Читать книгу Geography For Dummies - Jerry T. Mitchell - Страница 11

IN THIS CHAPTER

Contemplating a complex planet

Unearthing myths

Tracing the ancient roots of geography to the modern discipline

Finding a new way to look at geography

Going over some basic concepts

“We should cross here.”

Staring at the broad expanse of the Galana River in southern Kenya, my response to our guide was to tilt my head to the side and say incredulously, “Are you sure?” After all, I could look further upstream and see that the river was narrower and there were some rocks we could use to hop across. Why on Earth should we cross at the widest and deepest part? I don’t mind getting wet, but a chest-deep slog just didn’t make sense to me.

“Well, we could cross up there,” our guide said while pointing toward the rocks, “but that’s also where the crocodiles hang out. We will do better down here to walk in a group, splashing as we go to mimic a large elephant.” And so we did, and no one in our group became a croc’s lunch.

What we discover from this anecdote is that what makes sense in one place — say, something as simple as crossing a river on a set of rocks — is a really bad decision somewhere else. Place matters. In this case, it really was a life-or-death situation.

That short story should also make it quite plain that you live on a very interesting planet. Earth is a world of never-ending variety — mountains and plains, deserts and forests, oceans and croc-infested rivers. If, as Shakespeare once wrote, “All the world’s a stage,” then one could hardly imagine a greater range of sets and scenery than exists on planet Earth.

You are an actor on that stage, and you are not alone. The entire cast numbers nearly 8 billion, and they are as diverse as their Earthly stage. They practice dozens of religions, speak many hundreds of languages, and display thousands of cultures. They live in scattered farmhouses, large cities, and every size settlement in between. They practice every kind of livelihood imaginable and, in innumerable ways great and small, have interacted with and changed the natural environment forever.

So “interesting planet” and “never-ending variety” turn out to be code for “complex.” Truly, this is a complex world in which no two areas are exactly alike. On the one hand, this complexity makes for a very fascinating planet. But on the other hand, the prospect of learning all about this complexity can be overwhelming, or at least sometimes seems to be. Fortunately, one subject seeks to make sense of it all and, usually, does a pretty good job: Geography.