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Weapons and Fronts of World War I
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She went by the name of Belisa Crepusculario, not because she had been baptized with that name or given it by her mother, but because she herself had searched until she found the poetry of "beauty" and "twilight" and cloaked herself in it. She made her living selling words. She journeyed through the country from the high cold mountains to the burning coasts, stopping at fairs and in markets where she set up four poles covered by a canvas awning under which she took refuge from the sun and rain to minister to her customers. She did not have to peddle her merchandise because from having wandered far and near, everyone knew who she was. Some people waited for her from one year to the next, and when she appeared in the village with her bundle beneath her arm, they would form a line in front of her stall. Her prices were fair. For five centavos she delivered verses from memory, for seven she improved the quality of dreams, for nine she wrote love letters, for twelve she invented insults for irreconcilable enemies. She also sold stories, not fantasies but long, true stories she recited at one telling, never skipping a word. This is how she carried news from one town to another. People paid her to add a line or two: our son was born, so-and-so died, our children got married, the crops burned in the field. Wherever she went a small crowd gathered around to listen as she began to speak, and that was how they learned about each others' doings, about distant relatives, about what was going on in the civil war. To anyone who paid her fifty centavos in trade, she gave the gift of a secret word to drive away melancholy. It was not the same word for everyone, naturally, because that would have been collective dece it. Each person received his or her own word, with the assurance that no one else would use it that way in this universe or the Beyond. Belisa Crepusculario had been born into a family so poor they did not even have names to give their children. She came into the world and grew up in an inhospitable land where some years the rains became avalanches of water that bore everything away before them and others when not a drop fell from the sky and the sun swelled to fill the horizon and the world became a desert. Until she was twelve, Belisa had no occupation or virtue other than having withstood hunger and the exhaustion of centuries. During one interminable drought, it fell to her to bury four younger brothers and sisters, when she realized that her turn was next, she decided to set out across the 2 plains in the direction of the sea, in hopes that she might trick death along the way. The land was eroded, split with deep cracks, strewn with rocks, fossils of trees and thorny bushes, and skeletons of animals bleached by the sun. From time to time she ran into families who, like her, were heading south, following the mirage of water. Some had begun the march carrying their belongings on their back or in small carts, but they could barely move their own bones, and after a while they had to abandon their possessions. They dragged themselves along painfully, their skin turned to lizard hide and their eyes burned by the reverberating glare. Belisa greeted them with a wave as she passed, but she did not stop, because she had no strength to waste in acts of compassion. Many people fell by the wayside, but she was so stubborn that she survived to cross through that hell and at long last reach the first trickles of water, fine, almost invisible threads that fed spindly vegetation and farther down widened into small streams and marshes. Belisa Crepusculario saved her life and in the process accidentally discovered writing. In a village near the coast, the wind blew a page of newspaper at her feet. She picked up the brittle yellow paper and stood a long while looking at it, unable to determine its purpose, until curiosity overcame her shyness. She walked over to a man who was washing his horse in the muddy pool where she had quenched her thirst. "What is this?" she asked. "The sports page of the newspaper," the man replied, concealing his surprise at her ignorance. The answer astounded the girl, but she did not want to seem rude, so she merely inquired about the significance of the fly tracks scattered across the page. "Those are words, child. Here it says that Fulgencio Barba knocked out El Negro Tiznao in the third round." That was the day Belisa Crepusculario found out that words make their way in the world without a master, and that anyone with a little cleverness can appropriate them and do business with them. She made a quick assessment of her situation and concluded that aside from becoming a prostitute or working as a servant in the kitchens of the rich there were few occupations she was qualified for. It seemed to her that selling words would be an honorable alternative. From that moment on, she worked at that profession, and was never tempted by any other. At the beginning, she offered her merchandise unaware that words could be written outside of newspapers. When she learned otherwise, she calculated the infinite possibilities of her trade and with her savings paid a priest twenty pesos to teach her to read and write, with her three 3 remaining coins she bought a dictionary. She poured over it from A to Z and then threw it into the sea, because