children, teenagers, and adults alike. These stereotypes develop trends for humans to follow, and create a universal group for all humans to unite in and belong to. This essentially fulfills one of human nature's greatest desires: a need to belong. In addition, without universally accepted social conventions, tourists would quite often be misconstrued and unclear in their meaning, as customary beliefs and actions would be unknown to foreigners of a country. Universal conventions, in a sense, act as a language of communication, from region to region. Therefore, conventions are closely tied to Ways of Knowing as well as Areas of Knowledge. By researching and studying within limits of accepted conventions, society will generally be more welcoming to new concepts and the results that surface. By conforming to these conventions, it is figuratively recognized that these results are dependable, as it contends with the societal norms. In addition, without these conventions, problems that game theorists commonly refer to as "co-ordination problems" would come into existence. Without the conventions that bind our society as a whole, chaos would erupt due to the lack of order and anticipation, as this anticipation is embedded into our mental structure and a large part of human behaviour. Thus, this anticipation stemmed from conventions allows us theorize expected results, from which we can largely base our conclusions on, obviously with imperceptible deviations. In a sense, conventions act as standards for society to base scientific research and ethical concepts on. Thus, this would in turn lead to a faster rate of human development and a more efficient learning process.
Adhering to accepted conventions is also an opportunity to challenge these very societal norms. By following these conventions, one can follow the path anticipated and discover for himself whether this path is "right" or "wrong". In other words, working accordingly to conventional methods provides a chance for one to seek truth for himself and challenge what is considered to be true in society. This ultimately is an ideal process of learning, for one can obtain first-hand experience and know in the future which path to follow. By challenging what is considered to be correct, one can develop and practice individualism, sprouting to unparalleled creativity and unique ideas difficult to muster through other techniques of learning. Eventually, constituted from this individual rationality, one will learn to express himself more optimally, which is a milestone in the Arts, an Area of Knowledge. By challenging the very threads of our society, one will develop the nature and tendency to ask questions and challenge what he is being told. Society has adopted these conventions and perused them to such an extent that any individual who defies this definition of "normal" is instantly rendered an "outsider", so to speak. As the existentialist novel The Outsider by Albert Camus and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka points out, so long as one does not fit in the description of the norm, he will be alienated from society. Existentialism states that one must exercise freedom of choice and discover truth for oneself. In addition, as Sartre denotes, humans must bear the burden of their own responsibilities, and must avoid referring to self-eluding and methods that mask one's motives. As the International Baccalaureate demands, students must become more open-minded to new ideas and cultivate their acceptance. Challenging these conventions not only allows us to discover "truth" for ourselves, but also question and cultivate our morality and ethics. Is this what one is supposed to do? Is it morally correct? By weighing the two options, one will discover more about his own values and ethics, another Area of Knowledge. This plays a large role in life, as ethics will ultimately
determine our interaction with other human beings and in turn our successes in the future. In this case, multiple views of a concept or idea will be adopted.
Shying away from accepted conventions is also an ideal opportunity to refine and grow as an individual and a society. As previously mentioned, the Areas of Knowledge and conventions are closely linked. To quote Wayne W. Dyer, "Live one day at a time emphasizing ethics rather than rules." These rules, or conventions, often govern the way we think and the way we interact with one another. Sometimes this inflicts a negative influence upon us, and pressures us to conform and accede to this pressure. Although adopting unconventional methods, one will often suffer from ridicule and burlesque by contemporaries. This very uniqueness makes one stand out, and therefore his ideas will and words will be all the more effective. By breaking apart from these norms, one can adopt multiple perspectives to the matter, in ways that others who follow these norms, would not think of. Often, by thinking "outside the box", so to speak, one can discover new ideas previously unthought-of. By following accepted conventions, we are practically limiting our thinking and views to one common point of view. Perhaps by thinking beyond boundaries set by social conventions, better, more efficient and powerful methods would be thought of, thus advancing civilization to the next level. By comparing these ideas with the ideas with those who research through conventional methods, one can also determine for himself which is "right" and which is "wrong". Thinking "outside the box" is especially effective and necessary in the Sciences, for history has proven that those with the innovation and shockingly different concepts and theories are the most scientifically correct and renowned. If all scientists or all artists followed the same
method or ideas, human development would be caught in a loop, never progressing. All
artwork would suffer from dull repetition, as artists would fail to capture life through their own eyes. New ideas and discoveries are made on a daily basis because scientists choose to reject these accepted views. This is the very reason why breaking apart from accepted conventions is necessary for learning and development.
In conclusion, accepted conventions act as medium for the human population to learn from. Although they may constitute the ways of thinking and how to act in a society, they are at the same time, ideal learning tools that if used correctly, will aid in human development individually as well as a whole. This application is ideal to all Areas of Knowledge, for individualism and thirst for "truth" is central to all knowledge. Choosing to break apart from accepted conventions will ultimately allow one to consider his choices and recreate the meaning of "truth" for himself.
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