T.O.

K Exhibition
Prompt: Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?
Word Count: 940

The TOK prompt I chose is "Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other
knowers?" My exhibition explores this prompt by looking at everyday interactions people
have and how these interactions shape their knowledge.

Object 1: My grandma’s recipe book

The first object that I chose is my grandma’s recipe book. She lived in the 20th century and
she was known for her cooking. My grandma created a recipe book full of knowledge that
she gathered from her relatives, friends and ancestors. As a kid I always loved my
grandma’s cooking and it held a special place in my heart. The recipe book is very important
to me, because it allows me to use knowledge stored in it in the form of recipes and cook the
food that I wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise. This object is relevant to my chosen
prompt, because it demonstrates how other knowers can shape one’s own knowledge. For
example from this recipe book I have gathered knowledge previously unknown to me. It
shows that direct interaction with other knowers is not always necessary to gain knowledge.
This object demonstrates how knowledge does not only depend on face-to-face
communication with other knowers but that it can also be gained through indirect interactions
if it is saved on an object like a book.
 T.O.K Exhibition
Prompt: Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?
Object 2: Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping beauty ballet

(Music-Scores)

The second object that I chose is Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s sleeping beauty ballet. In my
childhood when I was 7 years of age I was playing beautiful music in collaboration with my
sister on the piano. The music called “Sleeping Beauty Waltz” is a piece from the sleeping
beauty ballet, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The date of creation of this music is the
19th century (en.tchaikovsky-research.net). Despite the time gap of two centuries, I was able
to get knowledge about the music of the romantic era, with its beautiful melody and nice
harmony. When I was playing this music I connected with the composer and felt the
aesthetics of the time. Even today when I remember this music I realise how much the
written notes of the music helped me to develop my skills and get knowledge about this form
of art, while at the same time connecting with the specific era the music was made in and
acquainting myself with it. This is why this object is related to my prompt “Does our
knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?” It demonstrates how knowledge
can be shared without direct interaction, across times and can be replicated by anyone,
anytime.
 T.O.K Exhibition
Prompt: Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?

Object 3: My personal laptop computer

In the 1930s and 1940s the two earliest electronic computers were invented. The names of
the two were ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) built at Iowa state University between 1937
and 1942 and the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) created in 1946.
These first computers were able to produce solutions for linear physics equations, perform
parallel processing, convert numbers from base-10 to base-2, and carry out binary
arithmetics. The ENIAC was built later in 1946 and was deemed the “First Large-scale
electronic computer.” It weighed approximately 30 tons and was funded by the U.S army. It
was able to perform high-speed calculations compared to other machines at its time
(www.encyclopedia.com). Both of the earliest computers had their problems, such as low
memory capacities and slow calculations. This brings us to today, the computer industry has
advanced a lot in the past 8 decades. The technology was released for public use and
changed many people's lives indefinitely. With the invention of transistors and the integrated
circuit chip, computer makers were able to drastically decrease the size of each unit while
making it much faster than its predecessors. My third object that I chose for my exhibition is
my personal laptop computer, the HP Victus. It weighs just around 2.5 kilograms and can do
much more complex calculations in mere seconds compared to the first electronic
computers. The substantial decrease in weight and the inclusion of a long-lasting battery has
made laptop computers portable and able to operate far away from the nearest source of
power. Computers have also developed in their functionality, if the first computers were only
used to produce mathematical calculations, modern systems of today can do much more,
including: communication, entertainment, documentation e.t.c My object links to the prompt “
Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?” because it
demonstrates how no interactions between knowers need to occur in order to obtain
knowledge that humanity has gathered. A modern computer is the prime example of human
 T.O.K Exhibition
Prompt: Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?
interaction as it allows us to interact with other people that we do not know or interact with
on a daily basis. Today’s world is filled with large data centres, containing humanities
knowledge and everything we have learned about the world we live in. One example of this
would be if you didn’t know how to solve a maths problem. Normally you would need to
message or contact a friend or a teacher for guidance, this would be an example of
interacting with another knower to get knowledge that they have and you do not. But with a
computer there are other ways of receiving knowledge, you can look at many
documentations or guides on how to solve your maths problem on the internet. This would
mean that interacting with other knowers and obtaining knowledge that you don't possess, is
not only one way of getting knowledge, but also indirect interactions with people all around
the world, that you don’t know in person or have never had direct contact with.

Sources:

en.tchaikovsky-research.net. (n.d.). The Sleeping Beauty - Tchaikovsky Research. Available

at: https://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/The_Sleeping_Beauty. (Accessed: 16 April,
2023)

www.encyclopedia.com. (n.d.). Computers, Evolution of Electronic | Encyclopedia.com.

Available at: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/
computers-evolution-electronic. (Accessed: 17 April, 2023)

Music-Scores (n.d.). Sleeping Beauty Waltz Bass Clarinet Tchaikovsky. Music Scores.
Available at: https://www.music-scores.com/sheet-music.php?
download=Tchaikovsky_Op66_Sleeping_Beauty_Waltz_BassClarinet (Accessed 16 april,
2023)