GRE Issue Topic 103

GRE Issue Topic 103

Topic:

Some people believe that scientific discoveries have given us a much better understanding of the world around us. Others believe that science has revealed to us that the world is infinitely more complex than we ever realized.

Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.

برخی معتقدند که اکتشافات علمی درک بهتری از جهان پیرامون به ما داده است. برخی دیگر بر این باورند که علم به ما نشان داده است که جهان بی نهایت پیچیده تر از آن است که ما تاکنون درک کرده ایم.

پاسخی بنویسید که در آن بحث کنید کدام دیدگاه بیشتر با نظر شما همسو است و استدلال خود را برای این موضع گیری توضیح دهید. در توسعه و حمایت از موقعیت خود، باید به هر دو دیدگاه ارائه شده توجه کنید.

موافق

  • هر چقدر علم پیشرفت می کند ما با جنبه های جدیدی آشنا می شویم که پیچیده تر هستند و باید مسائل مربوط به آن را حل کنیم و متوجه می شویم که هر شاخه از علم جزئیات بیشتری دارد که باید کشف شود.
  • با پیشرفت علم ما ابعاد بزرگتری از هر جنبه علمی را درک کرده و اطلاعات بیشتری در خصوص آن جمع آوری میکنیم. برای ارتباط دادن این اطلاعات باید مسائل پیچیده تری را حل کنیم. به عنوان مثال دانش ما در علم شیمی با کشف خواص آهن یا مواد شیمیایی دیگر گسترده تر شد و به همان نسبت به پیچیدگی آن برای به کار بردن مواد با خواص مخصوص به خودشان نیز افزایش یافت.
  • پیشرفت علم ما نه تنها موجب شده که در دنیای مدرن با پیچیدگی های بیشتری مواجه شویم بلکه دانش ما در خصوص تاریخ و گذشته نیز به سمت پیچیده‌تر شدن می رود. چون ما اطلاعات بیشتری در خصوص مبدا جهان یا تولد هر گونه یا موارد دیگر از طریق فسیل ها یا اکتشافاتی که در اعماق دریا ها داشتیم، به دست می‌آوریم و تجزیه و تحلیل این موارد پیچیده تر می شود.
  • با افزایش دانش ما نسبت به هر چیزی در جهان، فهم کلی و جامع ما کامل تر می شود اما برای کشف جنبه های بیشتر هر علمی باید مسائل پیچیده تری را حل کنیم.
  • با وجود اینکه ما در عصر تکنولوژی قرار داریم که با اطلاعات بسیار زیادی بمباران شده‌ایم اما هرچقدر در هر جنبه علمی پیش می‌رویم متوجه می‌شویم که اطلاعات و دانش ما بسیار سطحی است و نیاز به کشف مسائل پیچیده تر و مرموزتری در هر جنبه علمی وجود دارد.
  • فکر کردن درباره مسائل مختلف از مهمترین خصوصیات ما انسان ها است. زمانی که ما چیزی را کشف می‌کنیم به دنبال سوالات بیشتری هستیم. مثلا وقتی اتم را کشف کردیم به دنبال این بودیم که آیا مواد از عناصر کوچکتری نسبت به اتم تشکیل شده اند یا خیر یا زمانی که در علم ستاره شناسی، ستاره ها و سیاره ها را کشف کردیم به دنبال این بودیم که کهکشان های بیشتری را در نوردیم. بنابراین ذهن ما به یک کشف ساده راضی نمی شود و ما همواره به دنبال پیدا کردن جواب هایی برای حل مسائل پیچیده تر و مرموز تر هستیم.

مخالف

  • پیشرفت علم گاهی اوقات موجب می‌شود که ما بتوانیم مرموز بودن یا پیچیده بودن یک مسئله را به سادگی حل کنیم. بسیاری از مسائلی که اجداد ما دلیل آن را نمی دانستند و تصور می کردند بسیار پیچیده است، اکنون برای ما به یک مسئله ساده تبدیل شده چون علم، دلیل آن را کشف کرده است. به عنوان مثال بسیاری از اجداد ما پدیده های طبیعی مثل باریدن باران را یک نوع پدیده ماورایی می‌دانستند و حتی آن را به مسائل مذهبی ربط می دادند، در صورتی که با پیشرفت علم، علت باریدن باران مشخص شده و ما قادریم باران مصنوعی تولید کنیم پس این مسئله برای ما ساده‌تر شده است نه پیچیده‌تر.

