gre writing issue sample writing 103
- The best ideas arise from a passionate interest in commonplace things.
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.
The speaker asserts that the best ideas are a product of careful observation of normal things. In some sense, it is undeniable that many new ideas in science, arts, and/or philosophy have originated from a passionate interest in commonplace things. However, this view is ignoring the stimulating and refreshing roles of extraordinary experiences in formulating new ideas.
Of course, few would disagree that as long as one has some degree of due insight, his or her new ideas do not require some shocking, strange stimuli. It is well known that most of the greatest thoughts in science and philosophy arise from the familiar environments surrounding their creators: Adam Smith formulated his formula of the modern economic system from his insightful observation of his own country, the changing Great Britain of the eighteenth century. Immanuel Kant did not travel other countries for his revolutionary new idea. James Watt designed a totally new engine system without seeking for some sensational technological examples. The only thing these genius creators commonly took advantage of is a careful and insightful interpretation of the ordinary things around them.
Nevertheless, it does not necessarily mean that repeated observation of everyday experiences is sufficient for a good idea. With regard to the breadth of our idea, it is a discontinuity of quotidian order or a fresh new environment that enables us to approach things with a wider vision. From my personal experience, though able to gaining basic knowledge about human behavior even from my friends and family, I have finally reestablished my intellectual interest in complex dynamics of human interaction as a psychology student through “new” stimuli of “new” level of education; more complicated and strange lives of a large city simply forced a curious boy from a small town to be interested in reinterpreting the simple idea in a wider and complex context. In general, our vision can be broadened only through a series of new impacts.
Aside from the range of our vision, a number of psychological benefits also confirm the importance of new stimuli in our thinking. New places sometimes make us free from the stressful everyday concerns and thus contribute to reconfiguring our minds. From a new acquaintance could one find a new role-model. Facing different problems may one be inspired or earn a new solution to a longstanding dilemma.
Finally, the benefit of departing from quotidian experience is clear when it comes to our learning potential from comparison. By contrasting the parallel things between the familiar and the new, our ideas may be more refined and sophisticated. In fact, in the cases of Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, and James Watt, we cannot ignore the probable impacts they received from their respective counterparts who had formulated opposing or foundational ideas in different conditions. Thus, we can say that every great idea is a product of diverse new, though sometimes indirect, stimuli.
To sum, ………………..