Science News: Pain Hurts More If Person Hurting You Means It

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Sunday, December 21, 2008 comments (3)

Researchers at Harvard University have discovered that our experience of pain depends on whether we think someone caused the pain intentionally. In their study, participants who believed they were getting an electrical shock from another person on purpose, rather than accidentally, rated the very same shock as more painful. Participants seemed to get used to shocks that were delivered unintentionally, but those given on purpose had a fresh sting every time.

Read the full article: Pain Hurts More If Person Hurting You Means It

My comment on this article:

It just goes to show you, pain is all in your head!  Actually, almost everything in life is all in your head.  I truly believe that if you simply learn to control your emotions, you can achieve anything you want.  The thing is, most people psych themselves out, instead of using their self-awareness to their advantage.

Paying for Tuition

by sophlightning305 on Monday, December 15, 2008 comments (11)

I am trying to pay for my own way through college. Does anyone have advice on how I can do this as cheaply and easily as possible? I know a lot of people here are probably taking out loans or have government aid. Since I'm past 18, if I wish to support my own way through college although my parents have the means of helping me, is it possible for me to qualify for financial aid? Thanks very much for everybody's help.

Amazing Article

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Friday, December 12, 2008 comments (2)

Scientists are partially able to now read people's minds.  Is that cool or what?

http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/12/scientists-extract-images-directly-from-brain/

Obama... Monumental?

by a.kim on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 comments (17)

Well... this all spurred with my roommate telling me the school is offering rides to the Inauguration. And I said that it'll prolly be boring... who would want to go.

He was absolutely dumbfounded. Telling me how I don't get it and that i'm being absolutely ignorant to how monumental the new president is. (He is white btw... from a majority white small town in Pennsylvania... dunno if that'll effect your opinion or anything)

I was confused at this statement. I told him that I wasn't into politics and do not care about it. He goes into a tangent about how I am a minority and how this new president should be a huge step for the country. Telling me... now people (minorities) can truly mean it when they tell their children that they can be anything they want to be. So I should be joyful in this event...

I told him... yes, he is the first African-American President of the United States... but hes gonna run the country like hes any ole democrat... so I do not see it being that important to me. If there was a white obama... hes gonna run the country the same way obama is gonna run the country... and isn't the job he runs more important than his race... that's what I think about when Obama becomes president.

This was my thought process during the discussion. But he still called me being ignorant and tryin to ignore the fact that he's African-American. Telling me how it should be more important to me than him cuz I'm a minority.

It's just something I don't worry about when I think of things... and I thought the country was in the same boat.... perhaps I'm being idealistic? or perhaps ignorant? What do you guys think? Do you still consider race to be a big factor in decisions? Any other thoughts?

PS - I gave him the argument that the country has progressed for quite some time in this area... it's just now there's some proof of it. Either way... I still consider the progress itself more important than the proof cuz my own thoughts display the progress. And it's good enough for me. It wasn't enough for him.

New study tracks the transmissibility of happiness

by zexi on Sunday, December 07, 2008 comments (2)

How happy you are may depend on how happy your friends' friends' friends are, even if you don't know them at all.

And a cheery next-door neighbor has more effect on your happiness than your spouse's mood.

So says a new study that followed a large group of people for 20 years - happiness is more contagious than previously thought.

"Your happiness depends not just on your choices and actions, but also on the choices and actions of people you don't even know who are one, two and three degrees removed from you," said Nicholas Christakis, a physician and social scientist at Harvard Medical School and an author of the study, to be published Friday in BMJ, a British journal. "There's kind of an emotional quiet riot that occurs and takes on a life of its own, that people themselves may be unaware of. Emotions have a collective existence - they are not just an individual phenomenon."

Interesting stuff! You can read more here.

The brain is....

by Heanshi on Saturday, December 06, 2008 comments (6)

The brain is like a computer with cell processor. You got like a 100TB Hard drive.The stuff you learned are the software you installed. Your senses are the input devices screaming at the brain about this and that. The opposite sex is a virus that will always try to infect your system. Anything you do is obsolete since anti-virus/firewall never works, but you should be fine as long as you don't toss your computer out the window.

Hey you, some guy, it's me, some girl!

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Friday, December 05, 2008 comments (8)

Why does it seem like life is so typical nowadays, and so boring?  Where have our dreams and aspirations gone?
  

2 Views on Christmas Cheer!

by sophlightning305 on Friday, December 05, 2008 comments (3)

Well, Christmas is nearly upon us and for me at least, it feels like ole saint Nick has accidentally come a few weeks in advance. But this is the season that is so often dominated by two mentalities: one of giving/receiving and one just of love/caring/compassion.

