Health and wellbeing by

A Guardian article, looking at the news that a US man has now extended his lifetime record for eating Big Macs to 34,000.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-01 15:21:12 UTC

This Guardian article by an oncologist, documents some of her encounters with patients who are keen to treat their conditions with ‘alternative’ remedies rather than accepted cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:38:26 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Use it to explore questions such as: why should we trust knowledge produced via scientific means? Is there a role for intuition in providing us with scientific knowledge?

An Aeon essay, that tries to make sense of the phrase ‘natural remedies’, and its relationship with modern medicine.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:38:31 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE The easiest thing to focus on is this concept of ‘natural’, and ‘naturopathy’. What does this word mean, and how does it relate to Western medicine? To what extent is it a meaningful and coherent term? Why is it a desirable quality and characteristic?

KEY TERMS Natural, Metaphysically inconsistent, Unscientific, Naturopathy, Scepticism and scrutiny.

A BBC article, looking at the claims made by yoga guru Baba Ramdev that modern medicine has worsened the Covid crisis.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:38:37 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Use it to explore questions such as: how do we discern between experts and non-experts when it comes to scientific knowledge claims?

KEY TERMS Evolve and learn, Trust

A Discovery Magazine article, comparing modern-day anti-vaxxers to those from the near and distant past.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:40:41 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE You could begin by considering the concept of ‘medical liberty’ - discussing whether it seems like a good idea in a democratic society. Then go over the article - what problems are associated with being able to choose your own medical path. Then ask students, what are the similarities and differences between anti-vaxxers of the 19th century and the ones today? Why has the issue become politicized, and how has that affected our ability to be objective about the world? How has the ability to reach more people than ever before affected both sides of the vaccination issue?

KEY TERMS Medical liberty, alternative medicines, Anti-science

A Guardian article, detailing the life and death of a fitness fanatic who refused to take the Covid vaccination.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:40:53 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What drove his scepticism? How important is it to understand people’s personal lives in order to understand their belief systems? How do people calculate risk, and how accurate are their estimates likely to be? Why do we tend to trust family and friends - even when they have no expertise? Why is it dangerous that social media seems to replicate this emotional connection? Finally, should/how can we counter the misinformation that persuades people to make catastrophic decisions?

KEY TERMS Guinea pig, Scepticism, Assumption, Risk calculus, Trust, Emotional connection, Misinformation

A Conversation article, looking at the history around rejecting scientific advice when it comes to dealing with pandemics.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:41:01 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What insights can we gain from learning about Smallpox, and the Scopes trial? What are the three components that make an expert credible, and how can these be diminished? What problem does the article identify in terms of the way some scientists engage with the public - and how can this be overcome? Overall, how does ignoring history undermine our ability to understand modern scientific issues?

KEY TERMS Fear, Resistance, Misinformation, Expert witnesses, Objectivity, Biased, Engaging the public

A Conversation article, analyzing how religious outlooks shape the way we feel about vaccines.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:41:06 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What is the relationship between religious outlooks, and scientific skepticism - and how should we make use of our understanding of this link?

KEY TERMS Hostility, Nuanced, Stereotypes, True, Conspiratorial belief

A Guardian article, exploring what the ‘right’ level of skepticism is when it comes to celebrity endorsements of pseudoscientific products and treatments.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:42:20 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Get students to think how vulnerable they are to influencers and celebrities when it comes to buying products and services? Next, get them to read the article (and possibly this Vox one on Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘Goop’), and decide for themselves whether we should always be sceptical about celebrity endorsements. Thinking more broadly, how do we find the balance between too little, and too much scepticism?

KEY TERMS Healthy scepticism, Debunked nonsense, Pseudoscience, Trends, Influencer, Availability heuristic

A Conversation article, arguing that celebrities have a moral responsibility to support life-saving vaccines.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:42:42 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What does it mean to believe in ‘bodily autonomy’? What problems are there if we apply this argument to some issues (such as vaccinations) and not others (such as abortion)? What insights do the arguments of John Stuart Mill and Peter Singer provide us with on this, and other issues? Overall, should we ensure that our ethical principles are logically consistent, and how can we do this? Do some areas of knowledge and themes rely more on logical consistency than others?

