How important are material tools in the acquisition/production of

knowledge?
The TOK prompt I have selected is: How important are material tools in the

acquisition/production of knowledge? I will examine my objects in the method of the

Knowledge & Technology theme. Tools are essential to benefit information due to our

limitations. Materail tools can help us to overcome these. They allow us to make precise,

measurable, provable observations. I will explore each of these objects in detail with

continuous references to the prompt and theme as I find it crucial for material tools in the

acquisition/production of knowledge.

Object 1. Quipu System

The first object is Quipu. The Quipu is a system of records and accounts used in the

Inca Empire. This system, created by the Incas using coloured animal hair instead of ink and

paper, remains one of the greatest mysteries of the Inca Empire. The Inca Civilization, which
did not have an alphabet, used that system to count statistical data on the imperial population

and economy. Thanks to this system, historical events and statistics could quickly be recorded

by the Incas.

The Inca Empire, which is highly advanced in fields such as astronomy, geometry, and

mathematics, existed for 114 years and collapsed in 1533 after the Geographical Discoveries

by Spaniards. Unfortunately, we don't have much information about the Quipu system

because the Spaniards burned everything left of the Inca Empire. However, some shreds of

evidence help us to investigate this system.

This object is particularly significant for my exhibition because an empire without a

written language records the backbone information with pinches of thread that sustains the

state, then creates a written language within itself. Even today, we couldn't decipher that

system fully. I can't prevent myself ponder upon which level we would reach in terms of

technology and knowledge, which is in a state of disintegration of Quipu. Production of

knowledge is not just about comprising of it. Likewise, it should ensure that future

generations can quickly obtain information by recording them regularly. If more original

Quipu examples were left from Spaniards plunder today, we would live in a different world

with advanced science and technology. That's why unique tools like Quipu are significant

materials in the production and acquisition of knowledge.

 Object 2. Bot or Not

My second object is a screenshot from the website botor.no. It is an actual Turing test,

in which users are asked to chat with someone and guess if a human or machine spoke to

them. If they can't guess correctly, the robot wins the test by talking indistinctively from a

human. When I tried to do this test myself, the robot tricked me, and I thought I was chatting

with a human.

We use chatbots frequently to respond to basic inquiries when utilizing client service

or to book a regular checkup. Yet, with the ascent of chatbots, would we say we are sure that

the bot we are addressing is substantial or intended to phish for our imperative data and use it

with bad intentions? Even though bots will be oversimplified, as AI develops more refined,

you never fully know whether you are talking with a human or bot.
 Chatting is a different kind of knowledge that we use in our daily lives, which belongs

to humans. Artificial intelligence is a material tool that we have made to fulfil specific

assignments. However, with the improvement in technology, we are on the point that robots

can learn everything by themselves, which is called machine learning. Without any

involvement from the outside, our material tool produces knowledge by itself.

This test is one of my objects because we believe that human can chat only with a

human. From the sincerity of the messages or the abbreviation they used, we can surely

understand we are talking about someone alive. Nonetheless, the machine manages to fool us,

and it starts to add the human soul in its messages. Assuming a machine can create

characteristically human knowledge; obviously, material tools have a remarkable role in

making information.
 Object 3. Mirror

My third object is a mirror. This picture presents people who have body dysmorphic

disorder. Researchers at the University of London found that people tend to think that their

hands are more comprehensive and their fingers are shorter. However, this is not about only

their fingers and hands. Also, they see themselves as overweight although they are

underweight, or vice versa.

Consequently, those people start to make strict diets or use chemicals to lose

weight/get stronger. Even they fall back up for surgeries. Indeed, the problem is about the

mirror and the way that they look at it.

This connects to the IA prompt since the mirror is a tool that we use in our regular

day-to-day existence to see what we look like. Acquisition of knowledge for this situation

alludes to anyone concerned about "my body appearance" or "my self-perception". Presently
mirrors are universal and, we may depend on mirrors to procure information about our

appearance. We don't understand that we are getting a garbled picture of ourselves and these

outcomes in one-sided discernments.

This object is different from my other objects because it contradicts them. It shows

that the role of material tools in the acquisition of knowledge can be harmful too. Whereas

material tools can mislead and results in contorted knowledge. This is most likely valid for the

day-by-day information that we gain in regular individual lives, yet this can likewise be taken

as a lesson.

In conclusion, we can say that material tools are essential for the

production/acquisition of knowledge even though they misguide as my last object. They

generally allow us to make precise and provable observations.

Mehmet Kaya

References:

 "Şişman Gösteren Ayna Değil De Beyin Mi? - Hayat Haberleri." Radikal. Radikal, 17

June 2010. Web. 05 June 2021.

 "BOT OR NOT Explores Deceptive AI That Mimics Humans." 🤖BOT OR NOT🤷‍♀️.

Web. 05 June 2021.

 Gina. "Quipu: The Ancient Computer of the Inca Civilization." Peru For Less. 22 Apr.

2021. Web. 05 June 2021.