Thursday, May 14, 2026

Introduction To This Blog System

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Image used by permission

Postings may be later combined into a compound posting on this blog. Many of the postings concern my observations in various branches of science, but there are also many on technology, religion, economics and, general world issues.

I would really like to thank everyone who reads any of these blogs for your interest.
 
SCIENCE WRITING
 
Most of the postings on this blog are visits to various places around the world, and articles about such topics as history and religion. But much of the writing is about science. I do not write about what is already known but only if I can write something new, or at least a new way of looking at things.
 
If you would like a quick background in the science and mathematics that everyone should really know in the 21st Century, the posting "Scientific Literacy" provides this in about a hundred paragraphs. Similarly, "The Way Things Work" provides a quick background in everyday technology.
 
I am a Christian and I want to show that belief in God is not unscientific at all. I was interested in science long before I was interested in religion, and have never had any trouble believing that God created everything.
 
There are five major scientific theories, each arranged in the form of a textbook. The first four of the following five are on this blog.
 
"The Theory Of Stationary Space" is my cosmological theory of how so much revolves around time being explained by us being in four-dimensional space, with the dimension that we cannot access being perceived as time. This is my version of string theory, with matter actually being strings in four dimensions rather than particles in three dimensions. Everything is ultimately based on negative and positive electric charges, with energy being able to overcome the laws of attraction and repulsion of electric charges. No one has ever explained exactly what time is, and a myriad of explanations of other things fall right into place around it.
 
"The Flow Of Information Through The Universe" is about how so much can be explained by seeing how there is a limited amount of information, and it must be the same information that constructs the highest levels as the lowest levels. A ready example is how the orbits of planets around the sun is based on the orbitals of electrons around the nucleus, in the atoms of which the sun and planets are composed. This concept is extremely useful because, understanding this, we can study things that we cannot directly see by analyzing things that we can see because all must be built on the same information.
 
"The Theory Of Complexity" is about what information actually is, how energy and information is really the same thing, and how we see the universe as we do because of our perspective of being at a higher level of information than our inanimate surroundings.
 
"The Lowest Information Point" is about how, since information and energy is really the same thing and the universe always seeks the lowest energy state, it also always seeks the "Lowest Information Point". So much is explained by how the universe prefers equalities to inequalities and related ratios where the numerator of one ratio is also the denominator of the other. This explains so much from why dust particles are as big as they to why the planets and stars are the scale that they are.
 
"The Story Of Planet Earth", on the geology blog, is about how virtually every major feature of the earth's surface, both on land and seafloor, can be explained by lines of magma emergence from below that were affected by the landing of three Continental Asteroids. Many people believe that land originated from a past "super-continent", but there is no explanation of where it came from.
 
There are a few of what we could call "minor" theories, where there is not as much written as with the major theories. On this blog, there is "How Biology And Human Life Fits Into Cosmology". On the meteorology and biology blog, there is my theory of the nature of water, "Water Made Really Simple".
 
There are compound postings about science which are groupings of writing about a certain topic.
 
Scientific compound postings include, "Computer Science", "Atomic Science", "Measurement", "A Celebration Of The Inverse Square Law", "Our Solar System", "Mind-Bending Cosmology", "The Configuration Of The Solar System Made Really Simple", "In Appreciation Of Electrons", "The Science Of Human Society " and "Orbital And Escape Velocities And Impacts from Space".
 
Compound postings about history and the world include "The House Of Holy Wisdom, Where The Modern World Began", "Niagara Stories", "Economics", "How History Repeats Itself", "The Meaning Of Freedom", "The Western Hemisphere", "Our Language" and, "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris".
 
There are two compound postings about prophecies and the Bible. There is "The Aztec Prophecy" than, for prophecies that are directly made in the Bible there is "New Insight Into Bible Prophecy".
 
"Investigations" is the compound posting that is a collection of any posting about an investigation.
 
The rest of the postings are individual postings. For more detailed information about this blog, see the posting "Thanks To Readers". For general topics of conversation, see "Thoughts And Observations", on the world and economics blog.  

