Coğrafya Öğretmeni/Yazar Doğu ATEŞ

From the emergence of Homo sapiens sapiens on Earth around 140,000 years ago to the present day, humanity has undergone numerous revolutions. From the Neolithic era, when settled life began, to the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, humans have repeatedly reorganized all aspects of life. In this sense, it might be more accurate to refer to humans not as “thinking beings” but rather as “transforming beings.” Among all historical accelerations, the most significant took place in 1989, when Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. I believe this invention marks the cornerstone of what can be called humanity’s most recent revolution: the “Information Revolution.” Since 1989, the pace and volume of change have been so immense that in just one second today, we generate more information than humanity did over its entire 140,000-year history. The aim of this article is not to examine each revolution and the transformations they brought, but rather to offer insight into the changes we are likely to experience beyond 2025—through the lens of geography, the “mother of all sciences.” In the future, geology—geography’s most important data source—will reach unprecedented levels. Geologists will carry small handheld devices that can precisely determine the age and formation…

        D. Doğu ATES Geography Teacher   According to data from AFAD, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 struck at 4:17 a.m. on February 6, with its epicenter in Pazarcık, a district in Maraş. The earthquake caused widespread destruction and loss of life across numerous provinces. Initially announced as a 7.4 magnitude quake, AFAD later revised it to Mw 7.7. The earthquake was felt in other countries and was classified as a Level 4 disaster. It was recorded as the most powerful earthquake in Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake. Numerous aftershocks followed, and at 1:24 p.m. on the same day, another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck Elbistan, also in Maraş. Rescue efforts continued in harsh winter conditions in the severely impacted cities. A report by journalist Hakkı Özdal published in Evrensel newspaper and subsequent announcements revealed that 53,000 lives were officially lost in the earthquake zone. However, unofficial death toll estimates raised further concerns. The most serious statement came from CHP Adana Deputy Müzeyyen Şevkin, who pointed to claims that “300,000 GSM lines and 183,000 credit cards have remained inactive since the earthquake.” This was interpreted as a sign that the death…

D. Doğu ATES Geography Teacher   “I understand the logic and purpose of all subjects, but geography feels completely outside my area of interest. After all, I can easily find all kinds of information about any place thanks to communication tools. Even when I change neighborhoods within the city, I can learn in just a few seconds what I can do, what I can eat, which streets to explore, or what historical sites to focus on by using my smartphone. Beyond that, I can instantly find the height of mountains, the depth of oceans, or the features of lakes through Google. So, is there really a need for this memorization-based subject? Soon, thanks to thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth, we will be aware of everything on the planet, even ‘a fly taking off from the ground.’ Given this, why do we need a subject that forces us to memorize information about places on Earth?” This question, posed by Boran, a 17-year-old student in Ankara, to his teacher, raises an important issue: How should we respond to convince him and make him appreciate geography? Indeed, by 2025, the speed of information circulation worldwide has reached an incredibly high level*. The…