Have You Herd?

People are sheep. There, I've said it. Society as a whole is a herd of socially trainable sheep that mindlessly go where they're led (with exceptions- sheep have a reputation for being a bit temperamental at times). I guess I shouldn't be surprised that, once again, someone is taking advantage of this. It's hard not to.

If you check your student email and read the mass emails sent out to us, you've read the email about the meaning of the "Happy to Be 93." I have not altered this email in any way except for bolding interesting points.


Several Students and Staff have asked for more information about SADD’s recent Happy to Be 93 campaign. Here it is:

SADD conducted a Social Norming Campaign. What exactly does that mean? Well, Social norming has been used in environmental prevention for many years. Social norming projects are designed by youth to impact youth. It is based on the premise that most people will behave within an established set of norms that are known and expected. So basically we create a slogan based on a statistic. This slogan then gets promoted by handing out items like bracelets, fortune cookies, pencils and t-shirts. This gains the interest of the school and typically the school community really wants to know what it means.

The current slogan (Happy to Be 93) being used at the high school is based on data from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. When developing a social norming project it is best to use local data however this is not available for prescription drugs. It had been agreed to add questions to this years Missouri Student Survey regarding prescription drug use, but this was not done. So we still do not have any state or local data related to the prevalence of prescription drug use. We were comfortable using national data because Liberty typically follows national trends.

So… now you know. Be on the lookout for our social norming campaign next year!

DON’T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR T-SHIRTS TOMORROW!!

[The counselor signed her name here.]


That was it. Our local school conselor came right out and said it. I had already known that the 93% represented people who didn't use persciption drugs (although I had been under the impression that it was local data). What I didn't know about was the "social norming campaign."

Basically, the people organizing this are doing thier best to send the message that it's not just adults who are against this- it's their peers. After being induced into doing drugs by their friends, the goal is to prod these people back, thinking that it's not popular to use drugs. Can people really not think for themselves? All of this sounds very brainwashy.

To be honest, though, I don't think students (or anyone else) are going to succumb to a statistic. They are the statistic (supposedly, assuming that no one is lying). People aren't going to change until they're ready to. If they weren't suseptible to other numbers, such as how many people die from abusing drugs, this number probably won't do much. Touting a number around isn't going to make it more true.

I'm not for drugs by any means, but... this is the same kind of thing people have been doing since elementary school. Haven't we moved past that yet? People are sheep, but they seem to know what direction they're going.

Ylerecnis,
N

Our Dependence on Electricity

I don't know what we would do if all the electricity went away.

Last night, there was a really huge storm. I was amazed by how high the wind speeds were (thankfully, no damage was really done to my house), and of course there was the lightning. Well, obviously, both of these things are detrimental to power lines. People on my bus were talking about how they didn't have power (luckily, my house only experienced a brief surge), and the bus driver pointed out that you couldn't even get into school without electricity, because of a card-key scanner opening system. But there was still school today. In any case, as I've been told, our school has its own generator.

But all of it makes me wonder what would happen if all of it went away- if we were left with technology without juice. It's a scary thought, how dependent we are.

Ylerecnis,

N

Not-Forgotten Languages

I found something that I had to share with the world. It's an English-to-Pig Latin translator. I wasn't even looking for it (I was searching for an English-to-Latin translator), but there it was. And I, like the nerd I am, was very happy that I'd found it.

Brings back memories, is what it does. I spoke that language all the time in elementary school, and I can still do it pretty well now. I also used to use another code-language, Ubbi Dubbi, at about the same time. I can also speak Ubbi-Dubbi Pig Latin, I kid you not. I'm a bit out of practice, though, so I can't say "antidisestablishmentarianism" very well anymore.

Just wanted to pass on this gem and the memories that go with it. There was indeed a time when everyone spoke Pig Latin.

Ylerecnis,

N

Why Tolerance is Bad

I walked into the building this morning and saw the big purple sign and the green t-shirts, both inscribed with the words "i tolerate" ("itolerate," in the case of the t-shirts). On the purple sign, a heart dots the "i."

It's a noble cause (if I had gotten wind of the t-shirts, I might even be wearing one now), but I find that "tolerate" is a strange word to use. Just look at one of its main definitions: to endure without repugnance; put up with. And its synonyms: abide, accept, bear, brook, go, stand, stomach, suffer, support, sustain, swallow, take, withstand. This is just like the expression, "Love of the sinner, hate the sin." Basically, when you say that you are tolerating someone, you really hate what they do, but you'll brave through it. How stuck up is that?

I propose that we choose a new word, one of its synonyms: accept. I accept. I accept that people around me have different sexual orientations, different religions, different lifestyles. I accept that everyone else has a right to do what they like, and I'm okay with that. Other people are different from me, and I just have to ask, What's the problem with that?

