Knowledge Exclusivity: A Swinging Pendulum

According to one of my old professors, diagrams with
triangles and circles are a key part to any presentation.
So here is a triangle diagram that illustrates exclusivity
with respect to knowledge institutions across time. 

As we have studied various types of knowledge institutions during the semester, we have come across various different patterns that transcended each of the different types of knowledge.  In our “salon” activity yesterday and while studying the different blog posts in preparation for the activity, I realized that one of the important trends in the knowledge systems was exclusivity and complexity of knowledge.  From folk knowledge to written knowledge, exclusivity increased, but then it came back full circle and is once again widespread with digital media.  After the move from folk and oral knowledge to written knowledge, the increased exclusivity and problems that accompanied it were the cause for a drive to increasingly widespread forms of knowledge systems.

Practice makes Perfect

        Ignoring the argument that really only PERFECT practice makes perfect, I would like to apply this title phrase to our civilization class.  While striving to teach a class about four different knowledge institutions, our professors have put into practice these variant types of knowledge and created a perfect class.  But maybe only in the Greek sense of the word, how Christ used it in Matthew, meaning to be complete, finished and fully developed.  We received a complete class, combining all the types of knowledge together to create the ideal environment.  By bringing in guest speakers and lecturers, sending us off on field trips, putting us in familial groups to learn together, and giving atypical assignments we experienced the different types of knowledge, instead of just learning about them.

Are You Lost in Learning? I Am.

I know we won't be here much longer, but I would really like to share this with anyone who happens to read these last posts on the blog.  And of course, it has a story with it, though mercifully short.  :-)

When I get bored with homework in the library, especially chemistry, I start exploring the art exhibits throughout the library.  They are always interesting, if not always the most amazing art.  So the awesome exhibit that was in the Library Auditorium Entrance was really cool just a little while ago.  I felt that it also adeptly applied to our class and what we have been learning, which is why I am sharing it with you all.  It is titled "Lost in Learning" and is about the amazing men and women of the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution (Leonardo DaVinci, Columbus, Newton, etc.).  It is a photographic exhibit and they are just really inspiring to me.

Just a taste, and not her best in my opinion.  Titled "Journal".  

The coolest thing is that her website about the exhibit is just as masterfully done.  And she has a blog!! So here are the links to these great pictures and the blog, and I hope you enjoy this artistic inspiration and want to keep that great curiosity that inspired these people alive in yourself.  Keep reinventing knowledge, and expressing yourself with our limited institutionalized freedom.  It is part of our heritage as humanity and divinity to create and discover.  Enjoy!!

Wrap It Up, or Maybe Just Leave it Open- Ended?

According to Webster, the first known usage of "wrap up" to refer to summarizing or completing something was in 1568.  But I couldn't find much more why about that phrase became synonymous to finishing and summarizing something.  I know why with a film reel, but that early....  Just thought I would end on a self-directed-learning note.  :-)  

I am going to organize my notes based on the unit, a paragraph for each one.  And Alicia and Mike, I love your posts.  If you don't mind I would love to use them tomorrow in addition to my own reflections.  

See my other post for credit of this amazing picture - Eva Timothy

Salon Notes

Ok so here they are.  My word vomit of notes for the salon tomorrow.  Feel free to take ideas or add to it if ya'll want.  I'm not going to repeat anything from Alicia's post since it's already written down, I'll just add my own personal thoughts on each of these categories.  HERE is the spreadsheet, just because it's fun to make, and

HERE --------------------------------------->

is a picture because posts are boring without them.

PS Just double click each box on the spreadsheet to read the whole text.

Thoughts on my Library Exhibit Exploration

It might be too late to get credit for my visit to the Bible exhibit, but I did go earlier, I just forgot to post on it, until I reviewed the posts I have made and it wasn't in there.  I even tried to go to the print museum, but that failed when I arrived 1 hour after it closed.  Who closes at 2 p.m.? So then I visited the HBLL exhibit instead. 

Anyway....

Learning is the Purpose... Or is it to Produce a Paper?

A master of comic rhyme in our time, I had to add him in. :-)

I have had a marvelous time learning all about Rhyming and its origins and development in the English language, but no matter how much I research, I can't seem to find the information I am looking for.  I can't find evidence to support the connections that I have hunches for, but I have found a lot of great information on the device of rhyme and its history throughout our society.  So I am afraid that I am going to write a thesis paper on what I have been learning about even though it doesn't necessarily correlate with the topic assigned to me. 

(I am building my argument... please keep reading...)

Some interesting additions from Thanksgiving

So, for thanksgiving I got to go to my sister's wedding in Hong Kong. I notices several things that we had mentioned in previous blog posts or comments that I took pictures of and thought would be good to pass on to you all.

The Story of the Dictionary (and my discovery of it)

The English Dictionary is the second most purchased and most used book behind the Bible only.  Of course, there isn't just one dictionary or version of it, just like there are multiple versions of the Bible.  Nevertheless, it is a popular book.  But as one renown dictionary maker (also known as a lexicographer) said, it is meant to be browsed in, not read cover to cover. 

