SUMMARY: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE

This essay gives understanding about the how landscape has evolved, changed and why
they are important globally and locally. As the vegetation and animal life have spread around the
globe, it has caused impact on soil, reliefs and climate resulting into major landscape changes. In
the essay the writer has termed landscape as palimpsest however the series of complex and
overlying layers interact with each other. One of the examples of this palimpsest is the complex
evolution of New Zealand over millions of years.
Since landscapes consist of rocks, soil, vegetation, animal, human construction, etc.
ecologist, geologist, archeologist, historians have claimed them as their major subject of interest.
However this essay introduces about geomorphology and explains how and why
geomorphologists study landscape. Geomorphology is defined as the study of earth surface and
the processes that shapes it. It is rather a historical science and not an experimental science. For
example, earthquake of same magnitude and location will not produce same landslide event
around same mountainous terrain at two different dates because all other things arent equal.
Geomorphology focuses on three elements i.e. landform, process and the development
of landscape overtime. Landforms are clearly defined topographical features and occupy the
earth surface. Geomorphologists have investigated in many ways whether small landforms
contribute to form the large landforms or the large landforms constrain development of smaller
ones. However along with spatial scale and time scale over which a landform develops also
varies from milliseconds to millions of years. Normally smaller landform would develop faster.
The visualization of this spatial and timescale is made easier by plotting a log; log plot. Another
element is the process which shapes the canvas of the earth. There are mainly two types of

process i.e. exogenic which deals with processes fueled by suns energy usually operating
through the climatic condition and endogenic powered by energy within the earth such as
tectonic and volcanic processes. Exogenic process involves denudation by erosion and
weathering processes while endogenic process involves constructional process via volcanic and
tectonic processes. The battle between these two processes can sometimes be episodic or onesided affair. The third element of geomorphology is the study of development of landforms
overtime. With the development of radiometric dating, morphology now deals with the study of
long term changes. Most of landforms have been produced over Cenozoic era but these changes
have often been influenced by earlier geological eras, in which rocks have been laid, large
tectonic plates movements have occurred and sea levels have drastically changed.
Geomorphologists have expended so much effort trying to explain the histories of
landform development,. The main reason behind it is to understand how landscape functions
today. For example, the forces that shaped the landforms in the past help us to understand the
pattern and timing of catastrophic movement in Himalayas. The study of geomorphic past forms
a major testing ground for our theories and ideas derived from studying the present. The further
reason to study the broad change in landscape in the past relates to need to predict future.

SUMMARY: INTERVIEWS
The passage Interview has been extracted from half modern half something else by
Martin Beek: published 2003. In this passage Charles Jencks has been interviewed about his
book The Language of Post-Modern Architecture and the various elements of the book itself
such as its editions, photography/format/design, contents and formative structures.
The passage mostly talks about post modernism, modernism and its paradigms. Jencks
has explained that science of complexity had moved from peripheral position to the central and
hence the underlying ideas behind the book are multivalence and complex. According to him
architecture is always going continual revolutions as it incorporates external ideas and transforms
itself.
He has explained how architecture is influenced by social and political factors. The work
of Robert Venturi has been used to explain how complex paradigms of modernism has not been
implemented as in literate as his building were putting forward the similar idea but not
articulated. He has also discussed about how the modernist such as Peter Reyner Benham
perceived his arguments and how Benham disliked post modernism but yet he acknowledged it
as extremely important rubbish.
The passage has also included Jencks thought on revivalism, neo-vernacular and radical
eclectisism. He has discussed about pluralism in modernism and historical suppression
mythically dealing with architecture and explains how post modernism was rather many things
rather one thing. He explains that like modernism did postmodernism would also turn into a
conscious tradition, elaborate itself and multiply its ism. His thoughts on the impact by
historical orientation of The Present of the Past exhibition held in Venice on the third edition of

the book has been mentioned where he justifies that postmodernism has more to do with the
pluralism and communication, historical reference being only one aspect of pluralism. He
explains how architects started weaving together fragments of past rather than transforming it
which led to Porno, a degraded form of post modernism, which ultimately killed it.
He has also talked about using his own photographs rather than reusing the professional
photographs which allowed him flexibility and allowed him to take his own view of the building
from his angle and understanding. At the end he says that what really happened in history might
not be what the book answers but rather layering of narratives, a palimpsest that has certain truth.

REVIEW: EINSTEINS EQUATION OF LIFE AND DEATH

The documentary Einstein's Equation of Life and Death, directed and produced by Johanna
Gibbon and Aidan Laverty, is an episode of a television series Horizon broadcasted in 2005. This
particular documentary, narrated by Jack Fortune, focuses on the famous equation by Einstein
i.e. E=mc2 and how this equation turned out to be good as well as ill for human race.
The documentary includes some conversations based on eye witnesses, footages, interviews,
animations which were sufficient for the understanding of the equation as well as the setting at
which the protagonists were subjected to. The dramatization followed by explanations helped the
better understanding of the topic even to the people who have no/less information about the
nuclear science and the various events which ultimately led to the construction of atomic bomb.
The film begins with Albert Einstein enjoying his holiday in a small resort hotel on the tip of
long island in the summer of 1939 when he gets visited by his old friend and colleague from
Berlin, physicist Leo Szilard. Szilard tells Einstein that he had come to meet Einstein because he
feared that Nazis could soon be in a possession of terrible weapon as the result of his E=mc2 and
something had to be done. The documentary then shows a footage of him at the Winter Session
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Pittsburgh where is quoted as
telling the journalists: "The likelihood of transforming matter into energy is something akin to
shooting birds in the dark in a country where there are only a few birds." Einstein was so
skeptical because attempts to break open the atomic nucleus always required more far energy be
put in than was ever released. The documentary further explains that since the nucleus was
bombarded by alpha particles, which themselves were positively charged, would deflect no
matter how fast they were accelerated. However when bombarded by the neutrons, which are

neutral in charge, would not deflect and cause the nucleus to be unstable and break down. The
explanation along with the animation of atoms and alpha particles aided the visualization of the
whole process.
The documentary has also well portrayed how all the developments of neutron and chain reaction
were going against the background of extraordinary political turmoil in Europe and how the
letter to the President of America, Franklin Roosevelt, and the consequences of this led to the
one mistake of Einsteins life. The Manhattan project funded by Roosevelt was initially intended
against the Nazis however after the defeat of Nazis, the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. The atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima led to more than 70,000 deaths. The
documentary states that the reason behind dropping atom bomb in Hiroshima was to suppress the
Japanese troop, which is itself a controversial statement and should have been addressed well
rather than just ending it without justification.
However this documentary has also portrays how Einstein wanted to be neither good nor bad
because he was a scientist but later the situation led him to choose one which led to the very one
mistake. It was noteworthy that many of the scientist involved in Manhattan project did petition
against the atom bombing and later Einstein himself in his final years, devoted much of his time
and energy to issues dealing with the world's future , advocating pacifism and campaigning for
the control of nuclear weapons, not by individual nations, but by a world government.