6.
"Humans are pattern seeking animals and we are adept at fin finding ing
patterns whether they exist or not" (adapted from Michael Shermer). Discuss knowledge uestions raised !y this idea in two areas of knowledge. The human brain seeks coherence, structure and order in the information that we receive from our senses. In order to make sense of the world around us, we seek to establish patterns that is to become recognizable to us. Intuitively, we believe that the collection of knowledge must have had some sort of pattern and the ability to seek these patterns is fundamental to our ability to learn from the knowledge that we have acquired. However, how certain are we that these patterns actually represent the knowledge that we are looking for? ichael !hermer said that the patterns that we find are often real, while at other times, they are "ust mostly manifestations of chance. This has therefore raised the question, #To what e$tent can the creation of patterns truly assist us in acquiring knowledge of the world around us?% &att &atter erns ns ofte often n give give the the mean meanin ing g of #som #somet ethi hing ng typi typica call that that can can be repe repeat ated ed,, something capable of repetition into smaller copies% '(renader, )**+. To e$plore whether these patterns that we find really do assist in giving us knowledge, it is vital for us to specify the kind of knowledge that we seek for in terms of the -reas of nowledge. -n area of knowledge that we tend to see patterns in is history, which studies about the recorded past. (eorge !antayana, a prominent figure in /lassical -merican &hilosophy once said that, #those who do not learn history are condemned to repeat it.% The words quoted from this famous philosopher indicates that human behaviour tends to repeat itself over time and in history this is known as historic recurrence. The repetition of similar events in history can facilitate us to identify patterns of historical events and these patterns can be used to infer about uncertain events or simply to make conclusion to predict the outcomes of problems occurring
1
in current events and propose solutions to solve it. 0or instance, the current political scandal in !outh orea has been compared to the political scandal that led to the fall of the 1ussian 2mpire in )*)3). The president of !outh orea, &ark (eun4Hye was revealed to be consulting a daughter of a cult leader, a shaman regarding official duties similar to how Tsar 5icholas II of 1ussia confided with 1asputin, a mystic monk. Tsar 5icholas6s actions led to the enragement of the royal family and the citizens alike which caused political parties calling for the downfall of their emperor. &resident &ark (eun4Hye6s similar actions also led to a similar response from the citizens, calling for the impeachment of their president. The pattern that can be identified in both these situations will help us identify the actions that we could take to solve the current political scandal in !outh orea based on what had happened to the 1ussian 2mpire. However, when making decisions based on history, it must be noted that there are uncertainties that come with it. The question of #Is knowledge of the past ever certain?% comes to light. nowledge of the past is never certain and this is due to the lack of complete certainty of evidence there is to support historical claims. 7hen there is lack of complete certainty of the evidences provided, it is hard for us to come up with patterns from it. -n e$ample where there is not complete certainty in the evidence provided is the debate of the e$istence of Hang Tuah 8. Hang Tuah is known as a prominent figure in alay history due to his loyalty to the king and his bravery. However, a debate sparked in the year 89)8 where authorities had
1 Monitor, T. C. S., & Rosen, B. (2016, October 31). Rasputin-i!e scan"a in Sout# $orea ec#oes o% "ictatoria past. Retriee" 'eceber 21, 2016, %ro sia *aci%ic, #ttp+.csonitor.coor"sia-*aci%ic20161031Rasputin-i!e-scan"a-in-Sout#$orea-ec#oes-o%-"ictatoria-past 2 Be"i, R. s. (2012, /anuar 22). s an Tua# %act or %iction4 - nation 5 t#e Star Onine. Retriee" 'eceber, 2016, %ro #ttp+.t#estar.co.nesnation20120122is-#antua#-%act-or-%iction
2
