Speech and WritingIt is a widely held misconception that writing is more perfect than speech. To many people, writing somehow seems more correct and more stable, whereas speech can be careless, corrupted, and susceptible to change. Some people even go so far as to identify language with writing and to regard speech as a secondary form of language used imperfectly to approximate the ideals of the written language. One of the basic assumptions of modern linguistics, however, is that speech is primary and writing is secondary. The most immediate manifestation of language is speech and not writing. Writing is simply the representation of speech in another physical medium. Spoken language encodes thought into a physically transmittable form, while writing, in turn, encodes spoken language into a physically preservable form. Writing is a two-stage process. All units of writing, whether letters or characters, are based on units of speech, i.e., words, sounds, or syllables. When linguists study language, they take the spoken lan- guage as their best source of data and their object of description (except in instances of languages like Latin for which there are no longer any speakers). There are several reasons for maintaining that speech is primary and writing is secondary. First, writing is a later historical development than spoken language. Current archeological evidence indicates that writing was first utilized in Sumer, that is, modern-day Iraq, about 6,000 years ago. As far as physical and cultural anthropologists can tell, spoken language has probably been used by humans for hundreds of thousands of years. Second, writing does not exist everywhere that spoken language exists. This seems hard to imagine in our highly literate society, but the fact is that there are still many communities in the world where a written form of language is not used, and even in those cultures using a writing system, there are individuals who fail to learn the written form of their language. In fact, the majority of the Earth’s inhabitants are illiterate, though quite capable of spoken communication. However, no society uses only a written language with no spoken form. Third, writing must be taught, whereas spoken language is acquired automatically. All children, except children with serious learning disabilities, naturally learn to speak the language of the community in which they are brought up. They acquire the basics of their native language before they enter school, and even if they never attend school, they become fully competent speakers. Writing systems vary in complexity, but regardless of their level of sophistication, they must all be taught. Finally, neurolinguistic evidence (studies of the brain in action during language use) demonstrates that the processing and production of written language is overlaid on the spoken language centers in the brain. Spoken language involves several distinct areas of the brain; writing uses these areas and others as well. So what gives rise to the misconception that writing is more perfect than speech? There are several reasons. For one thing, the product of writing is usually more aptly worded and better organized, containing fewer errors, hesitations, and incomplete sentences than are found in speech. This perfection of writing can be explained by the fact that writing is the result ofdeliberation , correction, and revision, while speech is the spontaneous and simultaneous formulation of ideas; writing is therefore less subject to the constraint of time than speech is. In addition, writing is ultimately associated with education and educated speech. Since the speech of the educated is more often than not set up as the “standard language,” writing is associated indirectly with the varieties of language that people tend to view as “correct.” However, the association of writing with the standard variety is not a necessary one, as evidenced by the attempts of writers to transcribe faithfully the speech of their characters. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men contain examples of this. Furthermore, because spoken language is physically no more than sound waves through the air, it is transient, but writing tends to last, because of its physical medium (characters on some surface), and can be preserved for a very long time. Spelling does not seem to vary from individual to individual or from place to place as easily as pronunciation does. Thus, writing has the appearance of being more stable. Spelling does vary, however, as exemplified by the differences between the American ways of spelling gray and words with the suffixes –ize and –ization as compared with the British spelling of grey and –ise and –isation. Writing could also change if it were made to follow the changes of speech. The fact that people at various times try to carry out spelling reforms amply illustrates this possibility. --oOo-- Conquest by Patents Patents are a form of intellectual property rights often touted as a means to give ‘incentive and reward’ to inventors. But they’re also a cause for massive protests by farmers, numerous lawsuits by transnational corporations and indigenous peoples, and countless rallies and declarations by members of civil society. It is impossible to understand why they can have all these effects unless you first recognize that patents are about the control of technology and the protection of competitive advantage. Lessons from History In the 1760s, the Englishman Richard Arkwright invented the water-powered spinning frame, a machine destined to bring cotton-spinning out of the home and into the factory. It was an invention which made Britain a world-class power in the manufacture of cloth. To protect its competitive advantage and ensure the market for manufactured cloth in British colonies, Parliament enacted a series of restrictive measures including the prohibition of the export of Arkwright machinery or the emigration of any workers who had worked in factories using it. From 1774 on, those caught sending Arkwright machines or workers abroad from England were subject to fines and 12 years in jail. In 1790, Samuel Slater, who had worked for years in the Arkwright mills, left England for the New World disguised as a farmer. He thereby enabled the production of commercial-grade cotton cloth in the New World and put the U.S. firmly on the road to the Industrial Revolution and economic independence. Slater was highly rewarded for his achievement. He is still deemed the ‘father of American manufacturing’. To the English, however, he was an intellectual property thief. Interestingly, patent protection was a part of U.S. law at the time of Slater’s deed. But that protection would only extend to U.S. innovations . It is worth remembering that until the 1970s it was understood, even accepted, that countries only enforced those patent protections that served their national interest. When the young United States pirated the intellectual property of Europe—and Slater wasn’t the only infringer—people in the US saw the theft as a justifiable response to England’s refusal to transfer its technology. By the early 1970s, the situation had changed. U.S. industry demanded greater protection for its idea-based products —such as computers and biotechnology—for which it still held the worldwide lead. Together with its like-minded industrial allies, the U.S. pushed for the inclusion of intellectual property clauses, including standards for patents, in international trade agreements. When U.S. business groups explained the ‘need’ for patents and trademarks in trade agreements, they alleged $40– 60 billion losses due to intellectual property piracy; they blamed the losses on Third World pirates; they discussed how piracy undermined the incentive to invest; and they claimed that the quality of pirated products was lower than the real thing and was costing lives. The opposition pointed out that many of the products made in the industrial world, almost all its food crops and a high percentage of its medicines, had originated in plant and animal germplasm taken from the developing world. First, knowledge of the material and how to use it was stolen, and later the material itself was taken. For all this, they said, barely a cent of royalties had been paid. Such unacknowledged and uncompensated appropriation they named ‘biopiracy’ and they reasoned that trade agreement patent rules were likely to facilitate more theft of their genetic materials. Their claim that materials ‘collected’ in the developing world were stolen, elicited a counterclaim that these were ‘natural’ or ‘raw’ materials and therefore did not qualify for patents. This in turn induced a counter-explanation that such materials were not ‘raw’ but rather the result of millennia of study, selection, protection, conservation, development and refinement by communities of Majority World and indigenous peoples. Others pointed out that trade agreements