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0:00
[no dialogue] >> Dr. Wahby: Well, welcome to Tech 5173 Global Technology class, Master of Technology, Masters of Technology. We are delighted today to have a guest speaker I wouldn't say guest speaker because he is a household. >> Dr. Wahby: We are his guests and when you tell or your grandchildren will ask you and say Baharlou, Alan Baharlou and read it in textbooks, and books of history, and you tell them I was in his class one time, I saw this man. I shook hands with him.
0:55
I asked him my dear friend Alan Baharlou will talk with us, and will take us on a trip that will take us maybe 5,000 years ago, maybe 2 billion years ago, or whatever, it depends on or something in between. Let me tell you a couple things about my fried Alan Baharlou. A dear friend, over the years, this is my fifteen year here. When I came, he was a real support for me even without me knowing him. He started a friendship, it continued, and multiplied. We fight a lot together as friends.
1:33
We differ a lot, so being friends doesn't mean that I say amen to everything he says or says Amen to everything I say, but we play together, pulling the tug, whatever, and that's what makes the game good. When he speaks today, I will differ with him, I'll fight with him, in a very respectful way, and I want you to do this. and I'll tell you about him what I told you about me the first day we met. Do you know what I told them? >> Dr. Baharlou: What? >> Dr. Wahby: I told them don't believe me.
2:06
I told them I am your professor, yes, I am your instructor, yes, but don't believe a word of what I say. Check on me, verify what I say, don't stand in front of a judge and say sir, professor Wahby said so. He will say, what say you? Please don't believe him, don't believe me, don't believe anybody, just think, and think right, and verify things, move on. Without much adieu, I will ask you to give a hand for Pete Grant, and Wes for taping us today. Here is CATS, please give them a hand.
2:44
Thank you, thank you, thank you... Pete has been over the years as Wes, wonderful in documenting our treasures that we have discussed in this class. Without much adieu, here is my friend Alan Baharlou. >> Dr. Baharlou: Thanks, I look forward every semester to this occasion. Yes, he is my colleague and my friend, and as he said everything you hear, evaluate it critically. That's one of the four goals of higher education. Critical thinking, reflective thinking, speaking, and the ability to write.
3:27
Critical thinking look at the worlds events people will just follow, they just have faith, instead of thinking critical, so that is what Wafeek wants to tell you to think anything you hear, evaluate it, and then make a judgment. You are in a good position to do that, you are in higher education and the most advanced civilization in the world, so take advantage of that. Today I want to take you on a journey through time. What has brought you to this level, and all the facilities that you have.
4:05
All technologies that you have.
4:11
A spaceship earth, so this presentation is science and technology, a stairstep for the continuous ascent of homosapians. Homosapians means reasoning...reasoning. Homosapians, we have come a long way how did we get here, what has brought us to this level where we are, so that is the story we will discuss, and if you have any questions, any time, please ask.
5:00
Okay I need to bring that to large case--
5:13
so is it historical perspective. That means how did we start it, where are we now, and what is our future? If assuming the earth is 4.5 billion years with history, take it to 12 hours clock, at 2:52 say AM we saw the first evidence of life in sedimentary rocks in the earth. 4:58 the first oxygen generating for the sands is plants. At 6:32 AM single celled animals appeared. I show you the place where we see all these. 8:52AM multi-cellular plants and 10:35 the first
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indication of animals, different species, 10:42 land plants, and the 11:59:13 early humans appeared. In others words, we have been short time here. This is the george, one of the early species we have fossils of. The first thing he was playing with the stone. This is a hard rock made of quartz, and sparks they are hard piece of rocks and there was some dried grass and started fire. He was able to shape the wood with his stone. Long, short, and different shapes, so he discovered the
7:06
fire, and just broken stone, this called chert, quartz, about 7 hardness assuming diamond is 10. He was able to use those rocks and got warm, and was able to do things little by changing things. And so started journey... Well, this just all through time, philosophers and scholars, developed and spoke and gave ideas step by step, across the [unclear dialogue] we took those ideas,evaluated them critically, and tried to apply it. That is how we've come this far.
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I am going to share with you, history of science and technology. The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques, and is similar in many ways to the history of humanity. That's the substance, that's the tool, that's the invention that has brought us to where we are. Every part of history, background knowledge has enabled people to create new things, and conversly many scientist's endeavors have become possible through technologies.
8:33
These technologies assist humans to travel to places we could not otherwise go, probe the nature, dig holes, and climb up the universe in more detail than our naturals sciences allow us. These are the early people, impressive. Find the rock, shape it, put it together, remember they didn't have crane and all these things, in the such an angle to end up with beautiful pyramid that still is there or shape this rocks, [unclear dialogue] These are the evidence of
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our ancestors, impressive, majestic monument. We still puzzle about their imagination, the needles, these are all Cleopatra's Needles. [unclear dialogue] In Egypt... Acropolis in Greek, Persepolis in Persia, in Iran shape the rocks, move the rocks, melt the rock. When you go to Persepolis and you see a huge alternium, big rocks, how did they put these rocks in angle together and kept it to stand all those way. Still it is impressive, when you go to these monuments in Egypt.
