CUMULATIVE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE AND ACADEMIC ADVANCEMENT
Abstract
This essay explores the nature of the cumulative acquisition of knowledge and the advancement of academic and scientific study in reference to Sir Isaac Newton’s quote ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’. The quote provides the context in which the manner of how academic and scientific study is used, applied and built upon. Examining the quote itself provides the starting point for the essay. The accumulation of knowledge and academic study has resulted in the explosion of technology in all fields. The level of this explosion of knowledge is indebted to the great scholars of ancient civilizations, most notably those of ancient Greece and Rome. The foundations put down down by theses ‘giants’ need to be acknowledged. With the building on these foundations human civilization has seen dramatic growth in academic, scientific and technological development.
CUMULATIVE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE AND ACADEMIC ADVANCEMENT
The foundation of the body of knowledge, cemented by the masters or ‘giants’ as Newton referred to them, when used, applied and built upon, accelerate the advancement of academic and scientific discovery to the benefit of human civilization. It is the nature of the cumulative effect of knowledge building that has led to the speedy progress of our civilized society.
The insights gained from existing bodies of academic and scientific knowledge has led to the creation of technological aids, the use of which has advanced the forays into academic study. Technology has made the process of knowledge building so much easier and leads to the dramatic growth of knowledge acquisition.
The position and strength of progress of academic and scientific knowledge is owed to the foundation laid down by the ancient scholars, Newton’s ‘giants’. We ‘have seen further’ by building upon the knowledge they acquired. Our obligation then is to pay obeisance by acknowledging the work of these ‘giants’. Acknowledgement takes the form of referencing. We include the names of the authors and the titles of articles, periodicals, books they have written. With colossal body of knowledge on the Internet, references also include the websites we refer to.
In conclusion human advancement and scientific progress is made possible by building upon and developing on the insights passed on down by the great minds that went on before us. This cumulative acquisition of knowledge has resulted in a steady growth of academic and scientific insights.
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CUMULATIVE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE AND ACADEMIC ADVANCEMENT
References:
Bosc, H. (2008) The cumulative research cycle. An Enabling or Disabling Factor for Science Communication. Retrieved from http://www.ences.eu/fileadmin/important_files/Documentation_WS08/DocumentationoftheWorkshop_PDFs/bosc-textneu.pdf.
Flagg, D. (2010). Stand on the Shoulders of Giants, Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/office-diaries/201005/stand-the-shoulders-giants
Shead, M. (2008). Stand on the Shoulders of Giants. Productivity 501. Retrieved from http://www.productivity501.com/standing-on-shoulders-of-giants/1917
Standing on the shoulders of giants. (n.d.). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants
