Thursday, September 5, 2013
What in the World?
Let's take a look around. For 8 am on Tuesday 9/17, please look through the maps here. Once you've worked your way through them, choose three and do some thinking and writing about the perspective that each presents, how it relates to you, and what insight it has to offer you. What surprised you? How did it change your thinking? What did it reveal to you about your perspective that you perhaps hadn't considered? Come to class prepared to discuss your and others' responses.
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23. If the World’s Population Lived in One City
ReplyDeleteI find this map is really surprising. One of the most hotly discussed problem in the world is over-population. As a Chinese, I live in the most populated city, Shanghai. I always feel the city is so crowded that it is really easy to step on somebody’s toes when taking buses and subways. Actually, since last century, China has introduced a policy which only allowed every couple to bear one child or the parent will have to pay extra money or lose their jobs. Thus, normal Chinese always believe that there are way too many people in the country.
This map overturned most people’s belief especially Chinese’s. The earth is larger than people think. On the other hand, another question is raised that why earth has such massive land, human still struggling with lack of resources. I think the reason is that people still need to work on sharing. In Utopia, sharing among people is the core of the settlement. There is a lot things need to be improved and changed in the real world to achieve the superb state.
From this map and the problem I see, I realize that there are a lot problems lying behind one problem.
32. Map of Contiguous United States Overlaid on the Moon
When thinking of moon, my first impression is the long distance and its mystery. As human stepped on moon, moon’s mystery in people’s mind diminished. This picture shows how small the moon is. The size of the whole surface of moon is about the same size as two American territory. This is the first time that I get a direct sense of how big the moon is. It is much smaller than I used to think.
The moon reminds me of things such as a person and a goal that are distant. I only know a little about them at the beginning. Wanting to know more about them, I will start to imagine how they may be like. A lot of the imagination just lead me to a totally wrong place. As for now, I have only been a junior for one week. I just start my journey as an IB student. The pressure in my eyes is like the moon in ancient people’s eyes. Time and experience will prove everything. Thus, it is wise to wait for the truth to come out by itself and stop conjecturing unreal information.
39. Map of Europe Showing Literal Chinese Translations for Country Names
This map is hilarious. I tried to translate them back to Chinese and that is really hard. Language plays a really important role in knowledge. It is magic that how human developed language. Different regions have their own and now, the boundaries between languages no longer exist. This map fully shows the great difference between Chinese and English. Locating in different continents, China and English-speaking countries are so different. However, there are more and more people speak both language. I am so amazed that human are making impossible things possible. The country names in the map are like the barriers between extremely different things. Once having overcome the hinders, relationship between them would quickly be built up.
3. The only 22 countries in the World Britain has not Invaded
ReplyDeleteThis map changed my perspective on Great Britain. Although I had always know that Britain had tried to conquer the world, and that for a period of time, “the sun never set on Britain” because he had colonies all over the world, I didn’t know how close they were to actually owning the world. That period is over, and although Britain has maintained being one of the world’s super powers, it has lost many of its colonies. I haven’t thought about how much could change through time. The ancient civilizations that once strived in their golden age can only use that for tourism in the twenty-first century. What led to this change? People say that times change. But is it, which changes in time? In the modern world where cash is king, a country is considered powerful with good economy and strong military. Those who have intellect are employed by those who have money.
12. Visualizing Global Population Density
This map is surprising, because it shows the circle in which more than half of the world’s population lives. Although I have know that India is the most densely populated country in the world, I cannot imagine that the part of Asia that is within the circle has more people than the rest of the world. It also makes sense how close resource shortage is connected with over population, because world hunger is most severe in southeast Asia. Within the encircled area, are many of the world’s biggest cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai. So I wonder how many people are native born in that region, and how much of the population is taken up by emigrants. For example, I know that most of the people born in rural areas of China leave their hometowns and go to big cities to make more money. It has changed my perspective of the world by showing that the world is not as balanced population wise, as I assumed.