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In 1961, US president John F Kennedy called on congress to found a space program to send man to the moon before 1970. Addressing our environmental problems, when you are doing that you invent a lot of new technologies, and shifting our political, economic, and social institution to [unclear dialogue] of sustainable development will require still more vision resolve and committment. He knew that by that technology we could go so far, when we have that knowledge of how it happpened.
10:49
The fact that astronaunts reached the moon just 8 years after Kennedy's speech, demonstrates the power of human ingenuity. In meeting the challenge it provides hope that we will be able to meet the larger challenge of living sustainable to earth 250,000 miles away we go there and come back? How? What machine takes us there, what kind of fuel we use, but let's decide to go, and we did that. Apollo 11 moon landing, on July 28, 1969. We were going to go to heaven above the earth, outside the earth.
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How dare we would, yes. By the way with Apollo, the lunar landing and they approach the sea of tranquility, see Galileo taught the ocean because they name the ocean. As you know Armstrong and [unclear dialogue], system tells them, do not land, we had 40 seconds to replicate the situation and see what was wrong. They called back and I was in front of TV listening to Walter Cronkite broadcasting this. NASA telling them go and land, take this steering wheel
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manually you have too much data in your system, it is confused, and [unclear dialogue] did and took that and land. On July 20, 1969 the human race accomplished it's single greatest technological achievement of all time. When a human first step foot on another celestial body. Six hours after landing at 4:17 pm EDT, the whole world was listening, with less than 30 seconds of fuel remaining, Neil Armstrong who was born August 5, 1930, and just died August 25,
13:01
2012 took the smallest step into our greatest future. When he stepped off the moon module named Eagle, onto the surface of the moon, from which you could look up and see earth in the heavens as no one had, and you see some picture before him. He was shortly joined by Buzz Aldren, the two astronaunts spent 21 hours on the lunar surface, and returned 46 pounds of lunar rocks. After the historic walks on the moon, they successfully docked with the command module, which is orbiting above,
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Columbia, in which Michael Collins was patiently orbiting the cold, but no longer lifeless, moon.
13:51
They saw really from outside on the moon that the earth was a spaceship.
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Spaceship earth, our littlest spa. Let me say it spaceship earth, [unclear dialogue] a machine, that has all the principles, physics, chemistry, biology, all of it, exactly, precisely, with out exception applied, that was spaceship earth. That is what we are in right now. Earth is only 12,000 miles in diameter, which is almost in [unclear dialogue] dimension. In the greater vastness of space, our nearest star, our energy supplying mothership the sun is 92 million miles away.
15:03
I have a question, at this moment are you moving or are you stationary...moving? How fast are you moving by the way, just guess. Just guess. How many Miles per hour?
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>> Student: A thousand. >> Dr. Baharlou: One thousand miles per hour, is she right? She is moving. >> Student: Yes. >> Dr. Baharlou: You are moving too? Is she right 1,000 miles an hour? >> Student: Not sure about that. >> Dr. Baharlou: More or less, guess. >> Student: More. >> Dr. Baharlou: Boy, you are all very optimistic our little spaceship earth is right now traveling at 60,000 miles an hour around the sun because it has to complete a circle in 365 days.
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It is also spinning axially which around itself, that where you get day and night, which [unclear dialogue] is about 1,000 mph, so right now we are going that fast, I don't feel it, why? We answer the question, we ask after they said that what force is keeping us so that we don't feel it. It's enormous speed going the same time around, moving and zipping around. 60,000 mph around the sun, and around itself, 1,000 mph. Spaceship earth was so extraordinary, well-invented,
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and designed, that to our knowledge, humans have been on, that means you will see design precisely, concisely following physical, chemical, principle laws of science, no exception, no magic, no surprises. Extraordinarily well invented and designed that to our knowledge humans have been on board for 2 million years, not even knowing that they were on board of a ship like some of you don't feel like you are moving. Part of the invention of this spaceship earth and its
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biological life-sustaining is that the vegetation on the land, and the algae in the sea, using photosynthesis are designed to make the life generating energy for us in an adequate amount. We cannot eat all the vegetation, as a matter of fact, we cannot eat very little of it, we cannot eat the bark or wood of the trees nor the grasses, but the insects can eat these and there are many other animals and creatures that can. We get the energy relayed to us by taking the milk and the
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meat from the animals.
18:32
Again, all this process...
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In the imagination of those who are sensitive to their realities [unclear dialogue], the earth has become a spaceship, and this perhaps is the most important single fact of our time.
