Today in Human Geo finished labeling the Peter's, Robinson, and Mercator projection. I have learned a lot about maps this year so far. I already knew about things like the Equater, Prime Meridian, Latitude and longitude, but I learned how to pinpoint a exact location using latitude and longitude. I also learned that not all time zones are vertical lines and they are very confusing. I agree with you that it would have been much easier if the Earth would just have a universal time. There would be less confusion with long flights and you would not have to put your clock back. It may be confusing if you travel across the world and it is dark at 3:00pm. I also learned that there is more than one map than the Mercator and all of them are wrong because you cant project a round surface on a flat surface correctly.

• Greenwich mean time- location of prime meridian
• The international date line
• Located at 180 degrees longitude
• You move your clock back twenty four hours if you are heading eastward towards America
• Heading westward you move your clock forward 24 hours

                           

Early map-making

• Early maps were reference dots- simple navigation devices to go from point a to point b.
• First map prepared by Anaximander 276-194 BC.
• Improvements to world map by Ptolemy.
• After Ptolemy, advancements in map making by Europe, Chinese, and Islamic world.
• Map making revived the age of exploration.
• Contemporary Mapping
• Switch from a tool that provides location reference to a tool used by geographers to communicate complex geographic locations.
• Level of detail depend on map scale
• Writch scale
• Number on left-distance
• Number on right- different unit depending on the size of the map.
• Projection- Scientific method of projecting locations to a flat map.
• Earths sperical shape causes distortion when drawing it on a flat piece of paper.
• four types-Shape, distance, Relative, Direction distortion.
• Meridians- drawn between north and south poles, longitude.
• Parrelels- arcs drawn parellel to the equater
• Further accuracy can be achieved by dividing each degree by 60 minutes, and each minute by 60 seconds.
• Earth is divided into 29 timezones

       

       The cartographers in The West Wing made points such as how inaccurate the Mercator map is and how it favors imperialistic Europe. They also showed how much bigger Africa was than Greenland on the Mercator map. According to the cartographers, the Mercator map made third world countries insignificant because they are on the bottom of the map, so they said they can make the map south up because people are getting a top to bottom attitude. They also say that size has to do with the power and influence of a country. I personally think that nobody thinks that their country is bad because it is not on top of the map, so it should stay as North on the top ans South on the bottom. But I am starting to agree that the Peters is more accurate and the size of the country does show power. For example, during the cold war people thought the U.S.S.R was way bigger than it actually was because the Mercator map was so enlarged.

           Today we were going to go deeper into what we will be learning next, butt we did not get very far. The class kept getting in discussions about the Mercator map is wrong and why Christopher Columbus was not a good guy. Which brings me to my point of why we may celebrate Columbus Day even though he sounded like a bad person. Christopher Columbus did not land on the American mainland and he killed many Indians, but he did contribute in eventually colonizing America. He set up transatlantic trading routs which let more people come to North America and settle, eventually leading to modern America. To today's standards he does seem like a jerk, but he was very essential in making America what it is today.

         Today in Human Geography we learned that the Mercator map projection is completely wrong and why the Peters map projection is much more accurate. It is inaccurate because the size of north and south lad masses are enlarged because it is difficult to put a sphere on a flat surface. The Peters projection is different because it distorts the shape but keeps the size as accurate as possible. This is being adopted because it is making third world countries look weaker because it makes countries in the north bigger. I believe that the peters projection is just as inaccurate as the Mercator. I do not think anybody thinks countries are powerful based on the size of the landmass. The Mercator projection shows what the country looks like, even if it is larger than it appears. if you pull a country from the Peters projection, it will look distorted and may be confusing because the country is a different shape. I think both map projections are equally as inaccurate and it is impossible to make a accurate map of the Earth.

            Today in Human Geo we completed our first test. The test was on Socrates and a Message to Garcia. The test was easy overall and I think i did very good. I also was able to correctly guess the extra credit question so that is a bonus. I am slightly worried about the essay question because I am not the best writer. I have the right idea overall and I am hopeful I will get full credit for it. It was a easy test and it would be cool if they stayed this difficulty. But they won't.

   The first thing that happend today in class is Mr. Schick telling us that we have a test on Monday that is on excellence. The essay question will be on the quote,"The unexamined life is not worth living." I am going to discuss different points like how it is related to a message to Garcia and taking initiative. We were going to do a oral report and tell about a slide in the power point but Google prevented that from happening. So we did not really know what to do so you just let us work on our blog. It was not the most productive class but  learned about the test and started on my blog.