it was not her intention to defraud her customers with packaged words. One August morning several years later, Belisa Crepusculario was sitting in her tent in the middle of a plaza, surrounded by the uproar of market day, selling legal arguments to an old man who had been trying for sixteen years to get his pension. Suddenly she heard yelling and thudding hoofbeats. She looked up from her writing and saw, first, a cloud of dust, and then a band of horsemen come galloping into the plaza. They were the Colonel's men, sent under orders of El Mulato, a giant known throughout the land for the speed of his knife and his loyalty to his chief. Both the Colonel and El Mulato had spent their lives fighting in the civil war, and their names were ineradicably linked to devastation and calamity. The rebels swept into town like a stampeding herd, wrapped in noise, bathed in sweat, and leaving a hurricane of fear in their trail. Chickens took wing, dogs ran for their lives, women and children scurried out of sight, until the only living soul left in the market was Belisa Crepusculario. She had never seen El Mulato and was surprised to see him walking toward her. "I'm looking for you," he shouted, pointing his coiled whip at her, even before the words were out, two men rushed her -- knocking over her canopy and shattering her inkwell -- bound her hand and foot, and threw her like a sea bag across the rump of El Mulato's mount. Then they thundered off toward the hills. Hours later, just as Belisa Crepusculario was near death, her heart ground to sand by the pounding of the horse, they stopped, and four strong hands set her down. She tried to stand on her feet and hold her head high, but her strength failed her and she slumped to the ground, sinking into a confused dream. She awakened several hours later to the murmur of night in the camp, but before she had time to sort out the sounds, she opened her eyes and found herself staring into the impatient glare of El Mulato, kneeling beside her. "Well, woman, at last you've come to," he said. To speed her to her senses, he tipped his canteen and offered her a sip of liquor laced with gunpowder. She demanded to know the reason for such rough treatment, and El Mulato explained that the Colonel needed her services. He allowed her to splash water on her face, and then led her to the far end of the camp where the most feared man in all the land was lazing in a hammock strung between two trees. She could not see his face, because he lay in the deceptive shadow of the leaves and the indelible shadow of all his years as a bandit, but she imagined from the way his 4 gigantic aide addressed him with such humility that he must have a very menacing expression. She was surprised by the Colonel's voice, as soft and well-modulated as a professor's. "Are you the woman who sells words?" he asked. "At your service," she stammered, peering into the dark and trying to see him better. The Colonel stood up, and turned straight toward her. She saw dark skin and the eyes of a ferocious puma, and she knew immediately that she was standing before the loneliest man in the world. "I want to be President," he announced. The Colonel was weary of riding across that godforsaken land, waging useless wars and suffering defeats that no subterfuge could transform into victories. For years he had been sleeping in the open air, bitten by mosquitoes, eating iguanas and snake soup, but those minor inconveniences were not why he wanted to change his destiny. What truly troubled him was the terror he saw in people's eyes. He longed to ride into a town beneath a triumphal arch with bright flags and flowers everywhere, he wanted to be cheered, and be given newly laid eggs and freshly baked bread. Men fled at the sight of him, children trembled, and women miscarried from fright, he had had enough, and so he had decided to become President. El Mulato had suggested that they ride to the capital, gallop up to the Palace, and take over the government, the way they had taken so many other things without anyone's permission. The Colonel, however, did not want to be just another tyrant, there had been enough of those before him and, besides, if he did that, he would never win people's hearts. It was his aspiration to win the popular vote in the December elections. "To do that, I have to talk like a candidate. Can you sell me the words for a speech?" the Colonel asked Belisa Crepusculario. She had accepted many assignments, but none like this. She did not dare refuse, fearing that El Mulato would shoot her between the eyes, or worse still, that the Colonel would burst into tears. There was more to it than that, however, she felt the urge to help him because she felt a throbbing warmth beneath her skin, a powerful desire to touch that man, to fondle him, to clasp him in her arms. All night and a good part of the following day, Belisa Crepusculario searched her repertory for words adequate for a presidential speech, closely watched by El Mulato, who could not take his eyes from her firm wanderer's legs and virginal breasts. She discarded harsh, cold words, words 5 that were too flowery, words worn from abuse, words that offered improbable promises, untruthful and confusing words, until all she had left were words sure to touch the minds of men and women's intuition. Calling upon the knowledge she had purchased from the priest for twenty pesos, she wrote the speech on a sheet of paper and then