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Facets of technologies has become so critical so vital, and so important is this spaceship. You are the passenger, moving very fast, with limited space. For a millenium, the earth in human's minds was flat and limitless. To this day as a result of exploration, speed and the exploration of sceintific [unclear dialogue] knowledge earth has become tiny sphere, closed, limited, crowded system, and hurtling through the space. Limited, closed system this change in human's image of their
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home affects their behavior in many ways, and likely to affect much more in the future. Your future, you that will guide the spaceship from the [unclear dialogue]. It is not only that human's image of the earth has changed, but realilty of the wold's social system has changed as well. As long as human were small in number and limited in technology, they could realistically regard the earth as an infinite reservoir. An infinitie source of inputs, and infinite cesspool of
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[unclear dialogue] today we can no longer make this assumption. Earth has become a spaceship not only in our imagination, but also in the hard realities of the social, biological, and physical system, in which human is meshed. In what you might call the old days, many humans were small in numbers, and earth was large, they could pollute without any penalty. Then they frequently destroyed the immediate environment and had to move to a newer spot, when they then proceed to destroy.
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Now humans can no longer do this, they must live in the whole system. A member cannot put a sign up at Mexican border saying no pollution allowed in the United States. Oh, we cannot do that? We cannot put a sign and say no pollution from Minnesota could come down to southern Mississippi River?
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We have an interconnected system, do you mean what California decides about carbon monoxide emission and it effects us too in Illinois, so they cannot say as a state I have to right to stay to the side. These are all politcal, social factors coming in. Had to move on to a new spot, they must move on to a new system; this is all related to one system, with no borders, no boundaries like you are in airplane, if somebody is smoking in front seat, you going to smell it and you going to inhale it.
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Begin to develop quadrilateral dynamic sense. You know that you are either going to have to keep the machine that is going to take knowlege is critical. The machine which operates with precise physical, chemical, biological, and geological principle, in good order or its going to be in trouble and fail to function. We have not been seen on spaceship earth as a techincally designed machine, which to be persistenly successful must be comprehended and serviced in total.
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Now there is one scientifically important fact regarding this spaceship earth and that is no instruction book came with it. We have to learn all of it, we have to discover it. Lack of instruction has forced us to find that there are two kinds of berries, red berries that will kill us, and red berries that will nourish us. We have to find out ways of telling us which is which, red berries before we ate it or otherwise we would die. We have to find it, we have to know.
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Could we say, God please help me this not red poison berry. Ask God? Or ask Allah or ask what? There will please, I will be nice to you. No, we have to find it and find it ourselves, for our knowledge that's what it means, we have to do it .
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We were forced because of the lack of instruction book, to use our intellect, which is our supreme faculty to devise scientific and technological experimental procedure and to intrepret effectively the significance of experiemental findings. Thus because the instruction manual was missing, we are learning how we safely can anticipate the consequence of an increasing number of alternative ways of extending our satisfactory ways of survival for growth of physical and metaphysical.
25:07
The design omission of the instruction book on how to operate and maintain a spaceship earth, and its complex life-supporting and regenerating system has forced us to discover respectively just what our most important forward capabilities are. We are finally going to have to face the fact that we are a biological system, we are a system myself too, living in that ecological system, another system. Our survival power is going to depend upon our developing
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beyond our relationship of a closed cycle character with all the other animals and population of elements and population of the world of the ecological system. These are great discoveries.
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Once they begin to look at earth as a spaceship, the apalling extent of our ignorance about it is almost frightening. Finally, the consequence of earth becoming a spaceship for the social system are profound and little understood. This clear up much human behavior, and many human institution in the past which were appropriate to a finite earth are entirely not appropriate for smalled closed spaceship earth. We are interrelated, there are no borders, no boundaries, we are interconnected.
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We cannot afford an unrestricted conflict, and we all most certainly cannot afford national sovereinity in an unrestricted sense. It is in our hands, and especially your hand because you have the knowledge, you have the vision. You think critically, you want to know why, how, and you are reflective. If this is my son, how do I want him to be treated? Oh, making sarcastic remark, you just reflect it, you already apply to yourself. We cannot afford unrestricted conflict and we certainly cannot
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afford national sovereignty in an unrestricted sense.
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Literally it is in your hands. The only knowledge critical thinking, cannot just pray. Let me hang you from this wall and you pray not fall. No, you have to use your thinking, and that's what this class of Dr. Wabhy teaches, technology to train you to do that. Now the whole earth is in our hands, collectively, disregard our race, nationality, you must maintain it for now and the future generation. That's the moral obligation for our children.
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If this earth is past this [unclear dialogue], this earth were only a few feet in diameter, floating a few feet above the filled [unclear dialogue] people would come from everywhere to marvel at it. People would walk around it, marvelling at this big pool of water, the little pool of water flowing between the big pools, people would marvel at the bumps on it, and the holes in it. They would marvel at this very thin layer of gas surrounding it and the waters suspended in the gas.
