ShootingStar16 Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Ok, so I started TOK like a week ago and I feel like I'll do so bad in this already whenever we get a discussion question I'm just thinking: wut... and I'm usually too scared to share my point of view because I'm scared it's way off any advice? 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindywanchilam Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 OMG me 2. My TOK sucks. Well.. the advices that the senior students have given me are watch more videos in TED. They said there're loads of good information and could help to understand more about TOK and explore the KQ. Oh.. and I think there will be a TOK week almost at the end of IB year 1 as my school has one and the whole week is all about TOK 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechnight Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 We had a TOK week two weeks into the course. But yeah, TED talks, maybe read through the books and give it a little time, soon you'll find yourself thinking in that manner. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yii yann Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Ok, so I started TOK like a week ago and I feel like I'll do so bad in this already whenever we get a discussion question I'm just thinking: wut... and I'm usually too scared to share my point of view because I'm scared it's way off any advice? Hi! First thing to remember about ToK is that original thinking backed up by proper reasoning is rewarded. The course exists basically to avoid the pitfalls of most pre-university curriculums, which is to force feed you information. While ToK can be contrived at times, the point is to make you think. I'm against "studying" TED talks because then you're just getting information told to you again. A video version of textbooks. You also get this idea that all ToK is, is making cool sounding revelatory statements (like TED talks do much too often). You should be able to improve at ToK by questioning everything. Starting small, consider a simple sentence: "All frogs are green". As a student of ToK, your first reaction should be to ask a bunch of relevant questions like: Are ALL frogs green? Can I think of a single species that isn't? What evidence is the sentence based on? Is the evidence reliable? How was the evidence obtained (Ways of Knowing)? etc. Once you start applying that to the types of knowledge they talk about in ToK, you're on the path to doing well in it! The most helpful thing my teacher told us about this was: "Argue with yourself. If you can convince yourself, then you've got a strong point." ToK is a fairly logical, simple subject. Don't let it intimidate you - it's not that complicated! Also, please don't listen to the people (in class or online) giving you pseudo-philosophical advice about ToK ("You must recognize the nature of an argument within the constraints of reason"). Such bs is the equivalent of people claiming "only math gods can do Math HL". Key point: Think logically about your topic, whatever it may be, don't settle for a quick answer, and you'll be just fine 3 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 What Yi Yann said. TOK is basically just common sense, nothing more and nothing less. People think it's like philosophy or some kind of deep thoughtful process... it's not. "How do I know _____?" is not asking for anything deep or profound. It's literal - how did you come to know it? "I read it in a book" is the legitimate answer. The next question is logical - how do you know the book is correct? So just ask yourself, "why do I trust that book?". Again, it's literal and anybody could tell you their own answer to that. "Because a teacher gave it to me and I trust them to be giving me books with correct information" for instance. So why do you trust your teacher? Because they're in a position of authority. So the people you think are in 'authority' have a bearing on the sort of knowledge you gain and believe to be true. Whoo-hoo - you've made a statement that sounds vaguely TOK-ish. Job done.You can even then ask "How do I know somebody is in authority?" and then you can use the ways of knowing to come up with ideas. Sense/Perception is a way of knowing, so in terms of that, how people dress, the environment in which they're teaching you.... etc. that's all sense/perception. Language. How do they speak, how does they language convey authority? Logic. How do you logically conclude they're in a position of authority? Emotion. How can you use emotion - e.g. fear of that individual - to realise they're in a position of authority? ^^ Logical, very simple and you know all of the answers already. Basically just BS something, use the ways of knowing as a guide and you're sorted. 2 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShootingStar16 Posted September 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Thanks guys Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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