reading connection #1

            In the course of our studies we read about a man named Claudius Ptolemaeus. He is most famous for his theories about the cosmos. Ptolemy believed that the earth was the center of the universe and the sun, moon, planets, and stars revolve around the earth which stayed in a fixed position. Ptolemy also created a map showing his interpretation of the solar system, the remarkable part of this was that his map was incredibly close to what is true today. Ptolemy was able to accomplish all this thirteen centuries before the famous astrologer Galileo did. (Ptolemy)

            Ptolemy was the author of one of the most famous books in astrology the Tetrabiblos(Greek) or Quadrapartitium (Latin) meaning 'Four Books. In this book Ptolemy lays out the framework for astrology for other astrologers to follow in the future. Ptolemy did not gain his reputation purely on this book and his interpretation of the heavens. He also catalogued and named over 1000 stars, created the first viable theory of the refraction of light, and most impressively was able to calculate the dimensions of the earth with considerable precision. (Houlding)

            Debrah Houlding talks about Ptolemy on her website (http://www.skyscript.co.uk/ptolemy.html) and believes that even though Ptolemy was wrong about the earth being in the center of the universe he gave astrologers like Galileo a huge step forwards into uncovering the truths about the cosmos. We know today that the earth is not the center of the universe; however, back in Ptolemy’s time he was the one who came up with the theory and the Ptolematic system where the earth was in the center. Ptolemy was truly a revolutionary figure, thanks to him we now understand more about our universe. Hopefully in the future someone else like Ptolemy will come along and uncover more truths about what is out beyond our universe.

 

 

 

Works cited

 

Ptolemy. "Saving the Appearances" as it appears in Brian Baigrie's Scientific Revolutions: Primary Texts in the History of Science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004.

 

Houlding, Debrah. "The life and work of Ptolemy." Sky Script. 1 June 1993. The Traditional Astrologer Magazine. 1 Oct. 2008 .

 

Arnett, Bill. "Ptolemy, the man." The nine planets. 26 Mar. 2006. 1 Oct. 2008 .

 

Reading Connection #1

Casey Norton
Reading Connection #1

In society today, there is a constant easy way out. We can look to pills to cure our anxiety and sickness, we have computers answer most of our questions, and most people eat fast food. Nicholas Carr, the author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google) tells of his fears that his mind is drifting away. He talks about how when he reads, he cannot seem to stay focused for longer than three pages. Although, in most cases Google has made my life easier, there are moments in which I wish that I actually fully researched for a paper or did not stare at a computer screen all day while doing work.
The fact that Google gives a quick fix or a hasty answer makes our lives even faster paced. Every minute of my day is laid out whether it is in the library or down in a classroom working on the computer. Although I agree with Carr, there are many innovations in society that give an opposite view.
Revolutionary Minds on Seedmagazine.com shows groups of people adding amazing and innovative parts to their field. This website gives a spin to Carr’s article. Although Google gives humans an easy way out, it opens doors to everyone that has access to the Internet. This access brings bits of knowledge to different pieces of society. Looking at people on Revolutionary Minds shows that each person has the capability to add something to their field of study. Everybody cannot necessarily innovate stem cell research, but with the ability to use websites such as Google, people can gain knowledge efficiently.
Since most people have access to the Internet, it allows people to build on articles and websites, even on their own opinions of topics. Looking at moments throughout the Scientific Revolution, people could not communicate in ways such as this and could not build off one another’s ideas. According to Stephanie Olsen, the author of “Intelligence in the Internet Age”, the Internet gives intelligence to all. Although she believes the Internet is the easy way to gain information, she tells of how we should take advantage of how the Internet is so accessible to all. It gives equality to intelligence.

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic. 2007. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google

Olsen, Stephanie. “Intelligence in the Internet Age”. CNET News. 2005.
http://news.cnet.com/Intelligence-in-the-Internet-age/2100-11395_3-5869719.html

Seed Media Group. Revolutionary Minds. Seed Magazine.com 2008. http://revminds.seedmagazine.com/

Readings Connection #1

I found Ptolemy’s argument in Saving the Appearances to be very interesting and invigorating because I have never studied or followed cosmology before. If one ponders the thought of how much knowledge individuals actually had about space, the universe, and how it works; one would come to the conclusion that Ptolemy was a very intelligent man who had a rare grasp on how the universe works. I say this because of the extensiveness and the amount of technology that is available today compared to barely any technology back then. This Greek philosopher, Ptolemy, misplaced the sun and earth and some planets on his educated sketch; however, the broad picture of it was correct.