 

Strategies
A good starting point is to break down the statement and identify the assumptions it makes. What is interesting to note in this particular case is the fact that the statement is counter intuitive: it seems to contradict common sense. The nature of the statement makes it suitable for philosophical and psychological arguments.
Statement breakdown:
a) We – general we of humanity
b) Acquire more knowledge – knowledge is cumulative – how to quantify it? Is it “true” knowledge? Is it “useful”?
c) Things – all–encompassing term for the subject of knowledge; vague term: is it only specific things that become less understandable?
d) Comprehensible – understandable; how do you gauge a person’s understanding? Based on how ‘true’ it is, or how much it conforms to current scientific trend?
e) Complex and mysterious – suggest awe in the face of the vastness of the universe; is it a feeling rather than fact–based speculation?

Assumptions:
a) The universe cannot be fully known – the sum of all knowledge cannot be attained
b) Discovering something always opens up new avenues of research
c) Knowledge is measurable – walking in the direction of “true knowledge”
d) We are not ‘equipped’ to be able to grasp all knowledge

Pros and Cons:
Pros
a) Knowledge is not linear – we also take steps back in our quest for truth
b) What is ‘true’ now will end up being proved wrong in the future, as our understanding grows
c) Knowledge is influenced by society/ dominating paradigms
d) Each new question answered raises other questions
e) More knowledge gained shows us just how complex things are (scientific models always grow in complexity)
f) Our minds are not suitable for understanding the level of complexity of the universe
g) We can only perceive what our senses tell us
Cons
a) Knowledge is quantifiable
b) knowledge is attainable, step by step (knowledge building)
c) Not ‘understanding” is a feeling – psychological effect
d) Should not compare current knowledge with sum of all knowledge – but with how little we knew in the past (progress measured by how far we have come, not how far we still have to go)
e) People feel overwhelmed by how much there is still to discover/ the vastness of the universe – it is a psychological effect (fallacy of insignificance)
f) A fully known universe is boring – and that is frightening
g) Average human intelligence has grown significantly
h) High level, complex knowledge is attained by the brilliant and then parsed down
i) We don’t only accumulate information but also know how to process and understand it – we don’t gather information for information’s’ sake

Examples:
a) Scientific discoveries can prove how much we know or do not know about the universe
b) Psychology can show how our mind reacts to the universe, its vastness, and how human minds are able to process knowledge and complex issues
c) Philosophy – the study of epistemology (understanding knowledge and how it is acquired)
d) Researchers – what do the foremost minds involved in the knowledge gathering process think about it
e) Biochemistry – abilities or limitations of the human mind
f) Books and movies that have explored the theme before
Lastly, spend a few minutes coming up with a roadmap. While at first it will slow you down, once you become adept at outlining, your writing speed will increase, and your essay will benefit from having a logical structure.

Sample 1:

The universe has always fascinated us – from the very dawn of civilization, when everything seemed shrouded in mystery and the unexplainable was the realms of the gods. The curiosity of the human nature is the driving force of our accelerated evolution and the reason why we have developed methods of systematic study – so that we are better able to understand and control our surroundings. As Sir Francis Bacon said – “knowledge is power”.

At the heart of knowledge is the search for truth; of the many ways people try to unravel the mysteries of the universe, scientific research is deemed to be a more accurate understanding of the world. That is because, in essence, scientific research is based on gathering observable and measurable evidence by formulating and testing hypothesis in reproducible experiments. Epistemology, the study of knowledge and how it is acquired, shows us that knowledge gathering is a cumulative process – new theories, no matter how revolutionary, have a basis in previous theories.

Saying that things become more complex and mysterious as we acquire more knowledge means operating under the false assumption that progress is measured by how much we have yet to discover. When humanity is at the start of the line, in terms of understanding the universe and its secrets, progress should be measured by how far we have come, not how far we still have to go.

