To what extent is certainty attainable?

To discuss the prompt “To what extent is certainty attainable” we must first understand what
certainty means, according to the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy “a belief is certain
when it is guaranteed to be true”. (Reed, 2008) I will be answering this question based on the
premise of the definition of Certainty.

Object 1 - Wristwatch
Chanan N (2022) My mother’s watch [photograph] photo taken on my iphone

My first object is my mother’s watch, whilst it’s sole purpose is to tell the time, it begs the
question of accuracy. All clocks regardless of whether it is analogue or digital experiences
clock drift. (Tirado-Andrés, F., & Araujo, A. 2019) A phenomenon describing how every clock
in existence will eventually desynchronize and display an “inaccurate” time. (Robert, 2022)
Manually adjusted devices are affected by inevitable environmental factors that we cannot
control like temperature and pressure. Even the International Atomic Time (TAI) experiences
this phenomenon. The TAI is a world reference clock measured by averaging the times of
400 atomic clocks. The TAI still deviates 1 second every 100 million years (Buckle and Bikos,
2022) and becomes 8 milliseconds shorter every day (Nielsen, 2022) as a result of clock drift

This object highlights how inconsistency prevents us from obtaining certainty. Considering
the skew of the TAI and the deviation from individual time pieces will create inconsistency
beyond the scope of our understanding. Our pursuit of certainty is hindered by the lack of a
consistent method of measuring time due to the existence of clock drift.

The inclusion of this watch aids my explanation of how certainty is unattainable without a
true definitive “answer”. When the claim fails to be in accord with reality, in this case, the
inaccurate time caused by the phenomenon, it can no longer be guaranteed to be true. With
no existence of a consistent accurate time, regardless of the abundance of technology, there
exists a constant change and deviation. If the time displayed is constantly experiencing
deviation then I cannot be certain of the time.

Object 2 - Calorimeter
Source - https://www.westlab.com/physics/physics-a-m/heat/444-7100-electric-calorimeter

My second object is a calorimeter, a piece of instrument used in laboratories to measure the

heat content of certain substances or otherwise known as the Enthalpy of a substance. A
reaction takes place within a chamber surrounded by water, by which the heat release or
absorbed will cause a temperature change in the liquid, measured by a thermometer The
enthalpy change can then be calculated with the values from the experiment . (Bunsen, 2022)

This object links to the prompt because of the inevitability of uncertainty within science, the
most apparent uncertainty with this apparatus being the unpredictability of heat. When
energy transfer occurs during this reaction, heat is lost to the surroundings as it cannot be
contained. Conduction between the reaction and the container can also occur regardless of
implementation of insulators. (Heat Loss Happens!, 2022), therefore, preventing the
subsequent heat from transferring completely to the water. These limitations manifest as
random error within the experiment and cannot, in theory, be eliminated by repeated testing.
(Bellas, 2021). Yet this method of measurement is still widely used by scientists and even
students all around the world.

This object was included in this exhibition because it highlights the potential of attaining
certainty within the area of science. Our knowledge of the internal energy content of
substance is limited due to the uncontrollable error with the experiment. However, values
obtained from experiments using this method are still highly regarded. Nevertheless,
although an absolute value from the experiment will never be obtained, the principles of
science ironically allows an admissible degree of uncertainty. The common knowledge of
science exists with a margin of error, and within the area of science, this is considered to be
the highest degree of certainty. Hence suggesting that even if the guaranteed truth cannot
be attained, our shared knowledge in science relies on what we accept to be true, instead of
what is actually true.
 Object 3 - Official IB Maths AA formula booklet
Source - https://www.mochidoesmaths.com/d_5_mataa_inf_1902_1_e.pdf

This is the Official IB Maths AA formula booklet that all Maths IB students will use throughout
their IB journey. The purpose of this booklet is to provide equations needed to solve
mathematical problems . Take for instance the Cosine theorem, an equation used often in
trigonometry questions. If all the corresponding values of the two adjacent sides and theta
are imputed into the equation, it will always equal the remaining sides. This can be proven
by using a ruler and students using this formula are certain without having to measure it,
because the equation is true.

This object links to this exhibition because it represents the connection of maths and
certainty. Mathematics is one of the most reliable areas of knowledge due to deductive
reasoning. (Popov, 2020) In basic arithmetic, we are certain that 1+1=2 because there are
logical justifications rooted from deductive reasoning. (Ernest, P. 2016) Some may use
observations and proof interchangeably, but in reality it can’t be. While observations can
sometimes be true, it may not always be consistent. Proof is the logical conclusion of an
argument, and when an axiom is proven then certainty is attainable within the system.
(Mathigon, 2022) The fundamentals of maths are built upon universally accepted axioms,
hence it could be argued that the standard of justification within mathematics simply relies on
the truth.

This object was included to demonstrate how the way we seek certainty affects whether we
attain it. In mathematics, the truth can solely prove theorems and axioms providing a source
of certainty. Whilst in the area of history or arts, other variables like perspective may come
into play. Consequently, the degree of certainty that is being sought must be clear in order to
determine whether certainty is attainable. The extent to which we attain certainty can widely
vary between different areas of knowledge.
Word count : 942

(Reed, 2008) Reed, B., 2008. Certainty (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy). [online]
Plato.stanford.edu. Available at: <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/certainty> [Accessed 20 February
2022].

Tirado-Andrés, F., & Araujo, A. (2019). Performance of clock sources and their influence on
time synchronisation in wireless sensor networks. International Journal of Distributed Sensor
Networks. https://doi.org/10.1177/1550147719879372

(Robert, 2022) Robert, W., 2022. Distribute systems. [online] Cl.cam.ac.uk. Available at:
<https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/teaching/1516/ConcDisSys/2016-DistributedSystems-1B-L4.pd> [Accessed
20 February 2022].

(Nielsen, 2022) Nielsen, B., 2022. Time in Distributed Systems. [online] People.cs.aau.dk. Available
at: <http://people.cs.aau.dk/~bnielsen/DS-E08/material/clock.pdf > [Accessed 20 February 2022].

(Bunsen, 2022) Bunsen, R., 2022. calorimeter | instrument. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica.
Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/technology/calorimeter> [Accessed 20 February 2022].

(Heat Loss Happens!, 2022) Rnceus.com. 2022. Heat Loss Happens!. [online] Available at:
<https://www.rnceus.com/hypo/heat_loss.htm> [Accessed 20 February 2022].

(Bellas, 2021) Bellas, Z., 2021. What are the possible sources of error in a calorimetry experiment?.
[online] FINDANYANSWER. Available at:
<https://findanyanswer.com/what-are-the-possible-sources-of-error-in-a-calorimetry-experiment>
[Accessed 20 February 2022].

(Popov, 2020) Popov, A., 2020. IB Theory of Knowledge - A Student's Guide. Themantic education.

Ernest, P. (2016). The problem of certainty in mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics,

92(3), 379–393. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24830669