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The people would marvel at all the creatures in the water. The people would declare it precious because it was the only one, and they would protect it so that it would not be hurt. The ball would be the greatest wonder known, and people would come to behold it to be healed, to gain knowledge, to know beauty and to wonder how it could be. People would love it and defend it with their lives and the roundness could be nothing without it. If the earth were only a few feet in diameter.
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Seen from the moon, we first saw the beauty of this spaceship earth, and the diverse characteristics. While others saw no others here, there is no water here, there is no air here, there is no grass here, there is no cow here, there is no egg here, we start comparing the character spaceship, but in this case the moon. Well, that historic moment, we left the earth and went to another celestial body.
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When the lunar Eagle landed and the ladder unfold, then Neal Armstrong stepped out the whole world was watching that moment. The step on the surface of the moon, by the way, this imprint would be there forever, because there is no air, there is no water on moon, stay there. He raised American Flag, there is no air, so it was made of aluminum, and at 4:17 pm EDT on July 20, 1962 the Eagle has landed. A smallest step for human, a giant leap for humankind as Neal Armstrong said.
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This is what technology, human technology could take us to the heaven and hell and all back and forth, of course if above was heaven and hell was below. It was a famous picture, the moon in the background, American flag, Neal Armstrong, Collins, the colleague that take the picture, reflection of the sun all on the surface of the moon, all in one picture. We've decided to go to other parts of the solar system ,and yes, the planet next to us. We always were facinated.
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We had many movies, "Martians coming", and so on, and so we decided to go look at Mars, because of it's red color we named it after the god of war. Mars Pathfinder was an American spacecraft that landed on the base station, but then no [unclear dialogue] Rover on Mars in 1997 could see there they landed [unclear dialogue] Carl Sandburg and the lightweight 10.6 kg wheeled robot on Mars we called it Sojourner. We told Sojourner to go out on own, sample the Mars, sample the
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soil, sample the rocks, measure the air, and collect it back. You mean we are on Mars, that's right, and name this rock it is called couch, because it stands like a couch. We look at the whole galaxy. You want to go there every part of it, we are human. We have the power, the decision, and the technology. We want to explore the entire solar system, and now we have later on taken the spacecraft about leaving our solar system, going on to other galaxies.
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From Mercury to Venus, to Earth, to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, all these planets, by the way this is a great picture of Venus. This is Venus. Ha, I already seen Venus, white? Yes, because it covered by thick cloud of CO2 reflect the sunlight, so we always see when they drop spacecraft robot under it, this is way it is, this is very hot, is boiling, I said good example of global warming. Perfect next door to us. Because of thick masses and is white, that is after god of
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beauty [unclear dialogue] volcanic eruption create a lot of CO2, which reflect the sunlight and all this planet. We are going to go all of this system. [music] This is milky way galaxy, its called milky way because of it's whitish color. Each of these is a sun like ours. There is a shooting star here. [unclear dialogue]--Yes, we are going to explore this.
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You just talk about impressive accomplishment. Not just if you, as I said I am teaching course, science and technology, I develop it in 1982, promise or a threat. Just want to see consequence, one example this is hijacked plane. Heads straight for the second tower of 9-11. There was a man who convinced people, his followers, that this America had committed sin, and they are not muslim, remember muhammed said that only Muslim go to heaven, all other goes to hell.
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If God sends these people to hell, why don't we help the God earlier. Those of you see Osama Bin Laden talks, go send them to hell to, you will die, you muslims are saved. I have convinced these people to burn, destroy man, woman, and children. When you don't think critically, you are vulnerable. That's what has happened, and of course with women. Man made this plane to go there, and those who just follow, that's technology. If hadn't happened to those people, and we have
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seen many examples of it. All the bombs, in all the war, Pakistan, Afghanistan, these there are many people who just follow. They don't have critical reflective thinking. Fortunately you do; and one more example, this is in Enola Gay the pilot named it after his mother. This Enola Gay is going to have a mission, and the mission is to take the first Atomic bomb called it fat boy, and thats the plane that took off August 6, 1945, with this atomic bomb under his wing.
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It dropped it at 8:15 am on August 6, 1945. The Enola Gay plane dropped a 20 Kiloton atomic bomb over Hiroshima Japan. Moments after a mushroom cloud raises 20,000 feet over Hiroshima.
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Within 11 seconds, 200,000 people died, still is taking life, man woman, children, old, young, vaporized. Some distance from there, their eyes, and every meat melted, so their skeletons just fell. Those of you familiar with uranium half life, uranium is 4.5 million years, so still there is radioactive soft sand there that was buried, but is still taking life. Yes, somebody decided to take that bomb and drop it. Well, some of you said, Japan made a mistake of attacking us on Pearl Harbor...yes.
