Skepticism Drives Progress

Skepticism of developing knowledge institutions, while frustrating for those seeking immediate change, ensures overall improvement in the system. We are continually working towards superior knowledge systems. However, every knowledge institution is flawed and will be until there are perfect humans.

Preliminary Post for the Salon (speaking of which...I could use a haircut)

This is an un-edited, first thing that comes to mind type post. I tried to include specific examples in order for it to be more useful in our class salon setting. 

Unit 1 – Folk Knowledge

Self-Directed Learning: I started out by examining the ways in which folk knowledge had shaped some of my views (Sweden post). In deciding what I’d research for my next topic, I stuck with something that always interested me, which made for a more interesting post about tribal tattoos. In my quest for self-directed learning, I found the most productive way to do so was to relate topics to things you already enjoy or are passionate about. This led to my comment in the interview assessment about my bike epiphany.

Others’ Blogging: I enjoyed reading the other people talking about their learning from an expert experiences. I also various personalities began to emerge within our group’s blog.

Collaborative Learning: Best experience was this came immediately after my first blog post. Somebody in the group challenged one of the assertions I made in my post. Upon reading the comment, I realized that I didn’t believe a good amount of what I had just posted. The simple challenge of a group member made me realize that I had just been spewing boring stuff to make a necessary post. From then on I began to think more critically about my claims.

Projects/Activities: Teaching as an expert, learning from an expert. Many interesting aspects to these activities. I asserted that there was a tactile part of this experience that can not be imitated by other forms of knowledge transfer (digital, print, or otherwise). I also began a theme that would continue throughout the class when I said…”I don't necessarily think that anything is being lost when Matt develops his own techniques. Rather, the skill of omelet making is being refined and is given a unique personality. Should we mourn the loss of one specific way of making an omelet? I don't think we should, as long as the greater art still exists. We can celebrate variety.”

It's a process, and I'm a little rusty.

I was "blessed" with the opportunity to write many essays in my AP Literature class last year. I developed a process for writing that was effective, and allowed me to showcase my strengths. Due to the nature of my classes this semester, believe it or not, but this is actually my first assigned college paper. Consequently, I struggled to get moving.

I realized that I knew very little useful information about my topic that I could make an argument about. I spent some good time perusing the books I had collected as sources, and eventually came up with this loose concept for an argument...

"The economic dominance of the bookseller in early British book trade is responsible for the preservation of many important works, copyright laws, and the legitimacy of authorship." 

After consulting Professor Burton, and his helpful thesis website, I revised it into this concrete thesis that an educated reader could argue for or against. 

"Factors influencing the scope and significance of the British book trade were many; yet, no factor was as important as the role of the early British bookseller. The economic dominance of the bookseller was responsible for preserving many important works, lending legitimacy to authorship, and necessitating copyright laws."

I feel as though this thesis provides a solid base that will keep me on track for the remainder of the paper. Any thoughts and/or suggestions?

Impressions from the Skousen Book Presentation

Many of the books that Royal Skousen showed us, and a lot of the books I have seen in class, are extremely artistic in nature. Whether it’s the illumination, rubricating, illustration or intricate book covers, there have always been artistic elements present. It was interesting to me to start to think of publishing itself as an art. When he started telling us his personal preferences in paper, binding, and other publishing techniques, it opened my eyes to things that I have noticed, but never gave much attention to. I decided to analyze the book that I most recently finished reading, Inheritance by Christopher Paolini.

Mouse Trap Effect: This bothers me beyond belief when I’m trying to read a novel. Now that it has been given a name, I know exactly what I’m complaining about. Inheritance does not suffer from this affliction. The binding is sufficiently loose to allow the pages to fall open.

The Early British Book Trade (bibliography)

          Of the topics listed by Professor Burton, the workings of the book trade fascinated me. I had already blogged a little bit about how I thought that writing and publishing must have seriously influenced the economic processes of the day. My research ended up focusing on the effects of these things in early Britain. It was interesting to me to see how the sources I found all seemed to end up pointing toward the same general line of research. This was illuminated particularly when I found a book that listed one or two of my previous sources in its own bibliography. Another helpful insight I gained was the value of this kind of research. As a new kid on the researching scene, my previous experience has been limited to google searches. This project opened my eyes to the different tools at my disposal for research. So without further ado, here is my annotated bibliography.

King James Response: Alex

I’m glad our group decided to visit the King James exhibit early on in this unit. The things I explored at the exhibit played right into some of the things I have been thinking about and researching as part of our Rosetta Stone project and in class the last couple times.

