Friday, December 21, 2007

Mental or Physical?


Abstract:
In this paper, I will show how the industrial revolution was a material revolution. I will support this thesis with David S. Lands’ The Wealth and Poverty of Nations and Eric Hobsbawm’s The Age of Revolution. This thesis is important because the Industrial Revolution changed the way people worked and earned a living.
David S. Landes states that, “revolution is an instance of great change or alteration in affairs or some particular thing.” The Industrial Revolution caused changes due to huge numbers of developing industries, new machinery, a population in need of jobs, inventions, increasing population and the beginning of a middle class coming together to create constant, rapid and unlimited multiplication of man, goods and services. A goal no previous society had been able to obtain. Unlike the Renaissance period that was primarily based on the change in knowledge and beliefs, thus a mental revolution, the Industrial Revolution was a material revolution based on goods and economy.
There were many inventions and improvements in machinery that aided the development of industries, pushed toward mass production and improved agriculture. Some of these machines included the spinning wheel, reverberatory furnaces, the steam powered engine and steam powered plow. These machines helped increase the productivity of goods and agriculture.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution people used a system called the cottage industry to produce fabric. This was an industry where people would spin and weave wool at their own house and at their own pace. There were constant issues between bosses and weavers involving accusations of stealing and misuse of materials. Thus when the industrial revolution eliminated the cottage industries employers were happier to have the weavers under their roof and more control over the materials, rate of production and products. The cottage industries were replaced with spinning wheels in factories. The spinning wheels increased the efficiency of carding, twisting, spinning and rolling the wool into yarn which then increased the supply of yarn that supplied the weaving industry. By the end of the revolution, steam power was used to power the machines creating mass production of yarn for weavers.

A second piece of machinery that was essential in the Industrial Revolution was the reverberatory furnace also known as a cupola. This was a machine that melted coke pig iron into cast iron goods. This produced pots, pans, fire backs, pipes and kettles that were thin and cheap. Therefore, the cheaper iron became a major material used to produce goods during the revolution. The cheap iron also helped development of steam engines and railways.

A third revolutionary machine was the invention of the steam engine. The steam engine took about two hundred years to completely develop. Until the 1800’s, the steam engine was only used to pump water from mines, this allowed mines to ascend deeper into the earth. The steam engine was invented and a solution was found for the pistons that were limiting the power of the machine. This solution allowed the steam engine to be put into ships, such as the Dreadnought. These ships were faster, cleaner and they rarely had to stop into port for more than a day.

The fourth invention that was extremely effective was the steam engine plow. These plows had two engines on each side of the field with a plow connected by a cable to the engines. These new plows reduced the cost of plowing and the number of people needed to run the farm. These four machines all worked together to create mass production of goods such as yarn for weaving, cast iron goods for cooking and agricultural goods. The machines were the base of the industrial revolution, without them there would have been no need for factories and industries. These machines and many others worked together to produce a material change in society.
The Industrial Revolution rapidly fed the supply and demand economic cycle. This cycle started with the idea of new machines an idea worthless unless acted upon. This led to the creation of new machinery. The new machines are the base for factories, where there would be mass production of all sorts of goods. These factories would create a need for people to run the machines, creating new job
opportunities. The advancement in farming machinery allowed farms to produce crops more cheaply with less labor, freeing people to work in the factories. All of the people who were unemployed, not only from the farms but also the people who were on the streets moved to the city where there was an abundance of jobs that needed filling. These workers now had money to spend on goods, creating higher demand. This causes the cycle to start over with the need for machines and products, to creating even more jobs and production of goods.
Every revolution has an effect on all parts of P.E.R.S.I.A. The political, economic, religious, society, intellectual and aesthetics of a society. The materials in the Industrial Revolution effected all parts of PERSIA. First, the machines had an effect on the political power of nations. The countries of which took part in the revolution of machines and factories had the most money, therefore giving them power. The countries that did not take part in the revolution fell to the bottom of the economy and political power. Spain for example, showed this with their power from wealth found in the Americas before the revolution. When the revolution hit, Spain’s money was gone, they were not able take part in the revolutionary inventions, materials and fell to the bottom. The economics were effected greatly by the new machines and industries. The first economical change was the change from a feudal to an industrial society with huge economical growth. The industries introduced mass production and more jobs for society. In return, it gave people more money to buy products and demand more. The effect on religion was that employment of the people took them from their religious studies. The impact on society was huge. There were many new opportunities for jobs in the factories which brought more people form the country to the city in search of work. This also changed the lifestyle of society, they changed from agricultural extended families to city dwellers. The machines changed the intellect of the people. Before the revolution, people had to know how to spin or weave wool by hand. With the new machines of the revolution, the people no longer had to know the art of spinning or weaving but simply knew how to use the machines that spun and wove the wool for them. The last part of P.E.R.S.I.A. is aesthetics, the machines had great effect on the aesthetics of society. The picture of society changed tremendously from the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the revolution in the picture you saw little homes where people worked and farmed. In the new picture of society, you see industries, increased factories, major cities and agricultural land; all caused by the joining of industries, development of machinery, inventions and the beginning of a middle class.
The Industrial Revolution was primarily a material revolution. When you have a revolution that changes the way people think, it would be considered a mental revolution such as Humanism. When thinking of a material revolution, it relates to tools, machinery and the money that is available and brought about changes. What came from the Industrial Revolution is a change in machinery, mass production and industries bringing more work not a revolution of philosophical thinking. The revolution built the economy of anyone who took part, it produced goods using the economic cycle of mass production and increase in jobs and income of society driving the supply and demand. There is no question that this revolution was driven by material and physical changes of Europe.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

What is Truth?
By Heidi Wyman
11-19-07


Truth, what does this word mean? Some people will tell you that truth relies solely on proof that comes from science or fact. Others will tell you that truth is what your traditional beliefs are. Webster tells us that truth is the body of real things, events and facts. Or is truth a compromise between science and faith /traditional beliefs. Throughout history we see many examples of conflict between the church and science over what is true. Even though many of these issues have been resolved, today there continue to be conflicts between religion and science.

