Talk:Exploration

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Contents 1 Idea 2 explorere of history 3 Ideas for expansion 4 Merge? 5 Ideas for expansion - where from here? 6 added link: justification

[edit] Idea

[edit] explorere of history

It might be a good idea for the individual articles on these individuals to show what the after effects of the visits were, and what the explorers brought back. This is carried out to some extent in Hermando de Soto's article. --86.134.21.196 11:44, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

1. Shouldn't "Main Explorers" be "Some Important European Explorers"? — Firespeaker 00:41, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Ideas for expansion

Some ideas in no particular order for expanding this article into a proper history of exploration (please add):

1. Age of Exploration is heavily eurocentric, this article could be an opportunity to partly rectify this
2. Exploration in mythology.
3. Early human migrations as exploration.
4. Early sailors, i.e. Phoenicians
5. Expansion into the Pacific by Polynesians
6. Exploration of polar regions
7. Exploration of the Ocean floor
8. Manned and Unmanned space exploration
9. Exploration during the time of the Ancient world.
10. Early European exploration - vikings, vinland, etc.
11. Finding the headwaters of great rivers - Livingston, etc.
12. Modern explorers
13. Chinese/Korean exploration - they had some remarkably detailed maps before the Europeans
14. Explorations by other cultures not yet mentioned.
15. Political and economic consequences of exploration.
16. Link between exploration and technological advancement.

[edit] Merge?

What differentiates this page from being a rehash of list of explorers (other than the fact that it is shorter and Euro-centric)? - IstvanWolf 07:00, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Eurocentric? I would have said Amerocentric. --Iacobus 06:08, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

I would have said neither. Naturally, the most recent history is best known, and the big, huge, discovery of the last 1000 years is an entire continent called America. What differenciates this from the list is the word "notable", and the definition of "explorer". I think this should be expanded, not merged.

[edit] Ideas for expansion - where from here?

I like the issues raised under Ideas for expansion. However I would urge to find a mean between eurocentrism and political correctness. IMHO there is a big difference between the deliberate exploration by say China in 12-14C & Europe in 15C-19C (and we could look back to Sumeria, India, Greece, Persia, Rome, et al) and migrations of economic necessity of the beaker folk or the sarmatians or whomever.

There are some grey areas such as the Vikings where it seems many were simply raiders, but visionaries like Erik the Red and his son Leif must be high in the lists of the Explorers Club. I would argue that "exploration" is a valuable term that should not be trashed; and that it implies a certain amount of intent whether for profit, new homeland, scientific research, military advantage, glory, or sheer bloody-minded obsession (nothing else can explain the polar explorers as far as I can see). But I do think it implies intent to find something that is unknown at least to the implying society :o). Don't confuse "explore" with "discover" - nobody in their right mind should think that Marco Polo discovered China - or than Cristoforo Colombo discovered - um - India?

Phoenecians is a good topic but really just an exceptional example of ancient exploration - again I think we could distinguish between "mere" conquest, and genuine exploratory intent whatever that may mean. Polynesians is interesting too - their stories as later recorded seem to indicate their deliberate intent of finding what was out there (partly driven by population pressures); and purely from the point of navigation skills they must be in the Explorers Club.

Ramifications of exploration if carried through to colonisation is another topic as far as I can see. The debate about post-colonial era effects is so big that I think it needs its own home rather than being a branch of exploration, though links are indicated. For example, in my part of the world the explorer Cook is now sometimes regarded as a villain but in truth he was not a deliberate servant of colonisation - indeed he wrote that people in the Pacific region should be left to pursue their own destinies. Should he be blamed for what the politicians did afterwards?

In short let's not confuse explorers with colonisers though they do overlap. Just my 2c worth... Stevensims 07:56, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] added link: justification

Hassanein Bey has wrote books and shot footage and photos in his great adventure to Kufra in Libyan desert 1924 before blundred by the Italians. His Gold Medal by RGS in 1924 makes him and another Indian gentlemen the only non Europeans to have such prestigious medal with Stanley, Burton, and the others.

I am very knew to Wikipedia's culture of writing. The reason I put his link here is to experiment before I have the guts to put a page for the guy on wikipedia.

Your suggestions are most welcome.