Hum 102 microlesson mod 1

1. Humanities 102: Micro-lessons
LESSONS
Issues with Maps
Issues with Time
Unlearning Bias
What is wrong with your map?
Would you like to know more?
A North-Up map is no more right than a South-Up
map. There is no up or down on a sphere. But the
issues of maps goes so far, that when Apollo 17 sent
images back home, NASA rotated the images!
Look at the map to the right. What is wrong with it?
You likely said the image is upside down, or maybe
you noticed that the proportions are off. This map is
known as the South-Up map. And it, like all maps, is
factually incorrect and is a lie. But don’t fault the
makers of the South Up map – all maps are wrong.
All maps distort. We live on a ball, not a flat plane. To
make maps work we must change the measurements
and shape. We choose how to stretch, how to
arrange, and how to organize.

2. Humanities 102: Micro-lessons
LESSONS
Issues with Maps
Issues with Time
Unlearning Bias
When is your birthday?
Would you like to know more?
When you hear the prefix “oct” what number do you think of? Eight, right?
Octopi have eight legs, octagons have eight sides, and October is the eighth
month. Wait! October is the 10th month! That’s because we are not using the
same calendar anymore! So I wonder what month it really is?
The BC/AD system was developed by Dionysius Exiguus who was
trying to establish a Christian chronology. But he was wrong! (And
he likely knew it!). BC stands for “Before Christ” and AD stands for
“Anno Domini” (In the year of our Lord). But using information from
Roman and Jewish chroniclers, the historical Jesus of Nazareth
was born as early as 4BC or perhaps as late as 3AD. On top of the
issues of Dionysius’ system, we round the number of days in a
year. And over time that rounding has had significant impacts!
So I wonder, do you actually know what year it is?
*this is a reconstructed image of what the actual
historical Jesus of Nazareth likely looked like!

3. Humanities 102: Micro-lessons
LESSONS
Issues with Maps
Issues with Time
Unlearning Bias
What is confirmation bias?
Would you like to know more?
To become culturally literate – to become fluent in a principles, traditions, and practices of a
group of people – requires a lot of questioning. It means you may have to challenge even the
most basic assumptions. Some key tips? Avoid logical fallacies like black/white thinking, appeals
to tradition, appeals to authority, and the bandwagon effect. Confront your thinking!
We all have biases – we filter information through our
experience. Bias needs to be checked, otherwise it is
easy to fall into confirmation bias, that is the searching
for, interpreting, and preferring information that supports
one’s preconceived ideas and beliefs.
Before this microlesson, you likely believed your map
was right and that you knew your birthdate. But what if
that was just a kind of bias? What if that was just
something you accepted as true without really knowing?
Avoid this!