A Ton of Crap (115 page)

KOREAN WAR

Surprise Attack from North Korea
By 1949, most of the U.S. military had moved out of South Korea, and the United States was afraid to provide too much weaponry, with Rhee, the leader of South Korea, often talking of attacking the North. On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel and attacked South Korea, stunning the United States, who had no sort of plan ready. South Korea had very little weaponry (as a result of the U.S. withdrawal), while North Korea entered South Korea in Soviet tanks. The UN condemned the actions of North Korea, and in the United States, there was talk of sending General Douglas MacArthur to lead an attack.

EXISTENTIALISM

The Origins of Existentialism
Gabriel Marcel was the first to coin the term
existentialism
in the mid-1940s. However, he was certainly not the first to write on the topic. Existentialist ideas can be found in the work of Henry David Thoreau, Voltaire, and even the teachings of Buddha and in William Shakespeare’s
Hamlet
. Søren Kierkegaard is considered the first existentialist, and it is a major theme found in his work related to human existence and free will, but he was not well regarded in his time. In the 1920s, Martin Heidegger, influenced by Kierkegaard’s thought, worked on what he referred to as
Dasein
, or being.

UNSOLVED MATH PROBLEMS

Hodge Conjecture
In algebraic geometry, the Hodge conjecture is an unsolved problem that deals with algebraic varieties. In the twentieth century, shapes of complicated objects were becoming more understood by the idea that one could approximate the shape and then build it with simple building blocks. Manifolds are complex shapes that can be described with equations. Algebraic cycles are when more equations are added, producing smaller shapes. Then the issue arises whether one knows if a shape can be stretched into another shape or not. Hodge’s conjecture attempts to show which algebraic cycles were equivalent to shapes on a manifold; however, it was never proven.

ANTHROPOLOGY

Physical Anthropology
Physical anthropology, also known as biological anthropology, studies the biological makeup of humans and early humans, as well as how humans have adapted to their environments. In order to understand our ancestors and how humans have evolved, physical anthropologists study artifacts, primates, and the fossil record, as well as the biology and genetic makeup of people who are currently living. Physical anthropology also looks at causes of death and the spread of disease, and examines the ways in which behavior, growth, and development are shaped by cultural and biological processes.

CHEROKEE

Sequoyah
If the Cherokee possessed a written language before the arrival of European settlers, it was lost in the changes wrought by Europeans from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The language itself would surely have been lost had it not been for one man, Sequoyah, who turned the language into a syllabary (and it is one of the few Native American languages with one). Having worked as a silversmith, Sequoyah learned the writing system of the white people (although he did not know the pronunciations of the letters), and the influence of the Latin alphabet can be seen in the system. Cherokee is polysynthetic, meaning that many morphemes are linked to form one word.

KOREAN WAR

Inchon Invasion
North Korea had captured most of South Korea, alarming the United States. The United Nations was persuaded by the United States to support South Korea, and 300,000 UN troops (of which, 260,000 were American) went to Korea in July of 1950, led by General MacArthur. MacArthur planned an amphibious attack at the port of Inchon. The North Koreans were driven back, and South Korea was recaptured. After reclaiming South Korea, the American troops attacked North Korea, and reached as far as the Chinese border, which worried the Chinese, and they began to attack. The Chinese used “human wave tactics,” and once they were able to drive the Americans back, they recaptured North Korea and headed for South Korea. MacArthur wished to use the atomic bomb, but Truman would not have it, and instead sent more troops, which eventually drove the Chinese army back.

EXISTENTIALISM

Existentialist Literature
The ideas of existentialism were not only featured in philosophical theory, but also in literature. In fact, some of the most acclaimed existentialist work is actually found in novels and plays. Existentialist literature focused on attempting to find meaning and make sense of a world that was filled with chaos. As a result, existentialist literature often featured themes such as absurdism, alienation, and isolation.

UNSOLVED MATH PROBLEMS

Riemann Hypothesis
The Riemann hypothesis deals with the Riemann zeta function, a complex function that deals with complex numbers (
i
). For the Riemann zeta function, a zero of a function is not as simple as a function like
f
(
a
 + 
bi
) = 0. Instead, there are two types of zeros: trivial and nontrivial. Trivial zeros occur at even integers that are negative, and the nontrivial zeros appear at anything other than those, and at ½ + 
bi
. The Riemann hypothesis suggests that all nontrivial zeros are like that, but no one has been able to prove this is the case.

ANTHROPOLOGY