Environmental Science 142
EXPLORATION OF THE UNIVERSE

FINAL EXAM: Thursday May 11, 8:00-10:00 PM, ES 328

All writing assignments must be turned in to pass the course. Work thatappears to have been hastily assembled solely to meet this requirement will notcount. Late assignments penalized 20% per day. 

Writing Assignment Topics

Assignment I: Diagnostic: Due February 16, 2006 (2-3 pages)

How accurate is Wikipedia as a reference? How well is it regarded by experts in various fields? How would you advise someone to use it compared to a standard print encyclopedia?.

Assignment II: Pick one: due April 27, 2006 (4-6 pages)

• Read the book on which any of the four films below was based, then view the film. How does the film differ from the book? What accounts for the differences?
  • Book: Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, film: October Sky
  • Book: The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe, film: The Right Stuff
  • Book: Lost Moon by Jim Lovell, film Apollo 13
  • Book: 2001 by Arthur C. Clarke, film 2001
  • Book: War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, film War of the Worlds (1953 or 2005 version).
• Pick some major science fiction author and discuss his literary style, philosophy and understanding of science as reflected in his or her works. Analyze the works: a plot synopsis is not acceptable.
• Pick some long term science-fiction media production (Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, etc.) and discuss its character and plot development and underlying philosophy. Analyze the works: a plot synopsis is not acceptable.
• Read and critique The Crime of Claudius Ptolemy by Robert R. Newton. What does Newton claim Ptolemy did? Do you think his accusations stand up? Why or why not?

Acceptable References:

Guidelines for referencing are available on the page Referencesfor College Papers. You are responsible for knowing and applying theseguidelines. The following references are not to be used:

• Textbooks of any kind
• Course and lecture notes
• Encyclopedias, dictionaries or any general reference works
• Newspapers or popular magazines
• Internet sources of any kind unless cleared by instructor

Standards

Standards I apply in grading writing are explained on the page What is an A?You are responsible for knowing and applying these standards. In simple terms, Iexpect professional quality prose of the sort you would expect to see in Time, Newsweek,or a good newspaper. A style manual is required for the course, therefore, youhave no excuse for poor writing.

A minimally acceptable paperfree of defects will get 7 points on a 10-point scale. Papers that explore thetopic in depth, show originality or extra effort will be awarded sores of 8-10.

Any of the following defects will be docked one point per occurrence.

• Improper or no references
• Confusion or misuse of:
  • its and it's
  • there, their and they're
  • to, too and two
  • hear and here
  • affect and effect
  • except and accept
  • any other similar error - look the words up to be sure of correct usage!
• Any misspelled proper name - when in doubt, look it up!
• More than three spelling or grammatical errors of any kind
• Incorrect or inadequate references
• Any use of the slash construction (for example, and/or)
• Folders or covers of any kind
• Any other sloppy or superficial work

About the Course

History

When Carl Sagan's Cosmos series came out in 1979, the late George O'Hearn of theEducation Program and I immediately decided to develop a course based on the series. Wetaught the course for the first time during the fall of 1981. It was very successful. Itaught the course again during the summer of 1982 but only a handful of students enrolled.Because of that low enrollment, the course languished for several years (UW-Green Bay wasunder extreme pressure to raise enrollments in those days). Finally, in the fall of 1985,I had a one-course reassignment for serving as assistant chair of NAS. I decided to tryoffering the course as an overload. It drew a very good enrollment and has been offeredjust about every year since. I consider reviving Cosmos one of my bestaccomplishments as an instructor.

During the 90's, it started to become clear that Cosmos was becoming dated.Unfortunately, the things that distracted people most were not areas where the science hadbecome outdated, but comparatively trivial issues like changing clothing and hair styles.In some areas, especially Solar System exploration and cosmology, science has progressedenormously since Cosmos was filmed. For the most part, the series stands upsurprisingly well. Nevertheless, I changed the title of the course to Explorations ofthe Universe to eliminate any commitment to Cosmos and to allow the freedom toincorporate a broader range of other material. I have dropped a few of the weaker Cosmosepisodes and added material from other sources.

Content of the Course

Explorations of the Universe differs from a conventional astronomy course inthat it spends a lot of time on the broader social and historical context of science. Forexample, accurate determination of the shape of the earth was one of the major scientificproblems of the 1700's. To determine the shape of the earth accurately, you need to dovery accurate local surveys at widely separeted places in the tropics and in the arctic.You need to be able to mount sizable expeditions, get them there, supply them, and protectthem. You also need world-class industry to make the extremely precise instruments needed,and world-class scientists to develop the mathematical techniques to analyze the data. Youneed, in short, to be a superpower. In the 1700's, Britain and France engaged in perhapsthe first modern high-tech superpower rivalry, a forerunner of the Apollo Program and StarWars.

Prerequisites for the course include any of a number of basic science courses, butthese are not show-stoppers. A student with no scientific background at all might havedifficulty, but if you have had reasonable exposure to science you should do all right. Ifin doubt, we can discuss the matter.

Teaching Philosophy

Since I was teaching the course as an overload myself when I revived it, I decided thebasic philosophy should be to concentrate more on enjoying Sagan's series than on grading.That is still my belief. This should be an opportunity for students to learn about some ofthe exciting things science has discovered about the universe, without having to worryabout being penalized for exploring outside their comfort zone.

I used to think it was just about impossible to get a D or F in this course, buteventually, alas, I was proven wrong. It became apparent that some students were treatingthe course as a blow-off course. It is emphatically not. I will make any reasonable (andsometimes unreasonable) accommodation to students who have problems with illness, work, ordifficulty understanding the material. I will not accommodate students who simply wantthree easy credits.

Carl and Me

I never met or even corresponded with Sagan, who died December 20, 1996. I differfrom him on a number of serious points. Nevertheless I am an enthusiastic fan of his work

One of the most common criticisms of Sagan is that he's "arrogant". Sagandoes not pretend that junk stops being junk if enough people believe in it. Believers inUFO's and the paranormal loathe Sagan for that reason. But it's not arrogance to statesomething boldly if the facts back you up. One of the organizing themes in Cosmosis the conflict between science and anti-intellectualism, a conflict science seems to belosing at the moment.

Sagan has his flaws. It sometimes unnerves students to hear me criticize Sagan while atthe same time using his videos. I consider his occasional flaws to be good teachingpoints. They show that even a top scholar can make mistakes or fall prey to prejudices andstereotyping, they illustrate the need to use all sources critically, and they show thatthere are legitimate differences of opinion among scientists. Sagan's forays intoreligion, philosophy and politics provide a good case study in the limitations ofscientific credentials outside of science.

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Created 23 Dec 1996; Last Update 31 May 2020

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