What is Geography?
• “Geo-” and “-graphy” = – “earth description” or describing the earth
• “Spatial variations” across the earth• Why do we find “that” there?• What, where, and why?
Cultural Geography• Political geography
– Why do we care about…. – Why do the Israelis and Muslims
hate each other?
Cultural Geography
• Transportation systems and routes– Why do buses run on
that street and not this one?
– What about light rail?– Why should we care
about the docks in L.A.?
Physical Geography
Natural / Physical earth
– processes, systems, landforms
– cannot ignore the human aspect
Physical Geography: Earthquakes
2010 Chile:
(8.8)
China (6.9) & Haiti (7.0): quakes not as strong… but far deadlier??
Physical Geography
Biosphere:
Flora and Fauna– interconnecting
linkages– Native? Does it
matter?– oil spills, air pollution,
etc.– animal attacks
Geography…….The
“Jack of All Trades” degree
Assoc. of American Geographers listing
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Geography
Science and the Scientific Method
• Everything must have an explanation• Science must explain it all• Everything is theory
Must have data / evidence to support your theory!
Is the goal to seek truth?
Science and the Scientific Method
• Beware of the “expert” opinion• Beware of the concrete statement
– “We know……”– “This is how it works….”– “This is how it happened….”
• ex. How was the universe formed?
Scientific Method: Global Warming
The theory:1. Global temperatures have
warmed over past 120 years.2. Warming caused by human
released CO2 into the atmosphere.3. Assumed theory:• increased CO2 leads to increasing
temperatures
Scientific Method: evidence“We have conclusive proof of
global warming….”Consensus is not science!
It is a logical fallacy:“appeal to popularity”
Science? Scientific Method?• Put forward theory• Test theory• If theory fails even one test... It fails!• You must discard theory!
Theory: • Global temperatures have
warmed.
Assumed theory:• increased CO2 = increasing temperatures(The “Greenhouse Gas” concept)
• Warming caused by human CO2.
CORRECT!
FAIL!
FAIL!
Scientific Consensus“It does not matter who you are, or how smart you are, or what title you have, or how many of you there are, and certainly not how many papers your side has published, if your prediction is wrong then your hypothesis is wrong. Period.”
Richard Feynman
-- Nobel prize in physics
-- Manhattan Project
Science? Scientific Method?
“No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.”
-- Albert Einstein
Science? Scientific Method?
“Any physical theory is always provisional, in the sense that it is only a hypothesis: you can never prove it. No matter how many times the results of experiments agree with some theory, you can never be sure that the next time the result will not contradict the theory. On the other hand, you can disprove a theory by finding even a single observation that disagrees with the predictions of the theory.”
- Stephen Hawking, physicist
Other Examples?
1. Vaccinations• 2012 = highest number of Pertussis cases since
1955!• 20 deaths, nearly all children under 3 yrs old• 2014 = 30% increase over 2013 (through Aug 16)• Mumps outbreak in NHL
2. Health claims• Saturated fat• High fructose corn syrup• Artificial sweetners
3. Environmental Claims4. Etc……..