KEY TERMS Moral responsibility, Misinformation, Distrust, Bodily autonomy, Individual choice, Coherent position

A Guardian discussion between a doctor and a former rugby player, on the evidence that contact sports can cause permanent brain damage.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:43:34 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What does the interview reveal about the interest groups involved in contact sports, and why they make it harder to access the truth? To what extent do we base our understanding of ‘truth’ on what we want to believe, rather than what we have evidence for? How typical is this issue of the difficulties of understanding scientific issues? How important is it to focus on “shared common humanity” in order to access the truth?

KEY TERMS Misrepresenting the science, Scientific fact, Alternative truths, Blunt truths, Denial

A CNN article, looking at why there are different interpretations of science related to whether or not masks reduced the spread of Covid-19.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:45:25 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What is meta-analysis, and how has it been used to ascertain whether mask-wearing was effective in controlling the spread of Covid-19? Why has there been disagreement about the results of this meta-analysis? Why does the author, Kent Sepkowitz say that he doubts that anyone will change their mind about this issue? Why does he say, “Everyone who is focused on the politics or media hype… at the expense of the actual science… should kindly shut up”? Overall is it possible to make decisions about public health issues that are based purely on science?

Key terms Retrospective questioning, Conflicting evidence, Meta-analysis, Uncertainty, Political ax to grind

A Vox video, looking at the myth about Vitamin C being effective in treating the Common Cold.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:46:32 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE There’s no evidence that Vitamin C has any beneficial effect on us when we have a Cold, but most of us make an almost instinctive link between suffering from the sniffles, and reaching for a long glass of orange juice. Why do we do this, despite the lack of scientific evidence? How many other beliefs do we construct in this way?

This Big Think article examines a recent research study into the effects of red meat on our health, concluding that there is little evidence of correlation between it and bad health.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:46:38 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Have the authors of the study “eroded public trust in scientific research"? Does this prove that we only accept new ideas if they correspond to what we already believe? Does this indicate that the natural sciences are just as vulnerable to emotional ties to ideas and theories as other areas of knowledge? Finally, what does it indicate about the challenges associated with producing definitive scientific knowledge? Check out the story in The Guardian and Vox (it was also in many other media sources.

A Big Think article analysing recent research that challenged the assumption that eating red meat has significant health risks.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:46:47 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Why do ‘experts’ seem to disagree about the dangers (or not) of red meat? And this is the heart of the article - “The difference lies in how they believe that risk should be communicated to the public and how people should navigate their daily diets.” Overall, what does this story indicate about the possibility of being definitive about scientific knowledge claims?

Key terms Consensus, Risk, Meta-analysis

A Salon article, looking at how TikTok is helping to spread diet culture myths.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:46:51 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE In what way is TikTok perpetuating the myth of ‘diet culture’ - and how do the assumptions that underpin this outlook differ from the latest health research? How many TikTok videos about diet are created by recognized ‘experts’ on the subject? In what way are TikTok influencers promoting a toxic message about diet? Overall, what role should social media platforms such as TikTok play in making us more scientifically literate?

Key terms Popular myths, Discredited, Moralizing, Expertise, Toxic, Untrue, Propaganda

A Guardian article, which tries to discern the difference between myth and reality when it comes to scientific advice about health.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:47:01 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Allocate a different health belief to different students or pairs. Ask students to think about: 1. Why do you think it is widely believed? 2. Is it based on solid evidence? 3. How easy is it to separate causation and correlation when we assess this belief? Overall, why do common health myths persist, and what should we do to avoid being misled by them?

Key terms Truth, Changing its mind, Correlation vs. causation

A DW article, exploring how AI technology could help predict whether we’ll develop cancer - and the implications that would bring with it.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:47:07 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How are healthcare AI tools driving a new approach in medicine called ‘predictive medicine’? Would students want to know if they were going to develop a serious medical condition later on in life? What data and privacy concerns does the new technology bring? Students can also check out this related LA Times article, on how ‘Dr ChatGPT’ is now outdoing ‘Dr Google’. To wrap up: “The more we can make accurate scientific predictions, the better our ability to offer effective healthcare.” Do you agree?

KEY TERMS AI algorithms, Predictive medicine, Co-pilot, Data privacy, Patient consent, Misinformation, Taken advantage of

A Guardian article, focusing on a forensic psychiatrist, and her thoughts on the role of ‘radical empathy’ in order to understand the human condition.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:47:32 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How essential is empathy in understanding the human condition - and why are some people reluctant to apply it?

