What were the key distinctions among the Early, High and Late Middle Ages?

The Middle Ages refers to the period of time in Europe between the decline of the Roman Empire in the West and the Renaissance- from the fifth to fifteenth centuries. We can further break up this time period into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages based on cultural particularities in government, religion, education, and economy. 

The Early Middle Ages are characterized by the decentralization of government after the fall of the Roman Empire. Where much of Western Europe was previously united under the Roman Empire, now local kings were ruling territories and often invading and warring with each other. Much of the information we have about this time is archaeological, but there are some written sources from the clergy and nobility to fill us in on what happened. This was a time of rampant invasion and immigration, but many of the modern European nations trace their origins to groups who settled during this time. Some of those groups are the Lombards (who conquered much of modern-day Italy,) the Britons (as in Brittany,) and the Franks (as in France.)

Latin scholarship really fell out of fashion during this time, but many people turned to monasticism as a way of life. The church served to fill in some of the gaps where governmental administration fell short. Much of the population were poor, land-working peasants, but the feudal system had not really been formalized yet. Many practiced subsistence farming or worked for a landholder.

The eighth and ninth centuries saw the rise and fall of the Carolingian Dynasty. Charlemagne ruled from 771 CE and was coronated as Holy Roman Emperor in the year 800 CE. His coronation re-unified the church and state in the West, and during his reign he united much of Western Europe under the Carolingian Empire.

This unification was not to last. Raids by Vikings and migration among ethnic groups served to dismantle the Carolingian Empire. Western Europe returned to a localized system of kingdoms and feudalism was prevalent. Under the feudal system, all the land in a kingdom was divided up among the nobility, who further lent it to vassals in exchange for military service, and peasants worked the land for the vassals. There was a great population boom during the High Middle Ages, thanks to agricultural advancement, but much of the population remained poor peasants.

Many kingdoms had hereditary kingship, establishing dynasties of rule like the Capetians in France and the Ottonians in Germany. The Crusades took place during the High Middle Ages, and religion and military service were highly connected. This was also a time of religious reform throughout monasteries of Western Europe.

The Late Middle Ages were ushered in by climate instability, which caused crop failure, famine, economic stress, and encouraged the spread of plague throughout Europe. Many modern European nations trace their nationalist identities to the kingdoms consolidated under the kings of this time. Religious and secular law were revised and codified, and the use of the printing press enabled a slow but significant rise in literacy among the peasantry. Though education was still primarily for clergy and nobility, advancements were being made and laid the way for the Renaissance.

In Newjack, what are a few situations that Conover is faced with that require flexibility, communications skills, and common sense between Chapters...

One of the first situations that required Conover to be flexible occurred shortly after he received his appointment letter from the Department of Correctional Services. Conover was slated to begin his officer training on the same day he was to give a talk at a club about his recent Alaskan trip. In the end, Conover chose to reschedule, despite his personal feelings about the matter. He admitted that his excuse about a "trip that couldn't be postponed" was "the first of the thousand dodges and sorry-I-can't-talk-about-its" he had had to make for the next thirty months of his training. Conover learned that flexibility and communication skills were essential if he wanted to safeguard his personal mission.

In the book, we learn that Conover's original mission was to shadow a corrections officer recruit at the Albany Training Academy. Due to a frightening childhood experience, he had become fascinated with the subject of incarceration. As a writer, he wanted to observe and record the prison experience from the perspective of a corrections officer. After he was denied permission to shadow a recruit, Conover decided to become a corrections officer recruit himself. This courageous decision is another example of Conover's resourceful and practical nature: when cornered, Conover never admitted defeat. He employed a common sense approach to all his problems.

In yet another example of his flexibility and resourcefulness, Conover searched out Joe Puma, the executive director of the New York State guards' union, after his efforts to discuss the prison system was rebuffed by New York state department officials. Conover relished the information that Puma shared with him. According to Puma, corrections officers had the shortest life spans and the highest rates of divorce, alcohol addiction, and heart disease among civil servants. Conover enjoyed the interview sessions, but Puma eventually stopped returning his phone calls.

Determined to pursue more information, Conover got himself invited to the union's "initial bargaining sessions for its new contract with the state." There, he met Rick Kingsley, a union rep who worked at the Washington Correctional Facility in New York. Conover's friendly and unassuming nature led Kingsley to invite him to his prison to observe the conditions, but Conover found the experience sadly lacking in authenticity. This led to his decision to take the corrections officer exam in order to gain admittance to the Albany Training Academy. Throughout these three experiences, Conover used his communication skills, flexibility, and common sense to solve the logistical problems of compiling information about New York's prison systems.

