
Real-world issues about mathematics
These real-world issues about mathematics will help you to explore knowledge questions, analyse the latest events and issues related to this AOK, and apply TOK terms, ideas, and concepts to authentic situations.
If you’re a member of the site, skip to the bottom of the page, and view our exploring TOK padlet, which features the very latest events and issues for this aspect of the course.
Real-world issues on the nature and scope of mathematics

- These issues on the mathematics relate to Big Question 1, our first BQ unit for TOK
- They also link to the nature and scope of mathematics, part of the IB’s knowledge framework
- Use the Exploration Points document below to unpack the media sources and link them to the TOK course (available to members of the site)
- Members can also use our Investigating Issues resource to look at related stories, and widen their understanding of how TOK manifests in the world around us
A Big Think article, which draws on the ideas of Kurt Gödel, and thinks about whether mathematics is built on unproven foundations.
Mordechai Levy-Eichel in Aeon considers various aspects of mathematics for – its “joyful, beautiful” nature, its role in shaping modern society, and the way in which it often neglected when people consider the history of ideas.
This Medium blog comparing mathematics and the natural sciences, and offers some very useful definitions for both these areas of knowledge. It also considers the role of inference in creating knowledge.
A New York Times article, that explores the reason why the equation 8 ÷ 2(2+2) = ? went viral (and why mathematicians hate it).
This is one of the biggest science stories of the last few years (decades, perhaps) – the images of the M87 Black Hole, created from the data created by various telescopes positioned around the world. Here is the coverage from Time, The The Guardian, Vox, and The Washington Post.
A Conversation article, applying mathematical knowledge to the Euro 2020 Panini sticker album.
Real-world issues on the relationship between mathematics and values

- These issues on mathematics relate to Big Question 2, our second BQ unit for TOK
- They also link to mathematics and ethics, part of the IB’s knowledge framework
- Use the Exploration Points document below to unpack the media sources and link them to the TOK course (available to members of the site)
- Members can also use our Investigating Issues resource to look at related stories, and widen their understanding of how TOK manifests in the world around us
This Atlantic story looks at a new algorithm-based tool, COMPAS, that is supposed to be able to calculate (ie predict) a defendant’s risk of committing another crime. However, it seems that the tool is no more accurate than “random volunteers recruited from the internet”.
This Wired article looks at how a ‘predictive policing tool’ – a database created by London’s Metropolitan police – is being used to calculate the risks posed by individuals, and determine the actions taken against them by the authorities.
Real-world issues on the communication of ideas in mathematics

- These issues on mathematics relate to Big Question 3, our third BQ unit for TOK
- They also link to methods, tools, and practices, part of the IB’s knowledge framework
- Use the Exploration Points document below to unpack the media sources and link them to the TOK course (available to members of the site)
- Members can also use our Investigating Issues resource to look at related stories, and widen their understanding of how TOK manifests in the world around us
Real-world issues on mathematics, perspectives, and context

- These issues on mathematics relate to Big Question 4, our fourth BQ unit for TOK
- They also link to perspectives & context, part of the IB’s knowledge framework
- Use the Exploration Points document below to unpack the media sources and link them to the TOK course (available to members of the site)
- Members can also use our Investigating Issues resource to look at related stories, and widen their understanding of how TOK manifests in the world around us
A Discover Magazine article, evaluating what statistics can reveal about the scale of serial killers who were never caught.
This Aeon essay examines how we generate figures of probability, pointing out that there are different possible approaches, suggesting that the concept of probability is not as simple as we think.
This short Aeon video by Cathy O’Neil ponders the nature of algorithms, and challenges the idea that they represent “indisputable mathematical truths”.
Real-world issues on the creation of new ideas in mathematics

- These issues on mathematics relate to Big Question 5, our fifth BQ units for TOK
- They also link to methods, tools, and practices, part of the IB’s knowledge framework
- Use the Exploration Points document below to unpack the media sources and link them to the TOK course (available to members of the site)
- Members can also use our Investigating Issues resource to look at related stories, and widen their understanding of how TOK manifests in the world around us
A Conversation article, looking at how research in mathematics is a deeply imaginative and intuitive process – aided by AI.
This Smithsonian article considers how the discovery of the Möbius strip in the mid-19th century launched a brand new field of mathematics: topology.
This Science story looks at the claim by Sir Michael Atiyah that he has solved the Riemann hypothesis, a mathematical problem relating to prime numbers that has existed for more than a century and a half. It examines why this solution is unlikely to actually have been discovered.
A Veritasium video, which outlines the Collatz Conjecture – the simplest mathematical problem no one can solve.
This Vox article considers the ‘genius’ of the discovery of the concept of zero, and the implications behind this step forward for mathematicians.
Oliver Roeder at FiveThirtyEight looks at the discovery of the largest ever prime number, and how such discoveries have proceeded over the years. He also considers why we are compelled to continue looking for these special numbers.
Real-world issues on becoming a discerning knower about mathematics

- These issues on mathematics relate to Big Question 6, our final BQ unit for TOK
- They also link to methods, tools, and practices, part of the IB’s knowledge framework
- Use the Exploration Points document below to unpack the media sources and link them to the TOK course (available to members of the site)
- Members can also use our Investigating Issues resource to look at related stories, and widen their understanding of how TOK manifests in the world around us
An Aeon video, looking at why Bayes’ Theorem has an increasing relevance in the world of ‘big data’, and how it can help us to “reprogramme our intuition”.
A New York Times article that explores the reason why the equation 8 ÷ 2(2+2) = ? went viral (and why mathematicians hate it).
Explore this AOK via the latest real-world situations

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