Trip Report: Bethlehem 1/13/18 with Pics

[SallyCat]

Saturday, January 13, 2018

My Couch

 

I planned for today’s trip by checking the weather forecast carefully throughout Friday evening and then not setting my alarm for Saturday morning.

 

Just no.

Awakening at a positively adolescent 7am, I loaded my gear onto the coffee table and began the day’s mission. Stoke levels were high, since the weather was warm and dry; really perfect essay-grading conditions. I chose my 13-inch MacBook Air, which I think was the right tool for the conditions. Definitely the right length, though I could have gone with a 15” for more visibility.

There were no crowds at the couch save for an old, snoring tabby. I estimated being able to get in about 7-10 essays per hour and I wasn’t wrong.

 

 Low stoke level. 

 

In a total gaper move, I checked PASR before getting started. A real distraction. I think I need some lessons on how to stay focused. I don’t want anyone lower than a level III instructor, though. I have unique focus issues.

 

Once I got down to business, the day turned out to be more challenging than I’d hoped. I expected strong, clear, and thorough thesis statements, and instead found myself slogging through piles of hyper-generalized bullshit about “people” doing things “back in the day.” I had to deploy a lot of warnings about using the first-person voice and ended up taking more breaks than I’d planned because it was just rough-going at times. 

 

Disappointing conditions here.

 

I’ll probably keep at it until the evening, but I’m definitely going to hit the kitchen for a couple of beers later. A good day overall. Better than unemployment anyway. 

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Wow I need to get comfortable before I read this. This could be Good. 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

You really have a cat. Nice stickers!!!  You didn't miss much at Blue. 

[Shadows]

Maybe try closing a tab or ten.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

2 minutes ago, Shadows said:

Maybe try closing a tab or ten.

 

[SallyCat]

17 minutes ago, Shadows said:

Maybe try closing a tab or ten.

You are not the first or ten-thousandth person to suggest that. 

I do what I want. 

[SallyCat]

21 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

You really have a cat

That's Jack. Sally was his older sister who alas is no longer with us. 

You would like Jack: his main interests are eating meat and pooping. 

[eaf]

Why would you say "pleeeeeeeeze" when grading a student's essay? He's already piling a typo on top of a typo.

[toast21602]

9 minutes ago, eaf said:

Why would you say "pleeeeeeeeze" when grading a student's essay? He's already piling a typo on top of a typo.

Not just that, but I can't stand not using the comment feature on the side margins when making correcting. Keeps the clean look of the text while still making appropriate annotations. Personal preference, I suppose. No citations either? Ok enough criticizing I'm not ready to work yet. Also, I hate google docs. Different strokes for different folks. Different features for different teachers?

[SallyCat]

31 minutes ago, eaf said:

Why would you say "pleeeeeeeeze" when grading a student's essay? He's already piling a typo on top of a typo.

It's a little joke. They know they're supposed to capitalize it but they constanly forget. 

I don't use the comment feature because I want to be as intrusive as possible. If I leave a student's text alone by commenting marginally, they tend to think their text is fine and doesn't need revision, no matter what I say in the margins. I've found that I need to force them to go back and at a mimimum remove (better yet, address) my edits. 

This is not an essay that requires citation, so the student is in the clear on that score.

 

 

[eaf]

Just now, SallyCat said:

It's a little joke. They know they're supposed to capitalize it but they constanly forget.

I bet it was intentional. I would capitalize Earth and leave bible as is, that would go well with the mention of inquisition and burning Bruno (which, I hope, was on the following page?). "Many people disagreed", ha!

[SallyCat]

8 minutes ago, eaf said:

I bet it was intentional.

I didn't realize readers would take such a deep dive into the student's work. I should say that this is not a formal submission. They have a midterm exam next week that will contain one of two possible essay questions. This student has sent me a draft and asked for feedback. Thus, I'm not terribly concerned with small grammatical errors.

This particular question is about the development of scientific empiricism and its impact on traditional sources of authority. Heresy is beyond the scope of the paper for the most part. What I want them to understand is that there were traditional sources beyond just the Bible (Galen& Aristotle, e.g.) , and that scientists trusted those sources not because the Church demanded it and not because they were foolish, but because they operated within an institutional and  intellectual paradigm that made it  inconceivable that the sources could be incorrect.  In which case, expecting them to "think outside the box" as we like to say, is somewhat unreasonable. Even Copernicus was essentially working within the Ptolemaic system, not trying to debunk it in its entirety. Now, the advocacy of empiricism in the public sphere, especially in astronomy, could get a person in trouble, though in fact it tended to be Protestant churches that had a dampening effect on the advancement of science moreso than the Catholic Church. (Poor Bruno was convicted more for his unorthodox theological ideas than for his heliocentrism). So, Galileo's trial is interesting of course, but we're looking at the development of modern scientific methods as a whole. 

