Praise the maker; I'm DONE. Well, not completely done, there's still the little issue of the pre-calculus final exam to take, but I'm confident that I will do well. For one thing, I'll have the time, motivation and circumstances necessary to study effectively, and get enough sleep to retain the information before Friday. What's more, I have now completed the last pieces of work for the other three classes this semester, which means that now I can focus on ONE last thing before checking out of education for the year.
When I was working on my term paper last night, a friend of mine emailed me saying that Kim Jong-Il was dead. I didn't know what to make of that; of course it's a good thing, I mean, maybe North Korea stands a chance at peace with this happenstance. Then again, maybe not. If the Dear Leader's son is anything like his father, we haven't seen the last of cold-war-era standoffs this century. And that's AFTER the U.S.S.R. collapsed... dasvidaniya rodina.
I will say, I learned quite a bit this semester. I do believe I'll post more on these subjects later, but I slept three hours last night and my brain is giving me shit for it. My last thought for the day is; I believe it's possible for there to be a one-world government at some point in the future. Not an illuminati, oligarchic or dictator-style gov't, but more like a republic: think the U.N. with legislative, executive and judicial power granted by the U.S., the E.U., and other participating countries. It'd have a bicameral legislature, a supreme court, and a system of checks and balances to make sure that no one man, OR one branch of that gov't, would overstep its boundaries.
The implications of this? Well, In some way it would be a major step towards world peace. The end of world hunger. Hell, if this government lasted long enough, it could spell out the end of monetary systems, because there would be so much wealth, distributed so effectively throughout the world, that there would be no need for money. Yeah, I'm thinking as if it'd create a utopia. Guy can dream, can't he?
At any rate, I promise you all more coherent, well-sourced thoughts in the future. I just felt like getting these down before crashing, and hope to get some feedback on them from at least one of you. Then again, almost no one comments on this blog, so whatever. Selah.
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
The Subjective Universe
What's with the picture? My thoughts are getting more universal by the day, both micro and meta. I want to boil these down into the simplest concepts possible:
1. The universe is a fractal; it is both orderly and chaotic at the same time. Regardless of your religious beliefs, we are HERE, NOW, because we are both logical and illogical.
2. Learning, especially in college courses, only happens when you are interested in the topic, whether because you want to or because you have to.
3. Politics has the same yin and yang: balancing economics with empathy. Too much of either influence makes an awful government.
4. Regarding economics; I don't need a car. Hell, I don't even need a scooter; all I need is a bike. I already have one; I just need to start using it.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
On Community
Loneliness
Isolation
Mental Disorders
Developmental Disorders
Crime, both violent and domestic
Drug abuse and Alcoholism
Early Death
All of these are associated with people who are deprived of community. Why? Because mankind is inherently a social animal. Some of us are more social than others, but the fact remains that without social contact, one loses a fundamental aspect of their identity: how they relate to others.
In the past several decades we have observed a rapid deterioration in community ties, as families move away from each other, elder parents are sent to nursing homes, children are looked after by hired, apathetic caregivers, and increasing rates of urbanization discourage interaction with one's neighbors. These issues, I believe, have produced the majority of societal problems that we face today. These problems are both dire and pervasive.
But what to do about them? I recognize that it's not very feasible for people to adopt a communal lifestyle, but something like that would be a step in the right direction.
The alternative, to make no attempt at solving these issues, is unthinkable.
Isolation
Mental Disorders
Developmental Disorders
Crime, both violent and domestic
Drug abuse and Alcoholism
Early Death
All of these are associated with people who are deprived of community. Why? Because mankind is inherently a social animal. Some of us are more social than others, but the fact remains that without social contact, one loses a fundamental aspect of their identity: how they relate to others.
In the past several decades we have observed a rapid deterioration in community ties, as families move away from each other, elder parents are sent to nursing homes, children are looked after by hired, apathetic caregivers, and increasing rates of urbanization discourage interaction with one's neighbors. These issues, I believe, have produced the majority of societal problems that we face today. These problems are both dire and pervasive.
But what to do about them? I recognize that it's not very feasible for people to adopt a communal lifestyle, but something like that would be a step in the right direction.
The alternative, to make no attempt at solving these issues, is unthinkable.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Something bigger
There's gotta be something bigger than this. Than going to school, than having a career, than attending a church or helping with a charity organization. There's gotta be something bigger than vacations. There's gotta be more to look forward to than the same old SHIT!