So... I'll tolerate this week. I'll accept the people around me. Happy acceptance week.

Ylerecnis,
N

I Palindrome I

I recently learned of a song that I think is pretty cool. It's called "I Palindrome I," by They Might Be Giants. The chorus is the best part, I went and read the lyrics online and the verses don't make much sense for a palindrome song. Check it out, if you can. I bet it's on YouTube somewhere.

Some interesting facts about the song.

A list of palindromes.

Ylerecnis,

N

Pirates Really DO Reverse Global Warming!

For those of you who have been touched by his noodly appendage, you know that Pastafarianism teaches that lack of pirates causes global warming. I stumbled onto this bit of proof, actually, from Google (aka god). Take a lesson from this. Dress and talk like a pirate. And eat pasta. Let your veins run with holy sauce!

Ylerecnis,
N

Guns and Public Safety

I cannot deny that guns are dangerous. They are, after all, hand-held tools that eject lead slugs at incredibly high speeds. Anyone who thinks that they're not going to do any damage is an idiot. But does this really mean that we could get rid of them? Does this mean that the world would be a better place with more gun control?

Chicago doesn't have a reputation for really being a secure place. Twenty Chicago Public Schools students have been killed by gunfire since September. So, shouldn't we just get rid of all these guns? Wouldn't that have saved the lives of these students?

Well, that would be nice, wouldn't it? Getting rid of another tool of violence would be fantastic. It'd also be fantastic if we could stop people from getting stabbed (with all sorts of things), strangled, drowned, or beat to death. However, none of these things can be completely eliminated. People always have and (as far as I or anyone else can see) always will be in danger of homicide. It doesn't matter what tools have been available over the ages, from rocks to knives to bare hands- the only way to permanently stop murders would be to kill everyone.

If we did try to take away guns, is anyone so naive as to think that no one would hold onto them? Let's see, what type of person would hide and smuggle illegal items in order to do great harm to innocent people? Maybe the type of people who would commit crimes with guns in the first place! And then what you have is a defenseless population. If criminals know that they are in danger of getting killed, they are far less likely to commit a crime. If the government were to confiscate guns from their potential victims, they would be incredibly emboldened. Just look at the crime rates for Washington D.C. and Great Britain, places where private gun ownership is illegal.

Control by armed government not the answer, either. The fact is that there are not enough police to protect everybody, it takes too long for them to arrive at the scene (if you're calling 911, especially), and sometimes you don't even get a chance to scream. It is important for people to be self-armed in order to protect themselves.

Guns must, of course, be handled responsibly, and everyone who uses them should take lessons, but gun control is not the answer. In fact, it is a great solution to crime rates.

Ylerecnis,

N

The Pride of Being Irish (Among Other Things)

Why, I ask, is it so special to be Irish? Not that I'm complaining, of course, being part Irish, but I have to wonder what makes it so special (or, perhaps, merely popular among the masses- I have to admit that lots of Americans from various cultures hang on to old customs from their ancestral country). Why don't people get as worked up about being Kenyan, or Scandanavian? Have you ever heard the phrase, "Kiss me, I'm Native American?"

I think the reason must be because of Ireland's diaspora. Apparently, life in Ireland has been hard over the ages, and lots of people left there. A lot of people came here, apparently. According to a 2006 survey, 12% of the American population claim Irish descent. That would explain why being Irish is so darn popular.

But that doesn't seem to explain it all. Something must be appealing about the country and people itself- the charming accents, the pretty red hair, the green pastures, the minstrels and the bonny lasses. I can't say how much of it is true, but I do like Celtic music, such as the Chieftains, Silly Wizard, and Celtic Woman. Not all Irish, I admit, but Celtic music and mythology is really appealing to me.

But you know what's really cool? Being Irish, Welsh, German, and probably a bunch of other things at the same time! With this much in the way of heritage, I can pretty much pick and choose which parts of my history I want to celebrate. That's the way it is for a lot of people in the U.S., and that's fantastic. Also, it brings out a lot of chance for diversity and great genetic combinations. One thing that pretty much all Americans can say with conviction- mutts rule!

Ylerecnis,

N

Why Six is REALLY Afraid of Seven

Okay, this title is a bit misleading. I don't want to talk about the personal lives of the poor saps we see in jokes. I don't know where the chicken went after she crossed the road, and I don't really care. What I do want to talk about is the value of analyzing humor.

Is it a good thing that we dissect something like humor apart to examine why it makes us laugh? How is this any different from the person who overanalyzes jokes, completely missing the humor?

I do believe that there is a difference. The person who makes a joke un-funny analyzes the fictional characters and situations present in jokes. This person would care about the chicken who crossed the road. "What was a chicken doing by the road? Isn't that what chicken fences are for? I don't really get this joke, it doesn't make any sense."