which forced the adoption of unsuitable notions of property and creativity— not to mention an intolerable commercial relationship to nature—were not only insulting but also exceedingly costly. To a developing world whose creations might not qualify for patents and royalties, there was first of all the cost of unrealized profit. Secondly, there was the cost of added expense for goods from the industrialized world. For most of the people on the planet, the whole patenting process would lead to greater and greater indebtedness; for them, the trade agreements would amount to ‘conquest by patents’—no matter what the purported commercial benefits. Intellectual property: an invention or composition that belongs to the person who created it --oOo-- Some group leaders try to control the group and provide the major input. All group members need to be encouraged and permitted to contribute.Consequently. On the other hand. such a decision is more likely to be implemented successfully. task forces. a group is a tool that can focus the experience and expertise of several people on a particular problem or situation. Disadvantages of Group Decision Making While groups have many potential benefits. and other resources and contribute those to the group. Recent research indicates that groupthink may also result when group members have preconceived ideas about how a problem should be solved. or it may discount or avoid information that threatens its preconceived choice. Often groups exert tremendous social pressure on individuals to conform to established or expected patterns of behavior. have highly directive leaders. in some cases. insights. so a waste of time becomes a disadvantage if a decision made by a group could have been made just as effectively by an individual working alone. The time needed for group discussion and the associated compromising and selecting of a decision alternative can be considerable. In such situations. and more moral than outsiders. a group offers the advantage of greater total knowledge. people will better understand and be more committed to a decision in which they have had a say than to a decision made for them. Groups accumulate more information. In essence. They may become so sidetracked in trying to win an argument that they forget about group performance. A second disadvantage is that the group discussion may be dominated by an individual or subgroup. interacting groups may be prone to a phenomenon called groupthink. Participation in group decision making usually leads to higher member satisfaction. One obvious disadvantage of group decision making is the time required to make a decision.Group Decision Making Advantages of Group Decision Making Committees. . Under these conditions. such as the group leader. experience. group decisions should be avoided when speed and efficiency are the primary considerations. They also encourage the development of self-appointed “mind guards” who bring pressure on dissenters. the team may not examine a full range of decision alternatives. Especially when they are dealing with important and controversial issues. It occurs when groups are highly cohesive. we all know that they can also be frustrating. Thus. People tend to accept a decision more readily and to be better s atisfied with it when they have participated in making that decision. Each person in the group is able to draw on his or her unique education. It is difficult to imagine conditions more conducive to poor decision making and wrong decisions. Time costs money. and—because they lack outside information—have little hope that a better solution might be found than the one proposed by the leader or other influential group members. dominates the discussion by talking too much or being closed to other points of view. to actually make important decisions. are insulated so they have no clear ways to get objective information. a group may try too hard to compromise and consequently may not make optimal decisions. training levels. The varied backgrounds. These conditions foster the illusion that the group is invulnerable. Sometimes this stems from the desire to maintain friendships and avoid disagreements. Groupthink is an agreement-at-any-cost mentality that results in ineffective group decision making. and ad hoc groups are frequently assigned to identify and recommend decision alternatives or. As a result. Effectiveness can be reduced if one individual. Such dominance can stifle other group members’ willingness to participate and could cause decision alternatives to be ignored or overlooked. In addition. and expertise of group members also help overcome tunnel vision by enabling the group to view the problem in more than one way. Another disadvantage of group decision making is that members may be less concerned with the group’s goals than with their own personal goals. right. decisions—often important decisions—are made without consideration of alternative frames or alternative options. knowledge. and facts than individuals and often consider more alternatives. the test virus escaped from the island. you can safely bet the speaker isn’t an ecologist. Their warrens have been plowed under. and kidneys. researchers report that kudzu might become an alternative source for paper. a northern Australian landowner imported and then released two dozen wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). In temperate parts of Asia. where the demand currently exceeds the supply. In 1995. Grazing goats and herbicides help. the landowner had killed 20. its normal hosts. hearts. an exotic species permanently insinuates itself into a new community. and dynamited. . This virus causes myxomatosis. Australian researchers released a population of rabbits that they had injected with a calcivirus. Also. and almost everything else in their path. they transform grasslands and shrublands into eroded deserts. Attempts to dig up or burn kudzu are futile. but goats eat other plants. This is a name for a resident of an established community that was deliberately or accidentally moved from its home range and became established elsewhere. Did the construction of a 2. on an uninhabited island in Spencer Gulf. Of all species on the rare or endangered lists or that recently became extinct. even kangaroos. Two examples are included here to illustrate the problem. Unlike most imports. They have been shot and poisoned. They overgraze perennial grasses in good times and strip bark from shrubs and trees during droughts. fumigated. In 1951. It seemed like a good idea to use it to control erosion on hills and highway embankments in the southeastern United States. A vine called kudzu (Pueraria lobata) was deliberately imported from Japan to the United States. which by definition are extremely vulnerable to extinction. quickly transmit the virus from host to host. in what would be the start of a wholesale disaster. It has been killing 80 to 95 percent of the adult rabbits in Australian regions. it is a well-behaved legume with a well-developed root system. the rapidly reproducing imports made a comeback in less than a year. and herbicides contaminate water supplies. With nothing to stop it. whether it can jump boundaries and infect animals other than rabbits (such as humans). Now Australia has 200 to 300 million hippityhopping through the southern half of the country. researchers are now questioning whether the calcivirus should be used on a widespread scale. pathogens. trees. or competitor plants. During the 1800s. The rabbits died quickly and relatively painlessly from blood clots in their lungs. natural selection has since favored rapid growth of populations of O. Vines now blanket streambanks. Rabbits made it to the other side before workers finished the fence. The disease has mild effects on South American rabbits that coevolved with the virus but nearly always had lethal effects on O. An ideal rabbit habitat with no natural predators was the reality. houses. On the bright side. Six years later. British settlers in Australia just couldn’t bond with the koalas and kangaroos. Having no coevolved defenses against the novel virus. At the Georgia Institute of Technology.Exotic and Endangered Species When you hear someone bubbling enthusiastically about an exotic species. government workers introduced a myxoma virus by way of mildly infected South American rabbits. close to 70 percent owe their precarious existence or demise to displacement by exotic species. More often. where it faces no serious threats from herbivores. though. mainly mosquitoes and fleas. Even when all-out assaults reduced their population size by 70 percent. kudzu’s shoots grew a third of a meter per day. The idea is to export the starch to Asia. cuniculus. cuniculus resistant to the virus. which can’t take hold outside their home range. possibly on insect vectors. as you might expect. Biting insects. Sometimes the additions are harmless and even have beneficial effects. In 