24. The number of Researchers per Million Inhabitants around the world
The map shows China to have a relatively small amount of researchers for a world giant. It makes me think about the role that the government plays in fostering careers such as researchers and journalists, more than that, how has education in China curbed students’ questing mind. Those who were able to finish their education with a questing mind might have moved out of the country, like many other scholars who were born in China. I think that it is due to the absence of these researchers and scholars, that China is so behind on technology. Other Asian powers, such as Japan and Singapore both have very high numbers of researchers. My perception is that most countries that are not free in politics have low numbers in researchers, because that would be one of the factors that limited intellectual minds within political borders. Another possible reason for the small number of researchers in China is that they do not like to take risks, many deem being researchers, and digging around to be risky for their lives and family, and this is closely related to the bad social conditions in China.
6. Paid Maternal Leave Around the World:
ReplyDeleteI found this map to be a bit ironic. America is one of the only countries that doesn't pay for maternal leave, yet the classic "American Dream" is centered around family. For obvious reasons, this could potentially apply to me in the future. This is a factor that must worry many to-be mothers across the country. About to have a child and not getting any pay checks would scare myself. This also changed my perspective for single, working mothers. Without payed maternal labor, it must be incredibly difficult to care for themselves and their children, especially without a husband making money. I wonder why Americans don't try to change the un-payed maternal leave, it seems to be an important issue.
16. Map of Rivers in the Contiguous United States:
I thought this map was the most amazing, particularly because of the intricate system of water throughout the United States alone. Even in areas of desert or high elevation there are still many rivers running throughout. For myself, I have lived in Idaho for 8 years. Idaho is high desert and not a lot of vegetation is present. It amazes me that even though high desert is all over Idaho, you can't necessarily tell that it is because of all the rivers. This map shows how vital water is to survival as well. Without water sources, we couldn't survive inland for very long. One connection I made while observing this picture was how similar it looks to human veins. Last summer I visited the Human Bodies Museum and one exhibit had body limbs/organs that showcased the veins making them up. Plastic was pumped into the veins and when it hardened, acid was poured over the body part, dissolving the tissue and leaving just the vein structure. It absolutely amazed me how many intricate systems hold our bodies, and our country together.
21. World Map of Vegetation on Earth:
Similarly related to the other map I enjoyed, this map shows the concentration of vegetations across the world. It's mind boggling that if you just focus on the equator, in South America the vegetation is abundant, but in Africa, it's completely dry without vegetation. I also find it interesting how in one country, take Mexico for example, the vegetation can variate from one end of the spectrum to the other. This explains why fruit and vegetables are exported hundred of thousands of miles to places incapable of growing them. I can't imagine how expensive the fruit/vegetable industry is, shipping crates across the globe. Looking at Africa as well, I now can see that almost half the country doesn't grow much food, which could explain the hunger issues present there. This map evidently also made me want to visit all the rain forests, coasts, and fertile places in the world.
I was really drawn to map number 4. The “Map of ‘Pangea’ with Current International Borders” displays the countries so close to each other, and It makes me wonder what kind of international relations we would have if Pangea existed today. Would tensions be eased because it would feel more communal? Or would the closeness become uncomfortable, forcing countries to have incredibly strong border patrols and stricter laws. So many positive things could arise, and yet so many negative things could arise. Would the closeness improve communication? Speaking of communication, would the language barrier disappear? Because the countries are so condensed, how much would we know about our surroundings? Would humans feel the need to explore? The ocean would become even more foreign, and animals would be completely changed. I’m quite torn between the way this world is set up, and how our modern world is arranged. Both arrangements have potential to be something wonderful, and disastrous. It’s really just up to Humans to decide which one. That scares me, because what choices someone makes could directly affect me and my world in the near future. However, my actions too could affect someone halfway across the world. No matter how the countries are arranged, almost everything is left in the hands of humans, and chance, and that’s wonderfully frightening.
ReplyDeleteI also really like Map number 3, “3. The Only 22 Countries in the World Britain Has Not Invaded (not shown: Sao Tome and Principe)”. There are 196 countries in the world, which means Britain has invaded 174 countries in the world. Compared to 174 countries, Britain seems incredibly miniscule. Now, you look at the countries that are still in the British Empire, and the number is drastically smaller. All of these countries have grown, rebelled, progressed, and regressed. If the British Empire still was in control of 174 countries, would some of the 3rd world countries not be 3rd world countries now? How would our life in the United States change. It just brings me back to the point that the decisions one makes can affect many people’s lives, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. You never really know until it happens.
