High School

Why do we go to high school? Sure, we learn a lot, and that's nice and all, but we could learn by staying home and reading. With resources like Khan Academy and Youtube and AP study books, we can learn entire subjects in a quarter of the time it would take in school. So that's not the reason. How about the social aspects of high school? Making friends in classes, having fun with them outside of classes. Certainly that's an important part of a high school experience, but I wouldn't say it's the reason for high school.

We go to high school to prepare us. For some of us, that means being prepared to immediately enter into the workforce, using life skills taught in high school every day. For others of us, that means being prepared for college, a very different experience.  Personally, I think that high school has done a fairly good job of preparing me for college. I've taken challenging classes and have had to overcome many things that I will undoubtedly face again in college. So, overall, I'd say high school did a good job of preparing us.

But is that really the end goal of all of this? High school leads to college leads to graduate school leads to doctoral studies leads to career (or some variation on that). It's all a progression, with high school being one of the earliest steps, and yet one of the last for some of us. If high school is just another stepping stone, what's the real point of it?

For me, high school is important, painfully obviously so, and yet, I find the reasoning behind this difficult to put into a thesis statement.

High school is important because of the first day of school, when I knew 5 kids at Dunbar, and because of the 3rd day of school, when I knew 50.

High school is important because of Mr. Reed, who not only inspired me to love a subject which I knew nothing about, but taught me that learning can be both productive and fun.

High school is important because of the last day of freshman year, when I realized that I had survived a year of MSTC and could survive another 3.

High school is important because of the summer between my 9th and 10th grades, when one of my best friends was busted for drugs at summer camp and tried to kill himself.

High school is important because of blushing and stammering every time I tried talking to my crush.

High school is important because of 10th grade AP Statistics, when Mr. Kennedy told me that I can't fail at something that I love and work hard at.

High school is important because of the last day of sophomore year, when I realized with a combination of ecstasy and trepidation that I was halfway through.

High school is important because of the summer between my Sophomore and Junior year, when I fell in love for the first time.

High school is important because of staying up crying almost every night Junior year, not sure if I would be able to walk past the kitchen knife again without picking it up, and because of waking up every day to a group of supportive friends who assured me, knowingly or not, that I could.

High school is important because of Mrs. Smith teaching me that an email gone unread is on the same level as assault and battery.

High school is important because of going to the park with my friends and throwing around a frisbee after AP testing.

High school is important because of the first day of senior year, when I realized that I was almost done with my last years as a kid.

High school is important because of Mr. Mullins, who taught me to never be satisfied with a meaning gleaned from skimming the surface, and that true meaning can only be found by diving in headfirst.

High school is important because of the last month of senior year, when I began to realize the immeasurable quality of those I've been lucky enough to call my friends.

But most of all, high school is important because I became me and we became us. High school may be a stepping stone, but it taught me how to balance, and more importantly, it taught me to stop running and look down at my reflection. And now that I'm at the end, seeing my face in the water makes me truly appreciate how high school has shaped me.

Plot Twists

Yesterday I read a short book called Bad Monkeys. It was a fun read, with lots of humor and action. I wouldn't describe it as literary fiction, and it wasn't a difficult read, but I enjoyed it a lot.

One thing that Bad Monkeys had plenty of is plot twists. It seemed like every three pages something would be revealed that completely changes the reader's attitude towards the characters. These things were almost always unexpected, and the author did a good job of avoiding the incredibly obvious paths and choosing some different ways. But one of the reasons that this book is commercial is because of the pure number of twists. A great book will lead you along one path for a while, and then will throw a monkey wrench in your perceptions. Bad Monkeys gives you so many plot twists that you never really have time to establish grounded perceptions, and so when the author tries to mess with them, there's nothing there to alter.

But Bad Monkeys is a fun, quick book to read if you like actiony spy books.

I'm Pooped

I am currently in Knoxville, Tennessee, at a regional for the FIRST Robotics Competition. Fayette County's team, 2856, arrived at the motel last night, and all day today was spent at the convention center. Today was the warm-up day, meaning there weren't any official matches. There were practice matches, but those were optional, and the main important items that needed to be done today was to pass "inspection", which is a process in which judges look over every inch of a robot looking for rules violations or safety hazards. While the actual inspection process did not take very long, we spent about 5 hours working on the robot to get it to the point where it could be inspected. There were plenty of problems with the robot, not the least of which were it's occasional inability to move and frequent inability to shoot a Frisbee  which is the objective of the competition.

