How Does Creativity Help Solve Problems?
November 5, 2015
Author: Mr. Lakhaney
TOK Teacher
History Class and the Fictions About Race in America
November 5, 2015
If nothing else, the incident may serve as yet another example of why social studies—and history in particular—is such a tricky subject to teach, at least via textbooks and multiple-choice tests. Its topics are inherently subjective, impossible to distill into paragraphs jammed with facts and figures alone. As the historian and sociologist Jim Loewen recently told me, in history class students typically “have to memorize what we might call ‘twigs.’ We’re not teaching the forest—we’re not even teaching the trees,” said Loewen, best known for his 1995 book Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. “We are teaching twig history.”
Why are placebos getting more effective?
November 5, 2015
“When new drugs are put on the market, clinical trials determine whether they perform better than inactive pills known as “placebos”. Research shows that over the last 25 years the difference in effectiveness between real drugs and these fake ones has narrowed – but more in the US than elsewhere. Are Americans really more susceptible to placebo effects, or is something else going on?”
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34572482?mc_cid=bed065a83a&mc_eid=34e2887073
Rethinking History Class on Columbus Day: The importance of exposing students to the many truths about the controversial explorer
November 5, 2015
“The moment was one of realization and appreciation as his daughter explained in her child-like way what Ryan conveys to his high school students: Interpreting history is hard. He then posed his final question that’s the source of heated and tense debates every year.
“Do you think we should celebrate Columbus Day in our country?”
And with a simple innocence yet profound insight that belies her age, the first-grader answered, “Yes, but we should tell the truth. Not everyone liked Columbus.””
South Korea to replace all school history books with single state-approved textbook
November 5, 2015
“Opposition politicians and some students have already been protesting against the move, accusing the government of ‘distorting history'”
“I think also the UK have a very interesting approach. We tend to avoid controversial history in our curriculum, we’re very keen on looking at more distant history and somehow, for some reason the less controversial it becomes.”
Would You Pull the Trolley Switch? Does it Matter? The lifespan of a thought experiment
November 5, 2015
“A runaway streetcar is hurtling towards five unsuspecting workers. Do you pull a switch to divert the trolley onto another track, where only one man works alone? Or do you do nothing?”
A Hawaiian Canoe Crosses the Oceans, Guided by Sun and Stars
November 5, 2015
An interesting undertaking but also an interesting debate over who settled the Polynesian islands and how. What I also find interesting is why does it matter what the truth is? Why validate and continue to pursue this knowledge system? What value does it bring to continue to use traditional methods rather than use modern ones? Why keep this method alive?
“In a nod to their seafaring ancestors, the crew of 13 will forgo modern navigational equipment — no compass, sextant or GPS devices, not even an iPhone — in favor of wayfinding, a traditional navigational technique that relies on gauging the position of the sun, moon and stars, taking into account variations in ocean currents and wave patterns and even the behavior of fish and birds.”
Questions No One Knows the Answers to (Full Version)
November 5, 2015
An interesting video on the limits of current knowledge and discussion on some open questions.
Book Review: ‘Ending Medical Reversal’ Laments Flip-Flopping
November 2, 2015
“The incremental progress of ordinary science is one thing, as individual treatments are progressively replaced by better variants. We all happily accept that kind of revision. But medical reversal, the authors’ sober term for sudden flip-flops in standards of care, unnerves and demoralizes everyone, doctors no less than their patients.”
Homeopathy Is a Bitter Sugar Pill
October 28, 2015
“Some people have felt relief from homeopathy, but feeling relief is not the same as proving that something is scientifically valid as medication. Theplacebo effect is a very real thing, and that’s all homeopathic medications are: expensive placebos.”
TOK Topics 