Humans: The Use of Resources & Technology
By: Anonymous
In this essay, I will discuss the aspects of social and ecological systems since the exploration of Columbus to the Scientific Revolution. The stocks in this timeline that relate to economic market functions are population growth, inventions of technology, and resource depletion. As population grew in vast numbers, the need for resources was at a high demand. As time went on, the inventions of different technology created life for humans easier to do daily activities. As population and technology inventions grew, the abundance of resources depleted more as it was needed for consumption or use to create. However, economic development, ecological flow, and pollution patterns played a vital role in this timeline. As the population grew, it required the need for more resources at a rapid rate. This brought on the development of the economy with building businesses, factories, and industries. In addition, the economy built these developments to make benefit the community or population throughout the decades which depleted the resources from the environment more than the resources are being replenished. In chapter 14, it talks about the ignorant use of science. People would use science to prove their truth in their own theory or philosophy but are ignorant to use the actual truth in science itself. Economic development now-a-days are regulated by laws, permits, and guidelines that are in place to mitigate polluting the environment. If we were to look at how development was built back in the 1700s without these regulations, imagine how much pollution leaked out into the environment. Furthermore, the human-environment interaction could be described as a “give & take” situation. As the population grew, the need to survive grew more vital. To survive, humans lived off the land, using it to replenish their bodies, build shelter, or make clothing. As time went on, the human mind began to evolve and became creative by inventing various types of technology. As resources are already needed for survival, humans needed resources to invent as well. The need to survive and the want for an easier life to live began to deplete the environment of resources. Without knowing the science behind the environment, the lack of care and knowledge brought pollution upon the environment. In conclusion, my Loopy system describes the interactions between the Sapiens and the environment. As the population increases, the rate of inventions increases which causes an increase in economic development. The economic development creates pollution that flows back into the environment that supplies the resources.
Scientific Revolution (Relationship Science formed with Imperialism)
By: Bliss Dillon
Time Period: 1500- present
For my topic of concentration, I’ve chosen to discuss the relationship between the pursuit of scientific knowledge and the spread of imperialism during the scientific revolution which took place in the last 500 years. Human environment interactions shifted drastically in this time period from continued advents of technologies used to cultivate, maximize, and sustain production of goods and services. Wealth in this time period expanded considerably. Chronologically, the pursuit of scientific knowledge came first, which kicked off the snowballing of investment, imperialism, globalization, and other new ideologies (Harari, 186). Western European countries were specifically prone to make this cultural shift, as opposed to countries like China or India, who weren’t as ready to move away from the “plunder and taxes” form of revenue generation. In the beginning, people started to “acknowledge ignorance.”
Previously, human societies didn’t think to question what was unknown because it was irrelevant, if the information wasn’t spelled out in their religion, namely the bible for example, it wasn’t worth the effort to discover (Harari, 180-182). Once the idea of observations and running theories began to gain some steam, countries began to use the scientific process to better conquer other lands and enslave or murder native peoples, especially in the Americas and African countries. Once Britain could learn everything about India’s geography, flora and fauna, culture, and language, this made it easier for a handful of brits to control thousands (Harari, p. 204). With increased conquests, imperialism became altogether more powerful. Imperialistic western European countries got to decide where to invest their earnings, into specific kinds of scientific research to expand knowledge but in the direction of their chosen priority (Harari, 195). All of this expansion of territory and capital lead to the advent of a banking system, one that used credit to borrow capital from the future to invest to the present. Additionally, with the increased sophistication of medicine and steady high birth rates, population boomed. If nature is understood to have balance, if population rose quickly, why wasn’t there an equal and opposite unavailability of resources, how were populations sustained for centuries without any more natural resources being created? This is explained with technology.
