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Without application in the world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished. Consider
this claim with respect to two areas of knowledge.

By: Haley Read

Candidate Number: 003987-0079

International Academy of Macomb

May 2016
Word Count: 1,600

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Without application in the world, the value of knowledge is greatly diminished. Consider this
claim with respect to two areas of knowledge.
In society value is often thought of as a numerical worth of currency. That can be one
aspect of value, but a view of value as only monetary would be a very limited one. For the
purpose of this paper, value will be considered the usefulness, worth, or importance of
something. Some may say that knowledge in itself is valuable. Others argue that knowledge is
not valuable unless it is applied in some way. These claims make me question how value may be
attributed differently across different Areas of Knowledge, and more specifically natural science
and human science. In both the natural science and human science, the application of knowledge
to the real world is often what gives the knowledge value. It does not matter which area of
knowledge you look at, often establishing knowledge to the real world is the same. However, the
values created from the application and the perspective of the knowledge can vary.
In the natural sciences, the application of the knowledge affects the value it has.
Scientists are able to take specific strands of genes and synthesize them for mass production in a
process called protein synthesis. Scientists synthesize strands of genes for insulin and then place
them into DNA strands called plasmids which are inserted into E. coli. The bacteria then creates
insulin.1 If scientists have the knowledge of being able to take parts of genes and create more of
them, there is great potential to become valuable. If this knowledge of protein synthesis is left
untouched and not applied such as the use of insulin for the treatment of diabetics, it is useless.
When scientists apply this process to the issue of diabetes, they are creating value because this
synthetic insulin is necessary for the survival of many people with diabetes. The application is
required to give this knowledge value. Specifically I find the knowledge of synthetic insulin to
1 How is Synthetic Insulin Made?, Diabetes Wellbeing.

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be very valuable because I have type one diabetes and benefit directly from the application in the
natural sciences.
Attending the International Academy of Macomb requires all students to take four years
of learning a foreign language which is a part of the human sciences. In my case, I chose to learn
German. One of the first things I learned in the class was how to pronounce the sounds of the
German alphabet. This knowledge of actually knowing the letters was useless until I further
applied it to learning words and creating sentences in German that have meaning. The knowledge
of the alphabet has to be applied in order to have any meaning and value. Random letters do not
have any value to me. Knowing how to construct and speak the German language is far more
important to my goal of achieving a good grade in the class. The knowledge of the alphabet has
to be applied in order to have any meaning and value.
In both cases, the knowledge of knowing the process of taking parts of DNA to create
more of them in the natural science and learning the alphabet in German require application
which has given them their value in the world. If protein synthesis was not applied, many people
would die every day from diabetes. Similarly without the ability to speak different languages, no
one would be able to communicate and learn about other people and their culture which can be
very valuable. The value, however, created in both of these areas of knowing human science and
natural science can differ in different situations in the way of what the knowledge means to
different individuals with different perspectives.
In the area of natural science, I used the example how creating synthetic insulin has value
because it is applied. This value that is created is not one sided. There are many different types of
values that were established when the knowledge of protein synthesis was applied. The main and
obvious value created comes from the role insulin plays in peoples lives. I have been a type one

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diabetic since the eighth grade. Without the creation of synthetic insulin, I would be dead. That
was the fate of most diabetics before the creation of synthetic insulin by Meienhofer, Kung, and
Katsoyannis.2 I believe that my life is valuable and the application of synthesizing proteins has
given me my life. Not only is this knowledge valuable to me, it affects the entire population of
diabetics throughout society. So many people are affected and not just the diabetics. The
synthesis of proteins also creates value for family members of people with diabetes. An
emotional or sentimental value is created for which their loved ones are able to live on with them
and not die from their disease.
This knowledge of synthesizing proteins has also created value for Meienhofer, Kung,
and Katsoyannis, the creators of synthetic insulin: they were able to apply their knowledge and
saves lives. This gives the scientists value for their application of knowledge giving them high
achievements and large historical significance. Also this knowledge has given society a chance to
take a step forward in progress and bettering society which is a great value even though it differs
from the value of living with diabetes. The insulin created can also have a monetary value which
creates another type of value to the production of insulin. All of these different values created in
the natural science from making insulin came from the application of synthesizing proteins and
different perspectives.
The value created by the application of letters in learning a foreign language also differs.
The knowledge created when learning words and sentences in German can have different values
for different people. For me, learning German is valuable not only because I need to learn it for
school, but also because my grandma loves to speak German. Being able to talk with my
grandma in German creates a special bond with value between us that was not previously there.
2 The History of Insulin. The British Medical Journal: 437-38.

