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.