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claims that Peary did actually reach the North Pole. However, the professor in the
listening argues against each of the statements.
According to the reading material, the National Geography Society
had made a commitment which conducts a comprehensive investigation
of Peary's records, and proved that Peary indeed reached the North pole. But
the lecture holds the opposite opinion and believes that the National Geography
Society was not objective. Since Peary had lots of friends in the Society and they
even provided a large amount of financial support with him. Moreover, Peary had
admitted that they was not careful with this investigation and it only lasted two
days, so it's obvious that the investigation was totally full of bias and untrustworthy.
In additionally, the reading contends that Tom Avery accomplished an experiment
that used the same tools and equipment of Peary’s to reach the North Pole in less
than 37 days which were the record made by Peary. This experiment can despite
the skeptical of proving the date Peary used is solid. However, the lecture argues
that this experiment can't prove anything due to the fact that the condition was
different with Peary’s. The lecture gives examples of the weight on Avery's dogsled
was less than Peary’s, and the weather condition is worse in Peary’s case compare
that of Avery. Therefore, the result made by Avery is not convincing.
Finally, the reading states that with the photographs taken in the North Pole, experts
can calculate the position of the sun by the shadows in the picture, and examine whether
the sun is at the right place in the North Pole. Yet the professor in the lecture
opposes again by saying that the calculation of the sun requires really clear and
specific pictures, but the photographs of Peary are fuzzy and unfocused. Moreover, the
pictures were taken by the primitive camera and after hundreds of years. It got faded
and blurred, which couldn't be used to calculate the sun’s position at all.