           Today in class we further discussed Socrates. We focused on how he was accused of impiety and corruption of the Athenian youth and his defense was that he was doing a favor for the people of Athens and he should be given free dinners for know on.This is probably why he was found guilty.  We also discussed how he was put on death sentence and refused the offer to escape the prison because he wanted to abide with the rules of democracy. After we discussed these topics, we had a vote if we were Athenians in the Agora, if he was guilty or not guilty. Most of the class including myself said he was guilty for various reasons. My main reasons are that he insulted the Athenian people and if I were a Athens I would be mad about that. He was also accused of impiety and the gods were a big part of Greece. But if it were modern day I would vote not guilty because you have freedom f speech and there are much worse people out there than a guy teaching kids things not everybody agrees with.

• Agora- Gathering place, assembly, market place. The center of athletic, aristic, spiritual, and political life in the city state (esp. Athens).
• Polis- political entities ruled by their bodies of citizens. Origins of the words politics, metropolitan, and pol.
• 508 BC- The birth of Democracy. The first time in recorded history where a people revolted against there rulers.
• US (1776)
• France (1789)
• China (1851 & 1949)
• Russia (1917)
• Iran (1979)
• Egypt (2011)
• Socrates- He was a stonemason, he fought in the Peloponnesion  war, working class background and military experience may have shaped the way he viewed the world, he met with young students in workshops right outside the agora. His method: ask a series of questions to determine their underlying beliefs and the extent of their knowledge. This led to the scientific method, in which you start out with a hypothesis, set out to prove or disprove your theory through experimentation.
• Athens was a great city that attracted brilliant thinkers, visitors from all over the world shared there knowledge of astronomy, medicine, meteorology, literature, philosophy, and all things scientific. This often conflicted with traditional teachings which were centered around Greek gods.

A Message to Garcia notes

• Released in March, 1899
• 40 million copies sold in 37 different languages
• Made into a movie twice, once in 1916 and another in 1936
• "Take a message to Garcia" became a expression for taking initiative
• it takes place in the Spanish American War
• Garcia was a revolutionary seeking Cuban independence
• William McKinley: 25th president, assassinated six months into second term
• The tallest Mountain in North America was named after McKinley until 2015 (it is now named Denali)
• Perihelion-the point when a planet is closest to the sun (brightest)
• slipshod-careless, lackadaisical, remiss
• imbecility-incapability, feebleness, stupidity
• stenographer-a person who takes dictation in shorthand
• missive-a letter, especially a long or official one
• arete-excellence in greek
• excellence of any kind
• moral virtue
• fulfillment of purpose or function
• but mostly...
• the act of living up to ones full potencial
• only applies to humans
• highest human potential is knowledge, all other human traits is derived from this
• the highest human knowledge is knowledge about knowledge

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A Message to Garcia

       

Sam Smith                                                                                                                   9/8/18

            A Message to Garcia is about an American soldier named Rowan who needs to deliver a message given by president McKinley to deliver to Garcia. Unlike what most people would do and ask questions like, “What is in the letter,” or “Where is he at,”. Rowan didn’t ask any questions and then traversed a hostile island alone and did not stop because it was a hard job. The author, Elbert Hubbard, then ranted on how people nowadays will never just do you ask them without asking questions or getting help. I partly agree with the author’s pinion. Although he is sounding very harsh about other people doing half-hearted work, he is not wrong that people just need to try their best and figure out problems on their own. Everybody is victim to slacking or getting distracted in the world we live in today. There are so much distractions such as phones and computers that it is hard to concentrate on work. The main theme of this short story is how Rowan took initiative and just did what he had to do. This is especially important in high school, you must take initiative and figure out problems on your own (as I found out on my third day of high school). In conclusion, you need to be like Rowan, and not get distracted, or do work unenthusiastically, or give up because it is too hard. You just need to try your hardest and deliver the message to Garcia.

Sam Smith                                                                                                                   9/5/18

            I got to school a little early, so I waited for the bell to ring so I could go to my locker. I was late to my first class, band, because I forgot my locker combination but I eventually got it open. Band was really fun and we learned new songs for the football game on Friday. Then I went to Biology which I am exited for because Science was my favorite subject. After Biology I went to advisory. We introduced ourselves and then I got my books for Human Geo. At Human Geo we went to get our pictures taken. I was also givin this assignment and we learned about our blogs. Then I had lunch and I ate with my friends and talked. Then I went to English and we turned in our Summer packets. In Intro to Bible we watched a video and reflected on in our prayer journal. Then in German we learned how to greet people and tell them your name. When school was dismissed I went to Cross Country which was fun but very hot. I really enjoyed my first day of school in John Carroll.