In 1967, One Hundred Years of Solitude was published in a. Spanish b. Italian c. French
The story can be described as a. science fiction b. fantasy c. magical realism
In 1982, a. the book was first translated b. the book began to sell extremely well c. Márquez won the Nobel Prize in Literature
Discussion/essay questions
What can fiction teach us about history? Why might someone choose to tell a story about the past?
Transcript
One Hundred Years of Solitude is a 1967 novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. It was originally published in Spanish, and first translated into English in 1970. It follows seven generations of a family called the Buendías, who live in an isolated town called Macondo. The novel has a non-linear structure, telling the strange, often mystical stories of the Buendías out of order. It is one of the most famous works of magical realism in literature. It has been interpreted as an allegory for the history of Colombia, documenting the effects of colonialism and civil wars over a century. One Hundred Years of Solitude has won many international prizes, including literary awards in Italy and France. Márquez himself won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.
What is a medical discovery that you hope will happen in the near future?
Transcript
Diabetes is a very treatable disease today. But historically, people with diabetes did not live very long. For many years, the best treatment that doctors could offer was a diet low in sugar. In 1921, a Canadian doctor named Frederick Banting started to experiment with the cells in a dog’s pancreas. He believed that the pancreas was the organ that controlled blood sugar. Banting did his research at the University of Toronto with two other scientists named Charles Best and James Collip. During their research, they found the hormone that the body uses to regulate blood sugar levels. They used this hormone to create a treatment for diabetes, which we now call insulin. In 1923, Banting won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work.
Some people wanted to use Einstein’s discoveries to develop weapons, such as the atomic bomb. What is your opinion on the use of new scientific discoveries to build stronger weapons?
Transcript
Albert Einstein was one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century. He was born in Germany in 1879, and he began attending school in 1885. As Einstein got older, he became fascinated with the nature of light. He wrote his first scientific paper at the age of 16, and later went on to study physics at a university in Switzerland. In 1905, Einstein published four scientific papers. The papers introduced his theory of special relativity, which allowed scientists to better understand the connection between time and space. Einstein won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his achievements. In the 1930s, however, Einstein became a target of the Nazi Party of Germany. He moved to the U.S. to protect himself, and continued to work as a physicist. Einstein died in 1955, but his brain is still kept in the Princeton University Medical Center. Scientists still study it today.
