Version:
2/29/12

pictures of the week

thought-bite of the week:

isotherms of ocean water temperatures (AvH, 1817)

Humboldt's sketch & data for map of Rio Meta
click on image to see full-size graphic

"I reckoned that it was my duty in this book to record all the data obtained from reliable sources…, investigate the causes and relations, and establish fixed points in the rapid course of time…"
(Humboldt, "Personal Narrative", from Jaguars and Electric Eels, ed. & trans. Wilson, p. 19)

mini-text of the week (start):

"…we forgot that there might be dangers descending steep slopes covered with a smooth, slippery grass in the dark."

Humboldt, "Personal Narrative", from Jaguars and Electric Eels, ed. & trans. Wilson, pp. 17-18 (read more)

(X') = anticipated time in minutes (total=75)

(0001) etc.=item in Humboldt Project document collection

Key to notes added AFTER the class meets:

√ = topic / activity that was adequately dealt with during the class

+ = topic that was started but needs more attention & will be resumed at next / subsequent meeting(s)

- = a topic / activity that was proposed though not begun, but will be taken up later

Struckthrough text like this = a topic / activity that was proposed but not included is not going to be taken up after all

Italic bold green text like this = comments after the meeting

√

(5') Mini-text of the week: Who has gotten lost in the Big World Out There, perhaps on a steep place in a dark place? An example: the volcanic cliffs above Honolulu - not really lost, but kind of stranded

√

(15') The geology and paleontology of Humboldt's time - and time itself in Humboldt's time (and ours): another pointer toward why Humboldt didn't become Darwin. Time as cycle vs. arrow; neptunism / vulcanism; gradualism / catastrophism; why the evidence at the time was not overwhelming, even when they had a lot of the data.

Comparative validity of sources of evidence about "VERY long ago": a) pre-1700 "science" (word didn't exist then in that sense); b) oral history and tradition; c) classical ("pagan") history & "science"; d) Bible.

Small groups discuss and report out: What techniques are used today to determine chronology back through human early/pre-history, and then still farther back to that first instant of time after the Big Bang? When were those techniques developed? (Some hints: dendro-; carbon-; CBR)

√

(10') One gleaning from the writing and the lunches: The knowledge (some of it, at least) is there - but it takes a lot of digging to discover it. Quantitative abilities are perhaps the deepest hidden, but maybe there waiting to come out of the closet. These abilities are important for your group projects. Three challenges to problem-solving involving numbers (record your reasoning steps and actual calculations in writing and hand in [WITHOUT NAMES]:

1) So how much wood did it take to build that canoe? (Assume "juice can" shape - flat bow and stern - and a wood weight of 40 pounds / cubic foot. Choose a board thickness sufficient to withstand crocodile jaws, and note that thickness in your written calculations.) To check your results (and the wood-weight estimate): Prof. Fischer's favorite canoe is 13 feet long and pointed at both ends, with the curve starting almost at midlength. Its hull is 1/4" thick, but there is some extra weight on the shape (thicker wood, some brass). But he can carry it balanced on one shoulder (shoulder at midlength of gunwales). Second check: Can you carry, balanced on one shoulder, a ten-foot long 4"x4" wooden post of the kind used to build backyard garden structures?

2) Using the activity we did in class several weeks ago, recalculate the volume (inner) of Humboldt's canoe, with the same inner width (3 feet), but with a conical bow taking up the front 10 feet of the 30-foot entire length.

3) Humboldt's map of the Casiquiare (article and large-scale drawing), which (hint!) is very near the equator, was 3 degrees of longitude in error. How big was that error, in terms of miles and percent inaccuracy and in terms of what may have caused it: a chronometer or other calculation of time that was used to determine longitude? Extra glory (not extra credit): How serious an error, in terms of Humboldt's claim to scientific precision in his own time, would have been an error of 3 degrees of LATITUDE?

Solutions to the problems are now available via THIS LINK.

√

(10') More about writing assignment #4: Research and describe a Humboldt-related species for a specific audience. Due Tuesday, March 6. Basic principles: 1) write for your audience; 2) tell the story of your species - the science, the link to Humboldt, and something that makes it interesting. Examples of species descriptions written for other purposes: short descriptions of cyaneas of Oahu; US Gov descriptions of endangered plant species on Oahu (start at p. 12); How Burmese Pythons Are Devouring the Everglades; Animal Nature: Young chicks, hot action due soon at Raptor Cam [actual title!]); article about original description & classification of the Brazil nut by Humboldt & Bonpland. Not all of these texts meets all the specifications of the assignment; they illustrate types of writing for various purposes and audiences.

+

(30') Exploring group projects (continuation of previous meetings, including meeting #14):

Specifications for the group projects.

1) Groups report about Thursday discussions, including NEEDS (expertise, materials). Instructor & mentor (and others) comment.

2) On Aaron's advice: How can the Chimborazo engraving (see meeting #14) be a model for group projects, especially lesson plans (but possibly something a group itself might do)?

3) Groups work separately. Suggestion: Sketch a timeline and think backward from it.

Here is Enchanted Learning - but one of many sources of learning activities, especially for younger learners. Here's their "Explorers" page about Humboldt. Here's their section about "astronomy:Earth", with activities that could be inspiration for learning activities for Humboldt-named schools. Here is "ThirteenEd Online", about lesson plans (example: math). There are countless lesson plans for climbing walls + math, ••. LessonPlanet has reviews of climbing wall lesson plans, including activities that simulate the climbing done by Lewis & Clark, or climbing up Kilimanjaro to learn about ecological zones. And here's an event that could serve as the structure for a project about art and Humboldt: The Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest (follow link to "Teacher Resource Center" for case study and lesson plan).

√

(5') Checkups & Previews: updated directions about getting smart phone apps for the course. (WWHD?). For iPhone (all free of charge): "Thedolite", "Elevation", "Trig Solver" (actually does just triangles, but that's what we want), and maybe (advanced users:) "Spyglass". The same or similar apps exist for Android.

Upcoming: presentation about society back then (and any time before 1800 or so), to help understand how H related to people of other classes / races (teaser: When was it that someone's ears first popped with a change in altitude?)

More about trust and sources of info: Small groups: Where do you get your own information, opinions, conclusions, solutions, and how do you check it out? If time: So what can the educated citizen read while we wait to see what today's classics will be in the eyes of tomorrow's inhabitants? (periodical press; local, quotidien; long-term knowledge). How do educated citizens become capable writers? (See above: what do educated citizens read?)

Next two weeks: Humboldt's influence on