Science and technology transformed industry and agriculture, and increased the efficiency of resource use. The industrial revolution, starting in the late 18th to mid 19th centuries in Great Britain, brought the steam engine to all parts of human production. The steam engine created an energy source to power new forms of transportation. People started relying less on manual labor for farm work and started using vehicles which cut human costs while doubling the amount of land which could be cultivated in one season. Agriculture for plants and animal husbandry became commercialized. These aspects together led to gradual but damaging environmental impact which has symptoms we are experiencing today.\
Link to loopy: hyperlink to Loopy
Citation:
Harari, Y. N., Purcell, J., & Watzman, H. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers\
The Concept of Death through Loss and Innovation
By: Jael Espinoza
Time Period: (1255 – 1284)
Before the Scientific Revolution came into reality, the world held different viewpoints and ideals on the future. Homo sapiens were slowly catching onto concepts that had to be discovered upon first realizing them. With that, came the understanding of obtaining new “powers” which were also referred to as capabilities (Harari, 2015). In retrospect to this, so did the curiosities of individuals did knowledge evolved and was questioned each pivotal moment has passed. In fact, the Scientific Revolution was considered a representation of ignorance, meaning that not everything is known initially but when fully understood, can lead into new theories and concepts that can used to acquire even more powers and technologies (Harari, 2015). Even long before the innovations that exist in today’s world did problems proceed to exist and take space in what people back then had to experience. However, despite the many successes that many civilizations had achieved, Death was not one of them. At the time, Death was considered through many religious interpretations and perspectives as inevitable, and that humanity needed to accept it for what it was and how it was achieved. In the case of death, an example that demonstrates the trajectory of how civilizations early on had handled death was through the Royal Family. King Edward the 1st and Queen Eleanor reigned from roughly around the years of 1230 till early 1300. During their reign, Eleanor successfully birthed 16 children from a time period of 1255 to 1284. Aside from possible miscarriage’s, of the 16 offspring present, only 6 were able to live beyond the ages of 11 and 3 were able to exceed 40 (Harari, 2015).
Considered that these are children of the royal family where the best of the best resources was provided, and even then, that child mortality was omnipresent. Moreover, the fact that both royal parents had no poor health defects or hereditary issues, did this help conceptualize that the times were much different, and that lifespans were not expected to exceed beyond what was expected in today’s environment. On the other hand, Scientists had a different outlook on death. They instead felt that death was a “technical problem” that needed to be resolved with a technical solution and to find the reasons as to why people experienced death and prevent it (Harari, 2015). This became a social requirement in saving lives and fighting against the odds at will. As a result, Scientists sought to change this ideology through what they do best, by trial and error. By understanding the natural aspects of achieving death through normal processes such as heart attacks, cancer, infections, diseases, and even old age, did scientists felt compelled and even responsible for finding the solutions to these issues. With this came the introduction of antibiotics, drugs and new medicines, and even newer technological advancements that are essential today such as pacemakers. Afterwards, the 19th century had passed, and poorly sanitized amputations became a thing of the past and anesthetics and successful operations became the new solutions. With these outcomes, did scientists help “defeat” the age-old concept of death being unavoidable, prolonging life spans for decades and greatly reducing child mortality (Harari, 2015).
Loopy model link:
Citations:
Harari, Y. N., Purcell, J., & Watzman, H. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Harper, An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
Science in Society
By: Jared Holloway
Scientific Revolution 1500- 1700
Before the scientific revolution, humans relied on religion and ancient texts in order to answer questions about the world around them. But with the scientific revolution, humans found a way to explain the world around them and discover how to use it for their advantage. Humans could now discard old religious beliefs and use observations to explain how the world works. Science provided an outlet for skeptics of religion and created a new religious belief in technology and scientific research (Harari, Purcell, & Watzman, 2015).
These new beliefs in science helped fund expeditions to new lands which unfortunately led to colonization and conquering of new lands. These scientific expeditions were funded by the government and soon after new land and resources were discovered, they become more about resources and wealth rather than science. This led to the spread of Christianity, diseases, and European values to colonies but help bring resources back to the mother countries. While this did help fund more science, it also decreased the human health of the colonies. The increase in exploration also led to the rise of capitalism which in some situations helped science but others allowed for selfishness of humans and hoarding wealth.
But exploration also helped lead to an increase of wars due to competition between large countries who wanted more resources and land but also wars between native populations. This helped science develop more weapons in order for countries to have an advantage over another and over natives. An example of wars driving science was the World Wars, where new technology was key to winning battles and the side with the best technology also had the biggest advantage (Harari, Purcell, & Watzman, 2015). This was funded largely by taxes and bonds sold to the people. This created a market incentive to fund science and stabilize government policy for the war time economy.
But all of these helped degrade the environment around them. The increase in science made humans care less and less about how they impacted the environment and more about how the environment could help them. This thought process lasted until the 1970s when environmental policy became a mainstream topic of conversation. Even today the idea of exploiting the environment occurs and requires government involvement. But now science is allowing us to better manage and protect our natural resources. It just required our world to get so bad in order for us to clean it up.
