John Carroll Human Geography

Today in class, we learned that geographers describe where locations are using situation as well as site. Site is the physical character of a place, whereas situation is the location of a place based on its relativity to other places. This helps us understand the importance of a location, and familiarizes us with unfamiliar places by comparing them to areas that we know. We also studied how places can be important because of their accessibility to other places. Cities with ports tend to be important and have higher populations because of their access to trade routes on the water. We also learned that the reason so many products, like notebooks and clothes, are mass produced overseas, is because it's cheaper to make things in countries with no child labor laws. In countries like China, factory workers are often paid less than American factory workers, and don't receive health care or worker's comp, so American companies, like Apple, make a much larger profit by having thei

Geographers describe locations by site, site being the physical characteristics that make a location unique, such as latitude, elevation, soil, vegetation, climate, and water sources. In class we discussed that despite the obvious political differences, North Korea and Maryland have similar climate due to the similar latitude. We also talked about how humans can modify the characteristics of a site enough to change it entirely, like how NYC's Manhattan Island nearly doubled in size because of people filling in rivers. This brought the discussion to the impact of putting buildings on land that previously didn't exist. People have to take into account electricity, sewage systems, roads, education, and medical buildings for the people living and working in this newly developed area. All of this also costs money, takes time, and can have a serious negative impact on the surrounding environment. The environmental impact isn't as important though, as people tend to prefer money

We got our tests back today and looked over them. I got all of the questions correct, even the bonus one! We looked over our essays and discussed if we would've voted Socrates guilty or not guilty, and why. We then discussed if it was fair to give a convicted criminal a lesser sentence because of their past achievements. I think it's unfair, especially in the case Mr. Schick brought up, where a convicted rapist was given a light sentence because the judge didn't want to ruin the man's future. This is unfair to the victim, and puts other people in danger by telling this criminal that there are no consequences to his horrid, inhumane actions simply because he's "a good guy". This mentality lets people get away with crimes and gives them immunity in court, just because some people are afraid to mess with the "bright future" of a disgusting person. I don't think that Socrates should've been given special privileges because of his status

The Mercator projection map is a map projection that exaggerates areas farther from the equator, making them seem larger than areas close to the equator. The Mercator projection map is the standard map for navigation, as it represents any course of constant bearing as a straight segment. The Peter's projection map is a map projection that shows areas in their correct proportions by distorting shapes. This gives a fairer representation to areas near the equator than the common Mercator projection map. The Peter's projection map shows land masses accurately and does away with euro-centric bias from a cartographical standpoint at the expense of vertically distorted continents near the equator. While the Mercator projection is preferable for navigation, the Peter's projection gives a more accurate display of the planet. Of course, displaying any 3D subject (earth) on a 2D surface is bound to result in inaccuracies and flaws, but I personally believe Peter's projection i

In class, we learned that the world map we use in school is actually very inaccurate. The map makes Africa and South America look much smaller than they actually are, and makes Europe look larger. The outdated map should probably be replaced with a Peter's Projection Map. This map is accurate in representing a 3D subject (the Earth) on a 2D surface by adjusting longitudinal lines. This more accurately shows the continents in correct proportions. We also learned that in Oceanic countries, the map is displayed upside down by American standards. This is so Australia is in the top left and therefore, the first thing that we see, rather than on the bottom right and nearly out of sight. Schick connected this to nationalism and patriotism, as we thought it was proper for America to be the first thing on the map, because in each person's eyes, their country is the best/ most important. (I'd like to add that, on a personal note, I think that the U.S. isn't really that great.

We had our test, and I think I did pretty well. I studied the material beforehand and went over it before class. The questions seemed fair, and weren't too difficult, but also weren't too easy. The essay questions made me think of Socrates' contributions to Athens and to modern day Western philosophy. I think his influence impacted the Western world because ideas like his had never been examined before then.

