Intelligence

To be intelligent is the ability to search for the extremities of infinity, to plot the moment of eternity, and to quantify all which does not exist in the midst of confrontation with the mirror of time. It is the ability to do so with the usage of the mere persistent illusion of the authenticity of mind.

The Observable Differences Between Science and Theology and Their Effects On Reality and Existence

With the end of the summer approaching quickly, I thought that an intellectual blog post would be very appropriate. In this blog post, I focus on the beliefs and myths that ordinary people hold and how these superstitions affect their actions and the outcomes of their stories. With this, I venture into more metaphysical and philosophical territory. Overall, I look to define the nearly-invisible border between reality (being real) and existence.


Throughout my quest for intellectual acquisition, I continue to uncover the mysteries that lie within the psychology of humanity. I have found various trends among humans, such as the ongoing battle between proponents of intelligence and those of intuition. With these noticeable trends come exceptions and dissimilarities, such as the fact that we all may be different in one context, yet identical in another. There are many questions to be asked with these findings. For instance, why do imprudent superstitions and unproven beliefs affect the actions of people and the path of history so profusely? I find it that people are very misled when it comes to fulfilling these arbitrary senses of satisfaction, the likes of which are based on their held fallacies. Overall, people confuse their consciences with an upper authority, one that is inadvertently created by society. By doing this, individuals sacrifice their intelligence and their senses of rationality. Fundamentally, these people are unable to separate reality from their beliefs. Subsequently, this lack of separation causes people and societal structures to follow an immense, unified, social perception. This imperial perception dictates many social, cultural, linguistic, theological, moral, and intellectual structures throughout any given society. This unified social "guidebook" is also the victim of every member (or idea) who is bold enough or gifted enough to have a serious impact on its dictation.


Allow me to go back to my statement regarding fulfillment through idiotic means. The reason for both purposeful and unintentional irrationality is for the fulfillment of a universal sentiment: satisfaction. There are no limitations or well-defined definitions of satisfaction, much like there is no universal definition or perception of beauty. Satisfaction can be gained through a plethora of resources. For example, some people fulfill their sense of happiness through knowledge. Others may find it in their system of theological or philosophical beliefs. The depth of the perception of a person's methods of fulfillment is dependent upon the angle by which (and by whom) these methods are viewed. For example, somebody who values intellectual and systematic ways over those of theology may perceive those methods to be arbitrary and unusual (much like I do). The difference between theology and a more systematic and technical subject (i.e. science) is that theology is an aggregate of values and upper authorities which are believed to be rightful and existent; science, on the other hand, is made up of statistically and experimentally proven data about an overabundance of subjects. Now, I could not say this truthfully without including the fact that science is also filled with fallacies and with unproven theories. The bottom line is that, in science, truth and conclusions are observed while in theology, truth and conclusions are hypothesized.


Universally, things are only real if they are observed and everything that is postulated exists. The locations of the objects or concepts that are real are observable: our surroundings. For example, I know that this computer is real and I know that this keyboard is real. The reason as to why I know that I am real is because of what you are reading right now: my thoughts, dictated by me only. Oppositely, the locations of philosophical truths are situated, not in the real world, but in metaphysical worlds. These worlds that are imperceptible by touch, sight, taste, and smell are not limited to thought. Instead, these worlds are influenced, grown, and restricted only by human ideas.

On the Sensual and Abstract Compositions of Reality

As I approach the completion of my Gifted and Talented II Final, I have been given the chance to discover a plethora of philosophical and abstract topics regarding the fundamental concepts of reality. Overall, my job was to expand on each of these topics, and to connect each topic to me (as an individual), to society, and to our Blue Planet.

Conventionally, reality is divided into seven different, perceptible constituents: sight, taste, smell, touch, hearing, thought, and sense (the ability to connect on social and emotional levels with other people). Each of these senses can be easily applied and are the most conventional forms of the definition for "reality."

In an abstract manner, I decided to divide reality into the parts which I deemed as elements of an intelligent reality. Conceptually, reality is made up and can consist of psychology, philosophy, logic, theology, artistic expression (art), and mind (the mind of the individual and the mind of society). These components contribute to the larger picture of a societal reality and to the individualistic paintings of smaller, perceived actualities.  

And So, We Approach the End...

With the last week of school directly ahead of us, I would like to say that this will probably be the second to last school-related blog post (but the best one, nonetheless).

Fundamentally, this blog post is a tribute to the Gifted and Talented II teachers: Mrs. Mystrena and Mr. Taylor.

About a week ago, I (along with a large number of other Gifted and Talented students) attended a "Scholars' Night" dinner, which ultimately honored the intellectual achievers throughout our school. As I observed each student's scholarly attributes, I was amazed, not by the amount of intellectually and logically gifted students, but by the quality of their work ethic and their determination for academic excellence. After the night was over, it occurred to me that only the students had been honored. That night, I asked myself, "Why is it that the teachers do not receive a night of attribution?"

