Month: July 2020

The short read, The Landlady, is about a teenager named Bill. He traveled from London to Bath on a train, and by the time he arrived, it was about nine o’clock at night, and it was pretty dark out. He wanted to go to a hotel to sleep for the night that wasn’t too far away. He never went to Bath before, and didn’t know anyone who lived there. That means that he didn’t know the directions or couldn’t ask anyone for them. He saw a sign labeled “Bed and Breakfast,” and decided to go there since the name was pretty straightforward. Once inside, a lot of weird things happen, and the woman seems a bit out of her mind.

The theme for this story is to not be too quick to trust your surroundings or others. When he saw the animals in the hotel at first, they seemed to be alive, and he thought that animals were usually a good sign. But he didn’t know that those animals were actually dead and stuffed. He also didn’t think about how the lady was acting a bit too polite. She was also acting weird, trying to take care of almost everything. She forgot many things easily too.

Then, she talks about how his features were better than the 2 other guests, called Mr. Mulholland and Mr. Temple. Also, when he said he was seventeen, she said it was the perfect age, which was also very weird. She also asked him to write his name in a book so she could remember it later on. She said that the two people were living upstairs, but there was no sign of anyone else living there other than Bill and her.

Many people would think that being successful is hard. They are right, but a successful person isn’t because they are just born that way, its because they work hard, they concentrate and many other good traits to have.

Having a good behavior would take lots of time to get used to, especially if the behavior is something you never done. However it is not impossible and with determination and responsibility you will be able to get used to a successful life style. Working like hell is something that almost everybody wants and tries to do but often fails. Working and working hard is something almost completely different, by working hard, you need to focus on being as efficient as possible, completing your work quickly and well. Next is seeking criticism, which not a lot of people like. Criticism would be saying our work isn’t perfect, it isn’t good. But thats just ok because all of us are humans and having room for improvement is always good for us. If we are all perfect then there wouldn’t be any purpose for us. Never hate criticism because it will always be there. Instead you should take advantage of it and work to fix your mistake and “delete” that criticism from your life. Finally, it would be thinking outside of the box. Don’t go along with what everybody is thinking, or else you will never stand out and never learn. Thinking outside the box could also help you come up with faster and new solutions to a problem you’re facing. If you never think smartly, you will always be a normal person, part of the majority of society.

Being successful is really important, especially these days. We need successful and smart people in our lives not being successful ourselves but also around us. Take what we have now, a pandemic. If we didn’t have good doctors and hard working nurses, we wouldn’t be able to survive thought this pandemic. Everyday over 200 people relies on these successful people you see in TV and news. Don’t wait for other people to change the world and help society, you need to try to change the world yourself. Everybody hates extra work, but its just a matter of time where the only human beings that advances civilization is 1% of the people around us.

Being successful is hard and sweat, but with enough determination and courage to be unique, you will be able to be a successful person. Our society is lacking those who work hard, those who are creative and those want people to criticize so they can improve. In reality we need these kinds of people in our lives so we can progress in life. Being successful will be hard, but you will earn something greater in return.

Don’t judge a person just by his or her first look, that’s the moral of the story. This story is about Bill, the protagonist, meets a terribly nice lady, but later at the end of the story finds that she actually is a horrible person. In the short story Landlady by Roald Dahl, Bill learns a moral that don’t just trust a person on the first encounter, and don’t get deceived by their kindness outside. 

The main theme of the story is deception and trick. The main example in the story is when Bill Weaver travels to Bath, London for a business trip, but when he found a hotel to live in, he met the owner of the hotel. She was an extremely nice and kind woman and offered him a fantastic room to live in and with a cheap press. Then something interesting happened, when the women asked Bill to sign a paper for renting the room, Bill saw two familiar names on the paper. Then he remembered that these are the two people that disappeared a couple years ago. Then Bill asked why the parrot and the other animals in the room seemed so quiet and to his surprise the women said she stuffed all of them when they passed away. 

This creeped Bill out. This shows that the author is trying to pass and tell the moral that never trust anyone just because they’re generous and nice. 

All in all, this story tells us people are trustworthy on the outside but treacherous on the inside. Just like in the story, Bill justed the women because she offered him a good room at a cheap price, offered him food and water, and all these kind things to do. But at the end, she was an evil and treacherous woman.

I think that this is a very unusual story because it has a weird ending and what happens is weird too.

It says that when he put his name and address he noticed that the last two entries were from two to three years ago. Then he remembered them as the missing people in the newspaper headlines.

For some reason almost everything was dead. The Dachshund was dead (preserved and stuffed) and so was the parrot.

And when he sipped his tea, it tasted like bitter almonds. Which is sometimes highly poisonous.