Love/Care/Compassion:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/2460299/Barack-Obama-does-not-give-birthday-presents-to-children.html

Although this is most likely a political move, albeit a smart one, it might be the type of thing that most of us are forgetting. Obama does not buy his children presents (i think this might really turn his kids against him...and since they're hosting sleepovers, things might turn into a complete revolt...with a throng of little, angry, presentless children). Anyhoo, we are so concentrated on making people happy with a gift that we forget WE are the things that are supposed to make them happy...not the new toaster. So what can we do during this holiday season that shows kindness/compassion and love for another person (parents, friends, siblings) that inspire them beyond the disappointment of not getting a gift? If you have a good idea on this...completely ignore the next paragraph =P.

Giving and Receiving:
Many times the holiday season turns into a splurge of shopping for others and oneself. Even those concentrated on giving are often concentrating on giving gifts! Unfortunately, this is the reality of our world though. So, in order to help a few of us out here who have younger, older, ancient siblings (gosh somebody older than john seo...impossible) I wish to make a list that you often see online but is never good and certainly not Asian-appropriate. How many Asian fathers really want that grill-marinating kit as bad as his neighbor? Anyhoo, my problem is a teenage sister (12) who doesn't seem to want anything that doesn't involve high price-tags and dead animals (i'm not talking about beef). Help please! (not just for my sister...but for the general sister, brother, mother...just seeds for present ideas) I will also help anybody who has a teenage brother :). At that age, they love books....yup books and nightstands to put the books on.

Wow! Hilarious comic!

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 comments (4)


Love?

by epfanne on Monday, December 01, 2008 comments (12)


"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life:
That word is love."
-Sophocles

I think love is a religious concept. I'm not referring to the generic pleasure kind of love, but the selfless, unconditional love. The willingness to sacrifice everything, the complete faith and trust, the utter acceptance and support. .. these concepts are not humanly possible no matter how hard we try. We are born as selfish individuals and selfishness is the opposite of love, not hate.

Many religions teach us how to love. Through pain and suffering, we learn how to love more perfectly.

Bill Maher vs. Mike Huckabee on Religion

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Monday, December 01, 2008 comments (3)


Really cool YouTube video!

1st Impression Service

by sophlightning305 on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 comments (6)

Ever wonder what people's first impression of you is? What if there were a service that could tell you exactly what the impression/image that you give off is and where it comes from? For example, you walk into the service, you look the "interviewer" in the eye and smile and offer a handshake. This might exude confidence in your mind, but a trained interviewer might see other things. He sees the way you jumped up when your name was called, the way you were laughing a little more then normal while waiting, and your eagerness to please him and ends up with a completely different first impression. These sometimes small movements that come involuntarily oftentimes demonstrates our true emotions often betrays a side of us that is
1.) not appropriate for the situation
2.) Not really us...whether from nervousness or overexcitement

So how about a service that will go over everything that you show from the moment you enter the scene till the moment you get the job-offer, leave a successful first date, or just make a good impression on a group of strangers. If you're trying to demonstrate leadership, the service would tailor your behavior to that impression, same with humor, friendliness or intelligence. Would anybody be interested in this? And since this is a business idea, it's not just interest but willingness to pay =P...and of course the service would be top-par! For those of you who worry that this isn't you...like in GATTACA, "it is you...just the best part of you" =)

NCAA a Monopsony?

by sophlightning305 on Monday, November 24, 2008 comments (1)

Interesting class in intermediate microecon today where after singing along to a 60's song and dressing up in school colors for chocolate, the class talked about monopsonies (yes, not monopolies who control output, but monopsonies, who control input). Everybody hates monopolies, not just because of the income/luxury tax associated with it and not being able to pass Go, but also because it is socially inefficient. Why? Monopolies essentially attempt to maximize profits by reducing output so that they can raise outputs. Imagine a rectangle where one side is quantity sold and the other is (Price - the cost to make it) so profit. By selling one less good, these monopolies can jack up the price on all the other ones sold, thus maximizing profits. So basically, society loses when they do that since less people get the good and the ones who do are paying more for it.

But have you ever heard of monopsonies? Doubtful unless you're an econ major, but they are the evil twin of monopolies. Instead of reducing output to increase the prices of their output, monopsonies decrease the amount of an input they hire in order to lower the price. This is the law of supply and demand where if the supply stays the same and demand drops, then the price of that object drops. Let's say the world's sole hirer of people with a particular skill: we'll say computer gaming for this example, is the executive team of Ford. Now, if 100 people are professional computer gamers then, they would turn to Ford for employment. Let's say Ford hires all 100 and gives them the ridiculous salaries that they hand out: $3million/person/year. But now that they're bankrupt, they must get rid of some of these professional minesweepers and solitaire specialists, so they hire only 10 people. This makes 100 people compete for 10 jobs, which means that the workers will bid down the wages in order to get a job. This also causes social inefficiencies since the people who the company are hiring at $50,000/person/year now bring we'll say $200,000/person/year to the company. So the company is EXPLOITING these workers. In a competitive market, these employees would receive how much they are worth to the company, but in a monopsony, they can deliberately reduce the amount of inputs they take so that they can exploit the workers who they do hire. Who would do such a dastardly thing? Turns out it's your very own NCAA.

