Issue tasks GRE

Claim: Knowing about the past cannot help people to make important decisions today. Reason: We are not able to make connections between current events and past events until we have some distance from both.

-Patterns can be found in behaviour or nature. Example: much of what we think will happen due to global warming is based on past knowledge about how different compenents of the earth react to heat, to gasses or to vibrations like oil drilling near tectonic plates. The political and economic climates that existed at the time of the world wars can also be mirrored today by politicians to determine if an action is likely going to be interpreted as an act of war: war studies. setting precedents Some things still relevant because linked to human behaviour like the financial crisis was driven by greed and aspects of the agency problem which have existed for even and will continue to exist.had lead to current decisions about laws and more careful about auto lending bubble. BUT the world is significantly more complex then it was decades ago, in terms of technology, values, economic integration and even the size and demographics of many population -the past indicates the experience accumulated. example: when hiring or admiting into a college, past jobs and qualifications are used to make decisions. -It may take some time for conections between past and current events to become apparents so past does not help. example: decades ago when smoking was championed and not known to de deleterious, no connection was made with babies being born smaller. The connection came later with more advanced studies/technology and after a decade of cancer cases were reported. Today the trend is vaping, marketed as healthier than smoking, experts know very little about it still. Decisions made not based on what we know about cigarettes are inconclusive. Vaping could be linked to a bad effect but which one? If not, it can be totally safe but past experience would make many doubt the irrefutability of that

We learn our most valuable lessons in life from struggling with our limitations rather than from enjoying our successes.

(1 ) Limitations prompt more reflection, reiteration and analysis or determination -success can mean complaisance -Test your limits and capabilities -Face instances you never would have otherwise like bankruptcy -one can only expect to truely understand what one reads -Harvard review was praising hiring CEOs that have failed over those who never have -Lean methodology in part charcatarized by failure and learning from it -All great successes like bill gates or steve jobs praise the struggles for their inventiveness and determination (2) Success may bring about new issues or limitations we had not thought about previously -Whenever we leave the status quo we move away from our comfort zone -A lot of lessons are learnt by famous ppl confronted with issues they had never had before with temptation and the like -Success comes with the pressure of sustaining said success and not be a one song artist like in pop music -Zuckerberg was not a public person and had to learn how to be less awkward -The downfall of Kodak when people moved to digital, Forbes says they were complaisant

Governments should offer college and university education free of charge to all students.

(1) "Free of charge" does not exist, tax payers will get the burden -Considering the cost that it will incur for the country, it may be more devastating in the short term as the benefits are not seen yet. -People who may be never have kids or will not go to college might not like that their taxes have skyrocketed. example: Bernie Sanders with universal healthcare and the estimated costs are huge -should be applicable across the world because if not, foreign citizens may come to take advantage of it. If not, there needs to be strong regualtion and rules about who can benefit from it. (2) Encourage education in the country and provide opportunities for those who cannot pay -Likely to elevate the economic prospects of the country and contribute to its development -There is a huge social and financial problem with student loans which would disappear. Loans can be a large burden workers carry for a large portion of their lives and pooer families may be less likely to be approved for one or even take one out on the off chance that then cannot pay it back and worsen their situation. -Could help to alleviate poverty and increase income mobility. (3) Might be an overall detriment to students as the competition will increase, Teresa may was clear that education is a privilege that one pays for. -We have seen that as more ppl are educated now we demand more education to be competitive

Claim: No act is done purely for the benefit of others. Reason: All actions — even those that seem to be done for other people — are based on self-interest.

(1) (psychological egoism)When we look at religious teachings or even ideas such as karma we can view a self-interested patina bellow the self-righteousness. -not doing good won't land you in heaven and it won't create good karma for you in the future. -Even kids are told not to do to others what they don't want to be done to them, implying some sort of tacit reciprocity. (2) We can argue that parents are more likely to do good purely for other's benefit -While some parents may expect respect or reciprocity in the future, any parent you speak to will always reject that idea -an innate love for one's progeny can be a source of purely good deeds (3) Those who put themselves of their own well-being at risk for others may be considered true altruists -The inventor of the polio vaccine refused all profit from the sale of the vaccine. -Doctors without borders can also be the case

Students should always question what they are taught instead of accepting it passively.

(1) Questioning can lead deeper insight -Fosters critical thinking, leads to new ideas or the limits of a theory being pointed out -Teachers, just like any human being for that matter, have inherent bias. -Questions may create debate which is highly derirable in classrooms and teaching. Allowing students to engage with the content may be more motivational and encourage learning and further study (2) Some facts simply cannot be argued or avoided -The basics of mathematical formulas and the like (3) Asking questions is a form of learning Socrates preached the Socratic method—a form of philosophical inquiry. Leads to links between knowledge and real understanding of concepts (4) Too much scepticism and distrust can impede learning by preventing absorption of information or creating harsh disagreement and disturbances

The main benefit of the study of history is to dispel the illusion that people living now are significantly different from people who lived in earlier times.

(1) A benefit of history can be said that it is to understand the foundations on which countries are built to better judge what are likely mistakes or good ideas and learn from them. -Separation of power has been a lesson learn from history, be it in the issues of separation of managment and ownerships in businesses or the separation of government bodies like the federal reserve and the president to avoid politically driven currency manipulations -The use of the atomic bomb in hiroshima, it has made leaders weary to ever use it again after the consequences, there has even been a movement towards denuclearization (2) A social benefit can be to have people understand how much better the situation is currently and appreaciate the sacrifices that have brought us here. -In comparison with the famines in the great depression or the huge social revolution during the second world war (women going to work in factoris, young men dying by the 1000s) current issues like low growth in developed countries seem more approachable. -World leaders and people in general are currently more weary of initiating international conflicts to the scale seen in the previous century. This is apparent from the increased interdependence between countries and the large groups of ally countries formed which reduce the changes of large scale conflicts. (3) With technological and social progress, history helps to reconcile basic human truths and behaviours will the changing economic and outside enviornment. -Helps make the mistakes of the past be taken more seriously since they can often be attributed to a lack of knowledge or simply being less evolved Summary: -Understand the world today -Help make decisions now -Understand, curb and encourage human behaviour -Give context to better appreciate where we are now and what should be done -Used in science to understand change, make models like for pollution or global warming etc

All parents should be required to volunteer time to their children's schools.

(1) A rule might be too harsh and some parents may simply not be able to commit to that. -some parents may work and not have time -some children may have guardians of reduced mobility or a certain age which would be a burden to them. -children may be distracted by their parents roaming the halls -forcing parents to attend is no longer volunteering but rather a requirment, this may make parents less likely to cooperate or to be in bad spirits which ultimately hurts the children (2) School and home are two complementary forms of education and schools should not expect parents to contribute to their share of learning -schools teach certain content that parents do not and having parents be an integral part of the school process may lead to an amalgamation of such roles. Parents may feel more entitled to require changes in curriculum. -It may be confusing for students who would get lessons normally thought at home, being thought in schools. I was common that parents would scold their child while at school and cause him embarassment. (3) Parents active in school is a great way to motivate children and creates a sense of monitoring and accountability - parents may be more aware of weaknesses their children have in school by being more involved or they may even be made aware of problems they may hve but not share such as bullying. - Sports events at schools often have parents volunteer which creates a safe and motivating enviornement for children who may be motivated by their parents cheering and may have better associations with school.

Educators should take students' interests into account when planning the content of the courses they teach. Educators should find out what students want included in the curriculum and then offer it to them.

(1) Can be very motivating and engaging for students and can encourage creativity (2) May help fill the gaps students feel are inherent in their education like in college (3) Some things that are crucial, students may want to replace, and some aspects may be irrelevant. Educators should have some things that cannot be changed, you dont want to take away focus from other important areas. -We were allowed to vote on the books and plays we would read in English

Some people believe that the purpose of education is to free the mind and the spirit. Others believe that formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free. Formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free.

(1) Can restrain by being against innovation and placing a lot of focus on very old theories example: Hofstede model of culture in the 60s based on old concepts of femininity and when world was more homogeneous (2) Colleges rely a lot on standardized testing which does not favour innovation but rather repetition. Many successful people did not go to college ie mark zuckerberg dropped out of harvard to continue his path (3) Used to be exposed to many points of view but there is a trend in american universities for proffessors to me partisan and to be mostly of a single political party. This works also with anti-in universities who shut down debate and ideas they do not agree with. (4) University is an agglomoration of people from everywhere with different ideas (5) University is an endless source of resources to expand knowledge and foster curiosity

People should undertake risky action only after they have carefully considered its consequences.

(1) Focusing too much on the consequences may keep us from making hard decisions that, if successful, could greatly outweigh the possible negative effects -Negative consequences should be weighed against positive outcomes. example: picking a career path that has a lower level of success like an actor can lead to financial issues, a waste of time and the person ending up unemployed and having to start over is less favourable conditions but if successful then the risk will have paid off. Many people see the trade off as justified. But can also be deadly like those who venture into the desert without enough supplies and die there (1) Simply attempting something risky without knowledge of the consequences can be a learning experience. example: this is common with children who will touch a hot plate or play with something sharp and get hurt but will be more careful next time -there is value in attempting risky activities and have experienced the consequences because we are less afraid of them just like boxers become less sensitive to sustaining hits and blood donors get rid of any aversion to needles and barely take account of possible risks. (2) Knowing the consequences of one's actions can allow action to be taken to mitigate it or even make more informed decisions. -If you were to invest in stock you would insure that you can make money off of it. check the financial statements and everything exmaple: if performing an extreme sport like skydiving then knowing what could go wrong and what weather condition for example would make it most likely to happen, the person can pick a day were conditions are optimal to mitigate risk. Knowing the consequences of our actions can help keep people safe, not be reckless and disuade people from unsafe decisions (4) Sometimes you simply have no time to consider the consequences like in an emergency. -Civilians who run into a burning building to save someone in it don't think about the consequences, they just act

Claim: Though often considered an objective pursuit, learning about the historical past requires creativity. Reason: Because we can never know the past directly, we must reconstruct it by imaginatively interpreting historical accounts, documents, and artifacts.

(1) creativity must be circumscribed by the objective information we have about that time. -accounts of the past are always written from a certain perspective so you must sift through the bias too (the winners usually tell the story) -Arguably this is not even the same creativity needed to understand the events of today which all journalists and other intellectuals employ (2) Need creativity to alter current perceptions of the world, values and societal pressure -We see a lot of this with the US constitution for example or even laws in general (3) Creativity may not be needed in some instances like to study the evolution of certain medical improvements where dates, journals and other information is clearly documented and mostly detached from the social context as it remains in the realm of pure science

Government officials should rely on their own judgment rather than unquestioningly carry out the will of the people whom they serve.

