Article 2: Change

Is Change Good or Bad?

Change can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the amount of change, and when it happens. Many people believe that change is good. Many people are also afraid of change, because it brings them into an unfamiliar situation. Others embrace change so that they have something exciting in their life.

I think that change may come at a bad time, but it is always a good thing. Without change, nothing exciting would ever happen. It is inevitable that change will come. As time passes, people will make decisions that affect their own, and other people’s lives. A change can cause great pain, or great joy.

Change is the thing that creates history. There would be no events without change. Each event is a change. This is because there is no way to prevent it. There are many great examples of this in history such as the election of Barack Obama. One of his main slogans was “Change we can believe in,” (Smith). He believed in changing all of the problems that George Bush, the previous president, supposedly created.

Another example of this is the Council of Nicea. This was when Constatine took over the Roman Empire. There was not a common religion or belief system in place. He brought 318 religious leaders to the town of Nicea. Here, they discussed the differences in religion and agreed to share one religion. This was the first time that leaders from the Church gathered together from all across the world. The Council of Nicea is what formed the religion that we know as Christianity (Live Science).

A third event that drastically changed history is Gregor Mendel’s work with genetics in peas. Gregor Mendel was a monk and examined the genetic inheritance of peas in the garden at the monastery where he lived. He was the first to discover inheritance and find the actually patterns that it takes. He led the way in a genetic frontier (Live Science). His discovery opened the doors for scientists across the world.

All of these examples have changed the way that people live. They all changed history dramatically. Without these, we wouldn’t be where we are in a political standpoint, religious beliefs, or genetics. These are only three examples of major events that caused changed. Thousands of events have caused even more changes in human history. These examples have shown that changes are good for humanity, although some people may not like these changes at the time. After time has passed, they will realize what benefits each of these events has created.

But there are some changes that made the world a worse place to live, such as the Holocaust. This was when the Nazi regime, led by Adolphe Hitler, murdered everyone that did not fit into their idea of a superior race. This included socialists, communists, homosexuals, and mainly Jewish people. Before this tragic event took place, there were over nine million Jews occupying the space that the Nazis would soon control. In the end, over six million Jews were killed. There was not a single good thing about this tragic event. It changed, and is still changing, the course of history (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).

The American Revolution changed not only how people lived in America, but also how people lived in Europe. This is when America separated from England and became its own country. The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are the two main documents created during this time frame. The leading writers of the Declaration of Independence took a chance in writing this document. If they got caught, they would surely be executed. But, because they took this risk, America changed from a colonial body, to a country (Ferling). This was a major change in the world. Writing this document affected people all around the world. Britain did not have the supplies that they used to have. Without these materials, they could not sell them for money. This means that other countries did not have the materials that they needed. They also could not use them for their own needs, and because Britain is an island nation, it does not have as many resources as other mainland countries have.

A final example of change is the Civil Rights Movement. This was when African-Americans started to be treated as equals. Even though the civil war had ended over a hundred years before, Africans were still not being treated the same as Caucasians. Rosa Parks sparked the movement by not sitting in the back of the bus which was designated for African-Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. was a huge leader. Many Africans see him as a leader and a role model (Cozzens). The Civil Rights Movement ignited many new laws to be passed and inspired many Africans to follow their dreams. This was a major change in the course of United States history. It ended a very prevalent racist time in this country. Racism is still a problem in America, especially in the south. These people cling to their beliefs that blacks are not equal to whites. This still causes many problems in the south and needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. When there is a problem as large as this conflicting between people in a country, that country cannot be whole. If a country is not together then it is impossible for that country to succeed.

Overall, change is a good thing. It creates new opportunities and allows for growth around the world. And although can hurt others indirectly, change is for the better. Change is unavoidable, and it usually makes the world a better place to live. Without it, we would be living in a world that was no different from when it was first created. While some people are afraid of change, it is almost always for the better. And when it does not seem like it is a good thing, a more positive result will usually show up as time passes.