The NCAA started as a regulation method for college football, where some players were actually dying from playing each year. However, they not only revised the rules on how the game was to be played and how hard a coach could push his players...they also changed the payments that players could receive for their talents. Players like Patrick Ewing were supposed to have brought $5million to Georgia when he played there for college. What did he receive? A free tuition. The NCAA mandates that players cannot be paid to play, which means that these highly valuable resources for the schools are giving up all the profits that they bring to the school...to the NCAA and the school. Who actually gets the money? Ever noticed the high paychecks of the coaches? Millions of dollars are spent on coaches, why? Because if you get a coach who can attract the best talent when everybody is offering next to nothing in payments, then your school's profits are greatly increased. Essentially, the players' contributions to the team are transferred to the coach.

But, it is not yet completely fair for the NCAA to be smite for their barbarous economic schemes. Many sports programs fail to bring in enough revenue to support their continuation. One example is swimming, where the maintenance of the pool and team is probably higher than the quantity of admissions (a lot) multiplied by the price of admission (nothing). The excess profits that the football coaches don't take go into programs such as this and keep it alive. But is this enough to justify the monopsony of NCAA's? Or should these college players be paid for their efforts, just as any other worker is for their valuable time and labor? And of course the biggest question: is it fair that swimmers make nothing...that pool is cold!?

Regenerating a Mammoth

by seagull5000 on Sunday, November 23, 2008 comments (2)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/science/20mammoth.html?scp=2&sq=mammoth&st=cse

That's right folks. We can do it, we have the technology. Well, almost. If you were too lazy to read the article, basically the idea is that pretty soon (hopefully) they will be able to recreate a a legit wooly mammoth egg and bring it to term in an elephant.

That's pretty cool. But, if they can do that, that means they can do it with neanderthals in humans (or chimps) too.

The question is, do you think we should?

On the one hand, there are a lot of good reasons to for the advancement of science.

On the other hand, humanoid cloning might present many ethical problems. Who wins?

A Disturbing Question

by eohcnrk on Friday, November 21, 2008 comments (10)

So imagine you were involved in a car crash and you were severely injured and now you're at the hospital. To what extent could you consider yourself the same person you were before the accident?

Let me give you some situations.

You lost a leg, and now you're replacing the leg with a prosthetic terminator-like limb. Yes, most would consider you the same person. The only thing that's missing is a physical apparatus of your body. Even if you were to lose everything except for your head (assuming you could still sustain life) one might even be so bold to suggest you are still the same person.

But what happens when things go awry in the brain?

Retrograde and anterograde amnesia are possible outcomes that are both fascinating yet perturbing. Does one lose the essence of themselves having undergone this trauma? Can you really say that someone with retrograde amnesia is really the same person as you knew before? Again many would probably agree that as long as the personality is intact, yes; that is, under the justification that it is not necessarily always the person that makes up who he/she is, but the memories of those around him/her. Plus, the personality is still intact.

But what happens when things go missing in the brain?

Assume in order to live after having undergone severe head trauma, doctors needed to save your life by replacing 10% of your brain with synthetic neural networks. This means your brain is 10% machine and 90% still you. Those who justified that people having undergone retrograde amnesia are still the same person because of the memories existent among one's dearest, now will have to redefine the essence of existence. Can you really say after having undergone a 10% replacement of the brain, you are still yourself? Now, I want you to consider that this is a philosophical question, not a technical one. One could argue that the brain is compartmentialized and thus physically replacing 10% could lead to a complete transformation of one's personality. However, I'm asking you, what if only 10% of the personality was transformed? 90% is still you. Some might ask, indeed, as long as the majority of you is still you, you are still you.

However, what happens when you cross the half point mark, making it 49/51?

Now you are not the majority of yourself, but rather the minority of a synthetic entity. So can you really say you still exist? If no, then what is going on at 50/50?

My point is, this identity of one's existence is a blurred gradient. It's often frustrating trying to define borders in answer to this question. I've tried to think about it myself, but I couldn't come up with an answer. What do you guys thing?

Blog Improvement

by epfanne on Friday, November 21, 2008 comments (14)

Obviously someone hated the new layout so much that he voted 10 times...
I did not make the changes to go against your will, just trying to make some improvements for the common good. If you have any suggestion for the new blog layout, please let me know and I will try to accommodate your request.
Don't hide your hatred inside, it's not good for you :P

Overall, what do you like or dislike about the new template? Should we keep it?