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This is the technology, if the hand and the power just wanted to tell you that. Three days later, another nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, September 8, 1945; November 6, 1954 an atomic bomb silently destroyed almost all of the houses and building in Hiroshima. This is a reporter standing there taking those pictures to show you [unclear dialogue] Three days later, these are all, these are the few people that survived. They burned, none of them survived after a while.
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The torture, the agony, the life. The problem [unclear dialogue] destruction left after and atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki 3 days later, on August 9, 1945.
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Now we have several hundreds of much more powerful bombs in silos ready to go, already targeted. All have some president or prime minister say go. I just wanted to show you the technology, the power must be handled by people who are moral, ethical, think critically, reflectively, and see the end of using these systems. Again, us, I hope that's you.
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Science and technology... This gives you a glimpse of introduction to up to this point. A Historial perspective, how ready is civilizations, cultures, and great thinkers have related and discovered the nature of science and technology? Your Predecessor, those were here before you?
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{music} You all heard about Mary Leaky, a great anthropologist. Images for you to see... For all the ancicent skulls and preshistoric stone tools that Mary Leaky chiseled out of the rocks of east Africa, here in Tanzania, what is accidental, anthropologist will be best remembered for her footprints. Actually one day in 1978, on the arid Laetoli plain, of Tanzania, Leaky bent over an impression that looked as if had been made by human. With a dental pick, and a brush she painstakingly cleaned
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away the 3.5 million year old hardened volcanic ash that incased the print. Three hours later, convinced that the print had indeed been left by human ancestors, she stood up and announced, "now this is really, this is really is something to put on mantle piece or in a museum". The 75 foot long trail of crisp footprints had been made by 3 little hominins, members of the human family who ambled across the volcanic plain at the dawn of humankind.
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One of the them, seemed to pause and turn left briefly before continuing to the north in the ash. This unique of a behavior, from eons back to find the thrive in a way that no other bones could not. As Leaky wrote, this motion so intensely human translates time a remote anscestor experienced a moment of thought. The find helped overturn the prevailing wisdom that the seminole event in human evolution was the development of the big brain.
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Instead it was standing up, it was only four foot, now he stood up, our hands were free, our eyes become where we see front, and that brought reach free the hands to make tools. Tool-making simulated growth in the size and complexity of the brain. This new freedom of four-limb posed the challenge Nicki Rhoad soon after discovery, the brain expanded to meet it, and humankind was born. These are the footprints. Footprints made by [unclear dialogue] africanisis as they
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walk across the ash scattered by volcanic eruption over 2.5 million years ago. The footprints confirm skeletal evidence that the species were fully erect stances. This is of course... we also have some footprints of animals going there, and the woman had the smaller footprint, and the man had larger footprint.
46:00
Its part of the pictures in the Smithsonian, they are precious clues to the past. Rare fossil tracks left millions of years ago, by humanities ancestors. I feel so proud that is to stand here and see how far we have come. I owe all of it to my ancestor, and to those who discover. I leave twice as much as six years before. I don't [unclear dialogue] my scientists.; my ancestors that means your ancestors, I give credit. This is who we are, so years ago this was their...they have come a long way.
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This is the panorama that is in the Smithsonian in museum. Shows the volanic ash they walked in there, a picture. Lifelike [unclear dialogue] was a valitory hominids with a stark landscape background in Smithsonian museum. The earliest step in human evolution. Just imagine years from now when you look at a step on the moon, wow, that was a historic moment, going to the moon; when we lived solar system when you are in other galaxies, and look back, what that moment look exactly.
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You all heard about Lucy, also a find in Tanzania, this is the bones they discovered and reconstructed. This is covered now to protect those with prints. Discovery of human footprints in East Africa reshaped the study of human origins. Now conservators have protected the fragile tracks from destruction. Okay, so I give you this introduction to this, now lets be at the moment that all those who contributed to where we are now. To where we fly, we live longer, we look and we could look at
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a picture across the planet who were these people. Earliest technologies, which fire and stone as I show you that...
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These are an adult man we are playing the [unclear dialogue] A spark, dry grass, started a fire, and then learned to shape the rocks to make arrows, other tools, to cut meat, to smash things, make a beautiful shape, these are impressive technologies of our ancestors. A stone age, you all heard about it. Let's look at these ancient civilizations. Fortunately, in other words we are extremely forturnate, and all in here like Wafeek is having all this civilization in to use the University.
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Egyptian was last year, and now this year is Greek civilization. Their contribution their culture, what they left for us, the messages, so long. Thanks Wafeek, it is really impressive. We are unique as that. Okay let me give you that, it was Greeks, which is this semester, greek symposium. Roman, Persians, Egyptian, and Mesopetamiums. These are ancient civilization.