Today was one of the most tiring days I have ever had. There was plenty of physical labor, and I have no doubt that this contributed to my current state. However, there is an added level of poopyness that comes with mental stress, which there was certainly a lot of today. I find it interesting that being nervous and having to work through very difficult problems speedily can tire me out so quickly. And not just mentally tired, either- I think this contributed to my physical state as well.

Anyway, just thought that was interesting. Hope ya'll are having a good spring break!

p.s. Dustin stole his blog post idea from me.

Rereadabilty

Yesterday, I found myself at home with nothing to do. There was nothing good on TV and my computer wasn't working, and for a while I was bored out of my mind. But then I stumbled upon the 6th Harry Potter book, and started rereading it. For the 5th time.

Everyone has those books that they love to reread. Personally, I love rereading Harry Potter and the Inheritance Cycle (the one with Eragon). There are other books that I like more than these, and yet these are the ones I go to when I'm bored and need something to read. What makes them different from, say, Brave New World or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, two of my favorite novels?

I think it's a combination of factors that contribute to this phenomenon. The most obvious reason I can think of is that they are all "easy reads", so to speak. They are certainly more commercial than literary, and I don't have to think too hard to understand the plot, the characters motivations, or the overarching themes. Though I do love hard reads, when I'm looking for a book to take my mind of off things, I want something I can just lose myself in. Which brings me to the 2nd factor- entrapment (for lack of a better word). Books like Harry Potter satisfy a child-like fantasy craving inside of me that longs for a character that is both Homeric in nature and easy to understand and relate to. I wish I was Harry Potter, and reading about his adventures allows me to truly lose myself inside of his stories. The last factor that I notice on my list of rereadables is that of series. When I find that perfect book, I enjoy it so much that I never want it to end (see one of my first blog posts about "Good Fiction"). With long series like the Inheritance Cycle, my fantasies can be indulged for much longer than a simple read-through of Brave New World would do.

Here is an article about rereadability that I found interesting. It lists some other factors that make a rereadable book: http://www.whoatemybrain.com/2011/06/rereadability.html

Killing

Is it ever okay to take another human's life?

This is a loaded and incredibly subjective question with hundreds of potential answers. But for this post I'm going to focus on a couple of scenarios.

In a book that I am currently reading (I'm not going to name it so there aren't any spoilers), there is a man who is given the task of killing another person. This is an ordinary man who has never killed anyone or even committed any crime before. The man he is supposed to kill gets drunk every night, goes home, and rapes his wife while his daughter runs outside and sits on the porch crying. I think we can all agree that this is a guilty man to the crimes of rape, physical abuse, and emotional abuse of both the mother and the young girl, who is 8 years old. But is it OK for him to be killed? I realize that potential other factors to this question include the fact that the man doing the killing is a vigilante of sorts and is in no way related to the government or the courts. However, in my mind, there is little difference between killing individually or institutionally, so I will ignore this fact for now.

In my opinion, this man does not deserve to die. I agree that his crimes are horrendous and irredeemable, and in no way am I suggesting that he is innocent. However, in this scenario, I do not believe killing him is the appropriate answer to his crimes. I think putting him behind bars for life is the best solution (excluding issues like prison costs).

The second scenario I'd like to discuss has been in the news a lot recently- drones. For those of you who aren't familiar with drones, they are unmanned planes that are currently in use by the United States in precision strikes outside of the United States. They are most often used against terrorist targets, and there have been many civilian casualties as well. President Obama personally approves every single use of a strike drone, and, though there are plenty of advisers informing him, he has final say on all strikes. Recently, Eric Holder, the current Attorney General, stated that, essentially, the President does have the right to authorize drone strikes against American citizens on American soil.