Other Blogs And Books

                                                                                                                                                

Lights at night 

Here is a quick look at my other blogs before you start this one.

On this blog, you can see a list of all postings by clicking on the year or month to the right. But on the topical blogs, that is not the case. If you click on a year or month on those blogs, it will display the postings themselves, but the list on the right will still only show those postings that were added most recently.

To access a list of all postings on those blogs, it is necessary to click on the arrow in front of the year or month in question.

http://www.markmeekeconomics.blogspot.com/ is about economics, history and, general human issues.

http://www.markmeekprogress.blogspot.com/ concerns progress in technology and ideas.

http://www.markmeekearth.blogspot.com/ is my geology and global natural history blog for topics other than glaciers. My natural history blogs concerning the impact of glaciers is http://www.markmeekworld.blogspot.com/ .

http://www.markmeekniagara.blogspot.com/ is about new discoveries concerning natural history in the general area of Niagara Falls.

http://www.markmeeklife.blogspot.com/ is my observations concerning meteorology and biology.

http://www.markmeekphysics.blogspot.com/ is my blog about physics and astronomy.

http://www.markmeekcosmology.blogspot.com/ is my version of string theory that solves many unsolved mysteries about the underlying structure and beginning of the universe.

http://www.markmeekpatterns.blogspot.com/ details my work with the fundamental patterns and complexity that underlies everything in existence.

 http://www.markmeekreligion.blogspot.com/ is my religion blog.

 http://www.markmeekcreation.blogspot.com/ is proof that there must be a god.

http://www.markmeekphotos.blogspot.com/ is my travel photos of Europe.

On my photo blogs, Blogspot will not hold all of the photos in each blog in a straight line. To see all of the photos, you must click on the bottom posting listed on the right at the top of the blog after seeing all that there are in the initial showing. The last posting in the North America blog should be "Tijuana, Mexico" and the last posting in the Europe blog should be "Notre Dame Cathedral Door And Arc De Triomphe, Paris". Each photo in the photo blogs can be clicked on to enlarge it to full screen.

My autobiography is http://www.mark-meek.blogspot.com/

My books can be seen at http://www.bn.com/ http://www.amazon.com/ or, http://www.iuniverse.com/ just do an author search for "Mark Meek".   

Bavaria

The southeastern-most of Germany's states is Bavaria. It's largest city is Munich. Although expensive, Munich is globally-known for it's high quality of life. The Alps are visible from Munich.

During the Reformation, Munich remained devoutly Catholic. The center of Munich, it's main square, has always been Marienplatz, with a statue of Mary called the Mariansaule, at the top of a column. This image of the statue is from Google Street View.


The following views of central Munich begin in Marianplatz. The stone building with the spires is the city hall. The church with the orange roof is the Frauenkirche. Munich began in the 12th Century and the church in the 13th Century. But the City or Town Hall is from the 19th Century. The following eight images, from the area around the Marianplatz, are from Google Street View.

This is the iconic City Hall of Munich.




This is the Frauenkirche.




This is St. Peter's Church.



There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1372382,11.575411,3a,75y,110.31h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPL32K1_z5U9enpxv65mKanoCcvfJKcLw1WJDpw!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPL32K1_z5U9enpxv65mKanoCcvfJKcLw1WJDpw%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya32.01859-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

Here is more of central Munich, beginning at the Karlsplatz. The first image, of the gate, is from Google Street View.


https://www.google.com/maps/place/Karlsplatz/@48.1392667,11.5656372,3a,75y,94.19h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sp05kYV8TPAzdmU5T__Un8g!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3Dp05kYV8TPAzdmU5T__Un8g%26yaw%3D94.18686299223046!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x479e75f6e1b4effd:0x53135f10bc66421d!8m2!3d48.1392462!4d11.5660209!16zL20vMGNfZnNq?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

This is the area, to the north of central Munich, known as Schwabing.

