2016-08-25 Core: 10 hunter-gatherers, utopias

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: do p. 122 parts 3, 4, 5 about the reading on p. 123
part 3 - a
part 4 - What do they have?
basic tools, a lot of free time, sufficient food, a difficult environment
part 5
1 The rise of agriculture had some bad consequences.
2 They don’t change the environment much (they don’t cause pollution or damage the land).
3 Having a camp named after you doesn’t give you any authority.
4 They protect their land carefully.
5 They used to be the only people who used the land, but not any more.
6 They are nomads, which is like a lifelong camping trip.
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Other words you didn’t understand?
dense (as in population) = living with many people in a small area
brine = salt water (“The soil is briny” = groundwater is salty in this area)
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part 6 - Individually, decide what you think the answer to both of these questions is, based on information from the reading.
part 7 - Discuss your answers in groups of three. Do you agree with each other? What passages from the text support your view?
1 Yes. - Paragraph 3 lists “modern” problems they don’t have to deal with. “There are many things to envy about the Hadza.” But the author also acknowledges that it’s a hard life.
2 Yes. - In particular, the author seems to agree with Jared Diamond about agriculture: “[A mistake] from which we have never recovered”. “The Hadza are such gentle stewards of the land” - suggests the author thinks their treatment of the land is better than using it for agriculture
What is the author’s opinion about the fact that the hunter-gatherer lifestyle is becoming less possible for people like the Hadza? - It’s a bad thing: “Of greater concern is that soon it may be impossible for them to remain in [a lifestyle like this].” It’s a difficult lifestyle, but they should be free to live it.
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taught, thought, caught, bought, fought, brought, sought - these words all rhyme, ‘-ought’ and ‘-aught’ have the same pronunciation in irregular past verbs
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent#Number_of_continents - Different educational systems teach a different number of continents.
In English, native speakers understand “America” to mean “the United States of America”. If you don’t mean that, say “North America”, “South America”, “Central America”, “Latin America”, or “the Americas”.
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Word focus: “free”
part 8 - What does “free spirits” mean?
- More or less free to do what they want, without worrying about other people’s opinions or social conventions.
part 9 - What do these other expressions with “free” mean?
1 You’re free to make your own decision. There’s no need to ask (about this particular thing).
2 There’s always a price. You can’t get something for nothing. There are always strings attached.
3 a chaotic fight or debate, with everyone talking at the same time
4 the freedom to do what we wanted
5 got off without any punishment (“scot” originally meant a tax or fine)
http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/04/scot-free-origin/ - blog article about the origin of the phrase

“rein”, “rain”, and “reign” are homophones
“there’s no such thing as ____” = “____ doesn’t exist”
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BREAK
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enthrall / captivate - similar meaning, but “enthrall” is less common and thus more intense
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With a partner, make a list of characteristics of good listeners. Do you think you’re a good listener? Why or why not?
- pay attention
- look at the speaker
- maintain a reasonable amount of eye contact
- don’t look at your watch or phone (which would appear impatient)
- nod in acknowledgement of what the person says
- Use words to express interest (“really?” “right” “go on” “wow”)
- Ask open questions (information questions that can have longer answers)
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p. 124 part 3 - answer these questions about the listening
1 She wants to play tennis.
2 A model society set up by George Pullman in Chicago.
3 Yes, because Pullman’s capitalist model society was unusual for model societies (which were usually supposed to be communalistic)
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http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/blood-on-the-tracks-in-pullman-chicagolands-failed-cap-1574508996 - more information about George Pullman’s “utopia”
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part 4 - Complete the phrases from the conversation
1 Really? (That) Sounds interesting.
2 (That’s an) Unusual idea.
  isn’t it?
3 (That/It) Doesn’t sound very utopian.
  No, it doesn’t, does it?
4 I suppose
  Probably
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In 1516, Thomas More wrote a short book in Latin “concerning the best state of a commonwealth and the new island Utopia”. This is where we get the word “utopia”.
Read the excerpts from the book and find where he discusses the following ideas:
religion - par. 2, belief in a just afterlife, different sects and no images of the gods,
law and crime - par. 1, no lawyers, few laws, attempted and completed punished the same, punishment is slavery
politics - par. 3, elected prince, decisions require three days of discussion
emigration - par. 4, you are free to leave Utopia whenever you want
freedom of speech - par. 3, death penalty for discussing government matters outside the senate
working hours - par. 5, 6 hours or less per day (only as long as there is work to do)
dirty jobs - par. 4, done by slaves (hopefully people don’t stop committing crimes)
money - par. 5, no money internally (needs are provided), no private business, silver and gold used to buy from other countries and pay mercenaries
foreign policy - par. 6, invasion is okay for defense, to protect the oppressed or to use natural resources to their “best advantage”

Virtue is rewarded and vice (is) punished in the afterlife.
busywork / make-work = work that is given or assigned to keep you busy
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If you could create a perfect society, who would do dirty or unpleasant jobs?
perverse incentive = Where a system rewards actions that we don’t really want to reward.
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Homework: p. 170 practice 1 and 2