The Political
Compass
http://www.politicalcompass.org/
"The old one-dimensional
categories of 'right' and 'left,' established for the seating arrangement
of the French National Assembly of 1789, are overly simplistic for
today's complex political landscape." This test measures where
in a two-dimensional scale of "rightism" and "leftism"
you lie, and compares your results with that of famous leaders'. Its
thought-provoking questions encompass judgments in politics and ethics.
(Thanks to Marney Bruce.)
The Yuk
Factor (Taboo)
http://www.philosophersmag.com/games/taboo.htm
I was first introduced
to the "yuck factor" by Tim Henly, who argued that many
of our moral and aesthetic values are based on repugnance: when actions
or things make us say "yuck," (or, I suppose, "yuk"
in the UK) we equate them with "wrongness," "evil,"
or "immorality." This online quiz at The Philosopher's
Magazine website, appropriately called "Taboo," provides
several situations that attempt to measure to what extent we have
good reasons for the moral judgments we make. The analysis of results
raises questions about the influence of emotion on moral judgments.
On the same vein check out Ophelia Benson's article, "The Yuk-Factor,"
at http://www.philosophersmag.com/games/yuk_factor.htm.
The Argument
Clinic
http://www.univnorthco.edu/philosophy/clinic.html
Unsure of whether
an argument is sound or not? Type in the argument, and [not immediately]
receive a response about its validity from the folks the the University
of Northern Colorado. The "previous submissions" link can
be found below the Submit button, and is worth checking. At the bottom
of the page, other resources about arguments and informal fallacies.
(Thanks to Carolyn P. Henly for submitting this site, found by her
school's library media specialist.)
What if
Einstein was wrong?
http://www.discover.com/issues/apr-03/cover/
João Magueijo,
a 35-year old physicist, is questioning Einstein's postulate that
the speed of light is constant throughout the universe. This article,
written by Tim Folger and published in Discover magazine (April 2003),
provides a good example of science in the making. For a concrete glimpse
into paradigm wars you can also conduct a search at amazon.com for
Magueijo's book, Faster Than the Speed of Light: The Story of a
Scientific Speculation, and read what people are saying.
"Reaching
for the stars": an interview with George Walker
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1010832,00.html
On August 2, 2003
The Guardian published an interview with the IBO director general.
Worth reading, especially the phrase that describes what many seasoned
TOK teachers know: "Students might be sceptical about theories
of knowledge, but years later they come back and say it's the one
thing they remember in the IB. They are really grateful for it."
(Thanks to Mike Clarke)
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