Another reasoning why I find Ptolemy and his arguments to be so interesting is because he came about them from pure self gained knowledge, studying the universe on his own, with the few tools they obtained during that time period. There are many assumptions that he made that we still believe to be true today. Some of these assumptions are that the earth is a sphere and a whole, the earth does not participate in any motion, and that the heaven is in a spherical form and rotates around the earth. From discussing these arguments in class, we came to a consensus that Ptolemy’s thoughts, assumptions, and arguments were neither illogical nor irrational given the early time period and the technology available.

Many others built on or also studied the idea of the earth, sun, and other planets being perfect spheres, as Ptolemy was discussing. In Europe, by Norman Davies, Galileo states that, “Having discovered that ‘the moon is not smooth or uniform, but rough and full of cavities, like the earth’, he exploded the prevailing theory of ‘perfect spheres’ ”. Galileo expanded and kept with the idea of perfect spheres, and this concept was correct from its original thought and is known to be correct today. I included this in order to portray that it was not only Ptolemy who thought and believed these ideas to be true. I was curious to get a little more history on Ptolemy; therefore I searched the web and found a little write up on him in Science World. (http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Ptolemy.html)

I also found a three dimensional video displaying the Ptolemaic Planetary Model. I feel that this gives a visual on top of a verbal explanation, in order for better comprehension of what Ptolemy actually studied, and what Copernicus and Galileo also slightly get into concerning their interests. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGjlT3XHb9A&feature=related

Today’s scientists have discovered many new and innovative facts and experiments from our universe, the sun, the moon, and our planets. We have been to the moon, and are currently trying to get into space for a longer period of time to study planets extensively. NASA wants to theorize and study the possibility of how the human being would, or could survive in space. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/09/29/nasa.analysis.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText I find this statement made by a NASA representative to be very stimulating and tonic not only because it is a unique subject but also because it just displays how much we have advanced from the time of Ptolemy to the time we are in now and the abilities and resources we now have. I hope to hear more about this study in the future and am anticipating other future discoveries concerning the study of space and cosmology.

Works Cited:

Davies, Norman. “Renaissances and Reformations.” Europe. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.508.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGjlT3XHb9A&feature=related

Ptolemy. "Saving the Appearances" as it appears in Brian Baigrie's Scientific Revolutions: Primary Texts in the History of Science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004.

Washington. “NASA at 50: Lost In Space?” October 1, 2008. cnn.com. 2 October, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/09/29/nasa.analysis.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText

also visit Course Readings for in class text books.

Reading Connection #1

Since the beginning of time man has looked to the heavens and wondered what is up there. Many people have made assumptions based on the best scientific data at the time. In the time of Ptolemy it was believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that all other heavenly bodies rotated around us. It was also believed that there were only five planets, the sun, the moon, the stars and nothing else in the universe. According to the article “Saving the Appearances” by Brian Baigrie this was the most advanced scientific theory at the time. In our modern era new scientific theories are being formed about our solar system. According to an article published by National Geographic “New Planet Discovered in the Solar System?” by John Roach announced that a “chunk of rock and ice” larger than Pluto has been discovered. For now it is being called an “extreme member of the Kuiper belt”. This new discovery simply make one thing infinitely clear, we will never know everything there is to know about our universe but as technology increases in sophistication we will learn more and more about our universe.
Works cited
Baigrie, Brian. “Scientific Revolutions” Saving the Appearances. 2 October 2008.
Roach, John “New Planet Discovered in the Solar System?” 1 August 2005 National Geographic News. 2 October 2008. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0801_050801_newplanet.html>

Reading Connection #1

Is Google Making Us Stupid? (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google) is an article that discusses reading and text today and how it is affecting us. In the article he talks about the differences between reading now and reading in the past. He explains that yes, we are reading more today than we did in the 70s, but what we are reading makes all the difference. Instead of getting caught up in a book and actually having to do research, we have all the information we need at our fingertips.

Even though I admit I am happy that we have so many resources so easily, I do agree with what he is saying. Instead of going to a library, looking for a book, reading that book in depth to find what we need, all we have to do is type in the subject of what we are looking for and skim through the articles we are given to get that same information. It is very convenient but I do feel it is lowering our intelligence in a way. I am a culprit of it everyday, if a question comes up in conversation that I do not know the answer to, I simply say "I'll Google it" and I have the answer within seconds. I feel that instead of processing all of the information we learn from what we find with Google, we just get our quick fix of information and then forget all about it when we do not need it anymore. Now, Google even guesses what you are looking for, for you. We have come to the point that we do not even have to think about what we want to know, instead Google thinks and guesses it for you. I think the article asks an important question,
Where does it end?"