So the questions here are if it is okay to kill the "bad guys" overseas with the potential death of innocent civilians, if it is okay to kill American citizens right here at home, and if the President should have the ultimate authority on these kinds of decisions. Personally, I am opposed to war. However, when killing the few to save the many (as in the case of killing members of organizations like Al Quida), I think it is a permissible circumstance. As far as killing Americans, my immediate instinct is that this is a horrible thing to do. However, having these thoughts make me think that what this is coming down to is valuing a United States Citizen's life over that of people elsewhere in the World. I am extremely uncomfortable with this idea, as it goes against most of my basic moral principles. However, I think I am reacting more to the fact that taking out Americans seems like an act of betrayal against my fellow countrymen by the government, and less that a life is taken here as opposed to elsewhere. Though this may be myself trying to justify my conflicting moral views. As to the final question of whether the President should have the ultimate power in this scenario, I disagree with it on principle. I think that President Obama is a responsible leader and would listen to the advice of his council closely before making decisions. However, I know future Presidents may not be so responsible, and plenty of people think the current one isn't either. I think that the best way to handle it would be to have a minimum number of cabinet votes to send out a drone strike.

I know I talked about a lot today, and I think the only conclusion that I've come up with is that I need to sit down and think through my morals and ethics. This is an incredibly complicated issue, and my intention is not to try to convince you one way or another by this post, but is merely to try and inform you about a couple of specific scenarios to consider. And I think this is a very important issue to consider, and I encourage everyone to think through it from all possible angles before making any judgments or decisions.

An Open Letter to the Internet

Dear Internet,

     You and I need to talk.

     When I first got you, you were the source for my elementary-school research projects and funny videos. In middle school you grew to include internet games like Club Penguin and World of Warcraft. In high school, you have expanded yet further to provide me with an endless supply of good music, funny videos, interesting articles, and clever web-comics, just to name a few. You have given me opportunities for expanding my horizon that would never have been possible had we never met. You are the gift that simply keeps giving. With you by my side, I can never be bored.

    But I suppose that's the problem, isn't it? Yes, you consistently and constantly entertain me. You link me to the latest incredible scientific discovery day after day. You allow me to multitask beyond belief, listening to music while playing games while writing an essay. I suppose what I'm saying is that you let me escape my life. But maybe an escape isn't what I need right now. Maybe it would be better for me to do my homework as soon as I get home without first looking at the top pictures on FunnyJunk. Maybe it would be better for me to write my essays without the distraction of Spotify. Maybe it would be better for me to get outside and go for a walk in the little free time that I have instead of mindlessly clicking link after link.

     I don't hate you. God knows this is closest thing I've ever felt to love. But I think we need a break. Just so we can try meeting other people for a little while and see how it feels. I'll still be around, and I know you'll be there when I need you. But I think a bit of distance could do us both some good.

Your's Truly,
Aaron Karp


P.S. Thanks for all the porn.

Language

I was talking with my dad today about how language has changed over time. I brought up the subject because I was noticing how many people (myself included) leave out subjects or objects in many of their sentences. For example, "sounds good", or "Fine." These can both mean different things depending on the words around them, but people have taken to relying on context to leave the listener to infer what they meant.

My dad said that this represents a recent degeneration in language. That this phenomenon of texting lingo and  abbreviations is showing a greater downward trend in the intellectual quality of modern culture. I disagree, however. If you look at a sentence from the 17th century and one from the early 1900's, you will see a big drop in explicitness and clarity, just as you would when comparing an early 20th century sentence with one today. Another point my dad brought up was longevity of things such as letters and emails. "Back in the day,"  so to speak, people often wrote very long letters to each other, whereas today, one often receives and sends one-sentence emails. I think that this follows the exact same trend as the sentences mentioned previously.

I view this occurrence as a graph throughout human history. In the stone age, people were not writing long letters to each other, and sentences consisted of grunts. Then, in the iron and bronze ages, language grew greatly, but was still rather bland. In the middle ages and the renaissance, language became much more varied and colorful, and writings much more lengthy. Then, with industrialism and the modern age, language has started to regress back to its origins. I think that this graph would not show an upward line followed by a downward one flattening out. I think that it's more sinusoidal. I think this pattern will continue it's downward trend, but will eventually come back up to renaissance-era heights.

In a salute to modern literature and culture, here's a link to one of my all-time favorite spoken-word poems. (WARNING: naughty words)