The other map that really interested me was Map 9, Map of Time Zones in Antarctica. From my home in Massachusetts, I feel like I would have to travel a great distance to be in another time zone. From the way this map is laid out, it’s fascinating how close all those times zones are, just because you’re on top of the world. You could walk a step and be in a whole new time of day. The sunrise and sunset times are also interesting. It could be totally dark at 12pm. The whole concept of time zones completely confuses me, however I find then enthralling. This map shows them so clearly, and it really intrigues me.
3. The Only 22 Countries in the World Britain Has Not Invaded
ReplyDeleteI chose this map because I found it interesting to visualize all the countries that were once invaded by Britain. I have realized in the past, that many countries were raided by Britain, but this map gives a visual aid of how diverse the invasions were. It is clear that all around the world, in the East, West, North, and South, countries have experienced some form of infiltration by Britain. This map relates to me, as a person who is an American citizen, and as a history student because it puts history into a picture. It offers me insight on the world’s history and how powerful Britain was and maybe still is. This made me realize that despite the long distance between countries, they all have some type of similarity or common bond with one another. This made me consider the possibility that though some countries are very culturally diverse, and are ranked higher in education or financial situations, they all are similar in some manner, and that no one country is completely different or abstract.
28. Worldwide Annual Coffee Consumption Per Capita
I found this map eye-catching because I do realize that coffee is definitely major part of Americans’ lives, and I thought learning of its role in other civilians’ lives would be interesting. Though I do not personally drink coffee very often, I am constantly around people that do. Therefore, this map relates to some of the active people in my life and myself. From the map, I’ve learned that places in Europe actually consume more kilograms in a year than Americans do. Unsurprisingly I found that America is one of the places that consume the second most amounts, including places in South America too. What I found surprising was that places where coffee is mostly originated from, do not necessarily consume the same amount. In many places within the world, less than 0.8 kilograms are consumed per person in a year. From this map, I still leave with the relatively same perspective as I had when I first viewed it; Americans drink a lot of coffee, though it may not average out to be the most in the world.
34. Overall Water Risk Around the World
Though the bright colors on this map are what first caught my interest, I found its content to be more interesting. This map visually explains the countries in the world that are most vulnerable to water damage. I did not think America was as susceptible to water risks as the map shows. This relates to me, because it gives me a better understanding of the countries and what could possibly be the extent of damage in a water problem. This map made me a little nervous because water damage is a natural thing that people cannot change or avoid so I was drawn to the dark red areas that have an extremely high risk in northern Africa, Asia, and some parts of North and South America. This worries me a little also because many places seem to have medium to high risk which makes me vigilant of and attentive to water risk than I was before viewing it.
4. Map of ‘Pangea’ with Current International Borders
ReplyDeleteThis map immediately captivated my attention because it made me think about how much the world has changed since Pangea used to be. From this map we can see the unbelievable evolution of earth and how the separation of these nations has shaped cultural, linguistic, economic, and aspects of the different places on earth. This map leaves me wondering how different life would be if Pangea never separated. The current international borders would be completely different from what they are now and it is possible that none of nations themselves may have existed. Pangea could have been one big united nation and diversity would be nowhere near as drastic as it is today. Overall, this map showed me how the separation of continents and nations has really shaped the characteristics of places all over the world and if this had not happened, Earth’s history would have been extremely different.
5. McDonald’s across the world
This map was also very intriguing to me; I never realized just how much the McDonald’s brand has spread across the world. The spread of McDonald’s really interested me because in order for the brand to become this wide spread, it has broken tremendous amounts of language and cultural boundaries. It amazed me that just an average food chain could do this. This map also got me thinking about health issues across the world. The United States has the most McDonald’s outlets in the world. The US also has one of the highest obesity rates. The continent of Africa, on the other hand, has very few McDonald’s outlets in comparison to the US and also does not have much of an obesity problem. This map not only showed me how a fast food restaurant could take over the food industry all over the world, but also showed me how widespread this unhealthy fast food is and got me thinking about how this affects the world.
