How do you define "Application of knowledge in the real world"

[kevG]

This is obviously a part of the 4th title, however I am having trouble defining this cause in terms of application it can be seen in a broad  sense with how it is approached cause application can also be seen as using our mental schemas to understand knowledge not only for real life but for the well being of a community

 

i know im all over the place with this and it would be great if someone helped me out with this.

[Yugalarex]

Okay I just woke up so this might not make a whole lot of sense... I personally don't think that any piece of knowledge doesn't have application in the real world. We always ask our math teachers: where are we going to use this in real life? I mean, let's face it, if you're an English teacher you're most likely not going to need to differentiate an equation using chain rule. So in that sense, I guess the question is a bit redundant (if that's the right word)

 

So application in the real world could be defined as how a piece of knowledge can be applied to situations outside of a classroom environment, or any learning environment. How knowledge really fits in to the 'real world'.

 

Hope this makes sense

[Vioh]

So application in the real world could be defined as how a piece of knowledge can be applied to situations outside of a classroom environment, or any learning environment. How knowledge really fits in to the 'real world'.

I second this. Very well said. Application to the real world is simply to apply a knowledge outside of its learning environment. Simple as that.

 

Okay I just woke up so this might not make a whole lot of sense... I personally don't think that any piece of knowledge doesn't have application in the real world. We always ask our math teachers: where are we going to use this in real life? I mean, let's face it, if you're an English teacher you're most likely not going to need to differentiate an equation using chain rule. So in that sense, I guess the question is a bit redundant (if that's the right word)

However, I would disagree with your statement here. There are pieces of knowledge that don't have an application whatsoever to the real world. Consider pure mathematics. That's the most prominent example of knowledge that have no application. Of course, perhaps in the future, we might find some applications for some pieces of knowledge within pure mathematics. But by the time, we would then move these pieces of knowledge from pure mathematics to applied mathematics instead. The reason why we study pure mathematics (e.g. things like proofs, incompleteness theorem, etc.) is only for the sake of gaining knowledge, and that's it.

 

I would also like to add something else. In my opinion, when we "apply a piece of knowledge of a particular AOK", it means that we are using that piece of knowledge to help us gain knowledge in other fields/disciplines. Let's take classical mechanics (CM) and quantum mechanics (QM) for example. Clearly, CM was used to help us gain knowledge in QM. But do we say that one of the applications of CM is to derive QM? No. This is because both CM and QM are part of the same discipline (i.e. physics).

 

But now, consider things like differential equations, complex numbers, linear algebra, etc. These are called applied mathematics because they can be applied to solve engineering problems. Similarly, QM is applied to build computer circuits and chips, thus solving computer science problems. Or CM can be applied to solve engineering problems in order for people to go up into space. Non-Euclidean geometry can be used to build the general theory of relativity. Knowledge in the arts (especially visual arts, music, and literature) can be used to explore the cultures of historical societies. The arts can also be used to make movies, advertisements, or to help researchers within the field of psychology, etc... For all these applications that I've listed here, the knowledge is applied outside of their own field/discipline. And I think that's exactly what we mean when we say "applications in the real world".

Good luck with your essay!