Overall, there are many things to be said about Mrs. Mystrena and Mr. Taylor:

Mrs. Mystrena's ability to combine open-mindedness, practicality, and knowledge allowed for the success of the Gifted and Talented II class. Not only did she let us to mold the course into our own intellectual piece of art, but she challenged us to do so with her ever dependable perspective on the greatness of change. Essentially, Mrs. Mystrena's visions are those of achievement, creativity, and intelligence.

Mr. Taylor's exceptional capabilities in the eloquent and vibrant realities of the musical arts filled our class with culture and cleverness. He allowed us to veer away from the insipidity of average society, and, in doing so, he moved us toward the bright, though tender brilliance of cultural 'proclivity.'  Mr. Taylor's ever growing optimism and humor always reflected the mood of this truly gifted class.

I hope that I am able to speak for everyone in saying that the Gifted and Talented class is extremely privileged to have had Mrs. Mystrena and Mr. Taylor as teachers this past year. I thank you both.

Fortunately, we still have a few days left until the sad end of our G&T careers comes.    

The Final Project

As we approach the end of the school year, there remain many things, to which we must attend. 

Ultimately, we have our fun-ruining final exams during the last week of school. The Gifted and Talented II  final is going to be project-based. We have been assigned to choose any word throughout the English lexicon, and then to parse that word through abstract, methodical  thought. The word that I have chosen is a word that relates unquestionably with the natural and intellectual worlds surrounding us: that word is "reality."

Throughout the completion of this project, I have decided to parse my word into eight different constituents:

·         Psychology

·         Logic

·         Theology

·         Art

·         Philosophy

·         Illusion

·         Idealism

·         Mind

I hope to use these elements, in order to compose a reasonable, abstract picture of reality. I will then use this picture to describe reality's apparent relevance to me, to society, and to the physical Earth surrounding me.

"Suomea: Tuhansien Järvien ja Mahdollisuuksien Maa"

"Finland: The Land of a Thousand Lakes and Opportunities"

Throughout our end-of-the-year studies, I have noticed that the Scandinavian "outlier," Finland, has been gaining a large deal of momentum in the Gifted and Talented II class.

Toward the beginning of last week, we began reading the second half of a book called, Outliers. Outliers is a piece of literature written about the success stories of exceptional people and extraordinary societies (or "outliers"). We started our journey with a chapter about the cultural legacy of the people living in the South-Eastern parts of Asia. Overall, a cultural legacy is the "lifestyle," for which a society (or a culture) is known. We learned that the cultural legacies of the Asians include an incomparable work ethic, and therefore, an enhanced sense of logical thought. This unsurpassed work ethic has been shown through the Asians' abilities to grow and harvest rice, which is considered to be a strenuous and laborious task. Because of the Asians' strong perseverance and passion for labor, they have, not only the ability, but the work ethic to complete any intellectual task which may stand in their path. Overall, Malcolm Gladwell (the author of the book) describes the Asians as a strong, collective, and intelligent society.

By the time I completed reading that portion of the book, I was a bit upset by the amount of information that Gladwell decided to leave out. For example, Gladwell stated that mostly all Eastern-Asian countries (such as South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, etc.) defeated all industrialized, Western-world nations (such as the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, etc.) in intellectual subjects. This is partially true. I knew for a fact that Finland crushed the rest of the world when it came to Science and Mathematics. This piece of information was enough for me to begin researching the comparative, statistical 'analyses' between Finland, Eastern-Asian countries, and the rest of the world.

I found what I had speculated (and a bit more).

The OECD is the Organization for  Economic Cooperation and Development. It consists of countires that look at imporivng global economic standards. Every four years, the OECD hosts an international PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) exam, which tests 15 year-olds in their constituent countries on three subjects: Mathematics, Science, and Reading. According to the 2009 OECD-sponsored PISA Exam, Finland ranked number one in both Reading and Science, and number two in Mathematics (right behind South Korea). Although Finland fell slightly behind in Mathematics, the amount of differences in learning experiences between both Western-European countries and Asian countries is incredible.

Let's look at Finland. On a political, social, and economic basis, Finland owns more freedoms than any Asian country does (i.e. communism in China, casteism in India, misogyny in Islam countries, etc.). Therefore, the Finnish people are brought up to be independent and free. This enhanced sense of freedom allows Finnish students to be creative. Fundamentally, not only are Finnish students taught inventiveness at home, but they are taught it in school. In Finland, teachers are treated as professionals. At the average Finnish school, all teachers must have masters degrees in order to teach. Generally, teachers receive their own private offices. Finnish students benefit from this exposure to truly knowledgable teachers and the relaxed work environment (i.e. calling your teacher by his first name, no shoes, creativity, etc.). They also profit from the free health care, free lunches, free transportation (to and from school), free materials, and free "field trips." The truly amazing fact is that children in Finland start school when they are seven years old, and their average time spent in school is a bit more than half of the time that an American child spends learning (F: 660 hours per year for 9 years :: US: 1100 hours per year for 13 years).

