IB Theory of Knowledge - an ongoing list of interesting finds

A viral photo of a crying Honduran girl didn't tell the whole story. Does it matter? A powerful image of a young Honduran girl detained at the U.S.-Mexico border has come to symbolize the separation of families by border officials. But the girl and her mother were not separated, as many came to believe.  A look at the powerful effects of media images and how the narrative can shift or change in meaning or context because of the "viral" nature of the web.

No one told James Fallon he was a psychopath.  Or maybe they had. When he was young, he'd heard again and again from people in positions of authority – a priest, a professor, a friend's father – that there was something off about him. Something dark that they couldn't quite name. But Fallon brushed it off each time. Many years later, as a professor of psychiatry at the medical school of the University of California, Irvine, Fallon discovered his psychopathic mind for himself.  James Fallon, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, describes himself as a ‘pro-social’ psychopath. (Daniel Anderson) A witty and light look at one man's path to self-discovery and self-control, one that also delves into the nature versus nurture debate , looking at whether   we are a product of our environments. Are we subject to imbalance due to our biological makeup?  Where do the lines between the natural sciences and the human sciences blur...

"To speak our language is to preserve who we are. It is the most profound expression of our Rapa Nui and Polynesian spirit.”  - Rapa Nui linguist Viki Haoa Cardinali Easter Island remains a remote island quite isolated from the world around it and as it was formed less than a million years ago, it remains one of the youngest inhabited areas of the world.  "Over centuries, Polynesian explorers braved the Pacific Ocean in search of new worlds. By 1200 AD, settlers had reached Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, bringing crops, customs and language with them.... Clues to the complex society that emerged on Rapa Nui can be found everywhere; the island’s volcanic landscape boasts one of the richest collections of rock art in Polynesia. But barely a trace remains of what is Rapa Nui’s most tantalising cultural legacy: a mysterious form of writing called Rongorongo." Efforts to decode the language have been met with frustration and failure.  Since the ...

Here are a few pieces that look directly at  patterns in stories or storytelling . Consider some of your own storybook heroes/heroines - how well do their story lines fit  the mold ? Which  perspectives  of the world are  offered  and which are  missing ?  How do you feel about your favourite story fitting into what is essentially a skeleton  pattern of stories ? Are they each still  unique ? Are they  original ? If the perspectives are correct, and all stories carry the same patterns, what does that suggest about the ways in which we use stories to understand the world around us?  What do these specific patterns suggest about our needs as knowers?  What is it about these patterns that make so much sense to us that we keep telling them over and over again?  BBC Culture -  The 100 stories that shaped the world BBC Culture -  Every story in the world has one of these six basic plots TEDEd -...

'It’s hard to tell what the rules are anymore,' - Parker Molloy, a senior writer for Upworthy.  Following the recent racist Tweet from sitcom TV star, Roseanne Barr, and the subsequent cancellation of the namesake TV show, this piece seems aptly timed to discuss the evolving styles of language used in the world of media today.  In the piece entitled, " Roseanne, Twitter and racism: Why acceptable language is up for debate in the age of Trump ," two journalists ask a poignant question -  What are the boundaries — or lack thereof — for acceptable speech?