1859. so they started to import familiar animals from their homeland. The rabbits displaced livestock. Good food and good sport hunting—that was the idea. they make native species endangered species. too. and what the long-term consequences will be. the European rabbits died in droves. You know where they’ve been. kudzu may eventually help reduce logging operations. At this writing.000 rabbits and was besieged by 20. a Japanese firm is constructing a kudzu farm and processing plant in Alabama. In 1991. Kudzu could reach the Great Lakes by the year 2040. But.000 more.000mile-long fence protect western Australia? No. telephone poles. has kept ocean temperature records since 1916. given regional variations. Larsen-B collapsed into icebergs. Even the warming of the ocean itself will contribute about 25% of sealevel rise. augmented by melting of alpine and mountain glaciers (which experienced more than a 30% decrease in overall ice mass during the last century) will affect sea-level rise. some large sections have recently broken free. reduction in water resources. and creating thousands of icebergs. Larsen-A suddenly disintegrated in 1995. spread over decades. any change in ocean temperature has a profound effect on weather and. along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. and continental ice.11–0." Also. lowland coastal farming valleys." Sea-level rise must be expressed as a range of values that are under constant reassessment. . Particularly tragic social and economic consequences will affect small island states—being able to adjust within their present country boundaries. These increases would continue beyond 2100 even if greenhouse gas concentrations are stabilized. are numerous ice shelves. and higher storm surges. NASA scientists determined that Greenland’s ice sheet is thinning by about 1 m per year. In only 35 days in early 2002. The loss of these ice shelves does not significantly raise sea level. and constituting about 11% of its surface area. This is among the clearest and best evidence for a change in energy balance at the Earth’s surface since the end of the 19th century. the Antarctic Peninsula is sporting new vegetation growth. indirectly. these ice shelves extend over the sea while still attached to continental ice. and low-lying mainland areas. In fact the ocean system appears to have delayed some surface global warming during the past century through absorption of excess atmospheric heat. Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. In addition. Although ice shelves constantly break up to produce icebergs. Surrounding the margins of Antarctica. The additional meltwater. on agriculture and soil moisture. This ice loss is likely a result of the 2. portions of the South American Andes. In response to the increasing warmth. simply because of thermal expansion of the water. changing maps.Rising Sea Levels Perhaps the most pervasive climatic effect of global warming is rapid escalation of ice melt. In March 2000 an iceberg tagged B-15 broke off the Ross Ice Shelf (some 90º longitude west of the Antarctic Peninsula). loss of biodiversity. measuring 300 km by 40 km. Covering many thousands of square kilometers. At stake are the river deltas. especially from continental ice masses and glaciers. About 8000 km of ice shelf are gone. There could be both internal and international migration of affected human populations. A quick survey of world coastlines shows that even a moderate rise could bring changes of unparalleled proportions. freeing up islands to circumnavigation. Worldwide measurements confirm that sea level rose during the last century. has been retreating slowly for years. The IPCC assessment states that "between one-third to one-half of the existing mountain glacier mass could disappear over the next hundred years.88 m. --oOo-- .5°C temperature increase in the region in the last 50 years. Glacial ice continues its retreat in Alaska. is adding to a rise in sea level worldwide. among the impacts. six ice shelves have disintegrated in Antarctica. high tides. sea ice. A loss of polar ice mass. The concern is for the possible surge of grounded continental ice that the ice shelves hold back from the sea. southeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. is from 0. . especially where sheltering inlets or bays exist. disruption of biological systems. The median value of 0. all contending with high water. Since 1993. The Larsen Ice Shelf. The 2001 IPCC forecast for global mean sea-level rise this century. previously not seen there. and the Himalayas will very likely lose most of their glacial ice within the next two decades. "there is conclusive evidence for a worldwide recession of mountain glaciers . In 1998 an iceberg (150 km by 35 km) broke off the Ronne Ice Shelf. Satellite remote sensing is monitoring global sea level. affecting local water resources. The Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla. Significant temperature increases are being recorded to depths of more than 300 m as ocean temperature records are set. for they already displace seawater. as people move away from coastal flooding from the sea-level rise. California.48 m is two to four times the rate of previous increase. In terms of distance. Due to professional jealousy by some committee members. The intervention by the king finally secured the rest of the prize money. a slightly improved version. In the 1600s. the British government established a prize of 20. Harrison worked for seven years on his first marine clock. After three more years. Harrison's case was taken up by King George III. The H2 version was not sea tested due to the danger of it falling into Spanish hands during the War of the Austrian Succession. an Italian scientist published tables giving the times of the eclipses of Jupiter's moons. a masterpiece of ingenuity. the prize money was withheld. More successful tests of H4 continued while Harrison worked on H5. In 1714 after a small fleet was wrecked with a huge loss of life. Clearly this latest apparatus had proved itself to be the best candidate yet for the prize. It was only a little over five inches in diameter. sea voyagers were able to calculate latitude with reasonable accuracy. This differed greatly in appearance from its forerunners.000 pounds for whoever could find an accurate method of determining longitude at sea . although most scientists of the period did not believe such a clock could be built. was intractable. and improving his series of remarkable seagoing timekeepers. the problem of calculating longitude. it was also a radically innovative design. This breakthrough did not. However. On a voyage the time would be checked on that clock at noon (when the sun was at the highest point) on the ship. From these tables it was possible to calculate longitude east or west of a given point by comparing the local time at which eclipses happened with the time given in the tables. constructing. were built over the next several years. The idea behind his approach was that a sailor could read the time on a clock set correctly in the home port. This test was successful enough that Harrison was awarded money to continue development. John Harrison. but agreed to a sea trial. or degrees east or west of a meridian line running north to south from pole to pole. and a careful attention to changes of direction based on compass readings. at sixty-six years of age. The committee responsible for judging the success of candidates for the prize was dubious about the design. today known as H2 and H3. however. --oOo-- . including measuring the observed distance between the moon and particular stars. whereas the other designs had been heavy instruments that needed to be hung from stout timbers. after much debate they agreed to honor Harrison with half the sum. Every four minutes of difference would indicate one degree of longitude. Harrison then worked diligently for thirteen more years and produced. Even on land this calculation was difficult. They did this at night by measuring the angle of the pole star above the horizon and at noon by measuring the angle of the sun above the horizon. mariners tended to revert to a system called dead reckoning. The achievement had finally given mariners an accurate way to measure their exact position at sea. gave flawed results. Other methods. and the moist conditions made accurate timekeeping an impractical dream. H4 was determined to have lost only a few seconds. the constant changes of temperature. The latter creation was abandoned by Harrison when he became dissatisfied with its performance. In practice. Harrison persevered. thus saving lives and speeding lengthy ocean journeys. Finally. this represents only about one or two miles of error. who had tested H5 at his palace and saw how accurately it performed. Harrison was eighty years old and had spent half his life designing. Nevertheless. thought that he could build a reliable clock that would keep time