2 Crazy New Inventions

by sophlightning305 on Thursday, November 20, 2008 comments (15)

Oook, calling all venture capitalists, investment banks and kids with big piggy banks'! Two more ideas for you.

*'s denote something that has to be thought out practically in more detail

1.) A big live map of available parking spaces!

So, each parking space (we'll start with a campus first) at Northwestern, including street parking, will have *cheap sensors* that will know when there is a car in the spot. When there is, it tells a *little parking map* on your phone or GPS that that spot is free! No more driving around looking for spots and no more fretting about parking.

2.) Speed sensors for highways

Not so much an invention as just "an improvement"...for me at least. When "Air Traffic 780" our local radio station talks about: "...18 minutes from the Dan Ryan in", from their "air chopper 780":

1.) I don't know which one the Dan Ryan is (although my invention won't solve that)
2.) I have no idea how long the mentioned lengths should take on a good or bad day...just the time it takes me to get from Deerfield road entrance on I94 to the Skokie exit on 41.

So how about, instead...they told me the speeds. And we're in a recession right now, so no need for choppers, a simple road-side speed tester'll do just fine.

A Modern Addiction

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 comments (40)

This is an article that I wrote a while back. It got published in the Palatine Countryside newsletter that goes out to the whole city of Palatine, Illinois. Tell me what you think!

What are the modern dangers that, if left uncontrolled, threaten to
destroy our society? Nuclear weapon proliferation, AIDS, poverty,
global warming, and the impending fuel crisis are commonly known
threats to society. However, there is a rot in our society that has
gone completely unnoticed. It is aggressively unhealthy, wasteful,
and useless. It is our obsession with sports. It floods the media,
drains our time, and all it does is fuel more devotion to sports.
It's not that sports are inherently unhealthy, but the fact that, as a
nation, we are obsessed. When Rome fell, it collapsed around the
Colosseum.

It is undeniable that our modern society has a sports addiction.
Every major city in America has erected sports stadiums. The
tremendous ticket sales pay the multimillion dollar salaries of the
athletes and coaches. TV networks and cable stations cover the games
live, and news programs review the results and highlights. Newspapers
discuss and comment on the games the next day, and the cycle repeats
itself.

This media bombardment has a visible effect on the American
population, dangerously consuming our emotions and brainpower. Sports
are a central topic for conversations and arguments everywhere in
America. The commentator's words are like the Word of God; the
statistics he mentions are unquestioningly quoted word for word by
anyone debating the topic. Fans (short for fanatics) often know the
whole history of their favorite team, and know countless random
statistics. Can you imagine how much time and money is wasted each
year on the media publicizing sports? Can you imagine how many
problems we could solve if we spent a fraction of that time and money
educating the public on the importance of healthy eating or the
dangers of substance abuse?

It's true that sports have redeeming qualities. They teach
discipline and teamwork, and that results come from sweat and hard
work. But for all the time and money invested into sports, what is
the result? What purpose does it serve? No matter how many times a
sports team grabs the national championship; they'll never grab the
cure for cancer. Regardless of how many millions of dollars spent, or
how many hours they train, they'll never fix the hole in the ozone
layer. America's fixation with sports tragically drains our energy
and talents, and it wastes our potential to really make a difference
in the world.

Baseball Off-Season Thoughts

by ThankTank on Monday, November 17, 2008 comments (7)

Here's a list of my thoughts now that free agency has started.

After rumors that the closer market would be bare, there are many quality arms available. With many teams balking at the price of Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, the demand for Trevor Hoffman and Kerry Wood will be high.

Speaking of Wood, I am still disappointed with the way that ended. I really believe that the failure of Zell and Tribune Co. to sell the team is hindering what the team and GM Jim Hendry can do. He basically told Wood that we could not afford a deal he deserves and instead traded top pitching prospect Jose Ceda to the Marlins for Kevin Gregg (who tied with the most blown saves last season). This was a terrible deal, not only because Wood is not the closer, but because this mean Carlos Marmol will be closing out games instead of setting up. Gregg can be effective, but the Cubs vastly overpaid for him. Jose Ceda is a top relief prospect, and more importantly he is under team control for the next 6 years. A 1-2 punch of Marmol and Ceda would have been dominant, this trade just baffles me. (/rant)

Other thoughts-

Will the Padres and Kevin Towers PLEASE FINALLY TRADE JAKE PEAVY. The rumors have been going on for the past two weeks with the Cubs and Braves seemingly minutes away from a deal, yet nothing ever materializes. Seems like no one has/is willing to give what the Padres want (a young shortstop, CF, and an elite pitching prospect). For those of that do not know much about Peavy, he is a former Cy Young winner and a real ace of a staff, although he has had some minor injuries over the last two years. Funny note about why the Padres are trying to shed payroll, their owner is going through a nasty divorce and is trying to get as much money as possible, it also doesn't help when the team completely fell on its face last year.