[eaf]

Did you know, they christen rockets before each launch in Baikonour these days? A pope gets to the launching pad and sprinkles holy water all over the place.

Amazing, so many years after what your student is trying to describe, a century of pretty much kicking the church out of the country, it's back to square one. No ship will fly without a ritual of blessings from church, and cosmonauts are even taking icons in space. 

So, yeah, continue looking into the development of modern scientific methods. The methods may evolve, people don't ever change.

Edited January 13, 2018 by eaf

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Thanks Eaf!!

[tarponhead]

Now, the advocacy of empiricism in the public sphere, especially in astronomy, could get a person in trouble, though in fact it tended to be Protestant churches that had a dampening effect on the advancement of science moreso than the Catholic Church.

Wow, counter intuitive. Especially when you think how early Protestantism was relatively decentralized compared to Catholicism. Neat to know.

But by the 17th century that was not the case, no? I mean the Royal Society was a kick ass institution ( when they were not doing vivisections on poor strays) and I’m guessing the orange Dutch wanted science to show them the $$$$

[SallyCat]

Eight in ten Americans say they belive in angels, and more than half reject evolution. High- rise buildings lack a 13th floor. And yet: iphones.

What makes our culture modern is that our scientists don't belive in angels. 

Don't get me wrong, we have powerful institutions devoted to thwarting science. The motives tend to be financial rather than supernatural.

You'd like my class, eaf, and I'd like having you as a student. Our next reading is from Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World.

[SallyCat]

38 minutes ago, tarponhead said:

Wow, counter intuitive. Especially when you think how early Protestantism was relatively decentralized compared to Catholicism

Relatively, but it was still a state religion, and I think Germany and England saw more witchcraft persecution in the seventeenth century than any other Euro countries. 

Actually, I shouldn't have said that Protestantism had a dampening effect, just that there's some data to show that there were more Catholic scientists in the early-modern period  than protestant, and that the causal connection between protestantism and science has probably been overblown. Luther didn't exactly embrace science, but by the 17th century, Protestantism was much more favorable to it. Funny, though, that it's evangelical protestantism today that attacks science more than other religions in America.

Edited January 13, 2018 by SallyCat

[tarponhead]

Relatively, but it was still a state religion, and I think Germany and England saw more witchcraft persecution in the seventeenth century than any other Euro countries. 
Actually, I shouldn't have said that Protestantism had a dampening effect, just that there's some data to show that there were more Catholic scientists in the early-modern period  than protestant

Extreme Protestants (ie puritans) loved a good witch burning. Catholic’s did not have to roll that way because the inquisition dudes could get their way without saying “witch”.

I’m guessing 15 century and early 16th century Catholicism was way more prevalent so naturally more early scientists would be catholic. All interesting points you’re making though

[SallyCat]

27 minutes ago, tarponhead said:

Catholic’s did not have to roll that way because the inquisition dudes could get their way without saying “witch”.

The Spanish Inquisition, certainly, but that was brought into Spain to persecute and drive out Jews and Muslims, not really to root out and correct heresy for purely theological reasons.

The Roman inquisition was more dedicated to "inquiry" and you usually had to work pretty hard to end up dead by their hands. 

Incidentally, the Roman Inquisition has been a boon to social history, since we learn a TON about illiterate rural villagers that we would never know except for trial records. The Richard Gere film Somersby for example, is based on Natalie Davis' The Return of Martin Guerre: a true story based on the trial of a man accused of being an impostor. Carlo Ginzburg (The Cheese and the Worms and The Night Battles) has basically made his career as a historian by raiding inquisition trial records and writing about what they tell us. And what they tell us is really cool: early modern peasants believed some weird, fascinating shit. 

Edited January 13, 2018 by SallyCat

[Shadows]

Neat

[momskeeztoo]

Sallycat, what do you teach? 

[SallyCat]

Just now, momskeeztoo said:

Sallycat, what do you teach? 

High school history. I teach AP European history (1450-present) and a sophomore World History course that starts around the late Middle Ages and ends with the 1919 Versailles Treaty.

[toast21602]

High school history. I teach AP European history (1450-present) and a sophomore World History course that starts around the late Middle Ages and ends with the 1919 Versailles Treaty.

The Middle Ages and Renaissance are fascinating to me.


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[momskeeztoo]

That paper doesn't look like anything I wrote in high school  

[SallyCat]

11 minutes ago, momskeeztoo said:

That paper doesn't look like anything I wrote in high school  

This student is lovely and hard working, and she does really well in class discussions, but has some trouble expressing herself in writing. She's genuinely trying, it just takes a long time to give feedback on stuff like this.  I just took a picture of what I happened to be on the screen, btw; didn't think everyone would read so closely!