In the scientific revolution from 1600-1800 (the Enlightenment), there were many conflicts between science and religion. One major conflict was between Galileo and the church over the Copernican theory. This theory stated that the earth revolved around the sun. Galileo took the position of supporting the Copernican theory. Galileo proceeded to build a telescope and is the first to use it in astronomy. He uses the telescope to observe the Milky Way, his observations lead him to believe that the Earth moves around the sun. The church however takes the opposing side supporting the traditional belief that the sun revolves around the Earth. The church supports this belief because it has always been the traditional church belief that we are at the center of the Universe and the Universe revolves around us. The Earth as the center had been accepted as the truth for hundreds of years. At first, the Pope compromises with Galileo allowing him to publish his findings in a book as long as he states that his work is only a theory and not proven true. Galileo took this opportunity and wrote a book called, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems that outlined his theory. Eventually this issue was resolved with the scientific evidence provided by Galileo. People accepted the proof of Galileo's work and eventually began to believe that the Earth revolves around the sun. Of course today, this is the accepted truth of the rotation of the galaxy.

A second area of conflict between science and religion during this time period was around the encyclopedia and the underlying concepts in the encyclopedia. The encyclopedia was the circle of teachings for the eighteenth century. It was a place for scientists and philosophers to

put their findings into one place where anyone could access the knowledge easily. The church reviewed the encyclopedia and were appalled. The church believed that the encyclopedia was giving people false information about them. One example of this comes from the Encyclopedia article on consecrated bread. This article states that, "some will find my estimate to low. Still 40,000 pieces of bread for communion will cost 80,000 livers which, multiplied by 52 Sundays adds up to more then 4 million livers. Why can't we be spared this experience? We are to childish and slaves to custom to see that there are more truly religious ways of worship." This of course infuriated the church and is one example of why they were opposed to the encyclopedia. Even though the church was against the encyclopedia, it was very popular in the general society. People liked the accessibility of knowledge and truth in one place. The church wanted to resolve this issue by condemning the volumes already printed, however the author and scientists were tipped off to the churches plans and were able to collect the manuscript and send it away to continue the work in secret. Eventually, Diderot completed twenty eight volumes and a second editor added seven volumes for a total of a thirty five volume encyclopedia. This issue was eventually resolved by the church not fighting the publishing and spread of the encyclopedia. The editors and scientists did not back down or stop publishing their ideas, studies and opinions that were eventually accepted by many people. In 1775, Charles Joseph Pankoucke gained the rights to reissue the encyclopedia in.


The conflict between science and religion is still seen today in many ways. One current issue is the conflict between the story of creation and Evolution. The religious belief is that God created the world, mankind and all living things in seven days. The church believes this because it is written in the first five books of Genesis and it is their tradition. Scientists believe in Evolution, a theory proposed by Charles Darwin which stated that "we came into existence through a process in which organisms adapt to their environments by natural selection or interactions of their genetic makeup with the existing environmental conditions." Natural selection and changes in genetic makeup cause species to change and develop as they need to constantly improving and adapting over long periods of time. Scientists believe this theory based on fossil record and the research done by Charles Darwin on the Galapegos Islands. All of his research provided evidence and proof for the theory of Evolution. This conflict has not been resolved and I believe that it will never be resolved. There will always be religious people who rely totally on faith, people who will not be open minded to physical scientific evidence. Though there have been no solutions for this issue, there have been many proposed compromises but only two commonly known. The first is the belief that evolution and the creation story can both be true. There are those that believe that the seven days that it took for God to create the world as described in the bible are not seven days as we know them to be. The seven days from the story represent a longer period of time such as eons which will allow both the creation story and evolution to exist together. The second compromise, is the theory of intelligent design. This theory states that various forms of life began abruptly, through an intelligent agency, with their distinctive features already intact, such as fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks and wings. This theory is not as accepted as others because it is inferring that God is the intelligent agent and is just another copy of the creation theory. This issue is not currently resolved but the minds of society may be changed if more evidence and proof is discovered.

Another modern disagreement between religion and science is about stem cell research. The religious belief is that an embryo has life as soon as it is fertilized. On the other hand, scientists believe that a cluster of cells that is only five days old in not yet life. They believe that it is a pre-embryo, a cell that can not live on its own. The churches belief/position is based on their belief that taking any life is morally wrong. They believe that these embryos have the potential to become human beings so it is wrong to use them in research. The scientists position is that this cell is only five days old and does not have any way of living on its own. They also see that the cell is not guaranteed to develop into a living organism. In this situation, science faces impediments with stem cell research. The primary impediment is that there are laws forbidding stem cell research. On two occasions scientists and researchers have tried to pass legislation to allow stem cell research but each time have failed. However, since there is still an interest by scientist to proceed with stem cell research the issue is not resolved. Scientists continue to propose different compromises that abide by the law.

There are many similarities between the scientific time period of the Enlightenment and modern conflict between science and religion. First, in both times the conflicts were to determine who had the actual truth. Both parties believe that they had/have the truth then and now. Secondly, the way we resolve the issues in the past are similar to how we will eventually resolve modern issues. The issues in the past were resolved with time, knowledge and evidence. We will find resolutions for the modern issues using the same three factors. Based upon historical conflicts between religion and science my prediction for the resolution of modern conflicts will be very similar. Most of the conflicts from the past have been resolved using science and the proof provided by science. Science and scientists have been the ones who have held the truth and proven that truth with evidence and observations that you can not deny. You can see that the modern conflicts between religion and science should follow with the same resolution with science eventually providing evidence and proof to show what they had hypothesized was the truth.