(1) Governemnt officials are elected by the people and are accountable to them so the will of the people should come first -Government officials may be removed forcefully or democratically if they do not follow the fill of the people -Government officials have a duty to provide the people with the best possible outcome and generally one that is in widespread agreement -Democracy is to make reign the desires of the people. (2)The people may not agree on a single course of action or may be ill informed of how plausible their policy ideas are -Governemnt officials are better suited to make decisions because they have a lot more information than others -The people are too varied and large so one person must pick a course of action if not nothing gets done -The majority of people may not be as familiar with the inner workings of governemnt or even public policy or monetary policy implications (3)The incentive to follow the fill of the people regardless of how good the policy actually is for the country may be a bad one, government officials want to be re-elected. -Barack Obama concieted may rules to the LGBT community which held many rallies and protests and marches, but most today would deem that it was a heavily devisive move on his part. -Approval ratings are cucial for such entities as presidents or candidates who might give concessions to large groups, even though they may be wrong as is the case for illigal immigration in the USA.

Governments should place few, if any, restrictions on scientific research and development.

(1) Health and safety as well as ethics restrictions are the governments job to prevent exploitation -The governement has a right to protect its citizens and promote overall wellbeing -The government is often a source of funding for the reserach so it has a vested interest it its success but also has rights to influences the process of the research -Unethical reserach like with stem cells, although it could save many, should be monitored and restricted to prevent bowback -Research that has highly negative implications like that done in China like, head transplant. Brings up concerns about people stealing another person's body, especiall with the organ trafficing on the black market . Plus, religious groups will strongly oppose that. -Do not let researchers cut corners, speed up the process or lower their costs by having low safety and health standards (2)Fewer restrictions makes R&D more likely, especially for private firms, which is an advantage for the economy and society -Private firms usually use their own funds or loans for research but the costs are huge for uncertain returns so more ease in setting it up will help. -High R&D levels are great for society as they are often correlated with increased efficiency, health in the country and overall financial gains, so governments should encourage them.

Scientists and other researchers should focus their research on areas that are likely to benefit the greatest number of people. Claim: Researchers should not limit their investigations to only those areas in which they expect to discover something that has an immediate, practical application. Reason: It is impossible to predict the outcome of a line of research with any certainty. Many important discoveries or creations are accidental: it is usually while seeking the answer to one question that we come across the answer to another.

(1) Immediate and practical application discoveries should be prioritized because of the cost and difficulty of research -Governments, private institutions and other investors will likely look for returns to be made on their investment -pressure of shareholders in drug companies -government pressured by using tax payer dollars and government grants for reserach are higly competitive some more likely to be for quick results and large applicability. (2) Areas of reasearch should not be restricted to areas where there is a forseable result, but rather where pertinent additonal information can be collected. -Discoveries made in the past can become useful in the future as more information is made available or needs change example: coca cola was initially developed as medecine for stomach aches and while it was not popular amongst consumers when initially introduced, it later was rebranded as a beverage making the discovery more valuable in the long-term than in the short term -While the outcomes of research cannot be predicted some areas of research can be reasonably deemed to provide information of value example: recent MS trial that, while it did not reveal a cure, it made apparent that some of the drugs observed had no applicability to MS patient, on the other hand, they were better suited for cardiac patients. (3) Possibility of inter-diciplinary findings -Huge growth in interdiciplinary research, saves on costs and increases the odds that each discovery is useful and applicable to one or a variety of fields. example: if research is done on a bacterium's behaviour under certain conditions and it is discovered that, while the conditions do not explain how to neutralize it, it provides information about its ability to neutralize toxins present in polluted waters. Then there is an applicability to environmentology even though the purpose of the research was not achieved.

It is primarily through our identification with social groups that we define ourselves.

(1) It is common for people to attribute certain qualities to certain social groups so they attempt to interact with them or not because they believe they will share their attributes -A person may use participation in a social group to attempt to acquire their attributes and directly using them as a form of identification. like a person who grew up in a rough neighbourhood and although they may still have connections, friends and family there, they may attempt to assimilate into a suburban middle class setting because it is what they feel they belong to. -Using social groups to define ourselves may be tricky if we attempt to give off an image we want others or ourselves to believe we have when the reality is otherwise . Here there would be a sort of cognitive dissonance where the social group may actually inhibit faithful self-definition. (2)Self-identification is more that social groups because we have to believe that a person living in isolation is able to define themselves. -One may self identify thanks to their actions that reflect their morals or ideas. So a person may not have to belong to a church to believe they are spiritual, them may pray in their own way and show their faith through generous givings -Self-identification may also be partly physical so many people see tattoos as a way to self identify or may use their clothing to give off a feeling they are erudite, apporachable, or sporty. This is very common in advertisement for clothing as a way to identify yourself. (3) We may belong to a social group but not believe it has any impact on our image of ourselves -Some people may be democrats or republicans simply because they agree with the values and offeres they recieve. They may not associate with common ideas about the parties like conservatism and gun ownership for republicans, which may be concidered stereotypes. -A person may be in contact with a group of people without identifying with them like a group of frends which whom they only have one thing in common.

When old buildings stand on ground that modern planners feel could be better used for modern purposes, modern development should be given precedence over the preservation of historic buildings.

(1) old buildings can often hold a lot of history, they can be a vestige of the past that can be used to further the cultural heritage of a city, many times they can be a source of tourism and money for small towns. example: Avignon is a very small town but has Le Palais des Papes which is an old decrepit building but has been kept by the town because it is a huge sttraction for tourists. (2) Erase history, put buildings to use Instead, update these places. Working around the old structures to preserve the history like in london there is a restaurant in an old fire station that was there since the famous london fire and has been used to attract people, save the history of the building and put the land to use (3) Social impact for the home owners in the area who may not want to see their neighbourhood change so dramatically if other structures are ancient too. example was the heir of a british millionaire who wanted to build a concrete house by demolishing a victorian style mansion, the community rebelled. 4 but one may agree that some things take precedence if the land is used for affordable housing or health facilities, etc.

College students should base their choice of a field of study on the availability of jobs in that field.

(1) It is very hard to predict the availability of jobs in a certain field example: the skills gap for managerial skills, where we expect thousands of unfilled jobs but we were told that jobs in medicine and tech were more in demand. The view has changed in the past decade. Additionally the types of jobs available may not be able to be filled by you, managerial jobs require experiences leaders which you won't be for another 20 years. -Success in a field of study is more likely if the student has an interest. This promotes hard work, curious behaviour and higher motivation. Student is less likely to drop out or not perform well. example: many people in france go to engereer school because they are told it's the future, drop out rates are very high. -Finding a field in which jobs will be available is important to pay student loans, avoid unemployment (for under 25, it is higher than overall population) many new people go into arts which is saturated and a low revenue field. College is an investment which requires to be paid off. -Job competition is extremely high in many feilds and should be considered, there is an advantage to growing fields: there are more jobs than saturated feilds but if many want to go into them then high competition and motivation will be needed then, interest is often evaluated. (4) Students may not be well informed about the availability or kinds of jobs in their fields so they may benefit from guidance from the university or even conversations with alumni.

A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college.

(1) It would ensure a baseline understanding for all students which will be an asset to any country -ensure everyone is educated and has the basic skills to compete fairly with each other. Allowing outstanding students to do additional work and stand out while not giving certain children an advantage over others. -Macros has been trying to introduce more sciences into poorer school that have removed them as students perform too badly and receive little to no funding. -Adding elements of civil behaviour can even contribute to more cohesion and less unrest -Improving problem areas (2) Destroying a means of competition -schools cannot compete on this anymore so might find other ways but might simply lead to fewer schools, need for more government funded schools - If not applied across the world, some people may leave because they want a more thorough of even a distinct curriculum for their children (3) This would not be a good idea for kids with special needs be their gifted or slightly slower -Those kids need adaptive classes -The IB has multiple different levels for each class and even an extra one for maths because people have different capacities (4) Who would decide on what is in the curriculum and how to change it -Controversy surrounding sex education, LGBT issues and so on can create huge issues in the country.

Laws should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places.

(1) Laws that adapt to context can likely simply be new laws and while we wait, judges hold power over context/ interpretation -The legal system is expanding constantly with new laws being intoduced regularly like that relating to "revenge porn", a form of defamation on the internet, before then laws did not take account of online offences but it has adapted. Nonetheless, there is an approval process, unfortunately slow, but the law cannot be excercised so freely without consulting other law makers and establishing a sentence and rules. -Laws do not need to be flexible since they are a guideline but are then interpreted by judges in court. -It is not uncommon for judges to deem that the law should not be applied in certain cases (2)There needs to be a standard of justice to keep order -How can people follow the rules and enforce them if they are so variable? example: if a person steals because they are starving or if another person is forced to commit a crime by another one. -Loose interpretations of the rules can lead to either too much emprisonment like that which was common from black people decades ago or too lax laws that would allow for reprobates to get off according to their circumstances. BUT laws can be too harsh and lead to severe social implications like the single child law in China which followed with questions regarding women with twins and the possible ramifications of something that cannot be controlled by the individual Law of Arabic countries on foreign visitors is very strict ans should be different for them so some variability. (3) The many loopholes and interpretations of the law today are actually contributing to very long processes with many sessions and appeals that make the system increasingly more complicated and costly for individuals and the tax payer alike so clear-cut rules could actually expedite the process and save us some money. It would also prevent people from suing people for no apparent reason.

Society should identify those children who have special talents and provide training for them at an early age to develop their talents.

(1) Leveraging potential can be very beneficial to society -Inventions, geniuses -Prevents talent from being hindered by economic status -More highly trained individuals that can contribute to socienty (2)Possibility of brain drain once trained -Policy or rules should be determined -A lot of funds invested in children (3) They are only children -Is it ethical to deprive a child of their youth to train them for future talent? (Kpop stars often do this and have high levels of depresion and suicide) -Should parents be able to give consent or are they forced? -Can children be expected to show talents young enough that they will keep throught life? What if talent comes later?

Young people should be encouraged to pursue long-term, realistic goals rather than seek immediate fame and recognition.

(1) Long term goals provide a more healthy growth for young people -Teaches perseverance and hard work, shows limitations and strengths -Builds character BUT fame and recognition can be easily achieved for the wrong reasons= then become infamous. Fame is ephimeral and you may end up worse than you were before. (2)Fame and recognition may be attractive beacuse it requires very few skills and very high rewards but risks still ocurr -many aspiring actors never make it, dont finish college and end up working low paying jobs -Unlike careers where hard work always leads to results, fame is arbitrary (3)Short term goals can provide high levels of motivation since they occur more often, are more certain and you need a series of short term goals to achieve long term goals

Claim: Governments must ensure that their major cities receive the financial support they need in order to thrive. Reason: It is primarily in cities that a nation's cultural traditions are preserved and generated. To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.