And Finland still ranks at the top.

"Suomea on tuhansien järvien, mahdollisuuksien ja koulutuksen maa."

My Impact on Earth's Ecological Scale

Throughout the past three weeks, the Gifted and Talented II class and I have been calculating our impact on Earth's environmental stability. Personally, the information that I collected was not beneficial to the health of our planet. On the other hand, it did not amaze me, for I knew that humans are generally destructive in their ties with nature (through my observations). Overall, I perceive the world to be filled with those who are apathetic, those who live for Earth, those who live for themselves, and those who live as well as they can for both themselves and for the Earth.

Within the first week of data extraction, I derived a list of 100 of my most valuable items. The list acted as a direct representation of the type of consumerist-mindset that I house. It asked the large question, "Marcus, can you live with 100 items?" Overall, it showed me where my priorities were hidden. My "100 Items List" consisted mainly of books, all of which were non-fiction (i.e. Quantum Mechanics books, German books, Calculus books, etc.). A small section of the list was dedicated to a tiny amount of clothing and hygiene-products. I topped my list off with an iPad and a computer. To you, the reader, it may seem that my task was easy. Oppositely, the creation of such a list requires an in-depth sense of organization regarding ideals and an understanding of hypothetical lifestyle structure. The capability to couple these abilities will present you with a list, a list that I found to be satisfactory, but sadly "empty."

Our next job was to calculate the amount of items that we own. I must admit that this task had the potential to be the most pain-staking assignment that I have ever performed. Nevertheless, with the exclusion of individual LEGOs and of electronic components, I calculated that I had a bit more than 1408 items in my belonging. I was satisfied in knowing what I owned the most: books. After learning this, I was apathetic as to the numbers of my other belongings. Fundamentally, I was satisfied with the knowledge that I owned more books than anything in my house. I perceived the list to be yet another test of priorities and not of numbers. Think on this: Hypothetically speaking, would you rather own 100,000 varieties of energetic, colorful plants or 100,000 varieties of dangerous, synthetic chemicals? Although both items are extremely high in numbers, one set of items supports the ecological equilibrium of Earth, while the other set destroys the roots of all existent life. In this case, numbers have nothing to do with environmental friendliness.


Nevertheless, with our lists, we had to pick one consumer item and we had to trace and describe the path of production for that specific valuable. My group and I chose to describe the life of a compact disc (or a CD). In doing so, we were able to observe how much transportation, extraction (of materials), and production it took in order to create a small compact disc. Basically, a CD consists of four basic, but dangerously-manufactured materials: polycarbonate, lacquer, ink, and aluminum (rarely gold). Next, my group and I researched the synthesis, refining, and manufacturing processes for each material required for the production of one CD. The fact that a "simple" CD is made from such poisonous and toxic materials is appalling. Lacquer and polycarbonate were the two largest contributors to the "Environmental Enemies" list. The extraction and refining processes of aluminum metal are equally dreadful. Overall, I learned that the production of what appears to be "simple goods" is a gross underestimation.

After all of our projects were completed and presented, we took a small, though informational "Ecological Footprint" survey. At the beginning of the survey, it requires that you state the country that you live in, your annual salary, the size of your house, and the size of your family. The next sequence of questions asks you about your lifestyle (i.e. your diet, your usage of salary, utilities-specifics, etc.). By the end of the quiz, you are presented with a number. This number represents the hypothetical amount of Earths that would be necessary in order to support a society that is filled with people who live just like you do. The survey says, "If everyone on Earth were to live like you, we would need X Earths in order to sustain humanity." Now, you may ask, "What was my number?" 5.01 Earths. When I saw this, I was not surprised. With consideration to the fact that I am living in a first world, mechanistic, industrialized superpower, I estimated that my average "number" would be approximately 4 or 5 Earths; I was subsequently correct.


If you wish to take the Ecological Footprint Survey, click here! 

Linguistics

For me, language and cognitive sciences are passions that exceed all other subjects known to human existence. My love for language derives from an indescribable and unknown source. It may be that I find interest in the sociological themes, which lay seemingly hidden throughout linguistics as a whole. On a related note, it is possible that my fascination revolves around the fact that humans can be extremely-diverse, in the sense that diversity is an effect of language and its uses and themes. Another prediction, which supports my enthusiasm, could be the evolution of language. Now, when I say, "the evolution of language," I am not talking specifically about the transition from one word to the other; rather, I commend an interest in the evolution of pragmatic and cultural meaning, grammar, writing systems, and logical processes. Overall, I am astounded by the natural and artistic flow, with which language defines itself. I am also impressed by the complexity of such a naturally-occurring subject.



My interests in linguistics cause me to settle into a more specific realm of this astounding subject. Overall, I believe that the transition of Indo-European languages is an evolutionary pattern which is worthy of studying. I find that the comparison of all European languages allows me to perceive each language more clearly, and most importantly, to understand my own language at its greatest potential.