Key questions Radical empathy, Polarization, Essential truth

This Wired article looks at the way in which technology has (or hasn’t, depending on your outlook) impacted on the way in which love and relationships work, and how it has allowed us to gather more data about the trickiest of all human behaviour.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:48:49 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE This is an interesting issue over how technology has impacted on our gathering of data, and whether it can help us to understand human phenomena more accurately. Get students to think about how love can be researched (for many people, the most important aspect of life), and which areas of knowledge are traditionally interested in exploring it. How has our use of technology allowed researchers to explore it more? Has it led to any significant new discoveries? Is this the purpose of the human sciences - to answer questions such as ‘what is love’?

A Big Think article, looking at the results of a global study that seeks to understand the way different societies experience and express love.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:48:56 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What study has just been carried out, and what was its scale? What were the conclusions of the study? What were the limitations of the study, and do these fatally undermine its findings (hint - focus on the terms correlation and causation)? Overall, how far can quantitative research go in helping us to understand human emotions?

Key terms Questionnaire, Correlated, Causation

A Guardian article, asking whether AI girlfriend apps promote unhealthy expectations for human relationships.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:49:01 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How are chatbots of the kind developed by OpenAI and Google changing human relationships? Why are some people worried that new relationship apps are “really frightening”? What is the counter argument to this, offered by the companies developing the new technology? Do you agree that AI-bots can “bring that ‘Band-Aid’ to your heart”? To wrap up: Is it possible for a human being to have a meaningful relationship with an AI-bot?

KEY TERMS Unhealthy beliefs, Love, Cultural beliefs, Regulation, Impact, Weirder, wilder, and more wonderful

A Sky News article, which examines the science behind what happens when you suffer a breakup or bereavement.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:49:06 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What prompted Florence Williams to investigate the science of heartbreak? In what way is the bodily response to breakups universal? What answers do science offer us in order to cope with the emotional trauma of breakups? To wrap up: Can science provide us with useful insights when it comes to understanding and dealing with emotional traumas?

KEY TERMS Fresh perspective, Explanation, Solutions

A New Statesman article, exploring a debate raging in psychiatry today, about the difference between being mentally ill, or very unhappy.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:50:02 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Focus on Samantha’s story to begin with: why is it so hard to discern the difference between being unhappy and having a mental ‘disorder’, and how does language-usage complicate this? Then think more broadly, by considering the type of evidence that is used to support claims in psychiatry (and the human sciences). How does its subjective nature affect our ability to reach consensus? Finally, how do paradigm shifts emerge in the human sciences?

Key terms Label, Valid concept, Medicalised language, Polarisation, Subjectivity, Language & self-perception, Paradigm shift, Evidence

A Wired article, looking at how neuroscience seeks to establish a link between a cause (loneliness) and an effect (damage to our mental health).

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:50:10 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How did researchers try to study loneliness in the 1950s - and what are the ethical implications related to their methods? How has the Covid-19 pandemic, and associated lockdown, given us the opportunity to study loneliness? How have they managed to connect it with mental health issues? Overall, do ‘natural experiments’ provide us with better knowledge than ‘laboratory manufactured’ insights?

Key terms Laboratory vs. natural experiments, Evidence

An Aeon article, arguing that we should get rid of the terms ‘mind’ and ‘mental’.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:51:40 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE For this story, it’s best to start with the end point of this rather challenging article, so give your students this quote: “no such thing as a mind, and nothing is mental” and ask them to discuss it. Then offer them the article. Why does the writer argue this? How does it change our understanding of something when we (radically) alter our terminology related to it? Does this suggest that new knowledge is produced when we rethink what we already know?

Key terms Baggage vs. meaning, Conceptual blurriness, Polysemy, Analogies, Miscommunication

An Aeon essay, arguing that imagination isn’t just a by-product of our evolution of problem-solving faculties, it is the core of what it means to be human.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:51:47 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Why hasn’t more effort been made to study imagination (perhaps linking this to an overly narrow definition of what imagination is)? What is the relationship between imagination and memory? How does it create a “safe space for learning”? Overall, why does Sally Davies argue that our species should be called Homo imaginatus?

Key terms Imagination, Mental superfluity, Future simulator, Stories, Integrated network, Essence

A Vox article, looking at what is lost when long covid affects your sense of smell.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:52:37 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE In what way did the writer realize that she used the sense of smell to measure time? How does smell ‘ground us’ and make us feel like ourselves? Overall, how important is the sense of smell in helping us to “navigate our lives”? Thinking more broadly, do we only ever know how important something is until we lose it? If this is true, how do we ensure that we always appreciate and make the most of the senses and skills that we possess?