Although these two time periods have similarities in the conflicts between science and religion there are also differences. First, current scientists do not have to worry about being excommunicated from the church. Scientists in the 1600-1800's worried about the church banning them. Galileo gave up on his findings in fear of being banned from his church. Secondly, with modern conflicts we have more technology and freedom to prove scientific theories true. During the Enlightenment, they had to invent technology that was used to gain scientific knowledge. In modern times, we have a huge amount of technology available to use at anytime. A third difference from the Enlightenment conflicts and modern conflicts is the churches power. In the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, the church had the power to stop the spread of knowledge, such as Galileo's finding and the encyclopedia. In modern conflicts, knowledge is not restrained by the church. It is easily accessible to anyone who would like to have it. You can post your ideas, beliefs and scientific theories online and in book found all over. No one has the power to restrain information.

You may still be wondering how you determine truth? The answer to this question is not what is actually true but what your belief of truth is. Do you believe that truth is something you can see and prove? Or do you believe that truth is based solely on your faith in something? With religion, you have your faith and the teachings from the bible to defend your idea of truth. With science, you have an abundance of proof and evidence to defend your idea of truth. Religion is based solely on the bible, when looking at evolution religion looks to the creation story in genesis, a story that you have to put your faith into to think that it is true. For a scientist to believe something is true they have to go through a process. The first step to this process is to take observations and then collect evidence from their observations. The next step is to create a hypothesis explaining their evidence. The scientist then designs a plan to prove or disprove their hypothesis. The test is then conducted and if their hypothesis is incorrect they must go back to step two and create a new hypothesis. If their hypothesis is correct the scientist published his finding for other scientists. If other scientists can conduct the same test and get the same results, the information is published for everyone. This is called the scientific method. This is a precise way of finding the truth, you have to prove something with evidence and you have to prove it more then once. Many of the conflicts between science and religion are solved using proof and evidence from science. In the end, I can not tell you what truth is, I can tell you what I believe truth to be but each person has to determine what their own truth is going to be.








Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Jubilee year in Rome

Heidi Wyman

10/24/07

Looking at certain historic events in history you think how did this happen? Most events have many underlying factors that play into them. One might also consider how these factors may relate to each other. An example would be Leo Battista Alberti, an artist, the aqueducts of Rome, a scientific invention and Pope Nicholas V, a political figure. What impact did these three factors create? Pope Nicholas V was the first pope of the Renaissance, who rebuilds Rome. Leo Battista Alberti was an architect, musician, painter and sculptor. The Roman aqueducts gave a consistent source of clean water for Rome. These three factors brought Rome to its Jubilee year, during this time there were many artist and inventors who flocked to Rome producing art, literature, inventions galore.

A strong political figure from the Renaissance is Pope Nicholas V; he was named the first pope of the Renaissance. Nicholas was born at Sarzana, Liguria in 1397. He earned a degree in theology in 1422 and was taken into the service by Bishop Niccolo Albergati. This let Nicholas travel through Germany, France and England. During these trips Nicholas was able to collect books for his personal collection. These books would later be the start of the Vatican library built in 1448. After his service, Nicholas was appointed Bishop of Bologna. In 1447, when Pope Eugene IV died, Nicholas was elected Pope. He reigned for eight years until his death in 1455. During his reign Nicholas introduced a “fresh spirit to the Renaissance ”, he made Rome worthy of being the capital of the world at that time. Nicholas reinforced Rome’s defenses, paved main streets, rebuilt the city, the Vatican and the Borgo district and St. Relers Basilica. Also among Nicholas’ achievements would be his success with the rebuilding of the Aqueducts of Rome. Nicholas supported all of these plans by raising funds during the Jubilee year.

A scientific recreation, the Roman aqueducts were originally constructed around 312 B.C by Agrippa to create a constant supply of water for Rome. These aqueducts put together are estimated to be between 420 and 500 km long, but only 29 miles of aqueduct were above ground. The aqueducts had a sophisticated construction; they were built on a gradient that let gravity bring the water into the city. After some success during building, the constructors started to experiment with arches and Inverted syhons to accommodate for valleys and plains. Chorobats were used to flatten the terrain for the aqueducts and gromas were used to measure right angles for the aqueducts. The use of the underground aqueducts helped prevent disease from getting into the water. The aqueducts being underground also protected them from enemies destroying them. These aqueducts lasted for 500 years; their downfall came in the sixth century when they were wrecked by invaders. After this the Romans had to depend on water wells and/or the water from the yellow Tiber, until Nicholas repaired the aqueducts to working order. Again providing Rome with a safe and clean fresh water supply and improving the living conditions in Rome.

Leo Battista Alberti was an architect, musician, painter and sculptor, all of these qualities give Alberti the name of an artist. Alberti completed his education at the University of Bologna, where law was the base for his study. Alberti get his doctorate in Canon law and was appointed canon of the Florentine Cathedral. Alberti then went to Rome where he was hired by Pope Nicholas V. Alberti was to do all of the art work for Pope Nicholas V. This included restoring the aqueducts, designing the church of Saint’ Andrea and the church of San Francesco. Leo Battista Alberti was a very accomplished artist, who helped Nicholas V improve Rome in a variety of ways.

This political man, artist and scientific recreation worked together to make a huge impact on Rome and the citizens of the world during the Renaissance. The impact created by these three aspects, was Rome becoming the capital of the world and Rome having its Jubilee year. This year produced many new pieces of art, city improvements, literature and increased the power of the papacy. It took all three aspects, the artist, the political figure and the scientific invention, to achieve this impact.

