Potatools

 Hi, I'm not dead=D 

In Biology today we made stone tools out of potatoes =D. It was fun. 

Our tools =D

In order from left to right, we have examples from the Oldowan, Acheulean, Mousteruan, and Upper Paleolithic eras. 

The Oldowan tools are associated with Homo Habilis and possibly (but controversially) late Australopithecines in east Africa. They appear from 2.7 - 1.7 million years ago. These are the first pieces of evidence of tool use we have. However, it is likely earlier hominins would have used tools made out of wood as it was softer and easier to manipulate. However, these don't fossilise very well, so that is just a theory. The Oldowan-era tools were made by striking two stones together to get a sharp edge. As you can maybe see in the picture, they are very rough and have lots of the original stone shape. They were made with fewer than 5-6 blows. They were used for cutting and scraping meat off of animal carcasses, or cracking open bones to reach the marrow, giving them access to food that other species did not. This would help them get more energy which could be used to evolve further. =D

The Acheulean tools are next. these are associated with Homo Erectus and Homo Ergaster. These were found across Africa and much of Asia and Europe around roughly 1.7 million - 100,000 years ago. These tools are fully shaped and used ~50 strikes. They required more planning and time than the Oldowan tools which implies that they were developing some form of patients.  They also required precision which shows the hominins getting better with their hands. These tools allow for better processing of meat (e.g. carving meat for transport), access to different food sources and potentially it gave them defence from predators. All these things would allow both physical evolution and possibly cultural evolution. 

Moving to the Mousterian era (600,000 - 40,000 years ago), we see tools requiring around 150 blows. They are associated with the Neanderthals who had learned to be picky about the rocks and used primarily flint as it flakes and chips in a predictable manner. Tools from this era have well-worked edges often made with tools made for making other tools. The Cognitive abilty (Planning, learning, and teaching skills) and technical skills required to make these tools advanced and became more robust as the Mousterian period deveolped. This would mean that the hominins were getting smarter and were having some form of commuictaiton. 

The Upper Paleolithic era saw a huge and diverse range of tools being made. This time period of tools is associated with Homo Sapiens begining approximately 50,000 years ago. These tools where finly worked, requireing more than 250 blows per tool. This is also when Hominins started using other things with their stones to create tools (Wood, Ivory, Antler, etc) Many tools where created with very fine detail, creating things like fish hooks and sewing needles, or worked into specific shapes in order to fit into another component. (stone arrow heads or spear heads to go on wooden handles.) The materials to create these tools were often transported over long distances which implies a need for commuincation and orgniseation. It could also be showing communication between groups of H. Sapiens. 

Boom! Facts haha. Making these Potatools was really fun, even if I made Miss debate wheather or not she should give me a knife >=) 

I would love to do this again with actual stones, but I know we can't in school. =( oh well. 

Human Evolution

 In Biology, we are looking at Human Evolution. The task here is to read any article about human evolution and write a 5-6 sentence summary about it. This is the article I'm using humanorigins.si.edu. 

Human evolution is the lengthy process of change by which humans originated from our ape-like ancestors. Humans are primates and share a common ancestor with other great apes such as chimpanzees and gorillas. Through the evolutionary process, our ancestors gained, the ability to be able to walk bipedally (Walk on two legs), a larger and more complex brain, the ability to grip and manipulate objects and tools, and the capacity for language. Most scientists recognize 15-20 different species of early humans. However, they do not agree on which ones are related or which ones just died out. Early humans first migrated out of Africa into Asia probably between 2 million and 1.8 million years ago and continued to migrate around the world, moving to Europe between 1.5 million and 1 million years ago. 

That is my summary of the section of the article about Human Evolution. The rest of the article talks about Paleoanthropology and what it is, and then the process of evolution in general.  

My thoughts on English

 The first post of 2023 let's go! (I love how I write most of my posts as if people outside of my teachers actually read them haha)

This post is about what I think about English and what I'm like (I think. I wasn't paying 100% attention) (Sorry ms)  

I think English is interesting, however, I struggle to dive deeper into my ideas. I can say "This is the main point" But I struggle to come up with why it's important. I also struggle with putting my ideas into words that make sense. I may know what I want to say, just not how to say it. I like doing creative work/writing and to be completely honest, it's one of the only things I really enjoy about English. I also stick to my ideas a lot and can be slightly stubborn. One of my other favorite topics is novel study. Mainly because I get to read a book.