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.163346,11.5851855,3a,75y,304.5h,92.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipM0E-NK8y_9s4qoqzR4U_RqaqPRrNa-riuXcOCh!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipM0E-NK8y_9s4qoqzR4U_RqaqPRrNa-riuXcOCh%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya124.49999-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

Munich is where the headquarters of BMW is located. This is one of the few top cars in the world. BMW has been translated into English as "Bavarian Motor Works". The headquarters is near the park where the 1972 Olympics were held. The following five images, from Google Earth and Street View, show the Olympia Tower and BMW headquarters in the background. But the tower was there before the Olympics. The BMW building represents four cylinders in an engine.






Bavaria is known for Neuschwanstein Castle. When Bavaria was a kingdom, in the late 19th Century, King Ludwig II was fascinated by the Middle Ages and went all-out to build his dream home, regardless of budgetary concerns. Although he never lived in it himself for long, it is now one of the most famous buildings in the world and was the architectural model for Disney World. The first six images of Neuschwanstein Castle are from Google Street View.










To the north of Munich, this is the Schleissheim Palace, from the 18th Century. The first three images are from Google Street View.





https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1582644,11.5032362,3a,75y,89.41h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOw_-OxDUIXA7DBVRNYt4CZTxjJkDvhGwbX9-LX!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOw_-OxDUIXA7DBVRNYt4CZTxjJkDvhGwbX9-LX%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya58.119816-ro-0-fo100!7i2999!8i1049

The second-largest city in Bavaria, after Munich, is Nuremberg. While Munich stayed Catholic when the Reformation came, Nuremberg went wholeheartedly Protestant. This is why the German-speaking states of central Europe didn't become a united country until 1871. There was so much division between Protestant and Catholic.

The Holy Roman Empire, which lasted for a thousand years, didn't really have a capital city. It's focus of administration usually depended on where it's emperor was from. But if any city could be said to have been the center of the Empire, at least for most of it's history, that city would likely be Nuremberg. The following scenes begin in Nuremberg Castle, around which the vast empire revolved. The famous artist Albrecht Durer lived right next to the castle.

The following ten images of Nuremberg are from Google Earth or Street View.

This is a the old part of Nuremberg. The first image is of the statue of Albrecht Durer.








This is Nuremberg Castle.




https://www.google.com/maps/@49.4579588,11.0754898,3a,75y,126.23h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPPe20L3oxpzNrs624CtO1M4X7huMf8ikjIOn4-!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPPe20L3oxpzNrs624CtO1M4X7huMf8ikjIOn4-%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya305.42474-ro0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

This is the district of Nuremberg known as Furth.

https://www.google.com/maps/@49.4773944,10.9891794,3a,75y,1.68h,120t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipP3WbmxC8vwHaXSf2VDAxDIU5-av7k-aynZT7SU!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP3WbmxC8vwHaXSf2VDAxDIU5-av7k-aynZT7SU%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-30.000002-ya1.6770833-ro-0-fo100!7i5472!8i2736

Another historic city in Bavaria is Augsburg. This is a very old city, going back to the time of Jesus. The peace treaty between Catholics and Protestants, allowing rules of principalities to choose either Catholicism or Lutheranism is called the Peace of Augsburg. The main creed of Lutheranism is the Augsburg Confession. The first three images, from Google Street View, are of the Bishop's Palace.




https://www.google.com/maps/@48.3729697,10.8961797,3a,75y,108.1h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPyFkFm5crEyoCexkWLfxpAx7C9s2MXu6uEOx14!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPyFkFm5crEyoCexkWLfxpAx7C9s2MXu6uEOx14%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya55.205235-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

Finally, there is Regensburg. This very old city was the site of the parliament (diet) of the Holy Roman Empire. It became a strongly Protestant city at the time of the Reformation. The city's cathedral was begun in the 13th Century. Here is the center of the oldest part of the city. The first six images are from Google Earth or Street View.






Remembering The Holy Roman Empire

To really understand cities such as Nuremberg, in today's visit, we have to look back at the history of the Holy Roman Empire. While it was not an "empire", in the traditional sense, it has had a tremendous influence on history simply because it lasted for a thousand years.