However, a person who analyzes humor doesn't pick apart the story in the joke, but rather the parts of it that make it funny to us. For instance, why use a chicken? Would people laugh harder if it was a duck? Also, wordplay, incongruities, and vulgarity are analyzed. If you don't  think anyone really looks carefully at humor, let me tell you about the search for the funniest joke in the world.

A cognitive scientist named Richard Wiseman created LaughLab in his epic quest for the funniest joke in the world. (If you look at the LaughLab website, yes, that's him next to the giant chicken.) The "funniest joke in the world" isn't bad, but not gut-wrenchingly funny, probably because jokes that appeal to everyone aren't neccessarily the favorites of the individual. It's a fact of life that people have different senses of humor.

All of us get a chance, sometimes against our will, to take a closer look at humor. It's not uncommon for classes studying a piece of literature, such as Shakespeare, to analyze what about it is funny, and why. I went through this, as many people do. Perhaps it would not have worked so well with more modern humor, but analysis actually helped me understand some of the archaic quips present in The Merchant of Venice. But even with modern humor, I find it interesting to think about why we laugh.

So, I say, let's find out why it's funny when a blonde in a potato sack cries, "Potatoes! Potatoes!" Let's examine why ducks are funnier than turtledoves. There's nothing wrong with that. Pick away, pick away!

Just don't forget to skip over the laughing part.

Ylerecnis,

N

P.S. I apologize for not having written for a while. I've been falling behind, entirely at my own fault.

True Freethinkers Are Independent and Unorganized

I have absolutely no problem with adults choosing to practice their own religions, as long as they don't interfere with the lives and beliefs of others, or put the people in their communities in a position where they are oppressed (virgin sacrifices would be an example). It's their own business. I have a right to call them nuts, but I would not interfere with their preferred religion.

One thing that really bothers me, though, is how children get religion drilled into their minds. From birth, they are taught to follow whoever it is they're worshipping without question. They are taught that the best form of faith is to not ask questions, which I see as an absolute abomination. It's interesting, though, that even as an atheist, I think that children should be left out of atheism. Children should not be brought into religion at all. We don't bring them into political activity- religion is another thing that they should choose alone. Things such as Kids on Fire (albeit a bit of an extreme example) that scare and guilt kids into upholding certain beliefs disgust me to my core. (I recommend watching the Jesus Camp documentary on YouTube. A couple of people have put it up there in its entirety.)

I'm glad to see that most young atheists seem to be self-made, but I have to admit that it scares me that atheism is growing into an organization. "Organized freethinking" is supposed to be an oxymoron! I've got nothing against humanist and atheist organizations, such as American Atheists and the other atheist/secular organizations around the world, and I'll root for their cause (not oppressing religion, but increasing tolerance for atheists and keeping America both secular and religiously free, who are, as is so well documented, considered less trusted than homosexuals and Muslims)- but honestly, I wouldn't want to be a part of that. I suppose that it's a good thing that some of the people who hold similar views to mine are making themselves heard, but there's a reason why I hold myself as an independent thinker.

Not to say that children shouldn't be taught some of the morals found in religion, however. All people should be taught, from a young age, the basic values that make up our society, such as respect, citizenship, etc.

I can't stop people from teaching their children about things that no one really knows, and I shouldn't, either, but I know that if I breathe a word about religion to my future children, it will be in response to questions that they have. I will encourage them to think on their own, inviting them to learn about as many religious positions as they like, the more the better. Because whether any child of mine is atheist, Christian, pagan, Muslim, Hindu, or agnostic, one major thing is important to me- that my children be free thinkers.

Ylerecnis,

N

Conservative Media

This is absolutely crazy. Scary-crazy.

I was doing an internet search when I encountered Conservapedia.com. It's modeled after Wikipedia, except that it embodies the world according to the Republican party. This is why it's a ".com," not an ".org," like Wikipedia. Obviously, it slants heavily to the right.

What I find scary about this is that someone made an entire online encyclodpedia that isn't a fair, unbiased source. This is a gay-bashing, bible-thumping, evolution-denying website that is modeled after a real website that works hard at being fair and accurate. (Ironically, Conservapedia's motto is "The Truthful Encyclopedia.") This really freaks me out, really and truthfully. Check it out and be aware. Or, if they agree with you, rejoice. I can't hold it against you if there's an entire website devoted to the world as you see it and you're happy about it.

A note of interest- I couldn't find anything like it for liberalism. Perhaps that's because, as they say, most media has a left slant anyway?

Note to the reader: I'm a constitionalist. It's one of the crosses between liberalism and conservatism.

