Every day we are bombarded with information and thoughts within our own heads and countless environmental stimuli that it can be hard to intelligently sort through all the events of one day and think about it critically. Often, we prioritize. If something seems negligible, it will likely be pushed to the side. This is a harmful way to live our lives. As we saw in the articles that we examined in class, critical thinking is necessary to distinguish between big issues and superficial ones, to stay safe, and to not seem like prehistoric creatures to the rest of the world (lookin’ at you, Trump). However, the necessity for critical thinking goes beyond that. It’s not just that we want people to view us positively -though that is often important- but we need critical thinking in order to better our world, which is something I am sure most people can agree is vital, especially right now. Numbing ourselves to our experiences and only examining issues, relationships, school/work etc on a surface level does not lend itself to bettering our world or ourselves. Poor judgement is a direct branch off of a non-commitment to critical thinking as well, as it is hard to have strong sense of morality when one doesn’t obtain all the necessary information. Humans have evolved quite impressively, and have created countless improvements to the world, such as irrigation, computers, etc, however I think it is safe to say that in the area of critical thinking, we have devolved. We are so prone to ignoring issues that seem uncomfortable to us, and far too few people delve into the realm of critical thinking due to whatever their own personal reason has to be.
So yes, I do believe that we have a moral imperative to think critically, as it is vital to the betterment of our society, the world, and, most importantly, ourselves. I also believe that it happens far to infrequently and that if we want to see a serious opposition to the terrors in this world such as global warming and global health crises, a lot more frequent critical thinkers are going to be needed.
Sensational Senses
I have always viewed taste as a reaction. When something touches the tongue, the taste buds distinguish between sweet, sour, salty, bitter etc. Yet, despite the relatively small muscle that detects taste, people experience it differently. I think this is due to the around 10 000 taste buds the average human has. Two people eating the same thing can experience two very different tasting experiences.
Contrary to my personality, I don’t really enjoy sour tasting things. Even thinking about the feeling that is acquired when tasting something sour makes my throat close. However, I am known to enjoy a slurpee even on the coldest of days. This story takes place in the throes of last summer’s heat. I was hot, I was bothered and I just wanted a slurpee with every ounce of my essence. So, going to the Mac’s convenience store in Campbell River, I purchased one with my friend. I obviously only decided on the best flavours like cream soda and blue raspberry, but my friend decided to have a flavour aptly named “intense lime”. Now, I’m a serious connoisseur of slurpees, and have sampled both regular lime and intense lime flavours. Regular lime is bearable, but when I tried intense lime I was convinced it was going to burn a hole through my throat. My friend, however enjoyed her slurpee while I enjoyed mine -even with the hint of disgust that lingered. This leads me to wonder why are some flavours less intense/more bearable to some? What factors lead to the enjoyment of certain tastes? How do our tastes develop over time to find what we once hated we now enjoy? Is there a specific type of people who enjoy a certain taste? The one thing I am 100% certain of from this entire experience is that I love slurpees.
Do I Really Know What I Think I Know?
Hola.
This is my blog for TOK. I’m writing this pretty much just for you Mrs. Colborne because I don’t think anyone else will come here. Except maybe Sadie. Anyway, this is for all my TOK stuff. Probably. Do I really know that? Well, yea I guess I do. I also know that Mrs. Jerome just gave me a kiwi and I ate it skin and all and it was weird but oddly not terrible. Also I know that kiwis, (the green part at least) are delicious.
I also know that sometimes I ramble and think I’m funnier than I really am so that’s about enough from me.
C'est Une Blog 