Questions for November 2025

1. For historians and artists, do conventions limit or expand their ability to produce knowledge?Discuss with reference to history and the arts.
2. What is the relationship between knowing and understanding? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
3. Should knowledge in an area of knowledge be pursued for its own sake rather than for its potential application? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
4. To what extent do you agree that however the methods of an area of knowledge change, the scope remains the same. Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.
5. In the pursuit of knowledge, is it possible or even desirable to set aside temporarily what we already know? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
6. Is empathy an attribute that is equally important for a historian and a human scientist? Discuss with reference to history and the human sciences.

Questions for May 2025

1. Do historians and human scientists have an ethical obligation to follow the directive: “do not ignore contradictory evidence”? Discuss with reference to history and the human sciences.
2. Is our most revered knowledge more fragile than we assume it to be? Discuss with reference to thE arts and one other area of knowledge.
3. How can we reconcile the relentless drive to pursue knowledge with the finite resources we have available? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
4. Do the ever-improving tools of an area of knowledge always result in improved knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
5. To what extent do you agree with the claim “all models are wrong, but some are useful” (attributed to George Box)? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
6. Does acquiring knowledge destroy our sense of wonder? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Questions for November 2024

1. Does our responsibility to acquire knowledge vary according to the area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.
2. In the production of knowledge, is ingenuity always needed but never enough? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
3. How might it benefit an area of knowledge to sever ties with its past? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
4. To what extent do you agree that there is no significant difference between hypothesis and speculation? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.
5. In the production of knowledge, are we too quick to dismiss anomalies? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
6. In the pursuit of knowledge, what is gained by the artist adopting the lens of the scientist and the scientist adopting the lens of the artist? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.

Haiku for Mendeleev #005 — Boron

the orbital splits
three-leggèd hatchling seeks bond
heat-defying grip

Questions for May 2024

1. Is subjectivity overly celebrated in the arts but unfairly condemned in history? Discuss with reference to the arts and history.

2. How can we reconcile the opposing demands for specialization and generalization in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.

3. Nothing is more exciting than fresh ideas, so why are areas of knowledge often so slow to adopt them? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

4. Do we underestimate the challenges of taking knowledge out of its original context and transferring it to a different context? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

5. Do we need custodians of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

6. Are we too quick to assume that the most recent evidence is inevitably the strongest? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Questions for November 2023

1. Are facts alone enough to prove a claim? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.

2. If “the mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s and the poet’s, must be beautiful” (G.H. Hardy), how might this impact the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to mathematics andthe arts.

3. In the acquisition of knowledge, is following experts unquestioningly as dangerous as ignoring them completely? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

4. Is it problematic that knowledge is so often shaped by the values of those who produce it? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.

5. Is it always the case that “the world isn’t just the way I is, it is how we understand it – and in understanding something, we bring something to it” (adapted from Life of Pi by Yann Martel)? Discuss with reference to history and the natural sciences.

6. Faced with a vast amount of information, how do we select what is significant for the acquisition of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Questions for May 2023

1. Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

2. For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.

3. Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in “bubbles” where some information and voices are excluded? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

4. Do you agree that it is “astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power” (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

5. Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.

6. To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

Questions for November 2022

1. Within an area of knowledge is it more important to have credibility or power? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

2. If pushed too far, can open-mindedness itself become restrictive? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

3. Is it better to "have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned" (adapted from Richard Feynman)? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.

4. Why do we seek indisputable evidence when it is so often unattainable? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

5. To what extent do you agree with the directive to "measure what is measurable and make measurable what is not so" (Galileo Galilei)? Answer with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

6. If the artist has freedom to interpret past events in ways that are denied to the historian, is this an asset or an obstacle to our understanding of the past? Discuss with reference to the arts and history.

Questions for May 2022

1. Can there be knowledge that is independent of culture? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.

2. To what extent do you agree with the claim that “there’s a world of difference between truth and facts” (Maya Angelou)? Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.

3. Is there solid justification for regarding knowledge in the natural sciences more highly than knowledge in another area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

4. How do historians and human scientists give knowledge meaning through the telling of stories? Discuss with reference to history and the human sciences.

5. How can we distinguish between good and bad interpretations? Discuss with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge.

6. If we conclude that there is some knowledge we should not pursue on ethical grounds, how can we determine the boundaries of acceptable investigation within an area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Haiku for Mendeleev #004 — Beryllium

peacock eye of jinn
in the eternal city
no more deadly dust

Questions for November 2021

It is that time of year again. And fortunately, it is a time for the drawing of lines.

1. Why is it so difficult to identify a clear line between accepted and disputed knowledge within a discipline? Answer with reference to two disciplines, each taken from a different area of knowledge.
2. “Knowledge gained through direct experience is powerful but problematic.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
3. “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact” (Arthur Conan Doyle). Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
4. “Areas of knowledge always rely on a systematic process of trial and error to aid the production of knowledge.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
5. “If all knowledge is provisional, when can we have confidence in what we claim to know?” Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.
6. “We are rarely completely certain, but we are frequently certain enough.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Questions for May 2021

 The questions change as the times change. Syllabus, thy name is mutability. Maybe to be caught between Syllabus and Curriculum is the modern equivalent of Scylla and Charybdis.