17. US Map of the Highest Paid Public Employees by State
This map was another one that stood out to me. When analyzing this map, I was astonished by what public jobs were being paid the most. I calculated that 80% (40 out of 50 states), have sport coaches as the highest paid public employees. I found this statistic to be fascinating, I was so surprised that in so many states, sports was put before education. In my personal opinion I believe that education is more essential than sports, so to me the fact that 80% of US states pay coaches more than teachers really bothered me. I am not trying to say that sports are not important, I love them; but from my experiences in public schools, I saw that teachers play an extremely significant and crucial role in education, so I expected them to paid the same amount, if not more that coaches.
Map 5. McDonald’s Across the World
ReplyDeleteWhen I first looked at this map I have to say, my jaw dropped. Although I knew that in the U.S. most Americans have an extremely unhealthy addiction to McDonalds (me included), I never knew that McDonalds had dominated more than half of the world. It did not surprise me one bit that the U.S was on the top with 13,381 outlets, however the other numbers did take me by surprise. With more than 500 McDonalds in Japan, Canada, Germany, UK, and China, this map clearly demonstrates how consumerism has spread globally. Meaning most people have a demand for: fast, good, and affordable. That is McDonalds. In America in particular, McDonalds has most definitely become part of our newfound culture. And this is after the release of “Super Size Me”.
It took me by surprise that me, a McDonalds addict, was not aware of the fact that in my very own town of Moscow stands the largest McDonalds in the world. In all, this map changed my perspective of the worldwide consumption of McDonalds. Prier to seeing this map I believed that outrageous numbers of McDonalds outlets were only located in the U.S.
Map 17. Us Map of the Highest Paid Public Employees by State
This map was extremely interesting. It is shocking, horrifying, and embarrassing that our highest paying public employees are football coaches. Teachers are what create who we are as students. They are part of creating future generation. They have, in my opinion, the most important job. It is unbelievable to me that a teacher isn’t even on this map. I strongly believe that public education should be Americas #1 priority. This map makes me question whether or not that can truly ever happen when football and basketball coaches are the highest-paid employees. After seeing this map y perspective of America changes drastically.
Map 22. Average Age of First Sexual Intercourse by Country.
This map really struck my interest. When looking at all of the different ages, one can have a clear understanding of each countries morals and principles. It also displays cultural differences. However, when looking at the U.S. I was very surprised. With TV shows such as “Teen Mom” and “16 and pregnant” I would have suspected that the U.S would have a lower average. This map gave me an interesting global perspective that I did not have before seeing it.
Map 17: U.S. Map of the Highest Paid Public Employees by State
ReplyDeleteThis map was particularly interesting, for it revealed an entirely new perspective on American jobs. When children are young, they often aspire to be doctors or lawyers, due to the idea that these jobs pay the best you can get. However, after looking at the map of the highest paid public employees of the state, I found that entering the sports field is potentially very rewarding. Select coaches have by far the majority of the highest paid jobs. This is interesting to think about culturally, because it goes to show that sports are such a large part of our American culture. It was also ironic to think about what the map was telling its readers. Who could have guessed the amount of money people actually pay to watch their Sunday night football?
Map 25.
Although it was a bit hard to decipher at first, this Worldwide Map of Oil Import and Export Flows helps to visualize the complexity of world oil trade. With usage at a peak, it is unfortunate to see that my own country receives the first prize for draining the world of its fossil fuels. The map shows eight arrows indicating oil imports to the U.S, while other countries or continents have merely a fraction of this amount. One could argue that other regions such as the Middle East have more natural resources. However, when looking at Europe, it imports very little, while also obtaining very little naturally themselves.
Bonus map.
