Issue28 事实与理论 求拍【有拍必回】

爱上千年的猫UID: 2476232

Issue28: 460 words  45 minutes
Students should memorize facts only after they have studied the ideas, trends, and concepts that help explain those facts. Students who have learned only facts have learned very little.

In my observation, the learning process recommended by the speaker is quite practical in some extent, whereas it does not apply to all fields of study. Facts and theories are interacting factors in the process of learning that there is no such conclusion indicating which one should follow the other.

In some fields or some learning stages, studying the theories behind facts should be finished ahead of investigating the facts. Because without knowing the ideas and concepts that certain facts reveal, students can not rote facts easily and therefore learn nothing at all. For example, the students of calculus will find it considerably difficult to remember the complicated calculating function of a circle, if the teacher does not inform them what the underlying theory is, and how this function is brought out, and the meaning of each symbol. Unless this historical trend is explained, students are likely to learn nothing but confusing parameters and symbols. And we can not expect the students who can only rote functions to help solve the problems in real life.

Besides, there are huge amount of facts in the world that it is impossible to memorize all the facts. Even the most advanced computer can not accomplish that. Therefore, only after studying the theories behind facts can we generalize the mess facts into several categories, and then find general solutions to these categories through specific study and researches.
In turn, some other fields definitely need memorizing facts before the relevant ideas, trends and concepts are being explained. An apt illustration here is the study of economics. If the teacher first explain the theory of international trade, without giving facts in the daily life, the students will certainly have no idea about what international trade is and why there must be certain theories indicating the necessity of such transactions. Instead, if the teacher gives a vivid real life example, the students will perceive the underlying theories more easily. And only when students can connect theories and facts, they can use the ideas to come up with solutions to existed problems, to predict the trend of development, and to define the similar problems.

In addition, the development of science requires that we should respect facts rather than some existing ideas and concept. Imagine what the astronomy would be like if we still sticking to the previous theory that the universe is earth-centered. Continuous skeptics to existing theories are needed in the fields of science in order to maintain the prosperity of science.

In sum, facts and theories are an interacting dynamic process in learning. Therefore no conclusion is convinced that either should go ahead of the other.

reductionUID: 2288910

提个小问题，calculating function是fact吗？