at sea. The unstable conditions aboard ships made precise observation of Jupiter's satellites a near impossibility. This involved finding position by measuring speed based on observing a knotted rope thrown overboard. Their skepticism was well founded. the movement of a ship.Finding Longitude From ancient times. After a two-month trip to Jamaica. an English clock maker. Two more versions. using oil as a lubricant and finely worked wheels and pinions. help ocean navigation. Mechanically. Often calculations were excessively inaccurate leading to shipwrecks and failure to reach destinations. A predatory animal can also use both mimicry and camouflage in order to catch prey more easily. Through evolutionary changes. For example. through mimicry an organism can avoid capture by its natural predators. is abundant and dangerous enough to have left a lasting impression on the predator. a predator's lack of visibility often allows it to get close enough to a prey to attack and kill it. that is the species whose characteristics are mimicked. Camouflage confers distinct survival advantages on many species. In fact. one of the most poisonous snakes in North America. Two key survival strategies are the use of camouflage and mimicry as means of deceiving predators or prey. The coral snake. some butterflies which are vulnerable in other ways. When a vulnerable organism looks like another organism that is more dangerous or more distasteful for the predator. Camouflage involves taking on the appearance of the surroundings for the purpose of avoiding detection by predators or prey. in which the shape or structure of an organism's body confers advantages. giving it a chance to avoid capture. the coral's brilliant coloration acts as a warning to predators that it is dangerous. The monarch at its larval stage feeds on the milkweed plant. This finding seems to confirm that mimicry gives this nonpoisonous snake a definite survival advantage. The viceroy butterfly has evolved coloration similar to the monarch's and so predators. having learned that the monarch is distasteful. On the other side of the coin. usually hunts. involves copying the appearance of another organism. which contains several substances that are toxic or unpalatable to vertebrate animals. If the model organism is less abundant than the mimic. in which an organism's body processes and conduct contribute to its survival. In areas inhabited by the king snake but not by the coral. . is used as a model by several species of relatively harmless snakes. these adaptations can be classed as either physical. Mimicry. then both species could suffer greater predation since the frequency of unpalatable experiences will decrease and predators will be less likely to learn from their errors. This is especially evident in the evening light when the zebra's natural predator. When the insect opens its wings these eye-spots momentarily startle the predator giving the intended victim a chance to escape. Other forms of mimicry involve purely visual signals. In practice. Mimicry is particularly common in the insect world. have developed spots on their wings that resemble the eyes of a much larger animal. For example. From a distance.Camouflage and Mimicry The struggle for survival is a constant feature of the living world. the latter is not often attacked by predators. the zebra uses its striped coat as a form of defensive coloration. or behavioral. The pattern of contrasting light and dark stripes breaks up the shape of the animal into irregular patterns. more toxic species. organisms have developed a range of adaptations that give them the greatest chance of success in order to prosper and reproduce. and predators such as birds or frogs learn through trial and error to avoid eating this species. the lion. Studies have shown that in areas where both the coral and the nonpoisonous king snake live. seeking protection by mimicking a dangerous or distasteful creature will be more successful if the model. the viceroy butterfly models its visual appearance on the monarch butterfly. Mimicry is often found in snakes. By blending in with its background a creature can remain unseen or unrecognized. For example. The toxic chemicals remain in the larva's body after it has become a butterfly. The unsuspecting victim fails to see the camouflaged stalker closing in until it is too late. Several harmless and palatable species of butterfly mimic the coloration of other. will avoid feeding on the viceroy. Broadly speaking. king snakes are often attacked. Together these adaptations allow each species to follow its own unique way of life. of which there are several kinds. it increases its chances of staying alive. the eye has difficulty resolving the stripes into a solid form and will tend to see the patches between the stripes as light visible between grass and trees. which appears between the ages of 11 and 15. which lasts from birth to about 2 years of age. it is the different way of understanding the world that makes one stage more advanced than another. Piaget’s theory states that children actively construct their understanding of the world and go through four stages of cognitive development. the Piagetian term for internalized mental actions that allow children to do mentally what they previously did physically. should not be sucked (accommodation). in the Piagetian view. concrete operational thinkers cannot imagine the steps necessary to complete an algebraic equation. is the first Piagetian stage. so she adjusts the pressure of her strikes. can be sucked. For example. so she holds it near the top. children can perform operations. which lasts from approximately 7 to 11 years of age. However. In this stage. In this stage. 2000). Two processes underlie this cognitive construction of the world: organization and adaptation. after several months of experience. which is too abstract for thinking at this stage of development. These adjustments reveal her ability to alter slightly her conception of the world (accommodation). Assimilation occurs when individuals incorporate new information into their existing knowledge. They might think about what an ideal parent is like and compare their parents to this ideal standard. Symbolic thought goes beyond simple connections of sensory information and physical action. developing hypotheses about why something is happening the way it is. the hammer is heavy. Newborns reflexively suck everything that touches their lips (assimilation). The preoperational stage. In solving problems. Accommodation occurs when individuals adjust to new information. They begin to entertain possibilities for the future and are fascinated with what they can be. and drawings.Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory The famous Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) proposed an important theory of cognitive development. we separate important ideas from less important ideas. is the third Piagetian stage. they still lack the ability to perform operations. she fits her behavior into the information she already has (assimilation). The formal operational stage. individuals move beyond concrete experiences and think in abstract and more logical terms. For instance. that it is swung by the handle to hit the nail. is the fourth and final Piagetian stage. Recognizing each of these things. The concrete operational stage. Consider a circumstance in which a 9-year-old girl is given a hammer and nails to hang a picture on the wall. Piaget also believed that we go through four stages in understanding the world. such as fuzzy blankets. according to Piaget. As part of thinking more abstractly. We connect one idea to another. knowing more information does not make the child’s thinking more advanced. but from observation and vicarious experience she realizes that a hammer is an object to be held. motoric actions—hence the term sensorimotor. children begin to represent the world with words. images. Piaget thought that assimilation and accommodation operate even in the very young infant’s life. She has never used a hammer. although preschool children can symbolically represent the world. formal operational thinkers are more systematic. However. is the second Piagetian stage. adolescents develop images of ideal circumstances. But not only do we organize our observations and experiences. In this stage. She swings too hard and the nail bends. such as fingers and the mother’s breast. we organize our experiences. Some objects. infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical. 2-year-olds have sophisticated sensorimotor patterns and are beginning to operate with primitive symbols. then testing these hypotheses in a deductive manner . Remember. and logical reasoning replaces intuitive thought as long as reasoning can be applied to specific or concrete examples. but. This is what Piaget meant when he said the child’s cognition is qualitatively different in one stage compared to