Academic Confusion

“Pure logical thinking cannot yield us any knowledge of the empirical world; all knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it” (Einstein 271). The above quotation from Albert Einstein conveys that the idea of knowledge is produced only and independently within the boundary of an academic discipline is invalid. Perhaps he suggests it is intuition and imagination through experience that shapes our knowledge. Although the essay question asserts that academic disciplines do overlap, but it is essentially an absolute claim. The phrase “only lead to confusion” is highly problematic. It seems to assert that humanity is an all-wise, omnipotent creator whereas Einstein suggests otherwise. Therefore, How can we determine the significance of knowledge production within academic disciplines and the implication emerges from interdisciplinary approaches? My essay will seek to explore this question, in respect to Natural Sciences, History and Mathematics.

The knowledge issue is the conceptualization of the term ‘confusion’. Confusion has a negative connotation and it gives us a sense of being in a state of uncertain because of the lack of understanding. Confusion may not necessarily always be a bad thing. In fact, being confused can actually be beneficial as it is part of the

Confusions and uncertainty can be made from the emergence of academic disciplines in relation to language. Different disciplines develop their own distinct languages that are exclusive and specify to their field. For example, mathematicians describe an ‘element’ as each item in a set, scientist recalls ‘element’ on the periodic table, Chinese Medicine practitioners regard ‘element’ as the four substances (earth, water, air, and fire) and others refer ‘element’ as an essential characteristic. The use of similar terminologies, but hinders different meaning, creates confusion in ideas and