There are several parts of language, and one of them is the actual words that are used, the vocabulary or the lexicon of a language.  This is what a dictionary is meant to help with at its fundamental level: allow people to understand the lexicon of the language.  That is why the first dictionaries were what we would call translation dictionaries and have two different languages in them, usually comparing Latin to some other language.  Later the idea developed to define the vocabulary of one language, creating monolingual dictionaries.  Then the development of ordering a dictionary in alphabetical order was introduced by Englishman Robert Cawdery, which became such an intrinsic part of dictionaries that books that don't do anything similar to a dictionary (define the lexicon) have acquired the title because of the alphabetical listing of their entries.  Then, finally there was the idea of an American dictionary, because our version of English was different from the British, and that's how Merriam-Webster became a household name. 

But really, you don't want to hear the story of the dictionary.  You would much rather hear about my story in the library finding out about dictionaries.  I dislike the fact that we have to put our annotated bibliography in alphabetical order, because that doesn't fit the order of the story, so I have numbered them in chronological order if you want a continuous story of discovery. 

King James Bible Exhibit.

This past week I visited the Life and Legacy of the King James Bible exhibit in the Harold B. Lee Library. In his most recent blog post, Will analyzed the whole exhibit and explained the pros and cons of translating the Bible. (I encourage everyone to read his post). However, I personally found it interesting how the translated King James Bible has affected society, especially American society from the 1800s to date.

King James I of England ordered that a uniform translation of the Bible would begin in 1604. The translation was complete in 1611. "Cultural, religious, and political forces over the next half century of this version's existence finally contrived to make the King James Bible the only used in England. The King James Bible traveled with the British as they colonized the world" (King James Bible exhibit pamphlet). This means that as people began to come to America for political and religious freedom, they brought the King James Bible with them.

"Publicly and privately, the King James Bible was read, heard, and studied by countless individuals in English-speaking countries and territories, and its language and style shaped their own thoughts and writings. Critics note the influence of the King James Bible—not just the stories, but the syntax and style—in works by many great orators and authors of the 18^th, 19^th and early 20^th centuries, especially in the United States" (Transforming the Word).

Famous Americans throughout history such as Abraham Lincoln, Herman Melville and John Steinbeck were influenced greatly by the Bible. All used imagery, repetition or allusions to the King James version of the Bible (Transforming the Word). This, in turn, influenced the political and social aspects of American society as people read their novels and followed politics closely.

Religiously, the King James Bible was, and still is, used by many of the Protestant churches that flourished in America. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is not considered a branch of Protestantism, uses the King James Bible as well. In fact, Joseph Smith translated portions of the King James Bible in the 1800s to help clarify the meanings of some passages. In addition, there are cross references in the Book of Mormon to the King James Bible in order to make studying and feasting upon the scriptures much easier for Latter-day Saints. Today, the King James Bible is the most popular Bible used in America by multiple religions. This is significant in that America was founded on the belief of religious freedom. With most religions using and basing their faith off of the King James Bible, it seems that even today is one of the most influential works printed and read.

Influence of King James

I went to see the exhibit in the library about the King James Bible several weeks ago. While I enjoyed seeing the old Bibles, I, like Will, found the display about the impact of the King James Bible on the English language and modern culture most interesting. I was reminded of the university forum presented by Dr. Norton on the King James Bible. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, I would highly recommend it. In essence he talks about the impact of having a standardized Bible. Suddenly, people expected a particular tone for scripture and, to some extent, if it didn't match that, it wasn't just different, it was wrong.

Akkadian Cuneiform - the Hardest Language I Have Ever Tried to Learn!

For my Rosetta Stone project, I was in the Mesopotamian group (Phoenicia is in that area) and we had some difficulties with our language and writing form.  I mostly worked with Catherine to create the first artifact, and so during the second part I took a back seat, and mostly worked as the liaison to the group that received our artifact.  But the first artifact itself was hard enough.

To start with, one of our other group members had talked to  a professor on campus that was fluent in Akkadian cuneiform, so he went and talked to him, and gave us a sheet of paper with the English phonetic syllables and the English translation of the Akkadian, but not the cuneiform.  For that, he told us to go down to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures and look at the actual clay nail that it was written on.  (Note: Akkadian is the language of the Babylonians around 2500 B.C., cuneiform is the script they used to write it down, and Babylonia was the civilization that Catherine studied.)

To Fold or Not to Fold? That is the Publisher's Question

If you have studied Shakespeare even a little bit, you should have been exposed to the idea of folios and quartos, not to mention octavos or thirty-twomo's.  If not you are about to be educated.

A thirty-twomo (its a book size :-)

Printing and Digital Media.

The printing press, which I talked about in a previous blog post, made it possible for literature to be mass produced at a quicker rate that was less expensive. It provided the common people of the Renaissance Era the opportunity to own books and read what great scholars where discovering and learning all over the world. But that's just it...printing allowed GREAT SCHOLARS and WELL KNOWN FIGURES to promote their ideas.

