6 Killer Apps

Ferguson knew what he was talking about. He took rather complex ideas and made it presentable for common viewers, yet supported his ideas with examples that weren't simple, but still effective. I agree with Ferguson and how there are 6 killer apps that are involved in the divergence. However, there could be more and his arrogance towards that idea is off putting. It also seems like everything ties back to work ethic. Work ethic is important towards competition, modern medicine, and more. It also looks to be the prime reason as to why the eastern world is rising above the west.

Fabian Fucan Page 748

Fucan uses religious attacks against Christianity. He calls Christianity a waste of twenty years of his life, and its teachings had "little truth". For its cultural aspect, Fucan insults their culture by calling them barbarians whose goal is to spread their faith of lies and take down the more sophisticated culture of Japan. Fucan also insults their valuing of faith over life, saying that their soldiers value their own lives as less than trash. Christianity's spread into the New World and into Asia is also criticized, especially because it is their goal to move their faith of lies to every corner of the world.

Page 710 Olaudah Equiano

Slaves ships took a few steps to ensure maximum profits: physical beatings, psychological punishment, and restraining movement of the Africans. This stopped the rebellion and suicide of slaves, which in turn kept them alive to be sold across the Atlantic Ocean.

Physical beatings includes the whipping of Africans who attempted suicide by jumping out of the ship. Also, Equiano was beaten and force-fed food after refusing to accept their food. These physical beatings tie into the psychological punishments. The Africans on board the ship had to decide between remaining on the ship with filthy conditions, knowing that their future was empty of any hope. Or they could have attempted suicide and end their torture, and if they failed, then they would be tortutered hourly before they return to the same hopeless situation they were in before. The ships also restrained the movement of Africans on board. There was netting of some sort that prevented them from jumping overboard. In addition to that, many were chained to the ship, and the ones who weren't were placed under the supposedly careful watch of some crewmembers.

Map of Africa and DBQ

Map of Africa

The document based question is really different, and to me, not in a good way. There's so much more to write for the document based question, each document requiring 4 sentences with specific targets. I think with enough practice, the requirements for each document will become ingrained, making the DBQ relatively easy because there's no need for outside knowledge regarding these questions. Grouping the documents was a bit challenging for me as well. For me, it's something that needs to click, and that could take anywhere from a minute to 15 minutes. I think the organization will also come with practice too. Time management is also a key point in this essay compared to the other two essay types. It's different, but not too challenging except for the writing cramps.

Promotional Video

Looking at these videos, there are a couple of things that are key for a good promotion. Confidence is key, and this can be done with a strong voice. A quiet voice can easily be overwhelmed with white noise, so it's necessary to be loud. Asking questions also works really well. It addresses topics that might provide some doubt as to why they would want to come here, and then that question is answered right away. It takes all the doubt and gets rid of it. Presenting only the positives is also a really good idea. I think explanations about specifics like pros and cons about the geography about every region of South America is not a good idea. And speaking quietly is not effective; Mr. Whitten was louder than the people speaking in one of the videos. Personally, I was a fan of Yash and Prateek's promotional video. I found the duo to be entertaining, and the use of informal phrases was also amusing. They got all of their points down, and they didn't lose my interest even though it was a lengthier video. Yash also dresses really well.

Loewen vs. Bentley and Ziegler

Loewen makes a really compelling argument about Christopher Columbus. He clearly expresses his disdain towards the teachings that students have recieved while young about Columbus's heroic actions. 

Columbus was a founder of half of the world. This is not true. There is evidence of vikings finding their way into North America prior to Columbus. There's evidence that Chinese and other countries have made their way to the Americas prior to Columbus. There are also groups called Native Americans. However, Columbus did popularize the travel between the eastern and western hemispheres.

Columbus went against popular "fact" and said that the earth wasn't flat and proved it on his brave expedition. I don't know how much more incorrect it could get. Irving did a good job at bringing this lie into the textbooks. Hardly anybody believed the idea that the earth was flat at the time. So Columbus wasn't really being extremely brave and risking falling into the void of space (if only space travel was so easy); he was just travelling in an unknown direction. And Columbus was not some scientific genius for discovering that the earth was flat.

Loewen does a good job at showing the Eurocentric teachings that have been spread to us. He's very passionate about it; perhaps a bit too passionate. Loewen rants in this selection about how everyone is wrong about Columbus. I believe Loewen, but he just goes on and on. Perhaps it's a bit better to remain concise, but still present your idea. Bentley and Ziegler's approach is much easier to grasp. There's very little bias, and it's concise. Then again, Loewen and Bentley and Ziegler are trying to present two different things revolving around the same person. Loewen is trying to convince his readers that the way Columbus is presented by America is wrong, Eurocentric, and full of lies. Bentley and Ziegler just say what Columbus did in 2 brief paragraphs.