Yet another example of Conover's practical nature can be seen when two inmates from galleries R and W on the second floor played a vicious practical joke on him. One of the inmates called to Conover as he patrolled the floor, while the other made a pretense of landing an uppercut punch on Conover's chin. Neither of the inmates had intended to hurt Conover, but their laughter showed that they had been trying to intimidate him on his first day at the prison. Despite his desire to use his baton, Conover didn't. He reasoned that a baton would have been useless against two burly prisoners; also, he was too slight of build to wield the baton effectively.

Next, he mulled over writing what was called an Inmate Misbehavior Report or "ticket." However, Conover came to the conclusion that writing a "wimpy ticket" would have hurt his chances of receiving real assistance when faced with dire situations in the future. So, he refrained from acting according to his emotions. In this instance, Conover's common sense approach allowed him to stay calm and to keep his courage. In all, Conover exhibited flexibility and exemplary self-possession.

On page 4 of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" reread the paragraph that starts with, “Men of passive tempers.” At the beginning of this paragraph,...

In this paragraph, Paine begins by claiming that these "men of passive tempers" hope for reconciliation with Great Britain out of a misguided faith in mankind and the historic ties between the Americans and the mother country. However, Paine claims that the relationship is past saving (and was never worth saving in the first place). Can Americans, he asks, reconcile with those who "carried fire and sword into your land?" He describes the death and...

In this paragraph, Paine begins by claiming that these "men of passive tempers" hope for reconciliation with Great Britain out of a misguided faith in mankind and the historic ties between the Americans and the mother country. However, Paine claims that the relationship is past saving (and was never worth saving in the first place). Can Americans, he asks, reconcile with those who "carried fire and sword into your land?" He describes the death and suffering that Americans suffered during the war and asks those who have lost family or seen their property taken or destroyed if they can still then be friends with the British. Having framed his argument in this way, he challenges the man who still seeks peace and reconciliation by saying that he is "unworthy of the name of husband, father, friend, or lover" and that he has "the heart of a coward, and the spirit of a sycophant." These were serious accusations—calling someone a coward in the eighteenth century was an invitation to a duel—and Paine does not issue these epithets lightly. He is trying to underscore the outrages that he accuses the British of perpetuating to show that the relationship between the American colonies and the British is fractured beyond repair.

What is the significance of the title of The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander?

Taran is a young boy who is beginning to grow into a man. He lives in Caer Dalben with Coll, Hen Wen (an oracular pig), and Dalben. Dalben is a 379-year-old wizard with many mysterious powers. He owns an important book called the Book of Three. Sometimes, he reads the stories in the Book of Three to Taran. The stories are about important people, like kings, princes, and bards. 

As a young orphan who doesn't...

Taran is a young boy who is beginning to grow into a man. He lives in Caer Dalben with Coll, Hen Wen (an oracular pig), and Dalben. Dalben is a 379-year-old wizard with many mysterious powers. He owns an important book called the Book of Three. Sometimes, he reads the stories in the Book of Three to Taran. The stories are about important people, like kings, princes, and bards. 

As a young orphan who doesn't know anything about his parentage, Taran is fascinated by these stories. He dreams that he could be unknowingly born of royal blood and that he too may have adventures one day. Taran leads a sheltered lifestyle in Caer Dalben, without much excitement or exposure to the outside world. The Book of Three symbolizes the excitement and glory he imagines will be waiting for him in the outside world. It tells stories of those who have done great deeds and acts of heroism. It is also something that is forbidden to Taran, who is not allowed to read the book himself.

When Taran sees Dalben napping, he decides to try and read the Book of Three without permission, thinking that the contents of the book will reveal to him new ideas and stories that Dalben is holding back from him. But as soon as he touches the book, it stings and burns his hands! Shortly after this, he leaves Cair Dalben alone to chase after Hen Wen after she escapes while under his watch. This catapults Taran into a series of adventures undertaken while he is trying to recapture Hen Wen.

The title The Book of Three symbolizes the adventures that Taran has throughout the course of the book, which were previously forbidden to him as too dangerous (just like the Book of Three was). It also symbolizes his need to learn more about the world and be a hero, just like the heroes in the stories in the Book of Three. He finds out that heroism is not quite all that it is portrayed as, and no longer values the excitement of violence and war the way he did when he first left Caer Dalben.

When Taran returns to Caer Dalben, he finds Dalben in his cottage, writing in the Book of Three. While this is not expressly stated, we can guess that Dalben is writing about Taran and his companions' adventures while Taran was away trying to find Hen Wen. This is a fitting culmination to the book because it shows how Taran's dreams were actualized through his own effort and bravery. In the end, he didn't merit glory because he found out his parents were royalty, or because of grand deeds. He earned it through his own bravery and effort, and by helping his friends succeed in their efforts to save Hen Wen and fight off the Horned King (one of the major antagonists in the story).

The title The Book of Three symbolizes Taran's intense need for adventure and glory, and his desire to learn and make his mark on the world.

What is the major problem with the society in the setting of Lord of the Flies?

