Culminating Essay
Nature of Knowledge
3. Why does man have an insatiable need for information and a drive to “share”? Is it true to say “We think because we share?”
4. Why and how has man attempted to archive all of humanity’s knowledge and what does the future hold?
11. How should schools/education (all levels) change to adapt to new technology? (think time, physical, and instructional)
“By doubting we are led to inquire and by inquiry we perceive the truth.” –Peter Abelard
The idea of knowledge brings up so many questions, theories, and doubts. Some of the many questions are why man feels the need for information, why man attempted to collect all of humanity’s knowledge, and how new technology should lead to the change in education.
Ever since the beginning of mankind, people have felt the need to find out information and explore. Christopher Columbus went out in an attempt to discover new land. Scientists continuously try to find new information to add to scientific discoveries. Even I occasionally search for some information that isn’t even for school! So why is it that information is always being searched for? An obvious reason would be curiosity. Maybe we just want to know for the sake of knowing. Obligation could be another reason. Maybe it’s for school or work. In other words, you had to find certain information, but didn’t necessarily want to. When the information that was being searched for is found, nobody just keeps it to themselves. They share it. Why do we have a drive to share? There could be many reasons for this as well. One could just want to get that information out there for the sake of others. They could have the mentality of why keep the information to themselves? It could help others if they are looking for the same or at least similar information. That would be a very selfless reason. Another motive for sharing information found could be the credit. I am sure that is the motive for many people. Some people just want the fame and be known.
http://tararae.posterous.com/belief-and-doubt
As you can see in this blog post from my posterous, I believe that a lot of times, information from even a "higher authority" could be inaccurate. So even though people share their information all the time, always have the mentality that it could very easily be untrue. There is a quote saying “We think because we share.” I agree with this to some extent. For many people, the main motive for thinking is to be able to share their findings. However, I don’t think that is true for everyone. I do believe that there are many people who think for themselves and not to just share with the world. For example, reflection upon oneself is very deep thinking that is usually not something shared.
In the past, mankind has attempted to collect and archive all the knowledge known to mankind. One way this was attempted was through a program called True Knowledge. This search site attempts to allow users to access the world’s knowledge by just asking the way that they would ask.
This is a link to show how True Knowledge works. So a good question would be why would man even want to archive all of knowledge? Well, for True Knowledge, they want anyone to be able to have access to this large amount of information, which is why it is a search engine. Another way that knowledge is being digitalized from books is by recaptcha. Recaptcha is a technique of digitalizing all literature by asking people using computers to type in a series of letters, like you probably have seen before. The word typed is an actual word from a book that the person typing is putting onto the computer. So, basically we, as computer users, are digitalizing books.
This link is the creator of Recaptcha, Luis Van Ahn, talking about his creation. Literature is a huge part of the world’s knowledge, so this would be considered an attempt to archive and collect the knowledge known to mankind. A reason behind this new technique, recaptcha, might be that books are becoming less and less. Personally, I cannot remember the last time I have been to a public library, which is really sad. This is the digital age. Very few people get their information from literature anymore, even though literature is a large portion of knowledge. In the future, I do believe that recaptcha is going to eventually have a lot of literature digitalized, even though it may take awhile considering how many books there are to do. Also, new books are constantly coming out, so there is always going to be more recaptchaing to do. In the future, however, I don’t think we will have all of knowledge archived and collected because there is new knowledge being developed, and possible knowledge nobody knows about.
Technology has developed significantly since the beginning of schooling and educations. So why hasn’t schools changed their ways? Technology has taken over our generation. We have such distracting things all around us, usually having to do with technology, that school became unbearably boring. Why not use the technology that distracts us to get our attention in class? Schools should use the technology that is here now to its advantage. There are so many different programs on computers and such that could be educational. For example, skype is one of the many distractions a student may have in class. A teacher could use that to maybe have guest speakers? That would be very interesting and get the attention of the students for sure.
The link above is an example of a school that was designed differently than any other school. As you can see through the little tour they provide, it involves a lot of technology. I’m sure I am not the only student who finds this school appealing. Also, students have an issue nowadays with sleep. I know many students do not get enough sleep. School days should start later, and if necessary end later. More comfortable furniture would also be nice. However, it shouldn’t be too comfortable to the point where students fall asleep. The chairs and desks we have now are so uncomfortable that it’s almost just as difficult to stay awake. Schools have not changed significantly since the beginning of education, which just sounds wrong.
“By doubting we are led to inquire and by inquiry we perceive the truth.” This is a quote by Peter Abelard. I believe that even though many people may agree with this quote, they don’t follow it themselves. If someone looks something up on the internet, more often than not they automatically believe it. It seems as though nobody questions anything anymore. I think we should start doubting information. As the quote says, if we doubt what we are told, then we will question it and therefore try to find the truth. Knowledge is meant to be question and challenged. You learn that way.