Ylerecnis,
N

Subtract Garfield, Add Depth

This is the most serious, heartrending, sympathetic, tear-jerking cartoon ever.

Well... it might be, if you didn't know what it was before.

I recently learned about an ingenious creation known as "Garfield Minus Garfield." It's very simple- someone took Garfield out of the comic. Of course, considering that Jon talks to Garfield, you know what this means...

This is the story of Jon Arbuckle. His is a story of schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against lonliness in a quiet American suburb.

Lunar Eclipse

Ah, this was cool. I stepped onto my front porch to go see the eclipse last night. When I came out, there was a sliver of moon left shining. Satisfied, I returned to the warmth of the house.

That's the kind of celestial event that I like. Too often, in order to see something cool up there, you have to stay up really late (or wake up really early in the morning), and sit/stand around and wait, freezing in the cold. That's probably why I'm not as enthusiastic about stargazing. It's too cold.

Ylerecnis,
N

Groundbreaking Photos

I just found this on the National Geographic site. It's of all kinds of firsts in photography- the first photo, the first color photo, the first underwater photo, the horse in motion, the first night-time photo, and more. This is awesome, especially because I love photography. I really like the last one in the gallery, especially.

Read on, and witness the history of an art in "Milestones in Photography."

Also check out the related galleries, National Geographic Milestones, Milestones in Wildlife Photography, Milestones in Space Photography, and Milestones in Underwater Photography.

Ylerecnis,

Natasha

At the TOP of the Charts- A Song You Can't Hear!

What if I told you that somewhere out there, people have put a song that they can't hear at the top of the charts? Well... it's true. In New Zealand, a song called A Very Silent Night was recorded at a frequency inaudible to human beings, but audible to dogs. This song topped the charts around Christmastime.

I'm not sure why that's on the top of the list. My guess is that it's either the novelty or the hilarity. I mean, even though I know I won't be able to hear it, I'd be interested in being exposed to it. It's totally different! But the reason that I'd really like to hear it, though, is to see how my dogs reacted. Apparently, there's a wide spectrum of canine reactions to the song, ranging from lying down to attacking the radio. Personally, I'd like to see some ear-perking and head-tilting, followed by some crazed barking, and exploding into running around the house in a frenzy. I love my dogs, but I have to be honest- it's hilarious to watch them go berserk (especially the smaller one, who is more hyper). I wouldn't be surprized if this was the reason for the song's popularity.

Who knows what they're hearing? Perhaps it's like a high-pitched whine. That would be my best guess. In any case, chances are good that my dogs will get a chance to listen, because the song is likely to spread to other countries, including the U.S. After all, why should a seemingly-silent, dog-maddening song be restricted to New Zealand?

Another question- why do you suppose that no one is mentioning the cats, who can also hear high-frequency sounds? Personally, I think it's because they're rolling their eyes at all this nonsense. They know what the good music is.

Ylerecnis,
N

Crying Children, Parenting, Airplanes, and Sanity

It's all very, very simple.

Young children, especially mobile ones, have a tendency to become impatient on airplanes. Impatience leads to dissatisfaction, manifested in crying or temper tantrums.

A good parent will handle this situation with as much patience as possible, using proactive reasoning, soothing, and suitable punishment, if necessary.
A less-than-great parent will lose patience, act irritated, and tell the child how bad he is and how angry she is.

There are, of course, other people on the airplane as this is going on.

Either way, if the child doesn't stop, the inescapable noise coupled with the confinement will drive people to insanity. I have devised an equation modeling the situation.
s = lost sanity,
d= decibels of child's noisemaking,
D = decibels of adult's responding noisemaking,
r = length of the exchange,
p = proximity of the passenger (in number of seats),
k = leg room in square feet (or lack thereof),
and z = how loud the person next to you is snoring (decibels).

s = (pr[10d + 5D] + 7z)/k

This is for a reasonable parent. In the equation for a irritating parent, replace the addtion signs with multiplication signs. This changes the equation more than you'd think.

Then, of course, there is the sanity threshold. This has nothing to do with how clinically sane someone is, or how eccentric they are. Sanity in this case reflects how easily someone takes irritating things in stride, and how easily they lose their temper. Here is the approximate scale:

100- cabbage
90
80- friendly dogs
70
60
50
40- most cats
30
20- victims of repeated telemarketing
10- victims of repeated political telemarketing
0- crazy nun at a Catholic school

Let it be noted that even cabbage can only take so much of a child/parent pair throwing a tantrum in an airplane. Especially if you're sitting right behind them on a small airplane- like I was, earlier today.


Ylerecnis,
N

Lamia

Here's just a poem that I found. It's called "Lamia," by John Keats. It's pretty long, I admit. I read it because this part is commonly quoted:

"Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings,

Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,

Empty the haunted air, and gnomed mine-

Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made

The tender-person'd Lamia melt into a shade."