Children are prone to believe that the acquisition of linguistic knowledge is a factor solely-dependent upon the lexicon of the other language. With a moderately-matured sense of direction in the field of language, one would know that language is dependent upon the application of these words; in other terms, grammar. For example, one could easily obtain the Dutch words, "kat," "hebben," "ik," and "een." The true art of a partially-matured sense of linguistics is the ability to mold these words into the sentence, "Ik heb een kat." People, who are linguistically-talented, are those who can take this simple phrase and mold it into something much more poetic and artistic. For instance, instead of saying that "Ik heb een kat," I could add that "Mijn kat is groot en pluizig." Yes, I will agree that this concept seems too simple for an intelligent reality; the real "catch" lies within the fact that not many people parse their language on a daily basis, and nor do they know comparative linguistics through this fashion.



On a personal level, I love the sounds of different languages when they are spoken near me. To hear somebody speak quickly in a tongue, which I would love to study, is a phenomenal event. For example, when I traveled to Denmark in my ninth-grade year, I heard a myriad of Danish speakers conversing in one of the most vibrant Nordic languages in the world. I have always wished that I could have understood them. I would have loved to have known what they thought, and overall, how their language affected their associations with foreigners.



I could continue for weeks about my personal interest, yet I will stop here. Overall, language is a complex art, one that is tedious, yet intellectually worthy of grasping.

My Perspective on Society

The excerpt that you are about to read was the product of a joke between my friend and me. A few months ago my friend told me that I should jokingly write a book which pertains to the hatred or idiocy contained within society and humanity as a whole. I decided to take up this challenge (in jest, of course). As I began to write the paper, I could not help but to make the essay revolve around the personal, though intellectual observation, which claims that people are, for the lack of a more pleasant term, stupid. My intellectual opinions and observations were soon molded into an analysis of these constituents, and finally, a philosophy was produced. Here is the small opening excerpt to this "misinterpreted joke:" 


Human Inanity:

     Every day I am forced to succumb to the egregious idiocy and rancid stupidity of our conventional Western-world society. Every day I am forced to watch the intellectual values of “real people” burn in large, corroding flames. As I watch these values of priceless worth decompose before me, I find it unbelievable that humans can house such inanity. The fact that I find most disturbing is the methods by which humans rebuild these lost foundations. I could support the idea that the common man rebuilds his societal structure with rotten materials. This deficiency in the reconstruction of needed support causes the cultural and social values of his society to flip. What are the causes of this foolishness?

The application of premature ideas and the abuse of human intelligence.

I find it possible, though thoughtless, that some people believe in the unusual interpretation that non-conformity always promises creativity, and with that, intelligence. That is far from true; the act of being socially, culturally or even politically “isolated” only promises enlightenment under intricately treated conditions. What most non-conformists do not realize is that they were molded, not by their abilities or their intelligence, but by the large hand of society. I find it too tedious for most people to actually explore "truth" for themselves. Of course, this voyage into an intellectually transcendent world calls for the acquisition of not only the desired material, but the ability to apply purely inherited intelligence.

I could offer the same argument for those who are compliant with civilization in their daily actions. Those who are prone to believe that the large body, which we call society, is the true brain of humanity are correct in doing so. One question which these conformists fail to ask themselves is if society has the correct mind to support itself, not only economically, socially and politically, but intellectually and culturally. Do conformists truly see society’s actions through all aspects of human existence and intelligence? Of course not; as I stated before, conformists follow the most popular belief, no matter what their consciences tell them. These types of followers take this newly accepted belief and mold it into an ambiguous form of satisfaction. How would one define this newly gained sense of arbitrary fulfillment? Through the rapid and thoughtless transition of immature ideas, society’s followers are able to gain the false hope that they can grasp truly abstract ideas, and therefore, become a part of those ideas. Fundamentally, conformists see truth in what their civilization holds to be true, not what the individual holds to be true. I find that specific prospect of conformity to be atrocious in many perspectives. Not only is society a mutual agreement to retain peace, but it is run by the one binding idea which is interpreted to be societally “correct.” Where do these ideas of reciprocated conformation begin? Are these ideas meant to unify society in a secretive way? Or are they meant to sabotage the golden platforms of pure human intelligence?     

With this argument, I bring you not only a larger look at the senselessness of humanity, but the even smaller attributes which make those chaotic realities possible.

Chapter 1: Hypocrisy:

            There exists an extravagant number of situations, in which humans find themselves stuck in the rapidity of their own argument. The vigorous delivery of immature ideas causes debaters to stumble on their own ideas to the point of perplexity and misinterpretation.