Something about me is that I like to listen to music while I do my work. I find it helps me to drown out what others are saying and the tapping of keys. My Dad says I'm addicted, but eh, I just like music over chatter. 

(I have been given more information on what I'm meant to be writing. Back on topic for us then =D ))

My expectations for this course are to struggle with all the essays I have to write, and hopefully, end up with a merit at the end of it. 
My understanding of English is that it's teaching you how to think critically and how to write reports and essays efficiently. 

Behold the classic example of I have the ideas but I can't expand on them =D

((This was meant to be posted on the 9th of Feb but I ran out of time and kept forgetting to post it. But better late than never I guess haha))

Connections Bladerunner 2049 & Klara And The Sun

 Our task today in English is to answer these questions about Bladerunner 2049 (BR2049) & Klara And The Sun (KATS) in a paragraph.
What connections can you draw so far between Klara and the Sun and Blade Runner 2049? For example themes/ideas, characters, relationships, style, etc?
Has your understanding of what it means to be human/have personhood changed since studying these texts? How so?

A connection that I can make between the two texts is that they both talk about discrimination. In KATS, it is between the 'lifted' and 'unlifted' kids. A lifted kid is a kid who has been genetically modified to be 'better', smarter, stronger, etc. In BR2049, it is between the replicants and the humans. The replicants are bioengineered humanoid robots who are smarter, stronger etc. Another connection that I can make is the fact of the main characters are robots/humanoid AI. Klara is an AF (Artificial Friend) and K is a Replicant (Robot police kinda). Another connection I can make is the theme of what is love. Klara worked out that, even if she was to copy Josie, it wouldn't be the same, even if Klara perfected how Josie acted, because of the people who loved her, it wouldn't be the same. And in BR2049 K loved Joi, an AI hologram, and learning about things that way.  Both texts also cover the idea of Personhood, with both main characters being humanoid robots who are trying to fit into the human world. 

I've not finished the other paragraph but I want to answer this question before I ran out of time again.

 My understanding of what it means to be human/have personhood hasn't really changed after studying these texts. My thoughts on personhood are, that if it looks like a person, sounds like a person and acts like a person, it probably is a person. Looking like a person would probably be looking like a human like K and Klara do. They, in my eyes, look like people. Sounding like a person would mean being able to communicate with others. This could be in a spoken or written language. I know that some pet owners are teaching their pets to 'speak' with special buttons, but since the pets don't follow the other two requirements so it doesn't count as a person. Both K and Klara communicate with humans/others, therefore, they both sound like a person. Acting like a person would be walking upright, following the human laws that have been set, doing things that others do, like reading, playing sports etc. Again both Klara and K do this. Nothing in the texts changed that for me. 

Klara and the Sun

 Hi, I'm not dead!

We have been reading Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro in English. We just finished it and here are some things we have to do. 

1. Read the Guardians article (This one)

2. Read the New York Times article (That didn't work, so no link sorry) 

3. Locate 3-5 new vocabulary words in the articles and define them.
- I don't like these tasks as I already have a large vocabulary and very rarely come across a word I don't know. And if I don't I can work it out by the context clues around the word. That being said. have some interesting words and their definitions. 

        -ludicrous: so foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing.
        -scientism: thought or expression regarded as characteristic of scientists.
        - beguiling: charming or enchanting, often in a deceptive way.

4. According to the articles, what important themes/ideas do 'Klara and the Sun' raise? Answer in complete sentences, with accompanying explanations as necessary (think of who your audience is)
    -Honestly, I have no idea. I have read the article multiple times and don't know. I know we are looking at what it means to be human/have personhood, and that's kinda the theme, but apart from that, I don't know. 

        -Class ideas 

                - Identity - who are you really? 

                - Faith - Praise to a deity (The Sun) 

                - Loneliness - Lockdown

                - Mortality - you will die

                - Relationships 

                - Discrimination - rich vs poor - Haves vs Have-not - "Lifted vs Not Lifted" 

                - Ethics

                - Enviroment - "Big bad guy" = Polution 

                - AI - Replacing us

                - Personhood

5. Locate another article about Klara and the Sun and record something new that you learned after reading it. Link the article in your post.