The Pope Nicholas created plans to reconstruct the fresh water supply to Rome by repairing the aqueducts. The Roman aqueduct reconstruction was the base of why Nicholas V wanted the Jubilee year. The Pope took this reconstruction plan and found a way to earn funds for it. He wanted Rome to become the capital of the world. The activities planned for the Jubilee year would bring pilgrims and their money to Rome. The money acquired would then be use to further Nicholas' plan to repair the aqueducts and other projects. The Roman aqueducts were the motivation for Nicholas V to plan Rome's Jubilee year.

Leo Battista Alberti plans for the aqueducts also influenced the creation of the Jubilee year. Alberti was the architect who made the plans for the reconstruction of the aqueducts. His relationship with Nicholas and architectural skills helped Nicholas create plans to improve Rome by securing a clean water supply and eventually

beautifying Rome with fountains added to the aqueduct system. To fund these plans, projects and architecture Nicholas and Alberti created the Jubilee year.

Leo Battista Alberti and Pope Nicholas V worked together to create the jubilee year. This artist and political man had many influences on the culture of Rome. Nichols V hired Alberti to be his architect. Alberti was to create plans to reconstruct the Roman aqueducts to bring the fresh water supply back to Rome. These two men then created plans to bring Rome to its jubilee year, where pilgrims would come to Rome to support the funding for the aqueducts. This jubilee year would not only fund the aqueducts but many more artistic plans created by Nicholas V and Alberti.

Leo Battista Alberti, Pope Nicholas V and the aqueducts funneled together to create the Jubilee year. What is the Jubilee year? This year is 1450, the year in Rome where pilgrims came to Rome in flocks to visit churches, see architecture, read literature, and create art, to celebrate the Renaissance and Rome. This brought an abundance of money to Rome; this money was used by Nicholas V to rebuild the Roman aqueducts to provide a continuous clean supply of water for Rome. Why are these events and their impact so significant? The Jubilee year did not just fund the rebuilding of the aqueducts, which was a major achievement, it also brought about many new pieces of artwork, city improvements, literature and increased the power of the papacy.

Although there were many significant impacts from these events, two stand out as significant and lasting effects. The first is Leo Battista Alberti's De re aedificatoria (Ten Books on Architecture). These books were written by Alberti and dedicated to Pope Nicholas V in 1452. These books are not revisions of a previous writer, but ten completely new books by Alberti. These books made advances upon the engineering knowledge and the stylistic principles of classic art. Another is the reconstruction of the aqueducts and adding to them with ornate fountains. These fountains increased the beauty of Rome bringing more and more people to Rome. Alberti designed the base of the famous Trevi Fountain in 1453, this fountain would not have been built if the Jubilee year never came and Rome never got the money from the pilgrims. These two significant impacts left a lasting effect on Rome and the people of the world.

Looking at this impact you can see that it was caused by Pope Nicholas V, Leo Battista Alberti and the aqueducts. Parts of this impact are still seen today. We still see the Trevi fountain of which Alberti built the base. This is now a major tourist attraction in Rome for its beauty and structure. Other structures that still stand in Rome are the aqueducts; these can be seen all over Rome. A piece of literature that is still seen today is Leo Battista Alberti's Ten Books of

Architecture. These books are seen as the "bible of Renaissance architecture". Another structure that we still see today is the Vatican Library; this library was the first public library in Rome. The library currently holds around 75,000 manuscripts and 1.1 million printed books; the library also has a secret collection of Vatican Archives including 150,000 items. As you can see the impact left by Nicholas V, Leo Battista Alberti and the aqueducts have found their way into today’s life. They teach us of the art, science and politics of the Renaissance.

Leo Battista Alberti Pope Nicholas V Roman Aqueducts

Time Line

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Heidi Wyman

Revolution

10/15/07

To have revolution you must have all of the aspects of p.e.r.s.i.a. (politics, economics, religion, society, intellect and aesthetics). Though a revolution must have all of the aspects one can be more causative. In the Renaissance revolution, religion was the main cause. During the Renaissance revolution the main cause religion affected all of the other aspects of p.e.r.s.i.a.

The main cause of the renaissance revolution is religion. The biggest issue was the corruption in the church. This causes people to fight and want chance in the church. First, the church made laws against usury. However the popes and the hierarchy of the church condoned or took part in the usury. For example, Parks describes instances where the popes, bishops and cardinals would not only condone usury but commit usury themselves. Parks stated, "when a bishop, or a cardinal, or the pope himself had money to put in a bank and wanted to pay investor rather than borrower, he was egger to get something in return." (p.23) and "There were those priests who denounced sin and screamed foul and promised damnation. And there were those who studied canon law to find the loopholes in it." (p.23). This condoning and use of usury by the hierarchy of the church created frustration within the followers of the church. This led to a division in the church and revolution. This corruption in the church led Martin Luther to address the corruption of the church thought writing down all the aspects of the church which he and others felt were corrupt. One example of an aspect that Luther thought was corrupt was the use of money and building for the church as a way of getting into heaven. The corruption of the church led to major frustration from the followers leading to reformation.

The religious preferences of the people had an effect on the society. When people had “unum sanctrum”, one church, there was one society and no separation. The church did not like people to challenge them as Martin Luther did in fear of separation. Luther’s actions led to the reformation of the church, splitting it into more the one religion and a split society. Secondly, some in society questioned the morality of buying privileges such as legitimacy for your child from the church. Parks shows that Cosmo had an illegitimate son and used his influences to have him in the church and later on the Bishop of Prato. This was another area of frustration to the followers of the church. This increased the desire for church reformation, hence leading to the Renaissance revolution.

The church had a huge influence on the economy of Florence. The church collected tithes from all over Italy. “The church demanded its tributes from all over Christendom” (p20), they believed that if you didn’t pay you would go to hell. This cause a major amount of the money to go to the church verses the government/ general economy. The government wanted to collect more taxes and have so mot the income that went to the church again feeding into the revolution. Secondly, the church believed that all being children of God the people should want to help each other therefore not charging each other interest. “Give, without hoping for gain”. (p.11). Business people and bankers were aggravated because this was stopping the earning of money. They had to work around church rules and attempt to elect popes that would ignore usury. All of these issues feed into the revolutionary movement.