another (Vidal. What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development like? The sensorimotor stage. but others . In this stage. To make sense of our world. and that it is usually swung a number of times. which lasts from approximately 2 to 7 years of age. they construct their understanding of the world differently. At the end of the stage. Piaget (1954) believed that we adapt in two ways: assimilation and accommodation. Each of the stages is age-related and consists of distinct ways of thinking. we also adapt our thinking to include new ideas because additional information furthers understanding. however. and procedures for conducting business. A charter company was an association of merchants. A new form of business. were quite a risky form of business in that it was possible to lose one hundred percent of one's investment easily. the limited partnership. instead. and in the myriad changes that occurred in business surrounding the Industrial Revolution that began in the nineteenth century. The entrepreneurial spirit was flourishing. Each manor tended to be a self-sufficient unit. volumes. Charter companies. numerous changes were taking place that greatly influenced the way in which business was conducted in an era referred to as the Industrial Revolution. was related to the liability of all investors for any losses incurred by a particular venture. . A large class of wage-earning labor was emerging as the manorial system broke up and workers moved from rural to urban areas. The hereditary owner of the manor would lease land to the peasantry and would receive agricultural services or products as payment. such as cloth or tea. The development of modern business has its roots in the agrarian society of the medieval world. A new type of business. profits. business tended to be conducted only on a small scale and consisted mainly of bartering of goods and services in the local marketplace. with its emphasis on efficiency of labor through the specialization and simplification . came about as investors became wary of investing in joint ventures because of their liability. in the colonial expansion that ensued. each of whom traded individually but was subject to a rigid set of rules outlined in a charter agreement that governed all facets of the business. the Plymouth Bay Company. with little dependence on outside trade. and more investors were eager to provide capital for ventures that limited the liability of the investors. the amount of liability of investors was not as great. in specific geographical areas. <br /> Business continued to develop during the colonial era as colonialism reinforced the charter companies and also gave rise to forms of business known as jointstock companies and limited partnerships. The manorial system that was in place during this period meant that a high percentage of the population was involved in agriculture. business was limited mainly to local trade. Such companies were granted charters by governments. A major problem with joint-stock companies. Among the members of the population of the manor. <br /> In the typical agrarian societies of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. came about during this era. in the early trading enterprises that came about as a natural result of the worldwide exploratory expeditions of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. and the factory system. and a system of finance was developing to include the loans and extensions of credit that enabled small businesses to develop into larger ones. In order to limit the risk.<exp> Charter companies often played a role in colonialism: <bg>the London Company. however. they have evolved slowly from simple enterprises and bartering arrangements into the giant conglomerates and multinational corporations of today's world. many charter companies began operating on a joint-stock basis. often with monopolistic trade rights for specific products. In a limited partnership. members of the charter borrowed money from investors to finance a particular project and agreed to share profits from the venture with the investors in return. <br /> The scope of business began expanding considerably outside of the local marketplace as exploration of the world expanded.Businesses have not always existed in their current form. including prices. charter companies. <br /> As the world moved into the nineteenth century. and the Massachusetts Bay Company</bg> were directly involved in the settlement of colonists in North America </exp> . and David Hyland now propose that human survival there had little to do with men hurling spears at big game animals. European archeologists have long concentrated on analyzing broken stone tools and butchered big-game bones. While the lives of modern hunters do not exactly duplicate those of ancient hunters. Instead. they supply valuable clues to universal human . plants. The reinterpretation of the Paleolithic past centers on new views of the role of women in the food-foraging economy. and it involves the labor of children and women. was inaugurated. had to devote themselves to breast-feeding and tending infants.000 to 12. Adult females. researchers looked to ethnography. From these analyses. James Adovasio. Most researchers ruled out the possibility of women hunters for biological reasons. researchers have developed theories about how these societies once hunted and gathered food. one of the world’s leading authorities on Ice Age hunters and gatherers and an archeologist at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Amassing critical and previously overlooked evidence from Dolní Vestonice and the neighboring site of Pavlov. And this has lots of implications." Soffer explains. then that is going to constrain their behavior." To test theories about Upper Paleolithic life. "This is not the image we’ve always had of Upper Paleolithic macho guys out killing animals up close and personal. New Women of the Ice Age The status of women in a society depends in large measure on their role in the economy. it depended largely on women. observes Soffer. These factors all played a part in the development of the modern system of corporations of today. "Net hunting is communal. they reasoned. "If women are the people who are always involved with biological reproduction and the rearing of the young. For fathers. the most plentiful and best preserved relics of the Upper Paleolithic era (which stretched from 40.000 years ago). researchers Olga Soffer. provisioning is optional." says Soffer." Many of these implications make her conservative colleagues cringe because they raise serious questions about the focus of previous studies.of tasks. "Human babies have always been immature and dependent. They have to provision that child. and a technique of hunting previously invisible in the archeological evidence— net hunting. the scientific description of modern and historical cultural groups. behavior. In many historical societies. from hares to birds like ptarmigan. And once you got the net on these animals. And the research that suggests those roles is rapidly changing our mental images of the past. trading the surplus with neighbors. Although the full range of their activities is unlikely ever to be known for certain. these are exciting times. Soffer doubts that the inhabitants of Dolní Vestonice and Pavlov were the only net makers in Ice Age Europe. they were immobilized. Camps stretching from Germany to Russia are littered with a notable abundance of small-game bones. --oOo-- Paleolithic Art . scooping up 50 percent of the animals encountered. For Soffer and others. and children alike shouted and screamed. men. "Some people were beating. hit them any old way. women. for example. women played a key part in net hunting. Other net hunters traditionally smoked or dried their catch and stored it for leaner times. "Nets are a far more valued item in their panoply of foodproducing things than bows and arrows are. You didn’t need brute force. Then the entire camp joined forces as beaters. You could club them." says Soffer. Soffer observes. they helped lay out their handiwork on poles across a valley floor. "Everybody and their mother could participate." People seldom returned home empty-handed. laboring for as much as two or three years on a fine net. there is good reason to believe that Ice Age women played a host of powerful roles. Among Native American groups. since the technique did not call for brute strength nor did it place young mothers in physical peril. Researchers living among the net hunting Mbuti in the forests of the Congo report that they capture game every time they lay out their woven traps. Fanning out across the valley. Women as well as men knotted the mesh. others were screaming or holding the net. And at least some of their inhabitants whittled bone tools that look much like the awls and net spacers favored by historical net makers. So lethal are these traps that the