Migration and urbanization by

A Big Think article, exploring how cell phone data is being used to redesign cities.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:17:55 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How is it being drawn on to help redesign cities? Why is this necessary? Does this support the idea that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’? This is a purely quantitative approach to design - do we need to balance it with qualitative research?

KEY TERMS Big data, City science, General conclusions

An Aeon article looking in detail about the way in which urban ethnographers can sometimes undermine the ethnic inequalities which they seek to improve.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:19:45 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE There are many things that students could focus on here, amongst them: what methodology separates the humanities from the social sciences? In what way is the academic system - to which the urban ethnographers belong - complicit in the inequality? How do assumptions lead us astray?

Key terms Foundational tenets, Empirical findings, Poverty porn, White-saviour mentality, Emotional and the visceral

An Aeon essay, looking at six different narratives of the nature and effect of globalization.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:20:01 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE First, what are students’ thoughts on the effects of globalization? Which of the six narratives does this most closely align to? Do they agree with the author that these are each “narrative contains some truth but does not tell the whole truth”? How does applying a ‘fox-like approach’ help us to ‘embrace multiple perspectives’? Should we become ‘foxes’ in all areas of knowledge?

Key terms Fox vs. hedgehog, Perspectives, Polarization, Truth

An Aeon animation, portraying US immigration as rings on a developing tree. Is this a helpful way of communicating the reality of this phenomenon?

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:20:52 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What insight (if any) do we gain from this that we don’t from looking at straight statistics? Why do you think the creators of this animation chose to represent immigration in the form of a tree - and how does that influence the way we process the data?

This Big Think article deconstructs how maps are used to show the migration of people, and how their language and designs are often loaded with meaning.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:20:57 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Get students to study the red and blue maps, and see how their understanding of immigration alters. They could produce their own maps with the same data, experimenting with colour, icons, and other graphic representations. Overall, how possible is it to present data objectively? Do biases always interfere?

Key terms Objective data, Preconceptions

A CNN report, asserting that a Fox News report about the migrant crisis in the USA made false claims by presenting events out of context.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:21:03 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How do we know when we are being presented with information out of its correct context?

Key terms False claims, Out of context

A Conversation article*, exploring the difficulties of reconciling the moral obligations of a religious faith with the laws of the society in which it exists.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:21:09 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What examples does it offer of tensions between immigration policies and religious groups’ commitments to humanitarian care? What arguments do some religious leaders accused of breaking immigration laws present to defend their actions? What does this story indicate about the different priorities for governments and religious traditions? Overall, which perspective should take precedent when we form our moral outlooks on the world: the religion, or the state, to which we belong? How can they be reconciled when they clash?

KEY TERMS Religious freedoms, Violated, Motivations, Cultural, Globalizing world

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A New York Times story, exploring the stark difference in the way the Greek migrant boat sinking, and the Titan submersible implosion, were reported.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:21:19 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Why have many people commented on the role of status and race in determining the way the two stories were told in the media? What examples does the article give to indicate that it is not only status and race that leads to coverage in the news? What point is made about the fact that we find it easier to feel compassion for individual victims - and what is the relevance of this? How does ‘compassion fatigue’ affect the way we process the news? To wrap up: How do we ensure that we remain objective and compassionate about tragic events and issues going on in the world?

KEY TERMS Class and ethnicity, Unequal treatment, Degree of familiarity, Compassion fatigue

A Guardian article, looking at the thinking behind a 170 mile long city that will be built in the Saudi Arabian desert.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:21:58 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE See also the trailer here. How do the arts inform the way society develops over time?

Key terms Imagination, Dystopian, Mistakes of the past, Fantasies

A long BBC article, considering whether national boundaries need to be rethought to help cope with the pressures of mass-migration.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:23:21 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Why does Gaha Vince refer to political borders as ‘inventions’? How is the climate crisis putting pressure on the world’s current borders? What are the arguments for viewing the world as a ‘global commonwealth of humanity’ - and is this a viable mindshift for people to make? How and why does Vince suggest we rethink our ‘national pride’? Overall, ask students if they agree with the following statement: In order to create a more harmonious and fully functioning world, we need to “clear from our mind the idea of people being fixed to a location they were born in, as if it affects your value as a person or your rights as an individual.”

Key terms Borders, Cleanly defined, Invention, Livability limits, Meaningless, Controlling vs. managing, Reinvent, Power, Divisive tribalism

A Conversation article, exploring why EU information campaigns are failing to deter migrants from leaving.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:25:17 UTC

A long but useful Aeon article, discussing the extent to which we can solve ethical problems via mathematical logic.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:26:18 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How should mathematics not be used to resolve ethical issues? Why is it important that ‘moral mathematics’ is practical, and responsive to uncertainty? How can moral mathematics support longtermism? How convincing do you find the evidence and examples offered by the author? Overall, do you agree that “Moral mathematics forces precision and clarity… And it helps us draw conclusions from our ethical assumptions”?

Key terms Moral concepts vs. quantitative concepts, Decision-making, Practical, Uncertainty, Objective, Longtermism

A Big Think article, asserting that it isn’t income inequality that is the world’s most pressing problem, but time inequality.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-28 10:57:06 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Why do Dr. Marian Tupy and Dr. Gale Pooley “dissent” from this view? How does including a consideration of human knowledge change the way we calculate the level of resources available to us? What are the five reasons why thinking in terms of ‘time price’ instead of ‘money price’ provides a better insight into standards of living, and levels of inequality? Overall, ask students if they agree with the statement, “economics can be much more illuminating by going beyond money and atoms to knowledge and time”? How does this make us rethink population growth?

Key terms Limited resources, Finite, Human knowledge, Time prices, True prices

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-06-08 10:17:10 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.