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Prescribed essay titles for 2017


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  • 11 months later...
1 hour ago, Monica Tujur said:

Has anyone got access to them today?

The ToK May 2017 Essay Titles?

They were released yesterday.

I have uploaded the file into the File section on the forum. Once it is approved you can see the official file yourself. But here are the titles:

1. “It is only knowledge produced with difficulty that we truly value.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
2. “Facts are needed to establish theories but theories are needed to make sense of facts.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.
3. Should key events in the historical development of areas of knowledge always be judged by the standards of their time?
4. “In the production of knowledge, traditions of areas of knowledge offer correctives for ways of knowing.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
5. Given access to the same facts, how is it possible that there can be disagreement between experts in a discipline? Develop your answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.
6. “Humans are pattern-seeking animals and we are adept at finding patterns whether they exist or not” (adapted from Michael Shermer). Discuss knowledge questions raised by this idea in two areas of knowledge.

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9 minutes ago, So Young said:

I'm in a state of panic just by reading the essay titles LMAO help!!

Yeah. I personally think that these titles are so much harder compared to the previous years' titles, especially title 4, I don't even understand the title itself. Looking at these questions, if I were to do an essay on any of them, I'd probably choose number 2, 5 or 6. Physics is one of the best-suited AOKs for title 2. The whole thing about the quantum mechanics experiments and the quantum mechanics interpretations should make a great example for this title. You can also talk about the relationship between experimental physics and theoretical physics (how experiment physics provides the data in order for the theorists to establish theories and make sense of the data). In fact, you can even go further and say that theories are also necessary for facts to be established. An example: The theorists had predicted the existence of the Higgs boson for more than 50 years ago, which then encouraged the experimental physicists to search for the Higgs. And now the existence of the Higgs has been established as a fact. So you can see that not only theories are necessary to make sense of the facts, but theories are also necessary to establish the facts. Title 5 is a bit related to title 2. Like given the same facts, experts may differ in their interpretation of the facts. Here you can use the different interpretations of quantum mechanics as an example if you choose physics, or maybe different historical interpretation (like orthodoxy vs. revisionism) if you choose history. For title 6, if you are familiar with Michael Shermer's debates and talks (just search youtube for his TED talks), this title isn't too difficult.

Pardon me for this disorganized post. I don't have too much time to write a detailed post. These are just my ideas pouring out randomly on paper. But on a serious note, if you are willing to think deeply about these questions, I think there will be a lot to write about. Even though the titles seem a bit more difficult, I think they are extremely interesting.

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  • 2 months later...
On 02.09.2016 at 3:53 PM, Vioh said:

Yeah. I personally think that these titles are so much harder compared to the previous years' titles, especially title 4, I don't even understand the title itself. Looking at these questions, if I were to do an essay on any of them, I'd probably choose number 2, 5 or 6. Physics is one of the best-suited AOKs for title 2. The whole thing about the quantum mechanics experiments and the quantum mechanics interpretations should make a great example for this title. You can also talk about the relationship between experimental physics and theoretical physics (how experiment physics provides the data in order for the theorists to establish theories and make sense of the data). In fact, you can even go further and say that theories are also necessary for facts to be established. An example: The theorists had predicted the existence of the Higgs boson for more than 50 years ago, which then encouraged the experimental physicists to search for the Higgs. And now the existence of the Higgs has been established as a fact. So you can see that not only theories are necessary to make sense of the facts, but theories are also necessary to establish the facts. Title 5 is a bit related to title 2. Like given the same facts, experts may differ in their interpretation of the facts. Here you can use the different interpretations of quantum mechanics as an example if you choose physics, or maybe different historical interpretation (like orthodoxy vs. revisionism) if you choose history. For title 6, if you are familiar with Michael Shermer's debates and talks (just search youtube for his TED talks), this title isn't too difficult.

Pardon me for this disorganized post. I don't have too much time to write a detailed post. These are just my ideas pouring out randomly on paper. But on a serious note, if you are willing to think deeply about these questions, I think there will be a lot to write about. Even though the titles seem a bit more difficult, I think they are extremely interesting.

Can you please explain why you think quantum mechanics experiments and the quantum mechanics interpretations are good examples for topic 2. And different historical interpretation (like orthodoxy vs. revisionism) --> How this would help ? I have to submit my first draft tomorrow and I have no idea

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