Pre-existing Knowledge

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‘It is more important to discover new ways of thinking about what is already known than to discover new data or facts’. To what extent would you agree with this claim?

Albert Einstein said, “We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.” This new manner of thinking should be based on pre-existing knowledge. This pre-existing knowledge is necessary because it is the catalyst that pushes the human race forward, making us want to discover more. Trying to discover completely new knowledge would not yield the same results. Basing your research off what you already know allows you to compare the new data that you collected to the old data that is already present. If you discover something new you will have nothing to compare it with. This does not allow you the luxury of seeing if what you discovered was an improvement. This essay will examine how important it is to discover new ways of thinking about prior knowledge than it is to discover new facts. I believe that using prior knowledge to push discovery is much more important than trying to discovers new data or facts.

Medicine is one area that constantly looks to use prior knowledge to discover new things. Take the HeLa cells for instance. The initial discover of these cells occurred in 1951. These cells came from a black woman named Henrietta Lacks. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer. He doctor took a segment of her tumor and sent it to Dr. George Otto Grey, who was the first scientist to successfully grow human cells in a culture. These cells would go on to be used in research for cloning, the polio vaccine, gene mapping and in virto fertilization. These cells were important to science because no scientist had an endless supply of cells ...

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...n can be affected by the quest to discover something new. In some cases it can lead to betterment, but in other cases it can cause many problems.

Works Cited

Zielinski, Sarah. "Smithsonian.com." Smithsonian Magazine. 22 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Henrietta-Lacks-Immortal-Cells.html

Freeman, David H. "The Triumph of New-Age Medicine." The Atlantic. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

"The Big Bang." PBS. PBS. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

“The Steady State Theory.” PBS. PBS. Web. 27 Feb.2012..

"Plato's Cave." My Webspace Files. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

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