TOK Presentation Notes
Maninder Sachdeva
Recently, I was watching a documentary on TV that was about the
Physical phenomenon of String Theory, a theory that essentially explains the
idea that all point-like particles can also be modeled as an object called a string.
Upon researching this theory further, I came across its mathematical proof, a
part of which looked like this.
I was really surprised that the sum of all the positive numbers was a small
negative number; moreover the equations counter-intuitive nature shocked me.
However, after watching countless YouTube videos and reading many articles, I
was convinced by the mathematical proof that I was shown, which led me to
formulate the knowledge question:
To what extent is the knowledge gained by intuition reliable?
First of all, I would like to begin by defining Intuition; Intuition is a WOK
without relying on reason or justifications. It can be seen as a gut feeling.
Intuition can be based of either shared or personal Knowledge.
Intuition can be perceived by many as a non-rational way of thinking that is
based of no reason or logic, however this non- rational way of thinking often
pays break through roles in the history and development of natural sciences, arts
and Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
The First AOK I would like to look into is Natural Science. Scientific
progress cannot be achieved without Intuition, even though we seek to prove
things using reason and logic. It is often the case that a hypothesis must be
established, prior to the experiment, where Intuition comes in.
Take, for example, Newtons Laws of Gravitation, Newton observed the motion of
an apple falling to the ground. This was an observation. Then, from further
observation, he realized that other objects too fall to the ground. Yet, these facts
did nothing to explain the phenomenon. It was through a rare insight of
unknowingly making connections using observations, that Newton, intuitively
generalized the idea of a gravitational force. Despite intuitions lack of sufficient
logical justification, many significant findings in Natural Science have been
established intuitively.
However, the counter argument of this is that it is possible that ideas and
claims may be rejected because they maybe counter-intuitive or not intuitively
plausible. For example, in 1963, a Tanzanian School body names Erasto Mpemba
notices in his cookery class that hot ice-cream mixes froze much quicker in
comparison to cold ice-cream mixes. When he asked a visiting professor, his
suggestion was so counter intuitive that all the teachers and students ridiculed
him. It was only years later that the boy discovered through persistent
experiments that his claim was in fact correct. This theory became known as the
Mpemba Effect.
TOK Presentation Notes
Maninder Sachdeva
Now I would like to look at intuition in the Arts. The process of creating
and understanding art roots from Intuition. An artist must place him or herself
inside the work he or she is creating in order to express the feeling that they
intend to express, to recreate it so that other people can see their vision.
Therefore a painter would vary colour, brush-strokes, lighting and shading to
evoke emotion and enhance the quality of the artwork. It is the artists intuition
that drives them to use certain colours, mediums etc., to evoke the emotions that
they want to. Hence, an artists creativity for a piece of work may come from
their instinct or intuition of what to create and how to create it. What one may
call intuition is deciding which note to play or which colour to use. They may not
be able to explain why they have placed a composition in such a way, with that
amount of lighting, but these decisions are made by the subconscious mind, due
to the large amount of experience the artist may have.
Also intuition plays a large role in interpreting art. For example, we
immediately know whether or not a painting is beautiful, however we do not
know why. They can judge whether or not it is appealing. The art itself evokes
emotions through the pace and style of the strokes or colours etc. It is interesting
to understand that Arts are the WOK that rely on Intuition the most. One cannot
understand arts through any logical deductions or scientific calculations through
observations of artist techniques. Art can only be understood with intuitive
feelings from the audience through gut feelings and connections with other
WOK like memory and imagination. For example, Chinese Shanshui Paintings are
landscape paintings made by broad, long or dotted brushstrokes, which to not
aim to replicate reality.
However, the counter argument of this is that although arts are perceived
with no logical per se, they are in many instances judged and perceived
rationally using concepts such as perspective, form composition, colour, line,
contrast and shadow. Prizes in the arts such as the Man Booker Prize, the Man
Asian Literary Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and the Turner Prize indicate that we can
make judgments abut the arts based on criteria in which reason and rationality
are involved. This is not only done on a large level like this, but even a smaller
level where we are judged in our art lessons as children to follow a fixed rubric
rather than follow our intuition.
Lastly, I am going to relating my KQ to the Indigenous Knowledge
Systems. Intuition is a sense in a self, often referred to as a sixth sense. The
Subay people in Saudi Arabia, a fading Bedouin group, live a genuinely nomadic
life. These people are very adept at finding water and pasture for their livestock.
This ability is arguably intuitive, moreover that their intuition enables them to
know where to find fresh water and pasture.
However, the counter claim of this is that is these abilities may not be
intuitive at all, in that they may be the results of inductive reasoning through
regular and repeated observations. As they may be able to see that some plants
may resist droughts or animal behavior etc.
For Example, the Quechua People of Bolivia and Peru discovered that the bark of
Cinchona trees could be used to reduce fevers and inflammation. When scientific
TOK Presentation Notes
Maninder Sachdeva
studies were conducted if was discovered that the tree bark produced a chemical
we know as quinine, which became the first effective treatment for malaria and
has been used around the world.
In conclusion, Intuition is the foundation of art and science and is the
basis of knowledge for many Indigenous Societies. The only difference is that in
natural sciences, Intuition hides behind a curtain, whereas in Art, intuition takes
the center spotlight. Therefore, after exploring intuition in great depth in a range
of AOK, one can come to the conclusion that Intuition when combined with other
WOKs such as memory and reason, can be remarkable sources of knowledge,
because when used alone, Intuition has the ability to send you in any direction,
be that on the correct or incorrect path. None-the-less, Intuition plays a vital role
in many AOK and it is apparent that no AOK can lack it.
Therefore, I know that whenever I come to a problem in Physics again, or
an idea that question or doesnt stand in line with my existing mathematical
knowledge, something that is in the slightest bit counter-intuitive, I will not
disregard it. I will work towards finding a solution, using my intuition to develop
a greater understanding of something that may not be instinctual.
To conclude, Intuition is the ignition to many revolutionary ideas and
discoveries; in fact the scientist Louis Pasteur once said, Chance favours the
prepared mind, and that chance I feel is none other than human intuition.