Thinkers on technology
These thinkers will provide you with brilliant insights into the world, and help you to consolidate your understanding of knowledge & technology.
You can also draw on their ideas to support the discussions within your exhibition commentary, and add depth and authority to the assertions you make about knowledge. To explore them in more detail, consult our Knowledge Heroes resource.
David Eagleman (b. 1971)
Eagleman is an American neuroscientist, writer, and science broadcaster. He teaches neuroscience at Stanford University and is CEO of Neosensory, which develops devices for sensory substitution. He is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore the brain’s connection with the outside world.
Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931)
Edison was an American scientist, inventor, and businessman. His inventions include the phonograph, the movie camera, and light bulb. He is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore the way knowledge is most effectively produced via collaboration.
Damon Horovitz
Horovitz is a philosophy professor and entrepreneur. He has delivered TED talks on teaching philosophy in prison, and the ethics of the tech industry. He is one of our knowledge heroes, and appears in the BQ lessons to help us explore the need for a ‘moral operating system’.
Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011)
Jobs was an American business leader and tech designer. He was the co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc. He is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore the way new ideas are produced in the arts and other areas of knowledge.
Andrew Keen (b. 1960)
Keen is a British-American entrepreneur and writer. His work often focuses on the way in which Internet culture undermines the authority of established experts. He is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore how technology can have a negative effect on how society develops.
Katherine Maher (b. 1983)
Maher is CEO and the director of the Wikimedia Foundation. She is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore how to use social media in order to acquire an objective understanding of the world.
John McWhorter (b. 1965)
McWhorter is an American linguist, and associate professor of English and literature at Columbia University, where he teaches linguistics, American studies, philosophy, and music history. He is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore how language is driven forward by technology.
John Oliver (b. 1977)
Oliver is a British comedian, writer, and TV host. He is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore the role of ‘media bubbles’ in cutting us off from the world.
Eli Pariser (b. 1980)
Pariser is an author, activist, and entrepreneur focused on how to make technology and media more democratic. He is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore how technology creates ‘filter bubbles’ that shape the way we view the world.
Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943)
Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer, best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity system. He is one of our knowledge heroes, appearing in the BQ lessons to help us to explore the way scientific knowledge is created.
Make full use of this content in the classroom!
Knowledge Heroes enables you to link these thinkers to the course. For each thinker, you’ll find a notable quote, a description of how their ideas relate to TOK, an associated exhibition prompt, and activities and media sources to explore their work. Access the resource here.
Many of the key thinkers make regular appearances in our TOK newsletter. This helps you to make sense of the most important events going on today, and grasp how TOK concepts manifest in the real world. Read a recent edition here, subscribe to the free version here, and gain access to the premium version by joining theoryofknowledge.net.