It was formed by the Catholic Church in an effort to rein in the wayward eastern Christians, who would later split away to form the Eastern Orthodox Church. This was the beginning of the current split between East and West. Charlemagne was crowned as it's first emperor on Christmas day of the year 800. The Holy Roman Empire would last until finally brought to an end by the conquests of Napoleon.

But it grew beyond the control of the pope and, if anything, was more of a rival to the Catholic Church than an ally. I consider it as no coincidence that the Protestant Reformation, which split the Catholic Church, began in the heart of the Holy Roman Empire. It's boundaries fluctuated and, despite the name, usually didn't include Rome.

Here is a link to the posting "The Far-Reaching Legacy Of The Holy Roman Empire":

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-far-reaching-legacy-of-holy-roman.html?m=0

Library For Readers

Here is our library for your summer reading. More has been added since last year. I periodically collect postings of similar subject matter together into compound postings. They are of book-length or near-book-length. Here is an index of the compound postings, and a link to each posting. 

The postings that included images now have the images in the posting, instead of links.


HISTORY AND THE WORLD


"The Sheet Theory Of History" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-sheet-theory-of-history.html?m=0

"The House Of Holy Wisdom Where The Modern World Began" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-house-of-wisdom-where-modern-world.html?m=0

"America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2015/12/america-and-modern-world-explained-by_12.html?m=0

"The Revolution Series" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-revolution-series.html?m=0

"Economics" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2019/11/economics.html?m=0

"How History Repeats Itself" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2019/11/how-history-repeats-itself.html?m=0

"The Meaning Of Freedom" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-meaning-of-freedom_1.html?m=0

"The Western Hemisphere" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-western-hemisphere.html?m=0

"Our Language" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/08/our-language.html?m=0

"Investigations" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2018/12/investigations.html?m=0 

"India And The West" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/12/india-and-west.html?m=0

"Niagara Stories" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/06/niagara-stories.html?m=0


CHRISTIANITY 


"New Insight Into Bible Prophecy" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2016/10/new-insight-into-bible-prophecy.html?m=0

"The Aztec Prophecy" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2018/04/?m=0


SCIENCE

"Cosmology Theory In Diagrams". This is an abbreviated version of the cosmology theory. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/01/cosmology-theory-in-diagrams.html?m=0

"The Theory Of Infinite Dimensions" https://markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-theory-of-infinite-dimensions.html?m=0

"Geology Theory With Satellite Imagery". This is an abbreviated version of the geology theory. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/03/geology-theory-with-satellite-imagery.html?m=0

"Computer Science" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2021/07/computer-science.html?m=0

"Atomic Science" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/12/atomic-science.html?m=0

"Measurement" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2021/09/measurement.html?m=0

"Moving Beyond The Metric System" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2025/10/moving-beyond-metric-system.html?m=0

"A Celebration Of The Inverse Square Law" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-celebration-of-inverse-square-law.html?m=0

"Our Solar System" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/10/our-solar-system.html?m=0

"Mind-Bending Cosmology" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/05/mind-bending-cosmology.html?m=0

"The Configuration Of The Solar System Made Really Simple" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-configuration-of-solar-system-made.html?m=0

"Orbital And Escape Velocities And Impacts From Space" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2014/11/orbital-and-escape-velocities-and.html?m=0 

"In Appreciation Of Electrons" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/01/in-appreciation-of-electrons.html?m=0 

"Electron Dependency And Straight Lines" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2021/12/electron-dependency-and-straight-lines.html?m=0

"The Science Of Human Society" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-science-of-human-society.html?m=0 

"The Moon" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-moon.html?m=0 

"All About The Appalachians" www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/04/all-about-appalachians.html?m=0


I set out to provide a good background in science that everyone should have in the Twenty-First Century. Thoroughly learn everything in "Scientific Literacy" and you will have a strong background in general science. It includes mathematics but not biology:

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2014/03/scientific-literacy_22.html?m=0 

This is a link to the information theories.

