Theory Of Knowledge Exhibition
Martin Hema
Can new knowledge change established values or beliefs?
Optional Theme: Knowledge and the knower.
Object 1 – OJ Simpson trying on leather gloves
For my initial object, I have selected the gloves the former athlete O.J. Simpson was prosecuted to wear in his
murder trial, the most televised in US history, to change established values and beliefs regarding his
innocence. I chose this object to display how one piece of monumental knowledge can shift general opinion
based on preceding knowledge.
The essential premise of the justice system is two conflicting sides determined to convince a jury of randomly
selected, unbiased jurors free of cognitive dissonance with the duty of deciding the fate of a defendant based
purely upon the facts and evidence presented to them. Contextually speaking, this verdict was seemingly
evident, as an overwhelming record of events stemming from irrefutable DNA-evidence, lack of an alibi,
attempted fleeing, and even audio testimony and confession from O.J Simpson himself contribute to a definite
guilty verdict.
This is where the object I have selected fundamentally changed the momentum of this trial, thus changing
iron-clad values and the belief he was guilty. The defendant’s gloves contained DNA evidence from the
murder victims which is an irrefutable fact. The gloves were confiscated from directly within OJ’s estate,
which would lead the jury to assume they belonged to him, and to confirm this publicly he was asked to wear
them. But they did not fit. Due to this, seemingly indisputable facts presented before them led to uncertainty
in the jury’s confirmation bias regarding his innocence. Once discovering how one piece of evidence could
have represented this man’s innocence, the integrity of every other piece of evidence was questioned and
ultimately shattered in the eyes of the jury; leading to an acquittal. As soon as one piece of new knowledge
has been uncovered, a chain reaction, or in other words a domino-effect starts to taint all other pieces of
evidence and cloud the judgement of the selected jurors. From this, it is evident that this new piece of
knowledge can change current values and beliefs, by overwhelming large amounts of evidence and turning
the tide of judgement.
Object 2 – Ice found on the surface of Mars – captured by NASA
My second object selected for this exhibition is a credible photograph of frozen water on Mars, by NASA.
Making its first appearance in 2018, this new evidence provides a confirmation about the past and present
geological composition of Mars.
As a result, the scientific community began theorizing how the potential presence of liquid water on Mars
could mean that the conditions at one time were sufficient to allow for the emergence of microbial life,
according to NASA. This relates to the prompt as Mars, for a significant period, had been acknowledged as a
dry desolate wasteland incapable of hosting any life forms. With this new revelation, the scientific world has
been full of new hypotheses and possibilities such as Mars’ habitability, which previously seemed fruitless. It
also raises the question “Was Mars at some point similar to Earth? And if so, perhaps we could move there if
necessary?”. This discovery raises hope for the future of space travel and realised prior ‘conspiracy theories’
into tangible possibilities. Even water, the most standard element found on Earth, which we wouldn’t secondguess, being discovered on Mars has immense implications as it supersedes everything we knew before about
the planet.
The photograph is a prime example of how new knowledge can overwrite established beliefs, and change the
practically global consensus among scientists, the pioneers of the modern world. If even these people, the
most innovative thinkers of our time who lead us into the future are accepting towards new knowledge, then
that must be how humanity has made progress thus far. It is quite evident that it’s within human nature to
exponentially grow and seek knowledge as seen in the last two centuries with the rapid growth in technology
and infrastructure, all as a result of new knowledge being taken into consideration.
Object 3 – 3D Food Printer
My third object is a 3D food-based filament printer; used to make food autonomously in a precise and
consistent manner. This new technological advancement raises conjectures about the unsolved global
concern around world hunger.
Such a revolutionary invention helps in combatting the fight against world hunger, as populations rise and
global crises become harder to manage, one necessity for life—food—becomes scarce. Until now, it has been
thought that hunger has been an unsolvable crisis due to rising populations and diminishing welfares. I have
picked it because it revolutionises the way we view the concept of hunger, as we can now prepare basic,
simple foods in mass quantities with zero waste, and everlasting shelf-lives; resulting in a plethora of
advancements in social welfare, eliminate food waste, reduce carbon emissions and several other advantages
if nurtured and developed further. Additionally, this new technology overwrites former notions about food—
which we thought to be entirely organic and perishable matter—but now has been industrialised for
convenience and the masses of people still in need. When it comes to such a health-related topic like food,
scepticism is sure to arise—doubting whether such industrialisation of food is sanitary and safe—but on the
other hand, the industrialisation of food is already in place to a lesser extent in the form of ‘canned food’,
which should quash any scepticism or bias.
The 3D food printer is a prime example of current technology being applied to outlandish fields, like printing
organic food; two fields that have rarely intertwined with one another in this way. Printing food could serve
as a trigger for even greater future developments in sustainability and acquiring further knowledge in
software-based nourishment. Thus, cultivation of this new knowledge could prove fruitful in multiple
communities such as that of scientists, dieticians, the physically impaired, and third-world countries.
Word count: 923 //excluding title/footnotes/bibliography //max 950
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