Four Billion Years and Counting: Canada’s Geological Heritage. Produced by the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences, by seven editors and dozens of authors. 2014.
November-December, 2024.
I am reading this with CJS. It is a nice overview of regional geology, and it is nice that all the examples come from Canada, and at least some of the discussion is relevant to Minnesota Geology. The book is notable for its beautifully done pictures and diagrams.
The first part of the book, Foundations, is an introduction to general geological concepts. For CJS and I this will be largely review. Here I will preterit any summary, and simply list some of the points that stood out because they filled in a gap, or provided a different perspective.
FOUNDATIONS
C1: Miscellaneous Points
Polygonal jointing occurs when basalt flows stop moving before they cool.
Granitic magma forms at 600-900°, sometimes with water contributing to lowering the melting point, where silica minerals tend to melt, but more magic minerals remain solid. The melt tends to move upward, either because it is less dense than surrounding rock or because of tectonic pressures. As it forms a mass, chunks of surrounding “country rock” fall into it in a process called “stoping,” making the melt more silicacious and also persisting in solid chunks that will eventually become xenoliths.
Ripples (and their large scale cousins, dunes) are straight and symmetric if they are formed by currents moving back and forth, or curved if they are created by a unidirectional flow.
Mud cracks form as a result of repeated drying and wetting, as occurs in mudflats with seasonal rain, or intertidal areas.
A seam of coal that is a meter thick was originally 5-10 meters thick and took on the order of 2500 years to accumulate.
Paleosols, fossil soil surfaces/horizons, are generally rock-like with a characteristic disrupted knobby appearance.
Metamorphic rocks develop cleavage planes perpendicular to the direction force or pressure is being applied; metaphorphic rocks split along cleavage planes, not their original bedding surfaces.
Schist has a lot of mica; gneiss has little. Both are coarsely crystalline and so highly-altered that it is difficult to tell what the source rock was. The light and dark banding in gneiss is the result of recrystallization, and has nothing to do with the original bedding plane.
At lower metamorphic grades, platy crystals of chlorite and mica are common. As higher metamorphic grades are reached, minerals such as garnet, staurolite, and sillimanite may form. Such high-grade metamorphic rocks form at depths of 15 to 25 kilometres within the crust. If pressure (usually the result of deep burial) is a major factor during metamorphism, minerals such as kyanite and glaucophane may grow. The blue colour of glaucophane gives rise to the name blueschist, a rock formed under conditions of low temperature and high pressure.
Igneous rocks also show interesting metamorphic changes.When basalt is metamorphosed at low pressures and temperatures, some of its constituent minerals convert to the green minerals chlorite, actinolite, and epidote, producing a type of rock called greenstone or greenschist. At higher metamorphic grades, greenstone becomes amphibolite, a dark green to black rock made up of interlocking amphibole crystals.
C2: Miscellaneous Points
Reverse and thrust faults are different. They are created by the same array of forces, but reverse faults are steeper (closer to vertical) than thrust faults. …The text doesn’t say where the line is between them…
Fault breccia. Rock formed of a jumbled mix of sharp rock fragments embedded in lithified rock flour.
Nice review of minerals: pages 19-21.
The Greenville orogen underlies Quebec, the midwest US, and stretches into mexico.
All modern oceans contain areas where the lithosphere is thicker than regular oceanic litho-sphere. These areas include island arcs, oceanic plateaus perhaps bearing atolls, and isolated fragments of continental lithosphere such as present-day Madagascar. If subduction continues and these within-ocean features are swept toward the continent, they will ultimately collide with it. Because high-standing islands or plateaus are more buoyant than regular oceanic lithosphere, they will be scraped off the sub-ducting plate and will stick, or accrete, to the overriding plate rather than be subducted. Many mountain belts contain remnants of such former within-ocean features; such remnants are called terranes (a term not to be confused with terrain, which denotes topography). Terranes thus have a variety of origins: they may be continental fragments (microcontinents); former island arcs; or former pieces of thickened oceanic lithosphere such as Hawaii may become if it is accreted to a continent. Many terranes are a mixture of these elements. The convergence and collision of terranes with continental margins commonly leads to the rise of mountains.
Remnants of former deep oceanic lithosphere can be preserved within an ancient mountain system. Such remnants are known as ophiolite suites or ophiolites…
Rift Shoulder Highlands are mountains produced as a side effect of continental rifting — when the floor of the rift is bulging upwards.
Basins. Fore arc basins are in front of island arcs; back arc basins are behind them. Fore land basins can form on continents, due to the weight of accretionary material pushing down that part of the continental plate. …Is the Owens Valley in California such a basin?
The next supercontinent has already been named: Amasia.
This is an excellent book; interesting well-documented science, and some beautiful and erudite writing as well. The basic argument — that grammar determines what must be specified, rather than what can be specified, and in that manner instills certain habits of mind that effect how people see the world — seems correct, if not quite living up to the subtitle of the book: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages.
Perhaps the most interesting and fun part of the book was to be introduced to languages that work very differently from English: The Mates language (in Peru) that requires speakers to specify whether the fact they report is based on personal observation, indirect evidence, or hearsay; and the Australian language that has no egocentric prepositions, but requires all positional information to be reported in terms of the cardinal directions, thus requiring their speakers to always be oriented.
This book was a pleasure to read. I plan to seek out other work by this writer.
Contents
Front Matter
On whether languages reflect the characteristics of their speakers, he writes:
Many a dinner table conversation is embellished by such vignettes, for few subjects lend themselves more readily to disquisition than the character of different languages and their speakers. And yet should these lofty observations be carried away from the conviviality of the dining room to the chill of the study, they would quickly collapse like a soufflé of airy anecdote-at best amusing and meaningless, at worst bigoted and absurd.
— p. 2
The basic argument of the book is this:
The effects that have emerged from recent research, however, are far more down to earth. They are to do with the habits of mind that language can instill on the ground level of thought: on memory, attention, perception, and associations. And while these effects may be less wild than those flaunted in the past, we shall see that some of them are no less striking for all that.
I think it is correct, but that the subtitle of the book – Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages – is a bit of an exaggeration.
C1-5: <Reprise of history and status of color terms>
C1: Naming the Rainbow
This chapter reprises now-unknown work by William Gladstone (now remembered as an English prime minister) on Homer and his writings, and focuses in on particular on one chapter in Gladstone’s monumental 3,000 page work: a chapter on Homer’s use of color terms.
Gladstone’s scrutiny of the Iliad and the Odyssey revealed that there is something awry about Homer’s descriptions of color, and the conclusions Gladstone draws from his discovery are so radical and so bewildering that his contemporaries are entirely unable to digest them and largely dismiss them out of hand. But before long, Gladstone’s conundrum will launch a thousand ships of learning, have a profound effect on the development of at least three academic disciplines, and trigger a war over the control of language between nature and culture that after 150 years shows no sign of abating.
Gladstone notes that Homer uses color terms in odd ways — the famous “wine dark sea” (really “wine-looking” sea) being just one example.
Mostly Homer, as well as other Greek authors of the period, use color very little in their descriptions: mostly they use black or white; terms for colors are used infrequently and inconsistently. For example, the only other use of “wine-looking” is to describe the color of oxen.
Gladstone’s fourth point is the vast predominance of the “most crude and elemental forms of color”-black and white-over every other. He counts that Homer uses the adjective melas (black) about 170 times in the poems, and this does not even include instances of the corresponding verb “to grow black,” as when the sea is described as “black-ening beneath the ripple of the West Wind that is newly risen.” Words meaning “white” appear around 100 times. In contrast to this abun-dance, the word eruthros (red) appears thirteen times, xanthos (yellow) is hardly found ten times, ioeis (violet) six times, and other colors even less often.
C6: Crying Whorf
This chapter describes the origin, rise and fall of linguistic relativity. Sapir is depicted as respectable but making over-stated claims; Whorf comes across as a charlatan, for example, making claims to have deeply studied Hopi, when he only had access to a single informant in New York – and making broad claims that are entirely wrong (e.g. that the Hopi language does not have a future tense).
Deutscher traces the origin of linguistic relativity to Wilhelm von Humboldt in 1799, whose “linguistic road to Damascus led through the Pyrennes.” Deutscher encountered the Basque language, and found that it was radically different from the languages linguists tended to study. He then sought out other ‘more exotic’ languages, which he found by going to the Vatican library and studying the notes of Jesuit missionaries to South and Central America: “…Humboldt was barely scratching the surface. But the dim ray of light that shown from his materials felt dazzling nonetheless because of the utter darkness in which he and his contemporaries had languished.” p. 135 Although Humboldt’s ideas led to linguistic relativity, it should be noted that he had a much more nuanced and correct view: In principle, any language may express any idea; the real differences among languages are not what they are able to express but in “what it encourages and stimulates its speakers to do from its own inner force.” But this view was not carried forward, and instead: “The Humboldtian ideas now underwent a process of rapid fermentation, and as the spirit of the new theory grew more powerful, the rhetoric became less sober. ”
All that said, Deutscher argues it is a mistake to dismiss the idea that language has no influence over thought. But rather than taking the strong case the language constrains thought, he instead argues the habits of language may lead to habits of mind. In the case of the influence of language, and refers to the idea that Boas introduces and that Jakobson crystalized into a maxim: “Languages differ in what they must convey, and not in what they may convey.”
Phrases I like
“…has still the power to disturb our hearts.” [Sapir, referring to Homer, Ovid, etc.] p. 129
“[His] linguistic road to Damascus led through the Pyrennes.” p. 134
“…Humboldt was barely scratching the surface. But the dim ray of light that shown from his materials felt dazzling nonetheless because of the utter darkness in which he and his contemporaries had languished.” p. 135
Prologue: Chorus wishes for a greater stage, and tells audience to use its imagination.
1.1 Theological Justification Bishops of Canterbury and Ely discuss bill that will seize money from the search; they plan to avoid it by providing a theological justification for Henry V’s claim to France, and thus his invasion. They also mention how much Henry V has changed since his father’s death: “And so the Prince obscured his contemplation / Under the veil of wildness / which, no doubt, grew like the summer grass, fastest by night / Unseen yet crescive in his facility”
1.2: Bishops assure H of invasion’s morality; tennis ball mock Henry V invites the Bishops to give an explication of the law regarding his claims to France, and they do so, even as Henry repeatedly asks them to be honest about it. Henry also raises the possibility of Scotland invading should he go to France, but the Bishops argue that that can be defended against. Finally, after deciding that he will take control of France, by invasion if necessary, he invites in the French ambassadors, who, in a message from the Dauphin, present him with a barrel of tennis balls. Henry says he will play play a set in France, and will “strike his father’s crown into the hazard.” Exter, uncle to the King, is present and speaks a line or two.
2. Preparations for War
Elimination of traitors; introduction of common solidiers; preparation by France
Chorus: The chorus describes the excitement in England about the coming war – They sell the pasture now to buy the horse – and provide notice that three nobles – Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey –have become traitors.
Bardolph, Henry’s former tavern companion, prevents two solidiers – Nym and Pistol – from fighting over Hostess Quickly, Pistol’s wife, and requires them to become friends. They are interrupted by news that Falstaff is dying.
Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey are brought into Henry V’s presence, not realizing that he knows they are traitors, and are asked about whether Henry should show mercy to someone who has spoken against it. They say no, and override Henry’s wishes to show clemency. He the reveals that he knows of their betrayals, and they are all condemned to death.
Falstaff has died. Bardolph, Nym, Pistol and Hostess Quickly morn his death. The three men prepare to depart for France, and Pistol bids Hostess Quickly goodbye.
The King of France and the Dauphin plan for the defense of France against Henry – the King is cautious, the Dauphin is not, being contemptuous of Henry, and ignoring warnings about Henry’s new ethos. Exter enters as ambassador, and asks the King of France to yield to Henry, and returns insults to the Dauphin. The King says he will answer in the morning: “A night is but small breath and little pause / To answer matters of this consequence.”
3. Invasion, part 1: Success as Harlefor surrenders
Initial success: Harlefor surrenders; commoners show cowardance; 5:1 odds
Chorus: Describes the departure of the English navy: … Play with your fancies and in them behold, Upon the hempen tackle, shipboys climbing. Hear the shrill whistle, which doth order give To sounds confused. Behold the threaden sails, Borne with th’ invisible and creeping wind, Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed sea Breasting the lofty surge. O, do but think You stand upon the rivage and behold A city on th’ inconstant billows dancing… and notes that the French King offered the hand of his daughter and some small unprofitable dukedoms – this offer is disregarded (and is reported only after the navy is described as being launched).
The invasion begins: “Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more / Or close the wall up with our English dead.” Henry makes a speech as the prepare to advance.
The three soldiers show their cowardence in trying to withdraw from the assault – they are driven back to it by Captain Fluellen. Captain Fluellen then engages in discussions and disputations with three other Captains: Glower, Jamy, Macmorris. [Not quite sure of the point of this scene]
Henry gives a speech before the gates of Harlefor, saying it is their last chance, and that they will be to blame if they do not surrender and the city is ravaged:
I will not leave the half-achieved Harfleur Till in her ashes she lie buried. The gates of mercy shall be all shut up, And the fleshed soldier, rough and hard of heart In liberty of bloody hand, shall range With conscience wide as hell, mowing like grass Your fresh fair virgins and your flow’ring infant What is it then to me if impious war, Arrayed in flames like to the prince of fiends, Do with his smirched complexion all fell feats Unlinked to waste and desolation?
Katherine, Princess of France, has one of her maids teach her English. [The scene appears to be presented in French – would the audience have understood???]
The governor surrenders the town, and Henry spares its citizens. [Neither of these things happened in history.]
The French nobles are embarrassed by Henry’s successful invasion. But they convince themselves they will triumph, and send an ambassador to ask what ransom Henry will offer when he is captured.
Ancient Pistol has distinguished himself and pleads with Captain Fluellen for the life of Bardoph, who has been sentenced to death for stealing. His plea is rejected, and he departs with a curse. Captain Fluellen talks with Henry, and mentions Bardolph, whose execution Henry upholds. The French Ambassador, Mountjoy arrives to enquire about Henry’s ransom: Henry says ‘nothing but my body.’
The French nobles, confident of their victory on the eve of the battle, boast and banter among themselves.
4. Invasion, part 2: Triumph at Agincourt
Eve of battle; Henry & Williams & Fluellen; Pistol demands ransom; triumph at Agincourt
The Chorus draws a beautiful picture of the two armies the night before the battle, camped across from one another, awaiting the morning. The French confident, the English anxious… but with Henry moving among them to raise morale. Now entertain conjecture of a time When creeping murmur and the poring dark Fills the wide vessel of the universe From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night, The hum of either army stilly sounds, That the fixed sentinels almost receive The secret whispers of each other’s watch. Fire answers fire, and through their paly flames Each battle sees the other’s umbered face
Henry walks though his camp, in disguise. He encounters Pistol, overhears a conversation between Grover and Fluellen that leaves him impressed with the Welshman’s quality, and argues with a soldier – Williams – about the King’s responsibility for the spiritual fate of his solidiers – they exchange gloves with the intention of dueling later. Last, Henry laments his father’s usurpation of Richard II’s throne.