signaled El Mulato to untie the rope that bound her ankles to a tree. He led her once more to the Colonel, and again she felt the throbbing anxiety that had seized her when she first saw him. She handed him the paper and waited while he looked at it, holding it gingerly between thumbs and fingertips. "What the shit does this say," he asked finally. "Don't you know how to read?" "War's what I know," he replied. She read the speech aloud. She read it three times, so her client could engrave it on his memory. When she finished, she saw the emotion in the faces of the soldiers who had gathered round to listen, and saw that the Colonel's eyes glittered with enthusiasm, convinced that with those words the presidential chair would be his. "If after they've heard it three times, the boys are still standing there with their mouths hanging open, it must mean the thing's damn good, Colonel" was El Mulato's approval. "All right, woman. How much do I owe you?" the leader asked. "One peso, Colonel." "That's not much," he said, opening the pouch he wore at his belt, heavy with proceeds from the last foray. "The peso entitles you to a bonus. I'm going to give you two secret words," said Belisa Crepusculario. "What for?" She explained that for every fifty centavos a client paid, she gave him the gift of a word for his exclusive use. The Colonel shrugged. He had no interest at all in her offer, but he did not want to be impolite to someone who had served him so well. She walked slowly to the leather stool where he was sitting, and bent down to give him her gift. The man smelled the scent of a mountain cat issuing from the woman, a fiery heat radiating from her hips, he heard the terrible whisper of her hair, and a breath of sweetmint murmured into his ear the two secret words that were his alone. "They are yours, Colonel," she said as she stepped back. "You may use them as much as you 6 please." El Mulato accompanied Belisa to the roadside, his eyes as entreating as a stray dog's, but when he reached out to touch her, he was stopped by an avalanche of words he had never heard before; believing them to be an irrevocable curse, the flame of his desire was extinguished. During the months of September, October, and November the Colonel delivered his speech so many times that had it not been crafted from glowing and durable words it would have turned to ash as he spoke. He travelled up and down and across the country, riding into cities with a triumphal air, stopping in even the most forgotten villages where only the dump heap betrayed a human presence, to convince his fellow citizens to vote for him. While he spoke from a platform erected in the middle of the plaza, El Mulato and his men handed out sweets and painted his name on all the walls in gold frost. No one paid the least attention to those advertising ploys; they were dazzled by the clarity of the Colonel's proposals and the poetic lucidity of his arguments, infected by his powerful wish to right the wrongs of history, happy for the first time in their lives. When the Candidate had finished his speech, his soldiers would fire their pistols into the air and set off firecrackers, and when finally they rode off, they left behind a wake of hope that lingered for days on the air, like the splendid memory of a comet's tail. Soon the Colonel was the favorite. No one had ever witnessed such a phenomenon: a man who surfaced from the civil war, covered with scars and speaking like a professor, a man whose fame spread to every corner of the land and captured the nation's heart. The press focused their attention on him. Newspapermen came from far away to interview him and repeat his phrases, and the number of his followers and enemies continued to grow. "We're doing great, Colonel," said El Mulato, after twelve successful weeks of campaigning. But the Candidate did not hear. He was repeating his secret words, as he did more and more obsessively. He said them when he was mellow with nostalgia; he murmured them in his sleep; he carried them with him on horseback; he thought them before delivering his famous speech; and he caught himself savoring them in his leisure time. And every time he thought of those two words, he thought of Belisa Crepusculario, and his senses were inflamed with the memory of her feral scent, her fiery heat, the whisper of her hair, and her sweetmint breath in his ear, until he began to go around like a sleepwalker, and his men realized that he might die before he ever sat in the presidential chair. "What's got hold of you, Colonel," El Mulato asked so often that finally one day his chief broke 7 down and told him the source of his befuddlement: those two words that were buried like two daggers in his gut. "Tell me what they are and maybe they'll lose their magic," his faithful aide suggested. "I can't tell them, they're for me alone," the Colonel replied. Saddened by watching his chief decline like a man with a death sentence on his head, El Mulato slung his rifle over his shoulder and set out to find Belisa Crepusculario. He followed her trail through all that vast country, until he found her in a village in the far south, sitting under her tent reciting her rosary of news. He planted himself, spraddle-legged, before her, weapon in hand. "You! You're coming with me," he ordered. She had been waiting. She picked up her inkwell, folded the canvas of her small stall, arranged her shawl around her shoulders, and without a word took