Citations

Smith, Ben. "Ben Smith's Blog." Politico. 26/10/2008. Capitol News Company LLC, Web. 29 Jan 2010. .

"10 Events that Changed History." Live Science. Tech Media Network, Web. 29 Jan 2010.

.

"Holocaust Encyclopedia." United States Holocaust Memorial

Museum. 04/05/2009. United States Holocaust Memorial

Museum, Web. 29 Jan 2010.

Ferling, John. "The American Revolution." The American Revolution. The American

Revolution, Web. 29 Jan 2010.

Cozzens, Lisa. "The Civil Rights Movement 1955-1965." African

American History. http://fledge.watson.org/~lisa/

blackhistory/civilrights-55-65 (25 May 1998).

Article 1: What is History?

What is History?

History is the study of everything that has happened before the present. There are multiple theories as to which way you should look at history. The four most well known theories are the Hegelian Theory, the Linear Theory, and Cyclic Theory. In my opinion, the best way to look at history is the Vortex Theory. This is the theory that everything in history grows, shrinks, and then grows again. There are many examples of this happening in history, and a very common and well known theory is that history repeats itself. This is evident in the Vortex Theory.

The Hegelian Theory is the idea of cause and effect. Everything is caused by something, resulting in an effect. The problem with this theory is that it is only focusing on one concept of a time period. It leaves out everything else out that happened. By just focusing on main events, events that were not as important could be missed. These events could have led to that large event happening.

The Linear idea of history is that everything happens in the order of a timeline. The problem with this theory is that the idea of time is something that man has created. It is not a natural concept. Time is not something that can be defined, since it is constantly changing. The Vortex theory does not take time into consideration. It only takes uses the idea of a civilization growing and falling.

Looking at history as Cyclical is saying that history is like a circle. This contradicts the Linear History theory, which states that history occurs in a certain order. Cyclical also uses the idea of history repeating itself. That makes the Vortex Theory and the Cyclical Theory somewhat similar.

A vortex is large at the top and shrinks. On the opposite side of a vortex, it starts out small and grows large. This is a very affecting way of looking at history. This can range from having a bad day to an empire rising and falling. If you wake up feeling great, and then found out a family member died in the afternoon, your day has “gone through a vortex.” It started out great, or at the beginning of the vortex, and then turned out to be terrible, at the end of the vortex. The Roman Empire is a perfect example of the Vortex Theory. It rose and ruled most of Europe for over a thousand years. After falling, Europe went into the dark ages. When it rose, it was starting to enlarge moving towards the larger end of the vortex. When it fell, the empire started going towards the smaller end of the vortex.

Another example in process is the United States. The United States started to rise when the European countries decided to colonize America. Some people might argue that America is starting to fall. With illegal immigration, the economy collapsing, and a recent, but questionable, socialist movement, America slowly declining. Like the Roman Empire, many foreigners want to live in America. The United States can only control a certain amount of people. If illegal immigration continues, the United States will fall.

An economic collapse is one of the worst things that can happen to a country. Their currency becomes worth less than the currency of other countries. This is bad because then the country theoretically has less money. Having less money could be detrimental to a country, especially when trading international. The socialist movement is a very questionable and argumentative topic. Socialism is when a government has complete control over the banks and money in the country. Socialism is not good for a country because if the government wants money, they can get it. This could cause the country to go into poverty.

Because time is something that man created, it is difficult to define exactly what it is, making history hard to define. The complex part of time is that the past, present, and future is always what just happened. While it may be easier to see things that are farther back in the past and far ahead in the future, it is more challenging the closer to the present you go.

While the Vortex Theory is the best individual way to view history, a combination of all of the theories is the most sensible to way to look at history. Civilizations do grow and shrink, but it happens in a certain order. They grow because of other things, or cause and effect. And all of these things repeat themselves. Not one certain way is the best way. Using certain parts from each of the ideas creates the best way to view history.

