Welcome to 8th grade! Over the summer, the 8th grade teachers want you to read the book, Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. Please make sure that you read this book near the end of the summer so you will remember all its wonderful detail. Ms. Miller, Ms. Garner, and I are looking forward to working with all of you this fall.
Have a terrific summer!
posted by Jan Yourist at 4:57 AM
33 Comments:
SO... Lies and truths. Hmmm....
Well, it's pretty amazing how false dictionaries are. I knew that most maps were in some way distorted, because it's almost impossible to keep them exact without using a globe, but the dictionary thing really surprised me.
Amy F.
I thought it was really interesting about the not-words in dictionaries. I'll never trust one again...
And I never knew that incorrect maps were distributed to schools where there are impressionable children who will think they're true!
The truth is out there. Somewhere.
Giorgi P.G.
Although I agree that the maps were very distorted and that the dictionaries may have had false words and definitions, but that is not a very good reason not to trust them at all. You can still use them and still understand that they may have faults. Also, there is no way to have a perfect map projected onto a flat surface so sometimes it is simply a choice of which one you think is most accurate.
What I thought was the most interesting was the fact Upfront knew there map was inaccurate and still sent it out to thousands of schools around the US.
<3
I understand why the dictionary companies choose to use false words in their dictionaries for security reasons, but they are also giving the impression to some people that some words exist, that really don't. I don't believe that this is fair to the public, but I see their point for creating the false words.
I had never seen a map with the US in the center before today. I thought that was really odd, especially because the equator wasn't even in the center of some of the maps. I also can't believe that supposedly truthful companies were distributing the biased maps to schools with young children; especially the ones with two Indias and extremely distorted sizes on many contries and continents. The worst thing about the map companies is that the Upfront map knew about the problem, but continued to give it out.
Elizabeth M.
I personally think that the maps are okay. If it helps boats thats fine. However for us non-nauticle folks, I cannot see why we don't use the maps with the cuts in them that are acurate. The dictionary thing is pretty cool. I understand the reasoning behind it however and don't perticularly regard it as a bad thing. Also guess what I found. A New Yorker magazine article that leaks the secret word (or in this case article) of the 1975 edition of the New Columbia Encyclopedia! What the heck?
I was surprised by the way all the maps seem to make their country look big and in the middle of everything. I dont think the problem is when people put their country in the middle of the map, I think the problem is when they make the other countrys bigger then they really are. I was also surprised about the dictionaries and the way they put fake words in them to make sure they are not plagiarized.
(Jeremy A)
I found it slightly strange how the dictionary has those "secret words". It would probably take any competent programmer in Java to find them out in a half-hour!
My two cents: map projections are just a stupid idea. Why not simply show a 3D rendering of the earth? Nowadays, we can render/generate pretty much anything on a computer, so why not take advantage of that?
Well... I learned that there were two Indias... Just kidding. In the story we read first, i felt that none of the people that wrote them, or dictated for them, were lying. I felt as if they were telling the truth that they saw, that they experienced. The fake dictionary words were just sooo halarious. I thought that it was cleaver, but it didn't mean that you had to stop trusting the dictionary. Just do it with causion, knowing that it might not be right word for word, well it might be to the person that wrote it, but it doesn't have to be for you. And lastly, the maps. I LOVED the example with the west wing. I've been watching that show for... well just about for ever, even before i understood what was even going on. The little clip was terribly funny, but when I think that even grown adults don't know that Greenland was smaller then Africa, it just makes me cringe.
All around, the world is full of lies, but that doesn't mean that its okay to have them there.
Leslie S.
those maps are crazy i never thought some people would distort maps that way, i mean i thought distortion of maps was like changing colors
-maor g.g.
Even though many maps are inaccurate, I disagree with Jeremy's proposal to simply use computer maps for everything. I feel that inaccurate maps prove a point that we all need to learn in life. Don't believe everything you see, even if the source seems unbiased. After all, everyone makes mistakes, whether on purpose or not.
Josh
I researched different types of maps and I found one that looks okay, if a bit distorted. It's called the Winkel Tripel projection, proposed by Oswald Winkel in 1921. It looks very similar to the Robinson projection, but less distorted. It's currently the standard map for National Geographic.
And yes, Greenland is about the right size.
