IB Theory of Knowledge - an ongoing list of interesting finds

The Smithsonian published this engaging review of a recent publication entitled  Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology .  Explore the myths surrounding many female monsters from ancient Greek and Roman tradition.  "M onsters reveal more about humans than one might think. As figments of the imagination, the alien, creepy-crawly, fanged, winged and otherwise-terrifying creatures that populate myths have long helped societies define cultural boundaries and answer an age-old question: What counts as human, and what counts as monstrous?" Caravaggio,  Medusa , 1595  

For those who have enjoyed some of the discussion of art as representational of history and of the attempt to convey history when it is out of living memory, here is a focused piece that explores exactly that - how we can continue to "experience" history via the arts, even when we cannot have experienced it ourselves. This would link quite well to the controversial "Ada.Stories" narrative being released on Instagram - a Holocaust narrative that tells the events to a social media generation.

How do you keep a story "alive" when those who experienced it have passed?  In a decision that has received quite a bit of praise, but also quite a lot of criticism, an Israeli tech executive and his daughter have created an Instagram account entitled "Eva Stories" to coincide with the start of Israel’s annual Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day. "In 70 short episodes, a British actress playing Eva takes followers along on her Holocaust journey: a happy bourgeois prewar existence interrupted by the Nazi invasion of her hometown in what was then Hungary; her family’s forced move into the cramped chaos of the ghetto; and the packed train that ultimately transports her to Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp from which she never returns." (Kershner)  A relevant and refreshing attempt to educate today's youth on the trauma and tragedy, or a "trivializing and cheapening the Holocaust" ? Resources : Associated Press. " Hol...

The idea of a "mind's eye," or powerful visualization skills, is often seen as being at the centre of artistic creativity and can lead to a misconception that, without this ability, one cannot be creative. What happens, then, when some of the most creative minds in film today suffer from a condition called Aphantasia - the inability to visualize mental images? How can some of the chief artists and animators in the Pixar / Disney franchise create such powerful works of art with "blind mind's eye"?

Alex Rosenberg, a philosopher of science and a writer of historical fiction, "does not deny that stories can be wonderful as art and effective at eliciting emotions that then push action... but stories also lull us into a false sense of knowledge and fundamentally limit our understanding of the world." In this interview transcript , see how Rosenberg explains the impact of stories from a neuroscience perspective and encourages us to seek a balance between an engaging historical narrative and more factual / accurate retelling of events.

It sounds a bit like a fairy tale, when you think about it.  The idea that in today's world, there would still be areas that believe in the likes of elves, or as they are called in Iceland,  huldufólk .  Have a look at how the "hidden people" of Iceland have influenced construction, roadworks and a deep regard for the natural world.

In this National Geographic Photo Essay, "Cutting-Edge Science Meets Centuries-Old Tradition," have a look at how the two worlds of Science and Indigenous Knowledge overlap in trying to document the historical and current knowledge of Mo'orea.

Interestingly, following our discussion last class about the ethics surrounding the "study" of nomadic tribes, National Geographic has published a feature article this month addressing some of the same difficult topics raised. The feature presents quite a detailed look at the influence of modern societies/technology on indigenous tribes in both Peru and Brasil, delving into where the two worlds either overlap or collide.  The pictures in the piece show a very rural, indigenous lifestyle, but the feature also makes mention of tribes having access to smartphones and guns, or offering their expertise as armed "guardians" of their territory. Quite an engaging look at a very complex ongoing controversy.

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.

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 -...

And do we have a right, so many decades later, to reinterpret or redefine an iconic work of literature?  Can we accept that the novel is a "simple folk tale," as claimed by L. Frank Baum, the author?  Must we always attempt to interpret works of art or reason their "deeper meanings"?   Can a work of art simply stand as a piece of knowledge itself outside of our responses to it?  How valid is our personal knowledge or interpretation of a piece of art? Does it matter in the end what the artist may have "intended"? To what extent can we actually know what was "intended" by an artist without their direct input? An intriguing video that explores these questions and more. 

An emotional and though-provoking feature article that explores the efforts of Israel's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem ("A Memorial and a Name"), who, since 1954, have been working to recover the names of all the victims, and to date has managed to identify some 4.7 million. Dr Alexander Avram, director of Yad Vashem's Hall of Names and the Central Database of Shoah [Holocaust] Victims' Names states that "Every new name we can add to our database is a victory against the Nazis, against the intent of the Nazis to wipe out the Jewish people. Every new name is a small victory against oblivion." The Hall of Names is a haunting memorial to those who were lost during the Holocaust - a literal collection of names, facts and stories about individuals who perished.  A daunting task as much is based on memory and piecing together of information, and yet is highly symbolic in terms of what it represents.  The memorial and the efforts behind it beg the question ...