(1) Major cities are often the location for important cultural establishments: universities, museums, major artist destinations, etc -Museums require finances to be maintianed in most countries where they are free (UK) but others, like the Louvre, charge entrance fees -These establishments contain the thinkers and relics of the past; arguably, these make up a country's culture since the Grandes Ecoles in France are it's staple in the world and where most of it's leaders are made. -The art culture in Berlin is propagated by its abundance of art shows and exhibitions by many local artists; often the art is componsed on representations of local issues, concerns or locations which give insight. (2) Major cities are more likely to change due to or adapt to the globalized world. -Immigration has changed the cultural components of many major cities like having a chinatown everywhere or many neighbourhoods devoted to different nationalities -Stuctures, rules and cultural artefacts are often ade available to these immigrants or tourists to seem more appealing like large polish supermarkets in London have recently opened -The language spoken in a major city may even differ from most of the rural areas, as id the case in Belgium where most people outside of Brussles speak Flemish but in the capital French and English are much more common. (3) Smaller cities or towns are more likely to preserve the traditions and architectural vestiges of the past; they also are a more diverse source of diverging cultural traditions -These small cities get less new immigrants and are often composed on locals whoc are born there and live there for generations. example: Cassoulet is a frech delicacy dating back hundreds of years, but while it has almost disappeared in Paris, it is very popular in it's town of origin: Toulouse. -While large cities tend to mirror each other and adopt homogeneous policies since they share similar characteristics and concerns, smaller cities in rural areas diverge a lot. This may be due to less focus form the government which leads to more local control though mayors and local representatives. This is apparent in the south of France where from Toulouse, to Avignon, to Narbonne there is a variety in how things are done regardless or geographical proximity. On the other hand, large cities like Paris, Marseille and Nice converge much more.

The luxuries and conveniences of contemporary life prevent people from developing into truly strong and independent individuals.

(1) Modern day luxuries and conveniences has arguably allowed for women to become more independent and strong -With many household tasks now being more efficient (Dishwashers, washing machines), women have swiftly moved into the workforce. -Other elements like all day kindergarten and longer school days have given mothers more time during the day. -More women than ever before hold a job and even high paying CEO, lawer jobs. -Women who used to be married younger and have fewer yeras of education now outnumber men in colleges and social demographics are changing and marrige is falling, women live alone more that the did before. (2) Being strong and independent is not really affected by the luxuries of life -Strength and independence is more linked to one's education, upbringing and their life experiences. For example, a child who lived ina very wealthy family but has suffered from loss of a loved one or some form or illness may be shapped stronger than a child who may have had less luxuries but fewer hardships. -Being independent and strong manifests without the need for luxuries like the mental strength to avoid vices like smoking and drinking, or to be independent enough to not be peer presured into bad things. Character traits have not been mostly affected by convenience. (3) Dependence on technology and convenineces can paralize us without them -Technology knows our phone numbers so that when we lose them we are simply cut off from the world, we used to learn them. -Smae can be said of navigation, while we all know where we live, we dont know how to get there without a phone and fewer people than ever before can reliably use pubic transport. -Hiding behind a screen on social media has made many people less likely to leave their homes and interact and less able to function in society. It has driven people to attack others to feel strong while being unable to do so in person. It has encouraged introvertedness and a lack of communication. -The convenience of odering everything to your door and having automated processes in banking or even simple everyday activities like remembering an appointment or a medication have made us less independent and able to care for outselves. Diseases like stress and anxiety or agoraphobia have expanded

In order to become well-rounded individuals, all college students should be required to take courses in which they read poetry, novels, mythology, and other types of imaginative literature.

(1) Not all student need poetry to be well rounded -Students who are already in the arts and literature would simply continue to be able to avoida agruably important topics like mathematics,economics and politics. -If we define well-rounded as having some knowledge in various areas of study then the policy would have to be extended to all courses and would have to cover more than poetry. At that point the courses would become incrementally less focused and students would be foreced into classes they did not choose. -This may lead to many students seeking other mediums to achieve their degree based on the idea that they should not be forced to study subjects unrellated to their course. While this was acceptable in school, college students may simply reject that idea. (2) Time would be taken away from what students really need to study - There are courses that take up a lot of time and that are very dinse like law school or medical scholl and in this case it would be clear that additional classes in a topic that is not of interest to the student would be a burden. -There is little world applicability to the study of mythology as of know, so while it might be a topic of conversation later in life it is unlikely to be a recurring asset (3) Such poetry and novels should be made available to students in university resources but should be an option -Universities can make students well rounded by hosting fairs and events that will exponse students to various other fields and areas of expertise but it is narrow to define well-roundedness as being knowledgable about mythology and novels. (4) One could also argue that university's purpose is not to make you, by force, become a well-rounded individual but that you should do that alone

The best ideas arise from a passionate interest in commonplace things.

(1) Passion may drive ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. -Van gogh mainly painted bucolic imagery and peasants -In the arts many derive inspiration from everyday occurences like still life paintings that are a whole section of painting and in which those who excel are able to elevate simple vases and flowers to touching pieces of art -Great poets have created high quality works enhanced by how relatable they are such as seamus heany's portrayal of his bucolic life as a masterpiece. (2)Start-up ideas nowadays mostly stem from common place issues or occurences and make millions of dollars (all about simplicity) -victoria's secret, husband felt awkards about buying underwear for his wife some made it more accessible. -Uber was also a common issues with taxis being agglomerated in certain areas and being expensive -Eureka and archimedes is a great example of common place ideas that have helped develop the law of displacement and buoyancy of objects inside water (3) Some great ideas may arise form highly specific things - The collaboration of tens of scientists to map out the whole genome to understand its components and how it works better. Requires expert knowledge and is rarely at the grasp of everyone but had a huge impact on human health and common knowledge about human genetic make up.

People's behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making.

(1) People's mood and behaviour is largely influenced by their environment -Growing up with parents who are abusive gives a child a greater likelihood to mimic that behaviour -There are links between the weather and people's overall outlook on life such as optimism, a greater desire for leisure time for example in coastal cities where it is very warm like in italy. -Monetaly policy is often made in order to change people's behaviour so if interest rates rise, they expect people to spend less and save more. -human beings are social animals who will often adopt the feelings and behaviour of those around them such as yawning or laughing. (2) There is a large component to behaviour that is internal -People's drive and motivation will largely be something that a person posses regardless of the enviornment in which they are -A component of free will allows for many to diverge from what the enviornment would push them to do, this is why some people risk their lives for others in situations where the expected behaviour would be to run away (3) There is a huge societal component to people's behaviour -accepted social norms like saying hello with kisses in france -rules that curb social behaviour like insulting healthcare professionals (4) Behaviour determined from examples and teachings at home -kids have no control over their raising -mimickery and tacit learning, hard to get rid of -See paterns of violence or misbehaviour "generational curses" (5) Some behaviour is controlled however , like commiting crime -not every person confronted with violence commits violence -Brave=to save others where a instinct and taught is to run (heros) (6) Addictive substances, gambling etc

Some people believe it is often necessary, even desirable, for political leaders to withhold information from the public. Others believe that the public has a right to be fully informed.

(1) Political leaders should hold information to keep order and avoid riots -Some sensitive information simply cannot be provided to all citizens like national security information, could get in the wrong hands (2)Politicians should with holde certain infromation like personal issues and anything that can cause a scandal -It distracts from more important issues -it is often irrelevent to the well being of the nation -It puts focus on charcater rather than actions which is not amazing (3) The government works on behalf on the people and if people do not know what is going on, there is little accountability and the people cannot provide an opinion (4) Incomplete info can be worse than info -JFK assassination docs are still being held by trump (5) Public can be lied to, kept uninformed and stupid to be controlled (6) some areas of gov should be fully transparent like legal system or economics

The well-being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority.

(1) Questioning is healthy because tests how useful, fair and valid the current society's laws and systems are. -Those in power might not always have the good of the country in mind i.e Christina Kirshner -Questioning can lead to change or start a movement like the feminist movement to give women rights in the united states. -It can go to the extent of creating revolutions like the french revolution where pesants felt they were mistreated and were tired of the povery and famine while rulers lived lavishly -Is a means to get rid of dictatorships by uniting against the rules set by authority -Elected officials are accountable to the people and they must face some pushback when they act wrongly, if not they may be continue acting in such a way (2) Questioning can be unhealthy because it can lead to civil unrest if done my a marginal group on unsound moral principles. -A society that is cohesive, follows and believes it a similar set of rules is more likely to succeed by working together and having fewer conflicts that can lead to collateral damage like riots, injuries, road closures, etc. -Countries nowadays are less homonegeous than they were in the past so they hold many more members of marginal groups and if all of these took actions against the authority to which most of the country looks up to then it might subvert the power of the government and lead usually peaceful parties to defend their beliefs leading to civil unrest.

Some people believe that society should try to save every plant and animal species, despite the expense to humans in effort, time, and financial well-being. Others believe that society need not make extraordinary efforts, especially at a great cost in money and jobs, to save endangered species. There is little justification for society to make extraordinary efforts—especially at a great cost in money and jobs—to save endangered animal or plant species. Society should make efforts to save endangered species only if the potential extinction of those species is the result of human activities.

(1) Ramifications from disturbance of ecosystems can cause society a lot of problems in the long term (2) Huge sense of responsibility and guilt for the species that human activity has erradicated (3)Possibility for smaller scale or cheap initiatives that do not affect society like stopping poachers that sell animals to highest bidder and stopping pollution of lakes which affect plant species and human! Finding better ways to dispose of pollutants. (4) There is a cultural heritage to certain species like Pandas for China and Kangaroos for Australia. These also bring money through zoos and other cultural attractions. (5) Large scale synergistic efforts by many countries to develop new ways to protect the environment of change the things we do to destroy it can lead to new technologies while providing work for people.

Colleges and universities should require all faculty to spend time working outside the academic world in professions relevant to the courses they teach.

(1) Remaining up to date on the industry trends and inner workings -What is observed in books often differs from the real world But may not be applicable to every professor, language teachers may find it more useful to spend time in a country that speaks their language, correspond in that language, etc. getting a job as a translator may be too much -professors may have more insight for their children (2) This may take time away from academic research and may lower the quality of teaching as less time is devoted. -May professors also teach classes, give speaches, etc all of this would disappear which would be bad for the college at is is good publicity

Scandals are useful because they focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could.

(1) Scandals can bring a lot of media attention and can involve individuals personally, unlike speakers and reformers do superficially. example: While many called for corporate reform in the early 2000s, it was not until the scandals with the likes of Enron, where people lost savings and jobs and it was all over the new that there was accounting and corporate governance reform. -increased the lvel of accountability and scrutiny in this particular field. -The increased complexity brought on by the additional parties composing the scandal makes it had for a single, widely acceptable solution to be decided upon and implemented. A variety of stakeholders will require different action, which often may even be contradictory, in order to deem the scandal solved. (2) Scandals can be seen as a deterrant for deviant behaviour due to the implications/consequences it generates -Political scandals can terminate a politician's career and even scandals that are not proven such as that of Kavanaugh and the supreme court nomination, the extent of media coverage plaid a large role in amplifying the problem -The same is true infast food chains like Chipotle where much more care is given to food quality and handling because an epidemic of E.coli could mean huge profit losses and a damaged reputation, both of which are more likely if the issue is made public and criticized (3) Scandals can lead those affected to persue a short term solution to calm the public rather than addredd the root cause of the issue and make further changes. -In this instance, the scandal makes people believe that the issue is resolved; this makes it even harder for speakers to push for suitable reform example: Apple was found to have stolen data from users who purchased Iphones back in the early 2000s, but instead of lating down the ground work for new data management and ownership policies, they offered a cash compensation to those affected and smothered the issue.