Key terms Navigate our lives, Measure time, Ability to ground us

A Big Think article, examining the way social media leaves us “isolated, scared and tribal” rather than connecting and uniting us.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:53:20 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE This is a rather negative take on the effect of social media, and how it functions like an echo-chamber to increase our ‘digital tribalism’, rather than break it down. How and why does it do this? What steps can (and/or should) we take to avoid being manipulated by social media? What are the consequences of these effects - in particular, on the decisions and judgements we make related to politics? You can also check out Obama’s latest thoughts on the effect of social media on our ability to make informed decisions.

Key terms Manipulated, Digital tribe, Control

A Guardian article, focusing on artists Zorowar Sidhu and Rob Swainston’s exhibition dealing with the theme of doomscrolling.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:54:04 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Ask students if they have come across it, and if not, what they think it is. Then move on to consider the project carried out by Zorowar Sidhu and Rob Swainston: what drove it? Why did they choose woodblock prints for the exhibition? What does this reveal about the role of the arts in helping us to understand and make sense of events and issues going on in the world? How is the changing nature of our relationship with images making it harder to use art to do this?

Key terms Doomscrolling, Media environments, Images

A Vox video, posing the question, are we ever authentically ourselves on social media?

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 16:54:16 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Do students agree that “Authenticity is a fluid, ever-evolving social construct that cannot be clearly mediated”? Is everything we do online a performance for others? How would they answer the final question in the article, “Why are we so willing to document ourselves to prove what we already know?” Overall, how can we distinguish between real and fake on social media?

Key terms Authentic, Real, Fake, Truth, Performing

A Guardian article, reporting on the news that the French government has made abortion a constitutional right.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 17:03:20 UTC

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-06 15:06:24 UTC

A Guardian article, exploring the issue of genetic discrimination in Australia, where people are at risk of being denied life insurance cover if they suffer from certain genetic disorders.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-14 17:18:00 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How does the case of Meg Herrmann highlight the problem of ‘genetic discrimination’? Why are people in Australia who have a higher risk of genetic disorders reluctant to be tested for these conditions? What demands for change are many people making as a result of this situation? To wrap up: Does the health industry have a different set of responsibilities when it comes to the knowledge they possess and utilize? Who should determine what these responsibilities are?

KEY TERMS Dilemma, Genetic discrimination, Evidence-based

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-31 08:10:50 UTC

A Vox article, investigating the work of Elon Musk’s Neuralink company “to achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence.”

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-04-12 10:03:13 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Is there a danger of our ‘final privacy frontier’ being breached? Should steps be taken to prevent that from happening?

KEY TERMS Clinical trial, Risks, Symbiosis, Ethical risks, Final privacy frontier, Brainjacking

A Knowable article, exploring why it’s hard to answer the question, “How much vitamin D should we take?”

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-05-02 13:26:59 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Does uncertainty indicate the strength or the weakness of science?

KEY TERMS Contradictory scientific results and interpretation, Debunked, Clinical trials, Evidence

A Conversation article, looking at Dua Lipa’s ‘radical optimism’ philosophy to life, and concluding that ‘radical openness’ represents a more effective approach.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-06-05 13:04:16 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How can we navigate a path between toxic positivity and fearful pessimism?

KEY TERMS Choose optimism, Pragmatist, Philosophical school of thought, Agency and responsibility, Toxic positivity vs. fearful pessimism, Self-delusion, Meliorism

A Guardian article, asking the question ‘what makes people annoying?’ to prompt a discussion about this little known and studied aspect of psychology.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-06-05 13:22:59 UTC

A Big Think article, which tries to ascertain whether certain health issues are caused by, or correlated with, the consumption of artificial sweeteners.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-06-05 13:29:04 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How important is it to know the methodology behind scientific conclusions and guidelines? What steps can we take to discover these?

KEY TERMS Associatedwith, Lazy nutrition science, Observational, RCTs, Correlation vs. causation, Hyped health stories, Alarm fatigue

A Smithsonian article, looking at the legacy of Dr Lulu Hunt Peters, who invented the term ‘calorie’, leading to a paradigm shift in the way we viewed diet and nutrition.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-06-05 13:37:47 UTC

WHAT'S IN A WORD?

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-06-10 13:29:06 UTC

A mini-lesson based on a Conversation article, tracing the etymology of the word ‘cancer.’

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-06-08 10:23:10 UTC

Check out our key concepts here, which will help you to apply a critical thinking lens to this topic, and articulate your ideas about it. These concepts are highlighted.