Thanks to Liora for this suggestion - Dan Brown's thriller Angels and Demons  combines history, science (although both are somewhat distorted at times) and religion in this exploration of the apparent and ongoing controversy between religion and science. The text is an entertaining read - it takes place around a "24-hour" style action-packed life-and-death scenario.  Science threatens religion, which threatens science.  With a few ironic turns of events, the main characters, educated and well-respected members of the historical and scientific communities, find themselves working with the Catholic Church and the Vatican to solve the mystery and save key religious figures from the figure who has decided to use science as a weapon against faith. A controversy surrounding the novel is that, while Brown is creating a work of fiction and thus to a degree is awarded "artistic licence," the liberties he has taken with presenting historical or scientific information ...

Activision is about to release further information on the new Call of Duty: WWII - while reviews illustrated that gamers were becoming more alienated by the technological advancements as the game moved further into the future, it seems Activision is changing course and returning the game to the "boots on the ground" experience of the original games. As is stated in the Guardian article , "This game is likely to be one of the largest pieces of historical entertainment ever released." An exciting time for the video game industry!

"We understand the English and Americans think highly of Pocahontas. We appreciate that it brings an interest to our tribe, but we just sit back and figure: if people want to worship a myth, then let them do it." Circa 1600, Pocahontas, the American Indian princess who saved the life of  John Smith, the English adventurer on two occasions.  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) [Getty Images]  This feature article combines mythology, history and current shared knowledge .   Pocahontas is one of the best known and most-beloved Native Americans; in many cases, one of the only known Native Americans. Disney has retold a version of her story, historical documents suggest she did much to help entice English to settle in the New World, and became 'the poster child of a "civilised savage."' Her tribe today suggests that she does not hold the same significance for them as she does for mainstream Americans, that the history/mythology surrounding her mig...

This article sparked quite a bit of controversy in TOK teacher groups with arguments centering on supporting the artistic license to revise or adapt historical events for artistic purposes, and others criticizing the blatant revision of historical fact and presenting an alternate version of events than what has already been documented in detail. Either way, the piece is critical of a film that essentially retells the partition during India's liberation from British rule, basing part of the condemnation on the fact that many still have living memory of what actually happened and therefore oppose the point of view the director has taken, and highlighting that the "sin" of the film is that it takes "breathtaking liberty with the historical record; " diminishing it to "fake history." To what extent are artists or artistic representations obliged to accurately depict historical fact? How might a misrepresentation of history become dangerous, or in thi...

With references to historical events and responses from the art world, Art and Architecture critic Philip Kennicott addresses the reactions, roles and potential responsibilities of those in the art community when the world turns "ugly." An excerpt:   "Many artists today are horrified by the current state of political affairs, the election of Donald Trump, the rise and mainstreaming of racist, misogynist and anti-Semitic rhetoric, and the assembly of a cabinet of billionaires whose commitment to the public weal is unknown and deeply distrusted. But if there is collective outrage at what has happened, there is anything but a unified response. Should art be a weapon of mass resistance? Should artists embrace politics and wield the blunt weapons of satire, caricature and scorn? Or, at the far end of the temperamental spectrum, should they preserve the artistic impulse — underscoring complexity and refinement — unsullied by the low and grotesque values that now dominate the...

A look at how writers, painters and composers have obeyed laws of nature for centuries. An excerpt:   "I have spent many years as a mathematician working alongside artists and what has struck me is how similar our practices are. I have so often found artists drawn to structures that are the same ones I am interested in from a mathematical perspective. We may have different languages to navigate these structures but we both seem excited by the same patterns and frameworks. Often, we are both responding to structures that are already embedded in the natural world. As humans we have developed multiple languages to help us navigate our environment." The hidden maths in great art

In his piece, published in The Guardian, photojournalist Souvid Datta visits refugee camps, the front line, and spends time with Yazidi female fighters.  An insightful look at the effects of ongoing conflict via an artistic storytelling medium. Consider how images and their accompanying captions such as these help to shape the common understanding (shared knowledge) of these events and how they help to shape personal knowledge of the world around us. Photo Essay   (excerpts below) Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers unleash heavy tank fire on Isis fighters lurking in the remains of a recently liberated town near the Khazir river. Kurdish Yazidi women from the Sun Force battalion train in Snuny, near the Syrian border. Two years ago, many of these women were abducted by Isis and kept as sex-slaves during the systematic massacre Isis perpetrated against the Yazidi people. On their escape they enlisted within the Peshmerga's growing minority of female forces, preparing to fi...

In this feature article, Forbes tackles the Fake News phenomenon, having been inspired by the viral story about a Santa Claus actor who held a dying child in his armsb - a powerful holiday story.  As "some of the world’s most prestigious and reputable news outlets took a moment this week to carry the heartwarming story," including CNN, BBC, the Washington Post, and NBC , and ran them alongside articles that highlight to citizens that they need to verify information to protect themselves from "fake news," the article poses questions about these reputable publications and the irresponsibility of reporting . An important question is brought up about the justifications offered after the fact - that it really was the fault of the publication who published the original story, as they should have done the fact-checking, or the "due diligence," themselves. The others simply assumed the story had already been verified, but the concerning result is that via what...