In any field of endeavor, it is impossible to make a significant contribution without first being strongly influenced by past achievements within that field.

(1) Some fields are created by revolutionaries who, by definition, could not have been influenced by past achievements and have made significant contributions. -Significant contributions can be simply based upon curiosity and theperson's ability to implament or research that topic example: gregor Mendel was a monk and scientist who created the study of what we know today as modern genetics. -rejecting the past achievements in one's field and looking for something beyond that can also lead to significant contributions. example: there was a rejection or remanticism and aspects of renaissance paintings but those who initiated the surrealist movement. The broke away from clean portraits and realistic paintings to dig into the absurd. (2) Many significant contributions are based upon the knowledge and theories obtained by previous researchers. -In many areas of theoretical science like physics one must base their models and understanding of the world on a set of rules that help us understand the univers and who were developed by past researchers. Many times a model can be improved or applied to different areas but the basic principles of matter, gravity and so on remain a basis for all research. -All of the studies in modern genetics are likely to be influences by the discovery of the double helix. Before that, very little was understood about genetic material and form there genese can be cut out and used in GMOs, take out, replaced, studied and so on. ARGUABLY even areorspace engeneering which did not exist one hundred years ago was based upon the knowledge of other sorts of engeneers since they got the first man on the moon. After that, the field was created and specialized engeneers were trained.

Some people believe that the most important qualities of an effective teacher are understanding and empathy. Others believe that it is more important for teachers to be rigorous and demanding in their expectations for students.

(1) Some students thrive under rigorous and demanding teaches but others may be demotivated by inflexibility -pushes students to the limits of what they believed could be achieved -can lead to very organized and effective lessons and teaching -some students may feel degraded and worthless so they effectively give up -students with specific needs and different learning abilities or techniques may not be catered to (visual learners, etc) (2) Understanding and empathy can lead to more tailored classes especially to insure no one gets left behind. -this can have the downside of being slower than the pace of the fastest learners -in our college, professors tailored their teaching methods to each class (we hated the digital board so they used a normal one) -It is a more encouraging and nurturing environment for students (3) both do not need to be mutually exclusive but in the context of learning, a greater focus on rigorous learning should be prioritized -a good formula is that in a 2 hour class, 1,45 mins is learning and 15 mins discussion (4) We must distinguish between affective empathy and cognitive empathy -affective empathy can make students more liking of the teacher and feel a more humane connection but students can abuse this with excuses and so on Cognitive empathy is a must for any student and relates to undertsnading the perspective of the student. For example when it comes to maths, teachers have a way of reaching solutions but they should understand, explain and encourage other methods that some students may find more intuitive instead of forcing on them a way that is less useful to them

People who are the most deeply committed to an idea or policy are also the most critical of it.

(1) Someone commited to an idea or policy may hold much more information and knowledge to formulate an in-depth critical analysis. -To convince anyone they would have to consider the flaws of it. A writer will be hell bent on producing the best possible quality of work. (2) When this is applied to such things as beliefs this may not hold like faith or values -A person who is devoted to the study of jesus christ is unlikely to criticise it because it is part of their identify -Similarly, those who believe in humanetarian aid or more socialsit redistrubutive policies for moral reasons may be less critical of the consequences because they rely on morality. (3) Many inventors or scientists have been critical of their own ideas and discoveries and have managed to prove themselves wrong. -They are best suited to understand and while others see it as a truth they see it as a process. (4) opponents of an idea can be even more critical of it since they are determined to not get it implemented or to have their own plan be implemented, We see this a lot in political debates. (5) Bias and other implications can prevent constructive critiques. We see this a lot in politics too where a certain group will help or fund a politician so that their malpractice of problems will not be discussed by the government official although he is very well informed about them

Teachers' salaries should be based on the academic performance of their students.

(1) Teachers may be incentivised to act in an inefficient way with students -Give higher grades than they deserve -Stray as little as possible from teaching methods than may not be proven to work styming creativity -It may affect the relationship students and teachers have, which will be financial. Being extra hard on those who don't keep up, which could create a harder environement for those who already struggle -It has been proven not to work, student was predicted beyond the total achievable and teacher was penalized -Running education like a business, commodification, is not great even in colleges (2) Some form of monitoring would be good but -Creating a win-win situation can be to keep a base salary but add bonuses for students who perform beyond expectations -Makes the salary management less complex, costly and subjective. (are senior teachers paid the same as novices?) (3) Learning outcomes are rarely determined by providing students with many tests at equivalent intervals -For this to work, test would have to be given at least monthly -Tests are argued to no always reflect learning but rather the ability to remember or "to take tests". It is common amongst students that there is a way to study and ace tests that does not promote deep learning

Although innovations such as video, computers, and the Internet seem to offer schools improved methods for instructing students, these technologies all too often distract from real learning.

(1) Technology provides many more distractions to the students and they are incompatible with the way that the brain understands and retains information. -Writting has been provent to promote recollection much better than typing on computers although most college students use them now and they are often a requiement fro education nowadays. -Many students in lectures have facebook and other social media open, phones have actually been banned from classrooms in france because they were proven to cause too many distractions throughout the school year (2) Videos and computers have helped make learning more interactive and efficent for many professors -Digital white boards allow for more clear and diverse explanations in classrooms, visual and auditory aids. They reduce time wasted cleaning white boards or limits to how thorough and descriptive professors can be - Introducing concepts on a medium that is more engaging to students can lead to higher interest, motivation and interaction. example: HR course in universities uses an online simulation to illustrate the problems that occur when team members struggle to communicate, infinately more clear that other wise would be. -The internet provides educators and students with greater resources and ways of teaching and learning than ever before and allow for creativity and variation in the teaching process. Like using quizlet's courses to foster competition and keep track of work at home. Student flexibility to study whenever and wherever they want while the teacher still monitors -Has allowed for additonal forms of teaching with online tutoring classes so other professors can impart knowledge and so on.

All college and university students would benefit from spending at least one semester studying in a foreign country.

-Provides worldliness and gives the opportunity to obtain further knowledge and different points of view. Visiting the culture and expanding the different people they know, their network as well as language skills. Especially in today's globalized world where most people speak 2 languages, ease of moving with such things as the erasmus program. example: history about world war II will be thought differently in Russia than in France or Italy, etc due to the points of view. -One can argue that students may misuse this time to focus more on visiting the locals. Distractions and possible distress for students who may be less willing to venture into unknown territory so young. The university abroad may be less riguorus than back home which would seem like a waste but the opposite can also be true. (2) Maybe they plan to work in their home country so do not need or want to leave. they may be supporting themselves at home, make better use of it otherwise, not have the money, etc. I is also a distraction from their studies

Claim: Any piece of information referred to as a fact should be mistrusted, since it may well be proven false in the future. Reason: Much of the information that people assume is factual actually turns out to be inaccurate.

(1) The process of scientific research is a rigurous one but futher studies and technological advancements can disprove facts we held dear. -Changes in the definitions of the world around us as data become more redily available, more precision is an advantage for information accuracy. Like pluto becoming a dwarf planet. -While is is healthy to be skeptical and curious about the world around us, there are great advantages to believeing in facts for society: they provide a basis for understanding and interacting with the world, they allow for decision making to be more accurate and precise. -Negative attitudes towards results from research can lead to decrease in reserach funding -example: if we assume the value of pi in mathematics is unreliable, it would be impossible to pursure deeper research in the field of mathematics, just like all of physics is based unpon the existence of dark matter, although never proven. -There are those in the scientific community tha are charged with peer review and analysis so there currently is a verification process -Negative attitudes towards the importance of research can slow down R&D which is crucial for the development and well-being of a society (2) Common misconceptions, beliefs and myths that we as a society believe are facts should be skeptical since they have no basis in research -Home remedies and superstitions are good examples like going out in the cold with wet hair has been disproven to cause illnessIt is common for a fact to be accompanied by a myth such as being exposed to solar eclipses, women and children will suffer no harm less than men but a solar eclips does generate higher than normal levels of radiation. It may be that truth is coated with myth. - "studies" that say one glass of wine a day is healthy (3) Certain areas and sources of information may be more prone to misportrayal and misrepresentation of facts -Partisan issues such as politics provided through television and newspapers are passed through a human filter so it is likely that some information may be false. -Currently many media sources advance "facts" that no legitimate scientist would confirm because of possible political gain like that of the additional genders apart from men and women.

The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries.

(1) Their contemporaries may not be able to accept or recognize the greatness of individuals (shift in social standards and values) -Charles Darwin was mocked for saying humans came from apes, only praised after his death (greater focus on science, not how awesome humans are) -Galileo Galilei was imprisoned for his ideas regargind the position of earth in the solar system (same here) -Van Gogh dies poor without recognition. (different easthetics) (2) Their contemporaries may value their greatness because it fits the social context of the time and this context persists over time -Authors like Martk Twain or Shakespear were highly praised by contemporaries -Archimedes was also highly valued by the emporor (3) It is usually only after a 'great' individual has died that details that may change opinion on them emerge (Michael jackson is a pedo, Steve Jobs was a bad person that didn't pay child support)

Claim: Many problems of modern society cannot be solved by laws and the legal system. Reason: Laws cannot change what is in people's hearts or minds.

(1) There are problems such as social problems that cannot be solved by laws -Social cohesion right now is abig issue relating to why there are mass shootings in the USA, often the abundance of mental health issues is also brought up: neither can be solved by laws (2) Fiancial issues in society such as pollution or even the makeup of the labour market for jobs and to be competitive -The government would have a huge hand in solving may societal problems. (3) Law and the legal system can solve behavioural issues in society by providing guidelines to what is acceptable or unacceptable. -oftent he laws of a country will be the reflection of some values in that society such as countries who uphold the death sentence -laws provide order to a society

Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and to disobey and resist unjust laws.

(1) We are social beings Society provides us with advantages so we ow it to others (2)The laws are made to keep everyone safe The laws keep order and allow for everything to function (3) Accountabilility by law makers, resist unfair treatement is shown in history like french revolution or amaerican revolution

The most effective way to understand contemporary culture is to analyze the trends of its youth.

(1) Youth may not represent the trends of contemporary culture as a whole -they are a subsection of society BUT youth may show values taught by their parents and that represent the current generation -Elders are the largest section of society with an aging population and they have more disposable income than the youth, their focus will be very different and less restricted by funds. (2) Nowadays youth and the internet they have trends that change on a daily basis -A lot of convergence in the youth of today in similar hemispheres so it may be less clear than other segments of society (3)While youth may practice more social trends and engage more than their order counterparts, they are not enough to understand contemporary culture as a whole. -different age groups -interest groups or even ehtnic groups express different aspects of culture.

To be an effective leader, a public official must maintain the highest ethical and moral standards. If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it are justifiable.