An intellectual person is able to take his idea and explain it as clearly as acceptably possible, avoiding as many counter arguments as he can. Overall, the true man has explored his ideology from all existent aspects of human thought. A truly innovative person can support his theory, not only with from the viewpoints of several, if not all, features of human contemplation, but he may also have the capability to support his theory from a view that may transcend accepted human thinking; I would define this as an “extreme” abstract thought of the individual. For example, in our minds, we separate the factors of thought which are shared with society from the factors which are contemplated through the random and conceptual thought of ourselves. Where does true talent emerge from this theory? The intelligent man is able to take his new and intricate concept and connect it to an accepted or shared reality. Fundamentally, it is a reality outside of his mind. Overall, not only can an intelligent man express and understand his own ideas, but he now has the ability to expose society to his ideas in a way that makes sense to the conventional social order. In many aspects, one could support the idea that society is a way through which people connect with each other and share their newly conceived concepts. A problem is generated when similar individuals begin to boast and pride themselves off of one man’s idea. In doing so, these societal cheaters do not realize that they are performing a pointless task. Overall, the fact that these conformists could allow such foolishness would tell the intellectual man that these acts are being robbed of their intellectual values.      

     Oppositely, there exist people who are mentally unprepared to boast at the fact that they may have the intellectual capacity to understand their own, if not, society’s "abstract" ideas. Yes, it is easy for people to choose an opinion and ‘stick with it’. The problem is that most humans make their decisions blindly, without the consent of logic, common sense and intellectual investigation. In their state of sightlessness, however, they are tricked into pursuing the difficult task of supporting a mindset which would be considered too heavy for them to carry...


I presented this to my friend the day after he "dared" me to write such a paper. He told me that my paper was generally controversial. On many levels, I disagreed, but there existed aspects, through which I did perceive it to be a bit "contentious."


Overall, what do you, as "intellectual readers," think?      

Eko+komplex

Just yesterday, my class and I watched a few videos on "tiny houses." To those of you, who may ask what a "tiny house" is, I will simply say that they are 'shelters' for people, who are brave enough to put energy and financial savings in front of their largest priorities. "Tiny houses" are super-compact houses, which usually consist of a small ground-level floor and a comfortably sized loft. At first, the idea sounded tortuous and a bit extreme.


As I was sitting in my room today, pondering this phenomenon, the idea of "tiny houses" entered the technical housing in my brain. I hurried to my computer, loaded Google SketchUp, and began creating, what I call, an "eko+komplex."

An eko+komplex is a small complex of four tiny houses. Each house occupies an area of about 100 square feet and is about 12 feet tall. Each house receives a majority of its electric power from four solar panel installments. All of the solar panels are connected to the house that they run, and to a generator, which harvests unused electricity, and distributes the energy back into any house in "immediate need" of it.    

The transparent roof which you see hovering over all four houses will be put to use as a greenhouse. Overall, it will trap heat, allowing for the creation of a small garden area. It could also function as a heat source on cooler days.

Although it appears as though all four houses are connected, they are virtually inaccessible to each other (something that should be noted).

Some flaws still exist within the design. For example, eko+komplexes serve as housing for individuals (or couples). Along with this, I must configure how to incorporate other utilities in an "environmentally-friendly" way.

In general, I believe that these tiny complexes could, eventually, benefit individuals, society, and the Earth.   

~Marcus S. :: 5,5,11 

My Impression of the "Mother Earth" Unit

Overall, I value most of the concepts about which our G&T class has learned.


For example, during our "Mother Nature" unit there exist certain traits which I have found to be very beneficial and useful. The most necessary of these subjects are the ideas surrounding simple living, the concepts regarding consumer-moderation, and the overall reuse of unused or idle personal items.


Through the application of these concepts, I discovered that my mind had experienced a slight transition in its "procedural standards." For instance, I noticed that I had begun to place a higher value on the ideas of recycling and reusing. With the exception of books, food, and an iPad, I noticed that I began to destroy the need for other wanted items (LEGOs, video games, furniture, clothes, CDs, etc.).


I will be frank in saying that the obliteration of the need for material items was partially due to the stresses on the international economy. Subsequently, I paired this mindset with the subject material learned in Gifted and Talented II. The product created: a mind that was freed of the want for worldly items.


Through these teachings, I learned that the connection, through which the environmental world and the economic world are bound, is directly influenced by human choice. The surprising nature of this fact is the concept that the environment and the economy are directly connected. Sincerely, this idea was something that I had never explored on an intellectual or personal level.


As a "team member" in our class' efforts on improvement, I would say that I acted merely as a data researcher, analyst, and memo-writer.


As life continues, I believe that most of these teachings will become second hand to me. I will continue my daily operations of recycling, my monthly operations of organizing, and my current task of consumer moderation.

Continuation of the Collaborative Consumption Project

I offer my small amount of readers with an update on our new project:


We have recently sent out informative letters to the principles and directors of our school on the improvement of Northern Burlington's environmental and economic standards.


A section of the class has also planned to meet with the school's Board of Education in order to gain support for our plans.


On a personal level, a small group of researchers and I have completed the collection of data from the teachers, which tells us the items that each teacher wishes to trade and, the items that are need by each teacher.


As we continue to wait for responses, our next goal is to gain support throughout the school (generally students and administrators). First we hope to establish each faction's priorities, and then build our work off of their most important task (accordingly):


Administrator: economic stability
Teacher: ?
Student: ?
Other: ?