The French nobles, about to fight, lament that the English are so few and weak.
Henry gives a speech of encouragement again. Responding to someone wishing for more men, Henry says he does not wish for more, and furthermore that those who do not wish to figtht will be furnished with passage home. ‘I do not wish to share the honor more than I have to,’ is his sentiment.
The ambassador, Mountjoy, comes again to negotiate a ransom, which Henry refuses.
A French soldier surrenders to Pistol, who threatens to kill him unless he provides a ransom.
The French nobles recognize that they have been defeated, and, ashamed, vow that they will die in battle.
Henry hears of the deaths of York and Suffolk; unsure of whether he had victory, when he hears a French call to arms he orders all French prisoners killed.
Fluellen in conversation with Grover compare Henry to Alexander the Great. Montjoy arrives with the French surrender. Williams appears with the glove, which Henry does not acknowledge; but Henry give Fluellen the other glove and sends him after Williams, and then sends others after Fluellen to prevent a full fight.
William encounters Fluellen, and strikes him. The other men arrive and prevent an escalation. Henry arrives and explains what happens and ‘pardons’ Williams, and has his glove filled with crowns. [I’m not quite sure of what happens after this, especially between Williams and Fluellen—Fluellen seems to do an about face and now thinks well of Williams.] The scene ends with the numbers of the dead being announced, and Henry giving credit for the victory to god.
5. Treaty signed, and marriage
Treaty signed and Princess Kate agrees to marry Henry; Fluellen gets revenge
Chorus: Brings Henry back to England where he and his victory are celebrated, and then back to France where the treaty recognizing Henry as sovereign will be signed.
Fluellen, via use of a cudgel, forces Pistol to eat a leek to avenge his insults; Pistol decides to return to England where he will wear his cudgel wounds to pretend to be a wounded soldier.
Henry and the King of France meet, and Henry delegates negotiation to his nobles while he woos Princess Katherine – she consents to marrying him, but without, it seems to me, much understanding or enthusiasm. Henry rides roughshod over her preference not to kiss before the wedding: “O Kate, nice customs curtsy to great Kings.”
A few notes
Throughout the play we see that Henry has separated himself from his old base companions: Falstaff dies (and was previously exiled); Henry allows Barloph to be hanged for stealing; the Bishops remark on how Henry has changed.
Deception: Not much. Henry goes in disguise among his troops. Henry incident with William. Henry does not tell Fluellen what is up when he sends him after William. Henry uses lots of flowery words which it is unlikely Princess Kate will understand.
??? Is Henrys order to kill the prisoners proper?
??? Does Henry really think the war is just?
??? Henry says that if they do not surrender, governor will be responsible for soldiers’ depredations.
Quotes I like
Now entertain conjecture of a time When creeping murmur and the poring dark Fills the wide vessel of the universe. From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night, The hum of either army stilly sounds, That the fixed sentinels almost receive The secret whispers of each other’s watch. Fire answers fire, and through their paly flames Each battle sees the other’s umbered face;
I will not leave the half-achieved Harfleur Till in her ashes she lie buried. The gates of mercy shall be all shut up, And the fleshed soldier, rough and hard of heart In liberty of bloody hand, shall range With conscience wide as hell, mowing like grass: Your fresh fair virgins and your flow’ring infant What is it then to me if impious war, Arrayed in flames like to the prince of fiends, Do with his smirched complexion all fell feats Enlinked to waste and desolation?
Play with your fancies and in them behold, Upon the hempen tackle, shipboys climbing. Hear the shrill whistle, which doth order give To sounds confused. Behold the threaden sails, Borne with th’ invisible and creeping wind, Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowes Breasting the lofty surge. O, do but think You stand upon the rivage and behold A city on th’ inconstant billows dancing…
The Duke of Vienna (aka Friar Lodowick) plans to travel abroad, leaving young Angelo as regent, empowered to enforce laws that the Duke has allowed to go fallow. However, the Duke really plans to remain in Vienna, disguised as a Friar, to see how Angelo carries out his duties. Angelo immediately shuts down many of the houses of prostitution, and condemns Claudio, a man who has only erred in having sex after handfasting but before the banns were read, to be executed. This seems extreme and disturbs many: Escalus, a judge; the Provost, who runs the jail; and Lucio, a friend of Claudio and ne’r do well Viennese noble. Lucio seeks out Isabella, Claudio’s sister, who is in the process of joining a convent, to persuade Angelo to be merciful, after protests by Escalus and the Provost fail. Angelo speaks with Isabella, steadfastly refusing, until she asks him to look into his heart and see if has not had similar feelings that led Claudio to his current straits. Angelo wavers, and tells her to return tomorrow. In a soliloquy he reveals that is attracted to her virtue, and wishes to have sex with her. In a second interview he tells her he’ll free Claudio if she’ll sleep with him. She refuses, and he tells her if she does not relent he’ll torture Claudio to death.
This is not being read as part of the Shakespeare course; there is a week’s break for midterms, and, as CT and I are discussing S’s plays as I read them for the course, we are adding in the Tempest for this playless week.
That said, here is a link to the Shakespeare course notes: general notes
Precis of The Tempest
Before the play: Duke Prospero deposed, with young Miranda cast adrift, but Gonzalo secreted food, water and books as gifts. Now magician-ruler of the isle, he’s bound Ariel,enslaved Caliban, and his magically-raised storm has brought his enemies to him. They are Sebastian, his usurping brother; King Alonso, who went along, and Antonio who has learnt sibling-treachery from Sebastian. Innocents too, are also present: Prince Ferdinand, Alonso’s son, and old Gonzales, faithful one.
The play itself: the travelers are cast separately, each group to take a journey. Ferdinand will Miranda woo; Caliban will revolt, but rue; Alonso’s overthrow is thwarted. Prospero has a change of heart, forgives those arrayed against him, All return, but Caliban, to rule Naples and Milan.
I’m taking an introductory Shakespeare course at the U of Minnesota this fall.
Week 1: Intro & Life of Shakespeare, 1
The course looks very promising. The professor, Katherine Schiel, is a Shakespeare scholar and in particular researchers the life of Shakespeare’s wife. The course focuses on literature (rather than TV and move adaptations), and the syllabus shows that we will cover eight of Shakespeare’s works, including the sonnets. I was also struck by how much more talkative and friendly the other students in the course are – both in engaging in in-class discussion, and in engaging with me.
These are more general notes; I also notes on each play read that can be found from the “About this site” page.
Don Pedro and his cohort arrive at the residence of Leonato, governor of Messina, who has a daughter Hero and a niece, Beatrice. Beatrice, a witty and assertive woman has long been in a “merry war” of words with returning soldier Signor Benedict. Don Pedro decides to play match maker and deceives them both, leading each to think the other is in love with them, and so Beatrice is matched with the marriage-shy Benedict. At the same time, her cousin, Hero, is on course to wed Count Claudio, hero of the recent war, until she is framed by the villainous Don John, brother to Don Pedro. Don John’s ruse succeeds for some, pitting Beatrice and Benedict against Count Claudio, Leonato and others, until Dogberry, a crazy constable, exposes the deception carried out by John’s henchmen, Borrachio and Conrade, and everyone is reconciled and married.
