Questions

The traditional analysis of knowledge defines it as justified true belief (JTB). Edmund Gettier published counterexamples in 1963 that many found decisive. What are they, and what do they show?

The presumption of innocence is considered a cornerstone of criminal justice. What does it actually require of courts and prosecutors, and is it universally applied?

Antibiotics treat bacterial infections but not viral ones. What biological differences between viruses and bacteria explain this, and how do antiviral drugs work instead?

Estimates range from 6,000 to 8,000 languages. What makes counting difficult, and what do we know about how they are distributed geographically?

Both GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and GNP (Gross National Product) measure a country's economic output. What exactly is the difference, and when does it matter which one you use?

After seven decades, the USSR dissolved almost overnight. What combination of economic, political, and nationalist forces brought it down?

The UK and US use common law while most of continental Europe uses civil law. What is the fundamental difference in how these systems work?

In the Republic, Plato describes prisoners chained in a cave who mistake shadows for reality. What is the allegory saying about knowledge, perception, and education?

Children master the grammar of their native language by age 5 or 6 with no explicit teaching. Is this explained by a innate "language acquisition device" as Chomsky proposed, or by general learning mechanisms?

Latin became French, Spanish, and Italian. English today is barely recognisable compared to Old English. What forces drive language change, and can it be stopped?

Cancer is not a single disease. What is happening at the cellular level when cancer develops, and what makes it so challenging to treat universally?

Inflation means the general price level is rising. What are the main economic mechanisms that cause this — is it always a monetary phenomenon, or are there other drivers?

Habeas corpus is described as one of the most important legal protections in common law systems. What does it require, and what would happen without it?

The trolley problem involves a choice between allowing several people to die or actively causing one person's death. What philosophical positions does it illustrate, and why has it been so influential?

The Black Death killed roughly a third of Europe's population in the 14th century. What disease caused it, how did it spread, and what were its long-term social and economic effects?

Temperature varies enormously from the equator to the poles. What is the geometric and atmospheric explanation for this?

The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 AD. What were the main causes — was it primarily military, economic, political, or something else?

David Chalmers distinguished the 'easy' problems of consciousness from the 'hard' problem — why physical processes give rise to subjective experience at all. Why is this considered so difficult?

Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage says countries should specialise even if one is better at everything. How does this work, and what are its real-world limitations?

Vaccines protect against infectious diseases without exposing a person to the active pathogen. What is the immunological mechanism that makes this possible?