disagreements of whether this man was simply a myth or not. The argument of him being a myth came from the uncertainty in the evidences that proved his e$istence. The lack of certainty in the evidences provided causes it to be difficult to identify the patterns in the historical events because people were unsure whether these events really happened and to make decisions on current events based on the uncertain events would most likely produce the unwanted outcome. 5atural !ciences also provide an interaction as to why humans seek for patterns. 5atural !ciences is a branch of science that deals with the study of the physical world:. To understand how the world works, we tend to ask new questions about the things that are occurring around us and by using patterns, we can answer our inquiries. To identify patterns in natural sciences, e$perimentation is used and this will help refine the old patterns that we have employed which would make the patterns more general or specific. 2$perimentation is understood as the components of the traditional scientific method. !cientific method is important in order to e$plain the phenomenon in question as this is done through a series of process that begins with the hypothesis, e$perimentation, analysis and back to the prediction. 0rom the results of the e$periments that we have done, we can identify patterns and compare it with our hypothesis. The identification of pattern is crucial for scientists to use in their analysis in order to arrive at a valid conclusion. 0or instance, !ir -le$ander 0leming discovered penicillin by incident due to him detecting an unusual pattern that he found in his e$periment through his observations. !ir -le$ander 0leming compared the pattern that he found in his e$periment on influenza virus to the pattern that he found from his e$periment with lysozyme. 0rom the patterns that he
3 t#eoro%!noe"e. T#e natura sciences. Retriee" 'eceber 22, 2016, %ro #ttp+.t#eoro%!noe"e.netareas-o%-!noe"et#e-natura-sciences
3
compared, it has led to the discovery of penicillin which was then used to treat infections caused by bacteria such as pneumonia. !ome patterns in natural sciences, however, have long been accepted and this may be more difficult for us to disprove of, especially since they are widely accepted in the shared4knowledge community. This raises the question, #To what e$tent is the knowledge in the area of natural science conceived from pattern creation open to change?% !cientific knowledge is known to be durable since it is based on empirical evidences, it strives for ob"ectivity. However, as it is a human endeavour, the process, the methods, and the knowledge relating to science all include sub"ectivity as this involves the creativity derived from the imagination of humans and discovery. 0or instance, a new study in 89); discovers on how blood is formed affected the knowledge of how blood was made <. The new research suggested that blood in the human body is formed a few steps earlier than what is previously believed. This has led to the opening of a new door that allowed for new studies and treatments relating to blood cells. In conclusion, patterns do give us valuable knowledge of the world surrounding us as it could be used to "ustify the phenomena around us and to predict our future movements. !ince we are humans, we live each moment receiving massive amounts of sensory data and given our limited abilities as humans, the process of analysing and interpreting the moments we are e$periencing as well as predicting our future movements may be e$hausting and is almost impossible for us to do. 7e do not have immediate access to the reality surrounding us. Therefore, what us humans attempt to do is create a =net6 of life models and knowledge that resembles 4 ie", '. (2017, oeber 8). e "iscoer c#anes eert#in e !no about #o boo" is a"e. Retriee" 'eceber 22, 2016, %ro #ttp+.scienceaert.cone"iscoer-c#anes-eert#in-e-t#ou#t-about-#o-#uans-a!e-boo"
4
the phenomena we observe around us almost similarly. However, not all knowledge we receive from the creation of patterns are perfect as the patterns themselves are sometimes not real. Therefore, as human beings it is important that we identify whether the patterns that we seek for is real for a better interpretation of the phenomena that is occurring around us. '):<> 7ords
5
i!liography -rchive for theory of knowledge. '899>, ecember . 1etrieved @ctober )8, 89)+, from httpsABBneandergal.wordpress.comBtagBtheory4of4knowledge Cedi, 1. s. '89)8, Danuary 88. Is Hang Tuah fact or fiction? 4 nation E the !tar @nline. 1etrieved 0ebruary 88, 89)3, from httpABBwww.thestar.com.myBnewsBnationB89)8B9)B88Bis4hang4tuah4fact4or4fictionB /otterill, T. '89):, arch :9. Humans are pattern seeking primates hunting for habits. 1etrieved @ctober )8, 89)+, from httpsABBthomascotterill.wordpress.comB89):B9:B:9Bhumans4are4pattern4seeking4 primates4hunting4for4habitsB (renander, F. ')**+. Elements of pattern theory: A catalogue Raisonne. Caltimore,d.A The Dohns Hopkins Fniversity &ress. "ohnnyzenith. '89);, 0ebruary 8<. Humans and the pattern seeking brain. 1etrieved @ctober )8, 89)+, from httpsABBthezenithblog.wordpress.comB89);B98B8
6