The Yankees are gonna outspend everyone. They'll get CC Sabathia after offering a historic contract and will probably get one more big time starting pitcher, especially since their owners think they are entitled to the WS championship. Plus, the CC contract will inflate all the other SP's demands (see Ryan Dempster asking for 5 years $75M).

The Matt Holliday trade was kinda surprising seeing that the A's were not competive last year, but Billy Beane is the best GM in baseball because of his ability to get a small market team to be contenders, plus he makes some pretty sweet trades. The A's gave up a really good CF prospect named Carlos Gonzalez (A's top prospect acc. to Baseball America), SP Greg Smith, and closer Huston Street. Gonzalez and Smith were acquired from the D'Backs in the Dan Haren deal from last year. The Rockies get a good looking out-fielder that they can move to LF once Dexter Fowler is ready. They get a decent/good SP in Smith and can use Street to fill the gap left by Fuentes.

If anybody has questions/thoughts I can help you out.

6 Sex Myths as Explained By Science

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Monday, November 17, 2008 comments (11)

post deleted.

When someone throws a grenade into the friend zone...

by octopusgarden on Monday, November 17, 2008 comments (26)

(Guys, Jake wasn't lying when he said that this post wasn't written by him haha! It was actually written by me. Since I'm actually becoming a part of the community, I figured I would repost this as myself. I'm excited to join the Idea Shop and look forward to contributing and reading insightful articles from other posters. :] )

We all have had this experience. You’re just minding your own business, secure in the knowledge that you know where everyone in your social circle stands. You know, you have certain people in your social circle who are “just friends”, certain others who you’ll casually flirt with while not expecting any sort of relationship ever, and certain others who you just want to shove up against a wall, preferably in broad daylight in a public place in front of your lousy ex. Everyone’s categorized and stays in their social niches, and life goes on perfectly.

Until someone in your friend zone causes you to have second thoughts about every aspect of your relationship.

You know how it happens. They go out of their way to do something for you which you consider to be really sweet, but of course it’s platonic! Except all your friends, who don’t even know this person, are convinced it’s a sign that that person is madly in love with you and wants to have your babies that very instant.

And then you begin to wonder. Of course, it doesn’t help that you’re oblivious anyway, and perhaps that person does like you and you’re just too dense to see it? And what sort of offspring would your combined genetics produce anyway? Come to think of it, they would turn out rather attractive…

But focus!

You had a crush on this person a long long time ago. But it was a moment of weakness, and it’s over now. But then all of a sudden you see this person after a long time and one thing leads to another…

And somehow you aren’t friends anymore. That safe green zone is now red (red with a mutual blaze of passion that is).

Oh and did I mention you’re not going to see this person again for a long time?

In keeping with the previous posts about what girls look for in guys and vice versa, here’s an important question: when you find your previously platonic relationship changed, how have you responded? How often has this happened? And what are your craziest stories?

[Guys] A topic I'm sure we all wonder about...

by sophlightning305 on Sunday, November 16, 2008 comments (29)

Putting the spotlight on just the girls wouldn't be fair...soo, guys this is your chance to prove that you don't just look for hmmm... looks. What traits do you find most attractive (and yes looks can be in there) in a girl? These traits...prbbly like the girls' won't be the same as what our parents' generation was looking for. No longer is the story of the princess and the frog a story for just girls...maybe guys are now looking for good looking frogs too!

So, let's also shoot for a top 10 list! I hope we don't disgrace ourselves and just stop at the two that came first to my mind (and i'm sure is repeated in many guys here)...brains and brawn. hehe

People should leave their 10 items in the comment section, if you do not want your identity revealed please posted under No ID. I will eventually tally up the comments and stick it up for the guys...girls are just more controlled =P. And finally...results are out!

Top 10 List
1.) Trustworthy/Committed is our most voted for quality!...no playas plz, leaf that to the people who dunno how to spel
2.) Smart...we want the girls who can spell!
3.) Artistic...dunno, they voted for it so i'm putting it up
4.) Playful...not as in poking...virtual or otherwise, but genuinely fun to be around.
5.) Funny...Everybody's a comedian...
6.) Self-Confident/Self-Respect...if you dunno what this is go listen to arethra franklin
7.) Pretty/Beautiful...Odd, not hot but pretty or beautiful
8.) Creativity...Add some spice into everyday Life
9.) Caring...A hint of softness under that creatively decorated, funny, good-looking exterior
10.) And our number 10 (it was tied with many other ones) is Social...so you can ask us out on the first date (at least that's what i think the boys voting for it were thinking...)

Thank you for participating, I am sure it has dramatically changed the lives of many women...

