TOK exhibition

This TOK exhibition examines the question "What features of knowledge have an impact on

its reliability" through the perspectives of Knowledge and Knower. Reliability of knowledge

refers to its accuracy and robustness. The prompt explores the features that can impact the

reliability of knowledge – Skewed perspectives coming from lack of rationalism and disinterest

of the producer lead to risks of gullibility and biases facilitating erroneous knowledge. Objective

knowledge as an outcome of replication, iteration, verification and justification lead to certain

and accurate knowledge. Lastly, Cultural relativism makes knowledge’s reliability very

subjective to one’s values and belief systems making reliability subjective.

Object 1-World Map created in China

The first object for my TOK exhibition is a world map created by China. This map exhibits

China with a larger territory than what is internationally recognized by the Eurocentric

perspective. The map pushes Europe to the periphery and China is elevated to the center of the

map. I chose this object as it prompts inquiries into how biases can lead to skewed perspectives,

decreasing the reliability of knowledge.

This object is contentious as it impacts the reliability of the knowledge produced due to its

divergence from the conventional understanding of global geography and sovereignty,

highlighting the impact of biases on the knowledge. The map positions China at the center with

an expanded territory, diverging from the Eurocentric perspective of the map, which amplifies

the importance of the western countries. The modelling of maps by varying producers shows a

national bias, to show their dominance, they represented their territories as larger as compared to

that of other countries This draws attention to the danger of biases and risk of gullibility, which
are features that impact the reliability of the knowledge produced and acquired. China’s take on

claiming South China sea as part of China’s integral territory, showing territories of

Senkaku/Diaoyu Island belongs to it, and its hostility and friction with West reflects deliberate

factual misinterpretation and fallacious reasoning Moreover, knowers who possess knowledge

may accept it uncritically, presuming it to be objective despite its inaccuracy, thereby increasing

the risk of gullibility.

Thus, my object demonstrates that features such as rationalism and disinterestedness are essential

for the reliability of knowledge. Knowledge that entails subjectivity, biases, deliberate

misinterpretation and implausible reasoning lead to unreliable knowledge.

Object 2- Glucometer

The second object for my TOK exhibition is a glucometer, a device to measure blood glucose

levels, vital for diabetes management. This device boasts a 95% accuracy rate, backed by

evidence accumulated through numerous trials over time, making its reliability unquestionable.

I chose this object as being an avid science enthusiast, I believe that objectivity is an important

feature of knowledge that enhances knowledge’s reliability.

The object enriches the exhibition as it reflects on the features of objectivity and its impact on

reliability in the knowledge production. The glucometer is highly objective in its nature as it is

an improved version of previous model and has been tested and verified as per repeatability

criterion making knowledge produced highly reliable. This glucometer provides precise

numerical values for a person’s glucose level, as compared to prior instruments which could only

provide rough estimation of the blood glucose level; showcasing when knowledge produced can

be replicated through iteration and provides consistent results through justification and

verification, it is reliable. Therefore, knowledge that entails features of objectivity, certainty,

justification, verification are reliable. Objective knowledge is free of limitations or inaccuracies,

promotes certainty, and avoids exclusivity in knowledge impacting the reliability of knowledge.

Biomedical researchers rely on the reliability of glucometers to conduct studies evaluating the

efficacy of various treatments for diabetes.

Overall this object exhibits that following features such as certainty, rigorous testing,

improvisation, objectivity and iteration are features of an ascending form of knowledge which

can impact its reliability. Iteration and trials of latest ideas allows the production of objective

knowledge, which is high on reliability. These features remove the inconsistencies, biases and

uncertainties to facilitate robust and reliable knowledge.

Object 3-Identical news differently presented by Fox for different audiences

The third object of the TOK exhibition is Identical news differently presented by Fox for

different audiences. Fox News Latino, a station designed for Spanish-speaking viewers, shows a

headline that an undocumented student received a scholarship from a university. In contrast to

this headline, Fox provided the same information on its other news network, but the

undocumented student was insultingly referred to as a person belonging to the "illegals”. I chose

this object as it demonstrates how the reliability of knowledge can be impacted by its cultural

context attached to it .

The object prompts an examination of how cultural relativism affects the way media shapes

knowledge through framing, thereby impacting its reliability. This news item generates varied

perspectives on the undocumented student due to differences in the words used to describe him
in the headlines reflecting on linguistic relativity hypothesis. The object highlights the process of

acquisition and transmission of knowledge, illustrating how individuals' reliance on cultural

context can introduce subjectivity due to varying belief systems, moral and value judgements

fostering variability in knowledge interpretation, thereby making the reliability subjective. Fox

News Latino portrays the student who received aid from the university, while the primary Fox

News channel depicts him as the antagonist who misappropriated the funds thereby bad news

bias impacts the reliability of knowledge.

The object hence makes us examine whether a definitive definition of reliable knowledge exists,

given its inherent variability based on cultural and linguistic relativism. Knowledge’s reliability

that features cultural relativism, bad news bias, framing, and subjectivity is very subjective.

Knowledge that reiterates one’s values and beliefs is considered or taken as reliable if not that it

is termed as unreliable.

In conclusion, the TOK exhibition shows that reliability of knowledge is influenced by features

controlled by knowledge producers, knowers, and knowledge acquirers. It highlights that

although reliability of knowledge itself is subjective, it is impacted by certain features.

Word Count- 950

 Bibliography

1. Hendricks, Vincent F., and Mads Vestergaard. Reality Lost: Markets of Attention,

Misinformation and Manipulation. Springer International Publishing, 2018.

2. Hirsch, Irl B. “Introduction: History of Glucose Monitoring.” Role of Continuous

Glucose Monitoring in Diabetes Treatment., 2018. PubMed.

3. Lagemaat, Richard van de. Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Cambridge

University Press, 2014.

4. Ricci, Matteo. “What does China's version of the world map look like? | CLI.” Chinese

Language Institute, 23 March 2023, https://studycli.org/chinese-culture/china-world-

map/.

Teacher comment:

This is an example of excellent exhibition. It was awarded a mark of 9/10

The student has clearly identified three specific objects and has effectively linked each one to the

selected prompt. There is also a strong justification for the selection of each object.
The student has included an introduction to his work. In this case the introduction is helpful as

the student clearly identifies their selected prompt and theme, and explains why they have

focused on the prompt “What features of knowledge have an impact on its reliability?” The

student then makes explicit references to the prompt throughout the response explaining role of

objectivity, biases and relativism as features of knowledge impact the reliability of knowledge.

The exhibition is lucid, precise and convincing as the links between each of the three objects and

IA prompt are clearly made and well explained. There is strong justification of the particular

contribution that each individual object makes to the exhibition. All, or nearly all, of the points

are well supported by appropriate evidence and explicit references to the selected IA prompt.