The intellect of the people was affected by the spread of knowledge through religion. Luther spread his knowledge of corruption by posting 95 theses. These theses were then taken down and copied by a member of the printing press and then distributed. This spread the knowledge of the corruption in the church, therefore causing the splitting of the church. The intellect of the people was also affected by the translation of the Bible. The Bible was translated from Greek to Latin and then into German by Luther. The translation of the bible provided knowledge of religion for more people. These actions affected the intellect of church followers changing their views and adding to the move for revolution.

The church’s law of no usury effected politics. Business men and government leaders worked to make sure there was a pope who condoned usury. Parks shows this with the government in Florence banding any type of practice close to usury. They then worked to get Cosmo into political power so he could revoke the law against usury. If the political power had the support of the church they would have more power. The church has a lot of power and at this time they were not in complete agreement with they political leaders causing more desire for change.

As you can see, Religion is the strongest cause of the renaissance revolution. In and of itself religion is a strong motivation for reformation. It also ties into all of the other areas of p.e.r.s.i.a. causing more motivation for change.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Dr. Fautus

I believe that the term "faustian bargain" means, a deal with a benificial short term outcome but long term negatice consequence. The term "faustian bargain" derices from the play Dr. Fautus. In the play Dr. Faustus clearly makes the faustian bargain. Faustus makes a deal with Mephastophilis, a worker for the devil. The deal was that Mephastphilis will serve Faustus for twenty-four years giving him faim, fourtune, riches and anything he disiers. In return Faustus must gice his soul to the devil. In the beginning Faustus thinks this deal is great but when it is time to pay his dues Faustus realizes that he will pay eternaly for his short term goals. In Dr. Faustus' bargain his shor term gails are gaining wealth, power, fame and knowledge. Faustus uses these powers to scare the pope by snatching the food and dishes from him while invisable, to make a knight grow horns for offending him, to summon Helen of Troy and to send people who he has used his powers against away. After Dr. Faustus uses his powers for his twent four years the devil comes for his soul and Faustus realizes the mistake he has made by making the bargain with the devil and repents just to have his sould takein by the devil like the deal said.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Book 4: Once And Future King

Summary-
Agravaine and Mordred go to King Arthur to tell him of the affair between Lancelot and Guenevere. King Arthur informs them that no action will be taken until they can prove what they have told him. Agravaine and Mordred catch Lancelot in Guenevere's room thus proving the affair. Lancelot kills all of the knights with them except Mordred who he spares. Guenevere is sentence by Arthur to be burned. Lancelot saves Guenevere taking her to his castle where they were safe for six months. Lancelot and Guenevere get the Pope to create a peace treaty which would allow the Guenevere to go back to Arthur and Lancelot to be banished from England. Gawaine and Mordred convince Arthur to go to war against Lancelot to revenge the death of their brothers. While Arthur and Gawaine are away fighting Lancelot Mordred takes over England and marries Guenevere. Once Arthur hears this news he, Gawaine and Lancelot all return to England to fight Mordred. Arthur tells his story to a page in hope of his ideas living on.

Vocabulary-
Words I did not know the meaning of-
Matriarchal
Gaieties
Ardour
Vestments
Rheumaticky
Melee
Coiffure
Epaulettes
Masel
Atrophied

Words I founds interesting-
Willna- Will not
Dinna - Do not

Reaction/ Reflection-
Again I really enjoyed reading this book as well as the other three. I liked that Lancelot and Guenevere were not killed because of their affair. I like the ending with Mordred trying to take over England and then Lancelot running to help Arthur when he needed it. This to me was why I like Lancelot the best. This showed that he was a loyal person and was continuously friends with Arthur even through the hard times. I did not like Mordred for his intentions of taking over England while Arthur was still alive. I also did not like Agravaine who killed his mother. The plot was intriguing with battles, affairs and trapping. I did not particularly like the ending it to me did not seam like it made clear if they all really did die in the last battle and it did not tell how Arthur and Lancelot died, like it did in Le Mort d'Arthur. I do believe that White chose to ent the book this way because it let the reader fill in what they think will happen in the war. I thnk that this ending was hopeful. I believe this because White does not tell you if anyone dies in the war, which is hopeful to think that they may have lived through the war.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Book 3: Once and futur King

Summary-
Lancelot goes to Camelot to meet with Arthur. While there, Lancelot falls in love with the Queen, Guenevere. He is also knighted to the round table while he was there. Lancelot leaves Camelot on a quest to escape falling in love with Guenevere. Lancelot travels through the land defeating any person who challenges him to tilt. Lancelot sends all of the people he defeats to the queen. Lancelot is tricked into conceiving a child with Elaine. When Elaine brings the child to Lancelot he runs away and becomes a mad man. Lancelot is found by Elaine and stays hidden for a few years by living with Elaine and their son. Lancelot is found in his castle by his brother and brought back to Camelot. When he returns Arthur sends the knights of the round table on a quest for the holy Grail. Years go by and knights return from their quest telling Arthur their story of the quest. Lancelot returns and tells Arthur of the men who had found the Holy Grail. When Lancelot returns he is a new man, one who will not be with the queen because he has found god. Lancelot is able to keep the Queen away for many years but when the queen is taken hostage Lancelot come running to save her and there love is re-united. Shortly after this Lancelot works a miracle to save a mans life.