Theseus, ruler of Athens, is to marry Hippolyta, conquered Amazon Queen, in four days. Two men, Demetrius and Lysander, are interested in Hermia; Hermia is promised to Demetrius, but is in love with Lysander. Helena, her friend from childhood, is in love with Demetrius, but he spurns her. Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Faeries, are amidst a long quarrel over an Indian boy. Oberon engages the Puck, Robin Goodfellow, to enchant Titania, and while he’s at it, tells puck to enchant Demetrius so that he will love Helena. Puck enchants the wrong person, Lysander, and then the right person, Demetrius, so that they are now both in pursuit of Helena, much to Hermia’s distress. Helena believes neither Lysander nor Demetrius, nor Hermia when she says she believes its true. Eventually Puck releases Lysander from the enchantment, and the marriage matches are now aligned.
Throughout the play, some humble townsfolk have been preparing a play for Theseus and Hippolyta’s marriage, interrupted only by Puck enchanting Bottom, the chief player, by turning his head to that of an ass. After Puck releases Bottom, the play is performed, and it is so bad that it amuses the wedding party. Puck concludes with a speech about creativity and airy nothings.
These are notes on “The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth“, by Zoë Schlanger. I’m reading this with Rachel.
All that follows is a play within a play, put on for Christopher Sly, a drunken beggar ejected from a tavern and berated by the barmaid. A Lord returning from the hunt has the unconscious Sly installed in a Lord’s bed and, when he is awakened, tricked into believing he is a Lord who has been insane for a decade. For his entertainment, traveling players put on a play for him: The play: Baptista will not allow Bianca, his desirable daughter, to marry until her shrewish sister Kate is wed. Bianco has three suitors, Gremio a rich old man, and Hortensio; but then Luciento, a younger man arrives, and falls in love with Banca as well. All three, through various deceptions, attempt to court Bianca. In the meantime, Petruccio, friend of Luciento, arrives and court’s Kate; he is interested only in Kate’s dowery, arranges for a marriage, and then ‘tames’ Kate via gaslighting, sleep deprivation and starvation. In the meantime, Luciento has won Bianca, Hortensio has found a wealthy widow, and Gremio has disappeared. There is a double wedding, and at the feast, after others’ make fun of Petruccio, he challenges them to a contest to see whose wife is most obedient: Kate comes when called; Bianca and the Widow do not, until Kate goes to fetch them. The moral is…
Discusses semi- and fully-autonomous weapons, our experiences with them, and the debates about their degree of autonomy and the design of policies regarding them. The author is a Pentagon defense expert, who began as an Army Ranger and developed into a defense analyst.
The book is quite interesting. It was published in 2018, so given the advances in AI since then, it feels a little dated. But still much of interest. Could have been significantly shorter. But glad to have read.
This book or extended essay is based on a lecture on Women and Literature that Woolf gave, or at least that is the framing of it in the book. She approaches the topic by explaining how she came to develop her thoughts about it:
“At any rate, when a subject is highly controversial–and any question about sex is that–one cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold. One can only give one’s audience the chance of drawing their own conclusions as they observe the limitations, the prejudices, the idiosyncrasies of the speaker. Fiction here is likely to contain more truth than fact.”
She begins with an account of going to Oxbridge, and walking about the colleges. She notes that, being a woman, she is barred from walking on the grass, and is not welcome in the library. She has lovely descriptions of the landscape and colleges:
To the right and left, bushes of some sort, golden and crimson, glowed with the colour, even it seemed burnt with the heat, of fire. On the further bank the willows wept in perpetual lamentation, their hair about their shoulders. The river reflected whatever it chose of sky and bridge and burning tree, and when the undergraduate had oared his boat through the reflections they closed again, completely, as if he had never been.
And as we accompany her, she recounts her thought process. I love her metaphor (more extensive than the excerpt I quote) of thinking as fishing…
Thought — to call it by a prouder name than it deserved — had let its line down into the stream. It swayed, minute after minute, hither and thither among the reflections and the weeds, letting the water lift it and sink it, until–you know the little tug–the sudden conglomeration of an idea at the end of one’s line: and then the cautious hauling of it in, and the careful laying of it out?
Pausing in my account here, but passages that I like for various reasons follow:
“Lamb is one of the most congenial; one to whom one would have liked to say, ‘Tell me then how you wrote your essays?’ For his essays are superior even to Max Beerbohm’s, I thought, with all their perfection, because of that wild flash of imagination, that lightning crack of genius in the middle of them which leaves them flawed and imperfect, but starred with poetry.“
“Many were in cap and gown; some had tufts of fur on their shoulders; others were wheeled in bath-chairs; others, old though not past middle age, seemed creased and crushed into shapes so singular that one was reminded of those giant crabs and crayfish who heave with difficulty across the sand of an aquarium. “
“Fiction must stick to facts, and the truer the facts, the better the fiction — so we are told. “
“It was the time between the lights when colours undergo their intensification and purples and golds burn in window-panes like the beat of an excitable heart; when for some reason the beauty of the world revealed and yet soon to perish (here I pushed into the garden, for, unwisely, the door was left open and no beadles seemed about), the beauty of the world which is so soon to perish, has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder. The gardens of Fernham lay before me.”
“I thought at last that it was time to roll up the crumpled skin of the day, with its arguments and its impressions and its anger and its laughter, and cast it into the hedge. A thousand stars were flashing across the blue wastes of the sky. One seemed alone with an inscrutable society.”
[Mostly sourced from BGS Regional Summaries: SW England; some synthesized from across document]Southwest England is characterized by Devonian and Carboniferous (420 – 299 Ma) sedimentary rocks like shales, sandstones, and limestones that were folded and faulted during the Variscan orogeny (which contributed to the formation of Pangea) during the same period. The sedimentary rocks result from a series of shallow, largely marine environments; thus fossils are abundant. There are also intrusions of granitic rocks (~ 280 Ma), and some very recent sedimentary beds resulting from glacial melting over the last 2 Ma.
Rock Types: Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Igneous
There are three predominant types of rock in southwest England: ‘recent’ sedimentary rocks (25-300Ma ); older sedimentary rocks (315-410 Ma); and plutons connected to the Cornubian batholith.
The recent sedimentary rocks were laid down during more tropical climatic periods when the area was close to the equator. They represent environments that were marine (primarily shallow), fluvial, or desert. Many of them have abundant fossils of marine and terrestrial life.
The older sedimentary rocks represent predominantly marine environments (shallow and deep). They were subject to tectonic forces about 310 Ma, and are consequently folded and subjected to high temperature (and sometimes high pressure) metamorphism.
The igneous rocks are granite, and the plutons, including those at Dartmoor and St Austell) are all connected to the Cornubian batholith. The granite intruded into the overlaying sedimentary rocks around 280 Ma. See red areas of the figure below; also see the section on “The Granite of Dartmoor.” This lead to regional and contact metamorphism, as well as subsequent hydrothermal alteration.
These sedimentary rocks have been subject to low grade regional metamorphism and, over extensive areas, and have also experienced high grade contact metamorphism, metasomatism and mineralisation associated with intrusion of the Cornubian batholith.
The majority of the meta-sediments are pelites[metamorphosed mudstones] or greywackes[metamorphosed sandstones] and are of Devonian age, although in North Devon a large synclinal structure preserves Carboniferous sediments of similar facies.
[Summary] Paleozoic Timeline with focus on Southwest England
541 to 485 Ma (Cambrian): Cool climate and shallow seas. Trilobites, Graptolites, and Molluscs appear.