This is nonsense, I believe. Perhaps this is because I personally enjoy knowing things, while others think that it is unpoetic to believe that rainbows are a product of light passing through airborne water particles, rather than fairies. It's pretty either way, isn't it?

Anyway, the poem itself is a bit of a challenging read. It requires some knowledge of Greek mythology to understand. Also, Keats is definately a classicist, so, be warned. There's high vocabulary in there.

Ylerecnis,

N

Vegetarianism

I don't have a problem with vegetarians- in fact, a well-balanced vegetarian diet is a healthy choice to make. Also, it doesn't matter to me what people eat, from Twinkies to soy beans to sushi. But I've noticed that it's difficult to really carry the vegetarian message throughout one's life while living in this culture. This is because, when it comes to killing living creatures to meet our needs, there is no difference between a hamburger and a leather jacket. 

Synthetic material is making it easier to live up to non-killing standards every day. However, we have multiple leather products, shell jewelry, and animal products in beauty items. It's still a challenge to avoid. It's impossible to live without destroying something, that's just the way it is! The famous Backster experiment has not conclusively shown that plants feel fear, but who knows? Fear for a plant, if it exists, would probably be difficult to measure, since it would feel emotions in a very different way from an animal. Also, plants have no sensory organs, but that's not the point I'm trying to make...

So, kudos to all vegetarians out there. And good luck. It's a challenging thing to do, when it comes to being truly anti-killing (aka no leather, no animal byproducts, but plants are okay).

As for me, I've sometimes wondered if being a vegetarian would be the right thing to do. Perhaps I will, eventually. Not now, though. I think it'd be a difficult thing to explain to my parents, especially since meat is a major staple in our diet.

I've also wondered this... since vegetarians are often the kind of people who have pets, it's a good question... Should one's pets live off a vegetarian diet, too?

Ylerecnis,

N

New Post, Old Place

I've been working on a certain post for a while, so now that I've published it, it's before some posts that I published earlier, but started later. Sorry about that- it's irritating, but I can't find a way to change it.

So, here it is: Morons Will Be Morons.

Ylerecnis,
N

Ignorance Is Only Bliss For the Ignorant

Ah, ignorance strikes again and again! You'd think this kind of ignorance would be gone, but alas...

Some people believe that the earth is flat. No kidding. The Flat Earther's Society uses pseudoscience to "prove" it. (I can't help wondering, though... is it true idiocy, or is it subtle satire?... I'd like to believe that people aren't quite so stupid. In any case, I recommend the site, it's very interesting.)

Education is going down the drain in the USA. Other countries do way better than we do.

People talk passionately about what they don't understand. Americans have a better understanding of science than people of third world countries, but sometimes the logic is no better. There's nothing wrong with the reading rates, but ignorance runs amok.

The world is full of idiots! Well... I guess that's no surprise. But it makes the world far more irritating.

The education system must be doing something wrong. What is it, exactly? I think that it's a system based on getting students to pass more than it is about learning- that's why this is happening.

But, honestly, what can I do? Force people to listen as I attempt to do CPR on thier brains? For most morons, it's far too late. What we need is an idiot-prevention program. We need a better system of education, for those who don't seek enlightenment on their own.

Ylerecnis,
N

Space Travel

I just read about the new tourist spaceship that's been developed, SpaceShipTwo (creative, huh?). Six rich passengers will get to pay $200,000 dollars to ride in this in order to experience four and a half minutes of weightlessness. If I had money like that, it'd be worth it.

I'll have to wait, though. The space age is coming! SpaceShipTwo will launch in just a few years. I'll probably be able to do something like it in my lifetime, for a longer trip, even. Someday in my lifetime, space travel will become much more affordable. I know I'll want to try it.

Ylerecnis,
N

Personality Tests

I must confess that I enjoy taking personality tests, but a lot of the ones I find on the internet are crap. Quiz mills will have the occasional quality quiz, but most of them are made by people who had nothing better to do, and they're neither entertaining nor accurate.

I've found a great personality test, though. It's called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test, or the Jung Typology Test. This is based on four aspects of personality- Introversion/Extroversion, Intuitive/Sensing, Thinking/Feeling, and Perceiving/Judging. Whether or not this is all junk is up to the interpreter. I think that it says a certain amount about psychological tendencies, but not necessarily about how they're expressed. Also, it's not unusual for people to score differently as they age.

Click here to take the test. This is one of the few versions out there that doesn't ask for your email address and doesn't want you to be a member of something.

More info on your type. Seriously, though, you can do a Google search and get all kinds of results.

Here's the Wikipedia article, for those of you who actually care about the history and other details.

