What makes a good explanation?

Knowledge and the Knower

Object 1: Lizzo’s Twitter post of Van sneaker (my own screenshot)

Lizzo. (2019, October 13). I see grey and teal what color do you see???? Twitter. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Flizzo%2Fstatus
%2F1183490258471653376&psig=AOvVaw1gfUC2PylCaXFE6VBjeS42&ust=1648648189117000&source=i
mages&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjhxqFwoTCKDd2Z-76_YCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

My first object is a Tweet posted in October 2019, by Pop icon Lizzo’s. She generated global
hysteria about Van’s ‘pink and white or grey and teal’ sneakers. This post claimed that if the
observer sees pink and white “ur right brain is dominant…”, and if grey and teal, “ur left brain is
dominant…”. Millions accepted the perception of colours is due to the influence of cognitive
categorisation. This simplistic approach to sense perception justified the right/left brain dominant
claim without any validation. Months later, scientific evidence proved this to be false.

I will explain how keywords from the prompt, "what makes a good explanation" manifest in this
object. Lizzo is a musician rather than a scientist and it is unclear what her motives are for making
such a post. The object offers its own knowledge about left/right brain dominance depending on
which colours one sees. The audience becomes the knower by simply taking part and self-
determining which side of their brain is dominant. Lizzo’s post does not provide any scientific
evidence to validate the explanation, however, that seemed not to be important to her fans.

I chose this object to highlight peoples’ naivety about social media and the ease with which
celebrities can post anything that their followers will accept. I did test this with my friends just as
the post requested, and they too were willing to follow the Tweet and not challenge the science.
During the latter part of 2019, The American Academy of Ophthalmology revealed that not
everyone sees colours in the same way because of different visual pigments in eyes. Lizzo’s post
provided a good explanation at the time and as long as it went unchallenged. Perhaps this Tweet
after all was just a clever marketing ploy to subliminally advertise Vans sneakers, but it lacked
credible scientific evidence that would have made a genuine explanation.
 Object 2: Article on Elon Musk’s Neuralink (my own screenshot)

Regalado, A. (2020, August 30). Elon Musk's Neuralink is neuroscience theater. MIT technology review. Retrieved
February 21, 2022, from https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/30/1007786/elon-musks-neuralink-demo-
update-neuroscience-theater/

My second object is an MIT Technology Reviews article about Elon Musk’s live stream on brain
implants published on 30th August 2020 by Antonio Regalado. Musk created a technology-led
neuroscience company, Neuralink in 2018 and claimed that implants in the brain would “cure
blindness, paralysis, deafness…”. Regalado reported that Musk failed to provide a clear explanation
to support their extraordinary claims.

A good explanation, even from a highly successful visionary such as Musk, offering cures for
devastating human defects must go beyond ‘trust me’ rhetoric. Regalado disparaged Neuralink by
relabeling it as, “Neuroscience Theatre”, implying make-believe and drama. Regalado continues
that Musk oversimplifies the complexity of implants and as Musk states it is “kind of like a Fitbit in
your skull, with tiny wires”. Musk relinquishes responsibility to the audience by insisting, “This
actually does work” and Regalado suggests that Musk only manages to offer an explanation that
relies on rudimentary technology and fails to even show a path to building the evidence.

I chose this object because technology is evolving at such a pace that even outlandish promises have
the potential to become reality. However, this can not be achieved without significant focus,
investment and continuous winning of consumer trust. In reality, Musk is undermining his own
vision by introducing this simplistic explanation that might even damage the Tesla brand. Musk
does not live up to his reputation due to a rather blasé and possibly ill-prepared presentation. Tech
companies simply can not succeed without consumer trust, (Padmos, 2022). Whilst I feel Object 1
did not make a genuinely scientific claim, but rather a clever marketing ploy, Object 2 promised
leaps into the scientific frontier but failed to deliver a reputable explanation that matched its goal.
As a knower, I enjoy social media as I am conscious that this is for fun, however, anything else
should be measured, fact-based and reliable.