(1) a leader with a strong moral and ethical standard is more likely to stay aligned with ideas and plans that benefit the people who follow him and makes him less likely to act in his own interest. Many CEO's and CFO's have been deemed to be great leaders because they have success in achieving goals and mobilizing people to get things done but their lack of morals lead to the company being shut down (enron) and thousands loosing their jobs and pensions. Leader works for the people just like they work for him. CEOs today often pay themselves a symbolic salary as a show that they are not greedy, it is expected by the public that they should focus on the goal: growing the business and not be rapacious. (2) "the cause may justify the means" since often there is no way to achieve a goal without commiting some acts one may not find ethical. For instance the American civil war leading to their indepencence had a few great leaders who got their followers to victory but many opponents were killed in battle and likely scacrifices were made by there own, without accounting for collateral damage. (3) goals can be achived by those who may not be successful leaders, while hitler mobalized forces and was working fast in his plan to erradicate those of jewish heritage, his morals were weak and his hurt his own very often. A great leader will be one that achieves a goal with the least possible deviation from ethical behaviour. (4) Strong morals can rally people to the leader's cause because they feel they are on a mission with value, to do good. Bad morals can make followers more weary of their pertainance to the group. Trust in leaders leads to better results which working towards a goal

Claim: Colleges and universities should specify all required courses and eliminate elective courses in order to provide clear guidance for students. Reason: College students—like people in general—prefer to follow directions rather than make their own decisions. Some people believe that universities should require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student's field of study. Others believe that universities should not force students to take any courses other than those that will help prepare them for jobs in their chosen fields. Educational institutions should actively encourage their students to choose fields of study in which jobs are plentiful.

-There is simplicity is not making one's own decisions and this is part of human nature and often students get lost which can lead to them dropping out (my close friend Benedict) or wasting their time in a feild, not finish and start over (Like my cousin who started a law degree, architect degree and MBA but never finished). -Feeling forced into doing something that you dont like leads to quitting or little engagement, which is also a human trait: we like the freedom to choose. Especially for universities, they should provide the opportunity to expand knowledge and persue one's interests, not curb and impose their own ideas. Could discourage some from going to college People like guidance not forcefulness as would indicate all the wars for freedom that have occurred. -A middle ground, used right now, allowes for all the colleges deem necessary info to be provided to students such as basics like maths and english that students are likely not to want to take by gives choice for other stuff. -Colleges should not impose anything but rather give pupils the option to choose themselves, a mixed system currently exists with a set of electives and a set of mandatory courses. -other courses can take away from main courses or areas in which the student needs more practice -a diversity of classes will appeal to the many that do not know exactly what to do with their lives initially and makes for more well rounded individuals as well as satiating the curiosity and desire of those who are interested in adjacent topics doing one thing doesn't prevent the other. leonardo da Vinci was an artist and a scientist and this helped him in his work -Clear guidance can be given with a person to counsel them instead of prohibiting elective courses. People discover new skills and areas of interest through elective courses .

Claim: While boredom is often expressed with a sense of self-satisfaction, it should really be a source of embarrassment. Reason: Boredom arises from a lack of imagination and self-motivation.

(1) one could argue that boredom has been exasperated by social change with increasingly more information through social media and the like -With the advent of constant information and sites like vine that give 7 second videos, children expect manufactured external stimuli constantly instead of creating their own -A reduced attention span may be manifested by an environment that has magnified the meaning of entertainment to the point that what one can create within their own mind is no longer enough. When we watch bollywood movies they are outrageous just to capture attention. (2) Boredom may arise instead from a lack of purpose associated with the task at hand -arguably one can create a sense of purpose but this can be hard for repetitive tasks or menial jobs like factory assembly lines. Boredom can thus manifest as depression rather than a lack of imagination and motivation (3) Boredom may also arise from solitude -No matter how many books or how many activities one has, humans are social creatures that will often feel melancholy when alone. -Those in solitary confinement still go crazy even when given activities to do (4) Outside of the aforementioned cases boredom can be a clear sign of lack of motivation and imagination as would be the case in college lecture -many students will say a class is boring but one can argue that knowledge for a certain course can always be extrapolated and used to enhance another area that one may care about. For instance a law student may find a creative writing class boring but legal writing can be greatly enhanced by a good understanding and use of words that can prove to create more compelling cases. Creative writing is open to all areas and thus not looking into it further is a sign of weakness by the student

Educators should base their assessment of students' learning not on students' grasp of facts but on the ability to explain the ideas, trends, and concepts that those facts illustrate.

(1) remebering facts may not be a good indication of understanding. -A lot of students today learn information by heart for a test and then forget it because they do not understand the concepts behind it which leads to no retention -May not be able to apply knowledge to other situations or fields which is very limiting -there are complaints by college students who do not feel reads for the real world because simply knowing facts does not provide the tools for practical application in different instances, grasps of the concepts is fundamental. (could argue assessments should be applied to more practical real life situations) - A change in assessment methods is necessary to switch to a focus on fundamentals. But that involves more complex evaluation methods and virtual reform of all of them currently which many do not want to deal with (2) Because of the way evaluations are structured many professors and learning materials are not sturctured to teach and evaluate grasps of concepts and ideas -The ease of multiple choice questions and standard responses makes grading much simpler. -Strong convernegence in terms of information is academic books and the method of explaining. -Books may often prepare students to respond to a certain type of answers in a certain way (3) Higher grasps of concepts and trends rather than facts would promote greater critical thinking and applications/ engagement from those learning -It would require more work than simply memorizing - The content of examps would be harder to predict and there would be a need to know all the concepts in order to provide clear and complete responses -It would leave space for creativity and innovation which is not not encouraged -facts are more easy to get, not concepts (4) some evaluations of the ability to retain facts is important for example in medecine where there are many compounds used to make reactions of medicine. If you remeber how a medicine works but not its components then you may really hurt someone. Same for things like law where a lot is based on remebering laws (5) University is based on self study and should encourage students to seek out more info. Including the need for more than learning the textbook by heart can force students to read more in the news paper or seek outside information. -KCL Entrepreneurial Finance exam was exactly that

The primary goal of technological advancement should be to increase people's efficiency so that they have more leisure time.

(1)(1) Technology may allow for changes in workforce and give opportunities women to become more independent and strong -With many household tasks now being more efficient (Dishwashers, washing machines), women have swiftly moved into the workforce. -Other elements like all day kindergarten and longer school days have given mothers more time during the day. -More women than ever before hold a job and even high paying CEO, lawer jobs. -Women who used to be married younger and have fewer yeras of education now outnumber men in colleges and social demographics are changing and marrige is falling, women live alone more that the did before. (2)Technology aims to solve issues and provide opportunities that cannot be obtained otherwise -increased communication -better travel -better healthcare -safe technology in cars to reduce accidents (3) Efficient technology provideing leisure time allows for greater development in culture and health -People have more time to engage in the arts or sports -sponsors a better work life balance which boosts the happiness of a nation -increased leisure time is a measure of development in a country -provides more time for rest aslo since people are not overworked which allows for more efficient workers.

Any leader who is quickly and easily influenced by shifts in popular opinion will accomplish little. Some people believe that in order to be effective, political leaders must yield to public opinion and abandon principle for the sake of compromise. Others believe that the most essential quality of an effective leader is the ability to remain consistently committed to particular principles and objectives.

(1)Being easily influenced by the will of the people is likely to make actions very slow to occur, less logical and targeted -Compromise with large groups of people takes a lot of dicussion, which can take very long, lead to unfavourable outcomes if one side has more bargaining power and may lead decisions over time to not be focused but rather a series of unconnected concessions made to each party. -In order to achieve a common goal, short term complicated decisions must be made that different parties will not agree with. For example, Macron is attempting to lower the budget deficit which we all agree on but when pensions start to be cut and TGVs stop being produced riots arise on both side or one side but he maintains his ideas and is not influences. He rarely even addresses the people directly, ha says he was elected to achieve a goal and that is what he is doing (2)Leaders that can keep the eye on the ball by finding an ideal widely supported by the people and take all necessary steps, popular or not, to get there will be more successful -Abraham Lincoln and slavery -Focused policies that work well together are necessary because if not both can be counter productive. For example, if a group wants employment to rise then it is common to provide large corporations who are employers and incentive to hire more though tax cuts or subsidies but if the public agrees large corporations do not contribute enough to society and must be more highly regulated, this creates a more restrictive enviornment for firms so they may not hire even with the cuts. -Keeping an ideal in mind, rather than making decisions popular at a the time contribute to a long term outlook which history and economics has been proved to be auspicious to a county's development - not compromising provides credibility to the leader and emphasises his strength of character and his morality and values. (3)Effective leaders must enact the desires of the people but it may be that these are not the best for the country and leaders do so anyways for popularity -Barack Obama concieted may rules to the LGBT community which held many rallies and protests and marches, but most today would deem that it was a heavily devisive move on his part. -Approval ratings are cucial for such entities as presidents or candidates who might give concessions to large groups, even though they may be wrong as is the case for illigal immigration in the USA. (4) being too conciliatory can make you look weak, untrustworthy and undecided. We see Elizabeth Warren going back and forth with her ideas to please whomever she is talking to which causes mistrust

In any field of inquiry, the beginner is more likely than the expert to make important contributions.

(1)Often a combination of beginner qualities and expert knowledge -Break thoughs are composed on the curiosity, drive and different outlook that is often attributed to begginers who are not weighed down by rules and policies they have been taught but also knowledge as an ability to leverage those qualities. If cannot leverage than break throughs cannot be made. (2) Some fields require knowledge but value beginner qualities -In government and politics, there is a lot of focus on knownledge of how mechanisms work and a oerson's ability to manipulate the. However, poloticians who are knowledgable but have a new outlook, who are not weighed down by previous approaches to politics (often the creativity and optimism shown by begginers) will be praised such is the case with Emmanuel Macron, one of our youngest presidents yet. He is highly educated by does not believe in precedence, he makes his own interpetations and works outside the box. -Scientits must also know how components interact, their utility, their chemical composition but it is innovative ideas, combinations or different applicabilities that lead to break throughs in patient treatment for instance. Fleming who discoverd penecilin was simply curious about a growth he had accidentally created but it was this in combination with his knowledge that allowed him to understand what he had created and use it. (3) Some fields are more open to beginners contributing more that experts -In the arts, although an expert painter may know a variety of techniques, it can be a begginer who's imagination is vivid and who works outside the box that can create important contributions. -Experts may be contrained by their knowledge or may simply rely on their expertise instead of venturing beyond what is known and lauded.

The human mind will always be superior to machines because machines are only tools of human minds.

(1)Recent developemnt in AI technology- machine learning and reasoning. -machines can use their experience to build knowledge logically example: integrated personal assistant AI evolving like siri or cortana can manage your schedule, schdule meetings and appointments at a lower cost, with fewer errors and can anticipate weather, traffic issues. (2) Machines do not have any of the limits and disadvantages that humans have. increased efficiency -Machines never get tired, or have to take any breaks. -they can process huge amounts of data very fast -they dont need to learn anything, just be programmed -they have no biases (3)Machines are programed by people and cannot exist without them, but mostly they cannot create or think outside of their progam. -engeers can make models that are applied my machines but machines cannot come up with new theories and models on their own. example: A machine cannot access outside knowledge, or acquire any new capabilities without the program being made by a human then inserted into it. (4) Machines do not have the nuances that real people can have exmaple: machines, although some have facial recognition, cannot interpret correctly social ques, feelings or such nuances as sarcasm.