I was unsure about the Library’s policy concerning pictures, recordings, and what have you in the exhibit so I thought it best to err on the side of caution. These pictures are just images obtained online.

The Latin Vulgate

King James Bible

First, issues of translation crop up immediately. The whole story of the King James Bible is based on translation. Each translation of the bible occurred as part of an attempt to get the most correct version. However, those in charge of each current bible strongly resisted efforts for new translations. They worried that their authority would diminish with new versions of the bible, and that legitimacy would decrease as a result in the variations in text.

I spent most of my time in the exhibit fascinated by the competing bibles, and the lengths people would go to see the bibles printed, or banned. I also started wondering at the cause of the various versions and translations. I had always given more credence to the fact that the “evil designs of men” were responsible for many of the plain and precious parts of the bible being taken out. However, as I came to experience in our group project, I believe that many of the translation issues could easily have stem simply from the process itself. It’s extremely complicated!

I also really enjoyed a line of conversation that came up in class last time. Somebody mentioned that when a religious text is changed, it raises serious questions about its legitimacy. Then somebody else brought up the fact that in our LDS scriptural cannon, the Joseph Smith Translation is incorporated mainly in the footnotes of our King James Bible, and is not overly advertised. I believe that Christians not of Mormon faith would feel like they had even less in common with us if we began publishing the “Joseph Smith Bible”. The LDS church is sensitive to this, and while not ashamed of the fact that we have a more correct version of the Bible, we celebrate the efforts of the King James Bible.

I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit. I recommend allotting at least 25 minutes to go through and read everything, enjoy the artwork, and play around with the interactive display. I'm planning on going back to review one of the stations more thoroughly, and then I'll ad on to this post when I've done that. 

Rosetta Stone Response Part 2

Our group was responsible for translating Chinese characters into English, and then into a form of Cuneiform.

Translating the Chinese characters was quite simple. Chinese has changed relatively little in the centuries it has been around. Thus, a message written in Chinese antiquity was easily translated by some very helpful Chinese students here at BYU.

Translating our now English phrase into Acadian or Sumerian was much more difficult. We had to consult the very helpful Professor Stratford, as well as some online resources and a book he loaned us. We came across a few different ways of going about the translation, but eventually we settled on one that worked.

One thing that was interesting to me was the process of simplification and clarification that we went through. The original literal Chinese messages read something like “If you have the strong will to do something, you will have success" and "You have the advantage if you move first." We immediately recognized the first one as being very close to an English saying: when there’s a will there’s a way. We left the other one pretty much as is. We then had to make these phrases, or these ideas, work for our new script. We came up with symbols that most closely represented the idea, rather than take the symbols for each English letter and write it out that way. This was much more efficient, and probably more representative of the way an ancient Mesopotamian would write.

This project forced me to confront some issues of translation that I had already been thinking about for a few years. Our translation was probably not perfect, but the exercise was immensely enlightening. It was a great way to wrap up everything I have learned and blogged about in this Written Knowledge unit.

First Response to Rosetta Project

As a group we were struggling to come up with an appropriate message to write on our clay tablet. I had to start thinking critically about linguistic issues that arose, and I was ever so glad when our group decided to consult with an expert. It worked so beautifully for my oral interview, and we actually ended up consulting with the same Professor that I interviewed.

However, as intriguing as some of those linguistic concepts were, most of my musings came along with the assignment I was designated for the group effort. It was my job to procure the clay. The current frigid conditions discouraged me from attempting to dig for clay, not to mention BYU grounds crew might be a little upset. Also, the clay I might find would be far from the quality we wanted for this project. So I got in my car and ventured forth to find myself some clay. Michaels, here I come. A quick question to a friendly employee and 13 dollars later, I had myself some high quality, air hardened clay.

But through what process acquired clay in early Mesopotamia? I have thought about this question a lot in the last two days. It is possible that every time somebody needed a tablet that they just went outside, dug up some clay, mixed it up, and made a tablet. However, in a business driven society such as the Sumerians, I figure that there were probably merchants that made their living as clay/tablet suppliers.

Writing, books, printing, and all the associated processes can have major economic ripples. Thinking about the modern process of printing a book was illuminating. Books are made out of paper. Paper is made in a mill, which employs many workers. Paper is made of wood, which is logged by other companies, which also employs many workers. Other companies make their tools. Authors write books. They use commercial products such as computers, word processing software, pens, and pencils. Editors, publishing houses, promoters, bookstores, online retailers, and Oprah all get into the mix. While some of these things could only happen today, many of these things were applicable as early as there has been writing.