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-information-theories.html?m=0


GENERAL 

This is the travel photos of Europe. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/02/travel-photos-of-europe.html?m=0

This is the travel photos of North America. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/02/travel-photos-of-north-america.html?m=0

This is "Insights Into Major Crimes". www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/09/insights-into-major-crimes.html?m=0

This is a book of general observations, and things to talk or write or think about, in no particular order.

www.markmeekeconomics.blogspot.com/2009/07/thoughts-and-observations.html?m=0 

The best way to tell a lot of stories is in the context of an autobiography. This is a "living" autobiography and I periodically add more to it.

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2009/07/other-blogs-and-books.html?m=0

My story about imaginary space aliens that visit earth, but never see a human, deduce all about humans from the technology that they find is "Reverse Archeology".

www.markmeekpatterns.blogspot.com/2009/07/reverse-archeology.html?m=0


UPDATED WITH IMAGES 

There are postings that I originally wrote on a computer, so they had links to images rather than the images in the posting. I recently updated these postings so that the images are in the postings. This should make them easier to read.

There is the book of "Investigations". 

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2018/12/investigations.html?m=0

"A Comparison Of London And Paris" 

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-comparison-of-london-and-paris.html?m=0 

"Along London's Royal Route" 

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/08/along-londons-royal-route.html?m=0 

"The Aztec Prophecy" 

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-aztec-prophecy_28.html?m=0 

"Esau And The Temple Mount" 

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2016/02/esau-and-temple-mount.html?m=0 

"The Would-Have-Been Nation Of Westland"

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-would-have-been-nation-of-westland.html?m=0


IMPORTANT SINGLE POSTINGS 

Here are links to some important single postings on this blog. These are the length of a single article. By that I mean the ones that I link to most often.

This is about the long term effects of the Iranian Revolution of 1979. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-great-revolution-of-our-time.html?m=0 

This is an introduction to my cosmology theory. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2019/05/in-cosmology-everything-just-fell-right.html?m=0 

This is the Theory Of Kings. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-theory-of-kings_28.html?m=0 

These are two introductions to how information works. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-information-works.html?m=0 

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2021/02/examples-of-how-information-works.html?m=0 

This is discoveries in Niagara Falls natural history. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2019/06/niagara-natural-history-summary.html?m=0 

This is how the world is divided between the South and West and the North and East. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2016/04/understanding-world-in-terms-of-south.html?m=0 

This is the far reaching effects of the Holy Roman Empire. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-far-reaching-legacy-of-holy-roman.html?m=0 

This is Observations About Building. https://markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2023/08/observations-about-building.html?m=0

This is The Wars Of The Gods. www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-wars-of-gods.html?m=0

U.S. Ethnic Distribution

While working at jobs taking calls from across the U.S., the name and address of the caller would appear on my computer screen. As many thousands of calls were taken, certain definite patterns in the ethnic distribution of the country, going by the names, became apparent.

ARRANGEMENT OF IMMIGRANT GROUPS

I realized how the major European ethnic groups in the U.S. had arranged themselves in much the same way as their homelands were in Europe. The Italian-American heartland is the northeastern U.S. On a map, this part of the country forms a peninsula just as Italy does on a map of Europe. New York City, with it's considerable population of Italian descent, occupies about the same position on this "peninsula" as does Rome on a map of Italy.

As the population of Germany increased in the Nineteenth Century, space became more scarce on the Luneberg Heath, the plain across the northern part of the country. Many of those who wished to farm headed for the open spaces of the U.S. midwest. To the north of Germany is the Scandinavian countries and, just as in Europe, immigrants from those countries positioned themselves to the north of the Germans, particularly in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

In Europe, to the east of Germany lies Poland. Bringing this pattern to North America, Polish settlers positioned themselves to the east of the Germans. In fact, I noticed what we could call a "Mirror Poland" in the U.S. Warsaw, Poland's capital city, is toward the eastern part of the country. If, in America, Chicago represents the new Warsaw, cities like Cleveland and the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga can be considered as new versions of Polish cities to the west of Warsaw.