[Girls] A topic I'm sure we all wonder about...

by sophlightning305 on Sunday, November 16, 2008 comments (15)

So, for the guys out there, ever wonder what girls are looking for in a guy? Well here's your chance to find out...if the girls will step up =P.

Why don't we shoot for a top-10 list of what girls are looking for the most in their "prince of shining armor" or maybe their looking for just a Matt Damon...who knows...

If you have a suggestion (and you're a girl...please just go right ahead and add your suggestions to this article, don't bother commenting...that's for the enlightened guys =P)

Top 11 List

1.) loyal/faithful
2.) confident, but not cocky!
3.) intelligent/talented (not in video games!)
4.) witty, but not a smartass!
5.) caring/thoughtful
6.) ambitious/adventurous
7.) mature/respectful
8.) athletic/fit
9.) romantic/sweet
10.) good looking/cute
11.) not possessive, but a little jealousy is cute

W3 Schools

by epfanne on Thursday, November 13, 2008 comments (6)

Philosophy: Justifying Economic Inequalities

by sophlightning305 on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 comments (8)

So, as many of you know, America (as well as many other nations) has a wide range between the very rich and the very poor. Much of the wealth is held within a very small percentage of the population. Here's how John Locke justifies it:

Back in the good ole days when cavemen and dinosaurs roamed the earth, probably back in the Roosevelt administration or early 70's for you non-history majors..., people were free and equal, nobody had any natural authority over anybody else. At the same time, this liberty was freedom to do what you wished...but only within moral limits. These limits were determined by "natural law", which meant that people had duties to respect the rights of others. This social situation is affectionately known as...THE STATE OF NATURE.

Now, in this state of nature, one of our "natural rights" is our right to private property (in the sense of property referring to both possessions and to rights). Locke's famous defense for capitalism and economic inequality follows:

God-gave the earth to humanity in a sort of communistic state, where "this land was my land...this land is your land...this land was made for you and me" correctly applies. He also owns us humans, so that if we murder another person, we have "sinned" against God's private property. How does this public property turn to private ownership? By the labor theory of value. If there is an apple lying on the ground or "the public state" if you pick it up and dust it off, you have appropriated this apple for yourself by putting work into making it ready for consumption. So for Locke, labor changes the normative property status of things in the natural world: from being commonly owned, to private. A more appropriate example is farming. Land that is wild gives not much produce, but once I put my blood and sweat into making it more productive, it becomes mine. Now, nobody can take it away from me, since I have mixed my labor with the objects.

Now, some of the greedy people on here are thinking...well I could own the whole world then. That's not morally correct according to Locke, who claims that

1.) you have to leave "enough and as good" in the common property for others
2.) You can only take what you and your family can consume- you cannot take so much that "waste and spoilage" occur.

Plus, in the state of nature, you're going to have a lot of farmland you won't work and a lotta dead deer that you can't eat or preserve (after you hunted them of course)...and a whole lot of hungry, angry people against you.

So now, for the change that allows social inequality through hoarding. Before, you couldn't hoard things in nature simply because it violated the Lockean Proviso that it causes waste and spoilage. With the introduction of money, a durable-non-perishable good, we can store the value we have created through our labor in goods. Locke claims that certain people are naturally more industrious than others, going around and mixing their labor with everything. These people now have a way of saving up the resources claimed by their labor. Before, they could not pass anything on to their children above perishable goods for consumption, but now, they can pass on their accumulated imperishable wealth, giving their children a head start. Over many generations, this will tend to cause great differences in wealth between families. However, as long as there is no acquisition by force, isn't the acquisition fair at all points? If so, doesn't it justify the economic inequalities we would have now (granted that our system is flawed because of acquisition by force)?

Especially interested in arguments that tear up Locke using his own statements...so logical fallacies or problems with his original premises (things he assumes). But feel free to discuss anything related.

Working against Locke from within his own premises:
1.) This system depends upon the existence of God for property rights to occur. Who says that's a sound premise?
2.) This isn't exactly within what I have written, but Locke claims that we are allowed to defend ourselves against people who have an intent to kill us. We are allowed to kill them in this case. Yet, what is the difference between these "enemies" and our competitors? Enemies are simply competitors to a stronger degree in the state of nature. Locke tries to lessen this effect by hinting at the belief that there is an infinite supply of goods, since resources seem to just be lying around for us to pick up and mix our labor with. However, waste can only be bad if it hurts other people, meaning that resources are not unlimited. Therefore, killing a competitor prevents the rise of a potential...or even a "mini-enemy", which is justified in Lockean terms. Therefore, this either forces him to accept the fact that we can kill others and hoard in the state of nature for our own benefit, or property rights do not come as a result of labor mixing with resources.

When is it OK to Kill?

