Convert the bloated paragraphs into idea-rich, logically complex sentences. Begin the exercise in class, finish on your own time, publish your results below as numbered Replies.
Some paragraphs will resist reduction to a single sentence because they wander among too many main ideas. For those, write separate sentences, 5a and 5b for example, to indicate that the paragraphs might actually be multiple paragraphs.
Begin with 1. Work in teams if you prefer. I will circulate among you to check on your progress.
- Money or currency is a concept used all over the world, from 1st world countries to 3rd world countries. The idea behind one country’s idea of currency can be drastically different from one population to the next. For example there is an island off the coast of Australia named Yap where their form of currency is know as Fei. Fei is in the form of limestone which can range in size from a cd disc to a stone the size of a small house. The greater the size of the Fei the greater the amount of wealth the owner will have. Fei is found over 400 miles away from the island of Yap and many men expeditions using wooden rafts are needed to retrieve it. This is an extraordinarily different way to look at currency than in the United States. Some of the Fei are too big to move therefore when they change hands in ownership, they might not change location. The people on the island will have a mental note of who owns which Fei.
. - Money is fiction—that is, according to the dispositions and conclusions of certain outspoken individuals, including, primarily, reporters from an NPR broadcast and an economist from Stanford University by the name of Milton Friedman. These parties, and more, discuss the ideologies behind the concept of money and currency and how it differs and parallels among dissimilar cultures and different scales. Ranging from a tribal culture from an Island called Yap, to the modern United States Federal Reserve and even some samples that were on an international scale. They all seem to bring to light how intangible the reality of money actually appears to be and they write it off as fiction. However, anthropologically it would not seem so fictional, it may even appear beautiful.
. - An article I was reading about the giant stone currency of the Yap, and an NPR broadcast on the same topic, both claimed that our money compared to the Yaps’ money isn’t really different after all. We keep our money in our bank accounts which we then access using credit or debit cards to make purchases. When our money is in the bank it doesn’t sit there with our names on it; it is being lent out to other people. As the author of the article said, “Your bank account is just an agreement between you and the bank that x amount of money is yours. You take it on faith that the bank will have that money.” Same for the Yaps: they trusted that everyone knew whose stone was whose. Also something interesting I listened to in the broadcast was that the money you put into the bank is merely numbers on a computer screen. When you purchase something, physical money is not being transferred; just a few numbers on a computer are being changed. This can relate to the stones because the actual stone isn’t being moved, just the names of who owns them.
. - Just as it did thousands of years ago, money in our age still plays an important role in our society. In order for most of us in the United States and other countries around the world to live, we need money. We need money to purchase food to eat, need money to buy clothes to wear, and we also need money to shelter ourselves. Money today in the United States is determined by the government. They are the ones who give each bill its specific currency, like the dollar bill or ten dollar bill, as well as the metal coins. In other countries it’s the same way. For example, in the Philippines, the type of currency they use in their every day life is pesos.
. - In Milton Friedman’s essay, “Island of Stone Money,” he talks about the small island of Yap and how he was impressed with their monetary system that revolved around stone. I found an immediate contrast between American society and Yap society, as Americans believe gold to be much more valuable than stones would ever be. Unlike American society, Yap society considers stone to have value as we Americans value gold, which is why stone or as the Yap people may call it “Fei” is the currency of the island. As I continued to read the essay, I found it interesting that “it is not necessary for its owner to reduce it to possession.” Meaning if the stone could not be carried, the ownership would be switched, marked as a form of exchange, and left undisturbed. I was surprised to know how easy it was for the people of Yap to trust someone with their stone but I noticed that it isn’t any different than me putting my “money” into a bank account.
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Counterintuitive Spring 2023 
1. In different areas of the world, people use different types of currency, for example, the people on the island Yap use limestone discs called Fei to make their purchases.
2. Whether it’s a tribal or mordern culture, money proves to be universally fictional because the idea of money and owning money is all in people’s heads.
3. Though the people on the island of Yap use different currency than the people in the United States, both countries have a similar system of just owning the money but not actually physically obtaining them like leaving the stones be or storing the money in a bank.