Vocabulary-
Words I did not know the definition of.
Stinted -
Eccentric - a person with an unusual or odd personality
Poinard - Sharp blade
Meringues -
Tempestuously -
Habergeonoly -

Interesting words
Colouring - coloring
Honour - honor
Warrabout - where about
Heid - head
Makyth - make

Reaction/ Reflection
I did not find this book from The Once And Future King as interesting to read. I did like how Lancelot came into play to stir things up a bit. I did not like all of the stories on the search for the Holy Grail. I found these stories kind of boring to read but I think that White chose to inclued a lot of detail about them because it was a turning point for many of Arthurs knights, expecialy for Lancelot. This book also had a lot of trickery, of which I found interesting. I think that the death of Arthur and Guenevere will come in the next book and that there will be chaos in Camelot. Again I liked most of the characters except, Guenevere who cheated on Arthur and Elaine who tricked Lancelot into sleeping with her twice. In the end of this book Lancelot preforms a mirical but is unable ot take pleasure form it, I believe that is because Lancelot fells that his is unworthy of praise he is getting from the mirical. Again things in the book are seen in modern day. Such as Elaine playing a trick on Lancelot to get what she wanted and Guenevere cheating on Lancelot. These two things are seen a lot in modern day even if we don't want to admit that people cheat and trick people into doing what they want it does happen. I like how T.H. White refers to Le Morte d'Arthur to show how the two stories are similar.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Book 2: Once and Future king

Summary-
The begining of this book introduces the four children of Queen Morgause and King Lot. These children strive for the attention of their mother who has gone on a hunt for a unicorn. The children hunt a unicorn and bring it back to their mother in hopes that she will spend more time with them. During this time, King Arthur is getting ready for the battle against King Lot. King Arthur beats King Lot in the battle and returns home for the wedding of King Pellinor and his Queen. The morning after the wedding Arthur and his half sister Queen Morgause conceive a son.

Vocabulary-
Words I did not know the definition of.
Nigromancer
Piseog
Pehnoncells
Peregrines
Teuton- someone (especially a German) who speaks a Germanic language
enmity- hostility: a state of deep-seated ill-will

Words I found interesting.
Maircy- Mercy
Whateffer- what ever
Axed- asked
Wan- one
Practise- Practice
Pecualiarity

Reaction / Reflection-
I still enjoyed reading this book but not as much as the first book of Once And Future King because I do not prefer to read about battles. I like how T.H. White refers to Le Morte d'Arthur and also explains things that you might not get. I still like the characters who have remained from book one and I also like the new characters that have been introduced except Queen Morgause. I do not like this character because I have a feeling that she is going to use this son against King Arthur later on in the book. The plot has continued to be intriging with battles, chasing unicorns and men dressing up like the Questing Beast. I predict that the round table will finally come together and that Lancelot will become on of the main characters that we see a lot of. Situations that I read about in the book are seen in modern day. Such as the children striving for there mothers attention and going out of their way to get that attention. Kids today still strive for their parents attention, it may be in other ways then unicorn hunting but it still happens. This treatment of the children has a hugely negative effect of the children, they were not nice to others and are starting to become rotten kids. The treatment of the sons make me happy to have two parents who care alot about me. I do feel sorry for these boys because every child should have a parent to give them attention. Another situation that is see in modern day is like Palomidies and Grummore dressing up like the Questing Beast to bring happiness to King Pellinor. Many people today again try to bring happiness to people in different ways but it is still done.

Summary of what I thought.

I personlay did not like this book. I thought that the main audience was older then a sophmore in high school. Some of what Friedman had to say I found interesting, such as the McDonalds who sends their drive thru orders to other places to be taken and then the order is sent back completed in a matter of seconds. This book has shown me that the flat world will effect me and my generation in many ways. First, the flat world will cause us to have to compete with people from all over the world for our jobs/careers. We will have to find and pursue a job that will not be outsourced or offshored, the jobs that Friedman calls untouchables. To achieve these jobs we will have to have the right knowledge, skills, ideas and the self-motovation to seize and keep these jobs. Also because of the flat world, we will have to be very flexible workers and have good people skills. We will have to fit in somebody's supply chain and have the skills to do so. We will have to be collabotators, orchestrators, synthesizers, explainers, leveragers, adaptors, personalizers and localizers. Friedman says that to be these things we will have to "learn how to learn", bring curiosity and passion to our work , play well with others and improve our right-brain skills. Those are just some ways in which the flat world effects me and my generation.

To realize my goals there are certain things I will need from my teachers and parents. First, parents in the US will have to place more value and importance in their children acquiring a serious education. They should insist on a good educational program in which I/we am learning the right skills. They will have to make education a priority over sports and social life and they will have to set high expectaions for grades. Secondly, from teachers I will need an educational system in which I will be ready for the jobs that actualy exist in my society. My teachers will have to interest me in the subject that I will be needing such as math, science and engineering. Teachers will have to reorient what they are teaching to embed the tools and concepts of colaboration into the curriculum. They will also have to transform the educational systems to produce workers for new and different jobs that will actually exist. Since I am only 15 years old I am not completly sure what job I will choose or if my future will be "untouchable". I am sure that the job I choose will be like the lemonade guy, personalized with my own little touch. From Friedmans descriptions, I have some natural skills of an explainer, therefore I will choose a future which will incorporate and build on these skills. I believe that I embrace the flat world much more then the generation before me. I have been part of a generation who have used technology and am comfortable with the technology of the flat world. I believe that the only challange to the flat world would be getting the right education to be successful in a flat world and continueing to be flexible, open minded and to learn.

Is the flat world a good thing for America?

The flat world holds positive things for America.

First, the flat world has positively effected American consumers, by allowing them to purchase cheaper goods and services. It has also allowed consumers to get those good and services online. For some this is more enjoyable, convienient and usually cheaper. It is also easier to comparison shop and read consumer reviews.

Secondly, the flat world has positively effected American producers and businesses. The flat world has allowed producers and businesses to have global markets, selling their goods and services all over the world. It has also helped their global communication become cheaper. Producers and buisnesses can now communicate with there investors all over the world cheaper. The flat world has also allowed producers and buisnesses to globally collaborate. It has also created increased collaboration and competition which drives businesses to improve.