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You all know they were here.
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Greeks, Rome, this is as you well know, this is Iran, Persia, this is Egypt, this area about is Mesopetamia. They are the one who laid the foundation for all science and technology, who we are. Our views, visions, health, and facilities, but Persia changed it's name from Persia to Iran, Saudi Arabia, yes all Egypt, Greece. The earth's natural forces, this is where this ancient civilization face, natural forces, volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, thunder, lightning, seasonal climates,
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forests, brush wildfires, and diverse forms of life. The relationship between disease and death have been of intense interest to homosapiens since the earliest appearance on earth. All this was happening, sudddenly a big storm will come, a fire appears, big hails, earth will shake, just remember we don't have all scientific back on earth they want to know who is responsible for these events. They couldn't predict, they didn't have weather stations, so
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then understanding the cause and the effect of these natural forces are the stepping stones and the staircase of science and technology. The ascend of homosapians in a continuous journey of knowledge and excellence. How did ancient civilization in the beginning explain these? Role of gods and goddesses in ancient civilizations. They assigned gods and goddesses. They said we will bless the powers and curse the human emotions like love and anger.
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This is these gods and goddesses are doing, they are nice, but don't doublecross them. They give, in other words, call it reflection of their own attributes. Powers and curses with human emotion like love because they didn't understand the cause of these. Their residence has been atop of mount Olympus in Iraq in Greece, the highest mountain of Greece, from which drives also their characteristic name, Olympian gods, the important [unclear dialogue] olympian to all gods was their immortality.
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Each one of them has the ability to appear in front of mortals and provide them with advice and health. Many example of that can be found in "The Illiad" and "The Oddysey", works of peotic humor. In them, many times god Athena, appears in various forms to odysseys as has been in proctor. It is not rare of course to see the opposite, some of these ancient Greece gods get angry with mortals and try to harm or punish them, so fire hurricane, tornado, volcanic, makes
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vulcan, god of volcano got angry. All this ancient civilization, their gods had all these characteristics, so they couldn't explain it. This is pantheons the greece were the gods released were there; this is Eome where the gods and goddesses were, and this is Micah where the muslims were. In Egypt for example, Sirius was of the most important deities of the ancient Egypt. This one was considered to be the first ancient Egyptian god to be officially recorded in written scripts of
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ancient Egypt, and Orsis is the god of afterlife. As you see their pictures from the picture that they've drawn. Interesting things that all of these have our shapes; our body shape and all have our characteristics, all of these. Poseidon for example, god of the oceans, when the sea came up and flooded and many areas near the sea wiped out, and people. God of the sea Triton is a weapon that could shake the earth when he would shake it and destroy any object.
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Zoroastrian, which is Persian god of power and Mithra mythology comes from goddess of Persian rain and song. They all had characteristics, all the earth's events were associated with gods and goddesses, many of them. Sistine chapel, which is the study of all the religions at that this is the god of Muslim, Mesopotamiums, and had power; told Abraham, to go get your only son Isaac, and get it to that rock and cut his thoat if you only believe me. To tell it what to say, go do that.
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All you've heard about it, [unclear dialogue] Moses then came down from Mt. Sinai, had climbed Mt. Sinai, and like that, saw that some people having drunk some wine, open chasm, and all fall in and drown. All these had this characteristic, which develop, with this ancient civilizations. Many of these pictures of activities scientific and to the wall, I go to these, so... [music] The scientific revolution... Who are these people who went before us and made it
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possible for us to be who we are to have what we have, to live as long we live, to have the life we have. Francis Bacon [unclear dialogue] of Capernicus, Thomas Maltheus, Galileo, Di Vinci, Isaac Newton, excuse me, I go fast. Immanual Kant and Charles Darwin are Einstiens. The scientific revolution..rennaissance, nature is subject to rational, natural laws. The most fundamental the most profound statement, and those who we "oh I thought it was magic" "i thought it
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was devil doing it" "I thought god and goddesses were doing it." no, has precise cause, scientific, go find it. Nature, is subject to rational, natural laws. That's the most profound statement what has brought us to this level. Imagine if we didn't believe in that.
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These laws apply to animals, plants, the smallest piece of a solid atom, the smallest part of living DNA, to liquid, to solid, and to small np's. All and everything, this is what has brought us this far. You believe there is a cause, rational, natural cause. Imagine if you believe it is work of gods and goddesses, we can't do anything, we cannot stop it, no way don't waste your time, if they want a tornado comes, if weather, but this was
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most fundamental step we took to brought us to where we are.
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There was natural magic there was witchcraft, alchemy just all sorts of things; there were people who had magic power-- could make things disappear or make things come in. You get sick, you die, in the beginning many of these people also came to explain the causes of human events.