Mbuti generally rack up more meat than they can consume." says Adovasio. Among Australian aborigines. flushing out game and driving it in the direction of the net. some scholars have argued that the magical purpose of the paintings was not to facilitate the destruction of bison and other species. saw a powerful outburst of artistic creativity. and relief sculptures covering the huge wall surfaces of caves. the artists believed they were bringing the beasts under their control. Still others have equated certain species with men and others with women and also found sexual symbolism in the abstract signs that sometimes accompany the images. According to this argument. Various answers have been given. but this theory cannot explain the narrow range of subjects or the inaccessibility of many of the paintings. a single explanation for all Paleolithic murals.C. A central problem for both the hunting-magic and food-creation theories is that the animals that seem to have been diet staples of Old Stone Age peoples are not those most frequently portrayed. clay. by confining animals to the surfaces of their cave walls. Almost all of these theories have been discredited over time. From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered at Altamira. the remoteness and difficulty of access of many of the cave paintings and the fact they appear to have been used for centuries are precisely what have led many scholars to suggest that the prehistoric hunters attributed magical properties to the images they painted. they believe prehistoric painters created animal images to assure the survival of the herds. In fact. Other scholars have sought to reconstruct an elaborate mythology based on the cave paintings. The artworks produced range from simple shell necklaces to human and animal forms in ivory. suggesting that Paleolithic humans believed they had animal ancestors. scholars have wondered why the hunter-artists of the Old Stone Age decided to cover the walls of dark caverns with animal images. including that they were mere decoration. Some have even hypothesized that rituals or dances were performed in front of the images and that these rites served to improve the hunters’ luck. and art historians must admit that no one knows the intent of these paintings. Paleolithic peoples depended on for their food supply and for their clothing. Still others have stated that the painted animals may have served as teaching tools to instruct new hunters about the character of the various species they would encounter or even to serve as targets for spears! By contrast.The several millennia following 30. and stone to monumental paintings. engravings. . In fact.000 B. Instead. even paintings similar in subject. may have been drawn to insure success in capturing or killing animals with these devices. the artist placed one hand against the wall and then painted or blew pigment around it. At Pech-Merle in France. but the signs. For now. (It is true that the paintings were meaningful to the Paleolithic peoples) In fact. leaving a “positive” imprint. we will discover not entirely new processes but rather familiar effects working in slightly different ways.style. and composition (how the motifs are arranged on the surface). less likely. although differences in the way the planets were altered by these stages have produced dramatically different worlds. of individual artists. --oOo-- Four Stages of Planetary Development Planetary Development In our study of the planet Earth. are painted rocks thrown at the animals. . Occasionally. dots. These handprints. but its evolution has been dramatically altered by its smaller size. The moon and all the terrestrial planets have passed through these stages. The moon. That the paintings did have meaning to the Paleolithic peoples who made and observed them cannot. squares. Some look like traps and arrows and. is unlikely to apply universally. is much like Earth. for example.” which appear both within and without the horses’ outlines.” that is. or other arrangements of lines often accompany the pictures of animals. too. the “spotted horses” painted on the cave wall may not have spots. too. the paintings remain an enigma. may have had some other significance. must have had a purpose. be doubted . are “negative. As we explore the solar system. signs consisting of checks. Several observers have seen a primitive writing form in these representations of nonliving things. according to the hunting-magic theory. Representations of human hands also are common. Some scholars have argued that the “spots. Those around the Pech-Merle horses. we will find a four-stage history of planetary development. however. and the majority of painted hands at other sites. the artist dipped a hand in paint and then pressed it against the wall. Some scholars have considered them “signatures” of cult or community members or. this heat would have accumulated much more rapidly than it could leak away. no doubt began while cratering was still intense. cratering is no longer the dominant influence on Earth’s geology. flooding continued as the atmosphere cooled and water fell as rain. on every old surface in the solar system. and that structure must have originated very early. was violent. A second source of heat requires more time to develop. If Earth formed rapidly. A meteorite hitting Earth at high velocity converts most of its energy of motion into heat. Most of Earth’s radioactive elements are now concentrated in the crust. and the in-falling of a large number of meteorites could release tremendous heat. Earth formed by material falling together. The heavy bombardment was intense because the solar nebula was filled with rocky and icy debris. First. as soon as Earth formed. the meteorites could form craters. We will discuss such flooded basins on other worlds. Earth now has a dense core and a lower-density crust. we will discover traces of this intense period of cratering. and the level of cratering fell to its present low level. the separation of material according to density.The Four Stages The first stage of planetary evolution is differentiation. The largest meteorites blasted out crater basins hundreds of kilometers in diameter. The fracturing of the crust and the heating caused by radioactive decay allowed molten rock just below the crust to well up through fissures and flood the deeper basins. This second stage in planetary evolution. cratering. Once Earth had a hard surface. and Earth may have been molten when it formed. where they continue to warm and soften the rock layers. As the solar nebula cleared. filling the deepest basins to produce the first oceans. Two sources of heat could have heated Earth. The third stage. On Earth. the heavy bombardment. Differentiation would have occurred easily if Earth were molten when it was young. such as the moon. and the young Earth was battered by meteorites that pulverized the newly forming crust. heat of formation would be created by in-falling material. The decay of radioactive elements trapped in the Earth releases heat gradually. but meteorites could have left no trace until a crust solidified. the amount of debris decreased. Although meteorites still occasionally strike Earth and dig craters. flooding. that heat would have begun to accumulate and could have helped melt Earth to facilitate differentiation. but. As we compare other worlds with Earth. Notice that on . but all traces of this early lava flooding have been destroyed by later geological activity in Earth’s crust. --oOo-- Clara Barton The early years of Clara Barton. has continued for the last 3. and some planets have failed to progress fully through the four stages. Earth is a good basic reference planet for comparative planetology . Earth as a Planet All terrestrial planets pass through these four stages. First. and an advocate for the abolition of slavery. the founder of the American Red Cross and the nurse who heroically tended to the wounded on several Civil War battlefields. Barton's father and mother were frequently at odds with one another. Fully 75 percent of its surface is covered by this liquid and no other planet in our solar system is known to have such extensive liquid water on its surface. a circumstance that we will not find on most worlds. He also was a firm believer in the importance of education. and shift continents. Earth’s surface is constantly changing as sections of crust slide over each other. Her father.Earth flooding involves both lava and water. Every major process on any rocky world in our solar system is represented in some form on Earth. The fourth stage.5 billion years or more. some of the matter on the surface of this world is alive. Clara's mother was in agreement with him on the need to outlaw slavery and was dedicated to the improvement of women's rights. She was apparently eccentric. push up mountains. who made a modest living as a farmer and miller. Furthermore. On the other hand. Some planets have