Loopy model link:
Bibliography
Harari, Y. N., Purcell, J., & Watzman, H. (2015). Sapiens. New York: HarperCollins.
With Knowledge Comes Great Responsibility
by: Anonymous
It is evident that the homo sapiens had very little to no knowledge about the wonders of technology and majority of the sciences. (Harari 186) According to the text, the dynamic duo that is technology and science isn’t as old as one would think. Science and technology didn’t start to become useful tools until the 1500s. In the early 1600s (1620), the publication of “The New Instrument” written by Francis Bacon, it was theorized that scientists conduct experiments for a sense of conquest. This would mean that if mankind is willing to test it, anything is metaphorically possible. However, as timed passed, in the 1800s science and technology wasn’t as big of a tool-meaning rich people/owner/investor neglected to research sciences. As of the 1900s (1961) there was a spike in military weaponry and funding for the military forces. (Harari 187) former President Eisenhower made an announcement stating that the growth of military funding had grown immensely. This would also mean that the human races scientific research would reach new heights and the idea of taxes to fund the forces would become about. The production of various war machinery (ex. V-2 rocket) by scientists were to “save the nation” from the soon to come wars. Unfortunately, this proved to only start the mass production of atomic bombs and jet powered aircrafts, which were more deadly.
The mass production of these weapons only proved that technology and science can be used for destruction, but that’s not all it’s for. (Harari 188) For example, the Roman army lacked technology, but had the force of manpower. While the Macedonia Empire had developed technology and strategies. It took a long time for the technologies to be highly sought out due to the hesitance with the investments not excelling. Although the new products were exciting and more effective, leaders were uninterested. It’s clear that the science and technology relationship was at its peak when capitalism was a factor and it further transformed the United States as we know it today.
Link to loopy model:
Citation:
Harari, Y. N., Purcell, J., & Watzman, H. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
The Impact of Ignoramus on the Scientific Revolution
By: Piper Thacher
The timeframe of the Scientific Revolution falls roughly in between 1550-1700 AD, however the publication of Copernicus’s “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres” in 1543 is thought to be the true start of this revolution. The mathematics, biology, and physics that emerged during this time continued through the 17th century. The natural resources within the Scientific Revolution are a little less obvious than previous revolutions. Certain research such as nuclear physics would have to use the natural element uranium while other scientists needed animals and people for medical research. Many geographical expeditions also occurred that would require a large amount of food, water, and tools. The major stocks in this system stem from the United States Government because military and economic research is vital to them. The United States Government allocated billions of dollars which in turned helped produce more scientific research regarding nuclear physics! The funded research ultimately led to advances in nuclear power, which provided cheaper electricity for American’s. However, the wealthy patrons that funded research just wanted to maintain capabilities and did not assume that new capabilities could be acquired. These events promoted the concept of ignoramus and that “we do not know everything” which ultimately influenced more. There are multiple instances that contributed to the extensive scientific research and discoveries. For example, social orders led to a strong belief in technology and scientific research, which promoted funding. Political stability and economic development also played a major role in the sixteenth century. Many kings and bankers would spend an enormous number of resources to finance geographical expeditions, but for the sole purpose of economic/political improvements. Conquering more land and setting up more trade empires were the main goal. The human-environment interactions contain many negative consequences. As for the strides in nuclear power, the uranium mining leads to radioactive contamination and other environmental consequences. There are still some positives like new medicines to cure diseases, but most diseases spread from the rise in expeditions! The outcome of allocated funding towards scientific research led to major improvements in nuclear power, which provides a cheaper alternative to electricity. The medical aspect of the scientific revolution provided major discoveries of the circulatory system and other important medical related facts. Huge strides in scientific research have brought knowledge regarding splitting atoms, engineering microorganisms, and even walking on the moon.
Citation:
Harari, Y. N., Purcell, J., & Watzman, H. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
The Curiosity of the Mind
by: Biance Sanchez
Scientific Revolution: 1543-1687
Prior to the Scientific Revolution, homo sapiens did not know what it meant to progress in life. This all changed however because people began to question things they did not know, which resulted in them accepting that they are ignorant because they do not know all the answers. They questioned old teachings as well by wanting to know the real reason behind an answer. “For fifteen hundred years, all educated Europeans had accepted the Ptolemaic system of the cosmos, in which the earth is fixed unmoving at the center, and everything else revolves around the earth,” (Role of Religion). Copernicus’s science behind the fact that the Earth really is not in the center of the universe, and it is instead the sun, made more people question their teachings. Europeans replaced religion with science, which resulted in them wanting to build empires and get wealthy.
