As I was searching for web resources on the zodiac/astrology post, the following quote jumped out at me: "If you watch a spinning toy top, explains Kunkle, you will see its axis wobble. That's called
precession. The Earth's axis does the same thing. It's currently facing Polaris, often called the North Star, but 3,000 years ago it was pointing at an obscure star called
Thuban." (from
"So, Now What's Your Sign?") It immediately reminded me of the story I heard a couple of days earlier about the changes necessary at the Tampa Airport due to a shift in the magnetic north pole. ("
Magnetic North Pole Shift Affects Tampa Airport") According to National Geographic's website, the magnetic north pole appears to be shifting towards Russia at the rate of approximately 25 miles a year. ("
North Magnetic Pole Is Shifting Rapidly Toward Russia"). Consider the knowledge claims quoted above and made in the two articles. Use them as a jump-off to reflective comments on knowledge and how we know what we claim to know.
15 comments:
We know what we claim to know by observing the world around us and making theories based on what makes sense to us. Some of these claims from the shifting pole article seem a little out there to me, how do we know that the world did this same thing happened 500 years ago? And how do we know that the poles traded places 780,000 years ago? The only evidence the claim to support these facts is magnetic clues found in rocks. That is a very broad statement if you ask me and offers no real proof. But, besides that many people, including me will trust these judgments and accept them as very likely true.
According to National Geographic and AOL news, our north magnetic pole is shifting towards Russia. A shift in the pole is a hard to justify, we need evidence in which we can prove that it is truly moving, to make people believe. We clam to know that there is a shift in the pole, because we have evidence, the closer you move towards the pole, the direction north on your compass becomes less accurate. Another way we know this is if we watch the northern lights and they begin to shift, that is because they are connected to the north magnetic pole. We use evidence to understand the situation with the poles and using the evidence, we come to a conclusion that the pole is moving.
This post is very ironic due to the fact that scientists are saying that they “know” that the earth’s axis faced Thuban 3,000 years ago, because they were not alive to witness and test it. Nobody can “know” this because none of us were living 3,000 years ago. Back then, the scientists did not have the instruments or technology to calculate something this precisely. Even if today’s scientists were to try and find data that suggests it to be the case, they could never be able to declare that the “know” it one-hundred percent. Each piece of evidence helps a theory inch its way closer to the truth, yet nothing can ever be considered the truth. The second claim, made by National Geographic that the magnetic north pole appears to be shifting towards Russia at the rate of approximately 25 miles a year, has more accuracy and credibility. The word “appears” makes this statement legit, because it makes this statement a theory. People can take this theory and run their own tests to get closer and closer to the truth.
On the national geographic website, Stoner claims that the north pole is shifting at a rate of 25 miles per year towards Siberia. His claim is built upon the use of a compass most likely. Therefore, he is dependent upon technology for his beliefs. Kunkle who compared the Earth's imperfect oscillations to a top is using a model to justify his belief. It would be near impossible to be able to sense or know the oscillations of the Earth so he uses something more rational, the toy top. Therefore, Kunkle is depending upon his own reasoning and sense perception to draw a comparison between the feasible toy top and the Earth which would be hard to test.
I don't know anything about the magnetic pull and what it has to do with me and the world. When I read the Tampa Bay article it didn't give me any information about the magnetic pull and what it was or how it would effect anything for the first several paragraphs. As I continued to read I just thought it was somebody's attempt to get publicity. Finally, at almost the end of the article, it talks about how airplanes needing their compass to be precise. Then I went I realized that maybe there was a bit of truth buried in the article. Only then did it get my attention because it had something to do with me.
I think that these knowledge claims are completely scientific and are made valid by this fact. The have all be put under tests and studies and can be explained through the results of these tests. It might be true that these things can't be proven for sure, but we can be somewhat sure that these things are true.
If the magnetic poles are truly moving and we have the ability to see that they are moving, then we most likely have some way to see where they will end up and make the adjustments needed to keep airports up and running. While we cannot know for sure ourselves that the magnetic poles are moving, we have to trust the Scientists that have the training, technology and wisdom to plan out the steps to take to keep our airports working. If we are to believe that this is just precession and not a pole reversal then this change should not have much effect on the daily life of the average person.
We have always known that the magnetic north pole is different than the physical one, and that it changes. Anyone with a basic understanding of orienteering knows this and knows how to counter act it. So the north pole and magnetic north are not in exactly the same position, so what's the big deal? Well as it shifts, we need to update our technology and maps to account for it so that we don't get lost in the air or on the ground. It also means that all your nifty little tom-tom gadgets will need to at some point be calibrated, unless the signal being sent to them is processed and corrected instead. Not a huge deal, but something we still need to keep track of.