emphasized one stage over another. Nevertheless. Almost all traces of the first billion years of Earth’s geology have been destroyed by the active crust and erosion. was charitable. . it has large amounts of liquid water on its surface. We do not know how the presence of living matter has affected the evolution of Earth. were an excellent preparation for her later lifetime accomplishments. so in that respect. Earth is a good standard of comparison. and a small part of that living matter is aware. She was born in Massachusetts in 1821 to Stephen and Sarah Barton. socially aware. Earth is peculiar in two ways. but this process seems to be totally missing from other worlds in our solar system. thrifty. slow surface evolution. and possessed a fierce temper and strong will. In her early adult years. often without monetary compensation. Barton became involved in charitable work such as tutoring children and at one time nursing poor families during a smallpox epidemic. Barton excelled in academic pursuits and received much attention and praise as a scholar. When she was eleven. In all this. Barton's pupils regarded her with respect and admiration. To gain their acceptance.not an uncommon age to start school at that time. Her teachers were soon impressed with the shy. they permitted her to ride horses bareback and to engage in mock play battles with her brothers. and Barton volunteered to nurse him. Her own interest in learning . arithmetic. she was backed by her family who encouraged her to spend most of her free time helping neighbors by nursing them when they were sick and helping them in their troubles. Barton's parents began to steer her toward activities more in line with traditional female expectations. a family tragedy gave her an early taste of what would become her life's vocation. She showed advanced reading abilities. She began her formal education at the age of three . Perhaps as a result of growing up as the youngest child in what was an unpredictable home environment. most girls her age were discouraged from such interests. Her brother David fell from the rafters of a newly raised barn. As she grew into adolescence.and their quarrels often created a volatile atmosphere for their three daughters and two sons. embracing the strong work ethic they instilled in her. and her innate shyness seemed to dissolve before an attentive. a former military officer. eager audience. and geography. For two years she devoted herself to this task with great diligence. and rapidly displayed excellent progress in writing. Clara Barton grew to be timid and withdrawn. Both in her early years and even later when she was a household name. but her liberal and unconventional family encouraged her scholarly achievements. This altruistic activity was the beginning of a lifetime of work from which she would receive her greatest satisfaction. quiet girl. She was also fortunate in that her family did not discourage her tomboyish ways. she would seek acceptance from others as confirmation of her merit. she began to take on household chores. she began teaching at various community schools. Throughout her school years. Later. These were often imaginative recreations of wartime reminiscences told to them by their father. During this era. sculpturing landscape. The water in the atmosphere—only 0. rivers. her treatment of her students was balanced and firm. which evaporates water from oceans. and providing our water resources. most of the water that evaporates from the ocean falls again as precipitation into the ocean. but once she had overcome the difficulties posed by each new setting. soils. For example. and about 2% is in glaciers and ice caps.001% of the total on Earth—cycles quickly to produce rain and runoff for our water resources. On land. transporting sediments. and runoff from streams.3 billion km water on Earth. precipitation on land. such as the building of large dams and reservoirs. These early experiences were an ideal preparation for the hardships and struggles she later faced during the American Civil War when she became known as "the Angel of the Battlefield.was infectious. Especially important from an environmental perspective is that rates of transfer on land are small relative to what’s happening in the ocean. evaporation from land. weathering rocks. and she had an ability to maintain discipline without resorting to force. Of the total 1. The hydrologic cycle is driven by solar energy. The processes involved include evaporation of water from the oceans. can change the amount of water evaporated into the atmosphere and change the location and amount of precipitation on land —water we depend on to raise our crops and supply water for our urban . most of the water that falls as precipitation comes from evaporation of water from land. She cared about her students and the classrooms in which she taught. and subsurface groundwater. This means that regional land-use changes. the water on land is important in moving chemicals. Even the toughest boys in class were won over by her athletic ability when she participated in their recess activities. The rest is in fresh water on land and in the atmosphere. she moved on to confront other problems." --oOo-- The Hydrologic Cycle The hydrologic cycle is the transfer of water from the oceans to the atmosphere to the land and back to the oceans. about 97% is in oceans. and vegetation. freshwater bodies. Although it represents only a small fraction of the water on Earth. As human population increases. this relatively small amount of water in the global water cycle. Approximately 60% of water that falls by precipitation on land each year evaporates to the atmosphere. On a global scale. water shortages will become more frequent in arid and semi-arid regions. Water can be found in either liquid. such as the stream flow or runoff from hill slopes. The main process in the cycle is the global transfer of water from the atmosphere to the land and oceans and back to the atmosphere. distribution of water on land is far from uniform. from less than a hectare (2. A smaller component (about 40%) returns to the ocean surface and subsurface runoff. the residence time may vary from a few days to many . such as the Mississippi River drainage basin. The term drainage basin is usually used in evaluating the hydrology of an area. the fundamental hydrological unit of the landscape is the drainage basin (also called a watershed or catchment). total water abundance is not the problem. Drainage basins vary greatly in size. the problem is water’s availability in the right place at the right time in the right form. Bringing water into semi-arid cities by pumping groundwater or transporting water from distant mountains through aqueducts may increase evaporation. solid. A drainage basin is usually named for its main stream or river. Together. as we pave over large areas of land in cities. ice caps and glaciers account for more than 99% of the total water.001% of the total water on Earth is in the atmosphere at any one time. then. and both are generally unsuitable for human use because of salinity (seawater) and location (ice caps and glaciers). produces all our freshwater resources through the process of precipitation. storm water runs off quicker and in greater volume. thereby increasing humidity and precipitation in a region. the oceans. Furthermore. Unfortunately. Only about 0. Depending on the specific location. or gaseous form at a number of locations at or near Earth’s surface. A drainage basin is the area that contributes surface runoff to a particular stream or river. with an average atmospheric residence time of only about 9 days.5 acres) to millions of square kilometers. where water is naturally nonabundant. At the regional and local level. This small annual transfer of water supplies resources for rivers and urban and agricultural lands. However.environments. thereby increasing flood hazards. Thus. The world per capita use of water in 1975 was about 185." Wright saw it as serving free individuals who have the right to move within a "free" space. more than 99% of Earth’s water in its natural state is unavailable or unsuitable for beneficial human use." Wright manifested his vigorous originality early. which is a significant fraction of the naturally available freshwater. profound in its architectural implications . Now why not let walls.000 gal/yr." . where he eventually joined the firm headed by Louis Sullivan. and by 1900 he had arrived at a style entirely his own. This ideal. the amount of water for which all the people. ceilings. .thousands of years. . as mentioned. floors become seen as component parts of each other? . . his cross-axial plan and his fabric of continuous roof planes and screens defined a new domestic architecture. and a Jeffersonian belief in individualism and populism. the use of water will also accelerate. structure. I called . and animals on Earth compete is much less than 1% of the