TOK related questions


What is the dif ference bet ween data, information, knowledge and wisdom? To what ex tent can
computers store and impart data, information, knowledge and wisdom?

Computational thinking includes: procedure, logic, pre -planning (thinking ahead), concurrenc y,
abstraction and recursion. To what extent are these ways of thinking distinct? To what extent can
knowledge in different areas (mathematics, ethics, and so on) be analysed in these ways?

It has been said that human memory is more like an improvised performance than a movie on a DVD.
What does this mean? How does human memory differ from computer memory?

How does a computer language differ from a natural language?
Computer science guide



What are the differences between representing numbers in denary and in binary? In binary, 1 + 1 = 10.
Does this tell us anything about the nature of mathematical truth?

What are the challenges of creating a computer model of some aspect of the world?

A chess machine can beat the top human chess players. Does a machine therefore "know" how to play
chess?

To what extent does computational thinking challenge conventional concepts of reasoning?

How do we know if other humans feel emotions? Can a machine ever feel an emotion? How would we
know?

Was Akio Morita correct when he claimed that "You can be totally rational with a machine. But if you
work with people, sometimes logic has to take a back seat to understanding"?

D o es information and co mmunic ati on te chno l o gy, like de duc tion, simply allow th e k n owe r to
arrange existing knowledge in a different way, without adding anything, or is this arrangement itself
knowledge in some sense?

What did Sydney Harris mean when he said that "The real danger is not that computers will begin to
think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers"? Was he right, or was this statement
based on a misunderstanding of either men or computers?

What do we mean by "holistic" and "reductionist" approaches to knowledge? What are the strengths
and weaknesses of each approach?

To what extent is it possible to capture the richness of concepts such as "intelligence" or "judgment"
via a reductionist approach?

If we at tach a camera or microphone to a computer, it can receive data from the world. Does this
mean that a computer can "perceive the world"? To what extent might human perception be a similar
process?