Problem 1 Flashcards
How old is the earth
4.6 billion years old
What are the different stages of the history of the earth ?
- Time before the Cambrian explosion
- Paleozoic era
- Mesozoic era
- Cenozoic era
Cambrian explosion
Refers to the sudden appearance of animals that resemble those in current life
- -> “The beginning of life”
- -> started 542m years ago
Paleozoic era
540m - 250m
Emergence of fish, land, plants, insects
–> followed by a vanishing of 95% of the marine species + 70% of the terrestrial species
Mesozoic era
250m-66m
Age of dinosaurs + beginning of mammals, birds, flowers
–> ended with a massive extinction, giving way to an expansion of mammals
Cenozoic era
66m-now
Age of mammals
The emergence of humans
6-7m years ago: Class of bipeds were forced out of the jungle
2m years ago: Beginning of genus Homo (erectus, habilis)
200k years ago: Homo sapiens in Africa
50k years ago: Homo sapiens start to expand
Which factors led to the massive expansion of the Homo Sapiens ?
- Production of more advanced tools
- Development of language that is characterized by
a) productivity
b) semanticity
c) displacement
Neolithic revolution
Refers to the transition from a nomadic hunter-gatherer society to farming and settlement
–> 10.000 BCE
Fertile Crescent
Region on the middle east with a high level of civilization that included
a) Ancient Mesopotamia
b) Ancient Egypt
–> 3.000 BCE
Preliterate Civilization
Civilization before writing was invented
What are the characteristics of the preliterate civilization ?
- Knowledge is confined to “know-how” without theoretical understanding of the underlying principles
- Fluidity of knowledge
- Collection of myths and stories about the beginning of the universe (Animism)
Animism
Refers to the belief that objects and nature are inhabited by spirits with human like characteristics
Lindbergs view on the preliterate civilization
Myths + stories reinforce the values and attitudes of the community and fulfill the need humans have for explanatory principles
–> brings order, unity, meaning to the events around them
Tylors view on the preliterate civilization
Preliterates looked at the world like children and endowed everything with a nature analogous to their own
–> animism
Where did written language first appear ?
It appeared separately between 6.000 to 300 BCE in
a) Egypt
b) China
c) Sumer
d) America
–> it was preceded by protocol-writing
Writing systems were a combination of … ?
a) Pictograms
b) Phonograms
Pictograms
Pictures that resemble the persons, animals + objects they represent
–> proto-writing
Phonograms
Signs to represent sounds of the spoken language
–> then gradually replaced by phonemes + syllables
What is the main advantage of written records ?
They form an external memory, which allows an accumulation of knowledge
What were Socrates’ main concerns concerning written records ?
According to him, written records will make humans forgetful, because they will stop exercising their memory as they can rely on what is written down
Why are written records important to science ?
- Ability to build on existing insights
- Ability to avoid the pitfalls that hindered predecessors
- Written records provide the vases of the cumulative nature of science
EXTERNAL MEMORY
What fosters an easier reading acquisition ?
- When the language has a transparent relationship between spelling + sound
- Putting spaces between words (8th century)
Scholastic method
Study method in which students unquestioningly memories and recite text that are thought to convey unchanging truths
–> success depended more on the students perseverance than intelligence
NO CRITICAL THINKING
In which way were numbers represented originally ?
- One was always able to subitise
- Due to difficulty to discern more than 4 lines in a glance, the tallies were grouped
–> gouping occured in fives
Subitising
Distinguishing between 1,2 and 3 entities
Why is the number 5 so important + why is it used as a base ?
- Number 5 is the first entity that exceeds the perceptual limits
- Coincides with the number of fingers on a hand
- Gradually a separate symbol was used for 5 and multiple 5s
How did the Greeks represent numbers ?
600 BCE
By developing a written system for the numbers 1-24
- -> Alpha to omega
- -> used a 10 base structure similar to roman numerals
Place coding system
System in which the meaning of a sign not only depends on its form but also on its position in string, which required the invention of a symbol for 0
- -> developed in India
- -> used in arabic numerals, then taken up in western europe
Why were greek and roman number systems deficient ?
Because their notation did not assign a meaning to the place of the digits (Place coding)
According to Lingberg, which conditions made the growth of science possible in the Fertile Crescent ?
- Political stability
- Urbanisation
- Patronage
- Availability of a writing system
Philosophy
600 BCE
Refers to a critical reflection on the universe and human functioning, that started in ancient greece
–> main questions: is the foundation of life constant or ever changing
–> birthed in Greece
Platos view on the ideal method of knowledge
People are born with an innate knowledge of the ideal reality and can uncover this knowledge through deductive reasoning
=> RATIONALISM
Plato
Greek philosopher that was a student of Socrates
- Recorded the dialogues of socrates
- Founder of the “academy” in athens
- His views appealed to the christian churches
Aristotele
Greek philosopher who was a student of plato
- Founder of the “lyceum” in athens
- EMPIRICISM
- -> Knowledge is less based on reason, but also observation - Most popular author in the renaissance
How was greek culture expanded ?
Under Alexander the great and the greek expansion, its culture was propagated to
a) Egypt
b) India
c) Fertile crescent
–> lead to Hellenistic culture
The assimilation of greek culture in the roman empire
200 BCE
Due to the fact that romans admired and were interested in greek culture it didn’t collapse when the romans took over
What is the roman scientific legacy dominated by ?