The Scientific Revolution changed the way of homo sapiens thinking. The government and wealthy rulers had access to education, but it was only to “preserve existing capabilities rather than acquire new ones. The typical premodern ruler gave money to priests, philosophers, and poets in the hope that they would legitimise his rule and maintain the social order. He did not expect them to discover new medications, invent new weapons or stimulate economic growth.” (Harari 2015). European Kings and bankers, along with European scientist, started going on expeditions around the world in hopes to find and conquer new lands and establish trade empires as well as find new knowledge.
Europeans began to believe that they were the superior race, and they began to wipe out natives when they would discover a new land. They though that “Whoever believes in progress believes that geographical discoveries, technological inventions and organisational developments can increase the sum total of human production, trade and wealth” (Harari 2015). Empires funded science research because they thought it would increase their profits and production and produce economic growth, which led to capitalism. When the Europeans conquered America, they made many plantations and they needed workers to do the job for them so they could continue making money, so they began using slaves.
The main interactions between science and humans, was the curiosity of exploring what else is out their and what other questions and ideas are waiting to be discovered. “As science began to solve one unsolvable problem after another, many became convinced that humankind could overcome any and every problem by acquiring and applying new knowledge. Poverty, sickness, wars, famines, old age, and death itself were not the inevitable fate of humankind. They were simply the fruits of our ignorance” (Harari 2015).
The need for wealth, new lands, and new discoveries led to the fall in many populations. Once people began to gain more economic power and finding new scientific discoveries, this led to a whole new world.
Loopy model link: Loopy Link
Citations:
Harari, Y.N., Purcell, J., & Watzman, H. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Seiler, Frederick. (2012, August 2012). The Role of Religion in the Scientific Revolution. The Objective Standard. The Role of Religion in the Scientific Revolution – The Objective Standard
The Effects of Nuclear Weapons on the Environment
By: Lindsey Hatcher
Interactions: The effects that nuclear bombs have on the environments where they are detonated.
Resource Characteristics: The Scientific Revolution began in the 1500s and did not end until the 1700s. This revolution was a major change in scientific contemplation that made way for discussion of mathematics, physics, and the understanding of nature as a machine (Brush, 2019). Before this time period, individuals believed that if they needed to answer a question, they could find that answer from God within the text of the bible. They also assumed that if the question was not found within the bible, then the question did not need to be answered and it was something that they did not need to know (Harari, 2014). The scientific revolution gave way to dates later on like World War 2 where the scientific method was applied to create all kinds of new war machines. When these
Governance/User Characteristics:
A new treaty was written in order to stop countries from nuclear testing and causing further damage to the environment. This treaty was called the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. America was one of the countries that agreed to sign it after seeing the negative affects that nuclear weapons had on the environment and the health of individuals. Although it was written, three countries have since set off nuclear weapons for testing. Countries like North Korea continued to avidly test these weapons and their latest detonation was in 2017 (Oberhaus, 2020).
Social/Economical/Political settings:
Although America has not used an atomic bomb in any recent wars, they are tested by other countries in order see whether or not they work and are then studied (Oberhaus, 2020). With this new increase of use, this adds great pollution patterns. When an atomic bomb is dropped, the blast kills or poisons everything within a two-mile radius. The initial blast causes temperatures to spike up to 10 million degrees Celsius and a crushing wind that flattens anything in its path. Anything that is not killed from the direct blast, will likely die later on due to radiation. Most of the things this occurs to when testing is clean water and plants and animals living in the area (Lemon, 2018).
Outcome:
The outcomes of this model are that further environmental depletion continues to happen due to past and present nuclear weapon testing.
Link to loopy model:
Citations
Brush, S. G. , Osler, . Margaret J. and Spencer, . J. Brookes (2019, November 26). Scientific Revolution. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Scientific-Revolution
Harari, Y.N. (2014). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. Toronto, Ontario: Signal
Lemon, K. (2019, March 2). Environmental effects of the atomic bomb. Sciencing. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://sciencing.com/environmental-effects-atomic-bomb-8203814.html.
Oberhaus, D. (2020, July 16). Nuclear tests have changed, but they never really stopped. Wired. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.wired.com/story/nuclear-tests-have-changed-but-they-never-really-stopped/.