The Compass

The compass did not have the same uses in China as it did in Europe. The Chinese thought that they that they use it to manipulate their chi to make their life easier. Like they could get wealthy and they could make crops grow faster. They were basically cheating instead of doing the work. 

  The Europeans saw the compass as a use for sailing and to increase their capital.  Before the compass people had to use landmarks and the stars to guide them. After the compass was invented people could sail farther and with that it increased trade which increased capital. 

 The Chinese were more interested in manipulating their chi rather than increasing their capital like the Europeans did. The compass allowed the Europeans to sail farther than they had before instead of thinking that this was going to be a magical cure that solves all your problems.                

    Simple Machines

One of the ways that we use simple machines in our life is using the screw. We use screws in the chicken house and in the toy barn that me and my dad built. We also use screws in the chairs and stools. Another way that we use simple machines is the pulley that we use  on the tailgate of the cattle and calf chute. How we use the pulley is that I pull on the rope and the gate is pulled up so the cow or calf can get in. 

One thing that I thought was interesting is the mud dauber. It makes its nest out of mud and stings spiders so they are still alive but they can not move. So then when they lay their eggs their offspring can eat the spiders. So when I saw them I wondered if that is where the idea for adobe houses came from. 

    History 4 Lesson 20 

The Christan monks were able to help preserve and restore civilization after the Roman empire collapsed by using inventions. Three of the inventions are the water wheel, cam and the trip hammer. The monks used these inventions to crush ingredients to make beer. The water wheel was turned by water in a creek or stream, or a river which turned the shaft. The cam was attached to shaft and activated the trip hammer and it crushed the ingredients to make the beer. They started making beer because the water had germs in it and therefore they said it was not healthy to drink.

 My favorite invention is the water wheel. One of my favorite things that the water wheel does is that Egyptians used it to irrigate  fields. The water wheel had buckets on it the buckets scoped up the water and dumped into a well where the water ran to different ditches  in the field. Another use for the water wheel is it is used in gran mills and a trip hammer. And that is why my Favorite invention is the water wheel.           

 Tools 

New technology had a great impact on architecture. Less man power was needed after cranes were made. People could build bigger and more complex buildings with the invention of the crane. Cranes could lift heavy materials to make taller and bigger buildings like the skyscrapers. 

The invention of lighthouses improved conditions for sailors to get to the ports safely and for more sea trade. Lighthouses provided landmarks for sailors and they helped  them look out for rocks so they don’t sink their ships. Before lighthouses there was no visible landmarks and at night sailors could not see the rocks until it was too late. Bigger ports were made and cities became wealthier because of the sea trade that  lighthouses made possible.

As you can see increased technology allowed for bigger buildings and helped increased trade and made bigger and wealthier cities.      

Military Inventions 

As armor improved so did the swords. Swords needed to improve because armor became heavier and harder to penetrate. The hilt improved by making it where your hands where more protected in battle. During the making of the sword they would put a groove in it making it lighter but still have all of its strength.  

Ships improved by using oarsmen instead of sails. At first they used only one row of oarsmen in battle. Then they decided that they should add another row of oarsmen. And so they added another row of oarsmen and went into battle they thought that was good so after that they added another row. This made them more mobile instead of relying on the wind. They had a copper ram at the front of the ship that was below sea level.They used that to ram other ships and them open or put a hole in the ship so the water would come through and sink the ship.   

 Holding a cyclical view of time can make someone pessimistic about the future for many reasons. They think that the world came from chaos to order and back to chaos, thinking that there was no point in doing anything to make their life better and that there was no point in making inventions. They thought that it was hopeless to leave a legacy for their children. 

      After the birth of Christ the western civilization tended to think of time as linear, which has a beginning, middle,and an end. They made inventions to make their life easier and improving life for their children. Future generations can build on past technology and inventions. 

By improving life, inventions, and technology a person can increase their capital. Capital could be in the form of money, land, or labor. Inventions make things easier, faster and they can help you get work done on time.

Having a cyclical view of time as opposed to a linear view of time leads to less inventions and less advanced technology. This is because of the feeling the advancement is pointless because cycle from chaos to order and back to chaos.