There's no one agreed version of history. So how can we trust any of it?
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Titles 5 & 6: Old & new historical facts, consensus & joint narratives: How do experts maximise confidence in what they can know about the past and be certain enough?
There is a branch of knowledge, akin to pseudo-scientific knowledge like ‘flat Earth theory’, in which one can seem to have absolute certainty and full confidence, because the truth of that knowledge is somehow ‘guaranteed’ or ‘underwritten’ by a higher power. Faith-based knowledge.
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Titles 5 & 6: Sacred scriptures, Lazurus rising & 'blind faith': towards 'complete certainty' & full 'confidence' in what we claim to know...
In this BBC documentary film about Atheism, Jonathan Miller visits the absent Twin Towers to consider the religious implications of the 9/11 terror attacs and meets Arthur Miller and th
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2012 Title 6: Magical thinking, religious knowledge & the power of disbelief: justifying atheism by exploring the nature of spiritual doubt...
In science it is not only OK to be wrong, it is an unavoidable and perpetual state - depending, of course, on how you define "wrong". We lack a complete understanding of the universe, and al
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Titles 5 & 6: Certainty, confidence & category mistakes: in practical terms, science is about balancing 'risk vs benefit of all available courses of action given the best knowledge we have at the time'...
So how do we untangle this potential problematic knot in our concepts? The idea is that knowledge has both a subjective and objective element to it. That is, knowledge exists on a ‘spectrum’ – a sliding scale, if you like – of objective reason and subjective emotion; of certainty and confidence which do not always go in the same direction.
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Titles 5 & 6: Flat earth theory, scientific methodology & a certainty-confidence spectrum: looking at the nature of knowledge within a scientific context...
An inevitable part of the internet age, some conspiracy theories appear and then fade, but in the US particularly, creationism seems firmly embedded in religion, education and pseudoscience.
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Title 6: Young Earth Creationism, Noah's flood & biblical infallibility: What happens when being 'certain enough' about something is not enough.
Researchers find a correlation between pupil size and differences in cognitive ability. The larger the pupil, the higher the intelligence. The explanation for why this happens lies within the brain, but more research is needed.
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Q6: Pupil dilation studies, 'fluid intelligence' & 'working memory capacity': where does this correlational study lie in the spectrum of knowledge that is 'certain enough'?
In 1739, a mysterious Roman dodecahedron was found in England. Since then, more than 100 have been found, mostly in ancient Gault, typically dating from the 2nd or 3rd century. No contemporary mention survives and their meaning and function has been lost to history. All we can do is speculate: they were toys, tools, instruments, religious objects.
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Title 6: It's Roman. It's mathematical. It's real. But our knowledge about what it is remains only certain enough and based on a map...
Peterson’s claim that “medicine kills more people than it helps” is the latest in a long line of demonstrably false claims – yet his fans continue to hang off his every word
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Titles 5 & 6: Medical error, authoritative claims & skepticism: how claiming to know with confidence and speaking with certitude can create the 'illusion of insight'.
Now, consider a clichéd example when we seem to have the utmost certainty and confidence in knowledge and they both seem to be moving in the same direction: 2 + 2 = 4. On the one hand, this is something you cannot doubt, isn’t it? You know this with 100% certainty.. You might actually be very confident about you
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Titles 5 & 6: Pythagoras, Euclid & beyond: TWE can we be both certain & confident in the truths of Maths?
As you dig into the definitions of these two key terms in these prompts – ‘confidence’ and ‘certainty’ – you’ll start to see that they appear to overlap in meaning. At times, you might even think they’re synonymous and can be used interchangeably. But take a step back. There is a relationship between the concepts but they are not the same.
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021: Confidence, certainty & the nature of knowledge: Exploring the similarities and differences of two key concepts...
Is there really a plan to end Western society by destroying traditional masculinity, or are these beliefs just old prejudices in modern dress?
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Title 6: The feminisation of men, binary perspectives & toxic masculinity: how conspiracy theories are a product of the uncertainty caused by a breaking down of old social values and stereotypes...
Haim Eshed, former head of Israel’s Defense Ministry, claims aliens are working with the US government. I'd like to see some evidence.
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Title 6: Alien conspiracies, credible sources & the nature of skeptical enquiry: being 'certain enough' means always being 'open to the possibility that you may be wrong'.
Catch up on your favourite BBC radio show from your favourite DJ right here, whenever you like. Listen without limits with BBC Sounds.
ToKTutor's insight:
Nov2021 Title 6: Covid vaccinations, uncertainty & a hindu perspective: TWE is the pursuit of knowledge about weighing 'uncertainties with the imperative of 'dharma' - social responsibilities'?
To get content containing either thought or leadership enter:
To get content containing both thought and leadership enter:
To get content containing the expression thought leadership enter:
You can enter several keywords and you can refine them whenever you want. Our suggestion engine uses more signals but entering a few keywords here will rapidly give you great content to curate.