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 comments (9)

We've already discussed when it's OK to commit suicide, and I think most people agreed that suicide is morally OK when your suicide saves the lives of those around you, i.e. jumping on a grenade. People reasoned it out with different philosophies, but I think most everyone can agree that jumping on a grenade to save the lives of your friends is a brave and noble deed.

Here's a twist on that question: when is it OK to take the life of another human being? How does it relate to when it's OK to commit suicide?

To fuel thought, here's a couple scenarios that I came up with on the top of my head.

1. (Probably cliched but...) Imagine you were given a time-machine that allowed you to travel back in time to when Hitler was a young child. Would it be permissible to kill an (as yet) innocent child to save millions of Holocaust victims?

2. You're a doctor in a war zone, and your facilities are being overwhelmed by wounded and dying. You have limited resources and limited time, so is it permissible to pick and choose who to save vs. who to let die?

3. (If you've seen the Dark Knight) Pretend you were one of the people on the civilian ship, with the detonator to the prisoners' ship. You're told that if neither of you blows each other up, then the Joker will blow both ships up, so is it justified to kill the prisoners rather than have both ships blow up?

4. You're a doctor, and you've identified 10 people with terminally ill patients, who will die unless they get a particular organ transplant. One person, who happens to be perfectly healthy, happens to have all the organs and is a perfect match for all 10 people. Is it OK to somehow kill the one person and use his/her organs to save these 10 lives?

Do you feel like these scenarios need more information? For instance, would the livelihoods of each of these people matter? Is #4 different if the one person were a surgeon or a businessman or a drug dealer? What if the 10 people being saved are young children? Or senior citizens? Does it change the answer?

Blog Set-Up

by sophlightning305 on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 comments (21)

Hey everybody,

1.) The results are in!

What do people think of the blog?

Bad: 7%
Mediocre: 12%
Above Average: 12%
Great: 69%



Looks like we're doing a good job! (According to ourselves mostly hehe...!)

2.) We've also been trying to get a good mix of funny and serious articles on here, something for every mood... and it seems like we're just right...just need one more person to think it's too serious for it to be perfectly balanced...

Too Serious: 10%
Just Right: 70%
Not serious enough: 20%

I'm sure you guys can map this one out in ur minds...would look something like this:



3.) Last thing, somebody mentioned not liking the color scheme here...does anybody have a suggestion for how to change it? Or would most people want to keep it?

Is Orson Scott Card a Jerk?

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 comments (24)

Orson Scott Card writes:

"Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down, so it can be replaced with a government that will respect and support marriage, and help me raise my children in a society where they will expect to marry in their turn. Only when the marriage of heterosexuals has the support of the whole society can we have our best hope of raising each new generation to aspire to continue our civilization.."
Is gay marriage worth killing people over? If the majority of the people in the country want to impose something over others, should they get it? At one time, the majority of voting Americans wanted slavery, and didn't want women's suffrage. At one time, the majority of Americans wanted Japanese Internment. Is gay marriage an example of history repeating itself? Discuss.

Suicide

by a.kim on Saturday, November 08, 2008 comments (10)

This is by all means not a suicide note or I am not an emo kid. I should prolly give you some background before I present my questions.

This past weekend, my hallmate from my freshmen year killed himself in a cemetary. He lit himself on fire and took his own life. He was a christian, an athlete, high school valedictorian, and etc.

I didn't know him on a very deep level but I have talked to him before and would often enjoy playing Wii or bothering him while he played a game I've never seen before.

Ok that was a very short summary of the background. Now, I want to ask anyone willing to respond. When do you think it'd be okay to suicide? (like if you were being tortured... is it ok?) Do you believe everyone thinks about taking his/her own life the same amount? (does it differ depending on social status, race, religion, or etc.?) And what your opinion is of suicide? (such as religious views or personal views)

I know this is a very somber topic, but I felt like I needed another's opinion about it. Plus, if anyone wants to just give an opinion without answering a question, I welcome it happily.

Baking Your Own Bread

by John on Friday, November 07, 2008 comments (6)

Hello everyone!

Last night Ann Pan invited me to join this blog (This is John Li) so here I am!

I am really impressed by the level of collaboration and activity present on this blog.

Now that I should actually post some content:

Over the summer, while learning how to cook for myself, I stumbled upon a bunch of interesting recipes for various dishes. The one that I have loved the most is The Simple Dollar's Homemade Bread Recipe. Quote the introduction:

Over the last year, I’ve gradually moved more and more towards making my own food at home. There are several reasons for this: it tastes better, it reduces preservative intake, it’s more nutritious, and it’s often substantially cheaper than what you find in the store. It does take time, but once you get used to it, most food preparation doesn’t take much more time than going to the store, buying it, taking it home, popping it out of the package, and following the directions.

Breadmaking is a prime example of this phenomenon. Homemade bread is substantially tastier than store-purchased bread, isn’t laden with preservatives, is very inexpensive to make, and doesn’t take all that much time, either.