her place behind El Mulato's saddle. They did not exchange so much as a word in all the trip; El Mulato's desire for her had turned into rage, and only his fear of her tongue prevented his cutting her to shreds with his whip. Nor was he inclined to tell her that the Colonel was in a fog, and that a spell whispered into his ear had done what years of battle had not been able to do. Three days later they arrived at the encampment, and immediately, in view of all the troops, El Mulato led his prisoner before the Candidate. "I brought this witch here so you can give her back her words, Colonel," El Mulato said, pointing the barrel of his rifle at the woman's head. "And then she can give you back your manhood." The Colonel and Belisa Crepusculario stared at each other, measuring one another from a distance. The men knew then that their leader would never undo the witchcraft of those accursed words, because the whole world could see the voracious-puma eyes soften as the woman walked to him and took his hand in hers. Copyright © 1989 by Isabel Allende From The Stories of Eva Luna, Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden
The following days are a jumble of gunfire, digging, gobbled food, soldiers running in and out of the forest in small groups, distant explosions, stray shells, bandaged heads and unexpected lulls. On the very first day, before dawn, I am ordered into one of the newly dug trenches. I huddle there, squeezing my magic buttons and singing songs to the dog. When the fighting stops, the dog disappears, but a new companion takes his place. A strange little soldier crawls along the trench toward me. ‘Private Sasha!’ he cries. ‘I’ve been looking for you all day long!’ He’s old, like a grandfather, a dedushka. He has a black patch over one eye, a tape measure around his neck and a row of pins threaded into his sleeve. Hanging from his belt is the most enormous pair of scissors I have ever seen and I wonder if he uses them as a weapon. He doesn’t tell me his name, so in my head he becomes Dedushka. Dedushka squats, cups his hand to his ear, peers over the top of the trench and smiles. ‘It’s safe to be upright . . . for now.’ He helps me to my feet, dusts me off and commands me to stand as tall and straight as I can. Then he measures me. Everything from head to toe – even my toes! He writes numbers in a little notebook, strings his tape measure back around his neck, salutes and hurries away. It’s all very strange, and I wonder if Dedushka has been bumped on the head during the battle and is now a little bit muddled. I should have given him a hug before he left. I chase after him but stop when I’m hit by a shovelful of flying dirt. Sleepy Bear is digging a cave! ‘Are you going to hibernate?’ I ask. Sleepy Bear chuckles. ‘No, although that would be wonderful! I could do with a lo-o-o-ong sleep.’ He sighs and closes his eyes. He doesn’t open them again and I realise that he has gone to sleep. Standing up! I shake his arm, and he opens his eyes and keeps talking. ‘No, I’m not hibernating. I’m digging a little nook where I can sleep and eat. I’ll hang up my raincape as a door that can open and close so it feels just like a real home . . . except for the lice . . . and the bad smells . . . and the bombs that make the walls shake and crumble.’ He points further along the trench to where other soldiers are digging. ‘We’re all making little houses in the ground.’ ‘Like rabbits and moles,’ I say. Sleepy Bear chuckles. ‘Yes! And soldiers who need to hide from German bullets and bombs.’ He stops digging to roll a cigarette. ‘Should I be making a house?’ I ask. ‘I want to hide from German bullets and bombs, too.’ Sleepy Bear flops to the ground, lights his cigarette, closes his eyes and takes a deep puff. I wait for him to answer, but, instead, he begins to snore! I poke him in the side. He snorts and he murmurs, ‘I think someone has already built you a house, Sasha. Keep going along this beautiful village street and you are sure to find it.’ He falls asleep once more. I kiss his dusty cheek and whisper, ‘Thank you, Sleepy Bear.’ A little way along, I see Cook in a cloud of smoke. He has lit a fire, right here in the middle of the trench, and is stirring a cauldron full of kasha. He squats as he stirs. ‘What are you doing?’ I ask. ‘Cooking supper, of course!’ he cries. ‘But why are you doing it here?’ Cook points his spoon at the ground above the trenches. ‘Because if I do it up there, my pot will be filled with holes from German bullets and all of the kasha will leak out onto the ground. It’s bad enough that our supplies can’t get through German lines and there’s nothing to cook but buckwheat for kasha. But if we lost the kasha, too . . .’ ‘Hungry soldiers,’ I say. Cook nods. ‘And grumpy!’ ‘Like Boris!’ I gasp. ‘Even worse,’ warns Cook. I picture the kasha pot full of bullet holes. And then I realise that if the kasha pot were full of holes, then Cook would be, too. I wrap my arms around Cook’s neck and say, ‘I think this is a very good place for cooking our supper.’ I kiss his smoky cheek and run along. At the end of the trench, I find the biggest hole of all. It’s wide and deep and as busy as a beehive in a blossom tree. Above, a group of soldiers is rolling logs into place for a roof, while below, typewriters rattle and pencils scratch and papers flutter and voices crackle out of five different radios. Their words tangle together to tell a strange wartime fairy tale about German guns and a loving father called Stalin and a Red Army regiment that is lost in the deep, dark forest and a wicked beast called Hitler and a delivery of vegetables that was hit by a bomb and blown into a million tiny pieces too small even to make soup. In the middle of it all, wrestling with a rumpled map, his rifle still slung over his shoulder, is Major Scruff. ‘Major Scruff!’ I run and jump into his arms. ‘Is this our new home?’ ‘Yes, Sasha. I suppose it is.’ ‘Is it safe from German bullets and bombs?’ I ask. He stares at me. ‘Were you scared in the trenches today, Sasha?’ ‘No,’ I reply. ‘I had magic buttons and a dog and some songs to sing. Were you scared in the forest, Major Scruff?’ ‘Yes,’ he says. ‘Poor Major Scruff!’ I press my hand against his cheek. The dark, rough stubble is grubby with grit and his eyelids are taking a long time to open after every blink. ‘You need a shave and a nap!’ I scold. He chuckles. ‘I am too tired to shave and too busy to nap.’ I scrunch my nose while I consider his problem. ‘I know!’ I cry. ‘You nap and I will shave your whiskers. That will be two jobs tumbled into one!’ And so that’s what we do. Major Scruff slumps into a chair and snoozes while I lather his face with soapy water and shave his whiskers. The soap suds travel from his face, up into his hair and down the front of his uniform, and I have to shave his jaw and chin three times because I keep missing bits, but I finally get it all done. I am just wiping his cheeks dry when the dog appears. He licks my hand, then stretches up and licks soap suds from Major Scruff’s ear. Major Scruff wakes with a start. He feels his newly shaved face and cries, ‘Wonderful, Sasha! I feel smooth, clean, rested and ready for action.’ He ruffles my hair. ‘We must do this again tomorrow. Although next time, you might wake me with a gentle shake of the shoulder instead of licking my ear.’
Land warfare is a complex domain that involves the application of military power on the ground to achieve political and strategic objectives. Modern military doctrine, such as that used by the U.S. Army and the Indian Army, categorizes these elements into Combat Power and the Principles of War. 1. The 8 Elements of Combat Power Combat power is the total means of destructive, constructive, and information capabilities that a military unit can apply. It is typically broken down into eight key elements: ElementDescriptionLeadershipThe "multiplier" of all other elements. It provides purpose, direction, and motivation to soldiers.InformationEnables commanders to make informed decisions and creates opportunities to achieve results.Mission CommandThe system used to integrate the other elements. It focuses on decentralized execution based on the commander's intent.Movement & ManeuverThe movement of forces to gain a positional advantage over the enemy to deliver lethal or non-lethal effects.IntelligenceThe understanding of the enemy, terrain, weather, and civil considerations.FiresThe use of weapon systems (artillery, mortars, air support) to create specific lethal or non-lethal effects.SustainmentThe logistics required to maintain operations, including ammunition, fuel, food, and medical support.ProtectionThe preservation of the force so that the commander can apply maximum combat power.2. The Principles of War These are the enduring "rules of thumb" that guide how land forces are employed strategically and tactically: Objective: Direct every operation toward a clearly defined and attainable goal. Offensive: Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. You cannot win by defending alone. Mass: Concentrate the effects of combat power at the most advantageous place and time. Economy of Force: Allocate the minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts so you can "mass" elsewhere. Maneuver: Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through flexible movement. Unity of Command: Ensure all forces operate under a single responsible commander toward a common objective. Security: Prevent the enemy from gaining an unexpected advantage. Surprise: Strike the enemy at a time, place, or in a manner for which they are unprepared. Simplicity: Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans to minimize confusion in the "fog of war." 3. The Modern Legal Framework Land warfare is also governed by the Law of Land Warfare (International Humanitarian Law), which rests on four pillars: Military Necessity: Actions must be necessary to achieve a legitimate military goal. Distinction: Forces must distinguish between combatants and non-combatants (civilians). Proportionality: The anticipated harm to civilians must not be excessive in relation to the concrete military advantage gained. Unnecessary Suffering: Weapons and methods must not cause gratuitous or superfluous injury. Note: Contemporary land warfare is increasingly "Multi-Domain," meaning land forces must now integrate with cyber, space, and electronic warfare to be effective. , While land warfare uses many tools, the two primary "philosophies" of how to win a war are Attrition and Maneuver. Most modern conflicts are a spectrum of both, but understanding the pure form of each helps explain military strategy. 