Hope you like taking the test. Whether you consider it accurate or not, it's food for thought. If you're wondering what I am, I'm an INTJ. The names for this type include free-thinker, strategist, and mastermind. Take that as you will. Mwahahaha!

Ylerecnis,

N

FreeRice.org

Here's a cool link to a place called FreeRice.org. Please visit, especially if you're a vocabulary nerd.

This is how it works- you are given multiple-choice vocabulary questions. For each word you get right, you donated 20 grains of rice through the UN. The reason why this works is that there are advertisements at the bottom of the screen. They're not really noticable, though.

Anyway, end hunger, build up your brain, blah, blah, blah. I just like doing it.

Ylerecnis,
N

Morons Will Be Morons: My Real Opinion on Marijuana

If you write for the school newspaper, you don't always get to write what you want. One example is my editorial for this month's issue of The Bell. I was chosen to write the Con side of the issue of medicinal marijuana. Although I'm honored to know that my editors respect my ability to write on both sides of an argument, I support the other side of the issue, and I want to write about it in this blog entry.

Let me make this clear- all the data I included in my editorial are factual. In fact, here are the sources I used: The White House Drug Policy Report on Marijuana, the methods of medication for medicinal marijuana (click on the last question), Marinol, and a lot more information on Marinol. All of these present useful information that is good for anyone involved in this argument to know. If you haven't read my article, go read it now. If you can't, you'll just have to go without it.

In my article, my main idea was that marijuana has no place in the medical field. It's true that marijuana is not an good option in health care. I know for sure that I, if I were in such a position, would choose the pill over a joint. It's far safer and more effective. However, I firmly believe that people should have the option. Here's why:

1. Marijuana actually does help treat symptoms because it contains THC. Marinol is a better option, since it's dose-regulated and has far fewer excess chemicals (61 being unique to marijuana), although I'd like to point out that it has some of the same side effects. It does have THC in it, after all. THC is the chemical that makes it marijuana medicinally useful, but also psychologically harmful and addictive.

Also, let it be known that no actual deaths have been associated with marijuana at any time in U.S. history. Two thousand deaths a year are caused by aspirin. Marijuana is not healthy, but in some ways, it's less risky than something used every day.

2. Most of the violence associated with marijuana comes from the drug war that our country is fighting. Marijuana users are violent in the same way drunks are violent- their brains are addled. This causes impaired driving and reasoning, but it also involves sitting around wasted. There's a reason why it's called "getting stoned." More of the fighting occurs when drug dealers come together in gangs to fight against the police force.

Do laws stop drug use? I have one word: prohibition. Despite these laws, alcohol consumption increased. On top of that, alcohol consumption was driven underground and alcohol-related violence increased (think "Al Capone").

3. People should simply have the right to do what they want to their own bodies (without harming others- for example, people should definitely not drive stoned). We already allow alcohol (which kills 80,000 people a year) and tobacco (390,000 people/year). Also legal are more bizarre practices that are really more psychological than anything, such as acupuncture. If we allow things that are more harmful or even just bizarre, why don't we allow this?

This began as an argument for medicinal marijuana, but it comes to this opinion- I think it would make more sense for marijuana to be made completely legal (with restrictions). I've said that before, and people have laughed about it, but I'm completely serious.

What would happen if marijuana was legalized? Would all hell break lose?

Does the word... Holland... strike fear into your heart?

The Netherlands (note: in case you didn't know, Holland is a region in the Netherlands) "tolerates" marijuana in small amounts, if one is over 18. It's possible to purchase it in some coffee shops. Does this place have a reputation as a weed-consumed society? On the contrary, it has lower marijuana usage than the U.S. does. This is because legalization of a drug takes away a lot of the illusory mystique. (Other countries that allow restricted use of marijuana include Canada and Spain.)

As I mentioned before, criminalizing drugs does not stop drug abuse. If that was all it took, we'd have wiped out drug use by now.

In conclusion, I think that drug use is a choice that belongs to the user- not the government, not anyone else. Marijuana illegalization only causes problems and wastes considerable effort on the part of the government because people don't stop using weed- instead, it is driven underground. It'd be nice if we could do away with harmful drugs altogether, but millions of dollars are spent per day in a losing drug war. Morons will still be morons, no matter what the law is.

For more on the issue of legalizing (medicinal) marijuana, check out the this information on ProCon.org. It provides information and opinions on both sides of the issue.

Ylerecnis,

N

Knowing Our Religions

Earlier this week, in history class, our assignment was to visit this website about the basic beliefs of Islam (check out Chapter 3: General Information on Islam). I think that it tells a lot about Islam (although it's obviously a bit biased toward how great Islam is), and I urge you to read it. Islam is part of our world. There are even Muslims at LHS (none I know personally).