-Alice F.
I think that it is stupid to use maps that where made for mostly sailor in school. The thing about the dictionaries isn't a reason to not trust them at all. Although they may have secret words with false definitions, most of the words are real and have real definitions.
I thought today's discussion was really interesting. I think it is kind of cool but weird that every dictionary has 1 or more fake words in it! That is so cool! When people look in the dictionary they think all the words are true and were written by big professionals, when some are really just made up words to sue people. I also thought the whole maps thing was really amazing! I never knew all of that stuff about geography and cartography. I would have never thought that they made the continents to big and to small, and that everyone has been learning the wrong thing. Before we did the lesson my picture of the world was just a big U.S.A in the middle and "places" everywhere else. What we were taught in class really helped me and I am glad we learned it!!
Aasha H.
6/7th period
I think that selling false maps to schools and teachers across America is wrong because it teaches a false sense of what the world looks like. If you were going to give out maps like that, I would at least give out the Peters Map, wwhich is, somewhat, accurate in the size and spacing of things. I admitt there is no such thing as perfect, but you should teach with something that is as close as you can get. As for false words in dictionaries, there is no reason not to rely on them because of one or two false definitions. If it was a continuous pattern, though, of false deffinitions, then htere are less falso dictionaries in the world.
Jessica H.
Very interesting lesson today
I knever knew that dictionaries had false words in them, I also would have never guesed that the dictionary companies use false words as proofs for piracy. I already knew that the Mercader prejections that evrybody thinks of the world were wrong, but it still is amazing that most people think that Greenland is the size of Africa and I agree with those guys in the West Wing and i think that we should swich to the Peters prejection. I thught that today was a very good lesson over all.
I think it's interesting that so many of us go through life with the same image of a distorted map of the world. For example, when we watched the segment of West Wing, it was clear that both Josh and C.J. were baffeled to discover the Africa was so much bigger than Greenland. This proves that most people, even people working for the President of the United States don't really know the accurate proportions of the countries of the world simply because they were brought up with disproportional maps that we still use today.
i thought that it was very cleaver how the people who write dictionaries make up words to ensre that nobody is copying their dictionary. And even though some maps may be a little distorted, i think that they are still reliable becuase you get the general idea about were the countries are and what they look like. Also it is very difficult to try to draw something three dementional on something that is two demential without having the maps being a little distorted. So overall, i still think that dictionaries and maps are reliable sources,that you can use knowing that they have some faults.
Katherine G.
First of all, I thought the idea of using maps and dictionaries in a discussion about truth was a really cool idea. These are two things that we take for granted as being truths, and then we find out that there are some falsities to them makes you question your own personal idea of what a truth is.
I thought the West Wing clip was interesting too, and not just because I love that show. I have always gone to Lab and before about 5th grade we always used globes. After that we leaned about all the different projections and the pros and con of each of them. Seeing these grown-up supposedly intelligent and affluent people so surprised at the smallness of Greenland really struck me. I personally do not really think about the size of Greenland very often, it is just not something that comes up very often, but when I do, I know that it is a relatively small country. Seeing this clip made me realize how so many Americans view the world, and Greenland specifically. I understand that know projection can be perfect, but I think an idea to fix the problem of biased maps might be to attach a sort of explanation in the corner that reads something like, " Countries may be larger or small then they appear."
Grace B
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I was very fascinated about the map lesson, about how maps are created in the favor of the maker of the map, and not what is accurate. I also found the made up words interesting. I find that a sneaky way of getting money, but were not all perfect.
so... today we learned that sometimes, even the most trustworthy sources lie to us. Like Rand McNally, the map company, they have been producing maps for however many years. Although, it has recently become more and more widespread, that the Mercator Projection is severely out of proportion, they still continue to produce it, knowing that their incorrect maps, are distributed to countless amounts of people each day.What is especially sad, is that small children who take in everything they see, will believe that the world is sculpted around America as the center, that there are 2 Indias, and that Greenland is as big as Africa.
I'd never thought of false words being in dictionaries before. It's also clever to put false words in dictionaries to check for plagiarism, but it makes things a lot more difficult for customers. Personally, I'd rather have only real words in dictionaries.
