GRE Issue Review

[MindyKale]

This is my first attempting at writing GRE essays and I would appreciate it a lot if any person could critique them for me. In exchange, I could critique yours. 

Thanks a lot in advance. 

 

 

 

 

 The Prompt : 

 

As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more complex and mysterious.  Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

ESSAY :

Knowledge is power. As human beings-the only creatures on earth gifted with inquisition, it is our responsibility to utilize this gift to the fullest to acquire knowledge. The function of knowledge is both to understand things and improve things as they are today, and the process of acquiring it happens as we ask a lot of questions and search for answers.

 

As children, we are all taught a set of rules and code of conduct by adults in our surroundings. We are naive observers of the universe around us and naturally inclined to ask questions when something fails our assumed reasoning or sparks  our curiosity. Bill Waterson, the cartoonist responsible for Calvin and Hobbes often illustrated the inquisitive phenomenon of Calvin- A 6 year old who keeps asking his dad questions of various kinds--sometimes philosophical, sometimes scientific and some just related to the current state of the world under his observance. For examples “Why is he not allowed to drive a car?”. While he understands the answers which maybe factually inaccurate, He is never satisfied with them and is always introspecting, reading or probing for more information. Which illustrates that, our thirst for knowledge is unquenchable. Which illustrates that even when we do have answers, there is some unknown that allures us.

 

Also, knowledge, in its broadest sense is infinite. There is no finite amount of knowledge which when learned and understood satisfies our curiosity. Knowledge is also, not merely a consumption tool, we create with knowledge. Ever since the dawn of time and early evolution, mankind sought to improve their quality of life and progress forward. We invented fire by rubbing flints together, made tools, invented cooking meat instead of raw consumption, the wheel instead of walking on foot and as of today, we are coming up with cars that drive themselves. This constant invention wouldn’t have been possible without some complexity and mystery that allures man to seek more.

 

Sir Isaac Newton is another classic example that acquiring knowledge is a constant process, while he was intrigued by the apple falling down from the tree and invented gravity. He wasn’t satisfied with it as an end all be all for all natural phenomenon. He seeked to understand gravity with reference to other objects in the solar system, he invented his famous laws of motion and his scientific achievements led to various other inventions today which could only have been possible while trying to question and extend his line of work. Thus, seeking knowledge happens with the realization that there is more to learn and there is more than the known that requires our understanding.

 

Great philosophers too, are a prime example of how knowledge becomes more mysterious and susceptible to questioning, inquisition and understanding,

Acquiring knowledge is a constant process that humans undergo for self-improvement and improvement of the society. While there is something that defies our understanding or intuitive knowledge, we seek it--gather as many resources as possible to understand it, at which point it is our choice to probe further and find answers to other questions or be satisfied with our current understanding of the world.