1. Attrition Warfare: The "Sledgehammer" Attrition warfare is a strategy where one side attempts to win by wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel, equipment, and supplies. Core Logic: "I have more than you." It assumes that if you can destroy the enemy’s resources faster than they can replace them, you will eventually win. Focus: Firepower and mass. Success is measured by "body counts," equipment destroyed, and the steady seizing of terrain. Command Style: Usually centralized and methodical. It requires strict synchronization of massive resources (artillery, logistics, manpower). Historical Example: The Battle of Verdun (WWI). German Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn famously stated his goal was to "bleed France white" by forcing them to defend a position they could not afford to lose, regardless of the cost in lives. 2. Maneuver Warfare: The "Scalpel" Maneuver warfare seeks to shatter the enemy’s moral and physical cohesion—their ability to act as a unified force—rather than simply destroying every soldier. Core Logic: "I am faster and more unpredictable than you." It aims to create a state of chaos where the enemy's leadership can no longer make effective decisions. Focus: Speed, surprise, and dislocation (forcing the enemy to be in the wrong place at the wrong time). The OODA Loop: Developed by Col. John Boyd, this is the heart of maneuver theory. It stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. The goal is to cycle through these steps faster than the enemy, essentially "getting inside" their decision-making process until they collapse from confusion. Historical Example: The 1940 Invasion of France (Blitzkrieg). Instead of fighting a line-by-line battle of attrition, German forces used speed and concentrated armor to bypass strongpoints, cut communication lines, and cause a total systemic collapse of the French military in weeks. 3. Key Differences at a Glance FeatureAttrition WarfareManeuver WarfareObjectivePhysical destruction of the enemy army.Functional/Psychological collapse of the enemy.TargetThe enemy's strength (mass).The enemy's weakness (vulnerability).Primary ToolMassed Firepower.Movement and Tempo.Command"Command Push" (Top-down, rigid)."Recon Pull" (Decentralized, flexible).Success MetricExchange ratios (Kill counts).Disruption and loss of enemy control.4. The Modern Synthesis: "Schwerpunkt" In practice, no army is purely "maneuver" or "attrition." To maneuver successfully, you often need a period of attrition to punch a hole in the enemy's line. A critical concept here is the Schwerpunkt (Center of Gravity/Focus of Effort). A commander identifies the single most important place to strike and concentrates all available "elements of power" there. While the rest of the front might look like attrition, the Schwerpunkt is where the maneuver happens to achieve a breakthrough. Modern Reality: In high-intensity conflicts today (like the war in Ukraine), we see a "return to attrition" because modern sensors (drones, satellites) make it very difficult to achieve the surprise needed for pure maneuver warfare. When you can see everything, it's hard to be "unexpected."
WHAT IS SCIENCE? - is a way in which answers related to NATURAL events are proposed. - a way in which people can learn and UNDERSTAND events in the NATURAL WORLD - based on OBSERVABLE EVENTS - a study of the NATURAL WORLD - a method of DISCOVERY and UNDERSTANDING by using a PROBLEM-SOLVING process called the?? - A systematic body of knowledge based on observation and experimentation. FOUR COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE: 1. It focuses on the NATURAL WORLD. 2. Goes through experiment. 3. Relies on evidence. 4. Passes through the scientific community. WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY? Brian Arthur (2009) defined technology as: 1. a means to fulfill a human purpose 2. assemblage of practices and components 3. a collection of devices and engineering practices available to a culture. SOCIETY ST (Science Technology) would not exist without society. WHAT IS STS? Science and Technology and Society (STS) is the study of how society, politics and culture affect scientific research and technological innovation and how these, in turn affects society, politics and culture. EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY THAT TRANSFORMED THE SOCIETY (IN THE WORLD) ANCIENT PERIOD 3500 BC. - 500 AD EUROPE - use of fire by Homo Erectus CA 750,000 - Stone Headed Spears CA 45,000 - Wooden bow and arrow CA 20,000 - The Minoans build palaces in Crete CA 2,000 THE AMERICAS - The Folsom people living on eastern side of the Rocky Mountain developed sophisticated tools CA 8,000. - Pottery is made in South America CA 6,000 - Olmec sculpture carves figurines and giant human heads. CA 1200 ASIA AND OCEANA - Earliest known clay pots are made in Japan CA 11,000. - Bronze is first made in Thailand CA 4000 - A lunar calendar is developed in China CA 2950 - Chinese doctors begin using acupuncture CA 2500 - The Hindu calendar of 360 days was introduced in India CA 1000 AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST - Homo erectus uses stone tools CA 1000000 - CA 15000 in Africa, bone harpoons are used for fishing. - Clay tokens are used for record keeping in Mesopotamia CA 7500 - Mesopotamian mathematicians discover the Pythagorean Theorem MEDIEVAL PERIOD CA 500 -1500 - Dark ages because few written records and evidences remained - Scholastic tradition was established by Charlemagne - Vertical windmills, spectacles, mechanical clock, water mills, gothic style were invented - Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press RENAISSANCE PERIOD 14TH – 17TH CENTURY - Rebirth of revival - Printing with movable type allowed Bible, secular books made in large amount - Nicolas Copernicus presented a heliocentric theory - Galileo Galilei invented telescope INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 18TH CENTURY - Skilled workers were set aside because of the machines - Iron production, steam engine and textile flourished - Scottish James Watt improved steam engine Robert Fulton (steam boat) - The following were invented: Light bulb, telephone, first steam powered locomotive 19TH CENTURY - Age of machine and tools - Herman Helmholtz (law of conservation of energy) - James Clark Maxwell (light as electro-magnetic wave) - Henry Becquerel (radioactivity) - Marie and Pierre Curie (radium) - Hans Christian Oersted (electric current near the magnet) - Michael Faraday (magnet produces electricity) - Atomic Theory proposed by John Dalton - Electron discovered by JJ. Thomson - Telegraph developed by Samuel Morse 20TH CENTURY - Communication, transportation, military research were developed - Personal computer was created - Intel developed microprocessor - Apple was introduced by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak - Internet was created (ARPANET) - Henry Ford's mass production of cars - Artificial Intelligence was invented SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY (PHILIPPINE HISTORY) Stone Age - Archeological findings show that modern man from Asian mainland first came over land on across narrow channels to live in Batangas and Palawan about 48,000 B.C. - Subsequently they formed settlement in Sulu, Davao, Zamboanga, Samar, Negros, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan and Cagayan. Inventions - They made simple tools and weapons of stone flakes and later developed method of sawing and polishing stones around 40,000 B.C. - By around 3,000 B.C. they were producing adzes ornaments of seashells and pottery. Pottery flourished for the next 2,000 years until they imported Chinese porcelain. Soon they learned to produce copper, bronze, iron, and gold metal tools and ornaments. Iron Age - The Iron Age lasted from the third century B.C. to 11th century A.D. During this period Filipinos were engaged in extraction smelting and refining of iron from ores, until the importation of cast iron from Sarawak and later from China. INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES - They learn to weave cotton, make glass ornaments, and cultivate lowland rice and dike fields of terraced fields utilizing spring water in mountain regions. - They also learned to build boats for trading purposes. - Spanish chronicles noted refined plank built warships called caracoa suited for interisland trade raids 10TH CENTURY A.D. - Filipinos from the Butuan were trading with Champa (Vietnam) and those from Ma-I (Mindoro) with China as noted in Chinese records containing several references to the Philippines. These archaeological findings indicated that regular trade relations between the Philippines, China and Vietnam had been well established from the 10th century to the 15th century A.D. TRADING - The People of Ma-I and San-Hsu (Palawan) traded bee wax, cotton, pearls, coconut heart mats, tortoise shell and medicinal betel nuts, panie cloth for porcelain, leads fishnets sinker, colored glass beads, iron pots, iron needles and tin. SOME PRESPANISH FILIPINO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Curative values of plants extract use as medicine - Alphabet (Alibata) - Counting Methods - Weights - Measuring system (isang gatang) - Calendar based on the periods of moon - Banaue Rice Terraces SPANISH REGIME Religion the Catholic Church - The latter part of the 16th Century Development of schools: - Colegio de San Ildefonso-Cebu-1595 - Colegio de San Ignacio-Manila-1595 - Colegio De Nuestra Senora del Rosario-Manila 1597 - Colegio De San Jose-Manila-1601 Colegio De San Ildefonso De Cebu - In 1863 the colonial authorities issued a royal degree to reform the existing educational system. In 1871 the school of medicine and pharmacy were opened to UST, after 15 years it had granted the degree Of Licenciado En Medicina to 62 graduates. Medicine - Development of hospitals San Juan Lazaro hospital the oldest in the far east was founded in 1578. Roads and Bridges Among other Spanish contributions: - Arithmetic - Algebra - Geometry - Trigonometry - Physics - Hydrography - Meteorology - Navigation - Pilotage American Period and Post Commonwealth Era - BUREAU OF GOVERNMENT LABORATORIES (1901) - BUREAU OF SCIENCE (1905) - INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE (1946) RA 2067 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “SCIENCE ACT OF 1958”. - This was enacted to integrate, coordinate, and intensify scientific and technological research and development and to foster invention including allocation of funds and other purposes. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL WAS ESTABLISHED ON DECEMBER 8, 1933. - Its Mandate (Nrcp) Promotes And Supports Fundamental Or Basic Research For The Continuing Total Improvement Of The Research Capability Of Individual Scientists Or Group Of Scientists; Provides Advice On Problems And Issues Of National Interest; Promotes Scientific And Technological Culture To All Sectors Of Society; And Fosters Linkages With Local And International Scientific Organizations For Enhanced Cooperation In The Development And Sharing Of Information NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL WAS ESTABLISHED IN DECEMBER 8, 1933. - Its Mandate (NRCP) promotes and supports fundamental or basic research for the continuing total improvement of the research capability of individual scientists or group of scientists; provides advice on problems and issues of national interest; promotes scientific and technological culture to all sectors of society; and fosters linkages with local and international scientific organizations for enhanced cooperation in the development and sharing of information. It was during the American Period when Science was inclined towards: - Agriculture - Food Processing - Forestry - Medicine - Pharmacy - Nursing
