Catch-Up Class

           Today's class was definitely one of the best classes so far because 1) it's a dress down day and 2) we didn't really do much. All that I had left to do was one of my three maps and I managed to get that dine very quickly because I didn't talk. These maps we labeled I actually think will be very helpful when it comes to studying for the unit test and midterms/finals. Now, the necessary lines and locations are very clearly labeled and without these, I don't think I would be able to remember what I need to know. After I finished my maps, I joined the class in uncovering information about Mr. Schick. We ended up finding out way too much information about him and I feel like a stalker now. Eventually, we kind of went back to actual school work and he stared to tell people what tweaks they should make in their blogs. I was told that I am doing a great job and should keep up the good work. For the most part, no one was doing a bad job with their blogs which is really good for an entire class! When we were first told about blogs, I thought I was going to hate them but I don't mind them too much.

Labeling Maps

           Today, Mr. Schick had some students pass out three different maps, the Mercator, the Gull-Peters, and the Robinson. My immediate thought when I looked at these maps was "what could we possibly be doing with three different maps?!" Then, he proceeded to explain to us that we have to label a bunch of different locations such as the prime meridian and equator on each of the maps. This actually was pretty challenging because I've never done it before. It was especially challenging when it came to the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn because I have never even heard of those prior to today. Eventually, I figured it out thanks to Google and some help from my peers. It actually started to become fun because it reminded me of drawing and I enjoy drawing. Prior to making the maps, we talked about the International Date Line which was the first time I've heard of that. I'm still a little confused about what the International Date Line is but I think I'll be able to figure it out quickly. I am glad we are done arguing about maps for hours (for the most part).

ALL of the Maps

           Finally, our honors class stopped arguing about if the Earth is flat or not and about the Mercator Map vs. the Peter's Map. Just like I said in a previous post, the maps were interesting however, they were not two classes worth of interest. Anyways, today we learned about a map that Eratosthenes created and several other odd-looking maps. The map that Eratosthenes made was supposedly of "the world" but it excluded half of the world (yes, I know a lot was undiscovered) and there were waterways and land masses all over the place! This map was definitely special looking but, for one of the first ever maps, it a very good depiction. Then, we continued to observe many other maps and they progressively got closer and closer to what maps now a days look like. One of my favorite maps was the one that looked very accurate except for Antarctica was gigantic, South America had Brazil growing out of the side of it, and Australia was on the wrong side. I actually found it pretty interesting that Australia was on the left and not the right. Personally, I found these distorted maps a lot more interesting than the Peter's and Mercator maps, but that could just be me.

The Validity of Cartographers Points in West Wing

           When the Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality (in an episode of West Wing) came for their meeting to prove why the Peters Projection Map needs to be used, they made many points and many of them were perfectly valid for the main goal they were striving for. The goal that the cartographers were striving for is to make it mandatory for all public schools in America to teach geography using the Peters Projection Map instead of the standard Mercator Map. One of the first points that was made to reach this conclusion was that the Mercator is instilling attitudes in people that is leading them to believe the false map. The detailed evidence that was provided shows that this is very valid. On the Mercator, Greenland is the same size as Africa, but in reality Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland. Along with this, Europe appears to be the same size as South America but, South America is double the size. Lastly, Germany is shown to be in the middle of the map when in reality, it is in the northern most corner. All of these points are extremely true and exactly what has been put in the minds of humans. Saying that the map puts false information into our minds is very much so supported by the truth of the nations and continents being completely different sizes and locations on the Mercator.

           Along with this, the cartographers said how as people we associate the size of a country with their value and power. This point is also very valid because naturally, when something is bigger we say that it is greater. This mindset makes us think lesser of the smaller countries and put aside third world countries, just like they said in the video. All of the points made during the short clip are all valid because they all prove how American's mindset on the maps is completely distorted because of the Mercator Map. The cartographers are completely correct when saying that all public schools should transfer to the Peters Projection Map.