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To others, learning the German could be useless until it is applied in the real world of the
German culture. Physically going to Germany can create a special value of being able to partake
in the rich culture. Being able to further apply the knowledge and actually talk with others and
conversing in their language brings a new meaning on a whole new level to learning a language
in the human sciences. I personally have gone to Germany and to me, it created a value unlike
anything else I have experienced. Not everyone will find going to a different country as special
as I have found it. Different people have different views so what is valuable to one person may
not have any value to the next.
According to a study done by Boaz Keysar, Sayuri L. Hayakawa and Sun Gyu An called
The Foreign-Language Effect: Thinking in a Foreign Tongue Reduces Decision Biases
thinking in a foreign language changes the way you think and make decisions.3 Thus they
concluded that making decisions in a foreign language causes your decisions to be more rational.
This application of knowledge creates a value different from the previous self-fulfilling values
that were described. The application of a foreign language is valuable in this situation because it
can directly affect the outcome of your life. The value of this application in the human sciences
can be unknown and different for each person applying their knowledge. Humans are different
from each other so each person acquiring this value will view it differently than everyone else
would.
There are different many methods of teaching a language. Many of these methods can rely on
their effect physiologically. Different teaching methods have different effects and are
remembered differently by students. For example, in my German class, my teacher finds it
helpful for us to physically say the words out loud and to use them in discussions and activities. I
3 R.L.G. Oprimia dos for better cognition, The Economist.

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personally find this method to be very helpful to remember vocabulary words. In this sense, the
value of the language can be different based upon what teaching method is used to show it. This
application of teaching styles can create a value to the teacher on knowing how to effectively
help students learn what is required of them. Some different teaching methods include the direct
method where the learner is not allowed to speak their mother tongue whereas the grammar
translation method is where the learning is done by translating to and from the foreign language.4
The knowledge can literally be applied and presented in different ways and through this, the
value varies. This shows that in the human sciences, the value of knowing a second language
does not only depend on the knowers personal view, but can also be effected by a variety of
other aspects such as the way in which the knowledge is being presented.
Throughout this essay I have found that value is created based upon the situation at hand
being applied. Between areas of knowledge of natural and human sciences, different values are
created; however, the difference in these values is more affected by the individual knower rather
than the area of knowledge that it is classified as. Whether it be from a diabetic to a student or to
a teacher, the value of the applied knowledge all depends on who is applying the knowledge to
create value that is meaningful to them.
In order to give knowledge value, the application of the knowledge has to take place.
This will simply create value, however this value differs in many ways. It is not possible to say
that the value differs solely between the different areas of knowledge because there are so many
other factors that are involved. For instance, the value is often affected by the individual who is
personally being affected by the application of that knowledge. The value could also be affected
by the way in which the information is presented which opens a wide variety of doors that can all

4 Paul Shoebottom, Language teaching methodologies, A Guide to Learning English.

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create different values. Simply, the value of applied knowledge differs in the sense of who it is
that is actually applying the knowledge or who is being affected by the application and who it is
that is actually presenting the knowledge for others to possess.

Word Count: 1,600

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Works Cited
"The History Of Insulin And Its Manufacture." The British Medical Journal 1.3452 (1927): 43738. Web.
"How Is Synthetic Insulin Made?" Diabetes Well Being. Diabetes Well Being, 11 Aug. 2013.
Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
R.L.G. "Oprima Dos for Better Cognition." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 08 May
2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Shoebottom, Paul. "Language Teaching Methodologies." A Guide to Learning English. Frankfurt
International School, n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.