TOK Essay Title 3 May 2024: Nothing is more exciting than fresh ideas, so why are areas of knowledge often so slow to adopt them? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

In this blog we will be examining how to meet the requirements of the third Theory of Knowledge essay in the May 2024 exam series: Nothing is more exciting than fresh ideas, so why are areas of knowledge often so slow to adopt them? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

This is an essay title that you should consider for a number of reasons. The overall question itself is more accessible to most learners than titles 1 and 2 as the concepts of fresh ideas and what it means to adopt new ideas are relatively straightforward. The clarity of what you need to research for your examples is also more obvious and therefore makes this essay a sensible choice. 

In any good TOK essay there are a number of prerequisites that are important to ensure you have a good basis to your answer. We will look at these with particular reference to this question and consider some ideas and real life situations that you can use to ensure you are maximising your marks from this task. You should use the structure below to shape your essay. Remember the essay is limited to 1600 words so make sure that you use your allocation wisely. There are 8 paragraphs listed below meaning you should write around 200 words for each one. 

The key thing about the TOK essay is that you need to make sure every part of it contributes towards answering the question, whether it is through an example or with direct reference to the question itself. This will give your essay focus and keep you on track. 

You should follow these steps to give your essay the required structure: 

Introduction: Unpack the title and state your opinion on the question. Initially what are your thoughts? 

In your introduction it is essential that you demonstrate that you understand the key terms in the essay and that you outline your answer to the question in the title. This doesn’t mean that you write out a series of key terms and definitions, you should use them in sentences effectively to show your understanding. The definition of the key terms in this essay in a TOK context are below: 

Key Terms: 

There are a number of key parts to this title that must be considered in your essay. They are as follows: 

Nothing: The importance of this word may be easily disregarded in this title so do remember that the essay is asking you to consider whether there is anything more exciting than new ideas in Areas of Knowledge? This should not be the main emphasis of your writing but it is important to show that you have considered the possibility that there could be something more exciting than fresh ideas, albeit briefly. 

Fresh Ideas: The concept of a fresh idea is one that excites in all Areas of Knowledge, after all that is why academics continue to strive to make new discoveries in their respective fields. You can demonstrate your understanding of what a fresh idea is in your examples throughout your essay. This should be something that is a new idea and is related to the development of KNOWLEDGE in the relevant AOK. 

Slow: Do take some time to think about what is considered as slow within the time frame of a new idea in academia. A simple search tells us the average time to accept a new idea could be around 17 years. Of course different areas of knowledge may take longer to adapt ideas than others. When considering the optional theme of Knowledge and Technology the fresh ideas are accepted quickly by necessity, particularly when it comes to selling products. Alternatively new ideas/methods in the natural sciences may take much longer to adapt in medicine due to the potential consequences of treatment on humans and long term side effects. 

Adopt: You could also consider the idea of adoption- what does this mean? Does it mean accepted without question or does it mean that the idea is used to an extent but with caution? This will depend on the examples you are using in your essay. 

Body paragraph 1: Claim 1 linked to the Human Sciences

A possible sentence starter here could be:  

Human Sciences are often slow to adopt fresh ideas in the field of Geography. This is because…. 

I would recommend that you choose an example from the Individuals and Societies (Group 3) subject you are studying (Not History though as it is its own AOK). This will enable you to discuss the concept or idea convincingly in this area. 

This should now be supported by evidence

There are a number of examples that you could use from different subjects here: 

Geography: The idea of digital mapping (links to Knowledge and Technology). A number of reasons could exist here on why it has been adopted slowly by traditionalists. Reliability, trust, usefulness, understanding. 

If you wanted to explore this further you could look for the conflicts between traditional cartographers and those designing google maps.

Economics: You could explore Richard H. Thaler’s ideas for his contributions to behavioural economics. He began and developed his ideas in the 1980s but only now do they appear in the most recent IB Economics textbooks. 

Body paragraph 2: Counterclaim 1 linked to the Human Sciences. 

This doesn’t need to directly contradict your claim in body paragraph 1 but it should be different. You could give an example of how ideas have been adopted quickly in Human Sciences. 

Again support this with evidence

Geography: The primary example of how new ideas have been accepted quickly here is to do with social spaces and networks. People and academics have very rapidly accepted the concept of a global interactive space in social networking. You could use the idea of how quickly instagram or an alternative social media network spread. You must though make sure you emphasise the idea of an interactive space between people rather than the technology itself. 

Body paragraph 3: Implications on The Human Sciences overall. Consider possible links to the core or optional themes. 

The implications of adopting new ideas too fast or too slowly could have a very wide impact on the Human Sciences- in the case of social media and interaction they already have. Technology plays a key role in the spread and adoption of new ideas. 

Are those who embrace technology more likely to have an impact on the Human Sciences than other groups? (Most people would say yes)

Are those who are slow to adopt new ideas in the Human Sciences going to be left behind when you consider how fast new ideas can be exchanged and spread between people? Consider the Economics example above. 

Remember to answer the main question here as it will give you focus in your answer. 

When selecting your second AOK do ensure that you are confident with the material and that you have 2 real world examples to support your ideas. 

Body paragraph 4: Claim 2 linked to another AOK- for this example I will use Natural Sciences. 

The Natural Sciences can be very quick to adopt new ideas, especially when there is a demand or necessity for them in a “real world” context. 

This may be an overused example (so search for another if you prefer) but one that is very relevant to this question. The COVID-19 vaccine roll out was the fastest ever. The creation and production of the vaccine took around 1 year when usually a vaccine takes around 10-15 years to produce. This is due to the constraints surrounding safety and effectiveness. 

Remember to focus on the production of knowledge here, to focus on the question but you could also consider the ethics behind this production.  

Body paragraph 5: Counterclaim 2 linked to Natural Sciences 

This paragraph should present an alternative view of the Natural Sciences and the speed at which new ideas are adopted and accepted in the field. 

Physics is a good example of a field which has stalled in the production of new ideas. Largely this is down to the cost involved in using machines to test theories such as dark matter and the quantum measurement problem. 

Try searching for Sabine Hossenfelder for ideas on this claim. She argues that although Physics has changed, Physicists haven’t (or haven’t been able to) changed their methods and this has significantly stalled any progress in the field.  

Body paragraph 6: Implications on Natural Sciences. 

The implications on the Natural Sciences of both of these examples could be enormous. The side effects of the COVID vaccine on some people have been significant which means that we may not see such a vaccine produced so quickly in the future. 

The consequences of the stagnation of Physics may not have such an implication on the everyday human but may mean the development of ideas to evolve the human race in this field may take a lot longer than Science Fiction may suggest. 

Overall conclusion: summarise your main perspectives and explain how your findings implicate the real world and overall areas of knowledge you have chosen. It is essential that you answer the question in this last paragraph. Answer the “why?”

Final Thoughts: 

The highest scoring essays in TOK do the following: 

• They are insightful, convincing, accomplished and lucid (from the markscheme) 
• They demonstrate how TOK appears in the real world by using real world examples. 
• They are supported by academic thinkers. 
• They answer the question accurately. 

Thank you for reading. You can read my guide to question 4 here.

Good luck with your essay!