People's attitudes are determined more by their immediate situation or surroundings than by society as a whole.

(1)Society's rules, expectations, components shape a persons attitudes conciously or unconciously -The attributes, features and chracteristics of those society props up are often a great reflection of the values they uphold. Many of which can influence the population and children. Example: Love island, a tv show, int ehUK was said to be highly promoted and promote plastic surgery for young girls and boys. The governemnt, not wanting such an image, forced the ads to be taken down. In the same way the gov made cigarette packs less attractive so people would find them dull and less attractive -Govenments put out awareness campagns to influece behaviours and attituedes, they also physically setup the country to promote certain behaviour and stop others. examples: removing the taboo from HIV, promoting getting tested, setting up spikes where skaeboarders usially skate, setting betches in parks facing each other and even setting up charge stations where you have to peddle toencourage excercise (2) Immediate situations can lead people to act differently than they would under normal situations -High stress situations where people make decisions based solely on instinct and what they have before them -When something like fukushima can rapidly change the attitudes many have towards using nuclear energy. (3)There is a large genetic, upbrining element to people's attitudes -The enviornment we have as a kind can shape how we behave later like patterns of violence and sexual abuse tend to be repreated or lead to mental illness -Parents foster certain attitudes more and destroy others, they provides sets of values and rights and wrongs. These attitudes tend to remain as we age.

Governments should focus on solving the immediate problems of today rather than on trying to solve the anticipated problems of the future.

(1)Some problems of tomorrow can only be solved today -Preparation from possible economic downturn or even setting the groudwork for high economic growth is a long term project. Arguably the government's job is to focus on long term outlook for its citizens. -Prevention of future problems can save citizens, time, money and pain like a country that is knon to be seismic but has not been in a long time, governments who spend decades building appropriate housing will reap the benefits if tragedy happens later. -Government focus on short term issues can be very dangerous like in france with poor infrastructure and the collapse of a bridge. (2)Sometimes the problems of today can only be really solved tomorrow -If there is high unemployement, governments can react in the short term with welfare payments or other quick relief policies but the only reals solution will be a supply side policy to expand the economy and create more jobs although this takes a few years and may not be guaranteed to work (3) Certain issues must be dealt with immediately -Immediate issues such as hurricaine releafe for survivors, as was the case in Florida, should be a top priority in comparison with other non essential long term plans. -If long term projects are diverting funds from where they are more needed then should be put on stand by like if rebuilding infrastructure but there is an epidemic in the country, divert funds to health care in short run. (3)Since the whole society that comes under one rule is subject to the same laws of the society, it is the responsibility of the governing authority to make sure that the laws pertain to the general public and are not against them. For this purpose while formulating laws the government must look into the needs of the society. Moreover, since the needs of a society as a whole are not fixed and are subject to time, place and circumstances, laws should also not be fixed

Claim: Nations should suspend government funding for the arts when significant numbers of their citizens are hungry or unemployed. Reason: It is inappropriate—and, perhaps, even cruel—to use public resources to fund the arts when people's basic needs are not being met.

(1)The arts help enrich the culture of a country -the arts may be used as a way to keep up moral in a country . France has many dark sarcastic journals like Charlie Hebdo that make dark times more fun. Art articulates the unspeakable like we see with art during war times BUT it is possible that these create jobs of their own so there may be a cost to cutting funding (2) Arts can provide many jobs to the young and those struggling with school -Limited jobs in the sector and can be used also to give something to do to kinds on the street so don't start gangs -Can stimulate tourism like the Louvre in Paris -Art industry in the US accounts for almost 5% of GDP and over 700 billion dollars (3) Government funds is taken from taxpayers and should thus be used for their benefit and hunger is more important than a painting (4) Government funds may only represent a small portion of all the money generated by the arts, it would then make sense to stop funding them as they will continue to operate

It is more harmful to compromise one's own beliefs than to adhere to them.

-Our beliefs define who we are. Nonetheless, this might make you ossified in your personal growth. Mental development as well as fitting in socially is also important. (1)Compromising on beliefs does more good, following beliefs does bad Anti-vaxers are dangerous to everyone. (2) Compromise of beliefs cause harm when it comes to ethics Abraham Lincoln's rejection to compromise on his belief for equality and freedom for all, without any discrimination of color and race. Lincoln did not let the strong opposition of the southern states, ruthless civil war and the subsequent bloodshed to intimidate him in the process of abolition of slavery. Harmful short-term but good in the long term (3) Bad when your lack of compromise means infringing other's beliefs The road to hell is paved with good intentions. -adherence to one's own beliefes is always tha best for one's self and usually fine for others unless your beliefs are not accepted by society. Like could be the case which the Nazis or white supremacists. adherence to their beliefs is more harmful then if they were to compromise. being unwilling to compromise on your own beliefs often goes hand in hand with suppressing other people's beliefs. this is why we have religious and ideological warfare between groups that feel frightened of losing power because of diversity or because the other thought is wrong or dangerous. Palestine and Israel. (4) Not compromising beliefs can reduce learning or expansion to new ideas. -Galileo presented the heliocentric model others could not let go of their beliefs to learn new information.

In most professions and academic fields, imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination vs experience Reason: People who lack experience are free to imagine what is possible without the constraints of established habits and attitudes.

-Approaching a problem by thinking outside the rules and boundries set can allow for innovative thinking (outside the box) BUT still require some knowledge like the Wright brothers, inventors of the airplaine, thought outside the constraints of habits but were engeneers also! Good example is steve jobs too. example: authors rely more on imagination than experience writing or author knowledge. -some feilds require knowledge for imagination to even make sense like physicists where a layperson could not even know what to imagine without being intimately familiar with the concepts or surgeons with innovative ideas must still know very well how the body works. Famoust artists like Picaso, Da Vinci, Bob Marley reached the paragon of their field because of their imagination not because of knowledge in their particular field. Mere bookish knowledge about art, music, engineering would not make marvelous piece of work, imagination is critical to create that bookish knowledge into reality Albert einstein: knowledge is limited. imagination encircles the world" people often cite that for a programmer he needs to know how to program before even imagination but programming is twofold. you have the planner and the builder. an unknowldgable planner may simply try to find the best way of organizing, functioning or building and if the builder says things aren't done like that or I dont know how to then they build something new. its pushes the limits of the field. when Steve jobs spoke about the touch screen, they had to build it from little to no information. what built it was imagination of how to recomine current and new knowledge etc.

Some people claim that the goal of politics should be the pursuit of an ideal. Others argue that the goal should be finding common ground and reaching reasonable consensus.

-Common ground policy-wise is hard to achieve, trying to please everyone may lead to delays or outcomes that dont completely satisfy any party. example: the brexit bill is close to being a no deal exit, no one agrees on what they want, very delayed -Ideals are more easily followed, less specific like independence for Brexiters. The ideal of the UK as taking back control drove the process. To reach ideals some policies must be established that some will oppose. example: Macron ran on the ideal that France should become lucrative again, full agreement, but when pensions lowered and projects cancelled, some people were mad. BUT reliance on common ground at each stage can destrict from main goal or ideal -Arguably the pursuit of an ideal can be stymied by a lack of consensus and common ground as today strong opposition campaigns can change the tide and one cannot make unilateral decisions in government. -I would like to argue for a 3rd stance: that the goal of politics should be to achieve a clear, plausible and provable goal instead of quixotic plans and other things that cannot be demonstrated.

Some people argue that successful leaders in government, industry, or other fields must be highly competitive. Other people claim that in order to be successful, a leader must be willing and able to cooperate with others. The best way for a society to prepare its young people for leadership in government, industry, or other fields is by instilling in them a sense of cooperation, not competition.

-Cooperation alows leaders to leverage othe people's skills/talent and their time/labor. Cooperation is the key to success in a world where you need others to achieve success. CEOs must get their workforce to work efficiently, governments must often rely on the majority vote to impose legislation or get it to be popular enough to be accepted by the public. example: Before a CEO can be created they must usually get external funding, advantageous business partners or other forms of help from outsiders who whill expect somthing in return. Godd cooperation and relations with these outsiders is what leads to success. -Competition is an inherent human trait which is less rare, so the best leaders will likely already possess it. Many leaders exhibit internal drive to succeed, often that zealot in working hard to achieve something is manifested in a competitive form. i.e many government offered loans are highly competitive, entrpreneurs compete for funds from investors and must make themselves inherently more attractive than rivals. example: Religious leaders like the pope do not require competition to be successful but rather to create unity behind the faith, mainly through cooperation with other religious institutions and govornments across the globe -cooperation is less simple and natural and is not individualistic thus should be taught to children in school

No field of study can advance significantly unless it incorporates knowledge and experience from outside that field.

-Interdiciplinary knowledge can lead to great advancements such as the eradication of deseases ike small pox, the vaccine was effective but it's impact was amplified by the ability to mass produce, distribute and coordinate for it to be admisnistered around the globe thanks to technology. Lead to eradication and the concept of group immunity. -Arguably many who discover new things in feilds have little information about other feilds, like Einstein in mathematics. There is very little profe that elements of biology or social sciences in envolved in a science componsed totally of numbers. -Physics is said to be the foundation for all other sciences based on this any advancement in other areas is based on basic understanding of the charcateristics of matter (the molding and reactions of clay and other materials for sculpture or architecture), gravity (inverse action potentials in a plant's xylem) or even such things are light and perception (in the feild of optometry where near sighted and far sighted people see differently due to light refraction) -some fields may have significant advancements from within, example is in art the surrealist movement started by a french poet in Paris did not reflect real experiences or truths but rather purely a result of his imagination and his knowledge and tools in the arts. But even the history of art as we study it today uses chemistry and x-rays to tell what's underneath, date them etc. Economics is a field that mainly builds on top of itself with experiences within its own field. We see that with the difference crisis, depressions, policy choices etc. Although prediction today is aided by mathematics it builds upon past info within its own field The realm of politics is the area that involves the most professionals outside this field because public leaders have to deal with a diverse issues and problems domestically and internationally First, in the realm of business, it is very common to observe many professionals outside of business are brought into business field. For instance, in an effort to increase the sales revenue, many companies assiduously finds a way to understand minds of consumers by employing psychologists for their marketing research departments.

The best way to solve environmental problems caused by consumer-generated waste is for towns and cities to impose strict limits on the amount of trash they will accept from each household.

-Not the best way: May lead to illigal dumping, and sanitation issue with bad disposal, may punish larger households compared to smaller ones. example: families that care for their elders, disposal in rivers, country side can lead to mroe cleaning necessary. -Other ways: Increased recycling facilities would reduce consumer generated waste, should be done at the company level/supplier level example: use recyclable packaging and adjust to differnet family units, no longer nuclear, ro reduce waste

Claim: Major policy decisions should always be left to politicians and other government experts. Reason: Politicians and other government experts are more informed and thus have better judgment and perspective than do members of the general public.