The economic effects of Written and Printed Knowledge are far-reaching and impressive. I’d be interested to talk to my Econ professor more about this next semester. 

Woodblock Printing

For about a month now, my posts have been focused on the Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians are celebrated as having developed the first writing system. So, thankfully, this has given me a wealth of information to work with in our Written Knowledge unit.

            As we are transitioning to talking about printing, I felt a little bit uncomfortable as I suddenly lacked direction in my research. However, I decided to try and find out anything I could about printing in its earliest stages. I stumbled upon the process called “Woodblock Printing”. This method emerged in China in about the year 200 and was used widely in East Asia as a method for printing on textiles, and later, paper.

            A woodblock can best be described as a type of primitive stamp. The white parts, or what you don’t want to be printed, are cut away. This leaves a design at a higher level, which is subsequently inked and then pressed onto a cloth, or whatever material is chosen. However, sometimes instead of stamping, they would use a rubbing method. In this case, the block is placed face up on a table or similar surface. The cloth, or paper in later times, is then placed on top of the block and “the back of the block is rubbed with a "hard pad, a flat piece of wood, a burnisher, or a leather frotton” (source). The process was arduous. Each block had to be hand cut, and there was no “press” available for use at the time.

A more artistic wood block

Please Sign Here x_________________________

In my research of Mesopotamia, I haven noticed particular emphasis on business and law. The cuneiform writing system was heavily utilized in business and trade, and was an essential part of the Sumerian legal system. I learned in the presentation at the HBLL that even some of the smallest business dealings were recorded on the clay tablets. I talked extensively in a previous post about the way a written code or law developed in Mesopotamia almost as soon as a written system had developed.

It seemed to me that a society that was heavy on business and law would naturally develop a form of written contract. And, turns out, I was correct. This source puts the first written contracts as having originated in early Mesopotamian civilization.

Miscellaneous Mesopotamia

While Sumerians wrote many things down, I couldn’t find anything to suggest that there have been journals, personal narratives, or philosophical musings recovered from this very early civilization. This suggests to me that writing was utilized at first in this society for necessities, and only be those wealthy and educated. This video, apparently from the Discovery Channel, addresses a lot of very interesting things about Sumerians and writing. It’s worth watching!

If Discovery Channel can be trusted, the stylus is actually a convenient and effective writing instrument. It has the necessary sharpness to be accurate in the soft clay, and is commonly and cheaply available. 

And this video just kind of caught my eye…

Changed My Mind

I had previously stated that the Sumerians must have done some serious prioritization about what they wrote since writing was clumsy and time consuming. However, last class period changed my mind. The lecture illuminated the fact that they kept detailed records of all their business transactions, and the tablet she showed us was small and intricate. This makes it seem like writing actually wasn't the obnoxious process I was making it sound like. So it looks to me like my theory falls short. This leaves me with the question, why then did they write down some things, and not other things seemingly so well-suited to recording?

Laying Down the Law

When found in 1901, Hammurabi’s code was celebrated as the earliest set of written laws. We now know that the Sumerians are responsible for the first set of written codes or laws. Known as the code of Ur-Nammu, these laws are very interesting to examine. They connect us with the Sumerians by illuminating common societal problems and humanizing an extinct civilization.

The code

Ur-Nammu

1. If a man commits a murder, that man must be killed.


2. If a man commits a robbery, he will be killed.


3. If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.


4. If a slave marries a slave, and that slave is set free, he does not leave the household.


5. If a slave marries a native (i.e. free) person, he/she is to hand the firstborn son over to his owner.


6. If a man violates the right of another and deflowers the virgin wife of a young man, they shall kill that male.


7. If the wife of a man followed after another man and he slept with her, they shall slay that woman, but that male shall be set free. 


8. If a man proceeded by force, and deflowered the virgin slavewoman of another man, that man must pay five shekels of silver. 


9. If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall pay her one mina of silver. 


10. If it is a (former) widow whom he divorces, he shall pay her half a mina of silver. 


Class Recitation of King Benjamin's Speech

Great job group 1, and great job class! This was a really cool experience, once we overcame intense levels of anxiety and stress.

Writing and Education

           We have thoroughly explored the idea that writing is necessary for the preservation of knowledge, particularly oral knowledge. Our group focus of language provided ample examples of knowledge dying out due to the lack of proper documentation or preservation thereof.