Our New Project...

"Greetings!" to those of you, who are intellectual enough to read the series of the Gifted and Talented II class blogs.


With that amazing and intriguing greeting, I would like to tell you, the reader, about the next Gifted and Talented II "project." If you refer to the blog post that was posted on March 22, I mentioned a company called, "SnapGoods," and I also talked about an innovative and intellectual economic strategy called, "Collaborative Consumption."


The Gifted and Talented II class is in the process of completing the challenging mission of re-organizing and re-inventing the Northern Burlington County School District's recycling and waste disposal program (because we all know that a school like ours needs it just as bad as a baby might need its pacifier... except this baby isn't crying for it; the fact of the matter is that this baby is a bit careless and doesn't really want the pacifier, but it would be fine with it... just until it spits it out again).


Back to the project: the Gifted and Talented Class has been divided into two separate units: 


The Green Team
&
The Collaborative Consumption Team


The Collaborative Consumption team has created a website, which, as of the current time, is under construction. Click here to view its greatness!


Overall, the Collaborative Consumption Team looks to improve the school's economic position through environmentally-friendly methods. For example, throughout the past four or five days, a small group of Collaborative Consumption team members and I have been surveying several teachers throughout the school in order to derive a list of unwanted and unused items. In place of those unused and unwanted items will stand new and more useful items. How do we hope to acquire such "a deal?"


...Swap.com. Through swap.com, we hope to find other schools willing to trade older, though useful items for items that our school will never use. Therefore, our school does not have to spend money (even though it should) and we get new stuff!


How great is that?!


Anyway, I will continue to update my microscopic amount of readers with more information as we continue through our long journey.

What Is History?

I always wonder to myself, "What is History?"


Is it a map covered in black spots, arrows, stains, and blotches that (when in the hands of intellectuals) will lead to a successful future? Or is it a historically defined representation of a mathematical concept?


Could the phrase, "History repeats itself," ever be redefined?


Or will humanity remain trapped in an infinite loop of unneccessary do-overs, negative outcomes, and trite events?


What do you think?

Emerging Ideologies on the Fluent Practice of 'Collaborative Consumption'

During the beginning of this week, I viewed a 15 minute 'TED' lecture starring intellectual strategist, Rachel Botsman, in which she expressed her ideal views about the positive outcomes as a result of an emerging idea known as "Collaborative Consumption." Collaborative Consumption can be seen as an optimistic, constructive, and healthy motive in many fields including economics, social networking, private enterprise building, and environmental investigation. What is this creative and revolutionary idea, one may ask? Collaborative Consumption is a system, in which individual consumers share with other consumers. Collaborative Consumption puts a large stress on global (social) connection, and through these fortified connections a large system of redistribution of goods is followed. Not only is this idea a positive reinforcement for the belief in a unified global connections system, but it offers the idea that these connections can be made through the redeployment of wanted or needed goods. Overall, Collaborative Consumption is a system that can be viewed as an environmental, social, and economic savior.


After learning of this creative and intellectual organization, I was asked to research a random company that utilizes the environmentally rich and socially valuable material stitched into such a fabulous scheme. SnapGoods (www.snapgoods.com) is a website, in which individual consumers can borrow other consumers' belongings and share their own valuables. As it was founded a bit over a year ago, SnapGoods allows for the safe and easy transfer of borrowed goods from one person to another. Ron Williams and John Goodwin (both marketing entrepreneurs) founded SnapGoods in Brooklyn, New York City with the motto, "Own Less. Do More." The website has about 315 page views per day and is entitled to a net value of $3,444. SnapGoods emphasizes the principles of Collaborative Consumption through its practices and through the company's priorities that it wishes to achieve.


You can also find a large spectrum of data on the Collaborative Consumption website.        

Commemorating the Holocaust

Just yesterday the Gifted and Talented II class travelled down to the nation's capital in order to venture through the building dedicated to the commemoration of one of the world's largest and most gruesome genocides: the Holocaust. Fundamentally, the Holocaust was the mass slaughtering of Nazi Germany's social and political enemies between the years of 1933 and 1945. Through four stories of architecture, the nasty tales of the German slaughtering of its own people are told. As we made our way to Washington DC, I imagined that the museum would be much like an experience (application) through the Holocaust, as opposed to an informational 'walk-through' (knowledge). As you begin your journey, you are given a small card with the name of one person, who ventured individually through the hardships of the Holocaust. After this, you and a myriad of others are quickly crammed into a rustic style elevator and pulled up to the fourth floor. From here, you are able to learn about the atrocities, which Nazi  Germany forced on its own people and, on the citizens of neighboring nations. By the time you finish your journey on the first floor, not only do you have an urbane knowledge of what happened in Germany during the Second World War, but you are able to mold a part of your mind that expresses emotion towards what happened a a whole. Personally, to see Europe in such a barbaric state was truly sad. Before this experience, I never actually pondered the fact that Europe could be so deprived of its sophistication and intellect. In general, Nazi Germany followed a less beneficial path in its quest to solve its internal problems. The Holocaust Museum was an example as to the prospect of how low the human race can really sink.