1. “Accepting knowledge claims always involves an element of trust.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
2. Within areas of knowledge, how can we differentiate between change and progress? Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.
3. “Labels are a necessity in the organization of knowledge, but they also constrain our understanding.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.
4. “Statistics conceal as much as they reveal.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
5. “Areas of knowledge are most useful in combination with each other.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
6. “Avoiding bias seems a commendable goal, but this fails to recognize the positive role that bias can play in the pursuit of knowledge.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Questions for November 2020

These questions, they always plague the young wyverns on St David's Day, when they should be out celebrating, not cerebrating…

1. “If a disagreement about knowledge claims needs to be resolved, then it is essential to give equal attention to both sides.” Under what circumstances is this good advice?
   
2. “Understanding something requires being able to answer ‘What if...?’ questions about it.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
   
3. “Too much of our knowledge revolves around ourselves, as if we are the most important thing in the universe” (adapted from Carlo Rovelli). Why might this be problematic?
   
4. “The process of gaining knowledge is more valuable than reaching an end result.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
   
5. “The questions we can ask depend more on what we already know than on what we do not know.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
   
6. “Reliable knowledge can lack certainty.” Explore this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
   

Questions for May 2020

Sometimes you ask questions too early, sometimes too late. In the past, people have asked me not to post such questions, until it is too late. But I have managed to work around that, by not posting—only composting. It is like the difference between posing and composing.

1. “Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not” (Pablo Picasso). Explore this distinction with reference to two areas of knowledge.
2. “There is a sharp line between describing something and offering an explanation of it.” To what extent do you agree with this claim?
3. Does it matter that your personal circumstances influence how seriously your knowledge is taken?
4. “The role of analogy is to aid understanding rather than to provide justification.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
5. “Given that every theory has its limitations, we need to retain a multiplicity of theories to understand the world.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
6. “Present knowledge is wholly dependent on past knowledge.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Haiku for Mendeleev #003 — Lithium

a lightness of stone
small cells powering machines
firstborn of metals

Questions for November 2019

Every May, I think of what may come; every November, I think of what might fall.
This year, what falls are questions, some looking a bit traditional, some looking a bit odd. Perhaps they are like traditional Anglo weddings — something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. And here they are, for young people to enjoy mulling over.

1. “In the acquisition of knowledge, the responsibility for accuracy lies with the user not the producer.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
2. “Each human being is unique, unprecedented, unrepeatable” (René Dubos). Assuming this statement to be correct, what challenges does it create for knowledge production in two areas of knowledge?
3. Shared knowledge often changes over time. Does this fact undermine our confidence in current shared knowledge?
4. To produce knowledge just observe and then write down what you observe. Discuss the effectiveness of this strategy in two areas of knowledge.
5. Is there a trade-off between scepticism and successful production of knowledge?
6. “The pursuit of knowledge is not merely about finding truths; it is about finding significant truths" (adapted from P D Magnus). Discuss this statement.

St David's Day (2019)

And so it was that on the first day of March in 1886, a tall, thin, dyspeptic Anglo-Indian gentleman, late out of the wilderness of Pennsylvania, founded a beacon of truth and light in an island of the Main. There may it stand, from year to year, an emblem of grand endeavour.

That same gentleman was heard to say decades later that one main lesson of his life was that women did more of the work, and that one Blackmore did the most of all, in 1887. To her, he said, a statue should be raised if any should be raised at all.

These thoughts come to mind on St David's Day this year. For he too agreed that we should say who did the work, and all should do it well.

Questions for May 2019

As always, I am both amused and amazed by the questions that arise from certain Intentionally Byzantine organisations.

1. "The quality of knowledge is best measured by how many people accept it." Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
2. "The production of knowledge is always a collaborative task and never solely a product of the individual." Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.
3. Do good explanations have to be true?
4. "Disinterestedness is essential in the pursuit of knowledge." Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
5. "The production of knowledge requires accepting conclusions that go beyond the evidence for them." Discuss this claim.
6. "One way to assure the health of a discipline is to nurture contrasting perspectives." Discuss this claim.

These aren't as pungent as some of those from previous years, though.

Haiku for Mendeleev #002 — Helium

two of everything
alpha in the burning sun
lightness all alone

Questions for November 2018

I love the way the International Baccalaureate demands tough answers to tougher questions.

1. “Existing classification systems steer the acquisition of new knowledge.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
2. “Technology provides ever-expanding access to shared knowledge. Therefore, the need to assimilate such knowledge personally is relentlessly diminishing.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
3. *Are disputes over knowledge claims within a discipline always resolvable? Answer this question by comparing and contrasting disciplines taken from two areas of knowledge.
4. “Those who have knowledge don’t predict. Those who predict don’t have knowledge” (Lao Tzu). Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.
5. “Too much relevant knowledge in a field might be a hindrance to the production of knowledge in that field.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.
6. “The importance of establishing incontrovertible facts is overestimated. Most knowledge deals in ambiguity.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.

* incidentally, the IB clarified that this should mean only one discipline from each of two different areas of knowledge, not 'one or more disciplines'.