All of the talk About Maps

           Personally, I thought at first that the Peters map was super interesting because of how much better it was and now, my mind is slowly changing. In class today all we did was argue about our views on what Earth's real shape is and what we thought about the new and old map and I was getting really tired of it (if I am being 100% honest). I do not like spending days and days not learning about much of anything and I'm worried that this is where this class is going. Don't get me wrong, the differences between the two maps are very interesting but I cannot find them nearly as interesting as my peers do.
           Once we actually started to do something in class today, I learned what the true definition of geography was, map's purpose, and what cartography was. The definition of geography is the study of where things are found on Earth and the reason for their locations and cartography is the art and science of map making. Prior to todays class, I have never heard of the world cartography and no one has ever given me the true definition of geography. Actually learning today was the most interesting part in my opinion and I'm sure many of my peers would disagree. I would much rather take notes on something then sit there and discuss for nearly two class periods.

The Original Map is a Lie

           During class today, my entire view on the world was completely changed and I was extremely confused. Mr. Schick explained for nearly the entire class today how the map that I’ve seen all my life (Mercator projection map) is a complete lie because everything is disproportionate, and some countries aren’t in the right spot. For example, on this map, Greenland appears to be the same size as Africa. In reality, Greenland is really one-fourteenth the size of Africa. Antarctica seems to be huge when, it really isn’t that big at all. There are so many countries that were completely thrown off on the Mercator projection map that it’s hard to believe students trying to get a valuable education have relied on this for hundreds of years. Now, in more recent times, the Peter projection map is updated to show the countries in their proper size, shape, and location. Greenland, Alaska, Africa, Antarctica and many other countries are all the correct size and now people can actually take value from the maps that we see every day. It is still very shocking to me that my 9 years of learning about maps have nearly been useless because the map was wrong!

First Test

          Today we had our first test and it wasn't too hard but, there were a few questions where I had no idea what the answer was. The hardest question was asking me about the origin of a word (that shall remain unsaid so no information is leaked). For some reason I could not remember what words this word stemmed from even though I vividly remembered writing the answer to this in my notes. I eventually just completely guessed based off of what the word sounded like and reminded me of. On a positive note, the multiple choice questions were very easy to me and I was done those in a minute or two. The short-answer ones were definitely a little harder, but they were still manageable. Other than that one question, the test didn't seem too hard so, hopefully the grade I get on it will reflect how I felt about it. From this test on, I think I'll be pretty prepared for the tests and quizzes we take this year.

Test on Monday

            On Monday September 17, 2018 our honors class has a test on everything we have learned so far this year. This includes, Elbert Hubbard, A Message to Garcia, arete, Ancient Greece, and Socrates. This class was notified that we would have a small essay that accompanies our test that is about what Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In my mind this quote means that if you don’t have very much knowledge, your life isn’t going to be fulfilled and it isn’t worth living. With this being said, I am going to write about the meaning and how Socrates would teach people by asking them questions so that they wouldn’t have to question any task that they are given. Along with this I might relate it to how Elbert Hubbard wanted someone to just do something without asking questions and how Socrates would ask questions for someone so that they don’t have to. Both of them wanted people to have all of the knowledge they might need by allowing a person to teach themselves through questions or a journey. I’m feeling fairly confident about this test so, hopefully all goes well!

Innocent Socrates

            In class on today, it was brought to our attention that Socrates, who is arguably one of the best philosophers was charged with two crimes that ultimately lead to his death. Socrates was charged with corrupting the youth in Athens and impiety/not believing in the gods of the state. These crimes came up because authorities thought that the way he was teaching was essentially mental abuse. In my eyes, this makes absolutely no sense because the children were not forced to go to the workshops with him, these children voluntarily went. No one would voluntarily do something if they felt as if it was causing pain upon them. The jurors in Athens did not see this the same way and the overall vote was to kill Socrates for the crimes he committed. A few short days after his trail, he drank poison hemlock which shut down all of his systems and that was the end of Socrates.

            Socrates should not have been found guilty for helping and teaching the youth. Athens liked to produce very smart children and Socrates was helping this happen but because of the way he did it, he was sentenced to death. Just because people couldn’t see eye to eye with the philosopher, he was killed, which does not make any sense. The ultimate decider on whether or not he should have been killed is how the children felt about him. If they thought he was aggressive and forceful than, he should have been killed. If they didn’t feel this way, killing Socrates was very inappropriate and should have been a crime in itself. I know that I would have voted him to be innocent because all he was doing was bettering the future of Athens society.