Visit the USHMM Website!

I'm Back!

Over the past month, I was busy researching and creating my definition for humanity. Instead of combining the realms of science and religion, I decided to research and present the patterns and attributes that make us human. With this information, I was able to derive my own definition for both human and humanity:


A human is a social animal, who is reliant off of its intelligence, which it has acquired through its environment and its genetics. Its intelligence and its environment guide its perspective on its culture and its individuality.


Humanity is a collection of perspectives on reality and other social and intelligent beings (humans). No matter how different or alike our views on humanity or reality may be, they still contribute to the overall picture of what humans stand for. Humans are able to create, discover, invent, think, explore, destroy, achieve, entertain, and live. In our environment, we are the outliers (in both good and bad contexts); that is what makes us so exceptional.


The definitions that I derived were not valued in the least by the "general people." Overall, these definitions, these combining forces that bound my research to one strong point, were overlooked. By the end of the project, I was disappointed, not by the work of my other peers, but by the prospect that my work was considered to be substandard. Initially, I looked forward to this challenging project; I now see the disdain in tackling such an immense scheme.

To Begin My Studies...

If you refer back to the first few posts on my blog, you will recall the main reason as to why I created this website: for the study of Humanity. To officially begin my quest through the broad realm of humanity, I must define two very important terms, which will help me throughout my search for reason. Those two words are: Science and Religion.


In accordance with the 1971 Oxford University Press Compact Edition of the English Dictionary, the term, "science" is defined as:


"Science: the state or fact of knowing; knowledge or cognizance of something specified or implied; also, with wider reference, knowledge, as a personal attribute."


In accordance with the 1971 Oxford University Press Compact Edition of the English Dictionary (the same dictionary from above) the term, "religion" is defined as:


"Religion: a state of life bound by monastic vows; the condition of one who is a member of a religious order; a particular system of faith (belief) and worship."


The reason as to why I decided to define these words was for the production of my thesis; I will attempt to combine (contrast) the beliefs held by those, who look toward religion, with those, who believe in the findings of science. Basically, I will try to build a bridge that connects the scientific world with the religious world. Using my analysis and my "data," I will attempt to paint a picture of how humans truly see themselves in the universe that they inhabit.


"So are we creatures contained inside of a vastly expansive universe?"


"or is this perceivably expansive universe trapped inside of us?"

Ubuntu

You all may be asking yourselves, "What is Ubuntu?"


Although 'ubuntu' is an operating system under Debian GNU and Linux distribution, that is not what this post is about.


Ubuntu is an African (spiritual) belief, stating that all humans share an invisible 'bond' to all other humans, animals and, the Earth.  


To me, this is similar to some type of human telepathy, through which humans use their minds (unconsciously, of course) to "reach out" to other humans, and even animals. Telepathy, although theoretical, is supposedly brought on through emotions. In other words, it is the ability to understand the people around you (empathy). 


I am reminded of a video by Jeremy Rifkin called The Empathic Civilization. The video discusses how humans reach out to other humans through an invisible bond (much like Ubuntu; much like telepathy). Basically, Rifkin describes the 'ubuntu' philosophy in Western World terms. He describes how humans use this "invisible bond" to reach out to other humans, animals, and the biosphere (Earth).


In conducting research for my upcoming 'thesis,' I will attempt to use the Western World definition of ubuntu (as defined by Jeremy Rifkin) to apply it to what my definition of "being human" will be. Initially, I will use theories on ubuntu, empathy, and telepathy to describe one aspect of my overall idea.

Egil Skallagrimsson

Happy Egil Skallagrimsson Day! (tomorrow will be the official day: December 9) 


Most of you probably saw this somewhat 'confusing' name and asked yourselves, "Who is that?"


Basically, Egil Skallagrimsson was the most infamous poet of the Viking Age. Born in Iceland in the early 900's, Egil was the son of the Norwegian chieftain, Skalla Grimr Kveldulfsson. Not only did he write his first poem at the age of three (therefore signaling his love for Viking remembrance), but he was also an intensely- violent berserker (Viking warriors, who went berserk before each and every battle; this gave the hero more rigor in his quest to kill the enemy).


Although Egil's history could be considered a bit gory, his poetry showed off his more pleasant side:


"By sun and moon
I journeyed west,
My sea-borne tune
From Odin's breast,
My song-ship packed
With poet's art:
Its word-keel cracked
The frozen heart.


And now I feed
With an English king:
So to English mead
I'll word-mead bring,
Your praise my task,
My song your fame,
If you but ask
I'll sound your name.

These praises, King,
Won't cost you dear
That I shall sing
If you will hear:
Who beat and blazed
Your trail of red,
Till Odin gazed
Upon the dead.

