 5 replies
- 1.6k views
This mainly directs to those of you living in the UK. Having read about issues such as binge drinking or drug abuse in Britain, I am just pondering whether British teenagers are really poorly behaving or whether it is just the media that make them appear like that. Personally, I can't imagine youth in Britain being so different to other countries, where this sort of problems does not occur as often in the news, but maybe I am just biased. Also, do you think that social inequalities alter the behaviour of the youth in Britain?
Last reply by Nabz, -
- 17 replies
- 2.7k views
Hello all! I just wanted to collate experiences/opinions/ideas about what school environments around the world are like in terms of the frequency/intensity/extent of bullying. Bullying can be any form from mild to extreme, such as gossiping to actual physical bullying. Is bullying an issue prominently bad in your school? Or is it just something daily but mild like cliques are formed and people just don't really like each other and stay away? Or is your school mostly free of bullying/cliquing and everyone just live harmoniously under one roof? I'd say my school is very good in terms of zero physical bullying. You can almost never find people fighting or physically assaulti…
Last reply by Munsif, -
Can be a vet and eat meat?
by Guest The Guardian of Asgard- 10 replies
- 3.6k views
Well this occurred to me since I'm an aspiring vet, do you think it makes sense to save animals lives and then let them be mass produced just to slaughtered? Can you image having a pack of sausages with your name on it since you were born? Isn't their existence futile in its purest form?
Last reply by funny10sport, -
- 34 replies
- 4k views
Simple enough, do you guys think a communist system will ever prosper in the modern world? China does not count - yes, technically they are still a socialist state, but their economics has shifted towards traditional capitalist markets to incentivise growth and trade, and it was worked tremendously well for them. Think back to the fifties and sixties, with the Great Leap Forwards, etcetera.. Mao's much more Communist ideals (communal agriculture, for instance) resulted in a catastrophic famine and regression of the economy. Capitalist ideals saved them. I'm not just interested in economics though - socially, do you think Communism is superior to the more hierarchical West…
Last reply by Excalibre, -
- 9 replies
- 2.6k views
Hey, so today, in ITGS there was a huge debate, I was alone, against two people, arguying whether computers could think or not. So, I think computers cannot think, as thinking is considered as a "mental act" . I gave the argument that they are programmed to obey commands, made by human beings, and this is what can even give Artificial Intelligence for video games, anyways, what do you guys think?
Last reply by Emilia1320, -
- 1 follower
- 37 replies
- 565.7k views
Hello everyone So, this part of the forum kind of died out, therefore I decided to make a topic about the thing that has been bothering me for the past few months. We all go to school, or went at one point in our lives. We were graded on our tests, and those tests gave us an idea on our knowledge about the subject… But can they really tell us whether we are/were intelligent? Nowadays the pressure on recieving good grades is so high every 5th high-school student confessed that (s)he has experienced school-related anxiety. I know people who get really good results and I know people who barely pass. Both of those groups act in a similar way, and their non-academic skil…
Last reply by randomhydrogenatom, -
- 1 reply
- 974 views
Can we ever devise or impose justice onto international affairs? What would this "justice" be? And is it just to have "justice"? I was reading some Thucydides and after reading the Melian dialogue, it struck me that its not necessarily "bad" that the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must, it just is. I myself am a bit cynical and don't believe that we can ever attain justice, not really at least, i mean, going to Hobbes, in the end there is only so much of item A and if two parties want it that creates conflict and where there is conflict there is room for "injustice." Some would claim the ICC, ICJ and UN are built to and function to impose justice on…
Last reply by Arrowhead,