2024 KS Bull Issue 1

The views expressed in each essay are purely for the academic purposes of crafting a viable argumentative response. They do not necessarily reflect the personal opinions of any student or staff member, nor do they necessarily represent the perspective(s) of Raffles Institution. No portion of this collection may be reproduced or shared for any reason and by any means whatsoever. Note: The comments that follow each student response include both markers’ and editors’ comments.

KS Bull 2024 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 2 CONTENTS 2023 Year 6 GP Prelim | Paper 1 Consider the role of social media in shaping public opinion. 1 Christine Fahboety Kho | 23S03C 4 ‘The solution to climate change is not to be found in technology but by having a simpler lifestyle’ How far do you agree? 2 Noh Sang Geun | 23S06Q 7 Consider the value of humour. 3 Jolene Yee Xin Yi | 23S03A 11 Is a thriving economy the best measure of a good government? 4 Clara Tan Hui En | 23S03E 13 5 Hui Zhou Rong Isaiah | 23A01B 16 6 Wu Yu | 23A01A 20 2023 Year 6 GP Prelim | Paper 2 7 Passage 23 AQ Responses 8 Eugene Tan Heok Pong | 23S03I 26 2023 Year 5 GP Promo | Paper 2 9 Passage 28 AQ Responses 10 Alexander Mark Amaraganthan | 24A01A 30 11 Wong Yu Wen | 24A01B 32

KS Bull 2024 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 3 2022 Year 6 KI Prelim | Paper 1 Critically assess the view that only two conditions are required for knowledge: justification and belief. produced, but they share more similarities than is commonly believed.’ Discuss. 12 Raphael Niu Zi Yuan | 23A01A 34 ‘Mathematical and aesthetic inquiries seem to differ in terms of the objectivity of knowledge produced, but they share more similarities than is commonly believed.’ Discuss. 13 Keith Chan Soong-Lin | 23S06Q 37 Critically assess the view that the possibility of manipulating historical facts should lead us to conclude that there is no truth in history. 14 Liu Wancheng | 23A01A 41 15 Raphael Niu Zi Yuan | 23A01A 44 2022 Year 6 KI Prelim | Paper 2 | Question 1 16 Passage 47 Responses 17 Lau Ian Kai Ethan | 23A01A 49 18 Raphael Niu Zi Yuan | 23A01A 51 2022 Year 6 KI Prelim | Paper 2 | Question 2 19 Passage 54 Responses 20 Keith Chan Soong-Lin | 23S06Q 55 21 Raphael Niu Zi Yuan | 23A01A 57 2022 Year 6 KI Prelim | Paper 2 | Question 3 21 Passage 58 22 Raphael Niu Zi Yuan | 23A01A 59 Editorial Team 61

KS Bull 2024 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 4 From its introduction into our society, social media has become a key player in providing new insights into the many political issues of today. In fact, it has become the fastest and most effective way to publicise any piece of news, whether that is unfounded conspiracy theories or even massive Twitter threads (sorry, ‘X’ threads) complete with citations and a full reference section for further reading in response to one innocuous comment made in the name of fun. With its unique ability to reach millions of individuals across the world and its rather low barriers to entry, social media -the mish-mash of online forums and media sharing sites like Reddit, YouTube, Tiktok, Instagram and more - has also carved itself a strong foothold on politics as well, lending a voice to anyone who would want to use it, and for any purpose they have for it. Hence, social media has become an integral part of the political sphere in doing what it does best -influencing public opinion. Social media inherently limits the politics one is exposed to; it possesses in its arsenal an almost mythical tool used to sort users into categories that are then utilised as labels for directed marketing . O therwise known as the algorithm, this tool has proven to be indispensable to politicians looking to gain support where it would be most likely given. Using the targeted algorithm, social media applications like Tiktok, YouTube and Facebook can easily tell where you land on the vast plains of the political spectrum just based on the posts you’ve interacted with in the past, and can continue recommending more content in the same vein. While targeted advertising is certainly nothing new, what makes this form of it so insidious is largely the context in whic h it is used . Unlike traditional media (newspapers or television), social media is not obligated to provide comprehensive and somewhat objective reports across real -world events, but can consistently show you information that it knows you will enjoy. Over time, repeated reinforcement of your preferences would turn your ‘Explore’ page entirely liberal -or fascist, or conservative, or whatever unique blend of all three the user happens to be. When constantly subject to only one point of view at the expense of others, users become trapped in an echo chamber, their views limited to the same ‘hot takes’ that employ the same moral values and have the same few faces behind them. Without being forced to interact with posts and opinions that differ wildly from their own, users become increasingly polarised, and less able to accept a more nuanced or centrist position simply because there is no longer a need to form another, individual opinion. This effect of social media can be seen in countries like the United States -based on nation-wide government polls, its citizens have gradually lost a common ground between them even since 1979: those who identify as either liberal or conservative have begun to hold the same opinion about a wide range of political issues spanning from abortion to vaccines, public schooling to healthcare. Fewer people can hold the ‘Democrat’ opinion on one matter and the ‘Republican’ perspective on another, as the population approaches near homogeneity on both sides of the political spectrum -a spec trum that has begun to look more like a Christine Fahboety Kho | 23S03C 2023 | Y6 | GP Prelim | Paper 1 | Question 4 42 1 Consider the role of the social media in shaping public opinion.

KS Bull 2024 | Issue 1 © Raffles Institution Unauthorised copying, sharing & distribution prohibited 5 mutually exclusive Venn diagram. Influencers such as Brett Cooper of the Comment Section and Ben Shapiro have played a large part in this polarisation, by choosing to direct their content to users likely to engage in it, they reinforce views that these use rs hold while simultaneously introducing their opinions on other issues users might not have formed an opinion on yet, all skewed to the same end of evaluation. One might expect the opposite to be true- having platforms that allow one greater access to a w ide variety of diverse voices would in theory let us explore contrasting views to better inform our opinions. However, this is simply not true: rather, the title of the ‘For You’ page says far more about what people seek on social media than the ‘Explore’ page does, if only because most people use social media recreationally, preferring instead to return to belief s that do not challenge their worldview -contradiction remains an uncomfortable situation for us, one that we generally do not like encountering on the sofa after a hard day’s work. Additionally, social media has cultivated a different metric of judging political stances than we had relied on prior: the personality product. The easy and fast connection that social media provides its users the ability to upload and share snippets of their lives nearly in real time as events occur -providing a brief glimpse into the human behind the politician. This new method of increasing appeal is not lost on politicians -many have eagerly tackled the task of crafting a narrative and personality online as opposed to relying o