Also, the discussion about map projections was interesting. I know about projections and know that Greenland looks a lot bigger than it really is, but the other size relationships were interesting. I haven't seen many maps as distorted as the ones I saw Tuesday, with N America in the center and Alaska 3 times larger than Mexico. The map with the two Indias was a little odd. I think that the Peters projection is a less culturally biased way of drawing maps, even if the shapes of countries and continents are changed (this might not be the best map for geographical teachings, but then I don't know what would be). This second class was fun, and I hope to have a fun year!
Charlie J.
I think that using a false word is a very imaginative way to prevent plagiarized work. I also thought the Upfront was ok. The most interesting article, I thought, was the Supreme court one. I find it funny what some people sue over such as the prayers before football games. I also thought the cover was very badly photoshopped.
I always knew about the different types of maps and where the different continents were in relation to the map. However, I have never really thought what this meant concerning who made the map. I think this is interesting because of what it reveals about bias. Because of this, I prefer 3D globes to any flat maps because everything’s more equal. Still though, where is the top of the Earth?
Concerning the false words in the dictionaries, I understand how these words could be used to see if someone copied the dictionary. However, wouldn't the person who inserted the false words into the dictionary be worried about getting into some legal trouble for providing false information on a widely publicized source?
I had definitely seen the Mercator's Map earlier than today, but I hadn't known that the equator on the map was lower than in real life. It didn't infuriate me, but I thought it wasn't the best idea in the world for a map, it just put things out of proportion. I thought it was funny how the clip of West Wing showed a woman who had no idea that Greenland was smaller than Africa etc. How dictionaries all have at least one false word just to make sure nobody copies them is kind of like messing up your bed, you'll have to explain someday, to someone why you put it in there (or why you didn't make your bed).
Shannon V
It doesn't surprise me that America projects itself as the most dominant because America has done that sooooooooooo many times already.
It's bad that the dictionary authors use false words because it defeats the whole point of a dictionary.
-Tommy Wile
false dictionaries are pretty smart and I completely agree with Josh that what ever lawyer made that up should get paid. I always love maps and how the countries but inaccuracies in size don't concern me because no one likes Greenland anyway and we all know it's not as big as China...
Benny W.
Use a globe, I mean OK, they take up space and you can't roll 'em up. If you really need to look at a world map, use the globe.
Like, HOW many words are in a dictionary! if just a few words are false it's not like you're ever going to look it up because it won't be in any book.
I was actually impressed by the legal gimmick used by dictionary companies; whatever lawyer thought that up deserves his pay. I can't think of any way it would actually harm the customer, despite what many people have said. A dictionary is used as a reference device, and unless (by some twisted fate) one is directly looking for the listed, fabled word word, I would assume it wouldn't simply find its way into the language. We seem to need constant advertisement to push us to consume, so I find it simply unlikely that an American would happen upon some obscure, made-up word *once* and begin to use it enough to rub off on his/her peers. But I digress.
I wasn't terribly surprised by the Mercator projections. The projection was, after all, intended for the purpose of ease of navigation, and it's generally good in that area. I was mainly surprised by the blatant implications behind the placing of North America in the center of the map, but I suppose that in the end these maps are designed for American classrooms, and we as a whole prefer to see our country in the center (of course). It's not politically (or physically, for that matter) correct, but it's what most Americans want to see. That withstanding, it is a little ridiculous that we still haven't switched. What we want subconsciously and what's really *correct* are two entirely different things, with two entirely different priority levels.
I think that it is really weird how maps are different then the real world. It is like we look at lies all our lifes and everyone who is suppose to teach us just lies and even though they know better they don't take the maps down.
I think that what is happening in Gina is terrible. What kind of people hang nouses from a tree? There is obviosly a strong amount of racism in this small town. I think that somebody needs to do somehing about this considering how bad things are going down there. People should treat each other better.
First off, I'm just disturbed and upset about this whole story. I know that there is still racism in the world, but I still just hate hearing about these kinds of stories. It is truly sad that in reality that some people are so blinded by their cultural baggage, that they can't see what is so horrible about this incedent. I feel awful for Mychal Bell, and the rest of the Jena6. Mychal Bell is still convicted, even thought all of his charges have been dropped, I feel horrible for him, and that he was even convicted in the first place.
Leslie S.
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