On his gold arm
The bright shield swings:
To his foes, harm:
To his friends, rings;
His fame's a feast
Of glorious war,
His name sounds east,
From shore to shore.

And now my lord,
You've listened long
As word on word
I built this song:
Your source is war,
Your streams are blood,
But my springs pour
Great Odin's flood.

To praise my lord
This tight mouth broke,
The word-floods poured,
The still tongue spoke,
From my poet's breast
These words took wing:
Now all the rest
May learn to sing."

If you would like to learn more about Egil Skallagrimsson and his poetry, click here.

As For Ebert's Response...

As to the contents of Roger Ebert's response to all of his followers: to me, it contained things that I have already heard (once again):


"...The reasons for your mistreatment were not in yourself, but in the minds of those cruel ones hoping to hurt you..."


"...The cruelty is clear cut. But the pleas for remorse must inspire pity and contempt..."


"...Sometimes it is good to bear witness to your life. Maybe this was one of those times..." 


Much like my previous post about Ebert, I was very disappointed by it. I do not say this out of contempt for him. The articles and blogs that I find interesting (and worthy) are those that offer a new perspective on the subjects of humanity ( those by Klein, Rifkin, Pasricha, etc.). Overall, I feel as though this subject that Ebert brings up is one that has already been understood, or breached by everyone; it is a bit commonplace... 

The Computer: A Portrait of Civilization

Recently, I read an article by a man named Ezra Klein. Klein wrote on the subject of Being Fully Human Online, through the eyes of two worlds: through the real world and through the virtual world.


This article, to me, adds a new perspective on the subject of humanity. It shows how humans use the virtual world as "their window to the real world." 

Nevertheless, the usage of such a "fake" world, in order to arrive in the world that we live in, is an ingenious idea. Think on this: the only thing that we humans see the internet as, is a bright screen, swarming with an infinite amount of strange icons, annoying advertisements, and useful (or even false) information pages. Essentially, the internet is just a picture; you cannot go inside of the picture, you cannot visit the place of the picture. You cannot even see the picture in three dimensions! That is because, as we all know, the world that humans have created is a virtual one. Think about this: humans are the creators of a separate world.

Now, as I recall, humans have their theories and beliefs as to how our world came to be: Did God create it? Or was it the One-Eyed Odin who casted his magic? Was it Mother Nature? Was it Allah? or did a catastrophic explosion create the stars and the planets? As humans still ponder this question, we may be sure of one thing: we are the creators of an infinitely expansive computerized world. Our computer-world is so large and so massive that anything possible can be added or subtracted to or from it. The fact that humans act as super-powers to the separate worlds that we created is absolutely enthralling! 

This brings me to my next point: did we create a new world? Or is this "new dimension" a collection of everything humans know? 


If the internet acts as a shelf for the collection of human knowledge, can this shelf be analyzed in order to find points that may connect all types of humans? 

Is the internet a world, in which we control the 'creatures' that we create?

Or is the internet a place, where humans are brought together by the one brush that paints this portrait of civilization? 

We Know...

I read a post written by Roger Ebert on his daily blog. It's called All the Lonely People.


On a personal level, I do believe that the post was valuable, though barely effective. Truthfully, I have seen many articles pertaining to this subject. To me, it is a very broad topic (loneliness, depression, love and so on). This article, nevertheless, is an 'attempt' to define something extremely large by using a small amount of even more expansive terms (this is analogous to defining the word "duck" with the word "duck" directly inscribed into the written definition itself). Although I do value this editorial to be questionably truthful, the views on the subject, along with the subject itself, are very old, outdated, and trite. In all seriousness, how many people have heard the saying, "You do not know what you have until it is gone?" How many people have heard that "humans do not make connections just for reproduction. Humans make connections to set up a private world. We make connections for companionship..."  


Et cetera... Et cetera... Et cetera...

Roger Ebert, Still Human

Roger Ebert is most certainly an exceptional character; not many people can go through so much physical and mental stress in their lives, and continue on with a smile. Roger Ebert is one of many humans, who adds positively onto the "Human Variations Spectrum," by showing that no human should stop what they are doing just because they are, in some way, impaired. Although there are many in the world, who may be mentally or physically challenged, that does not mean that those people are not human anymore; the human spirit is still there, no matter what form it may come in. Let us take Roger Ebert, for example: he was human before his series of unfortunate events (no relation with the book series), and even after his dilemma, he still proves to have the most jolly human spirit that one could possibly obtain.


Let us take another man, Stephen Hawking, for example. Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease when he first graduated from Cambridge University in England (at the beginning of his career). Although he was physically disabled (from head to toe), he was encouraged to continue his studies in physics. Although he is sadly physically impaired, his mind stretches to lengths immeasurable for a hefty majority of normal people. This man is just another extraordinary human, proving that all humans still have that spirit, which unifies us as one.


For those, who are not familiar with Roger Ebert, click here.


For those, who are not familiar with Stephen Hawking, click here.