Writing for an Academic Discussion Is it often better to have as much information as possible? - revised -

Question: Is it often better to have as much information as possible?

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        Chose 5 books to write a report of the history of the Ottoman Empire.

2.        Would you like to know the private life of your favorite artist, musician, actor, writer, or athlete?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Yes

1.     Two heads are better than one: It leads to better results to have as much information as possible.  e.g. group activities

2.     Having as many information sources as possible helps make a good decision. e.g. choice of school

3.     The more information there is, the better perception of the world you can have.

4.     Abundant information contributes to creativity.  e.g. the American culture

5.     Information disclosure helps society progress.  e.g. Patent information disclosure benefits society and helps other inventors improve the invention. The government information disclosure enables citizens to protect democracy.

6.     Times of lack of information were dark eras of human history.  e.g. the medieval eras in the European history, the periods of national isolation in the Japanese history

7.     Lack of information is dangerous.  e.g. state control of information, dictatorship

 

No

1.     As the saying goes, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” Sometimes, it becomes difficult to do a task when there is a large amount of information. e.g. Textbook contents vary according to the grade. A teacher decides the amount of the study supplement according to the levels and characteristics of the students. It seems that information should be limited at some stage of life. For example, a child may be confused with many pieces of contradicting information without ability to process information well. In case of language acquisition, it is said that the number of languages a child can learn at the same time to be a real multilingual is limited, around 5 or 6. 

2.     It is said that ignorance is bliss and that curiosity killed a cat. It is often better to leave something unrevealed. Trying to know more than you are supposed to could put you in trouble. e.g. white lie, Pandora’s box

3.     There are many kinds of information that are controlled for security, privacy, or education. 

4.     There are things that you may not want to know.

 

 

 

 

 

☆Sample Response Structures

Sample 1 

【Thesis】It is better to have as much information as possible.

【Supporting Details】Lack of information causes trouble. It leads to confusion and fear in catastrophes, for instance. It also causes prejudice. You might have heard someone say, “I had thought such and such people were stupid and mean, but after I made friends with Mary, who was intelligent and very kind, my image of those people changed.” The problem is that until meeting Mary, the person missed good communication and relationships with the members of the group that Mary belongs to. Stereotype is the child of lack of information, and its children are discrimination, bullying, conflicts and wars. In politics, shortage of information will destroy democracy, or vice versa. On the other hand, Abundant information makes us happy. Today’s computer graphics, for example, have much more amount of information than those in the past, and thus they are clearer and more real than before. The difference is evident if today’s computer graphics are compared with those in the 1980’s like Pack-Man or Mario Brothers. To understand a piece of news better, you read more than one newspaper. Before making an expensive purchase, most people try to collect as many catalogs as possible and read as many reviews as they can. Plenty of information brings better recognition and confidence.

【Counterargument-treatment】It is sometimes difficult to make a decision when there is more information than can be processed, but the problem is in the processing process, such as absence of prioritization or determination.

【Conclusion】Excessive amount of information is not a problem but a luxury which is inherently a boon as long as dealt with wisely. (270 words)

 

Sample 2

【Thesis】Too much information may be less helpful in terms of building our world view.

【Supporting Details】My elementary school teacher told the class that we would be confused if we had extra eyes on the back side of our heads. Indeed, if we were able to see everything around us, too much information to process would make us at a loss of which way we should take. Birds have a wide view, as we say a bird’s-eye-view, but even birds have a blind spot, a narrow area in the back of their head. Perhaps, lack of certain information is necessary. This spot could be a necessary anatomy, not just a weak point. It not only tells the bird which side is its back but also helps birds help each other. Because of the existence of this weak spot, birds perching side by side cover each other, by facing the opposite direction to each other. I guess most of us would rather be imperfect birds helping each other than a god with a hundred eyes.

【Counterargument-treatment】In general, the more information you have, the better recognition you have, and the problem of confusion caused by abundant information can be avoided by general knowledge such as checking the news source and shunning disinformation. Still, it would be beyond our capacity and disagree with our nature to have as much information as possible. In fact, there are things that you had better not know. A photograph shows all the visual information of a scene, and this is perfect as visual evidence. However, an artist deletes some information of the same scene to show what he sees in the scene. A picture is more real without all the information. A dancer’s face does not have a line in a painting, when, in fact, it does. Although we know the photograph is more accurate, we see the truth in a picture.

【Conclusion】While the increase of information makes our lives better, it can sometimes be a curse. (328 words)

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

                                                   DRAFT