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ACTIVITY: What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?

Purpose

This activity is a follow up to the Mt. Vesuvius activity. This time, you’re going to ask the questions from the viewpoint of the new disciplines that you just learned about in this lesson, which will solidify your understanding of the different kinds of questions these disciplines ask.
"Sampling lava with hammer and bucket" by Hawaii Volcano Observatory, USGS - Kilauea image archive for June-October 2009: see entry for 26 June 2009. Licensed under Public domain via [Wikimedia Commons]
"Sampling lava with hammer and bucket" by Hawaii Volcano Observatory, USGS - Kilauea image archive for June-October 2009: see entry for 26 June 2009. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Process

Your job is to assemble the best research team possible to most deeply understand the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
1. Come up with the single discipline that you think would be best suited to understand the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
2. Explain what someone from this discipline would know or want to ask about Mt. Vesuvius.
3. Why is your discipline the best for the job?

For Further Discussion

Post your answers from above in the Questions Area. After posting your own answers, read the others posts and pick a discipline that someone else chose that you think would make your team even stronger. Why would putting these two disciplines together be better than just having one? Comment on someone else’s post, and share why your think your two disciplines should join forces!

Want to join the conversation?

  • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user Izzy
    1. Volcanologists have dedicated their lives t studying the processes that volcanoes undergo and are affected by.

    2. What caused this particular eruption? What is this volcano's activity timeline (seismic activity, eruptions, plumes, etc.)? How accurate were our predictions regarding this volcano's activity? How can we take this new data and apply to our future predictions?

    3. Volcanology is steeped in the scientific and historical knowledge of volcanic data from around the world. These specialists can grasp the basic and fundamental forces that affect volcanic activity and relay their results to other disciplines (sociologists, politicians, etc). Volcanology is a vital hub of understanding in regards to this type of geologic phenomena.
    (12 votes)
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  • male robot hal style avatar for user Richard Spears
    I'm going to go a slightly different way and say an urban planner because understand the eruption is really understanding how it effects not the individuals, but the "macro" us. The old question of "if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sounds" comes to mind. If a volcano erupts and there are no people effected, does it really matter? Clearly in this case it did and in many other famous volcanoes it did because it affected our populations. So an understanding of how we built the destroyed cities, what mistakes or oversights were made in construction and emergency planning could shed meaningful light into how we plan our cities today. These answers could be insightful in preparing and planning our population to deal with all aspects of the natural world whether volcano, earthquake or typhoon.
    (6 votes)
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    • blobby green style avatar for user Tony R.A.K.
      I think that would be a great idea...... to analyze how the cities were built and how it made them vulnerable to the eruption and how that might help us to plan cities today in such environments so not only can our population cope with natural disasters it also exist in harmony. I think my team of physicists could give a deeper understanding of the forces behind the natural phenomenon what factors influence it and how we can find a solution to the problem of coping with some of the consequences. Of course a team of volcanologists would help give us more insight and background information in this case which is why our teams should join forces
      (1 vote)
  • blobby green style avatar for user Mildred Mobus
    I think a geologist would be the person who could best explain why Mt. Vesuvius erupted. I imagine it has to do with plate tectonics. After that I might look to an anthropologist to help figure out what was lost in this eruption (by looking at fossil records). i think this team is best suited for understanding the hard science behind the eruption.
    (6 votes)
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  • duskpin ultimate style avatar for user Catherine C
    I don't think a single discipline would be adequate. Rather I feel that a good team would include a physicist for the math, geologist for seismology, biochemist for indpeth understanding of certain interactions, and an archeologist to uncover stuff without disturbing important findings. An anthropologist might be also be a useful addition for the purpose of differentiating what existed prior and occurred after the eruption.
    (4 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user judy.hawaii.5.0
    Geology would be most useful as the scientists would study the composition of rocks from the eruption to get an understanding of the makeup of the materials ejected to find the factors involved in the eruption.
    Chemistry may also be helpful
    (4 votes)
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  • leafers tree style avatar for user Mollie Sequeira
    I think I would put together a team of scientists including volcanologists, geologists, and maybe some psychologists. Its important to be able to look at the history of eruptions, both through verbal history and physical evidence of eruptions. We need to look at what the common factors were each time the volcano erupted. Did the people have any warning? Were there warning signs?
    (4 votes)
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  • leaf orange style avatar for user Jon Donym
    I think that an interdisciplinary approach is always the best one, because the boundaries between disciplines are very fluent and these categories in general are just human made constructs are not really existing in nature as such they are just a way to help us understand the world.
    That´s why I think there should be more courses like Big History and actually all academia and education should move towards interdisciplinary approaches.
    In this particular case volcanologists and geologists could best explain a volcano eruption. But I think much could be gained by integrating other disciplines like history, biology, chemistry, physics, anthropology and so on. Also it would be helpful to relate that to other volcano eruptions and present day or future problems.
    (3 votes)
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  • mr pink red style avatar for user Red Paningbatan
    1. Come up with the single discipline that you think would be best suited to understand the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

    The single discipline that I think would be best suited to understand the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is the field of geology.

    2. Explain what someone from this discipline would know or want to ask about Mt. Vesuvius.

    One question someone from this discipline would know is the complete and accurate process of a general volcanic eruption.

    3. Why is your discipline the best for the job?

    Geology is the best for the job because it accurately fits the description of the problem and would have the best solutions for it.
    (2 votes)
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  • spunky sam green style avatar for user Sabrina Groom
    A Vulcanologist would be the single discipline I would choose. They would ask things like "What time did the volcano last erupt?". The discipline I chose is the best for the job because they specialize in volcanoes and rocks.
    (2 votes)
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  • piceratops ultimate style avatar for user Sebastian Hobbs
    At first glance, I might say that volcanologists would be the best suited to tackle a project like this, as people studying this discipline naturally have specialized knowledge pertaining to volcanoes. However, I feel that in some ways, biologists would be better suited, as the study of surrounding life is very intriguing. Geologists might study the composition of the landscape over the past two millennia, following the eruption, and psychologists could track the people of the affected area's reactions, final moments, etc. In short, no single discipline could ever ask every question to be asked and come up with satisfying answers.
    (1 vote)
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