4. Money is essential in everyday living and comes in many varieties in different countries, for example, Americans use cash while filipinos use pesos.
5. Though the Yap’s stone money is not as valuable according to American standards, the two countries have similarities, such as not physically having their money but trusting that it is still theirs.
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1 – Inhabitants of the island nation Yap eschew paper money in favor of “Fei” — various sizes of difficult-to-obtain sandstone discs, some of which are much too large to move upon transferal of ownership.
2 – Reporters on a certain NPR broadcast teamed up with Stanford University economist Milton Friedman to examine the abstract meaning of “currency” — from the US Treasury to international relations between and among developed nations to the relatively obscure island nation of Yap which uses a currency of has a currency system of various sizes of sandstone discs, the very concept of currency seems alien.
3 – The computerized system of currency transferal to which we in the developed world are accustomed, taken as an abstract, is upon examination not extraordinarily different from the transferal of Fei on the island of Yap.
4 – We in the United States are accustomed to a currency that has no meaning in its abstract; what we think of as “money” is merely a promise made by our government to honor the value of various denominations of paper bills.
5 – On first glance, the unorthodox currency system of Yap is silly, especially compared to our clearly much more robust “gold standard” — but upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that their transferal practices are very similar to the practice of putting money into a bank account.
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1. The limestone Fei on the island of Yap may serve as just one of the many varieties of currency that may be found throughout the world.
2. According to Milton Friedman and many others, money is a concept that is varies greatly in different parts of the world, and is little more than a fabrication upon closer examination.
3. Similar to the money used in the United States, there is seldom a physical exchange of the Fei used on the island of Yap—in each case, there is simply an understanding that the owner of the currency has changed.
4. Money has many different forms, and is necessary for many different reasons.
5. It is interesting that there are a number of similarities between the currency of Yap and that of the United States, such as the faith that is placed in each currency.
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1. Every countries currency differs in size and material from giant limestone rocks to paper bills.
2. Most people see money as more of a concept rather than a tangible item.
3. Americans today put trust in banks to keep our money and know how much belongs to whom, just as the Yaps trusted their peers to know whose stone belonged to whom.
4. No matter where you are in the world, money will always be a necessity to live properly.
5. Gold to Americans is equivalent to stones to Yaps, which is very valuable.
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1.) There are various types of currencies around the world; on the island of Yap, the currency consists of a “Fei” which is made of Limestone that is found 400 miles off shore.
2.) No matter what culture a person is from, currency is deemed fictional and the value of money all depends on the person.
3.) It doesn’t matter how absurd we perceive the concept of currency in Yap because in the United States the money that is deposited into the bank is just a number on a computer screen.
4.) All over the world, the government distributes money to society because money is a necessity to live.
5.) The Yap currency “Fei” may seem foolish to Americans; however, our currency and bank system showed similarities to the Fei.
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1.Every countries currency differs in size and material.
2. Many people around the world publicly discuss their different views on the concept of money.
3. The exchange of the fei is similar to the digital debit and credit system used in America.
4. Possessing money that has a specific value is crucial to functioning in everyday activities around the world.
5a. American’s gold standard can be compared to the Yap’s use of fei.
5b. The transferring of possession of the fei’s without moving it, is similar to the idea of putting money in a bank.
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1. The idea of currency varies from place to place, from easily exchangeable dollars and cents of the US, to the large sandstone disks known as fei from the island of Yap where some of these are to large to carry so a mental note is kept of who has which one.
2. An economist and reporters agree over the idea of money being fiction, and also draw parallels between the more modern US Federal Reserve and the more primitive islanders of Yap, however, even with the the idea of currency seeming fictional it may appear beautiful to some.
3. An article and NPR broadcast both came to the same conclusion of the money of the large stone currency of the yap and the currency of the US are not so different due how the money does not need to physically change hands to be in someone else name as the Yap knew whose money was whose and the US banks take cash to loan to others while all that remains are numbers in computers.
4. In the US and other countries money is very similar; the government assigns amounts to the paper notes and metal coins which are then used by the inhabitants to purchase food, clothes and shelter.