Finally, the flat world has allowed for people to get knowledge, information, education and to stay personaly connected. First, the flat world has allowed all of these services faster and cheaper. Secondly, this has been a very good thing for Americans because it has allowed them to voice their own opinion and to view others opinions. Thirdly and most importiantly it has allowed Americans to communicate more easily. This is very importaint because many familys in American do not all live in the same area, most live in different parts of America or around the world. Familys also have children in college and the cheap communication has made it easier and cheaper for these people to communicate.

For a variety of reasons the flattening of the world is a good thing for America.

What are the potential negative consequences to a flat world?

There are some potential negative consequences to a flat world.

Potential negative consequences include, outsourcing and offshoring which move jobs out of the country. Endangering low skilled jobs of which will be offshored or outsourced. Also, if we as Americans are not inovative and do not change our work force and education we could loose our place as a world economic leadership. Another consequence to the flat world would be the business compitition for cheaper goods creating jobs with less or no benefits. A good example of this is Walmart's employment practices. They have developed the best supply chain, offer low prices and earn a higher profit in part by offering their employees limited benefits and in most cases no health insurance. The last potential negative consequence would be that now every American child/worker is competing with every Chinese, Indian, and Brazilian child/worker for their job.

These potential negative consequences to the flat world would not have been seen if Americans had rolled up their sleeves and educated the young people the correct way. Because of this Americans are starting to see these potential negative consequences of a flat world.

Monday, July 16, 2007

The world is flat #2

Technology has effected people personally, internationally and economically in many different ways. The development of technology has reshaped the world personally, internationallyand economically. Freidman discusses the ten forces that flatten the world and its effects on us personally, internationally and economically.
First, Netscape (web browsers and search engines) have allowed many benefits including, increase in ability to communicate, increased competition, products to be put online, for people and businesses to shop online and made things cheaper online. Internationally, Netscape has improved the worlds ability to collaborate, allowing business, government, inventors, scientists and many others to work together. It has also made an easier connection internationally. Netscape has personally has allowed people to immediately connect to knowledge and research and expres their own views(uploading). Economically Netscape has providede a place for individuals and businesses to advertise and sell their goods/services and led to the invention of pay pal, which makes it easier for people to purchase goods and easier for people to take payment for their goods.
Secondly, technology has allowed people to upload to the internet. Internationally this has created a platform of collaboration for people around the world to plug and play, compete and connect on knowledge, start companies and invent and sell goods and services. It has also internationally allowed everyone everywhere to put information online or access other information and others opinion's. Personally it has allowed people to blog and add knowledge online which is acessable to the whole world and search for knowledge/information easily and independently. Economically uploading has allowed people to post reviews on products to help the sale of the product.
Thirdly, technology has created the ability to outsource. Economically outsourcing has made companies more competitive because they can produce cheaper goods. It also provides new jobs in other countries and has allowed educated people to stay in their own countries. Due to increased jobs/income in growing countries world markets have grown creating a larger group of people to sell products to.
Next, technology has increased off shoring, sending products away to be made. Economically off shoring has created new jobs in other countries and companies to compete to produce cheaper goods. Again creating larger world markets. Internationally off shoring brings jobs to poor places where there is a need of jobs so labor cost are less. Creating cheaper goods and services for consumers.
Technology has increased and improved supply chaining. Technology allows the tracking of products needed for better supply chaining. Economically supply chaining creates a world with cheaper goods and allows stores to better stock their goods that are wanted. Internationally supply chaining makes supplies and goods available in global markets.
Technology has increased insourcing. Economically insourcing created new mid level jobs in business jobs such as Fed Ex deliverers, also becoming asssemblers and repair men. Internationally in sourcing helps international companies provide better service for their customers. Personally in sourcing quickens and makes local repairing easier and more available.
Next, technology has allowed the in-forming of people all over the world. Economically in-forming advertises products and aided the development of pay pal. Informing has also created new jobs. For example Google hires mathematicians to work on algorithms to bring up the best websites first.
Finally, technology has created what Friedman calls the steroids. Personally the steroids have allowed you to have quick connection to knowledge, it allows you to share info, music and improved technology. The steroids also allows calls over the net cheaper and also they allow computers to connect with others who have a different language.
Overall, technology has allowed people personally, internationally and economically to connect, communicate, gain knowledge and buy and sell cheaper goods.

What is "convergence" as friedman describes it? Why is it importaint?

There are three pieces to convergence as Friedman describes it. They include the ten flatteners coming together, alligning businesses horizontally versus veritically and three billion people from arounf the world joining business production.
The first piece is the ten flatteners coming together to flatten the playing field for businesses. This created a new global platform for people to educate communicate, collaborate and work together. Friedman believes that these ten forces are now well established and working together like complimentary goods making a whole new global platform.
The second piece is businesses and individuals alligning horizontally not vertically. For example, H.P. demonstrates this with the consolidation of their supply chains. They had 87 different supply chains all with their own staff and administration, however they now have reduced to only five supply chains wiht one staff cpmleting tasks such as accounting, billing and human resources versus one for each supply chain. This also forces employees, companies and individuals to acquire new skills. Friedman discusses South West Arline e-ticket process and how this process had helped South West Airlines improve but not himself until he became educated to the e-ticket process and realized he could print his ticket at home saving himself time and South West Arlines the staff person to print the ticket.
The third piece to Friedman's convergence is three billion people from China, Russia, India, Eastern Europe and Latin America joining the business production world. For the most part these folks have not been competing with us before. It brings a huge number of people into the world market for competition of jobs, resources and products. Friedman feels that this is the most important piece of convergence. Convergence is very important because now innovation will come from all over the world not just America.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Once and Future King: Book One

Summary:
The sword in the stone was about a boy named Art, the second son of Sir Ector. Art goes on a quest in the forest Savage, to find a tutor. Art finds an old man named Merlyn who agrees to go home with Art and be his tutor. Merlyn stays for many years teaching Art by changing him into various animals, vegetables and minerals of which Art wanted to know about. Myrlyn also sends him on various quest all of different meaning. Word comes of the death of the King and a sword that is thrust through an anvil and stone. Upon this sword is the inscription, "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise King born of all England." Art is sent to retrieve Kay's sword when he finds the door to the hotel locked. Art then rides to the sword in the stone and pulls the sword from the stone. He brings the sword to Kay when Sir Ector notices what sword it is and demands Art to put the sword back in the stone and take it back out many times until he is declared king of all England.