Object 3: Article on Eagle Eye Manifesto copied on the Guardian (my own screenshot)
The Guardian. (2018, March 23). Our manifesto to fix America's gun laws. The Guardian. Retrieved March 17, 2022,
from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2018/mar/23/parkland-students-manifesto-americas-
gun-laws

My third object is an article written by the survivors of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas high
school ‘massacre’, proposing stricter gun controls published in the school’s newspaper the ‘Eagle
Eye’. Students shared a harrowing experience that needed to be articulated and the opening remarks
declared that they all spoke with one voice. As knowers, they could genuinely craft a persuasive
explanation that would move communities and reach beyond legislators and special interests.
Students rallied to generate support for their campaign ‘March for Our Lives’. A good explanation
must be persuasive on its own merit and may become more powerful with emotion.

The community was devastated by the shootings, yet it chose a peaceful method of explanation
through a manifesto that intended political intervention. These students were “first-hand witnesses”
to the violence, 17 lost their lives and the survivors described the terror and devastation. The power
and truth emanating from their message of “irreparable damage to hearts and minds” brings
empathy and understanding to the reader. The students wrote a powerful message demanding action
for gun control.

I chose this object because it is important to understand that what seems an obvious response to a
devastating event that tortured a whole community and vast parts of America, there will always be a
counterargument. 53% of Americans favoured stricter gun laws in 2021, which was a decline from
60% in 2019 (Schaeffer 2021). People will campaign and hold true to their values especially the
pro-gun lobby that in the face of such tragedies still holds the upper hand. However, the
experiences shared by the students and their campaign resulted in “the largest single-day protest in
the history of the nation’s capital,” (Lopez, 2018) with over 1.2 million people. Clearly, the
manifesto successfully provided a valid explanation that persuaded so many to march for gun
control.
Word Count without in-text citations (922)

Works cited:

Ilchi, L. (2019, October 17). Pink and White or Teal and Gray? Color Expert Weighs in on the
Viral Vans Sneaker. WWD.com. Retrieved October 3, 2021, from
https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/pink-and-white-teal-and-gray-viral-vans-
sneakers-color-expert-explains-why-1203348226/
Sadeghi, M. (2019). Fact check: Photo of a sneaker does not reveal which side of your brain is
more dominant. Eu.usatoday. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/03/15/fact-check-sneaker-photo-doesnt-
show-which-side-brain-dominant/4648022001/
Lagemaat, R. van de. (2014). IB diploma: Theory of knowledge for the IB diploma (2nd ed.).
Cambridge University Press.
Padmos, D. (2022, January 19). In the future of tech, will fortune favor the trusted? EY Building
Better Working World. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.ey.com/en_us/technology-
sector/in-the-future-of-tech-will-fortune-favor-the-trusted
Gaiman, N. (2021, September 10). What Is Logos? Definition and Examples of Logos in Literature.
MasterClass. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-logos-definition-and-examples-of-logos-in-
literature
Regalado, A. (2020, August 30). Elon Musk's Neuralink is neuroscience theater. MIT technology
review. Retrieved February 21, 2022, from
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/30/1007786/elon-musks-neuralink-demo-
update-neuroscience-theater/
Image: Bardon, A. (2020, June 25). Humans are hardwired to dismiss facts that don't fit their
worldview. The Conservation. Retrieved December 10, 2021, from
https://theconversation.com/humans-are-hardwired-to-dismiss-facts-that-dont-fit-their-worldview-
127168
Lopez, G. (2018, March 26). It's official: March for Our Lives was one of the biggest youth
protests since the Vietnam War. VOX. Retrieved March 24, 2022, from
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/26/17160646/march-for-our-lives-crowd-
size-count
Schaeffer, K. (2021, September 13). Key facts about Americans and guns. PEW RESEARCH
CENTER. Retrieved March 24, 2022, from
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/13/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/
The Guardian. (2018, March 23). Our manifesto to fix America's gun laws. The Guardian.
Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2018/mar/23/parkland-students-
manifesto-americas-gun-laws
BIG THINK. (2017, April 30). 0:42 / 5:41 Do Our Senses Reveal the World—Or Do They Obscure
It? | Beau Lotto | Big Think [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=J07XGg6Rnzo&t=40s