5. An essay by Milton Friedman entitled “Island of Stone Money” talks about an island that valued stone “fei” as currency over gold, which is valued by Americans, and that the money doesn’t have to exchange hands and could be left undisturbed for purchases, to which I noticed is very similar to depositing my money into a bank account.
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1. The concept of money and currency differs throughout the world; for example, limestone is used as currency on the island of Yap, where it is known as “fei.”
2. According to Milton Friedman and reporters from the NPR broadcast, the concept of money and currency is universally fiction from the island of Yap to the United States.
3. Though the currency of the island of Yap and the United States varies, the principle of transferring money is similar in both cultures.
4. Money has been, and always will be, a staple in everyday life in societies around the world.
5. The high value of stone money on the island of Yap contrasts with the American idea that stones are worthless compared to gold, yet there is a comparison between the two cultures’ means of money transferal.
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1 – The Yap islanders use a currency called the “Fei”, a large circular chunk of limestone that varies in size, as opposed to the U.S. dollars and coins, showing us that currency drastically differed around the world.
2 – The broadcasters at NPR, as well as economist Milton Friedman, have discussed and deemed the concept of money as fictional, however, I believe from an anthropological standpoint that the concept of currency can be beautiful.
3 – NPR broadcasters claim the Yap’s primitive form of currency is not any different from our own due to the fact that the transfer of money in both societies is not always physical, rather intangible ownership is exchanged.
4 – Every government decides the value of their country’s money, the currency we all need for everyday life.
5a – Through reading Milton Friedman’s essay “Island of Stone Money”, I found the interesting parallel that the U.S. once valued gold much like the Yap people value limestone.
5b – If a Fei is too large to move, the ownership is honored without a physical transaction, much like how we in the U.S. transfer electronic “money” through debit, credit, and when depositing money into the bank.
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1. Money and currency is a concept used all over the world but differ in material and sizes.
2. According to the broadcasters at NPR and economist Milton Friedman, the concept of money and currency differs in dissimilar cultures and scales.
3. NPR broadcasters claim that there is no difference between the way Americans and the people of Yap access and transfer their money.
4. Money will always play an important role in society since it is essential in our everday lives.
5. Both Americans and the people of Yap value their money.
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1. Every country’s money differs in appearance and they each have their own way of creating, using, and exchanging money
2. There are many discussions from different groups of individuals that analyze the similarities of the concept of money across different cultures.
3. Our banks and the Yap are no different in their exchange of money in which there is no physical exchange of currency.
4. Money is necessary for everyday function of society.
5. Although American money and Yap money differ in material, there is no difference in the way Americans and the Yap exchange money.
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1. Everys countries currency differs in size, material, and value from a cd disk stone to paper money and coins.
2. Milton Friedman and reporters from an NPR broadcast grasp the concept of currency from a tribal culture to modern United States Federal Reserve.
3. When we compare our money to the yaps money, there isn’t much differnt about the two minus one is paper and one is a stone.
4. Money in our age plays an important role in our society such as buying food, shelter and exchanging it for other goods.
5. In Milton Friedmans essay he talks about how the Yaps’ stone has much value to them as say gold would to us and that we trust other people with our money such as banks as how the Yaps’ trust each other with their stones.
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1. The idea of money is found all over the world, including on the island of Yap, whose inhabitants utilize immense, barely transportable stones crafted from limestone as their choice of currency.
2. The educated community acknowledges the fictitious and questionable nature of money, referencing examples from the Federal Reserve’s unlimited printing capabilities that fluctuate the economy to the island of Yap, where limestone disks are transferred.
3. Parallels can be drawn between our own economy, which puts its trust almost entirely in banks and computer systems, and the Yaps, who base transactions simply off of agreements that lack tangible backings.
4. We are all dependent on money that’s worth is determined by the government, making us reliant on our government for all facets of our lives.
5. Just as Americans value gold and put their trust in bank accounts, Yaps value limestone disks and have faith in consensuses of ownership.
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1. Currency is a concept used all over the world, there are many shapes and forms of money, for example a small Island named Yap mines limestone into coins of great size that possession of the coin does not matter the Islanders just know who it belongs too.
2. Whether paper, stone , gold, or silver, money is an item of fiction and humans have the idea of owning money and the idea of money itself as something essential to our society, when it’s just a mere thought.