        - Didn't have time to do this one sorry. 

BR2049

 In English, we are doing the Close Viewing internal Practice paragraphs on the movie Blade runner 2049. I worked with Thomas on my paragraph. The scene we are looking at for the practice is the scene where K comes home from retiring Spinner (I don't remember his name, so let's just pretend that's his name) Here it is. 

Denis Villeneuve used the film techniques of dialogue combined with setting to show the aggressive relationships between man and replicant. We see this when K is verbally abused while coming home from his job when a Hungarian lady yells at him; “What’s up, you beautiful tinplate soldier? So you choose to come home now, you prick. Who’s waiting for you in there? I’ll kick your leg out, you bastard”. The dark grimy stairwell, crowded with people, shows that none of the actual people cleans it since they believe it should be left to the ‘slaves’. This dialogue is used in a way that gets more and more aggressive as K ignores it. This was done to help to explain the relationship between replicants and humans. It shows that replicants aren’t well thought of and that they are seen as useless no matter what they do. It invokes a feeling of sympathy from the viewer because it makes the viewer realize that the lady is blaming K for the dark living space. This also helps us to better understand the background character’s feelings. This is important because it helps us to empathize with K because he is the main character and is intended to have a similarity to the viewer. This is comparable to peaceful protest, no matter what happens to the replicants they don’t retaliate. They take the verbal abuse and deal with it.

If anything is wrong, we're blaming Thomas, ok? 

Sad Joke on a Marae by Apirana Taylor analising questions.

In English, we are practicing for the  Unfamiliar Text exam. in the unfamiliar text exam you are given 3 pieces of text you have never seen and are asked questions on them. This is one of the examples we have been given to practice on.

Sad Joke on a Marae
Apirana Taylor

Tihei Mauriora I called
Kupe Paikea Te Kooti
Rewi and Te Rauparaha.
I saw them
grim death and wooden ghosts
carved on the meeting house wall.

In the only Māori I knew
I called
Tihei Mauriora.
Above me the tekoteko raged.
He ripped his tongue from his mouth
and threw it at my feet.

Then I spoke,
My name is Tū the freezing worker.
Ngāti D. B. is my tribe.
The pub is my Marae.
My fist is my taiaha.
Jail is my home.

Tihei Mauriora I cried.
They understood
the tekoteko and the ghosts
though I said nothing but
Tihei Mauriora
for that’s all I knew.

These are the questions we have to answer 

• What senses does the poet mainly appeal to? The poem mainly appeals to the sense of sight and hearing. It gives the readers/listeners an image of a Maori standing in front of a Marae and shouting at the tekoteko and his ancestors 
• Which images are most powerful or striking? the tekoteko throwing his tongue at Tu. This is because it sought of like the tekoteko is giving Tu the ability to speak Maori. 
• Which sounds are particularly memorable? The calling of Tihei Mauriora
• Which words do you find most striking / vivid / disturbing / moving? propbaly when the tekoteko throws their tongue at Tu
• What are your first impressions of the speaker of the poem (if there is one)? He is a stereotypical Maori, being drunk. I also see him as almost a small man, trying to keep his belief going, but doesn't know how, but is trying his best 

1. Why do you think Māori language is used in this poem? to show that Tu knows more Maori than he thinks he does
2. Is this a rhyming poem, or a free verse poem? Why do you think that is? it is a free verse poem. Free verse poems are easier to write if you don't know the language as well, so it shows Tu's lack of knowledge 
3. Who are: "Kupe Paikea Te KootiRewi and Te Rauparaha”? they are important Maori historical figures 
4. In the third stanza, the poem uses a pepeha style. What is a pepeha, and why would it be important in this poem? A pepeha is a Mihi which is basically a Maori all about me and it tells us that he knows more than he thinks he knows. 
5. Find examples of the following techniques and explain why they have been included:
1. metaphor - My fist is my taiaha. It tells us he is a fighter and strong
2. personification - The tekoteko ragged. It shows us that the ancestors are mad at Tu for losing his heritage. 
3. strong verbs - The teketeko ragged. It shows just how mad the tekoteko is. 
4. first-person pronoun
5. repetition