The reason as to why there is not an ultimate way to look at history is because they are all based off of time, as is history. As previously stated, time is impossible to define. This makes everything having to do with time difficult to deal with. The very idea of history is complex. Figuring out the best way to view it is even more complex. Combining all the most popular theories makes the problem a little less complex, although it is still not clear.

History has shaped the way we live today. Without it society would be nowhere. Looking at it the right way is crucial to what we do in the future. If we analyze it the wrong way, we could make the same exact mistake that ancient civilizations made. We could also analyze it correctly and fix mistakes that they made, allowing people to live longer and “empires” to last longer. We can learn from past mistakes, and because history repeats itself, we can use the knowledge to prevent the problems that other civilizations had. This can lead to thousands of scientific breakthroughs, governmental resolutions, and improve society overall. While the Vortex Theory is the best single theory, in my opinion, it would be more beneficial to incorporate all of the theories into one idea. This will give us the optimal chance for success.

Image from:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_whirlpool_in_a_glass_of_water.jpg

Notes 1/28/10

Indus Valley

• Pakistan
• Cities built around Indus River
• Had working toilets
• This shows that the civilization had a strong society
• Had to meet a certain criteria of complexity
• Found boule in Pakistan and Greece
• Tells us that Pakistan and Greece had trade
• Also shows that they had complex trade routes, had allies that lived along trade routes
• Why is the most advanced city in 300 B.C.E., Harappa, unknown, but Greece is?
• Unknown as to what happened, but the civilization disappears
• No evidence
• Civilization development does not mean defensive strength

Daily 1/27/10

You accidentally discover an invention that can immediately help millions of people; but only if you act immediately. On the other hand, if you just wait three months, you can secure a patent and get rich. Which do you choose and why?

I would chose to act immediately. I could save thousands of lives in the time it would take to receive a patent. Wealth is much less important than saving lives. Waiting three months and

becoming rich would be a very selfish and greedy thing to do in my opinion. By choosing to waste three months, you are putting your greed over other people's lives, which is not acceptable. Acti

ng immediately would be the smart thing to do, and it would be better for all of society.

Picture from:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Crystal_Project_money.png

Significance of the Rise of Agriculture and Megaliths

The rise of agriculture was important to current living conditions. Without agriculture, we would still be using the "hunter-gather" method of finding food. Agriculture brought about a way to consistently grow crops for food and other life necessities. Farming allows people to stay in one place instead of being nomadic and wondering around, trying to find food. It also gave people more time to develop new things, since there was less time devoted to trying to find something to eat. Megaliths are important because we aren't sure why they are there. They are believed to be there due to religious reasons, and because of astrological reasons. A megalith is a group of large stones put together to form a shape or structure.

Vortex Theory is the Best Way to Look at History

I think that the Vortex theory is the best way to look at history. The theory is that, like a vortex, everything in history grows, and then shrinks, going from big, to little, back to big, shrinking, etc. The Roman Empire is an example of this. After the Roman Empire fell, Europe went into a very uncivilized time period until the Renaissance. Another example is the United States. We have grown exponentially since declaring our independence. Some people may argue that we are starting to lose control of our country. History also repeats itself, meaning that these kinds of events are going to happen again and again and again.

Notes 1/21/10

• History's first concept is linear. Cyclic history is the idea that when you died, you are reincarnated. Neither death nor birth occurs first in cyclic history. Birth comes before death in the concept of a linear history.
• Hegel's theory:
• Didn't agree with cyclic or linear
• http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ac_ADRi5NNLsZGNmMjN6ZmdfODZjMmc5dnhkNg&hl=en
• Thesis+Antithesis=Synthesis
• II
• Synthesis= John goes to the hospital
• III
• Thesis= He gets a brace in the hospital Antithesis= His mom finds out that he was bullying other kids Synthesis= John gets grounded for bullying
• Vortex Theory William Butler Big-Little-Big
• Civilizations grow big, and then fall