A Ton of Crap
Page 39
LESSON 34 QUIZ
The United States did not send troops to Vietnam until the presidency of:
Eisenhower
Kennedy
Johnson
Nixon
Which of the following describes Nixon’s plan of Vietnamization?
It was to encourage the South Vietnamese to take control of the war, bring American troops back, and have fighting done from the air.
It would place Vietnamese villagers into hamlets, isolating them from the NLF.
It would expand the war into Laos and Cambodia.
It would support the creation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
A Tale of Two Cities was a departure from Charles Dickens’s earlier work because:
It was the first to be published as a book and not serialized.
It was a historical novel and not as character-driven.
It was written in French.
It steered away from political and social commentary.
Which Dickens book is considered the most autobiographical?
David Copperfield
Oliver Twist
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
A Christmas Carol
Which of the following is true?
The exponential function y = ex has an equal rate of growth to its value.
The exponential function y = ex has a higher rate of growth to its value.
The exponential function y = ex has a lower rate of growth to its value.
The exponential function y = ex is half the rate of growth to its value.
Which of the following correctly finds e?
e = 2 + 1! + 2! + 3! + 4! + …
e = 1 + 1! + 2! + 3! + 4! + …
e = 1 + 1/1! + 1/2! + 1/3! + 1/4! + …
All of the above
Which of the following is a difference between gas and plasma?
While plasma has very low electrical conductivity, gas has extremely high electrical conductivity that can be seen as infinite.
While gas has very low electrical conductivity, plasma has extremely high electrical conductivity that can be seen as infinite.
While gas has very high electrical conductivity, plasma has extremely low electrical conductivity that can be seen as infinite.
Both gas and plasma have extremely high electrical conductivity, but only gas can be seen as infinite.
At a low temperature, electrons and ions will:
Break apart from the atom
Recombine and form an atom
Turn into protons
Turn into neutrons
How much of Afrikaans stems from Dutch?
25–30 percent
40–45 percent
90–95 percent
50–55 percent
Which of the following is true?
There are no long consonants in Afrikaans.
There is no distinction in gender for nouns.
There are no declensions.
All of the above.
ANSWER KEY: c, a, b, a, a, c, b, b, c, d
Lesson 35
HISTORY: Korean War
Origins of the War, Surprise Attack from North Korea, Inchon Invasion, Dismissal of MacArthur, End of the “Accordion War,” The End of the War
LANGUAGE ARTS: Existentialism
What Is Existentialism?, The Origins of Existentialism, Existentialist Literature, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre
MATH: Unsolved Math Problems
P versus NP Problem, Hodge Conjecture, Riemann Hypothesis, Yang-Mills Existence and Mass Gap, Navier-Stokes Equations, Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture
SCIENCE: Anthropology
What Is Anthropology?, Physical Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, Archaeology, Applied Anthropology
FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Cherokee
The Origins, Sequoyah, The Writing System, Dialects, Creating New Words, Useful Cherokee Phrases
LESSON 35A
KOREAN WAR
Origins of the War Following World War II, the Soviet Union began moving into Korea. The United States did not want Korea to become another Communist state and moved in as well. The 38th parallel was decided as the division between the part controlled by America (South Korea) and the part controlled by the Soviet Union (North Korea). During this time, the Korean people created an interim government known as the Korean People’s Republic, which became increasingly more communist. The Soviet Union recognized the new government, but the United States would not, and the KPR became pro-Soviet. The United States tried to bring a free market to South Korea, but it led to elevated prices and famine. The United States handed the issue over to the UN, and elections were held including all of Korea. Following the elections, the North cut off all power to the South.
EXISTENTIALISM
What Is Existentialism? Existentialism is the philosophical study of the meaning of existence. There are several key ideas that existentialism touches on, such as free will, the idea that human nature is made by the choices one makes in life, the idea that decisions create stress and have consequences, and that a person is at their best when struggling for life. Existentialism is very much about understanding the meaning of life on a personal level without touching on factors like wealth, social values, or other external forces.
UNSOLVED MATH PROBLEMS
P versus NP Problem One of the most famous unsolved problems is the P versus NP problem in computer science. Posed by Stephen Cook in 1971, the problem essentially asks whether all problems that have solutions that can be efficiently checked with computers can also be efficiently solved with computers. Another way of asking the P versus NP problem is: If a problem’s solutions can be verified rapidly, then can the solutions be computed rapidly? There are currently problems where there is no way to arrive at a solution quickly; however, verifying the answer can be done quickly.
ANTHROPOLOGY
What Is Anthropology? Anthropology covers a wide area; however, it is essentially the study of humans in the past and in the present. Anthropology draws upon the social, physical, and biological sciences, as well as the humanities. Anthropology can be categorized into four different areas of study: physical (or biological) anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology. One main part of anthropology is to apply this knowledge of humans to be able to solve problems. Often, in order to address a complex matter such as the evolution of humans or spread of disease, anthropologists will have to combine these fields of study.