485 to 444 Ma (Ordovician): Still cool; Sea separating what is now North America/Scotland & England/Wales begins to close.
444 to 419 Ma (Silurian): Climate warms to tropical; Britain covered by shallow sea. Corals, brachiopods, trilobites, graptolites.
419 to 359 Ma (Devonian): Semi-arid, with shallow seas and land. “Old Red Sandstone” deposition. Variscian orogeny begins.
The rock types mentioned in the previous section were subject to intense deformation during the Variscan Orogeny (late Carboniferous to early Permian) and the coastal sections (particularly in the vicinity of Bude [northern Cornwall]) provide many of the classical examples of fold and thrust geometries that are seen in structural geology textbooks.
The deformation has a single fold phase providing the dominant structural style. The intrusion of granites occurred towards the end of the Variscan events, and cooling and alteration of the granites and their country rock and the associated mineralisation continued for a very considerable time after emplacement of the granites.
In the Cambrian Period, England and Wales lay near the south pole and experienced a cold climate. They were separate from Scotland, which was joined to North America. A shallow sea covered much of the area and animals such as trilobites, graptolites and molluscs first appeared.
Apparently there are Cambrian rocks in Wales – as Cambria is another name for Wales.
In the Ordovician Period, Britain lay south of the equator and had a cool climate. Seas covered Britain and there was dramatic volcanic activity as the ocean separating England and Wales from Scotland started to close.
In the Silurian Period, Britain lay south of the equator with a tropical to subtropical climate. A sea covered Britain that was shallower in the south (limestones) and deeper in the north (sandstones and mudstones). Silurian fossils include corals, brachiopods, trilobites and graptolites.
~ 435 Ma: SW England is located north of Rheic Ocean
In the Devonian Period, Britain lay south of the equator and had a semi-arid climate. Marine limestones, sandstone and mudstones were developed in the south-west. Elsewhere sandstones were deposited by rivers on the coastal plain (sometimes known as the ‘Old Red Sandstone’). Fossils include fish and the first higher plants.
The Variscan orogeny resulted from the collision of several continental plates, including the major landmasses of Gondwana (to the south) and Laurussia (to the north) and smaller plates such as Armorica. This culminated in the formation of the supercontinent Pangea.
In the early Carboniferous Period, Britain lay near the equator. Limestones containing corals, brachiopods and trilobites were deposited in shallow seas. Later, sandstones, mudstones and coals were deposited in coastal swamps dominated by forests of giant ferns and horsetails.
~ 360 – 300 Ma: Variscian orogeny The main phase of the orogeny, characterized by intense folding, faulting, and metamorphism of the affected regions. Peak deformation and mountain-building occurred around 330 to 300 Ma.
Rheic ocean closes; another small ocean basin opens which is where the material that comprises older rocks of southwest England was deposited.
Passive margin to the North: Over time, sediment from the continent and an unsubducted oceanic plate create a passive margin. This led to the creation of rift basins, six E-W trending basins containing sedimentary rocks : sandstones, mudstones; limestone; cherts
Active margin to the South: Collision and accretion is happening along a southern active margin.
By ~ 300 Ma the plift of the Lizard Peninsula ophiolite has occurred
During the Permian Period, Britain lay on the supercontinent of Pangaea (fully assembled by 300 Ma) and experienced hot, dry conditions. Sandstones formed from desert sand dunes. Limestones and salts were deposited in a nearby inland sea (the Zechstein Sea).
~ 300: Collision and inversion of the sedimentary basins, followed by extension causing further deformation
~ 300 – 280 Ma: Final stages of Variscan orogeny The later stages of the orogeny where tectonic activity decreased, and the region begins to stabilize. Subsequent post-orogenic collapse and associated magmatic activity, including the intrusion of granitic bodies like the Cornubian Batholith.
~ 295-270: Intrusion of Cornelian batholith, with ensuing contact metamorphism
~ 280 Ma: Orogeny ends The Variscan orogeny ceased during the Early Permian and left a rugged, arid landscape with intermontane basins containing volcanic rocks.
~ 260 Ma: Rifting, basin formation and sediment deposition
By Late Permian to Early Triassic time, crustal rifting led to the formation of fault-bounded basins in which very thick red bed sequences accumulated;
During the Triassic Period, a hot and dry environment led to the deposition of sandstones, salts and mudstones in deserts, rivers and shallow lakes. Reptiles were common and the first dinosaurs evolved.
This was followed during the Jurassic by more widespread deposition of marine sequences.
Parts of Britain were covered by shallow tropical seas in which mudstones, limestones and sandstones were deposited. The abundant life in the Jurassic included ammonites and dinosaurs. More globally, at this time Pangea begins to break apart, one aspect of this being the opening of the North Atlantic.
~ 170 Ma: uplift, erosion, more basin formation and sediment deposition
By the Middle Jurassic, renewed crustal stress produced local uplift, followed by more extensive doming and erosion during Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous time. Simultaneously, crustal stresses related to the opening of the North Atlantic led to the formation of basins and sedimentary deposits in the Western Approaches Trough.
In the Early Cretaceous, Britain experienced a warm climate with lagoonal, lake and fluvial environments. Rocks of this age contain dinosaur remains. Higher sea levels led to chalk deposition in the Late Cretaceous.
~ 120 MA: Rifting and subsidance
By the Aptian, oceanic crust was being created in the newly formed ocean at the base of the Western Approaches continental margin. During this rifting phase, the extended crust under the present continental slope suffered very rapid subsidence which then slowed at an exponential rate during the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary.
Tectonism was renewed during the Palaeogene as a result of collision between Europe and Africa; these Alpine stresses produced local uplift during the Paleocene, and a subsequent series of inversion pulses that reached a climax during the late Eocene to Oligocene. These movements continued sporadically at a reduced scale into the Miocene and helped fashion the present topography of the region.
In the Palaeogene (66-23 Ma), Britain had a very warm climate, but it gradually cooled as Britain drifted northwards.
By the Quaternary, glaciers covered the middle and north of Britain, shaping the landscape we see today. The first humans occupied Britain during the Quaternary.
The most recent glacial period in UK stretched from 100-12 Ka. I’ve found various descriptions of its southerly extent, but am not sure which, if any, are definitive. All agree, however, that the region of southwest England where we are walking was not glaciated, but that its geomorphology is shaped by periglacial influences, including intense freeze-thaw weathering (e.g. Dartmoor tors), and sediment deposits due to glacial meltwater flooding.
I believe these were mostly formed during the Variscan orogeny; transform faults (not shown) were formed later
History vis a vis Rock Types
[Extracted from material produced by Perplexity (ChatGPT); Other Sources]
Precambrian to Paleozoic Eras
Tectonic, orogenic and magmatic events; some erosion and deposition
>540 Ma (Precambrian): Formation of mafic and ultramafic rocks of Lizard Peninsula ophiolite
~540 – 420 Missing rocks / unconformity () – but present in Wales
420-359 Ma (Devonian ): The Old Red Sandstone, found in areas like Portishead, North Somerset, and the Morte Slates in North Devon
430-300 Ma: Variscan Orogeny, and uplift of the Lizard Peninsulaophiolite
(359-299 Ma (Carboniferous): Carboniferous Limestone (Mendip Hills, Somerset feature; BurringtonOolite)
~289 Ma: Intrusion of Cornubian batholith, and metamorphism of older sedimentary rocks
Mesozoic Era
Often covered by shallow seas and fluvial environments leading to sedimentary deposition
Triassic (252-201): Red and grey mudstones ( Mercia Mudstone and Penarth Groups), visible at Aust Cliff along the Severn Estuary.
