“A map is only useful if it simplifies things.” To what extent does this apply to knowledge?”
The title of this essay claims that the usefulness of a map in knowledge is limited to its ability to simplify things. Before I discuss this, it is important to look at the key words used in phrasing the claim.
A map can be defined as a clear representation of any physical space or a place in existence. “The area depicted on maps can range from the entire world to just a neighborhood, and most maps are depicted on a flat two-dimensional plane. The purpose of a map is to describe spatial relationships of specific features that the cartographer or mapmaker chooses to represent.” (James Ford Bell Library) In using this analogy, the title, I believe, is referring to the models and representations in various areas of knowledge and not a cartographical map per se. Simplicity is the state of being simple and uncomplicated. It is widely held that the most effective knowledge is the simplest and the most straightforward, both to explain and to use, although this is not always the case. According to Ramm,simplicity embraces exactly the right details, the right difficulties, the right complexity, but because everything is tied together in the right way, you are left with a sense of clarity, and a sense that everything belongs exactly where it is. Simplicity is achieved when everything means something. (Ramm) Here it is seen that in the acquisition of knowledge, simpliticy is a good thing, ergo if a map is simplified, it must be good and useful.
The claim being discussed here is that the only way a map or a way of representing things can be useful is if it simplifies the knowledge that the actual territory gives, that is, if it reduces the salient i...
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...n more useful when it is simplified because it points you in the right direction so that you can fill in the details as you acquire more knowledge yourself. Its predictive power also enable us form hypothesis in the sciences that can be confirmed or disproved after experimentation. Simplification tends to explain things better and even help us to predict what ought to be. On the other hand it can be argued that these simplifications also leave out important details and may not be that useful in the long run .
Works Cited
Duck. The Duck Of Mind. 14 December 2012. Web Page. 9 April 2014.
IB Diploma Educators and Students. theory of knowledge.net. 12 january 2014. webpage. 30 april 2014.
James Ford Bell Library. University of Minnesota Driven to Disover. 5 january 2010. web page. 30 April 2014.
Ramm, Mark. Compund Thinking . 31 May 2006. Webpage. 30 April 2014.
In a world where geography only makes the headlines or points of coffee house discussion if a new study is released about how terrible students are at it, however, amazingly there ARE still students and people alike that simply love it and are thriving in their point of interest. Some stare at maps endlessly searching for things that most people would never even care to look at such as what makes this state similar with this state or why is the population more or less here. Some long to find and view the rarest maps available; others embrace the future by participating in an activity known as geocaching. Geocaching is when the participant visits special areas with “treasures” hidden using their GPS devices and smartphones. Some people even draw thousands of their own imaginary maps, highlighting details in worlds and countries they long to visit.
From the early 18th century through to the beginnings of the Civil War, a literary movement known as Romanticism emerged as the main style of writing in America. Characterized by a religious response to nature, self-interest, and a fascination with the supernatural, Romanticism replaced the Enlightenment period writing style, inspiring an idealistic attitude among people. Washington Irving, an influential author of the Romantic period, wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker”, a story whose characters and descriptions embody the qualities of Romanticism. After selling his soul to the devil, Tom Walker spends the rest of his life making a fortune for himself while cheating innocent people out of their assets.
Knowledge, its source and truthfulness have been under question for a long time. People have always wondered what exactly constitutes facts and if there are any defining laws that can be attributed to all knowledge or information available in the world. Many philosophers speculated on how information can be interpreted according to its falsity or truthfulness, but have not come to definite conclusions. Edmund Gettier has provided one of the key pieces in understanding and trying to figure out what knowledge really is.
The Devil and Tom Walker is a short story by Washington Irving, which shows the consequences and effects of greed and selfishness. The main character Tom starts off with little money, but he is very possessive of what he does have, so much so that he hides his and his wife’s shared items from her. Upon walking through the woods one day, he comes across a devilish character that offers him hidden treasure in exchange for Tom’s soul. Tom denies him at first, but then takes up his deal after the devil killed his wife. He makes his profit as an usurer, and converts to Christianity in attempts to avoid the devil coming for his soul. Regardless, the devil takes Tom away, and all of his wealth disintegrates into nothing.
I shall also expound Ayer's theory of knowledge, as related in his book. I will show this theory to contain logical errors, making his modified version of the principle flawed from a second angle.
Often it is assumed that our source of personal knowledge stems from the core of shared knowledge, however this is a common misconception as it is only valid to a certain scope. The Ancient Japanese proverb, ' 'none of us is as strong as all of us ' ', agrees with the assumption as it can be deduced the intent of this proverb is to indicate that shared knowledge overpowers personal knowledge, and to an extent tells us personal knowledge overall leads to the formation of shared knowledge. However, the validity of this conjecture is not entirely predisposed, through the Areas of Knowledge of Mathematics and Art a bidirectional argument is formed. Shared knowledge is highly structured, is systematic in its nature and the product of more than one individual. While individuals contribute to it, shared knowledge does not depend only upon the contributions of a particular individual—there are
Historical geographer JB Harley wrote an essay on Map Deconstruction in 1989, in which Harley argues that a map is more than just a geographical representation of an area, his theory is that we need to look at a map not just as a geographical image but in its entire context. Harley points out that by an examination of the social structures that have influenced map making, that we may gain more knowledge about the world. The maps social construction is made from debate about what it should show. Harley broke away from the traditional argument about maps and examined the biases that govern the map and the map makers, by looking at what the maps included or excluded. Harley’s “basic argument within this essay is that we should encourage an epistemological shift in the way we interpret the nature of cartography.” Therefore Harley’s aim within his essay on ‘Deconstructing the Map’ was to break down the assumed ideas of a map being a purely scientific creation.
Lagemaat, Richard Van De. Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. UK: Cambridge UP, 2005. Print.
Question No. 5 “No knowledge can be produced by a single way of knowing.” Discuss.
van de Lagemaat, R. (2011) Theory of knowledge for the IB diploma, Cambridge University Press.
Knowledge is but understanding. How we indulge and interpret an issue is knowledge. In the pursuit of knowledge, we, as materialistic learners and knowers, repeatedly ignore crucial procedures, pro...
...rly refutes the tradition definition of knowledge. As earlier stated, many attempts have been made to repair or replace the definition of knowledge; hence the theories such as, the Casual Theory, to use as a solution to an ambiguous problem. However, there is still no positive and certain solution to the Gettier problem as effective as his challenge may be in order to define knowledge.
Lagemaat, Richard Van De. Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005. Print.
I believe that I applied six out of the eighteen National Standards to this paper. The first two standards were under a section called "Seeking the World in Spatial Terms." When you look under this, the first I used was "knows and understands how to use maps, globes and other graphical tools to acquire, process and report information." The second standard was "Uses mental maps to give spatial perspective to the world." Then the second section is called "Places and Region." Under this section it says "Knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places." The next section is called "physical systems" and I used only one standard in this one. This standard says that one "Knows and understands that physical pro...
In addition to the aforementioned information Neufeld (2009:82) states that we construct knowledge on top of what we already know. As new information come to us from the environment we perceive it as arrangement of figures that can be incorporated into our picture-frame that references the world to us. If that new information cannot be incorporated into our existi...