This is my IB Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Essay which aims to answer the knowledge question: "`Statistics conceal as much as they reveal´. Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge."
It was externally graded by IB Examiners in the May 2021 session and scored an A (8/10). Written b...
“Statistics conceal as much as they reveal”. Discuss this claim with
reference to two areas of knowledge.
Candidate number:
Word count: 1600
Date of submission: May 2021
, Statistics are calculations based on data and are widely used in our daily lives. The
idea that “statistics conceal as much as they reveal” suggests that they misinform the
same amount as they inform, making me disagree with this claim. I believe that, though
statistics can be helpful and inform, they are more frequently used to conceal,
misinform and mislead more than we think. While the verb “conceal” means to hide or
cover up something and tends to have negative connotations, “reveal” means to make
something known, and tends to have positive ones. However, it is important to note
that concealing something is not always negative and likewise, revealing is not always
positive. These terms are subjective, as they are influenced by personal feelings,
tastes or opinions and thus, what is “concealing” to someone may be “revealing” to
someone else. It is therefore necessary to ask: “To what extent do statistics lead to
the concealment of shared knowledge in Human and Natural Sciences?” and “To what
extent do statistics lead to the acquisition of knowledge in Human and Natural
Sciences?”.
Statistics can conceal shared knowledge in Natural Sciences. Though Natural
Scientists collect data through observations by using sense perception and certain
tools, including microscopes or scanners, observations alone cannot validate or
disprove a hypothesis. Experimentation however, can. Scientists use intuition, reason
and imagination when creating a hypothesis, and then carry out experiments multiple
times to collect and analyse data, allowing them to draw a conclusion and acquire
knowledge that is considered to be ‘true’ today.
In October 1995, the UK Committee of Safety of Medicine (CSM) warned that, though
oral contraceptive pills containing certain progestogens were safe and effective for
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