-We live in democracy so ordinary people still have a say, ignoring them would put all the power in government so looks more like big govenment scheme. -although many politicians are elected to represent the will of the people, they cannot be left to their own devices. Hitler was elected Maduro in Venezuela was elected. -the policies affect mainly the people, govenrment officials are elites often living in a bubble. They have very different problems than the majority of the people in their nations. youth clubs for example. -political actors may be politically motivated to make policies for their own interest, including other members can be a form of monitoring like on the board of directs to improve corporate governance and fight the agency problem

In any situation, progress requires discussion among people who have contrasting points of view. We can learn much more from people whose views we share than from people whose views contradict our own. Reason: Disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning.

-a good long term example is what should be done on global warming and how fast is it happening. (1) Disagreement can lead to counterproductive exchanges -People can get defesive, make personal attacks or attempt to shut down conversation is topics are too emotionally loaded -Disagreement depends on how receptive each party is because they can just come to the conclusion that they agree to disagree or attribute the other persons ideas to ignorance. (2) Disagreement can lead to assumpions and flaws being pointed out and solved -People use assumptions, inadvertedly or not, to prove their points but when faced with an opposing view, they may be evaluated and proven wrong. -Flaws in reasoning that are generally accepted by proponents on the point of view will have to be defended or reformulated in order to be accepted by the opposing party (3)Disagreement can lead to the creation of new ideas as people attempt to compormise or reach common ground -If both parties find flaws in their arguments they may examine other sources or explanations that may bring to light new reasoning. -PArties may find common ground and attempt do develop the thinking around it since people often by nature attempt to agree and connect on an ideological level. This promotes healthy dicussion. (4) Discussion with those who share our views can help deepen our understanding and be less likely to be counterproductive -Those who share our views may have additonal information on topics of interest which can deepen out understanding. -They may often share similar sources and knowledge which makes conversations interesting, increases the liklihood of exhange and limits counterproductive behaviours -Those who share our views may still difere in their approaches to problems or topics and somthing can be learnt in terms of analysis from them.

Nations should pass laws to preserve any remaining wilderness areas in their natural state.

-huge case to be made for social benefits of green places. Study about green places in cities reducing stress and increasing happiness which can have overall good effects on the economy as well as improve the attractiveness of cities. (2) larger scale considerations of habitat destruction like fewer bees in the USA affecting the fauna and flora of the area as the ecosystems that make up our environment (1) Many places are short on affordable living due to little space so may argue that some of which can be used to build homes should be allocated also in interest of people. example: high density areas like london or san fransisco (4) Laws are not the most effective ways of preserving wilderness areas. -People break the laws and if no one is there to enforce them and monitor them then they will be useless. -The wilderness must be maintained or it can become a danger to itself, the animals within it and humans in the vicinity. Accumulated under growth, dead leaves and the expansion of undesirable trees can lead to forest fires, the natural disappearance of some plant and animal species. Better to allow humans to manage it but with supervision and rules. My dad has wood cutting business as example.

Educational institutions have a responsibility to dissuade students from pursuing fields of study in which they are unlikely to succeed.

-success has to do with how much you work or are motivated, so picking s field you would like will help. In France many are pushed towards engineering in the Grandes Ecoles but schools know this and less than half are accepted into the following year. -university is there to expand your mind and give you resources, not make decisions for you. That is where their responsibility ends. We must make good use and acknowledge that they have more information about the job market and statistics on student success afterwards. Use this to make children informed. -It is often hard, or even impossible, to judge the success of someone before they have even started or been given a chance. We think of many success stories where no one would have bet on them like JK Rowling -One must also take into account the self-interest that the school may have in doing so. Having many of their graduates enter fields in which they fail is not good for the university's image or scoring. They get a bad reputation for inept graduates and their stats on post college employment and average salaries fall. Making the school much less attractive to incoming students while also lowering the prestige of the school for students who have already graduated.

Some people believe that competition for high grades motivates students to excel in the classroom. Others believe that such competition seriously limits the quality of real learning. Competition for high grades seriously limits the quality of learning at all levels of education.

1. (CP) Positive influence of competition for high grade - reflect one's academic performance, encourage working hard, give motivation; However, focus too much on the grade may lead to overlook of comprehension -cramming: learning a lot in short time then forget all -key points: memorized name and year without comprehension -get easy A then no longer study 2. In the real world, work place, score does not mean ability -skilled at test-taking but no communication, people skill or real application -memorize text-book, not critical thinking skills, can't make independent decision 3. Too much competition is not good for the students -high pressure--mental disorder: suicide, depression (suicide in China among college students) -student pass out or puke on standardized tests -no friendly learning environment, fear to express one's own feeling, grades determine value -my lead some to drop out importance of the type of assessment and grading. essay based may not need understanding. many companies today offer essay writing services. a mixture of oral, participation or even practical helps give more rounded image and prevents paid work or students walking like automatons.

Learning is primarily a matter of personal discipline; students cannot be motivated by school or college alone.

Agree with the statement but there is also action from parent/guardians that enforce the value of learning or work at home. (1) self-dicipline -No matter how interesting the content is, students must posses certain acquired attiudes that bolster learning: effort, curiosity, percivierence. However, to maximise learning elements of values taught at home (value of learning, positive continuous working habits) and elements taught in schools (teaching tactics, interesting and accessible curriculum) will be needed. (2)school/college -They play a central role in making the content be interesting and accessible to students by allowing for flexibility and attempting to adapt the content to students interests -Colleges must provide information and resources to simplify the learning process for studnets such as expanding their knowledge of study techniques -School are also in change of making sure the professors attempt to inculcate these values of learning (3)Home/ parents/ guardians -A home where time is given for work, there is quiet and learning resources like books and computers. -Inculcated the value of success and knowledge like giving small rewards for good grades and asking chikdren about what they learnt at school -Following up and being a positive influence on a student's learning will help foster self discipline and assigne value to learning

Leaders are created by the demands that are placed on them.

Are leaders made or born? (1)Main issue is that traits are composed of innate traits like charisma, passion and creativity which cannot be taught. -being likable can be leveraged especially commonly for comedians or public figues, but often it is not as organic as thos who are simply charismatic. It may have to do with the sound of one's voice or their physical appearance which cannot change. Followers will likely pick up on non-genuine leaders if they try to be what they are not. for example: president Obama was known across the world for being highly charismatic, light hearted and funny and even though may presidents try to make jokes and seem approachable few, do it as well as obama. (2) Other traits like good communication, decision-making and delegation can often be taught. -Demands placed by professors or circumstance can help help provide additional traits/knowledge/experience that help to become a leader -those that will stand out however, will be those who already had a combination of the innate traits already naturally. example: the che guevara was in a circumstance where the people demanded change and his passion (an innate trait) made him take upon the task of leading the country to freedom. He arguably did not have any training in decision-making or leading of any type. He simply rose because of the circumstances in which he was. example: an executive may be highly trained but when put in front of the workforce he is incapable of motivating it and mobilizing it simply because they dont trust him or simply do not like him or want to follow him.

In order for any work of art—for example, a film, a novel, a poem, or a song—to have merit, it must be understandable to most people.

Art is too extensive of a field, with too many diverging elements to have a single standard applied to it -so not all works need to be understood but some rely on understanding to convey the artist's intent. (1)Poems and novels need the reader's understanding to convey their point effectively because it relies soley on text to convey ideas and emotions. -Rely on beauty of the words chosen, cohesion and the way in which words are organized which determines it's merit. -Strength of how ideas and emotions are conveyed, although they can be nuanced, they must not be equivocal -If too complex and convoluted it may not be appealing to most people and it may lead to very different interpretations shich would make it less powerful. (2) Music does not necessarly have to be understood to be appreciated because it relies on more than text but rather auditive effect with melody. -The choice of tones and instruments may not hold any meaning and may not be more than a choice to create a sonorous composure. Music is not necessaryly made to be articulate. -The intent of the song may be simply to have a relaxing or calming effect on this listener, so if it can achieve it's purpose, the song holds merit without a need for understanding (3) paintings are often the least reliant on words and attempt to convey emotions. -Paintings are often judged on their widespread ability to provoke emotional responses or reflection in those who admire it and this is its merit. -example: Dali paintings would not be appreciated. -ASSUMING everything had to be understood that the representations of art would be mostly mundane scenes and objects, it would not go beyond what is experienced by most people.

Critical judgment of work in any given field has little value unless it comes from someone who is an expert in that field.

critiques can be for different aspects of work produced Academic of highly theoretical work must be experts since lay people cannot understand the implications of the thepries or experiments Cohesion, persuasiveness and other understanding issues can be done by laypeople since more likelt to no rely on previous knowledge. evaluations of the value of work may be done by dirrent ypes of people, experts or non experts example: authors like orwell and 1984 was liked by readers and not peers but he writes for people to enjoy Scientist have their own community review to deem a piece of research right or relavant which has nothing to to with whether the public appreciates it or not, in fact they are very rarely accessible to the larger public. - more critiques from those with differing views can help fight biases inherent in human nature, subjectivity and give a more holistic view ie political commentators often use sociological studies and critique them for their applicability

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. As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more complex and mysterious.

As we acquire more knowledge we know less as more complex questions come up. (1) History of universe and acquiring knowledge. Only want to know more. As we start to learn more about how the universe functions, we ask how such processes come about and an explanaition that was already complex requires an even greater explanaition. Knowledge reveals hom much more there is to be uncovered (2) Great individual in the history also point out that the greater the knowledge they gain, the more mysterious they see the world - Newton: establish the theory of gravitation, 3 laws of motion; yet when he gain more understand of the world, he realized that stars and planets are move perfectly in some ways, and start to puzzle about the origin of the universe - Aristotle: the more you know the more you don't know (3) A better understanding of things like earthquakes, droughts or other events, which our snacestors often attributed to the gods, has helped us take preventative measures but also have people be less afraid of their surroundings because the unknown is scary. The increase mobility people have and freedom is partially due to the knowldege they share of why things happens and how not to make them happen. How the weather behaves or how diseases are transmited gives us the power to control and overcome obstancles. We are more mobile, more curious more daring than our ancestors who, for fear of the unknown, stayed within the confines of their world.

Educators should teach facts only after their students have studied the ideas, trends, and concepts that help explain those facts.

Eduactors tend to do both but the order may vary and the necessity and how prepared the student is may vary (1)Facts without the ideas and trends may be more useful at certain times -A genereal concept understood by most adults is that the money we have in an economy comes from the central bank. Few children or adults really need to know or know more that this. The concepts of interest rate setting, how money creates inflation or even the capital reserves held by the bank have no incidence on their lives and are highly complex (2)Facts without concepts and trends may be due to the student's ability to comprehend them -When students start learning calculations they are told that numbers dividible by 9 add up to a multiple of 9 as a trick to help but if they had be explained the algebraic explanation before hand it would have been too complex and if the teacher had had to wait until agebra were learnt then the teaching wouldlikely not be very coherent (3)Trends and concpets before the facts may bypass the reliance on students to ask why or how when given a fact, many may simply accept it and not ask. -Students may just want to get good grades or may feel like the information is enough. Starting with concepts may lead to them looking for a real life applicability and making connections through reasoning.