We did a little review in class and though about questions that could be on the test to prepare for tomorrow. We also finished our lesson on Socrates. I learnt that he believed an unexamined life was not worth living, and he thought that if we as humans weren't using our ability of higher thinking to recognize wrong and fix it, we were wasting our lives. I feel like this connects to Elbert Hubbard's ideas in A Message to Garcia, where Hubbard described people who didn't put all their effort into their work, and how it was their own fault when their situation didn't improve. I'm studying Socrates' ideas and life more to prepare for the test, as well as going over A Message to Garcia, and all of our vocabulary.

As a young man, Socrates was a working class stonemason and veteran of the Peloponnesian War. These experiences most likely influenced his philosophies and the way he viewed the world. As a teacher, he taught young students outside the agora, questioning their beliefs to get them thinking more. Athens was a city-state full of brilliance. Many different people from different people shared their knowledge of astronomy, sciences, literature, and much more. Many of these ideas went against traditional Greek teachings and mythology. Socrates taught his students to think for themselves rather than believe everything they were told. This lead to Socrates' execution. He was found guilty of corrupting Athens' youth through his teachings, as well as impiety for questioning theories other than the Greek Gods, and therefore disrespecting them. Socrates' defense was that his teachings, as controversial as they were, had brought Athens to life with discussion and knowledge. He thought

Agora- Ancient Greek meeting and marketplace, usually at the center of the city-state because of it's political importance. Polis- Greek city-state, politically and financially independent. 508 BC- Cleisthenes introduced democracy to Athens. This marks the first time in recorded history that regular citizens overthrew the ruling class and took control. Socrates- Greek philosopher and teacher whose ideas are behind most of the philosophies in the Western world. Death of Socrates- Socrates was sentenced to death by hemlock poisoning. He was found guilty of two charges: impiety (disrespecting the gods) and corruption of youth (telling his young students to think for themselves). Socrates had a chance to escape, but refused. Accepting his sentence even though it was a slow, painful death, was a show of his loyalty to Athenian democracy. Along with this, Socrates didn't try to deny his crimes or ask for forgiveness. He believed he had done right, and should be rewarded rather th

We finished reading A Message to Garcia in class, and explored how Hubbard believed that the unemployed and impoverished deserved their situations for not working harder, and treating tasks with carelessness. Hubbard pitied management and bosses, because while the rest of the world was full of lazy and ignorant workers, they had worked hard enough to succeed in this world. Hubbard had a violent attitude towards people that he believed gave nothing to society, claiming that they should be beaten with a stick or kicked. It was interesting to discover that employers as well as employees of Hubbard's time found this work inspirational, and I'd like to see how modern workers and bosses would react to this, as well as how Hubbard would react to seeing how employment works in the modern world. I think this essay still carries a lot of meaning in the world today.

Talking about high school in class today was a definite learning experience. We discussed how time management between extracurriculars, studies, and social lives can be difficult when you're new to it, like us freshman are. I also think one of the challenging parts of high school is adapting to a new social culture. People interact differently here, and it's hard to get used to. I also really liked reading 'A Message to Garcia.' Hubbard's writing described the importance of "concentrating on a thing and doing it" with diligence and focus, rather than relying on others to assist you, or simply not caring about the tasks assigned to you. I admire Hubbard's passion evidently shown in his work, and adore the writing style of that century. The elegance and pleasing aesthetic of late nineteenth century literature is enchanting, and apparent even in a piece about the "imbecility of the average man"

The best part of my first day at John Carroll was going home and seeing my sisters after a long day. It was nice to finally relax after having to be in classes all day long. The worst part of my day was in the morning. It took me seven tries to open my locker, and I still wasn't sure where all my classes were, so I was stressing and panicking. I like my seat because it's in the front row. I'm short and have poor eyesight, so it's nice being at the front of the class because I can always see. In other classes, I'm too far away from the board, and I can't see, either because of my near-sightedness or because someone taller than me is sitting in front of me and blocking the front of the room.