Identifying a single major problem with the "society" that exists in Lord of the Flies is tough.  I could probably list quite a few problems with the society, but I'll try to pin it on one.  

I think that the main problem with the society is that there is no system in place to hold people accountable to the rules being established.  Electing a chief is a good first step, but the problem is...

Identifying a single major problem with the "society" that exists in Lord of the Flies is tough.  I could probably list quite a few problems with the society, but I'll try to pin it on one.  

I think that the main problem with the society is that there is no system in place to hold people accountable to the rules being established.  Electing a chief is a good first step, but the problem is that the boys never really give Ralph any true power.  They don't back up his decisions, and he has no way of enforcing his decisions to make sure they're followed.  Boys like Jack and Roger go ahead and do what they please regardless of Ralph's wishes and decisions.  The society has no punishment system in place to make everybody "toe the line."  It's not just Roger and Jack though.  At one point Ralph calls a meeting to scold the boys about starting fires all over the place and not going to the bathroom in the designated places.  

“So remember. The rocks for a lavatory. Keep the fire going and smoke showing as a signal. Don’t take fire from the mountain. Take your food up there.”

Ralph is correct in calling the meeting, but no changes happen.  No changes happen, because the boys still do not see any reason to follow those rules.  There is no incentive to follow the rules.  No rewards for following the rules and no punishments for breaking the rules; therefore, the society quickly begins to unravel.  

What were Lafcadio Hearn's first impressions of Japan when he arrived there?

Lafcadio Hearn first visited Japan in 1890 while working as a journalist for Harper's magazine. At that time, Japan was little known in the West; it appeared to all the world as a strange, exotic land full of unusual customs which were poorly understood by outsiders. Hearn did not know it when he first set foot on Japanese soil, but he would, more than any other foreigner in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, come to be responsible for demystifying the Land of the Rising Sun for a Western audience.

Initially, however, Hearn's first impressions of the country were those we would expect from a Westerner totally unfamiliar with Japan. Hearn was deeply enchanted by his encounter with this strange new world in the East, yet, as with virtually all Western visitors, he was unable to initially fathom the sheer richness and depth of Japanese culture:

The country is . . . full of the strangest charm. Artistically it is one vast museum. Socially and naturally it is really a Fairyland. The first impression produced by the Japanese themselves is that of being among the kindest kind of fairies. . . . The religions seized my emotions at once, and absorbed them. I am steeped in Buddhism, a Buddhism totally unlike that of books—something infinitely tender, touching, naïf, beautiful. I mingle with the crowds of pilgrims to the great shrines; I ring the great bells; and burn incense—rods before the great smiling gods.

Hearn's initial impressions of Japan are similar to those of a tourist. He is positively overwhelmed with the exotic profusion of sights, sounds, and smells that assail his senses. However, his evaluation of Japanese culture is, at this early stage, somewhat shallow. Reading his words above, it almost seems as if Japan were some kind of giant theme park populated by charming little sprites. Hearn's description of the Japanese as "among the kindest kind of fairies" comes across as a tad condescending, expressing an attitude that most people today would find unacceptable.

Nevertheless, Hearn's impressions are very much of their time, a common reaction for someone who has just arrived in a strange land for the very first time without knowing much about the indigenous culture. However, the incredible excitement that Hearn must have felt bursts through his excited prose, placing us in his shoes and making us want to want to share in his experiences.

From Hearn's first impressions of Japan, we can understand why he came to develop such an intense fascination with Japanese life and culture. His engagement with Japan transformed over time from a breathless sense of wonderment to a deep, respectful appreciation of an ancient and endlessly engrossing culture.

How big is the universe?

We are limited by the amount of light we can measure with our current technology, which, by historical standard, is pretty good.  We can see, currently, that our universe is about 46 billion light years across (Dr. Luke Davies, October 5, 2015, Phys.Org), which is a HUGE amount of space to cover taking almost 14 billion years. 

One light year is the distance light would travel in a single year, the speed of light...

We are limited by the amount of light we can measure with our current technology, which, by historical standard, is pretty good.  We can see, currently, that our universe is about 46 billion light years across (Dr. Luke Davies, October 5, 2015, Phys.Org), which is a HUGE amount of space to cover taking almost 14 billion years. 

One light year is the distance light would travel in a single year, the speed of light being the fastest speed in our known universe (186,000 miles per second).  Our closest galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy is the Andromeda Galaxy, about 2.5 million light years away. 

So when we talk about an "infinite universe," we are limited by what we can actually see, measure and report on.  Our current space travel to attempt to cover some of these spacial distances are puny as well. 

In our entire space program history, we have only sent manned space flights to our moon.  In terms of distance, that isn't even a drop in the bucket when compared to the distance it would take to cross our known universe.  So how big is our universe?  It's bigger than 46 billion light years in distance across.