Jurassic (202-145): Jurassic Coast features a sequence of rock formations from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.
Cretaceous (145-66): The chalk formations (e.g. Old Harry Rocks near Swanage).
Cenozoic Era
Uplift and erosion, and also various forms of marine and fluvial environments.
Paleogene and Neogene (66-2.5 Ma): Sediments (Branksome Sand Formation in Poole Harbour) laid down in swamp, estuary, or delta settings
Quaternary Period
Erosion, periglacial-weathering
The Quaternary period, (2 Ma to present), has had significant climatic fluctuations (glaciation; periglacial effects; sea level change) that have shaped the landscape of Southwest England as it is today
Dorset
[From Wikipedia, Dorset]
Geography of Dorset
Dorset has a varied landscape of chalk downs, steep limestone ridges, and low-lying clay valleys. The majority of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site due to its geological and palaeontologic significance, and features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. The north of the county contains part of Cranbourne Chase, a chalk downland. [Wikipedia, Dorset]
Geology of Dorset
Dorset contains considerable variety in its underlying geology, which is partly responsible for the diversity of landscape. A large percentage (66%) of the county comprises either chalk, clay or mixed sand and gravels. The remainder includes Portland and Purbeck stone, other limestones, calcareous clays and shales.
Dorset has a number of limestone ridges which are mostly covered in either arable fields or calcareous grassland supporting sheep. These limestone areas include a wide NE-SW band of Cretaceous chalk which crosses the county as a range of hills f incorporating Cranborne Chase and the Dorset Downs, and a narrow band running from south-west to south-east, incorporating the Purbeck Hills. Between the chalk hills are large, wide vales and wide flood plains.
West. In the far west of the county and along the coast there are frequent changes in rock strata, which appear in a less obviously sequential way compared to the landscapes of the chalk and the heath. In the west this results in a hilly landscape of diverse character that resembles that of neighboring county Devon.
East (Jurassic) Coast. All of the principal rock types of the Mesozoic can be seen on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset and East Devon, where they document the entire era from west to east.
The central parts of Dorset are dominated by an extensive swathe of chalk running North East to South West and through the South of the County round Weymouth to Purbeck. It extends North East towards Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. It is an elevated, spacious landscape with a prominent escarpment which dominates and defines the undulating farmlands to the North, West and South of the county.
The shallow dip slope of the chalk borders the heathland landscapes of the Poole Basin. This undulating lowland contains the remnants of a once extensive area of heathland; Hardy’s Egdon Heath and is based on thin and impoverished sands and gravels. It is drained by the alluvial basins of the Frome, Piddle, Stour and Avon, four of Dorset’s main rivers which flow out to sea through extensive stretches of pasture, marsh and mudflats associated with Poole and Christchurch harbours.
[…]
To the West of the county the landscape is more varied reflecting the complex geology, with steep distinctive greensand ridges separating clusters of deeply incised valleys and broad rolling farmland. In the middle of West Dorset, the Marshwood Vale, formed on the marls of the Lower Lias, is a secluded, bowl shaped depression, almost hidden by the surrounding complex landforms. These landforms include the broad arc of heathy greensand ridges and some of the highest points in the county…
The lowlands to the West and east of Weymouth are different again to the West Dorset landscapes. A series of broad, hogback shaped limestone ridges alternate with spacious shallow clay valleys. The landforms all follow an east-West alignment and the landscape has a steady consistent rhythm. This ‘ridge and vale’ landscape flows down to the quiet edges of the brackish Fleet lagoon contrasting with the more exposed seaward side of this distinctive feature which is separated from the sea by the sweep of Chesil Beach. This distinctive shingle bank links the rocky limestone peninsula of Portland to the mainland.
The far South eastern corner of the county has a unique and remarkable geological context. The Isle of Purbeck is renowned for the variety and structural clarity of its rocks and landforms. A high chalk ridge, which once linked Purbeck to the Isle of Wight, separates the heathlands of the Poole Basin from the secluded clay valley of the River Corfe to the South. A further ridge and distinctive plateau, this time of limestone, separates this valley from the sea.
…When the sea rose following the ice age leading to the severance of the chalk ridge joining the Isle of Purbeck to the Isle of Wight and the flooding of the upper reaches of the Solent River to form Poole harbour. The chalk stacks of Old Harry Rocks to the East of Ballard Point are the remnants of former chalk ridge which linked the Isle of Wight.
Visible Features in Dorset
@Chesil Beach
Further south at Chickerell Hive Point there are exposures of Oxford Clay. Here the clay splits into thin layers along the bedding planes and form what is known as a shale. This clay was exploited in the past at Crookhill brickworks. The manufacture of bricks ceased in 1969. This part of the rock succession is organic rich and this helped in the firing of the bricks. Fossils found include the ammonite Kosmoceras (Picture 11) as well as small bivalves. The shape seen is an impression of the shell, the shell itself has been lost through geological processes.
Another feature of the Oxford Clay south of Chickerell Hive Point is large concretions called septarian nodules (Picture 12). These formed in the sediment below the sea floor and are made of calcium carbonate. When pure it forms white crystals of calcite, a polymorph of calcium carbonate. The concretions can be up to a metre across and are left weathered out on the beach because they are stronger than the clay. Examples of septarian nodules can be seen in Portland Museum.
At Tidmoor Point south of Chickerell Hive there are more exposures of Oxford Clay where pyritised ammonites, especially Quenstedtoceras (Picture 13) can be found as well as small belemnites and crinoid fragments (ossicles). The clay slumps onto the beach and wave action washes out the fossils.
@Abbotsbury
These ancient landslide slopes can be seen around the edge of the Marshwood Vale (Sliding Hill at Bettiscombe is a good example), on the western side of Quarr Hill, Chideock below the Bellstone on Eggerdon and both sides of Abbotsbury Hill Fort.
@Quantock Hills
The Quantock Hills are largely formed by rocks of the Devonian period, which consist of sediments originally laid down under a shallow sea and slowly compressed into solid rock. In the higher north-western areas older Early Devonian rocks known as Hangman Grits (or, more formally, the Hangman Sandstone Formation).
Hangman Sandstones (upper to lower):
sandstone and conglomerate (Hodders Combe Beds )
green sandstone and mudstones (Triscombe Beds) .
siltstones and slates ( Little Quantock Beds)
Devon
[from Wikipedia, Devon]
Devon Geography
Devon has a varied geography. It contains Dartmoor and part of Exmoor, two upland moors which are the source of most of the county’s rivers, including the Taw, Dart, and Exe. The longest river in the county is the Tamar, which forms most of the border with Cornwall and rises in the Devon’s northwest hills. The southeast coast is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and characterized by tall cliffs which reveal the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous geology of the region. The county gives its name to the Devonian geologic period, which includes the slates and sandstones of the north coast.
Devon Geology
[ Possibly from “The Geology of Dartmoor.”] and [From Wikipedia, South West England]
Geologically the region is divided into the largely igneous and metamorphic west and sedimentary east, the dividing line slightly to the west of the River Exe.
West. Cornwall and West Devon’s landscape is of rocky coastline and high moorland, notably at Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor. These are due to the granite and slate that underlie the area. In North Devon the slates of the west and limestones of the east meet at Exmoor National Park.