Another article I found "Negative Effects of Internet Usage" (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/45919/negative_effects_of_internet_usage.html?cat=15) talks about basically the same exact thing. It goes into a lot of detail about the addictive side of the internet as well. The article discusses how we use the internet for freedom, as a way to get out of our "real world" and go into the world wide web. The article talks about the internet's side effects on a personal level and how people can do things they would not normally be able to do in their regular lives. I feel this article touches good points based on why people use the internet so much while "Is Google making us stupid" talks about the effects and how it is changing society.

Overall, I feel the internet has become a safe place for people and more specifically Google. Instead of reading a book and doing the work, people just take the easy way out. It has made us adapt to skim reading and not really paying attention the information we are given. I think both articles make really good points in talking about how and why people abuse the internet and what is it doing to our society. My generation is known for its technology, but we have made so many advances , what will the next generation be called and how will technology be for them. Before we know it, there will be no more books.

Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google making us stupid?". July, August 2008. TheAtlantic.com. 2 October 2008. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google

"Negative Effects of Internet Usage." 25 July 2006. 2 Oct. 2008 .

Reading Connection #1

It is mankind’s nature to conquer anything and everything. Since the beginning of time, man has found an interest in learning how things work, why things work and how the laws of nature affect the world. One of the biggest mysteries that has been unsolvable for centuries with still no solution in sight is the universe.
Over the many years mankind has made significant progress in discovering new aspects of the universe and understanding how and why things function the way they do. Still, many things remain unknown and some of the world’s most brilliant minds remain puzzled when attempting to figure out the universe.
The articles “Can We Know the Universe” by Carl Sagan http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/sagan_science.html and “Modern Cosmology” by Sridharan Ramachandren http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/blog/6797-modern-cosmology-17241.html related some of the same insights in understanding the universe. “Can We Know the Universe” states that humans rely heavily on our common sense however in outer space common sense and our natural intuition become much less reliable. In “Modern Cosmology” Ramachandren writes “You find a little truth and then the whole truth widens.” This is true; every new discovery opens new doors for new possibilities.
After reading these two articles I think that the key to a closer understanding of the universe is to look at everything we know and set aside common sense because the unexpected may just be the answer. I am not so sure we will ever completely figure out the universe but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That keeps things interesting and gives us something to look forward to.

Works Cited

Ramachandren, Sridharan. “Modern Cosmology” 28 September 2008. 1 October 2008 http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/blog/6797-modern-cosmology-17241.

Sagan, Carl. "Can We Know The Universe?" originally published in Broca's Brain, 1979. http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/sagan_science.html

Reading Connection 1

While reading the article "Is Google Making us Stupid?" by Nicholas Carr (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google), he talks about how in recent years he has been unable to focus on reading for more than two or three pages of text, and how he used to lose himself for hours in prose. This discovery led him to his research into whether the internet is making mankind stupid. Among other reasons, he discusses the malleability of the brain as a possible reason for why we are so inclined to give up library research for the convenience of the Internet. Essentially, what he suggests is that since the brain is hardwired to adapt to changes, that it is possible that the human brain has morphed itself into something more willing to skim text and take in what is read on the Internet as fact. Just as our technology has changed with time, so to have our minds.

This thought intrigued me, so I decided to look into the possible malleability of the brain farther. By searching google, which possibly may have made me less intelligent, I came across an interest article in which the author discussed the effects that new studies into brain malleability have had on people (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/health/29book.html). The first study that is discussed is about a woman who suffered damage to her inner ear’s vestibular system, where the sense of balance resides, and as a result, feels as if she is constantly falling. She is brought to a neuroscience lab and sets of electrodes are placed onto the surface of her tongue and wired-up hard hate is placed onto her head. Sent to her brain are messages from an external vestibular system that subside the feelings of falling. The miraculous thing is that after years of testing with the device, her brain has finally adapted to sending her the right messages without it.

The article goes on to discuss similar studies that have been done with a fifty year old stroke patient learns to use his bad arm again by immobilizing his good one, and an amputee with an itch on his missing arm tricks his brain into seeing the arm and vanishing the itch. It was interesting to me to see how an article on the effects that Google has had on the brain could lead me to such an interesting article about neuroplasticity.

Works cited:
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google making us stupid?". July, August 2008. TheAtlantic.com. 1 October 2008. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
Zuger, Abigail. "The Brain: malleable, capable, vulnerable". 29 May 2007. TheNewYorkTimes.com. 1 Oct 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/health/29book.html