I thought the article was very interesting. It seems that most of the things we claim to know are actually knowledge claims that can be affected by many variables. The justification for the change in the poles seems to be based on scientific evidence, and since science always evolves and builds upon the theories and experiences of previous research it seems plausible that our knowledge will constantly evolve. I don't have the ability or the desire to go and test whether the scientists claims about the shifts are actually true. Most of the knowledge that we are learning, and a lot of that in science, we accept as knowledge because they seem adequately justified and have no solid evidence against them. If the shifts in the poles continue to change and are justified throughout time then are scientific knowledge about the poles will ultimately change. Since most of what we believe and what we think we know actually is constantly evolving it would only make sense that our knowledge would alter with newly discovered evidence. I think that the whole point of learning and knowledge isn't to get one right answer or one theory and never alter from that belief. This article just brings another possibility to the table, and I'm sure there will be people who absolutely dispute it, and others, (like those who work at the airlines) are actually going to pay attention to the scientific evidence.
First of all, what we understand as the truth is always changing. With new discoveries come different or new knowledge. From there we find more things to experiment on to find more knowledge still. This knowledge that the earth is rocking on its axis is rather new to us, so we question it to see if that is true. We know how far Russia was from the North Pole and can measure now to see if it has moved. Finding out that Russia is moving as well as other countries should not be new to us though. One of the theories of how the continents got where they are is by the techtonic plates moving. We shouldn't be surprised that they are still moving.
This is a very interesting story because it illustrates the way that some knowledge has to be changed. For navigation to be possible we are highly dependent on magnetic compasses which require having a knowledge of where the needle is actually pointing when it reads north. It was shocking to learn that fifty years from now following a compass straight north could actually lead you to Siberia rather than the Arctic. For me this shows that certain knowledge must be able to adapt to the changes in our surroundings. If people simply continued to believe that a compass continued to lead them to the center of the Arctic then they would surely get lost. We cannot be afraid to allow our knowledge to change when it needs to. In fact, holding on to outdated knowledge which has now become incorrect could prove to be extremely disastrous. I mean we do not want planes crashing in the middle of the ocean, right?
I think it would be kind of hard to believe that the norht pole could shift position, but i have to say we have had some amazing stuff happen in correalation tp the earth so i guess i can see how that may be possible about the earth moving, but i think we should take this knowledge with a bit of salt.
I think it is really interesting that the Earth is shifting in such a way that it affects us and our lives like this. Not only does it effect the physical aspect of our lives, with things like the airport in Tampa, but also little things (that could be considered personal or emotional) like the horoscopes. Yet, how can we accept what these scientists and astrologists tell us? How do we know the Earth is shifting the way they say it is? Or that the magnetic North Pole is changing? How can we ever be sure of any of this? We can't be, unless we become scientists, but for now we are forced to take what they say for granted because they are the authorities. This is similar to many things we have been taught are "knowledge" or fact. But really, how can we truly ever know anything like this is actually happening? It could just be one big conspiracy. I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but if you really think there is no way we can know for certain. We just take things for the truth when magazines like National Geographic and scientists tell us things, because somehow they have earned the status of infallible. Hm. Not sure exactly what to argue here, or what to do about it, it is just interesting to think about.
I don't know how we can know about what's going on inside the Earth's core, but I guess it must be something logical, right? Sometimes we may not be able to know the truth but make a logical conclusion.
We all claim to "know" something, but really we only "think" that we "know" something. Just as Parke Kunkle claim to "know" that 3,000 years ago (as if he was there to witness this) the Earth's axis was facing star Thuban. Now, I'm not sure whether to be impress or weirded out by the fact that this person claims to "know" something, that no one else in today's world was around to witness.
As for National Geographic, I'm not sure what to make of it. Stoner (like Kunkle) is basing his claim of "knowledge" off of his observations. The only difference between him and Kunkle is that, he's using probably more techy stuff verses Kunkle who is using a child's toy.
Not to bash either of them, since either one could possibly be correct plus they're pros in their job so their judgments are probably somewhat trustworthy.
I guess one question that came to my mind was How will we ever know that their "knowledge claims" is the truth...?
But in all honesty, I won't really care if it turned out that both of them were wrong, cuz personally this whole constelations and and earth's axis jazz is not affecting my life...yet.
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