The World Map Tattoo with Countries Visited Coloured caught my eye because if its mixture of artwork and travel—two of my favorite hobbies. I have always loved the idea of body art, especially if presented in a unique and personal way. I was also reminded of a friend of my father, who has traveled to every country in the world. Growing up he would always show me his world map, and as I grew older, each country had a pushpin added to it. Both the tattoo map and his map represent the extraordinary goals that can be accomplished when one’s mind is set upon doing so.
I found these few maps very interestingness surprising. I was most surprised by the fact that athletic coaches are the most paid individuals in America. While I'm not against sports, I really think this says a lot about our values. I was a bit disheartened by the fact that the most important professions like Surgeons, Professors an lawyers were far out numbered. On a similar note, I'm concerned that America has the highest rate of non paid leaves. This has led me to question if America, despite its booming economy is really progressive.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few things on the page I found quite entertaining. I have always been a fan of Macdonald's and apparently, so is more than half the world. The owner of the franchise definitely has a pot of gold. Why is it that America can't just switch to the metric system. We're practically the only ones using it and its very complex. It would also make life easier having only one universal method of measuring. All I could think of when I saw the Internet usage chart was how low Africa's Internet usage was. It practically had Internet uses on the edges.
This article was very interesting. I about to read the other two link that are recommended. This personally has taught me that I should sometimes pay attention to the smaller things in life. Who would have thought a compilation of charts could have me contemplating so much and actually thinking of not logging on to Facebook tonight?
Map 12. Visualizing Global Population Density
ReplyDeleteThe first map that really struck me was the map about visualizing global population density. I am sixteen years old and have hardly been anywhere on Earth. However the world still seems huge to me. The number of people who I see on the street and don't know is huge, than that number multiplies exponentially as you start to include their families and friends and everyone they have ever seen on the street and not known. I live near New York City and coming to Stoneleigh I have met many people who I never knew existed. It hardly seems possible that the people here and the people back home in Jersey coexist in the same world, never mind that we also coexist with billions of others. The way the density is split was also kind of crazy too.
Map 22. Average Age of Sexual Intercourse by Country.
This map interested me because it shows the widely spread difference in cultures across the world. Everything I can touch, feel, see, taste, and otherwise sense is part of my immediate world. It's all part of my culture. This map made me think about the differences between what I see and sense on any given day and what someone in China or Afghanistan sees differently that gives them different values than mine. It just seems like a very good way of learning about cultures and the widespread differences between them.
Map 40. Upside Down Map
This is a classic map that really changes my perspective on the world. If I stare at it long my whole perception skewed and I begin to question things as lasting as gravity. Its an interesting map that provides insight to the way humans like to perceive things. We like to have areas of black and white. In our world, there is north and there is south. However, as soon as that statement is made out to be untrue, it presents an entire gray area that makes lots of people uncomfortable. Its much easier to live in a world where you don't have to question everything that you think you know to be true. However, you learn much more if you question all that you think you know. My interpretation of this map is that its making that point.
4. Map of ‘Pangea’ with Current International Borders
ReplyDeleteThere is a Chinese legend that a person named Pangu who use axe to separates sky from earth. I felt it was familiar, so I was really excited but not surprised about it. But then, I found out that was not the same thing with Pangea. Pangea was a supercontinent that broke apart. But both of them have same insight meaning that I learned ---- people all have same origin. As time passed, people developed different languages, customs, cultures. And people began to establish their identification, and became individual to individual. It leads me to think that people should unit together, and there should not be any conflict or war exist.
10. Global Internet Usage Based on Time of Day
Nowadays, people could not live without internet. I remember last year, our class played a interesting game which is that English teacher Mandy took away students' phone and laptop in order to force students to experience the life without electronic. As we can see from map, most of the developed countries covered internet entirely. Now is a information era, and the information spread out dramatically quick. On the other hand, it's convenient and save our time. On the other hand, it take away the chance for people to think. In result, people get lazier and lazier, and lack of face to face communication.
19. Map of Where 29,000 Rubber Duckies Made Landfall After Falling off a Cargo Ship in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean
My first reaction of this map is that products that made in China have high quality. The rubber duckies could travel from 1992 to 2007 around whole world. It is amazing and it really surprised me. Also, I can see that people relate to each other. For the rubber duckie, they have different belonging at the end. It is just life the life. Some people success in the early age, but some success later on.