Gutenberg Press

People like John Locke, Martin Luther and Voltaire were able to express their revolutionary ideas. John Locke, for example, promoted a more liberal philosophy which is considered a "keystone" to American government and other Western countries' governments. Martin Luther was considered the father of the Protestant Reformation, which taught people to break away from the traditional teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and taught that it was through the grace of God and one's own faith that one could be saved. Voltaire, another prominent figure (writer) of the Renaissance Era who advocated freedom of religion, free trade, and separation of church and state. 

Marginalia: Facinating or Defacing?

Marginalia: marginal notes or embellishments (as in a book).  Latin.            
Love,
Webster

Marginalia of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Symbols and Codes.

We discussed in class a little bit yesterday the correlation between a literary system and a numeracy system. As soon as writing developed, written numbers were used to keep track of business transactions and other records. In fact, most artifacts that we have today are records of accounting.

The oldest tablet found in Europe, written in the Mycenaean Linear B System. It records business transactions.

But can letters and numbers have other correlating purposes? Of course, they both can be used to create a code, or a system of secrecy or multiple representation in which certain words, letters, or numbers are assigned different meanings.

The Ancient Greeks, for example, actually used there letters as symbols of numbers. Their alphabet served a dual purpose. It communicated thoughts and ideas, but also stood as representation of a number in many cases. Today, we still use letters of the Greek alphabet to represent numbers which we plug into formulas (or mathematical codes) such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Phi and Pi.

Similarly, the Roman alphabet, or the Latin alphabet, which is the most recognized alphabet in the world today, evolved from a Western variety of the Greek alphabet. This alphabet, along with Arabic numerals, is the basis of what is perhaps the most common code today, Morse Code. This code is unique in that it can be used through almost any kind of medium; sound, written, visual.

Just for fun, I created my own code using numbers as letters. See if you can decipher what this says and you'll discover an interesting fact about me!

23...15.1...6.19.26.15.8.19.18...8.3...21.3.6.18.3.2...16...22.23.2.17.25.26.19.13...

Questions, With No Real Answers

So what does it mean to "write it down"? To save a piece of information by putting it in a book, on a sticky note, or in a planner? To write/(take) notes instead of just listening? To send a handwritten letter or card, as opposed to a store-bought one, or even an email? How does the significance of writing versus memorization compare in our time? How would it have compared in the time periods we are discussing?

I really didn't do much research for this post, but I am enjoying the thought experiment.  "Critically" thinking about what we have learned about writing so far, and how it has changed our perspective on the world, and how it must have changed the ancients' perspectives.  So I am basically answering the previous questions with my personal, educated opinions, and I want this post to open the blog to yours too.

Printing.

The first printing press was invented during the Renaissance era around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz. This printing press used a movable metal type which was set to print one page of a book at a time. Oil-based inks were used to coat the type. After so many copies were made of one page, the type would be cleaned and rearranged to form the next page, until all of the pages of a book were complete.

Johannes Gutenberg

The metal type used was more durable than woodblocking

(which was also used for printing images), as it was molded of metal and would not crack or break as easily. The type was also more uniform and easily read, unlike written writing which was often times corrected by multiple people with different hand-writings. The type could also be adjusted or created to be more aesthetically pleasing and appealing to the eye. Often, art was also inserted into books through printing as well. Oil-based ink was used because it was long-lasting and would not fade as much.

Because books and other written works were able to be printed quicker and through mass production, the price of books became cheaper and became more available to the common people. The most famous of these mass produced texts, the Bible (or the Gutenberg Bible), was most commonly read more than any other book during this time.

Gutenberg Press

With this new found way of mass producing written works, the printing press popularized all throughout Europe within only a few decades. This allowed for scientists, religious leaders, and other scholars to circulate their ideas and discoveries quicker and on a much broader scale that was available to the middle class as well.

This method of printing and distributing of knowledge continued until the 19th century when the hand-operated Gutenberg press was replaced by the steam-powered rotary press and, eventually, computer printers.

The King's Speech

So I don't know why I didn't put this on our blog a few weeks ago, but it is the video of our class midterm.  It is a memorized choral recitation of King Benjamin's speech from the Book of Mormon.  I won't say much about it, we'll let the words speak for themselves.

A Roman Alphabet and Arabic Numerals

Sorry to break the trend, but I am going to step away from the idea of mediums ... and into the realm of numbers.

The Evolution of Numbers

I don't know if I have said this previously, but I love the etymology of words, and knowing the origins of things and what that can teach us about the thing itself, whether it is whole words or letters or numerical symbols.  That's partly why I was so happy I got the Phoenician civilization, because it had the first alphabet (basically).  But as I have continued to study the alphabet and where ours came from (if you can't find "Letter Perfect" at the library, it is because I have it :-),  the thought occurred to me: if we use the Roman alphabet, why don't we use Roman numerals too?  Where did the Arabic ones come from?