Why are we doing this anyway? Why're we in school in the first place? Why does everyone tell us we have to go to college? The only thing that comes out of it is the 'opportunity' to get a job! Let me tell you, It's gonna take more motivation than that! I've only got one life to live, and I do NOT intend to spend it conventionally. I don't like shopping at supermarkets - I HATE going to the same church week after week, and I. HATE. WORK. the kind of work that doesn't accomplish anything - worksheets and tests and the like. None of that stays in your brain once you're out of school; just ask your parents what the fuck a derivative is!!
There has to be something bigger than sports. No matter how good we get, we won't break the world record. If we DO break the world record, someone else is going to eventually break ours!
There has to be something bigger than watching movies or reading books. There has to be something bigger than making them. Why can't people exercise their own imaginations once in awhile? Why put a monetary value on creativity? Why do we give each other nobel prizes, oscars, and pulitzer? THEY DON'T MEAN ANYTHING! The value of the book is contained in the words themselves - not in somebody's opinion of it!
There has to be something bigger than waiting for the future.
There has to be something bigger than living in the present.
There has to be something bigger than remembering the past.
And if there's not, I'm going to have to come up with that something for myself, because the world has become pretty damn predictable these days.
Why are we doing this anyway? Why're we in school in the first place? Why does everyone tell us we have to go to college? The only thing that comes out of it is the 'opportunity' to get a job! Let me tell you, It's gonna take more motivation than that! I've only got one life to live, and I do NOT intend to spend it conventionally. I don't like shopping at supermarkets - I HATE going to the same church week after week, and I. HATE. WORK. the kind of work that doesn't accomplish anything - worksheets and tests and the like. None of that stays in your brain once you're out of school; just ask your parents what the fuck a derivative is!!
There has to be something bigger than sports. No matter how good we get, we won't break the world record. If we DO break the world record, someone else is going to eventually break ours!
There has to be something bigger than watching movies or reading books. There has to be something bigger than making them. Why can't people exercise their own imaginations once in awhile? Why put a monetary value on creativity? Why do we give each other nobel prizes, oscars, and pulitzer? THEY DON'T MEAN ANYTHING! The value of the book is contained in the words themselves - not in somebody's opinion of it!
There has to be something bigger than waiting for the future.
There has to be something bigger than living in the present.
There has to be something bigger than remembering the past.
And if there's not, I'm going to have to come up with that something for myself, because the world has become pretty damn predictable these days.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Columbine Complex
I've been to a lot of schools before.
Montrose Christian School - Rockville MD (private)
Westland Middle School - Bethesda MD (public)
New Providence High School - New Providence NJ (public)
Columbia Preparatory School - New York NY (private)
Each one of them had bullies and victims of bullies. The private schools were usually more mellow than the public ones, but sometimes the opposite was the case. In each instance, there were a select few kids whom I knew personally that had a Columbine Complex. They were the social outcasts, the kids who got picked on whenever they raised their voice in class or in the lunchroom. They were angry at those who picked on them; so angry that stronger provocations would have sent them over the edge. One of the kids I knew well often talked about what It would be like to blow up the school. Neither he nor the other kids I knew were sociopaths; they just got messed with too often.
Some of the problems our education system have faced in the last century include school shootings, suicides, pervasive drug use, and clinically depressed children. Rather than solving the source of these problems, we treat the symptoms. We encourage our students to be on the lookout for the next school shooter. We offer them suicide prevention hotlines, host 'Freedom from Chemical Dependency' groups, and prescribe them antidepressant medication - none of it is effective in the long term. The source of all of these problems lies in the way our schools are structured; the classroom setting discourages interstudent communication, encourages competition for the sake of grades, and promotes hostility by putting large numbers of people in small spaces - cafeterias are a classic example. Recess has been all but eliminated, and lunchtime has become a rushed process. In my opinion, extensive security systems are the main reason there haven't been more cases of armed violence at school.
I believe that If these problems are to be dealt with, the system must be changed. Students should be encouraged to communicate and work together at every opportunity, with curriculums favoring group projects and presentations over individual homework assignments and testing. Given greater opportunities for open dialogue, physical and verbal aggression could be quelled before it even starts. Students would come to a consensus on Issues such as Socioeconomic differences, sexual Identities, and friendships and romances in a peaceful manner if they were allowed to talk about them more.