Vocabulary-
Words I did not know:
Jerkin- a close-fitting hip-length usually sleeveless jacket
Astrolabe- An astrolabe is an instrument that was used to determine the altitude of objects (like the sun) in the sky.
Melancholy- an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression
Rheumatism- any of various conditions characterized by inflammation or pain in muscles, joints, or fibrous tissue
Conglomerations
Scombre
Conundrum- a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun
Fritillaries
Anachronism- a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other
Morosely- having a sullen and gloomy disposition
Imperceptibly- not perceptible by a sense or by the mind
These words i did not know what these words meant and had to look them up as I was reading. A few words I was unable to find the definitions for.
Words I found interesting:
Liddle
Measter
I found these words interesting because of there spelling.


Reaction and Reflection-
I have liked this book the most out of the books I have read this summer. I find it an easy and enjoyable read. I predict that if this book by TH White is anything like the packet assigned Arthur will grow to become a great king. I also predict that he will establish the round table with twelve knights, some of which he will like better then others. He will also fight many knights and go on many other quests and adventures. I also believe that many more characters will be introduced in the second book. So far I have found Merlyn and Arthur to be the characters I have liked. I like how Merlyn teaches Arthur, by sending him on various journeys, quests and also turning him into different animals. I like how Arthur is always willing to learn about nature and willing to go on the different quest and journeys that he is sent on. A character whom I did not like very much was Kay. Kay was always the one who would talk down to Arthur because Kay was the older son. Kay was also very self centered character, but without him being self centered Arthur may never have had a reason to pull the sword from the stone and become king. TH White's characters were not always realistic and made the book interesting and fun to read. This book by TH White is very similar to the beginning of Le Mort d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. The plot is very similar where Arthur is sent away to live with Sir Ector and spends his childhood with Sir Ector. Arthur then pulls the sword from the stone and becomes king. There are only slight differences in the technicalities of the story in the amount of time and the message on the Anvil is slightly different but has the same meaning. I hope that the plot and characters of the next three books in Once and Future King are as good as the first book.

Le Mort d'Arthur

Summary-
The first few pages of Le Mort D'Arthur describe the legend of King Arthur and how it began. In these pages it also describes the changes of the legend and who they were made by. It then goes into the legend of King Arthur by Thomas Malory. Merlin arranges for the upbringing of King Uther's first son, Arthur. Arthur lives out his childhood with Sir Ector and his son Kay. When Uther dies Britain goes into chaos until a sword is placed into a stone with the with the inscription “Whoso pulleth oute this swerd of this stone and anvyld is rightwys kynge borne of all Brytaygne”. Arthur pulls the sword from the stone and is named king of Britain. Arthur fights a number of battles to prove that he is the rightful king of Britain. Arthur then marries Gwynevere and establishes the twelve knights of the round table. Sir Launcelot and Sir Lyonel leave for an adventure when Sir Lyonel gets captured by sir Tarquin. Sir Tarquin then captures Sir Ector while Sir Launcelot was captured by four Queens. He refuses to choose one of the queens and he escapes by agreeing to help King Bagdemagus. He defeats all of Knights in the tournament and continues on his way to find adventure. He defeats many knights and frees many knights in captivity. Launcelot returns to Camelot to become the most famous knight at King Arthur's court. Arthur then went to fight Sir Launcelot. While he was away, Sir Modred faked the death of King Arthur. Arthur and Modred fight. Sir Gawain dies and Arthur and Modred plan to sign a peace treaty the next day. At the signing, a soldier raises his sword and the armies attack. Sir Modred is killed by King Arthur and King Arthur is wounded in the head. King Arthur is then sent across the water.

Vocabulary-
Words I did not know the meaning of:
Prerogative-
an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege
Royal Seneschal- person in charge of a royal household in medieval times. The royal seneschal held a position of consideration power and responsibility.
Copse- Grove of trees
Ninescore- one hundred eighty
Barony- Nobles of the lowest rank
Scaffold- A temporary or movable platform for workers to stand or sit on when working at a height above the floor or ground.
Vouchsafed- to grant as a privilege or special favor
Words I found interesting:
Whoso
Pulleth
Oute
Swerd
Anvyld
Rightwys
Kynge
Brytaygne

Reactions-
I liked this packet and found that it was easy to read and understand. There were a select few words that I did not know the meaning of but the packet gave most of those definitions for me so I did not have to look them up. I found this packet very informative and I hope that it will not spoil the story Once and Future King. The plot and characters were both fairly easy to follow and made the packet enjoyable to read.




Friday, July 6, 2007

What does Friedman mean by "the world is flat"?

When Friedman says "the world is flat" he is not trying to say that Christopher Columbus' discovery of a round world is incorrect. What Thomas L. Friedman means by "the world is flat" , is that technology today is leveling the turf for individuals, businesses and countries. Technology has created the link that allows companies, businesses and people to outsource, in source, offshore, inform, upload and to have better supply chaining. This is connecting the world giving individuals, companies, businesses and countries equal power. The development of technology is changing the way the world will compete for jobs, business, communication services and power. People around the world now have more equal opportunities- thus creating a flatter world.