A prerequisite of a comprehensive analysis of T.S. Eliot's famous quotation is a definition for each of the salient words he adduces.

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TOK II: Paper 1                                                                Daniel King

A prerequisite of a comprehensive analysis of T.S. Eliot’s famous quotation is a definition for each of the salient words he adduces. Knowledge is data itself; understanding and erudition, acquired through study or experience. The paradigm of information can best be understood by finding the concept that the word stands for: communication. The word information implies a systematic collection of data or knowledge and its transmission to one or more recipients. Wisdom entails a vastly different paradigm; the knowledge that has been accumulated must now be manipulated in such a way that practical application is possible, truth can be discovered, right can be discerned from wrong through profound contemplation, and a long-term analysis of ramifications can be conducted. Once these three essentialist definitions are understood, the meaning of Eliot’s assertion, and its accuracy, can be grasped: A human being can, because information is available in such copious quantities in the Information Age, be over-encumbered with knowledge.

The nascent Globalization movement has, on a cosmopolitan scale, been a catalyst for change in every major field of human endeavour. The implications of this recent phenomenon on humanity’s pursuit of knowledge have been staggering. People living in obscure localities have the capability to transmit information across skies, mountains and oceans to people living in continents they have never seen. While it may appear that this undeniable increase in the efficiency of the permeation of knowledge will only lead to the proliferation of wisdom, the human brain is not versatile enough to absorb information, its implications, and its symbolic value if it is being relentlessly bombarded with knowledge from many different sources.

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Unfortunately, the aforementioned depiction of the average Information Age’s human being is increasingly prevalent, especially as the effects of Globalization are felt across more and more of the planet. The growth of mass media conglomerates with the scope to broadcast to the farthest reaches of the earth ensures the palpability of a process of indoctrination. As a result of keeping this in mind, the question that must be asked is: What is the effect of this reality on the human brain?

Because there has been an expansion in humanity’s access to information, thanks to Globalization, humanity is becoming ...

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