Sadly, though, there are people who are ignorant about religion, even the religion they belong to. I've even heard a case of someone (a Christian) who didn't know that Jesus died. This kind of thing has got to stop.


For information on the beliefs of any religion, religious conflicts, and ethical debates, visit ReligiousTolerance.org.

To learn more about Catholicism and the Roman Catholic Church, here's the Wikipedia Article.

To learn more about Atheism, visit American Atheists.


If you'd like a laugh (with spiritual benefits), here are links to: The Church of Google, The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and the Virtual Temple of the Invisible Pink Unicorn. Keep in mind than none of these are true religions- they're examples of satire with a message.


Ylerecnis,
N

The Right Attitude!!! :)

Here are some phrases I've heard from my teachers...


"You have to put in the effort to be successful."
"You need to have the right attitude."
"You have to put in the effort."


These are not exact quotes, but this captures the essence of the message that some of my teachers are telling to a class full of my peers and I. It is a noble thing to try and motivate students, but to be honest, it seems like splashing water on a brick wall. It doesn't really do much.

In every class, there are obviously different kinds of students, with different degrees of inner motivation. Some want to do the work, others don't want to, or don't care as much. Lecturing hurts both groups, because the workers don't need to be motivated, and an urgent message of preparing for the future very rarely reaches the others- in the end, all it does is waste everyone's time.

I put myself in the group of motivated students. Whenever a teacher of mine talks about things that I find obvious, such as the fact that you have to do actual work (gasp!) to get anywhere, I only listen on the surface, waiting for it to be over. My classmates either look with glassy stares or don't look at the teacher at all. The message, however true and important, isn't reaching people. In fact, it kind of reminds me of the pointy-haired boss in Dilbert, who's always trying to get his employees excited about things like "being proactive" and "optimizing performance." It's a rare person who wants to get speeches like that.

So, how are students motivated? What is the essential difference between hard workers and slackers? My guess is that it comes from their upbringing, internal values, and sense of reality in the world. These are difficult things to change, especially for a well-intentioned teacher urging on a class of high school students.

I think that one way that teachers could help, though, is to treat their students on an equal level. The only thing that lecturing is doing is making students feel that teachers don't respect them (although obviously they do, otherwise they wouldn't care if we failed our classes). In my personal experience, teachers who have respected me as a person have earned a great deal more respect from me.

Not to sound cheesy, but that's the right attitude to have.


Ylerecnis,
N

Obedience and Electric Shock

"The experiment requires you to go on."


What if you were being told this? You're participating in an experiment on learning. The "student" is in one room, an electrode attached to his arm. You were chosen at random to be the "teacher." Your job is to sit in an adjoining room, read off words, and have the student repeat them back. Each time the student misses a word, you administer an electric shock.


The shocks start at 15 volts and goes all the way up to 450 volts. There are a total of 30 settings, each in 15-volt increments, and each switches are labeled, from "slight shock" to "severe shock." The last two switches are labeled "XXX." For each word the student gets wrong, you must increase the voltage given. As you increase the voltage, the student's reaction to the shock becomes more and more disturbing- they complain, then beg, then scream for the experiment to stop.


The experimenter is sitting in the room with you. Although you are nervous, they urge you to continue. "Please continue." "The experiment require you to go on."


What would you do?


This was a real experiment. In response to the Holocaust, a scientist named Stanley Milgram decided to perform an experiment on obedience to authority. The "students" were really actors- only the "teachers" were being experimented on. So, what were the results?


No subject stopped the experiment before shocking the student with 300 volts. A total of 65% of the teachers went all the way to the 450-volt switch labeled "XXX." At this point, the student went silent, feigning death.


Obedience to authority is shockingly strong. It's a frightening concept. It's not even like the subjects continued gleefully- they shook, sweated, and acted anxious. They knew something was wrong, and they felt fearful. But they kept on going, just because someone told them to. We have to trust our own impulses on this to guide our actions. This experiment is a warning to everyone.

For more information on this experiment, please follow these links:

Audio and graphs

Detailed Description of Experiment

Report by Milgram: The Perils of Obedience

Ylerecnis,

N

Does This Describe You?

Hey, you! Yes... you. This is your personality description. On a scale of 0 to 5, how accurate is it?


You have a need for other people to like and admire you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serous doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You pride yourself as an independent thinker, and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank revealing yourself to others. At times you are an extrovert, affable and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.


This personality test was devised by a man named Betram Forer in a famous experiment in psychology. Forer selected random phrases from an astrology book and pieced it together into the description you just read. He gave this description to all of his college students (he told them that it was based on results of a test score), asking them to determine how closely the description matched their personality, on a scale of 0 to 5 (5 being most accurate). The results amazed him- 87% of his students marked a 4 or 5!


