Thursday, December 1, 2011

DAY 60 (Dec 1) TEN Ideas that Changed the World

After Show and Tell of all of your contributions to the Christmas baskets for our adopted family (which, by the way, you are all doing very very well at and the baskets look awesome, last day to contribute is a week tomorrow, that's Friday, Dec 12), we broke into groups to look at the effects that 10 different Ideas have had on the human race and on our relationship with the planet and each other.  Here's the handout for it, Ideas that Changed the World.  These are by no means the best ideas, nor are they the only ideas, they're just a cross-section that covers a lot of ground.

I asked each group of three to create a list of the effects that your "idea" has had on us all.  Here we go . . . I'll list a few of the best ideas here.

OZONE LAYER HOLE
- started awareness of conservation groups
- started the move to environmental packaging
- widespread awareness on UV rays and the problems they cause
- sun smart thinking
- awareness of ice caps melting and rising sea levels
- altered food chains (CO2 more)
- green bins, blue recycling

EVOLUTION
- shook the origin concepts of many religions
- explained the fossil record
- humans have a common ancestor
- explains why some creatures adapt and change and others do not
- helps us understand changing environments
- speech and grooming explained
- relationships of the webs of species
- human diversity explained
- explained how we are animals too
- DNA tests confirm how closely related we are to the great apes
- vestigial features (e.g. whales have "fingers" in their flippers)
- dinosaurs died out because they couldn't adapt fast enough

LARGE HADRON COLLIDER
- greatest technological advancement in science recently
- can confirm or disprove things we already know
- can inspire other theories
- will help us innovate and improve our physics thinking in the future

FARMING
- makes food widely available
- in historic times settlements became possible
- different and healthy foods more widely available
- more "leisure" time available in ancient towns thus people had time to invent
- craftspeople became more skilled leading to today's high tech

DIGITAL SOUND
- talking pictures were an early form
- radio is all about sound
- telephones
- pop culture surged, especially through music
- CD
- lead to widely popular and cheaply available cell phones, Internet, etc.
- iPod, the original, was the first digital sound player

VACCINATIONS
- longer life expectancy
- better overall health and immune systems
- good technologies to deal with new bugs
- protects without being invasive
- infant mortality rates way down
- helped us advance our technologies that deal with dangerous microbial life
- cost-effective

MICROSCOPES
- discovered the tiniest of life-forms
- the true nature of disease
- the true nature of the tiniest elements of nature was discovered
- it's a necessary technology for medicine today
- in vitro fertilization
- great technology for teaching
- modern research in medicine is based on micro stuff
- DNA and genetic research needs to see small things

ELECTRIC MOTOR
- we are now dependent upon electricity
- it defines our quality of life
- led to the idea of internal combustion engines?

THE INTERNET
- fast, instantaneous communication of ideas and knowledge and information
- convenience and efficiency
- e-books
- helps move us from paper to electronics
- makes us "lighter" thinkers
- makes global marketing and globalization possible

HUMAN RIGHTS
- Canadian Charter of Rights is world-renowned
- issues and crises arise because this is the new ideology - thus this is an example of a new ideology coming into conflict with the status quo (old ideas) and having to be resolved, often through physical conflict, e.g. Arab Spring.
- social justice is prevalent in the modern world
- a peaceful coexistence is possible

Tomorrow we'll be in the Library to complete your boards for Monday's Food and Culture Day in the Bearpit! ! !