A cautionary example - the Larry King shooting. Had the children at this school been allowed to talk openly about the LGBT community, which almost never happens on a middle school level, they could've come to an understanding about their gay classmate. They wouldn't have felt threatened by him and would probably even be friends with him. This was not the case, and you can see the consequence. Here's the Wikipedia article of the event;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.O._Green_School_shooting
In sum - allow kids to talk amongst themselves more. Otherwise they become ticking time bombs, despite your best intentions. I call it the Columbine Complex for a reason; watch the movie 'Elephant' If you need further clarification.
Montrose Christian School - Rockville MD (private)
Westland Middle School - Bethesda MD (public)
New Providence High School - New Providence NJ (public)
Columbia Preparatory School - New York NY (private)
Each one of them had bullies and victims of bullies. The private schools were usually more mellow than the public ones, but sometimes the opposite was the case. In each instance, there were a select few kids whom I knew personally that had a Columbine Complex. They were the social outcasts, the kids who got picked on whenever they raised their voice in class or in the lunchroom. They were angry at those who picked on them; so angry that stronger provocations would have sent them over the edge. One of the kids I knew well often talked about what It would be like to blow up the school. Neither he nor the other kids I knew were sociopaths; they just got messed with too often.
Some of the problems our education system have faced in the last century include school shootings, suicides, pervasive drug use, and clinically depressed children. Rather than solving the source of these problems, we treat the symptoms. We encourage our students to be on the lookout for the next school shooter. We offer them suicide prevention hotlines, host 'Freedom from Chemical Dependency' groups, and prescribe them antidepressant medication - none of it is effective in the long term. The source of all of these problems lies in the way our schools are structured; the classroom setting discourages interstudent communication, encourages competition for the sake of grades, and promotes hostility by putting large numbers of people in small spaces - cafeterias are a classic example. Recess has been all but eliminated, and lunchtime has become a rushed process. In my opinion, extensive security systems are the main reason there haven't been more cases of armed violence at school.
I believe that If these problems are to be dealt with, the system must be changed. Students should be encouraged to communicate and work together at every opportunity, with curriculums favoring group projects and presentations over individual homework assignments and testing. Given greater opportunities for open dialogue, physical and verbal aggression could be quelled before it even starts. Students would come to a consensus on Issues such as Socioeconomic differences, sexual Identities, and friendships and romances in a peaceful manner if they were allowed to talk about them more.
A cautionary example - the Larry King shooting. Had the children at this school been allowed to talk openly about the LGBT community, which almost never happens on a middle school level, they could've come to an understanding about their gay classmate. They wouldn't have felt threatened by him and would probably even be friends with him. This was not the case, and you can see the consequence. Here's the Wikipedia article of the event;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.O._Green_School_shooting
In sum - allow kids to talk amongst themselves more. Otherwise they become ticking time bombs, despite your best intentions. I call it the Columbine Complex for a reason; watch the movie 'Elephant' If you need further clarification.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Question
Who is this person? Why is this person so important to me?
Why does she motivate me to get a six-pack, write the great American novel, run across the world and back, and read a hundred books before I see her next?
Why me?
How does she manage to make me feel like an Alpha Male... when i've got a million flaws I'm constantly trying to fix, smooth out, or downplay?
How much has changed in our lives since we first saw each other?
What can I do to make her happy?
Why does I look at time as - 'how long it's been since I last saw her' and 'when i'll see her next'?
When did I start enjoying pop music?
When did I start smiling again? Who's that who keeps making me laugh?
Who taught me to relax and take it easy once in awhile?
Who's the last person to make me go above and beyond my own expectations, and at the same time make me comfortable to be as I am?
Why does Bri make everything else in life seem just, right, good?
No need to answer. That's just the way things are.
Why does she motivate me to get a six-pack, write the great American novel, run across the world and back, and read a hundred books before I see her next?
Why me?
How does she manage to make me feel like an Alpha Male... when i've got a million flaws I'm constantly trying to fix, smooth out, or downplay?
How much has changed in our lives since we first saw each other?
What can I do to make her happy?
Why does I look at time as - 'how long it's been since I last saw her' and 'when i'll see her next'?
When did I start enjoying pop music?
When did I start smiling again? Who's that who keeps making me laugh?
Who taught me to relax and take it easy once in awhile?
Who's the last person to make me go above and beyond my own expectations, and at the same time make me comfortable to be as I am?
Why does Bri make everything else in life seem just, right, good?
No need to answer. That's just the way things are.
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