East. The east of the region is characterized by wide, flat clay vales, and chalk and limestone downland. The vales, with good irrigation, are home to the region’s dairy agriculture. The Blackmore Vale was Thomas Hardy’s “Vale of the Little Dairies.” The Southern England Chalk Formation extends into the region, creating a series of high, sparsely populated and archaeologically rich downs, most famously Salisbury Plain, but also Cranborne Chase, the Dorset Downs and the Purbeck Hills. These downs are the principal area of arable agriculture in the region. Limestone is also found in the region, at the Cotswolds, Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills, where they support sheep farming.The sedimentary rocks of Devon are primarily of shallow-water marine origin, and include mudstones, sandstones and limestones. There are also metamorphic rocks resulting from high temperature/high pressure tectonics, and, around Dartmoor, high temperature/low pressure contact metamorphism.
“The rocks of the Devonian period in Devon are all of marine origin, but are not necessarily the deposits of a deep sea. Thus, the Devonianlimestones of South Devon, Plymouth, Yealmpton, Ashburton, Newton Abbot and Torquay, are fossil coral reefs, and there is no soundreason for the supposition that the species of coral which built those reefs were capable of living and growing at any greater depth belowthe surface than can the species now living. At a generous estimate this would give a depth of forty fathoms to the waters in which the reefsoriginated. No similar approximation can be given to the Emit of depth at which the rocks known as ‘ grits’ have been formed, but sandstones of any sort are not consistent with deep-sea beds.”
Surface Geology of Devon
Dartmoor National Park
Dartmoor National Park is centered around a 625 K2 area of granitic pluton intruded into older Devonian and Carboniferous sedimentary rock (shales, sandstones, and limestones) about 280 Ma; the pluton is part of the Cornubian batholith that underlies much of southwest England. Around the margins of the granite, these sedimentary rocks were altered by thermal metamorphism into hornfels (hard, fine-equigranular, HT/LP rock that preserves some of the textural characteristics of the protoliths, but lacks foliation due to lack of pressure during metamorphism).
Dartmoor Tors
[Source: Unsure… partly Wikipedia]
Dartmoor is noted for its tors (Welsch for cluster or heap), low granitic rock formations resulting from freeze-thaw weathering.
The tors of Dartmoor have a castellated form, controlled by closely spaced vertical jointing, as well as (sometimes) horizontal jointing. Most Dartmoor tors are less than 100,000 years old, having emerged at the start of the last major glaciation, no doubt as a result of freeze-thaw weathering.
Most tors are composed of megacrystic granite with orthoclase tablets up to 5 cm in length. At lower elevations, the granite is more finely-grained and has few or no megacrysts.
Also see this lovely map of the tors of Dartmoor that Charlie found. It appears to be a work of obsessive enthusiasm, though, oddly it does not give any information about the rock itself. See: https://www.torsofdartmoor.co.uk/map.php. Be sure to follow the link under the name of each tor.
The megacrystic granite found at higher elevations contains large orthoclase feldspar phenocrysts 7 cm long, which indicates very slow cooling of the granite magma in the roof zone of the pluton. (But I don’t understand why that would allow the formation of megacrysta. Perhaps, if it were very deep, it may be that orthoclase crystals are less dense than the magma, and floated towards the top of the chamber (that happens with plagioclase, but I don’t know if it happens with orthoclase). The orthoclase concentration may indicate assimilation of country rock which increased the potassium content and thus the orthoclase (relative to the plagioclase). This granite is also dominated by biotite, in contrast to the finer-grained lower elevation (‘blue’) granite which has more muscovite.
In general, Dartmoor granite is characterized by a relatively high proportion of tourmaline (a boron-bearing mineral) which suggests the granite magma had a mantle component.
“Tourmaline is commonly recognised in the field in Devon and Cornwall, as though it was a single mineral. In fact “tourmaline” is a group of 11 minerals. The common black (in field appearance) mineral is southwest England is probably mostly schorl, but this is generally referred to in the local literature as tourmaline, and is not often analysed. Microscopically the colour of the tourmaline may be blue or brown but this may not be seen in the field; it is just the very dark colour that is obvious. In composition it is a complex boron and aluminium silicate with some iron (or magnesium etc). The interesting aspect is the presence of boron. The origin of the boron is a topic of special interest.
“Tourmaline belongs to the trigonal crystal system and has a hardness of 7 to 7.5 (i.e. it is hard like quartz and cannot be scratched with a knife). Its very dark colour and vitreous lustre is distinctive in the area of the granites of southwest England. It often shows crystal faces. It is extremely common, particularly in faults and fissures and often found with quartz, producing black and white veins. It is generally one of the most common late vein minerals associated with the granites. It is frequently seen in the field and is not valuable (valuable, coloured varieties do exist, but not usually here).
“In the Castle Drogo area pebbles or cobbles consisting of quartz and tourmaline veins are easily seen in the banks of the River Teign. The dark vitreous mineral should not be mistaken for the tin ore – cassiterite, which is much more difficult to find.
“Because tourmaline is a constituent of veins in the Dartmoor granite it is usually a late product. The granite emplaced about 298 million years ago, had cooled sufficiently to fracture in a brittle manner. Perhaps the granite was down to only 250 or 300 degrees C.
“However, it certain cases the tourmaline is found more dispersed within the granite, rather than just in veins. A rock with dispersed acicular “suns” of black tourmaline is know as Luxullianite. It takes its name from Luxulyan near St. Austell. This rock type is apparently the result of metasomatic replacement of granite in situ, according to Lister (1978) (and not from the emplacement within the granite batholith of a late stage boron-rich magma).”
Cornwall
Cornwall Geography
[From Wikipedia, Cornwall: quoted verbatim or lightly paraphrased]
Cornwall is characterized by steep cliffs and, to the south, several rias [drowned river valleys], including those at the mouths of the rivers Fal and Fowey. It includes the southernmost point on Great Britain, Lizard Point, and forms a large part of the Cornwall National Landscape. The national landscape also includes Bodmin Moor, an upland outcrop of the Cornubian batholith granite formation. The county contains many short rivers; the longest is the Tamar, which forms the border with Devon.
The north and south coasts have different characteristics.
The north coast is more exposed and therefore has a wilder nature. The High Cliff, between Boscastle and St Gennys, is the highest sheer-drop cliff in Cornwall at 732 feet.
The south coast is more sheltered and has several broad estuaries offering safe anchorages, such as at Falmouth and Fowey. Beaches on the south coast usually consist of coarser sand and shingle, interspersed with rocky sections of wave-cut platform.
The interior of the county consists of a roughly east–west spine of infertile and exposed upland, with a series of granite intrusions, such as Bodmin Moor, which contains the highest land within Cornwall. From east to west, and with approximately descending altitude, these are Bodmin Moor, Hensbarrow north of St Austell, Carnmenellis to the south of Camborne, and the Penwith or Land’s End peninsula.
Cornwall Geology
[From Wikipedia, Cornwall: quoted verbatim or lightly paraphrased]
The granitic intrusions in the interior are the central part of the granite outcrops that form the exposed parts of the Cornubian batholith of south-west Britain, which also includes Dartmoor to the east in Devon and the Isles of Scilly to the west, the latter now being partially submerged.
The intrusion of the granite into the surrounding sedimentary rocks gave rise to extensive metamorphism and mineralisation, and this led to Cornwall being one of the most important mining areas in Europe until the early 20th century. It is thought tin was mined here as early as the Bronze Age, and copper, lead, zinc and silver have all been mined in Cornwall. Alteration of the granite also gave rise to extensive deposits of China Clay, especially in the area to the north of St Austell, and the extraction of this remains an important industry.