            Class discussions have enlightened us on various oral-learning techniques that have appeared throughout history. “Miss Karen” (Professor Burton's talented wife) showed us an effective teaching technique called choral responding, and Professor Burton taught us about the methods of Ancient Greek Education including the Socratic method.

Memorization My Dears

Interesting technique...just thought I'd share.

Early Mesopotamia and Sumerian Language Interview

The following transcription is an abridgement of the interview I conducted with instructor Ed Stratford whose area of expertise is Ancient Near East studies. Stratford earned his B.A. at Brigham Young University in 2000, his M.A. at the University of Chicago in 2002, and his Ph.D. also at the University of Chicago in 2010.

I read on an online article that another researcher wrote, that Sumerians essentially taught themselves how to speak or invented an oral language system for their civilization. Is that a valid statement?

Well, taught themselves how to speak is a pretty strong claim…it’s probably too extensive a claim. On the other hand, as far as written language goes, somebody like Glassner who is a French scholar, he argues that between about or around 3500 BC the Sumerians, or some group of Sumerians, absolutely invent writing as a dramatic revolution in communication. Not every scholar agrees with that, some would like to see it as a slow accumulation of written tokens that come together and then finally start working together as a system….that’s harder to defend than a sudden revolution, an invention. I think that’s a reasonable stance…But as far as speaking, I can’t agree with that.

The Super Fresh Gilgamesh (and other Sumerian musings)

Oral knowledge plays an important role in every culture. What made dealing with the Mesopotamians especially interesting for me is that, according to this researcher, it is believed that the early Mesopotamians literally invented oral knowledge and the concept of writing (which we’ll deal with in a future unit). “The words of proto-Sumerian are fundamentally different from those of proto-Indo-European. However, because the proto-Sumerians appear to be unique in having started with vowel-only words, they have a good claim not just to having invented a complete spoken symbol system, but to having originated the concept of such a system. Non-speaking populations could have invented their own systems once they had been exposed to the concept of speech (this is not to deny that multiple populations could have invented the concept of speech independently, cf., the use of clicks in Africa). A good parallel example is how the Sumerian invention of the concept of writing appears to have inspired the creation of very different forms of writing in Pre-Dynastic Egypt and the Indus civilization of Pakistan and India.” The newfound ability to verbally communicate a common language facilitated the expansion of shared knowledge.

Ancient Sumer was first settled in about 4500 to 4000 B.C. Widely considered to be the first real civilization, it’s what I learned about first in my World History course during high school (and thus saith Mr. Holmes).

Once they had developed the concept of speech, some of the very first orally transmitted subjects were creation and flood myths/legends. These stories were spread throughout the region, and many other similar stories proliferated. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a text comprised of seven cuneiform tablets, the writing system of the Sumerians. Each tablet deals with these various parts of the legend:

Wait...are you for real?

This week is, as previously mentioned in this blog, a transition week from folk knowledge to oral knowledge. As I started contemplating what I wanted my post to focus on, I stumbled upon a subject that blurs the lines and incorporates some of both. Urban legends are fascinating in how they get started, why they are accepted, and how they maintain relevance.

            An urban legend is a term I use broadly. It can apply to many specific groups such as a culture, religion (Mormon myths), a region and even an individual family. Myths and legends have been an important part of history for as long as we have had oral or written history. The most commonly known are those from Greek mythology. Native Americans told many legends as well, such as how Gluskabe changes maple syrup. Some are more universal, such as that of the lost city of Atlantis (has it been found?).

In modern times, usually the legend is founded in some truth, and then stretched to conform to a more exciting version of reality for somebody. I can just see it now…a young man trying to impress a pretty girl…a father trying to spice up the story he’s telling to his kids…a sly prankster hoping for a good laugh to himself…there are an infinite amount of ways and reasons these things get started.

Shootin' Some Serious Hoop

I wouldn’t consider myself to be a basketball expert, but I’ve spent many hours developing a very respectable jump shot. I had previously played a casual game of H.O.R.S.E. with my friend Jenna, and decided I could help her learn a little bit more about shooting some hoop.

The jump shot is critical to a basketball player’s skillset. Much argument can be had about what is a “proper” jump shot. Practically since Dr. Naismith invented the game in 1891 there have emerged instructional videos, camps run by people like Jimmer, and even instructional books dedicated to teaching this art. I learned in a way more consistent with folk knowledge. My dad taught me as I shot baskets in the driveway nearly every evening before dinner.