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Rich, remember rich sign of contact with the devil. There were devil followers, so they hanged them. History shows how dangerous our gestures about the world can become. Those who were ignorant, who thought he/she did it, "remember that lightning, she did it, that witch did it. "Go find him, find her. " There were people who believe in that, that's what it means. That's what words can become once they lose touch with reality, we have it now.
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The victims are rare...rich, hunged, in the 17th century. They were hanged in the public.
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Everyone was joyful, coming, having picnic, when these witches were hung, exactly like Hitler did to the Jews in the streets. Okay now, just briefly, we were there some of the great contributions of these great ancestors who brought us hope dignity life happiness.
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Francis Bacon, what did he say?
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Mechanics of philosophy everything can be explained by physical, chemical, and biological laws. It can be explained and must be explained, if it is not explained, this is the reason for it. It is clear, concise, and that is called the mechanics of philosophy. Applies precise scientific technologic laws. Natures obeys the laws of science, there are exceptions they said. Rene' Descartes, what was his contribution? He said a profound statement, "I think, therefore I am."
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That means you exist if you can think critically, otherwise you are guided, pulled here and there, every direction, and somebody else has your destiny. That famous Auguste Rodin the thinker in Paris Museum, majestic impressive statue. They making this famous statue of thinker deeply wrapped in thought, suggests that human is uniquely reflective, reflective and self- [unclear dialogue] and that is something fundamental to the human condition. I would just share on TV this before I came here,
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preacher said that's God's word that homosexuals are sinners. Imagine that some people belive in that then go hurt and insult them; now imagine if that person was reflecting, wait a minute if my son is homosexual, how would I want him to be treated? That calls reflective, which is most powerful of scientific.
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Self [unclear dialogue] and that this is something fundamental to the human. When we are human, we have those senses, that is what it exactly says, we are reflective and think critically.
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One of the concepts geocentric concept in the beginning you said earth is where we are, created God, earth is in the center of universe, called geocentric concept. It was believed for long time and when the picture is drawn, this is the earth and everything goes around it, and the hell by the way is below the earth. This is earth, earth, and all other planets around it. That was the measure of the earth. Then the science and technologies believed by ancient
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civilization, jews, christians, and muslims because earth where we are on it, and we are created in gods image, so it is a special place. Then Nicholas Capernicus, who said [unclear dialogue] he'd look at the motion of the stars, and planets and there is day and night and season. Now he's critically thinking, he thinks critically, he wants reason, and he looks for evidence. He said, "heliocentric concept", sun is in the center of universe. Oh, you kicked out our earth out of center of universe?
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"Oh you are in a lot of trouble," and you will see and in the pictures the sun and other planets going around it, this is where the earth is.
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Same with pictures which is where Sistine chapel began.
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That was a big event. He displaced the earth from the center of universe, and a lot of people were angry.
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You know when people are angry, what they do. You saw example of it a few weeks ago, somebody had a video insulting muhammed, and people then killed 4 innocent, 4 innocent, had nothing to do with it, when we don't think effectivly critically. Some people always take advantage of those, and that was some people got upset. Galileo, all heard about it, who fix a telescope that have different size thickness of glass then looked up and saw the motion of the stars, and now he had evidence
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supporting that concept. Oh, explain and it spread the heliocentric concept. They wrote a book and you see here it shows you the pictures. [unclear dialogue] they showed the book, these three front pieces of the book they wrote, concerning their two system of the word, 1916 from left to right are Aristotle, [unclear dialogue], and Capernicus, explained their evidences. Difficult and published it, Oh! They angered the pope and you all know how a trial and Galileo
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brought his telescoope, put it up, and said Holy come look at it, the truth shall set you free. That was the straw that broke the camels back. Embarrassed as you was on [unclear dialogue] Galileo. Da Vinci you all heard about him, great painter, he discussed the first good definition of science and technology. He said position vs. surgeon, position are scientists, surgeons are technologists. They use their concept to heal, to fix, to repair, maintain.
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Isaac Newton, you all heard famous story, he was sleeping in area of apple fell out of tree on his head. It shows here he was just observing them, he saw the apples that were higher in falling they created more pressure on his head, and the bigger, wait a minute, why the bigger apple hurt more? Throw some rocks, you want me to finish just second, take a break? When you read his literature, that's he wrote some of them. If you ever go to Italy or Paris you will see some of it
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written by his hand, taken a group to Europe. Isaac newton, he just observed the bigger apple hurt more, they came faster, and he came [unclear dialogue] from science and experiemental philosophy. He brought the newton law of gravity. Gravity depends on the speed and mass of the subjects. Still we use it, we use it to take outer space craft all the way to the moon, to mars and bringing things down, airplane everthing.
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No magic, it is a law.
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The world again once more is a great machine that connects philosophy.