The uplands are surrounded by more fertile, mainly pastoral farmland that lies mainly on Devonian sandstone and slate. The north east of Cornwall lies on Carboniferous rocks known as the Culm Measures. In places these have been subjected to severe folding, as can be seen on the north coast near Crackington Haven and in several other locations.
The geology of the Lizard peninsula is unusual, in that it is mainland Britain’s only example of an ophiolite. Much of the peninsula consists of the dark green and red Precambrian serpentinite, which forms spectacular cliffs, notably at Kynance Cove, and carved and polished serpentine ornaments are sold in local gift shops. This ultramafic rock also forms a very infertile soil [similar to Ring Mountain Preserve in Marin County] which covers the flat and marshy heaths of the interior of the peninsula. This is home to rare plants, such as the Cornish Heath, which has been adopted as the county flower.
On the Variscan Orogeny
[From “The Geology of Cornwall,” whose source I have misplaced]
The peninsula of Cornwall has a geological character distinct from t the rest of the UK. It represents the eroded basement of a Palaeozoic Mountain Belt formed by the Variscan Orogeny (300 – 275 Ma, late Carboniferous – Permian)., with the S-type granites so indicative of mountain building processes, and shows many features associated with mountain building processes: compressional structures, thrust faults and folds, the remnants of a closed ocean (the Lizard Ultramafic Complex), a low grade regional metamorphism. and the intrusion of the aforementioned granites which produced contact metamorphic aureoles and abundant mineralisation.
Mineralization and Alteration of Cornubian Granites
It was as if after the big event of snowfall we’d forgotten there was more, still, to be said. A cache of loose details below to attend. A trove poised. A stealth gathering.
Deposition below the singular-seeming white cover.
I was ambivalent about this piece. It made me think, but much of the discussion seemed toassume that very personal metaphoric uses of terms like “fragment” and “segment” had some kind of inter-personal validity, …which I doubt they had. But still, it was interesting to think about how (or whether) you break an essay into pieces, and what sort of work that separation does.
Fragments are natural and respect the object; segmentation/cutting imposes an external / artificial agenda. First, the reading of “fragment” as “to break” seems etymologically valid, but the notion that breaking (in fragments) is somehow more violent the cutting (as in segment) is, at least on a physical level, dubious. When things break – think about minerals, but it can apply to any material object – they break in accordance with their structures. Often this is because material objects have an intrinsic structure, that includes planes of ‘weakness’ along which they will fracture. When a material object “breaks,” it breaks in the most ‘efficient’ way — it uses the minimal energy to break, and, when it breaks, it is releasing tension that is distorting the structure of the object. In contrast, cutting ignores internal structure, and imposes an external agenda on what is being done. Breaking is true to the structure of the object being broken; cutting ignores that structure, although in some cases, surgery for example, the surgeon may take that into account.
It feels to me like much of the essay is wallowing in metaphor, or at least treating personal metaphors as though they have some kind of agreed-upon interpersonal validity. I’m not convinced that authors who talk about segmentation really have distinct meanings in mind relative to those who talk about fragmentation.
The final paragraph seems on the mark to me, but I’m not sure it really follows from the previous material:
It appears that the more white space – the less “whole” the text appears, the more fragmented, the more visible the breakage – the more charged that space becomes for the reader. That also means more work on the part of the reader. Ultimately, it doesn’t seem to matter whether the reader considers the pieces segments or fragments.
The crux of the issue: To me, the crux of the issue is ‘what work does the white space do?’
Help the reader understand the temporal and topical structure of the text, understanding that the white space is parsing the essay into chunks of some sort?
Give the reader time – a beat or two – to assimilate what has been said
Signal the reader that it is time to pause and draw meaning from what has been said – that if the dots have not been connected it is now the reader’s turn?
Save the author from having to craft an explicit transition from one fragment to the next?
Interpretation of Fragments. Mosaics, and collages, and cubist and pointillistic paintings, work because the individual elements can be perceived as wholes, and simultaneously apprehended in parallel to form a larger pattern. Segments of text don’t work this way – interpretation is serial and plays out over cognitively meaningful lengths of time… Re-membering, and re-calling are important, as is the author’s provision of signposts that will help the reader…
I did not do a thorough reading of this book due to other commitments; the parts I have read are quite good, and so I am a bit sorry about that. Athough on the other hand this is not aligned with my current projects/interests, so I will probably let it go.
Here are the notes I have:
Precis
The book explores venture capital and its impact on the technology sector and the broader economy – looks at its beginnings in the mid-20th century and follows it up to the present day. Its theme is that VC depends on the power law, in which a small proportion of investments result in a few huge wins that more than compensate for all the other losses. Many big risks, a few huge rewards.
Examples covered in the book include:Fairchild; Genentech; Apple; Google; Amazon; Ebay; Twitter; Uber
The Keweenaw Fault is a ~100 mile reverse fault that bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and marks the boundary between the Mid-continent rift and continental rocks. The fault is a reverse fault that thrusts lava flows of the Midcontinent Rift System onto sedimentary rocks of the Jacobsville Sandstone, and is part of the inversion of the Midcontinent Rift where a region that had previously undergone extension experienced significant contraction during the final stages of the Grenville orogeny. There are few (no) surface indications of the fault; but the Pilgrim river runs along the sandstone side of the fault trace.
Reading The Best American Science and Nature Writing , 2022 (ed. Ayaba Elizabeth Johnson) with CJS.
So far, as of May 2024, this is a very enjoyable read. I particularly appreciate the efforts of the editor to create a nice progression of topics, giving what is essentially an eclectic sampling of articles a higher level narrative.
September 2024: Nearing the end; still an enjoyable read.
Favorites
After finishing the book, here are my favorites
Top Five Six
C2 – What Slime Knows. Really gave me a new view of slime molds. I hadn’t realized the degree of intelligence a seemingly simple colonial organism can possess. Offers a counter-narrative to the usual ideas about what is necessary for intelligence.
!! C7- Rising Groundwater. This is the biggest eye-opener in the book, at least for me. While sea level rise will have very obvious impacts on costal regions, this makes the point that sea water will also cause a rise in ground water and, with or without infiltrating it, will cause a lot of problems for a lot more people than are effected directly by sea level rise. Think corroding water and gas pipes, malfunctioning sewage systems, and failing electical systems. This is one I’ll tell other people about.
C15: Poisoned—Part I: The Factory. Not a pleasant story. Talks about working conditions in a battery recycling factory, the horrible degree of exposure to lead, and the toll it takes on the workers. Shocking for two reasons: one is that the company behind this is based in Minnesota, and is in theory doing good things (recycling lead from batteries); second, that the industry and factories are regulated, but that in spite of that conditions are horrible.
!! C25 – Why Combining Farms & Solar Panels Could Transform How We Produce Both Food and Energy. A hopeful and plausible tale about how we can do better quite easily. A win-win. Perspective shifting and positive. I’ll mention this to others.
: – ) C28 – Beavers Are Firefighters Who Work for Free (Sierra) A perspective shifting article on role beavers can play in making land more resistant to wildfires, and also points out that the autonomy of tribes can allow them to take the forefront in experimenting with more sustainable approaches to environmental problems.
: – ) C32 – A River Reawakened (Orion). Not a perspective shifter, but just a very pleasant positive piece on what happens when a river is undammed, the problems that need to be addressed, and the rapidity of recovery. This was going to be an honorable mention, but I liked it too much!