CHEROKEE
The Origins The Cherokee language is one of the Iroquoian languages, and it is the only Southern Iroquoian language that is still spoken today. The language came from the Native American people living in what is now North Carolina and northern Georgia. The language is really called Tsalagi, and the word Cherokee was actually given by the white settlers, who had learned the word from the Creek people, for whom Cherokee meant “people with another language.” Today, Cherokee is the healthiest of the Native American languages.
LESSON 35B
KOREAN WAR
Surprise Attack from North Korea By 1949, most of the U.S. military had moved out of South Korea, and the United States was afraid to provide too much weaponry, with Rhee, the leader of South Korea, often talking of attacking the North. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel and attacked South Korea, stunning the United States, who had no sort of plan ready. South Korea had very little weaponry (as a result of the U.S. withdrawal), while North Korea entered South Korea in Soviet tanks. The UN condemned the actions of North Korea, and in the United States, there was talk of sending General Douglas MacArthur to lead an attack.
EXISTENTIALISM
The Origins of Existentialism Gabriel Marcel was the first to coin the term existentialism in the mid-1940s. However, he was certainly not the first to write on the topic. Existentialist ideas can be found in the work of Henry David Thoreau, Voltaire, and even the teachings of Buddha and in William S
hakespeare’s Hamlet. Søren Kierkegaard is considered the first existentialist, and it is a major theme found in his work related to human existence and free will, but he was not well regarded in his time. In the 1920s, Martin Heidegger, influenced by Kierkegaard’s thought, worked on what he referred to as Dasein, or being.
UNSOLVED MATH PROBLEMS
Hodge Conjecture In algebraic geometry, the Hodge conjecture is an unsolved problem that deals with algebraic varieties. In the twentieth century, shapes of complicated objects were becoming more understood by the idea that one could approximate the shape and then build it with simple building blocks. Manifolds are complex shapes that can be described with equations. Algebraic cycles are when more equations are added, producing smaller shapes. Then the issue arises whether one knows if a shape can be stretched into another shape or not. Hodge’s conjecture attempts to show which algebraic cycles were equivalent to shapes on a manifold; however, it was never proven.
ANTHROPOLOGY
Physical Anthropology Physical anthropology, also known as biological anthropology, studies the biological makeup of humans and early humans, as well as how humans have adapted to their environments. In order to understand our ancestors and how humans have evolved, physical anthropologists study artifacts, primates, and the fossil record, as well as the biology and genetic makeup of people who are currently living. Physical anthropology also looks at causes of death and the spread of disease, and examines the ways in which behavior, growth, and development are shaped by cultural and biological processes.
CHEROKEE
Sequoyah If the Cherokee possessed a written language before the arrival of European settlers, it was lost in the changes wrought by Europeans from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The language itself would surely have been lost had it not been for one man, Sequoyah, who turned the language into a syllabary (and it is one of the few Native American languages with one). Having worked as a silversmith, Sequoyah learned the writing system of the white people (although he did not know the pronunciations of the letters), and the influence of the Latin alphabet can be seen in the system. Cherokee is polysynthetic, meaning that many morphemes are linked to form one word.
LESSON 35C
KOREAN WAR
Inchon Invasion North Korea had captured most of South Korea, alarming the United States. The United Nations was persuaded by the United States to support South Korea, and 300,000 UN troops (of which, 260,000 were American) went to Korea in July of 1950, led by General MacArthur. MacArthur planned an amphibious attack at the port of Inchon. The North Koreans were driven back, and South Korea was recaptured. After reclaiming South Korea, the American troops attacked North Korea, and reached as far as the Chinese border, which worried the Chinese, and they began to attack. The Chinese used “human wave tactics,” and once they were able to drive the Americans back, they recaptured North Korea and headed for South Korea. MacArthur wished to use the atomic bomb, but Truman would not have it, and instead sent more troops, which eventually drove the Chinese army back.
EXISTENTIALISM
Existentialist Literature The ideas of existentialism were not only featured in philosophical theory, but also in literature. In fact, some of the most acclaimed existentialist work is actually found in novels and plays. Existentialist literature focused on attempting to find meaning and make sense of a world that was filled with chaos. As a result, existentialist literature often featured themes such as absurdism, alienation, and isolation.
UNSOLVED MATH PROBLEMS
Riemann Hypothesis The Riemann hypothesis deals with the Riemann zeta function, a complex function that deals with complex numbers (i). For the Riemann zeta function, a zero of a function is not as simple as a function like f(a + bi) = 0. Instead, there are two types of zeros: trivial and nontrivial. Trivial zeros occur at even integers that are negative, and the nontrivial zeros appear at anything other than those, and at ½ + bi. The Riemann hypothesis suggests that all nontrivial zeros are like that, but no one has been able to prove this is the case.