We should not compare our current knowledge with the sum of all knowledge, but rather with how little we knew in the past. Take, for instance, biology and how much we have progressed from believing that human sickness is a result in the imbalance of humors, to the current day advanced understanding of organs, tissues, cells – down to the DNA level. The same can be said for the rudimentary notions of geography of the past, namely the idea that the Earth was flat and that the Sun was orbiting around it. Comparing these notions to the current understanding of tectonics, landscape formation and astrophysics theories like the existence of dark mater, we can see how far our understanding of the universe has progressed, one step at a time. And while we can in no way say that we know everything that there is to know, we can certainly say that we are able to accomplish so much more than in the past, all thanks to a better understanding of our environment.

As such, the amount of knowledge the average individual possesses, has been steadily growing over the ages – the same can be said for our comprehension. What children learn and are able to grasp in schools today would have been part of the mystery of the universe in the past. This increase in knowledge was observed by Buckminster Fuller and named “the Knowledge Doubling Curve”. He noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century and by the end of World War II knowledge was doubling every 25 years. If one were able to travel through time to a period like the Middle Ages, our knowledge, technology, behaviors and speech would be seen as witchcraft. Like Arthur C. Clarke said: 'Magic's just science that we don't understand yet.'

Part of the issue of thinking that the universe becomes progressively incomprehensible is our wonder with the universe, which, while understandable, also inspires the idea that true knowledge is somehow unattainable. People feel overwhelmed by the vastness and complexity of the universe and hold the belief that our simple mind cannot comprehend it – this psychological phenomenon is called the fallacy of insignificance. Colin Wilson in The Stature of Man claims that this fallacy is an effect of modern–day society that conditions individuals to lack self–worth, as a mechanism of ensuring compliance – people want to become part of the system, in order to escape their feelings on unimportance. People end up operating on the idea that as an individual, they do not matter much in the grand scheme of things, which is why they should belong to something greater that gives their existence meaning.

Last, but not least, people want to believe that the universe maintains its shroud of mystery because the idea of attaining full, complete knowledge is frightening – a fully known universe is predictable and boring, like professor Farnsworth from Futurama stipulates: : ”And, now that I've found all the answers, I realize that what I was living for were the questions!

 

Sample 2:

Knowledge is the state of being enlightened. It is acquiring information and skills which help you to understand things around you in a better way. It also helps in bringing perfection in a person’s work and life. Knowledge is gained consciously as well as unconsciously. While one makes an effort to acquire knowledge through getting educated and becoming learned it is also through experience that one becomes knowledgeable. It is however questionable as to why gaining knowledge is important. As discussed earlier, it makes you understand your surroundings better and bring perfection in your life. Things become more comprehensible and you gain confidence. However, as a person gains more and more knowledge, it can lead to details, complexities and mysteries, but it is only with more efforts that new study comes to light.

When a child comes into this world, he is completely ignorant and therefore is dependent on his parents. As he grows up, he observes things around him. Slowly he gets the knowledge about what is good and what is bad for him. It is only when he gains the knowledge of his surroundings that he is capable of being on his own. He comes to know that by putting his hand in a fire, he might get burnt, and by playing with sharp objects he can hurt himself. In case this does not happen, he would remain dependent upon others all his life. Therefore, knowledge makes you independent and practical in life.

It is with exercising one’s brain and gaining knowledge that we are living in this age. Without the knowledge of agriculture, we would not be able to produce food for ourselves, without the knowledge of iron we would not be able to set up industries. Similarly, the knowledge of human body and medicines helps us to keep fit and live a healthy life. Such things are basic to our life and life is incomprehensible without them.

Apart from the basic knowledge of things, one needs to acquire specific knowledge as well. That makes him survive in the world by making a place for himself. For example, if a person gains the knowledge of carpentry, he can extend his knowledge to others who do not have this specific skill and earn his living.

A person goes on acquiring information unless he is satisfied. However, there are unlimited things unknown to man. There are a number of things that are unexplainable and accepted as they are. It is only with the efforts of someone that we can have an explanation of these things. We did not know anything about the universe unless it was explored. The biggest of inventions and discoveries have been possible only by indulging in them. If we retreat our steps for the fear of getting jumbled up in complexities, new inventions and discoveries would never be possible.

However, in the pursuit of acquiring knowledge, one must not lose ground and get lost in the complexities. While it is important to gain knowledge, it is also important to keep your balance and not get lost in finding solutions to mysterious and complex situations.


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