hirakismail's blog

Looking back at my images, this one does seem more anthropocentric than the second, if I view it from a smaller animal's perspective. Around Rhoad's Pond, there aren't many animals that would be able to see the grass, blossoms, and lake from the angle this photo takes. I was kneeling on my knees when I took this picture, because I wanted to get the trees, grass, petals, fence, and lake all in one image. I wanted to encompass the surroundings in this photo. In deciding which pict to post the first time, I had a hard time deciding between this and the second, because I had a feeling somehow that this one  was not as specific to the sight, or seemed to not fit somehow. Now I realize perhaps why I felt that way.

While approaching my site to make my observations, I realized it was difficult to at first recognize the exact tree I had in my memory. I wanted to sit under a particular cherry blossom tree, but in finding it, I had to locate it by looking at the surroundings, and remembering which tree others were sitting under, what view I had of the fence, etc. This time, of course, it was not in full bloom with floating cherry blossoms, so I had to use other methods to recognize it. On my way down to the tree, I had taken off my shoes because it was easier to descend the hill that way, and when I finally sat down, it felt more comfortable to keep them off. I wanted to make sure I was using as many senses as possible, and so I wanted to touch my surroundings with both my feet and my hands.What was very apparent to me was the amount of animal sounds I could finally pay attention to and hear. There was some thudding from the tennis courts to my right and some light conversation from the window behind me as well, but for once, the major sounds I heard were of insects. There was a squirrel jumping from from post to post on the fence in front of me, and since I was sitting still, it came closer. I noticed the pond was looking very full today, probably because of the rain, and it had so much greenery within it's waters, small growths were covering the top of the water, clover-like. The marshes were partially in the shade, partially in the sun, as was most of the pond.

I have chosen three words to explore: anthropocentric, interdependence, and adaptation.

Anthropocentric had definitions which highlighted different elements of the words in 3 dictionaries, the OED, Merriam Webster, and Dictionary.com. I picked out the definitions that emphasized different aspects of the word that might prove useful as we proceed with this class.

OED: Centring in man; regarding man as the central fact of the universe, to which all surrounding facts have reference.

MW: Interpreting or regarding the world in terms of human values and experiences.

Dictionary.com: Assuming human beings to be the final aim and end of the universe.

Etymonlin (Etymology): 1822, from inter- + dependence.

So these definitions show anthropocentric to be a word referring to how people view the world through a specifically human-focused lens. People whose decisions and thoughts are based on how humans fare in the world or how the environment should be tweaked and treated with specific regard to human life and convenience would be referred to as anthropocentric.

Moving on to interdependence:

I was part of a group that transected Bryn Mawr's campus last semester with a small group of students and teachers. At the end of our walk around the perimeters of campus, we stopped in front of the site I am choosing to re-visit throughout this semester. We stopped by Rhoads Pond and were allowed to sit wherever we liked, either on top of the hill or right next to the fence. I chose a cherry blossom tree right in front of the pond and fence. It was in full bloom at the time, and I was able to appreciate the surroundings and these helped to boost my writing. I will specifically take time to sit under the tree and look out at the view of the pond. The background of the place is made up of tall trees at the other end of the pond, and the boundaries include the fence. There are some tall grasses and weeds at the borders and in front of the lake. Sometimes, these may block the view of the actual water, and this is where "terra incognita" as a concept comes in. I cannot fully see the lake, some of it is obscure from where I am sitting, so it is unknown to me unless I decide to climb the fence and dip my feet into the water. Which might take away from the neutral observation part of the project. This image is one I took at the end of our group trek around campus.