By technological inventions + improvements
–> were more interested in practical question than the philosophical debates of greeks
PRESERVATION of greeks works
Hellenistic Period
Refers to the period where greek cultural influence and power was at its peak in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia, experiencing prosperity and progress in especially philosophy an science
–> between death of Alexander TG + emergence of the roman empire
Byzantine Empire
Post-roman
Refers to the eastern part of the roman empire, with its capital being Constantinople
- -> was much stronger + science friendly
- -> preserved the ancient greek legacy
- -> never reached the same level as ancient greeks, science-wise
What was the main factor responsible for the decline of scientific advancement ?
The emergence + dominance of the christian religion
Arab Empire
Post-roman
Was founded on the Islam and contained the Fertile Crescent and occupied early all of spain
- -> TRANSLATING + EXTENDING the greeks works
- -> strong in
a) medicine
b) astronomy
c) mathematics
Western roman empire
Post roman
Characterized by its large decline in scientific knowledge due to the take over of the catholic church and its creation of schools
–> referred to as the dark ages
Dark ages
- Refer to the lack of independent and scientific thinking in that age
- Scientific thinking not only stalled, but fell back
–> middle ages
Why were Aristotles works so controversial ?
Because he claimed,
- That the universe was eternal without beginning nor end
- That the soul could not exist without body and ended with the body
–> which were claims that are completely opposite to the views of the church
–> his conclusions were based on logic + naturalistic observations rather than on bible
Why did the impact of Aristotles works eventually grow ?
- Scientifically minded scholars found his approach more appealing
- Diminishing of the catholic churches power
- -> Renaissance
Renaissance
15th century
Based on a rediscovery and imitation of the classical greek and roman civilizations
–> also increased status of science
Protestant reformation
1516
Refers to a movement against the roman catholic church, which resulted large parts of Europe no longer being under the control of it
–> important for the development of science, because it stressed the need for education + critical thinking
Why was the invention of book printing so important ?
1450
It lead to a rapid + massive availability of information to everyone that was interested
What did the discovery of America in 1492 lead to ?
A race between different nations, wanting to conquer as much new territories as possible
+ increasing demand of scientific invention that could be of use
What are the biases in history writing ?
- Matthew effect
- Hindsight bias
- Ethnocentrism
- Not centering on Zeitgeist
- Relying on the summaries of other historians
Matthew effect
The tendency to give more credit to well known scientists than they deserve
–> increases the perceived impact of these scientists
Hindsight bias
Refers to the tendency to assume that the scientists knew more than they actually did
Ethnocentrism
Too much credit/attention is given to the contribution of the authors own group
Fire
Refers to the result of a chemical reaction between oxygen and another chemical that is based on carbon
–> discovered by Antoine Lavoisier in late 18th century
=> starting point of science
Which problems had to be solved in exploiting fire to best advantage ?
- Problem of ignition
- Choice of fuel
- Extending its range of use
How was the problem of ignition solved ?
- It was discovered that FRICTION between 2 dry inflammable surfaces will raise the point of contact to a temperature at which combustion will occur
- Discovery of PHOSPHORUS in 1669
How was the problem of choice of fuel solved ?
- WOOD is the most efficient producer of heat, with some being better than others
- Discovery of CHARCOAL, which is wood that is deprived of oxygen
Pottery
First use was in cooking, the preparation + preservation of most foods
–> Final product is rigid + durable, can withstand a high level of heat
–> invented in the 5th millennium
Oven
Main problem was to make one that becomes sufficiently hot, ensuring a sufficient draught of air
Metal
Is a component of many different ores, that will melt + become liquid when heated
–> its discovery and use came after the invention of pottery
–> discovery marks down the dawn of civilization
Why was metal so useful and highly traded ?
The objects could always be recast into something else, by just melting it
Glass
Its basic component is quartz, which in turn is a compound of silicon
–> innovated 5000 years ago
Why did language evolve ?
Because of the human need to
- increase group size
- acquire an exchange information about social relationships
Social grooming
Refers to a means by which animals who live in close proximity may bond and reinforce social structures, family links, and build companionships
–> language fulfills the same role
How might language function as a mechanism for social bonding ?
- Allows individuals to spend time with their preferred social partners
- Enables an individual to acquire knowledge of the behavioral characteristics of a third party
–> explains humans be eager to gossip
What limits group conversations ?
Its size
–> the number of individuals that can effectively take part in a conversation is limited
Social intelligence hypothesis
States that social intelligence, meaning, complex socialization
- was the driving force in developing the size of human brains
- today provides our ability to use those large brains in complex social circumstances
In which way does language allow us to from larger groups ?
It allows us to categorize individuals into types and instruct other individuals to behave in a specific way to those types
ex.: badges and uniforms can be used to show role/type/social standing and this then immediately tells us how to behave and categorize that person appropriately
Logographic
Ceasing to use pictographs in written language
–> fertile crescent
Sumerian number system
Using number 60 as a base
–> still used for time
Zeitgeist
Indicates that the time was right for a certain discovery
–> the discovery did not originate from a single genius, but from a much wider development leading to the discovery