3. The Only 22 Countries in the World Britain Has Not Invaded (not shown: Sao Tome and Principe)
ReplyDeleteOnce I took one look at this map I laughed because of how painfully true it is. The map got me thinking about (not to sound rude) how Britain wanted to take over the world, literally. Britain basically colonized the whole world. This makes you think about how greedy people are for power, and what they will do to get there. Now, I'm not saying that the countries invaded by Britain did not invade other countries too. I am just saying that the countries invaded did not go to great lengths to conquer other human beings. I feel (I am bias) that Britain does not deserve all the credit that it gets, because while they were invading other countries they were also using the countries resources, ideas, and to advance their way of life. If it weren't for Britain running some countries out of their resources then maybe Britain wouldn't be as "advance" as they are now, maybe Angola, Somalia or Laos would. Taking what others have to get on top has become a basis of society all due to "being the better country/ people".
4. Map of ‘Pangea’ with Current International Borders
This map is kind of related to my previous post in the idea that the world and its people are no longer connected. This known fact that the world used to be interlocked, and bridged together makes me think that everybody is or has a connection to one another. However, most people do not realize that. Most people are so focused on themselves and their common people that they forget about their other brothers and sisters who may live in different countries and have different skin tones. Even though the world was on connected people were and are still not. Problems such as race religion and sex still haunt us today. Those difference that we still have with one another block our path to forging lasting links with one another. I feel that, today, even the idea of Pangea is irrelevant. Since there are so many disconnections between people there is no point anymore. If people do not start to stop the negative ignorance then the idea of Pangea, connection, and links will not even be a thought to anyone anymore.
34. Overall Water Risk Around the World
The first thing I noticed about this map was how heavily concentrated the right side of the map is (Africa, Middle East, and some of Asia). Most of the countries that are shaded in red are third world countries. This just goes to show how undeveloped in the sense of water, and resources for clean water go. However, I know that some or most people would take this disadvantage as the countries not being developed enough. When someone says that a country is not developed, what do they really mean? I am pretty sure that Somalia or Bangladesh are advanced in aspects that leading countries such as America or Britain are not. Just from looking at this map of water risk I try to understand why the risk is so high on the right side and not the right. This make me think of how most problems around the world (AIDS/HIV, water, hygiene, illness) mainly happen to the right of the map. Not only have these things been addressed but they have been in place for years, and still the situations still stand. There is help being provided to some of the countries but, it is obviously not that significant if the number are this high.
2. Countries That Do Not Use the Metric System
ReplyDeleteTo me, this map reinforces how ‘hard’ international agreement is for the human race. Although we share a lot of the same qualities, countries have always had a difficult time agreeing and connecting with each other. We can see this by looking back at the countless number of wars that have been happening since the beginning of time. The map shows a total of 3 countries that did not agree to use the metric system. Generally speaking, I believe that people have natural tendencies to rebel sometimes, and this is probably some kind of reason for 3 out of the 196 countries in the world to not use the metric system as their measurement system. It would obviously be easier for every country to share the same numbering system, but in most situations, there is a person or group of people who just do not want to agree or be united with the rest. Even though it is a small example, this map represents the unwillingness some countries-especially the United States of America- to communicate and be on the same terms with other countries in the world.
11. The World’s Busiest Air routes in 2012
I found this map very perplexing because I thought that the busiest travel routes would be between the biggest and most popular cities in the world. After analyzing the map, I found a trend, which was that the world’s busiest air routes were between the biggest cities in each country. This makes me realize that the world is actually more inverted than I thought. The information suggests that people are more likely to stay inside of their country than venture outside of their country. People like to be in environments that they are acquainted with because they are more comfortable there.
