Meeting 3 • 14 January 2014
Week 2: Ships & boats, roads & paths, legs & arms

Version:
1/15/14

picture of the week

Humboldt's canoe (source: Botting, Humboldt and the Cosmos, p. 103 [0027])

thought-bite of the week:

"I reckoned that it was my duty… to record all the data obtained from reliable sources.… The further man is from civilization, the more he enjoys astonishing people…. He says he has seen what he imagines may have been seen by others."

(Humboldt, "Personal Narrative", from Jaguars and Electric Eels, ed. & trans. Wilson, pp. 19 & 46)

mini-text of the week (start):

"At midday we stopped at a deserted spot called Algodonal.… I walked along the beach to observe a group of crocodiles asleep in the sun.… [M]y stroll almost cost me my life.… "

Humboldt, "Personal Narrative", from Jaguars and Electric Eels, ed. & trans. Wilson, p. 74 (read more)

√ (5') Thought-bite of the week (from week 1, actually): What do you and others mean by "unity of nature"? "Nature" - what does it mean? Where do you and others "find out" about "nature' and that unity? How does this relate to sustainability?

√ (10') Report from Hawaii: Dr. Sam Gon, biologist, ecologist, expert about Hawaiian culture and language

√ (10') Review & expansion of Prof. Fuller's background presentation at meeting #2: What / Whom did he talk about (or not talk about)? Kant; Romanticism; Enlightenment; Marx(ism); Darwin; Frederick the Great; Louis XIV / XVI; Beethoven; Greece; Locke; Goethe; Mozart; Napoleon; Austria; Neptunism / Vulcanism; American Revolution; industrialization; ??

√ (10') Beliefs and facts about 1800: group poll, maybe with online fact-checking;

√ (10') Thought-bite of the week: a) reflections about recent readings (Ruddiman: Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum) – when the disagreement is not between worldviews (science, religion) but between scientists (anthropogenic global warning – recent causes or much older ones); b) having an opinion vs. having a well-founded, well-formulated argument (laws, theories, principle, formulas); c) DATA - we'll be looking at how scientists like AvH started getting the data that are the foundation of today's discussions of climate and sustainability, and how accurate their measurements could be. The 3 E's of sustainability: Environment, Economy, Equity

√ (15') Snack time, with the snacks from Hawaii: ogo, sea asparagus, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts (but no Hawaiian coffee): reflections about native, indigenous, natural plans, and weeds (see book Ecological Imperialism); informal poll - which of those ingredients are native to Hawaii (according to individual knowledge, group knowledge, mobiles)

√ (15') Preparing to launch or even SINQ the Humboldt Canoe: How many have swum/ floated on back in fresh water, ocean water, Salt Lake, Dead Sea; weight and density of (salt) water, and how that relates to our own weight and body volume (instructor: 190#, 3 cu ft); calculation of volume of restored native canoe near Hula Grill in Hawaii: 120 cu fit = 40 instructors shaped and stacked like Lego blocks

√ (5') Announcements and previews

Items not covered during the session but will come up either in an email or a later session: tacit knowledge / skills very important to class in general and to projects and book reviews; the initial reflection about the Weitsch portrait of AvH; work sample "Leaving Home" and use of