But in America, Chicago is to the west of the Polish community while in Poland, Warsaw is to the east, making this part of the U.S. a mirror version of Poland. However, Poland did not exist as a nation when the wave of immigrants came in the late Nineteenth Century and the last time Poland existed territorially before that Warsaw was indeed to the west of the country. I noticed a new wave of Polish immigrants to the U.S. since the end of the Iron Curtain and these are focused on New York City instead of Chicago.

In Europe, Portugal is a small country on the edge of the continent against the ocean. Fitting this arrangement pattern, Portuguese immigrants to America have chosen Rhode Island as the New Portugal and could not have picked a state that came closer to mirroring Portugal's position in Europe.

On a map, Texas resembles geographically the Indian subcontinent. This might subconsciously draw Indians to settle there and indeed Texas has about 8.7 percent of America's population but about 11 percent of it's immigrants from India.

This immigrant arrangement pattern does not include those whose homelands are not far away from America. Cubans simply cross over to Florida and Mexicans occupy what we could call the "Natural Mexico", which includes the lands of the U.S. southwest which were once a part of Mexico.

DISPERSION OF IMMIGRANT GROUPS

A number of patterns in the dispersion of immigrant groups also became apparent to me. Irish-Americans have dispersed throughout the country from their traditional heartland of Massachusetts much more than Polish and Italian immigrants have. I could detect only a faint concentration of Irish names around Boston. It is true that Irish immigrants arrived before those from Italy and Poland but I believe a major factor was that those from Ireland arrived speaking English.

It is easy to see which ethnic group was the first immigrant settlers, and the influence of the Civil War of 1861-65 also shows up. The only concentration of Anglo and Scotch names in America is in the south. In other areas they seem to be the background among which other groups settled. This is because the waves of immigrants from Europe in the late Nineteenth Century went to the north, particularly New York City, because it had won the Civil War. The Anglo and Scotch names were in America before the Civil War.

Another easy way to tell which group settled a place first is the names of the places. In eastern New York State, the place names are often Dutch but the resident's names are far more likely to be Italian (Roosevelt means "Rose Field" and Tappan Zee means "Inland Sea" in Dutch).

It is obvious that the heartland of African-Americans is the southern states. In the rest of the country, black people are very heavily concentrated in cities. The only place I noticed a significant number of black people in small towns was in the south, presuming that I could tell a black person by their voice. If I had never heard of the town I presumed it to be a small town. This clearly indicates that the black dispersion from the south to the rest of the country was relatively recent.

German-Americans seemed to me to be the most rural but black Americans are by far the most urban. If German-Americans can be said to have a city, it is Milwaukee or maybe Omaha. More recent immigrant groups tend to choose a hub city. The concentration of Arab names around Detroit is really striking and Fresno continues to serve as the hub for Armenians in America.

THE HUB CITIES FOR IMMIGRANTS

America's two great hubs for immigrants are, of course, New York and Los Angeles. The important factor to consider is whether the immigrant group arrived primarily by ship or by plane, thus indicating the time frame of arrival.

In the past, immigrants arrived by ship. Thus by simple geography, Europeans arrived in New York and the far fewer Asians in Los Angeles. This can easily be seen in previous immigrant patterns but now has changed completely due to airplanes. Europeans seemed to me to be as likely to land in Los Angeles as Asians were to start out in New York.

One recent immigrant group that does not seem to start out in the primary immigrant hubs as much as the other groups is those from India. The reason is obvious, there is no Indiatowns like there are Chinatowns simply because Indian immigrants tend to speak English.

America is full of both French and Spanish names. Yet, I notice no concentration of these names at all around the traditional hub cities. French names are concentrated in the northern New England states and Spanish names in the southwest, in Florida and, in New York City.

This tells me that there was little direct immigration from France to America and the ancestors of most Americans with French names were French-Canadians first. Since we know the Spanish names around New York belong mostly to Puerto Ricans, it is also clear that there was little direct immigration from Spain to the U.S. and that these immigrants came from other countries in the western hemisphere.

These patterns in immigration do not show up as well in Canada because it's population is so concentrated against the southern border instead of being spread throughout the country or in Britain because it has only been a major immigrant destination for the past fifty or sixty years and two thirds of it's immigrants are concentrated in the London area.