The increasingly rapid pace of life today causes more problems than it solves.

Increase other people's well-being Solved: (1) Increase education around the world with more accessibility to information and more people have been pulled out of poverty than ever before example: increased literacy and opportunities for knowledge and skills to be leveraged across the world -Connector: information in academic education and health education (2) Increased healthcare and health awareness across the world example: doctors without borders and importing vaccines and other medicines, young girls learning about sexual health in very taboo locations New problems: (1) global warming though pollution by waste and mobility like planes and cars. exmaple: florida has had more hurricains than in the past 5 decades. more diseases from air pollution (2) Decrease in social behaviour despite more easy communication. People leave the house less, meet in person less which is linked to social problems. Example: Increased violence example: social issues that may lead to increased shootings by youngsters in the population and harrassing example: cyberbullying Diseases like agoraphobia, anxiety and stress disorders. (5) Increasingly competitive environment with the many businesses which have created many goods and services that better the lives of millions. Along with advancements in healthcare and infrastructure like for seismic activity (6) Faster pace of education with more class, more homework, more tests and deadlines has lead to a steady decline in the mental health of students across the world. (7) Bad information also spreads faster than ever and across a lot of people so you see anti-vaxers causing entire measles epidemics (8) More people need to work as life is increasingly more complicated, expensive and demanding. This has brought the woman outside of the house and now kids are at the mercy of day cares and nannies. These have been shown to be abusive in some cases and can have mental repercussions on the development of a child.

It is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero. Reason: The reputation of anyone who is subjected to media scrutiny will eventually be diminished.

Intensive media coverage ensures that celebrities are constantly being scrutinized. Argued that people can longer regard living celebrities as heroes given so much information about their not so honorable private lives. (1) Media scruitiny. -They face temptations in their private lives, from being young and rich. ex: Like justin bieber, the story of rags to riches Scandals are now made available to the public, details are provided, extensive testimony and it's hard to tell the truth from the exagerations and very hard for people to clear their names. Example: donald trump was said to have praised robert e lee in a speech but in reality it was within a metaphor but once the info is out, errasing it is very hard. Wikileaks is a big one for political scandals Ex: Clinton or bill cosby The media make money off of gossip and negative stories that happen to people well-known or loved. (2) Less tolerance for mistakes, misinterpretations and differing views example: Rosanne and her tweet that got her show shut down and she got barred by hollywood (3) The only way to still have heros is if based on achievements and actions alone so i.e e a policeman saves hostages and is a here regardless of whether he has charcater flaws that would make him unlikable, the distinction between bravery and other attributes is possible. Media cannot affect personal heros or a few that remain outside the spotlight like Bill gates. -Nowadays even a small section of people can have a huge effect as we see the leftists on twitter do. Media bias to canonize a person they like a disparage those they don't (4) We can still view some people as heros if we focus on their actions rather than their personalities. When we think of Martin Luther King Jr we can focus on what they did and not their individual flaws (salacious activities)

.Unfortunately, in contemporary society, creating an appealing image has become more important than the reality or truth behind that image.

Popular culture today, people pay attention to gossip and pretty faces - singers do not necessary to have good voice, just need pretty face and fit body - celebrity gain popularity by plastic surgery and expensive outfit -Politics and hollywood are values highly by society but purely appearance jobs. 2. Appealing image is not only important among celebrities, but also affect people's attitude towards goods. - today many product in the market have very similar function and quality and creating an appealing image become an essential part of competition. sell the product by celebrity and often through aractive imagery rather than value or merit example: some companies have ethics clauses for members in the public eye where sanctions can be applied for misbehaving in public and you can sue someone for defamation: ruining public image. 3. The trends of only care about appearance is dangerous, because it also affect people's preference in politic - taller, fit, white mate candidate seems more reliable - psychology experiment of two man (tall vs. short) on the street, ask people to guess their income -getting free things for being pretty girls 4. But with media cruitiny often public figures cannot maintin this image if the truth clashes too much like Bill Cosby 5. The truth behind the products sold beyond the marketing is becoming increasingly important and allows people to take better care of their health like for foods with the apps to tell you what's inside

The best way to understand the character of a society is to examine the character of the men and women that the society chooses as its heroes or its role models. Reason: Heroes and role models reveal a society's highest ideals.

Society is too compleax and layerd to be understood using a single metric. (1)Emelents that contribute to the complexity of society -the beliefs -value system -laws -food -history -architecture -language -traditions (2)Society would be better understood if there were greater focus on how people interact between each other, their enviornment and how they are organized. -Knowing the origins for certain traditions and why thera re celebrated today, like thanksgiving, cannot be emulated in a hero or role model. -The importance of food culture and its link to family in areas like italy and France -Ways in which respect is given in interactions like bowing in asian countries (3) Heros and role models posses certain qualities that a mojority of sociecty has deemed worthy -Analyzing their actions and behaviours may give insight into a society's standards and expectations -However, heros may only embody a certain aspect of society and others my be missing, maybe even, others are not valued by society as a whole. example: the Che guevara is a hereo to most cubans and represented strength and the sturggle for freedom but his methods, agressive and killings, would largely be rejected by its citizens. Can be a role model in one area and not in another. (6) There is a difference between the sort of ideals a country promotes or promotes and the ideals that people actually live by day to day

The best way to teach is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones. The best way to teach—whether as an educator, employer, or parent—is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones.

Teaching should aim to set the expectations , make them as clear as possible. This eneables people to know when they are bhevaing or perfroming according to expectations, above them (where they recieve praise) or below(when this should be made apparent) (1) Without knowing what is wrong to do, the person learning will simply understand that two actions are equivalent. -There is good, bad but also in between and this distinction can be lost. If a student is told that achieveing an A on their exam is outsatnding but achieveing a C or and F is equivalent in terms of the response it elicits then there may be an incentive for them to be indolent and achieve the minimum as consequences are equal. example:If an employee consistently makes the same mistake when speaking about a subject but that is never pointed out to him, not only will he assume it is correct but he may not develop the habit of checking his work. (2)Positive reinforcement has been shown to foster positive attitudes. -Helps motivate students to do better while pointing out flaws has often been linked to lower moods and unlikeliness to do better but is necessary. example: a kid might be learning football and while the coach should not spend his time pointing out his mistakes, it should be made clar to the kid that there is a right way to do things and teach him. - preserve the confidence and self esteem of children whom many deem to be in a highly complex and competitive enviornment. (3) sometimes not pointing out the mistake is a way of teaching in itself. -In class we were told that if we didn't put our hand up then we would not be allowed to speak. The teacher would simply ignore us until we waited out turn and put our hand up. Sometimes if you were chatting during class they would simply stop and stare at you, the whole class would join in and you would realise on your own that your behaviour is unacceptable then he would continue as if nothing happened. (4) Negative behaviour that is serious or harmful must be pointed out and the person must be punished. For example violence at school or impertinence in public

The best test of an argument is the argument's ability to convince someone with an opposing viewpoint.

The value of an argument is likely more than it's effect on others, arguments that prompt reflection and looking for solutions to flaws hold value. -agree: that indicates it is convincing, true, hard to rebuke and highly relevant . You need to know your topic well and respond in cue to the counter arguments which shows it's solid. Important at political debates example: An argument for the implementation of gun control, often mostly an emotional subject or based on data interpretation. People can be convinced that there is more value to one than the other. Are the issues the guns or the people, how do we solve it? -arguments may achieve that and b have no value: based upon the assumptions made by the author, those made by the recipient and how much knowledge they share. Information asymmetry may give the illusion that it is correct. -An argument may not achieve that at still be good example: argument against religions or certain political parties are more deeply rooted in people's faith, value and upbringing. Julius Cesar: mean believe only what they wish You make be speaking to someone who is not knowledgeable about the topic or unwilling to change their mind either way. Facing oppositions may just make them more dogmatic. And convincing someone through a lie would not be great either.

In any field—business, politics, education, government—those in power should be required to step down after five years.

Time frame should vary: -Long term positions in government for example are necessary because institutional changes can be slow and done over decades. example: reform for healthcare in UK, NHS funding system must be revised and if change person in the middle it might just stop, have different ideas, etc. Opponents might even just delay the process until the person leaves but necessary! -Short term opositions mainly in positions with high power concentration. To prevent abuses of power and encourage innovation and forward thinking. example: areas in government often criticized for being lead by grandpas especially those in youth culture and under 25 policy, do not understand the generation example: if not dictators and maniacs like hitler can terrorize the world or even Enron CFO was there for years covering up for the fraud.

The effectiveness of a country's leaders is best measured by examining the well-being of that country's citizens. The general welfare of a nation's people is a better indication of that nation's greatness than are the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists.

Very dependent on what we define an effective leader as being able to achieve? -The effectivness of a leader can be if there is no famine, low crime, high literacy/ education because suggests good decisions and just behaviour. example: opposite of what is happening in venezuela Today we use the Human Development Index which measures, amongst other things, indices of civilian well-being -Leaders that foster an enviornment for financial development or advancements in technology or medecine can also be concidered good leaders. They have put resources towards that which is hard to achieve across the world. BUT may not result in widespread advantages. example: china is very prosperous and has huge economic growth achieved very fast, many new innovations come from there and people in cities live well but still a ot of poverty in rural areas. China has effective leaders that pulled the country out of economic darkness. -In rome they used to run a whole empire, largest one in europe but many people still lived in poverty. An their rulers were war gods like Cesar or had may thinkers like ptolemy but knowledge was restricted to elites -There have been many scientific discoveries made at the cost of the well being of the nation's people (Britain's great medical discoveries made as a result of operating on mental patients without their consent

True success can be measured primarily in terms of the goals one sets for oneself.

What do we define as true? this is a self definition. Is it my own recognition of my work or my peers' recognition -personal goals lead a benchmark, determine self-satisfaction: main measure of success. Setting out to run a marathon to prove to one's self that they can do it is a greater goal that attempting to win and crossing the finish line would indicate success. example: some may say that being rich is being successful but he who wanted a family may see that as real success and he who is rich may believe he has failed in the areas that matter. -recognition provided by society can be a good measure of success like nobel prizes for research but, in that same way, they cannot all get nobel prizes and few would argue their work is not of value or insome cases a success story. example: although certain recognition has lost its historical value like the legion of honor, usually given to war heros or great thinkers in France has recently been given to football teams who win the world cup, arguably lowering the acheivements for intellectuals and the brave. Personal goals may never be achieved but others may take their place and be better than them. Like Mark Zuckerburg who went in thinking he would get a college degree only to drop out a few years in a build his own company. Setting quixotic goals that can never be achieved does not mean you are not successful, it is setting you up for failure and dissapointment -If we listen to Maslow's pyramid of needs, the number one factor that is important to humans is self-actualization which is a measure than can only be taken by the person and comes much after the basics like material needs, esteem needs, interpersonal needs, et.