A ______________ is the smallest military unit, typically consisting of 3-5 soldiers and working closely within a tactical operation. A ______________ consists of 8-12 soldiers and is led by a squad leader. A ______________, typically consisting of 30-50 soldiers, is commanded by a lieutenant and subdivided into smaller squads. The ______________ is a company-level unit of about 100-200 soldiers, typically commanded by a captain. A ______________ is made up of several companies, usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and consists of 300-1,000 soldiers. A ______________ typically consists of 3-5 battalions, is commanded by a colonel, and can operate independently in large-scale operations. A ______________ is made up of several brigades and is commanded by a major general, usually numbering 10,000-20,000 soldiers. A ______________ is a larger military formation made up of multiple divisions, commanded by a lieutenant general. The term ______________ refers to units designed for direct engagement with enemy forces, such as infantry, armor, and artillery. ______________ is a branch specializing in close-combat tactics and foot soldiers, serving as the backbone of ground forces. ______________ units provide long-range firepower to support ground forces, using cannons, howitzers, and rocket systems. ______________ are specialized units equipped with tanks and other armored vehicles for breakthrough and exploitation missions. The ______________ is responsible for building infrastructure like bridges, roads, and fortifications in combat and non-combat settings. The ______________ provides protection against nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons on the battlefield. ______________ are elite units trained for unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, and specialized missions. ______________ are responsible for maintaining law and order within military ranks and ensuring security in both combat zones and bases. ______________ provide medical care to soldiers, ensuring health and emergency treatment in battlefield conditions.
In World War I, many countries formed an _ to help each other. A man tried to _ a leader, which started a big conflict. The _ of power changed after the wars. People often _ each other for the problems that happened. The war had many _ effects on the world. Countries had to make a _ to solve their problems. One _ of the war was that many people were sad. The war caused a lot of _ to cities and homes. Countries would _ when they felt threatened. After a battle, one side might face _ and have to give up. Soldiers are trained to _ their country in a war. Some weapons are very _ and can hurt many people. Countries can _ land when they win a war. Countries wanted to _ the world and grow their land. _ is when one country wants to take over another. Countries can use their _ to make others listen. It takes time to _ for a big fight. The word "_" means worldwide. _ is when people feel proud of their country. Countries need to _ to keep the world safe and happy.
Norman weapons, armour and tactics
. Video games are a popular pastime for teenagers (and many adults) all around the world. In fact, 97% of American teenagers play video games. Not all video games show graphic violence. But about half of the top selling video games do. It is common for a video game to include weapons that are used to harm other humans. Many video game critics argue that violent images and violent role play in video games can desensitize teens to violence. This means that violence starts to seem normal. Some argue that enough violent video games can even make teenagers more likely to commit violent acts in real life. In 1993, Congress first took a look at the issue. Mortal Kombat had just been released. Many Americans were worried about children playing such a violent game. Congress talked a bout whether the government should place limits on the sale of video games. This caused the video game industry to create an organization to rate video games. This organization is called the Entertainment Software Rating Board. They give ratings based on the age level a video game is appropriate for. The American Psychological Association (APA) created a Task Force on Violent Media. In 2017 they released a statement. It labeled violent video games as a “risk factor for aggression.” This means that they linked playing video games to increased “aggressive behaviors, thoughts and emotions” and “decreased empathy.” Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of others. But they did not actually state that video games are the cause of an increase in crime. Plus, other studies have said that the competition in video games increases aggression more than just violent images.