Relating TOK with Chemistry

In chemistry, we recently learned about entropy. This is the concept that the universe tends towards disorder rather than order. If you take this out of a science context, it can be related to TOK slightly. I think people have been trying to establish order into the world bit by bit over time. Buildings, telephones, cars, etc. All technological advancements are proof of this. Even the fact that the idea of entropy was created is evidence of this, since it is a scientific advancement. But if you look at the definition of entropy, that the universe tends towards a disordered state, does that mean that humans are unnatural beings? We try to bring more order into this world, thinking that it will probably be better that way. However, according to this law, we are breaking the natural way of how the universe tends to be in disorder rather than order.

The Point of Life

I read about a theory once (but forgot the name) that the materialistic world doesn't exist at all. Instead, every organism is just a single consciousness that exists in a universe full of these consciousnesses. So, our bodies are just the imaginations that our minds have created in this non-physical world. I don't exactly believe in this, not because I am against this belief, but simply because it is too complex for me to comprehend. For me to understand something, I have to pretend that it is true in my mind, but how can I do that when I have to imagine nothingness in everything? So, I have come to the conclusion that somewhat agrees with this but not entirely.

In my opinion, it doesn't matter whether the physical world is "real" or not. If I die, in the hypothetical world of this theory, the effects will still be the same as the effects in the "real" material world. In my opinion, this theory has a somewhat negative view of life. The world as we know is largely the physical world, and yet, it is saying that it is pointless. But then it made me question if that was important at all. Whether it's real or not doesn't matter at all.

All of the consciousnesses that exist may or may not coincide with each other, to form the material world that we know. Or, we could each have a world to ourselves that was created with our consciousnesses individually. This doesn't matter to me either. Why should I wonder about the world of others if I cannot do anything to it? And let's say that I do care. What then? I don't know. In my opinion, this theory made me have a dark realization that, in the end, nothing may matter at all.

Education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Watching this video from class was a unique experience for me. Ken Robinson questioned and proposed that we defy the traditional education system that has been set up in the modern world so that it is adapted to a modern society. We no longer live in the Industrial Age, when public education for everyone was just being established. In order to reform the educational system, I think that Ken Robinson meant to say that the world has changed since then, so we must change with it instead of staying with the old system. There are a lot of distractions in this world that make students unable to focus, and yet if this happens, we are punished. As standardized testing quantities increase, so do the number of people prescribed with ADHD.

What this shows me in relation to imagination as a way of knowing is that maybe knowledge is emphasized more. In school, we learn about facts: enthalpy changes, trigonometry, American history, and so much more. But for all we know, it might all be wrong. Revolutionary ideas such as the fact that there might be more stuff inside of the atom change our whole knowledge system. And if you ask what the source of these great ideas is, it is almost always the same: imagination.

So here is how I see the educational system that I experience everyday: pre-existing knowledge that was conjured in the minds of scholars is repeatedly taught to me. However, my ability to think off of us through my imagination is hardly required as a tool. Why do I need to figure out the reason for why this equation is true when people have done it for me already? What if it's wrong? No one really cares though, because most people don't doubt knowledge that is agreed upon.

The problem is that I simply don't know an easy and possible way to change the education system. I'm not a powerful person or a genius like Einstein whose words may actually be enough to bring this change. Still, I am unsure if even these kinds of people would be able to think of a way to change a system that has been used for centuries. Even if we look past the Industrial Age, education has mostly been in the form of learning more about knowledge to expand this, rather than using imagination as a tool to do the same tasks in a more independent way. People like Ken Robinson have identified the source of the issue, but I wonder if anyone has a solution.