3.Today in society we do not simply posses currency in our hands whether placing a limestone coin in front of your property or swiping a credit card, money is never physically in our hands.
4.Although fictional, money is necessary and as humans come in different races, money comes in different forms, for example dollar in the US and Fei in Yap.
5.Yap and The US have two different values in currency, there are many similarities, like having total faith all your money is yours but yet you never physically touch it.
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1. Residents of the island Yap use a limestone coins which can be largely different in size as their currency; it approves that the concept of money can greatly vary in different places of the world.
2. Reporters from an NPR broadcast and Milton Friedman talk about the ideologies and concept of money and different realities of people all over the world.
3.Currency of the Yap and our usual money are a lot alike – we keep our money in bank, using credit or debit cards to make purchases, just like people of the island Yap use their stones without moving them.
4. Money is a currency that is being administrated by the government and used for purchasing goods for living.
5. Monetary system on the island Yap isn’t much different from American system: for the islanders limestone is just as valuable as gold for Americans and ownership trust on the island is similar to bank account system.
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1. Every country’s currency differs in size and material from giant, limestone rocks to small, manageable paper bills and coins.
2. Multiple accounts of credibility profess that money is merely a concept rooted in fiction, citing examples from different cultures such as the United States and the small tribal island of Yap.
3. Money is essentially the same, no matter what culture you look at.
4. Money is essential to provide basic necessities to live in any culture, yet is ultimately determined by the federal government.
5. Milton Friedman’s essay on the stone money of Yap includes ideas that parallels are easily drawn from to United States currency, hinting that we aren’t that much different.
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1. As shown by the island of Yap, which uses limestone rocks called fei as currency, each country has their own respective way of using money.
2. Through the opinions and discussions of many individuals, who discuss how intangible the reality of money appears to be, we conclude that money is fiction.
3. There are significant similarities between the fei and the United States currency now with the most striking one being that both money systems never change hands.
4. In order to survive in today’s day and age, we must have enough of the type of money the government tells their people to use.
5. There is a parallel in how both the United States and the people of Yap exchange their money; however, Americans believed gold to be much more valuable than the limestone.
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1. Currency varies from country to country, as shown even in the difference between our system of dollars and the system of limestone disks used by the people of Yap.
2. Many people have discussed the similarities and dissimilarities between each country’s currency, and the ideas behind it.
3. Our money really is no different than the system the Yap use; their stones don’t change hands, our money doesn’t change hands when we use credit cards or write checks.
4. Despite the problems money has caused, we still use it and need it every day.
5. There are distinct similarities between our culture and others; Yap give stone value, we give gold value.
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1. Money systems all over the world are different from one another, they can range from dollar bills exchanged by hand to a limestone rock called a fei that may be exchanged verbally.
2. According to Milton Friedman and a group of Stanford broadcasters, money is a fictional concept that has been made up, but according to anthropology money is not fictional, it is beautiful.
3. For money to have value, it doesn’t have to be physically exchanged, it is the idea of money that is worth value so as long as the owner knows it belongs to them it does.
4. In this day and age money is necessary to live, the amount a currency is worth is determined by the governing body of the country they’re in.
5. Both citizens of the United States and citizens of the island of Yap value their money and put a tremendous amount of faith in it.
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1) Each and every civilization has their own form of currency from large limestone rocks to small paper bills and metallic coins.
2) All money is fiction and it is the belief in it by humans which allows money to exist and be a valid form of exchanging bills and coins for goods.
3) There are many similarities between the people of Yap’s currency and the United States’ because the money does not even have to change hands.
4) We cannot sustain ourselves as a civilization without enough money and keeping the belief in the monetary system our governments have in place.
5) There are many similarities between the Yap society and the United States because there is no actual solid material backing up our money and trust between people that one’s money is in fact their money.
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1) Money is universal, though seems conceptualized differently across the globe, such as the contrast between American dollars (thin bills of paper able to fit in a wallet) and the Fei of Yap (relatively huge stone discs cut from limestone).
2) Many people of esteem now believe that money is fictional through the analysis of economies around the world, regardless of its anthropological beauty.