total. world use of water is about 6. .000. Always a believer in architecture as "natural" and "organic. Wright fully expressed these elements and concepts in Robie House. this was called a "prairie house. plants. He sought to develop an organic unity of planning. Wright identified the principle of continuity as fundamental to understanding his view of organic unity: "Classic architecture was all fixation. the organic unity of a Japanese building Wright saw at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Wright attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison before moving to Chicago. --oOo-- Organic Architecture One of the most striking personalities in the development of earlytwentieth century architecture was Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959). built between 1907 and 1909. Today. However. In his work during the first decade of the twentieth century. materials. . And the total human use of water was about 1015 gal/yr. . Like other buildings in the Chicago area he designed at about the same time. . . As the world’s population and industrial production of goods increase. Wright set out to create "architecture of democracy. continuity." Early influences were the volumetric shapes in a set of educational blocks the German educator Friedrich Froebel designed. and site. envisioned as a nonsymmetrical design interacting spatially with its natural surroundings. . often designing all the accessories of a house.) Wright designed enclosed patios. unconfined by abrupt wall limits. In the late 1930s. Wright took special pains to meet his client’s requirements. painted metal. he acted on a cherished dream to provide good architectural design for less prosperous people by adapting the ideas of his prairie house to plans for smaller. as reaching out toward and capturing the expansiveness of the Midwest’s great flatlands." his adjusting of a building to its site. others closed). He set masses and voids in equilibrium. which function not as inert containing surfaces but as elements equivalent in role to the design’s spaces.Wright conceived the long. The Robie House is a good example of Wright’s "naturalism. the confines of the city lot constrained the building-to-site relationship more than did the sites of some of Wright’s more expansive suburban and country homes. grouped freely around a great central fireplace. and all but concealed the entrance. nicknamed "Fallingwater" and designed as a weekend retreat at Bear Run near Pittsburgh. Abandoning all symmetry. the flow of interior space determined the exterior wall placement. The contrast in textures between concrete. The publication of Wright’s plans brought him a measure of fame in Europe. Perched on a rocky hillside over a small waterfall. create a sense of space-in-motion inside and out. as does Wright’s use of fulllength strip windows to create a stunning interweaving of interior and exterior space. is a prime example of the latter. These elements. together with the open ground plan. However. The Kaufmann House. this structure extends the Robie House’s blocky masses in all four directions. (He believed strongly in the hearth’s age-old domestic significance. Wright filled the "wandering" plan of the Robie House with intricately joined spaces (some large and open. not mass—a space designed to fit the patron’s life and enclosed and divided as required. matching the complex play of interior solids. and natural stones in its walls enliven its shapes. less expensive dwellings. overhanging roofs. in this particular case. the architect eliminated a façade. The exterior’s sharp angular planes meet at apparently odd angles. The implied message of Wright’s new architecture was space. extended the roofs far beyond the walls. and strip windows to provide unexpected light sources and glimpses of the outdoors as people move through the interior space. especially in Holland and Germany. The issuance in Berlin in 1910 of a portfolio of his work and an . sweeping ground-hugging lines. Two processes underlie this cognitive construction of the world: organization and adaptation. but others . such as fuzzy blankets. She has never used a hammer. . they construct their understanding of the world differently.exhibition of his designs the following year stimulated younger architects to adopt some of his ideas about open plans. She swings too hard and the nail bends. --oOo-- Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory The famous Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) proposed an important theory of cognitive development. But not only do we organize our observations and experiences. We connect one idea to another. and that it is usually swung a number of times. Consider a circumstance in which a 9-year-old girl is given a hammer and nails to hang a picture on the wall. so she adjusts the pressure of her strikes. that it is swung by the handle to hit the nail. Accommodation occurs when individuals adjust to new information. we separate important ideas from less important ideas. she fits her behavior into the information she already has (assimilation). Newborns reflexively suck everything that touches their lips (assimilation). we organize our experiences. so she holds it near the top. Piaget (1954) believed that we adapt in two ways: assimilation and accommodation. For example. However. we also adapt our thinking to include new ideas because additional information furthers understanding. but from observation and vicarious experience she realizes that a hammer is an object to be held. but. These adjustments reveal her ability to alter slightly her conception of the world (accommodation). Assimilation occurs when individuals incorporate new information into their existing knowledge. should not be sucked (accommodation). Piaget’s theory states that children actively construct their understanding of the world and go through four stages of cognitive development. the hammer is heavy. Some forty years before his career ended. Some objects. can be sucked. Recognizing each of these things. To make sense of our world. his work was already of revolutionary significance. after several months of experience. Piaget thought that assimilation and accommodation operate even in the very young infant’s life. such as fingers and the mother’s breast. is the first Piagetian stage.Piaget also believed that we go through four stages in understanding the world. For instance. it is the different way of understanding the world that makes one stage more advanced than another. individuals move beyond concrete experiences and think in abstract and more logical terms. The formal operational stage. although preschool children can symbolically represent the world. which lasts from approximately 2 to 7 years of age. images. The concrete operational stage. They . In this stage. 2-year-olds have sophisticated sensorimotor patterns and are beginning to operate with primitive symbols. adolescents develop images of ideal circumstances. motoric actions—hence the term sensorimotor. the Piagetian term for internalized mental actions that allow children to do mentally what they previously did physically. and logical reasoning replaces intuitive thought as long as reasoning can be applied to specific or concrete examples. children begin to represent the world with words. In this stage. They might think about what an ideal parent is like and compare their parents to this ideal standard. which appears between the ages of 11 and 15. Symbolic thought goes beyond simple connections of sensory information and physical action. In this stage. At the end of the stage. knowing more information does not make the child’s thinking more advanced. However. which lasts from approximately 7 to 11 years of age. which is too abstract for thinking at this stage of development. What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development like? The sensorimotor stage. Each of the stages is age-related and consists of distinct ways of thinking. in the Piagetian view. and drawings. is the fourth and final Piagetian stage. is the second Piagetian stage. In this stage. children can perform operations. is the third Piagetian stage. concrete operational thinkers cannot imagine the steps necessary to complete an algebraic equation. which lasts from birth to about 2 years of age. Remember. infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical. As part of thinking more abstractly. they still lack the ability to perform operations. according to Piaget. 2000). The preoperational stage. This is what Piaget meant when he said the child’s cognition is qualitatively different in one stage compared to another (Vidal. then testing these hypotheses in a deductive manner. In solving problems.begin to entertain possibilities for the future and are fascinated with what they can be. formal operational thinkers are more systematic. developing hypotheses about why something is happening the way it is. --oOo-- .