The Future

According to this BBC article, 10 of the predictions that engineer John Watkins made 100 years ago and came true were:

1. Digital color printing
2. Rising height of Americans
3. Mobile phones
4. Pre-prepared meals
5. Population growth slowing down 
6. Hothouse vegetables 
7. TV
8. Military Tanks 
9. Larger fruit 
10. The Acela Express

         The article included a few of Watkins predictions that didn't come true:

1. The letters 'C', 'Q', and 'X' being 'abandoned'
2. Everybody walking 10 miles a day 
3. No cars in large cities 
4. No mosquitoes or flies    

An article about Issac Asimov mentions a few of his predictions that he made about 50 years ago, some including: gadgets to prepare 'auto-meals', communicating will be 'sight sound' (you'll be able to see the person while talking to them on the phone), cars with 'robot-brain', school will be taught fundamentally on technology and computers, ships will land on mars. 

Some of these predictions seem like the people back then were hopeful. For example Watkins thought that people would walk 10 miles a day, he had hope that the people in the future were going to be healthy, because he also thought there was going to be larger fruit, hothouse vegetables, and also taller people. Which are all factors in healthy living. However Asimov seems like he's giving some kind of warning. His predictions are mostly based around the idea that people will more dependent on machines rather than humans. 

Most of these men's predictions came true. I find Watkins prediction of the letters being abandoned a little absurd, I wonder how he came to the conclusion that someday society will just stop using a few letters. The most accurate prediction, I think, besides the obvious ones, is Asimov's predictions that are machine dependency based. 

(Q.3/4)Like how there will be machines to prepare our meals, our education will be machine based, even our communications. I mean if you think about it, our society has become like this with face-time, fast-food restaurants, and technology based projects in school. 

I think that in the future, we will be 95% technology based. I think we will have some kind of device to complete all of our simple tasks. At the pace we are going right now, it doesn't seem like we are far from a society like this. I also think that in the near future we will have many environmental issues. We are already starting to see some, for example, lack of clean water , lack of natural resources, and the excessive amount of pollution. I think it will get worse before it gets better, and we will get better because there will be more environmentally friendly machines in our daily lives. I believe there will also be a larger variety of alternative machines that are better for the environment.

 How much control over the future do we actually have? As individuals, groups, governments?

I think we have a pretty decent amount of control over the future, because the future is based on what we do today. If we aren't taking care of the major issues, such as the environment, right now then the future won't be looking so great. Climate change is a big topic in the presidential race these days, because climate change is a major problem in the world today because our environment is getting worse day by day, and will have a major effect on the future if we don't try to control it. Like I said before in the near future we will be seeing large environmental problems, but based on what the presidential candidates are being asked/are saying, I believe alternative plans to prevent climate change from getting worse will be made. There have already been large meetings for this such as the one in France a few months ago. And if the government doesn't do anything to solve this crisis, we as individuals can take the initiative. There are many things we can do in our homes, in the way we travel, and in the way we live our regular, everyday lives to help better the environment. We can also join local communities that are helping the environment, to do the same. By doing this we can prevent our future from taking a turn for the worst. 

"How do you analyze a political cartoon?"

1.  I learned that when looking at political cartoons it is important to look at the symbolism in the cartoon, because all cartoons use simple things as symbolism which makes it easier to understand the meaning of the cartoon. It is also important to look for any irony, exaggeration, and any labeling. 
2. When looking at political cartoons in the future I will refer to this Analysis Guide  which states all the things I said in the question above. I will also look at what is happening in the word currently, because by knowing current events it is easier to connect the cartoon to its real mean  

         

This cartoon depicts the Americans coming to the Philippines, and "robbing" them of their freedom.

This cartoon depicts the war between America and the Philippines and how uncivilized it was.

This cartoon depicts how the Americans came into the Philippines and tried to educate them and convert them.

Eddie Aikau Documentary Questions

1. The filmmakers called this film Hawaiian, the Legend of Eddie Aikau, because he was Hawaiian and he preserved the Hawaiian culture. 
2. The angle of this documentary was; Eddie Aikau was passionate about what he believed in, and he believed in preserving and sharing Hawaiian culture/surfing culture. He was believed in preserving his ancestors stories, which he did by recreating them. 
3. ESPN helped us understand that sports are more than just the sport and its competition. There is a story behind each sport, a culture, and someone fighting to preserve it.
4. If PBS/The History Channel had made this documentary, they would have focused less on the sports aspect of the story, and aimed their attention to the Hawaiian culture, and we probably would have learned more about the story of Eddie's ancestors, and their search for new land.

 

Phrenology

     Today in class Mrs. Lawson presented us with a porcelain bust, and we were told to come up and write some notes down, and research what we saw. On the bottom of the bust there was the "Phrenology" written and big blue letters, and that is what most of us started our research with. Dictionary.com  phrenology is "a psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character 
traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull". We then discussed our findings such as what its "provenance" was. (Dictionary.com defines provenance as "a place or source of origin"). We discussed that the provenance for this skull was Oregon, and that the bust was not authentic. The bust presented to us was  a reproduction of the originals created by the Fowlers in the 1800s. The Fowlers created the bust when they researched the brain and discovered the different functions of each part of the brain. 

Similar bust that was presented to us in class