3) Comparatively, the economy of the U.S. and the stone money of Yap are not so different as they both boil down to trust in the mediums value, whether it be numbers on a computer screen or giant limestone discs.
4)Every society needs money to buy that which is essential for life, and the governments of those societies regulate their economies.
5) While the U.S. gold standard is of much more value than the stone discs of Yap, the two societies are similar in their absolute trust in their currencies invisible value.
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1) Many other countries use some type of currency other than the United States, like the Island off the coast of Australia called Yap that uses Fei as its currency.
2) Money isn’t fictional, it has been around for many years in different cultures and brings a reality in ones goals.
3) No matter what culture or time period that we are in, everyone always has a place to store their money whether if it’s in a bank account or on an ancient island.
4) Money plays a big part in our society and others as well, such as using it to be able to purchase food, clothes and shelter.
5) American culture and Yap culture actually have similarities such as protecting and trusting someone else with their money.
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1. The idea of money is applied worldwide and among many diverse cultures; including islanders from Yap who use limestone disks called Fei as their currency.
2. The analysis of many individuals is that money is fiction, however, in an anthropological sense, money carries too much significance to be called fictional.
3. Through studying the cultures of the Yap islanders and the seemingly obscure way they handle money, we learn just how ludicrous and similar our own system is.
4.The government has a lot of control over the behavior of our much needed money, and its not just the U.S. but all over the world.
5. The islanders of Yap value stone the same way Americans value gold, and these two cultures even manage their funds similarly.
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1. Every countries currency differs; for instance, an Australian island named Yap uses a currency known as Fei.
2. Economist Milton Friedman along with a few reporters discuss the idea of having money as a relatively fictional concept.
3. Much like the system of banking the Yaps put their trust in someone else to regulate their money.
4. In society today money is still regulated by the government and is vital in the survival of people.
5. Americans do not believe the currency of the Yap is as valuable as our own; however, we practice similar transferal concept.
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1. Every countries currency differs in forms as well as names.
2. Although many argue that no matter what form or culture, money is ultimately fictional, yet anthropologically it’s beautiful.
3. Yap’s stone currency, fei, is actually very similar to the money system in the U.S, not aways accessible, yet we still claim ownership.
4. Money is controlled, given its name and value by countries and is essential for survival.
5. In yap culture, fei may be exchanged between owners yet remain undisturbed which in a way is similar to putting your money in a bank account.
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1.)The concept of currency or money can be different in some countries, for example the Fay people off in yap island used the stone called fei as their currency
2.)According to NPR broadcast, Milton Friedman from Stanford university and many other parties the concept of money is fiction comparing it from tribal culture to united states federal reserve.
3.) The NPR broadcast claims that the yap money is no different from US as they both don’t physically require in moving the money and ass
4.) Any where you go in this world requires money and currency for it which is determined by the government.
5.)contrastly the yaps believed stone as thier money, however we had done same foolish thing.
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1. (a) Systems of currency vary from culture to culture. (b) For instance, the people of Yap, a small island off the coast of Australia, have a system built around the use of disc shaped limestone that can vary greatly in size.
2. While many intellectuals would write off money to be a fiction, anthropologically money is not only real but beautiful.
3. The use of fei can become abstracted in the same way western money is through digital currency.
4. a. Money always has and still does play a key role in our society. b. Money is created by the government.
5. The changing of ownership of the Fei without disturbing the actual stone isn’t much different than our system of bank accounts.
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1) Currency is a necessity all over the world no matter what it’s made of; for example America has dollars, whereas the island of Yap uses limestone (Fei) from the size of a cd to the size of a large house.
2) Money is relevant everywhere even though it seems to be a fictional matter accordingly to Milton Freidman, a Stanford University Economist.
3) We trust our banks with our money the same way the island of Yap trusts others with their Fei; even though we may never see it or physically hold it, we know we have x amount in our bank account.
4) Money has a significant purpose in the world; you need it for almost everything you do in life, i.e. eat, buy a house, pay your bills, etc.
5) The idea of using stone as currency may see to Americans; however, the idea of banking may seem funny to others around the world, but they all have one thing in common, faith in the system.
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