Why is this? Well, you may have noticed that most of the statements in the personality description are very vague. I can confidently say that most people want others to like or admire them. Also, there's some flattery present. Who wouldn't pride themselves as an independent thinker? More importantly, who, if told they were an independent thinker, want to deny it?

So, next time you look at your horoscope, think very carefully about what you're reading. Just how many people would this apply to?


Ylerecnis,
N


(The information from this blog was found in Quirkology, by Richard Wiseman, P.h. D.)

THE ULTIMATE ANSWER

ATTENTION EVERYONE! GOOGLE HAS SPOKEN (and Google is god- see The Nine Proofs that Google is God)!

The meaning of life is now clear. Do a Google search for "answer to life the universe and everything" (exactly like that, or it doesn't work), and the answer will be revealed to you! As a philosopher, this was an answer I just couldn't ignore.

Ylerecnis,

N

Automatic Prejudice

I can safely say that most people (at least in the U.S.) feel that discrimination on the basis of race or sex is wrong. I agree. Morally, it is not right to refuse to hire a black person. It's wrong to shun Hispanic people. It's wrong to promote a man over a woman simply on the basis of gender.

I can say for certain, though, that all these things happen. In fact, the majority of people have prejudiced automatic thoughts, to their own surprise (and often, they don't even know it). These same people know that it's wrong to feel that way, but it's a common and natural occurrence. Human brains naturally make inferences and desisions, even if we're not aware of them and choose to act the opposite way.

Don't believe me? Can't say I blame you. It's a hard thing to swallow, especially without data to back this up. That's why I've got some data for you.

IATs (Implicit Association Tests), which measure the reaction time of the association with certain groups and positive or negative feelings. The subject who is taking the test gets a situation like this:

Science or Male Liberal Arts or Female

________ sister _______

________ English _______

________ Biology _______

________ uncle _______

The subject must then sort the words into each category as quickly as possible. After they've done this, different catergories are put together, like this:

Science or Female Liberal Arts or Male

________ sister _______
________ English _______
________ Biology _______
________ uncle _______

Most people find it easier to pair science with male and liberal arts with female. The IAT test measures the reaction time for each situation and compares the two, determining the assosiation you have with different groups. Unless you're new to the process and make a lot of errors, IATs prove accurate. Try as hard as you want- it's imposssible to change them through pure will.

Please go to the Demo site from this link: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ There, you can find IATs on: Race (black/white), age, religion, disability, weight, skin tone, sexuality, Asians, Arab-Muslims, Native Americans, assosiations between gender and science, assosiations between gender and career, and a couple of IATs on preference for certain political figures. Plus, after you take a test, you'll be presented with percentages of other people's results.

So, is it all futile? I think not. There is a way to change your IAT. I know, I just said that you couldn't. But read this excerpt from a book called Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell is quoting Mahzarin Banaji.

I had a student who used to take the IAT every day. It was the first thing he did, and his idea was just to let the data gather as he went. Then this one day, he got a positive assosiation with blacks. And he said, "That's odd. I've never gotten that before," because we've all tried to change our IAT score and couldn't. But he's a track-and-field guy, and what he realized is that he spent the morning watching the Olympics.

Yes, it can be changed! I think that's the best lesson we can learn from this. Our assosiations build upon our past experiences. If we can change the data that gets put into our brains, we can change our inner feelings about it. I think this holds a lot of promise for the future.

Ylerecnis,

N

The Meaning of This Blog

If you've stumbled upon my blog, you're probably wondering what it's about. Perhaps, because of the name, you think it's going to be about math. Let me tell you now- I have no plans whatsoever to write about math on a blog.  That would be extremely boring, and I don't need that many hecklers. Besides, what would there be to talk about? Numbers belong in the context of a story or an idea, not in a report by themselves.

The "N" in The Nth Power represents both a variable and an answer. Not in math, though, not on this blog. Think of it in the context of science and philosophy. It's just about deducing an answer. Sometimes n has a clear answer, such as in 14n = 588 (n = 42). That's pretty straight-forward, but there are others that aren't so much. Sometimes there's so little concrete information that you get something more like this: (a + b + d^2) / (cfg - h!) + q = n^23 + 6i(jx * 10^-78)

This is more in the field of philosophy (unless it's just a very difficult science problem). Although some aspects of philosophy can be probed by science (such as why we have morals), other aspects are so fuzzy that few people have a concrete answer, and these same people may have very different answers (such as what good morals are, and why they're good).

So, that's what I'll be blogging on- science and philosophy, especially in the context of society. Sometimes I'll report, other times I'll probably border on ranting. What good is a blog if you can't rant?

Ylerecnis,

N