StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

We live in a layered world - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
It is true that we live in a layered world, our earth's surface remain terra incognita to-day,for ease of movement and other technological developments have made possible an almost comprehensive knowledge of the terrain,much of which is now mapped…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.5% of users find it useful
We live in a layered world
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "We live in a layered world"

Download file to see previous pages

Not least in importance is the contribution made recently by aerial surveys, which, besides speeding mapping, frequently reveal previously unknown features and are often used in the detection of valuable mineral deposits.All this vast range of knowledge serves, among other things, to emphasize the great physical diversity of the home of man. The pattern of human activity on the earth's surface is the result of the initiative and mobility of man operating within a frame of natural forces. Without denying the limits every environment sets to man's ambition, they emphasize the scope of man's action rather than these limits.

Long ago the Greeks introduced the concept of a threefold division of the world into torrid, temperate, and frigid zones. In broad outline the Greek division remains substantially correct, but modern knowledge has brought about many refinements of this concept and has fostered the growth of regional geography, which seeks to define distinct areas which are commonly identified with physical conditions. Hence geomorphology, oceanography, climatology, and biogeography are recognized as essential parts of geographical studies in so far as they explain the physical aspect of human environments, and various classifications of regions have been based on the findings of their exponents.

Earth facts do not determine the form and nature of human society in development. They condition it. New earth facts are continually being discovered and old earth facts given new significance as human knowledge thought and social action develop. The relations are reciprocal. According to Brunhes, "The power and means which man has at his disposal are limited and he meets in nature bounds which he cannot cross. Human activity can within certain limits vary its play and its movements; but it cannot do away with its environment, it can often modify it, but it can never suppress it, and will always be conditioned by it (p. 603). Human societies, like those of the vegetable and animal world, are composed of different elements subject to the influence of environment.

No one knows what winds brought them together, nor whence, nor when; but they are living side by side in a region which has gradually put its stamp upon them. Some societies have long been part of the environment, but others are in process of formation, continuing to recruit members and to be modified day by day. Upon such, in spite of all they can do, surrounding conditions leave their impress, and in Australia, at the Cape, or in America, these people are slowly becoming saturated with the influence of the regions where their destinies are to unfold.

This final paragraph from Bowman. While the 'physical laws' to which mankind responds are variable in their application and in degree of effect, yet this is also true that all men everywhere are affected to some degree by physical conditions. The drought of 1930 in the United States threw into strong relief the fact that it is only in regions of optimum climatic conditions that men may say 'I am free of those extreme conditions that have more nearly continuous effects upon man elsewhere.' How circumscribed are such optimum areas, and how much history, and what deep cultural relations have flowed out of the contrast between well-favored and ill-favored regions.

The limits set by Nature to man's action vary from place to place on the earth's surface and from one historical period to another. In marginal environments, such as the hot and cold deserts, and at low stages of culture man's choice may be extremely restricted. In the more favorable areas of the warm and cool temperate zones, and in periods when man's techniques are highly developed the possibilities are more numerous. But however many skills man

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“We live in a layered world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 16500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1512834-we-live-in-a-layered-world
(We Live in a Layered World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 16500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/sociology/1512834-we-live-in-a-layered-world.
“We Live in a Layered World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 16500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1512834-we-live-in-a-layered-world.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF We live in a layered world

Life on Mars (Earth Science Course)

Man believes in extraterrestrial life since pre-historic era.... These beliefs were fundamentally supernatural in those days.... Heavenly religions also indicated presence of other worlds.... In early modern era Bruno proposed other planets and possibility of life on them.... hellip; William Herschel 18th century astronomer also hypothesized that other planets are populated as well....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Layers of Brain and Spinal Cord

It is a double-layered structure consisting of connective tissues.... The report "Layers of Brain and Spinal Cord" presents the composition, organization, and functions of the layers of the brain and spinal cord involved in meningitis.... The brain is considered the judgment center of the body, present in the head region in a cavity called cranium and protected by a bony structure called the skull....
6 Pages (1500 words) Report

The Concept of Networking

The paper "The Concept of Networking " highlights that in general, the DNS concept is a technique through which the DNS address provided to the main server of an organization can be translated into an IP address for easy recognition over the world Wide Web.... The discussion emphasizes the principles and operations of layered communication protocols.... The layered communication protocols of networking are discussed hereunder....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Understanding of the Vision Process

Figure 1 below displays the various parts of the human eye which we will briefly discuss in the following paragraphs as a general overview before more fully discussing the relationship between the eyes and the brain and how this intricate process allows us to see.... The movement of these muscles plays an important part in how we see.... When we squint that is our attempt to further concentrate the crystalline lens....
14 Pages (3500 words) Research Proposal

Rapid manufacturing and its Practical Versions

In the longer run, rapid manufacturing is poised to redefine manufacturing as we know it by creating a greater focus for additive manufacturing in place of subtractive manufacturing.... The reporter states that rapid manufacturing has been in the making since the sixties but its practical versions became available only in the 1980's....
12 Pages (3000 words) Assignment

Design Culture in Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo by Nicholas De Monchaux

The current report analyzes the book titled "Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo”, written by Nicholas De Monchaux.... Therefore, in this report, a history of designing, prototyping, and implementing spacesuits will be discussed.... Additionally, the report describes the aspects of spacesuit production....
5 Pages (1250 words) Book Report/Review

Communication Advantages

The following paper under the title 'Communication Advantages' presents a Converged communication network that seems to be the way forward in succeeding organizations.... Effective communication improves the efficiency of an organization due to good human relations… Both one-way and two-way communication forms are pivotal in business deliverance....
5 Pages (1250 words) Case Study

Design of Pavements and Surfacings - Pavement Design Life, Flexible Pavement Rehabilitation

The author of the paper "Design of Pavements and Surfacings - Pavement Design Life, Flexible Pavement Rehabilitation" states that Unbound Flexible Pavement is constructed with a granular base that is unbound with either a surface of thin asphalt or sprayed bituminous.... hellip; Deep Strength Asphalt Pavement – A pavement that comprises of an Asphalt wearing, with the base and intermediate courses that are placed on a cement-treated sub-base....
16 Pages (4000 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us