Awakening

Awakening... That is the best word to describe what went on in the 12th century/scientific revolution. It seemed like all of the sudden the way people though up and changed! It really amazed me to read about the difference in the way "science" and "nature" were thought about. I like the word awakening because it seems as if people were sleeping during the medevil time period and the next thing you know they woke up into the early modern era with these new ideas about how the world worked. I thought it was interesting as well that in one of the lectures science was described similar to religion by saying it was about belief because in that time no one really knew for sure if these ideas that were floating around everywhere were correct the scientists just had to believe in them. This whole period of time fascinates me.

Urban Population

Obviously there was a big problem with population growth in Europe in the 16th century. The problems they are facing because of this are numerous. The main problem set forth in the reading was with the divers (beggars). It is a common problem that urban cities face. If you have ever been to a large city (Boise doesn't really count although there are beggars here too) like Seattle, Portland, New York, or Chicago they have several areas where beggars and homeless people are rampant.
It is an issue that has lasted for 5 centuries and lawmakers are still trying to come up with a solution for. The poor law in the reading this week was trying to come up with a solution. The negative thing the draft does is try to blame the poor for being poor. They list all the reasons someone could become poor and have to beg. This is a common trend in the history of elitism. This is true for different disciplines as well. The history of education goes through the same elitism and blaming the poor for there poverty. Population influx is a major problem and will be until the number of people quite growing... ya right
Some would argue that war and disease is a way of population control. It that is the truth maybe that is the reason for the black plague running through Europe for centuries.