27. Map of the Different Writing Systems
This map grabbed my eye right away because of the imbalance that it showed through the colors that represented different writing systems throughout the world. The east is divided into very small sections with different writing systems, but the farther west you travel, the less diversity is shown in the writing systems. This not only relates back to the history of colonization, but it also shows the contrast between east and west. There are various factions of people in the east, while the West is one big collective group. The many different writing systems that are in the east may be looked at as something positive, because it creates a diverse community, but it also may be looked upon as a bad thing for the fact that different cultures that are set up because of the different writing systems might separate and create a barrier for the distinctive groups.
4."The map shows how "Pangea", a continent that existed 300 million years ago, broke up. This resulted to the separation of the seven continents that exist today. This map shows how sophisticated this world is that many people are not aware of. As a geography lover, this map helped me to learn more of how different the world is today than it was before. I also learnt that the world changes time after time. I now know that once upon a time, the seven separated continents were once a huge continent,"Pangea".
ReplyDelete1. The map shows the places where google street is available. This map shows clearly that google street is not available in all parts of the world. Shocking to know, google street is not available in certain developed countries which I could not understand. According to my understanding, google street view was available in most countries of the world but most especially economically developed countries. However, this was found to be not true according to the map because among the countries that lacked google street view, China was one of them. According to my perspective, China as a country with an outstanding economy, would not lack the google street view. This map left me in shock.
2. "The only twenty two countries that Britain did not invade".
Only twenty two countries were not invaded by Britain as demonstrated on the map. This made me wonder if Britain was that greedy for power that it wanted to conquer almost the whole world. This map also surprised me the most because I did not know that countries like Rwanda had been invaded by Britain. This is because I thought that Britain had invaded only its colonies. Furthermore, the map shows that despite the fact that Britain invaded many countries, it was not succesful in gaining all the power she faught for. The map changed my perspective proofing to me how Britain had not only invaded her colonies but also, other countries.
Heather writes: Map 4: Map of 'Pangea' with Current International Borders
ReplyDeleteI found this map interesting and exciting to look at because you could clearly see how different our world is in not just a physical manner but also a metaphorical manner. Physically the continents have drifted apart drastically because of the shifting of plates and other amazing natural occurrences. While you can see the physical changes of the world it is also interesting to look at it from a metaphorical view. For me, this map showed how separated from the rest of the world each country really is. This map made me think about all of the things we think we know about other countries, but how wrong our steriotypes usually are. People think they know about the problems other countries go through, or the kind or culture other people live in. In reality our countries are much more separated than they used to be and so are the people. We don't know as much as we think we do about other countries because, over time, the people have separated with their countries.
Map 10: Global Internet Usage Based on Time of Day
I chose this map because it is something I can easily connect with. I spend quite a lot of time on the internet between Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr and to look at this map it was nice to know I am not alone with my internet addiction. This map showed that the two most active internet users come from England and the United States. I found this interesting because they are two countries who foster some of the most well-known stars of today. I believe that the level of internet addiction in these countries is not only because of the stars who people tweet and reblog about non-stop, but also the reason for their success. Without things like youtube and twitter and tumblr, stars would not be nearly as internationally famous as they are today. For example, the Beatles became huge stars and broke international borders by becoming famous in America without youtube and itunes. Today, people praise One Direction as the next Beatles, but let's be honest, how far would they have gotten with the minimal internet addiction of the Beatles time? It was also interesting to see how much internet activity occurs even in the early hours of the morning. The level of internet addiction, especially in America and Europe, is wild!
Bonus Map: World Map Tattoo with Countries Visited Colored
I really enjoy this map because, to me, it gives the message of living your life rather than just existing. Traveling is one of the best ways to keep your life exciting, in my opinion. Every time you step foot in another country you are unaware of the exciting adventures you might go on and of what cool things you might see over the time you spend there. Traveling is a great way to put yourself out into a new situation and to just tackle whatever is thrown your way. To me this is how life should be lived. Although the tattoo shows a nice message I also found it interesting that most of the colored countries were fully developed countries. Countries which suffer from poverty, starvation, or lack of education were not colored. I think this is interesting because it shows that there are so many people out there with enough money to travel the world, but don't use it to help those who really need it. This tattooed man does not use his money to travel to Haiti to help kids who need an education, or to help build homes. Instead he uses the money to travel to China and Europe.