I’m pretty sure that in the end Billy probably dies from the bitter almonds and if he did, the little old lady probably preserved him too. Like how she stuffed the other two. (I think)

Having grown up using technology on the daily, Gen Z-ers are significantly different from previous generations. Many spend hours on social media apps like TikTok, Twitter, or Instagram. This affinity with technology and social media is a double edged sword. There is a lot of potential to do good, but social media can also be harmful.

Technology enables people to reach out to others. Those who need help only need to post a GoFundMe or a petition, and overnight, it can reach hundreds of thousands of shares and likes. This was especially noticeable during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. Social media users posted hundreds of petitions that could be signed or introduced donation pages for families that were in need of money.

People are nearly always ready to be of assistance, but sometimes, their enthusiastic “help” does more harm than good. Struggling with depression, one social media user posted a call for help. Their post was flooded with replies, some from licensed therapists. However, most were from people with no practical knowledge of treating it. Thankfully, the original poster ended up alright, but who knows what could have happened if they followed the bogus “advice” of a social media user guised as a doctor!

Social media can also shed light on events, for example, mistreatment of people. This is seen especially clearly on Kpop Twitter. In Kpop, companies are extremely strict, and there are occasions where members in a single group are subject to bullying, either by another member or by higher-ups. Recently, this is what happened to Kpop group AOA. Former member Mina came out on her Instagram about another member bullying her and pushing her to the brink of suicide. Fans of the group quickly deciphered the bully to be the leader of the group, Jimin. Justice was eventually served, with Jimin leaving the group, and fans flooding Mina’s instagram with nice comments and DMs.

Social media users are especially prone to having “herd mindset,” where they follow the group mindlessly. This has resulted in the “cancellation” of many, oftentimes justified, but sometimes, the same herd goes back and has to apologize for their mistaken actions. Hand in hand with cancelling people is doxxing people. Famous for doxxing, which means to expose private information, is Gen Z celebrity Shai Jackson. Their actions certainly are not condoned, but in sounding the alarm bell on these people, who are primarily minors, Jackson leads a frenzy of people to cancel others. If the wrong person has been accused, even the most drastic measures won’t be able to wipe off the blot on their records.

Gen Z-ers have to be able to utilize the good of social media, whilst minimizing the downsides. Social media can allow people to reach out to a wider audience, shedding light on important matters. However, social media can also do more harm than good, whether it is by users offering false advice, or encouraging herd mindset. However, those in this generation are already starting large movements with social media, causing waves in national, even international politics.

In a recent Ted Talk by Madi Hammond, she talks about how the most recent generation, Gen Z, has been impacted and lived with fear due to struggles in society and common recurrences of disasters in recent years. Many of this is due to the rise in recent years of the access to technology, and therefore, the news. However, the news is run by the media, and the news people read everyday comes down to the media. These media organization companies include CNN, NBC, Fox News, ABC, and much more. Whether or not the world really is getting worse, the nature of news will take any opportunity to make people think it is. This brings up the question: What is the real point of media organizations? 

In the end, media organizations are still companies. One of the sole purposes of a company in order to keep it running is to make profit. Simply put, if the phrase “what is the purpose of a company” is searched up on Google, the result is “the main purpose of a company is to take money from investors (their creditors and shareholders) and generate profits on their investments.” This is the same concept for media companies. All of them have to find a way to make money, or else their company would become bankrupt and no longer function. However, the most impactful and large-scale news is not always the one that makes the most money. 

Most people noticeably have a larger fear of flying in an airplane than driving or sitting in a car. Plane crashes kill about 200 people a year, but car crashes kill about 1.35 million people a year. This may be blamed on the media, where plane crashes are much more commonly on the news as compared to car crashes, presumably because plane crashes make for a more “exciting” and interesting story than a car crash. Furthermore, due to the increase in news coverage and technology in recent years, in a survey in late 2016 by the Pew Research Center, 57% of registered voters believed that crime has gotten worse since 2008, even though FBI and BJS data shows that violent and property crime rates declined by 57% and 71%, respectively. 

As the media covers more and more of crimes in society, people will continue to want more and more of the news. In this way, media companies are able to make money. Many people are quick to believe anything they read on the news, but they need to remember that media companies want to make money, not make people feel better. Sometimes, in the end, it isn’t about the changes in the world, but more about coverage and media that controls our everyday news. 

In her Tedx Macatawa talk Living as Gen Z: From Fear to Positive Change, Madi Hammond talks about many things related to life as a member of Generation Z(also known as Zoomers), the term used in the Western world to describe people who were born between the mid 1990s(1995-1997), and the early 2010s(2010-2014). Among other things, she talks about living with the Internet. This reminded me of a topic that I had recently been reading about, the power of social media.

The first time that I came upon this topic(as in the recent time I have been reading about it), was in Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman. In the book, Rutger Bregman describes the news and social media as “one of the biggest addictions of our times”. He pointed to scientific studies that showed that people that follow the news daily are more likely to be stressed and depressed, as well as cynic, misanthropic, and pessimistic. As one of his suggestions of how people can live better, he included the suggestions to avoid the news and social media.