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Do you want me to stop here, or... >> Dr. Wahby: Is this a good stopping point? >> Dr. Bahlarlou: That is good, we could stop here and you are the boss! >>Dr. Wahby: No you are, we will turn the lights up like this, and would you give him a round of applause please. >> Dr. Bahlarlou: Thank you very much, If you want to stay and ask me any questions, please do so. Some of this concept, you are higher education, it could bother some of you. I used to be like you.
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If you are any one of you here, I was born in Iran in Persia, dominated by Islam. I saw what would happen if somebody disagreed with you, with your concept of the world, concept of humanity. I was angry because when we go to mosque, my mother has to go to other side of the curtain, cover herself, could not see man, covered completely. Why, because woman was to seduce man, if they have any parts showing. I saw those, so I lived in a place that you couldn't ask questions.
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Fortunately we live in country that we have the freedom to express ourselve in a collegiate manner so, if you please, with all emotion that you have. >> Dr. Wahby: When did you leave? >> Dr. Bahlarlou: I left on November 10, 1961, landed in New York City, I still remember that moment, my eyes were full of tears. I couldn't believe I was there. >> Dr Wahby: You left before the revolution? >> Dr. Bahlarlou: The shah was there as a dictator.
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I lived under a dictator, the Shah of Iran or king of Iran. >> Dr. Wahby: But was he open-minded? >> Dr. Bahlarlou: No. No dictator is openminded, if you follow them... I was sitting in movie theatre I will never forget... I was in movie theatre in Persia in Iran in the beginning they show the national anthem, which is praise of the shah. I wasn't feeling good, and everybody has to stand up, I couldn't stand up, I really had a great fever. Police came, dragged me like this, all the way out of
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the movie theatre, and kicked my in my butts twice. I said, "I don't want you here any more." I said "I am sick, I couldn't stand up, I am sorry, I apoligize." This is where I lived, this is what I saw. Mullah, must go on top of a staircase and praise, I didn't see a single woman being a mullah. >> Dr. Wahby: What does mullah mean? >> Dr. Bahlarlou: It means religious leader. How many priests, how many women are priests by the way? How many? >> Dr. Wahby: In the church?
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>> Dr. Bahlarlou: How many women has been ordained as a priest? >>Student: Catholic church? >>Dr.Bahlarlou: catholic church. None! You see, you see it everyplace. What is wrong with a woman that cannot be a priest? God said, "you gave the apple to Adam and he ate and his eyes got opened, and caused them get kicked from garden of eden." You committed original sin, otherwise, you be in garden of eden. There eyes were closed. I lived in other system, I seen it, and I see it here.
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How many women have been president of United States? How many have been Vice President of United States? None. It is not all places that prejudices, for people who don't think critically. Who cannot respect their mother, their sister, their daughter, their mind is so covered and wrapped that they don't see how can I do anything. I have two daughters my wife is a woman, my mother is a woman, my grandmother is a woman. See, that's what Dr. Wahby, this is the class, and I can talk like that here.
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Or if it was a Catholic university, I would be kicked out, by the way, 30 minutes from now, say that. What is wrong with a woman that cannot be a priest? >> Dr. Wahby: You were kicked from Iran because of that? >> Dr. Bahlarlou: No I became valedictorian, I studied hard and became validictorian at [unclear dialogue] university, then they give me permission of institution with scholarship to go outside the country to study and come back. >> Dr. Wahby: To come back.
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>> Dr. Bahlarlou: To come back. I left, and went to University of Michigan Lancaster. In 1963 I married my wife Carlene Baharlou, an American, a week later I got a letter in my post office box. >> Dr. Wahby: She was an American? >> Dr. Bahlarlou: She is American, Carlene my wife, a letter said, "you have married a foreigner, all scholarships all everything has been discontinued." The next day, this is exactly what happened. I am telling this story October 12, that I am getting award
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in California, took that to my department chair, Dr. Charles Mankin, University of Oklahoma. I was into physic field master, and told Dr. Mankin, he said "don't worry about it, I establish your scholarship, I give you job for your expenses." He did that, he did it for me, an American, and I stayed. Owe it to this country. I got my PhD, I have been dean and department chair, I have accent, and they know that I wasn't American, I was born like that.
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Nobody every treated me differently, I've got most of the award possible. This means when people most atleast think critically and reflectively. >> Dr. Wahby: Well, he has been for an hour now almost throwing pebbles, sometimes rocks, in the pool of my mind. I am not sure about you, but I have five, six, seven, eight nine ten eleven, twelve thirteen questions for him. Because I didn't agree with some things he said, and I'm not sure about you.
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I am not going to start asking him back about things I didn't accept in his speech, and I am not sure about you, but let's take 5 minutes make it 10 minutes, and then come back promptly in 10 minutes. >> Dr. Bahlarlou: You have a nice break. I would be happy to answer questions. I hope you have questions. >> Dr. Wahby: All right, ten minutes then come back please. [no dialogue]
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