(Eileen Dombrowski from OUP blog) Are we on “the path back into darkness, tribalism, feudalism, superstition, and belief in magic”? The apparent upsurge of belief in astrology has sent one of my favourite bloggers and podcasters, neurologist and skeptic Steven Novella, into a paroxysm of sheer frustration. How can anything so thoroughly debunked as astrology make inroads back into public belief? But – stay cool, Steven! This is a job for Theory of Knowledge teachers! It seems to me we’re in a perfect spot to raise questions about astrology – not with earnest annoyance but with humour and a light heart. Continue reading
Dombrowski, Rotenberg, Bick. Theory of Knowledge IB Course Companion. Oxford University Press, 2013.
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Recent Posts
- 2018 TOK blog posts compiled for download December 17, 2018
- Facts and feelings: knowing better by knowing ourselves December 3, 2018
- TOK Book Review: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe: How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake. November 19, 2018
- Engaging TOK with the world…but softly November 5, 2018
- TOK double vision: lofty overview but critical engagement in the world October 22, 2018
- Retraction of major research on eating: a failure in scientific methodology, or a corrective in the process? October 8, 2018
- “Crisis of authentication”: true art, false art, and the science of detection September 25, 2018
- TOK Ethics: balancing detachment and engagement September 10, 2018
- “Deepfakes” and TOK: more trouble ahead for critical thinking? August 27, 2018
- “Stay cool. TOK teachers can handle this.” Astrology & belief. August 14, 2018
- “Art is dialogue about difficult subjects” June 25, 2018
- Want to download TOK resources? I’m getting myself organized. June 8, 2018
- Sense perception: Yanny or Laurel? May 23, 2018
- A TOK class for exam month: mathematics, nature, art, technology…and peaceful contemplation of beauty May 14, 2018
- “But then I checked the facts… “ May 7, 2018
- Exercise for awareness: facts, feelings, and changing your mind April 23, 2018
- Biases, fallacies, argument: Would you argue with a T-rex? April 9, 2018
- (Dis)trusting statistics: a one-page guide March 26, 2018
- Facts matter after all: rejecting the “backfire effect” March 12, 2018
- History: writing the past, drafting the future February 26, 2018
- “Fake news”: updating TOK critique February 12, 2018
- “How am I supposed to appreciate it?” Art, science, and some silly assumptions January 29, 2018
- Download TOK resource: 2017 TOK blog posts, collected January 15, 2018
- “2017, a good year”: Wasn’t it? December 22, 2017
- “Those experts!”: cartoon, class discussion activity December 18, 2017
- Signed language, symbolism, and reflections on inclusion November 20, 2017
- Do Nobel prizes distort public understanding of scientific knowledge? November 7, 2017
- SPOT and the cloak of invisibility: cognitive biases November 6, 2017
- That event in the past: what do we make it signify in the present? November 2, 2017
- Sharing knowledge – effectively! September 25, 2017
- Standing at the Centre of the World: TOK class discussion (with handout) September 11, 2017
- PS to “This is the nature of science.” August 29, 2017
- “This is the nature of science.” August 21, 2017
- Indigenous Knowledge: not a separable area of knowledge July 24, 2017
- Controversy in the Canada Day Party: analyzing perspectives for understanding July 16, 2017
- Love, betrayal, and physics: “Everything goes better with narrative” June 26, 2017
- Consuming the news: Is knowing harder than dieting? June 19, 2017
- Love, luck, literature, and logic: Who will win the lady? May 22, 2017
- “Moral robots” and that messy human factor May 8, 2017
- Red lines and “complex moral duality”: TOK and ethics of witnessing April 26, 2017
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