By then, I was curious, and I looked up one of the articles in the references, an article in the Business Insider called ‘Silicon Valley Parents Are Raising Their Kids Tech-Free-And It Should Be a Red Flag’. The article is just as the title suggests;it talks about parents who work in tech companies who raise their kids with limited access to electronics at home.

At this point, I remembered a point my friend Steven made when we were talking about
political approval ratings. He said that in modern days, approval ratings fluctuate less than before, because before, people would talk face-to-face, and present their arguments during the conversation. Now, however, most people talk online, and they agree with anyone that shares their political position, and insults people who disagrees with them without going into the why. As a result, people change their political opinions less.

Despite its many downsides(and it’s many upsides), social media is still a major part of our lives that we cannot live without. I prefer to think that as long as the amount of use is limited, it is useful, and the real danger is addiction. I’ll end by quoting James Cook, the current CEO of Apple, “I’m not a person that says we’ve achieved success if you’re using it all the time, I don’t subscribe to that at all.”

Food is one of the most important aspects to humans Without it, mankind would have never stepped foot on Earth. Computers, video games, space ships, the great wonders, and numerous other creations would have never been heard of. In order for human survival, many aspects are needed, but many of which are still unknown. Understanding human needs can help one have more dominant control over mankind, which prepare for future events.

The article Forced Social Isolation Causes Neural Craving Similar to Hunger highlights a recent research topic about basic human needs. These experiments concluded social interaction is extremely important, as the cravings it induces is similar to hunger. Humans are social creatures, and interacting with others is crucial for survival. The article explained the fact of which showing a craving individual different pictures of their likings can significantly affect their happiness. This can help scientists build more dominance and manipulate humans, in a good way, in order to help people stay happy. Additionally, the researchers explained how altering the severity of isolation might change the effects of the patient’s mind. Altering severity includes allowing the patient to only look at social media or also interact with it, or maybe increasing the time of isolation. If these experiments were to have results, it would build an even stronger understanding of human needs. For example, suppose humans isolated who were using social media compared to those without using it did not have a large difference in their brain stimuli. When this fact is combined with the fact of which screens can harm eyes, scientists can conclude staying in isolation without social media is the healthiest option. Obviously, using social media has effects on feelings on loneliness, but there are many other scenarios out there that follow these criteria.

With the power of manipulation, scientists can help humans stay well even in the toughest of times. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, many people are struggling due to the lack of understanding of human needs relevant to isolation. If mankind had realized these effects prior to the pandemic, fewer people would be living painful lives. Since the changes of social interaction on the mind are now understand with more depth, humans will be more prepared for the next disaster having to do with isolation. Many medical experts such as Anthony Fauci agree that preparation is crucial for defeating a pandemic. Sadly, the amount of preparation and human understanding was limited prior to the pandemic, which is one reason why the United States is struggling. During the next occurrence of forced isolation, a better understanding of human needs is required for survival.

The lack of understanding of human needs surely makes up for a considerable piece of mankind’s failures. Fixing this problem can help humans have more manipulative control over ourselves, which can help one live a better life during tough times or anytime. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The earth has everything for all human needs…” All of the human needs are waiting to be discovered one day.

There is so much negative news out there that it becomes normal to some people. If you are part of Gen Z, the internet is a pretty normal thing that you probably use almost everyday. With access to the internet, there is also a lot of bad news. Eventually, people will be numb to it and not be as aware or alert of it.

Being numb or not caring as much about the bad things that is happening in the world can have a negative impact. For example, COVID-19 has been going on for around half a year now and people tend to not care as much about it until it affects them personally. Doctors have also said that they aren’t as aware of the alarms that happen daily. Being less aware of important things can also lead to less actions being done to fix the event.

A solution for people to be more aware could be to take a break from the news every occasionally, to not be troubled by the same thing over and over again. When you do acknowledge a piece of news that may be negative, look more into it, and understand how to help, don’t just ignore it because it doesn’t affect you.

Humans are social animals, and the recent quarantine has greatly limited our social interactions. Now, with people living with little to no contact with other people, the loneliness may take a toll. The article “Forced Social Isolation Causes Neural Craving Similar to Hunger” shows how important human contact is.

One of the effects of forced isolation is, as many would guess, a craving for social interaction. This craving is similar to a hungry person’s crave for food. A quote states,”Critically, the researchers found similar midbrain activity in response to food cues after fasting and social cues after isolation.” This means that the brain responds similarly to food and social interaction.

The study on forced isolation displays how isolation can affect your brain. The findings show that after being isolated for an extended period of time, a person would start craving for social interaction the same way someone fasting would crave for food. This might indicate that people need social interaction to maintain their mental health the same way people need food to maintain their physical health.