Posted on by David Thompson

In the last Weekend Assignment we endeavored to learn something new about currency, and with our #FridayFact we learned that the financial service industry makes up one quarter of the top 50 businesses in the world.

Another interesting fact about currency was the introduction of paper money, or banknotes, in premodern China. During the Tang dynasty (618–907) banknotes were slowly introduced as a form of currency in order to alleviate the physical burden of carrying around cumbersome metal coins.

We also learned from Steve (via discourse) that Bitcoin, the most common digital currency, is worth more than an ounce of gold. 1 bitcoin is worth over $2,400 and 1 ounce of gold is worth just over $1,200.

For this Weekend Assignment the theme will be Socialization.

so·cial·i·za·tion
/ˌsōSHələˈzāSH(ə)n,ˌsōSHəˌlīˈzāSH(ə)n/
Noun

  1. the activity of mixing socially with others.
    “socialization with students has helped her communication skills”
  2. the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society.
    “preschool starts the process of socialization”

Humans are social creatures and it is through socialization that we learn about the world we live in, the culture that surrounds us, and how we fit in and become productive members of society.

Socialization is vastly complex and has many layers in which to explore. Out of this complexity has come academic and professional disciplines such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, and more.

However, humans are not the only social creatures. Most animals have some form of socialization, some more complex than others.

Your Weekend Assignment, if you chose to accept it, is to learn something new about socialization, human or animal.

Here are potential avenues you can explore:

  • Social rituals (old or new)
  • The internet as a society unto itself
  • The blending of different societies that form a new social structure
  • Animal Socialization

    • Go out and socialize this weekend and work with your friends and family to learn something new, and don’t forget to have fun.

    Share what you learn with us on Twitter by tagging us and using #SaylorAssignment or start the conversation on Discourse.