ANTHROPOLOGY
Cultural Anthropology Cultural anthropology focuses on people living today. Cultural anthropologists look at practices and patterns across cultures, especially in regard to how groups of people govern and organize themselves. An important part of cultural anthropology is that it examines the similarities and differences among societies with topics such as race, class, sexuality, and nationality. One distinction between cultural anthropology and the other types of anthropology is that researchers usually have the chance to participate and get hands-on experience, while dealing with very real topics such as ecology, health, education, the environment, development, social change, and agriculture.
CHEROKEE
The Writing System The syllabary that Sequoyah introduced is still in use to this day. The syllabary features a total of eighty-five characters, some of which are based (in shape only) on the Latin alphabet, and is read from left to right, horizontally. Sequoyah had been introduced to English, Greek, and Hebrew letters without any knowledge of how to read them. Within a time period of just a year since the introduction of the writing system, 90 percent of the Cherokee people could read and write. Each symbol in the syllabary is representative of a syllable, not a phoneme.
LESSON 35D
KOREAN WAR
Dismissal of MacArthur Without telling anyone else, General MacArthur sent an ultimatum to China to withdraw their troops or he would attack. When Truman found out about MacArthur’s actions, he was outraged and knew he had to fire MacArthur. Truman waited, however, and when Congress approved NATO, Truman needed to find another reason. News spread that MacArthur wanted to go against Truman’s policies and use the Chinese Nationalist Forces to anger the People’s Republic of China. When a congressman read MacArthur’s plan before Congress, Truman began to discuss dismissing MacArthur. General MacArthur was fired on April 11, 1951.
EXISTENTIALISM
Fyodor Dostoyevsky One of the most important existentialist novelists was the Russian essayist and novelist, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who lived from 1821 to 1881. Dostoyevsky is perhaps best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Idiot. Dostoyevsky’s most important work relating to existentialism, however, was his Notes from the Underground. His work focused on the problem of freedom. To Dostoyevsky, man was limited by everything, including society, the economy, the church, and God. Though Dostoyevsky had extreme political and social views, he was a devout Christian.
UNSOLVED MATH PROBLEMS
Yang-Mills Existence and Mass Gap Physicists have been able to unify three out of the four fundamental forces (electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong force). Chen Ning Yang and Robert Mills came up with a theory in which they suggested that strong and weak nuclear forces could be illustrated with action functionals that had more complex, non-Albelian symmetry groups. Though their theory is successful, no one is able to make any logical sense of why it works.
ANTHROPOLOGY
Linguistic Anthropology Linguistic anthropology is the study of languages, and more specifically, how language influences and mirrors social life and culture. Linguistic anthropology examines the role language has in establishing ideologies, belief systems, and social identities, as well as creating communication patterns and cultural representations of one’s social and natural world. To study linguistic anthropology, one must take on an active role, performing interviews, and observing the use of language.
CHEROKEE
Dialects There were originally three major dialects found in the Cherokee language: the Lower dialect, the Middle dialect (known as the Kituhwa or Giduwa dialect), and the Western dialect (also known as the Overhill or Otali dialect). In 1900, the Lower dialect became extinct. The Middle dialect spoken by the Eastern band is currently the closest dialect to the original Cherokee language. The Otali dialect is the most different, containing pronunciation differences and words adopted from English.
LESSON 35E
KOREA
N WAR
End of the “Accordion War” Following the dismissal of MacArthur, Matthew Ridgway controlled the U.S. effort. On April 22, 1951, the Chinese attempted to recapture Seoul, but failed. Following another failed attack, the United States believed a counterattack would be successful. By May 30, the UN/US/ROK forces were back at the 38th parallel, and both sides were at a stalemate. Truman began to push for an end to the war, and the United States contacted the Soviet Union, which was willing to negotiate. Peace talks began on July 8.
EXISTENTIALISM
Søren Kierkegaard Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher who lived from 1813 to 1855 and is one of the founders of existentialism, though much of his work was based on his faith in God. His book Fear and Trembling is key to the origins of existentialism. Kierkegaard attempted to understand Abraham’s anxiety when God told him he had to kill Isaac, his only son, to show his faith. To understand this, Kierkegaard creates the “Knight of Faith” and the “Tragic Hero.” To Kierkegaard, the Tragic Hero commits acts within social or ethical codes, which Abraham, Kierkegaard claimed, did not do. Instead, Abraham was a Knight of Faith who knew killing his son was wrong, but if he didn’t do it, he would be going against God. Ethics now turns into temptation, and the Knight of Faith shows that faith is a reason to rise above ethics.