I've baked so many variations of this bread that kneading by hand is almost second nature for me now. The post includes clear instructions and photos. I highly recommend giving it a shot over the weekend.

Right now my dough is rising in the oven...


Judaism

by seagull5000 on Friday, November 07, 2008 comments (3)

Judaism

Before I start, I want to give a little disclaimer. We have a saying in Judaism that goes: "Two Jews, three opinions". What I mean is, whenever anyone tells you "Judaism believes this", its not usually the only take (of course, you should believe everything I say...). I try to give the Jewish view of itself, mixing in a little objectivity, which you probably won't notice unless you are Jewish. When I use "we" I am referring to Jews, as opposed to people in general. I encourage you to ask any questions you might have, and even to be critical (in the constructive sense, of course). I don't get offended, in general. If you want to email me instead of posting, its seagull5000@gmail.com. A brief outline of my discussion:

  1. Diety and Belief
  2. Practice and holidays
  3. Theodicy and Afterlife
  4. Who is Jewish and Other religions
  5. Political issues such as abortion and stem cells.

1. Diety and Belief
Judaism believes in the existence of a single personal God. This God is all powerful and all knowing, and at the same time cares about the individual personally. If the relationship between God and man in Christianity is father and children, in Judaism it is sovereign and subjects. God commands and expects us to obey. God only gives us laws we are able to fulfill, and can therefore can hold us responsible when we break them. Beyond monotheism and the "yoke of the commandments" as it is called, there is little dogma in Judaism in the way of belief. More important, or at least signficant, than belief, is figuring out how god wants us to act. We do that by studying and expounding Gods laws. The most important book in that respect is the Torah. The Torah is like the constitution plus a history book. Traditionally, it is believed God dictated it to Moses around 4000 years ago. It contains the creation story, and the story of how the Jewish people came to be, starting from our forefather Abraham through our enslavement in Egypt for 400 years, which God liberated us from through our leader Moses, to wandering in the desert for 40 years until we reached the land of Israel. It also contains 613 commandments. The rest of the bible (the christian old testament) does not directly contain any commandments. It is the story of the people in the land of Israel up until our dispersion from the land in 70 ce. Afterwards, discussions called the "Oral Torah" on the commandments as well as new laws that were derived from them were collected in the "talmud" in around 400 ce. The talmud contains many debates about the way it is we are to act in different situations and about what the correct laws themselves are. Finally, the laws were officially codified around 1200 ce in the "shulchan orech". From the original 613, 100s or even 1000s more were derived. While many of these laws cannot be found in the torah itself, they are still considered to be the will of god because they are derived from the torah, as we in America might say a law is "constitutional". Judaism is preoccupied with correctly following the laws and thus worshiping god correctly. More on reward and punishment later.

2. Practice and holidays
Some important Jewish practices include prayer, shabbat (sabbath), and kashrut (dietary laws). Other laws deal mainly with a code of ethics (don't kill, don't steal, etc). There are three prayer services everyday, morning, afternoon, and night (or more appropriately, night, morning, and afternoon as the Jewish day starts at nightfall). Prayer can be done individually, but can only fully be done congregationaly (at least 10 people, or traditionally, men).
Kashrut is the system of dietary laws. Jews are only allowed to eat certain animals, and those animals must be killed in the most humane way. Some "unkosher" animals are pig and shellfish. Some Kosher ones are cow and chicken. However, if a cow is not killed in the proper, humane way, it is not kosher. In addition, Jews are forbidden to mix dairy and meat. Many therefore have two sets of dishes for this purpose. Most people wait a certain amount of time between the eating of one and the other (longer between meat and milk than milk and meat).
Shabbat, the sabbath, is every Friday night until Saturday night, and is the most important observance in Judaism, more important than all the holidays, including the "high holidays". (Note an exception- we are obligated to violate the sabbath to save a life). It starts on Friday night at sundown with a traditional meal eaten with family and friends. Through Saturday night, it is forbidden to do all "work". "Work" is a limiting translation of the Hebrew word "malacha". It includes things I do for money, but also other things like cooking, lighting a fire, writing, driving, using electricity, playing music, making plans, use money, etc. The point is to abstain from all things that might keep you from enjoying the day to the fullest as a special day free from normal worries. We take a step back from the world and appreciate the natural order of things, and time with our families. On Shabbat, I like to read, play sports, go outside, play games, and take naps.
There are a number of holidays throughout the year which also require the observances of Shabbat. These celebrate various significant events in Jewish history. Some holidays do not require these observances. In addition, there are a number of fast days throughout the year, all of which (except for yom kippur, the day of attonement) are connected to the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples and our subsequent dispersion and persecution amongst the nations. The high holidays (the new year and yom kippur) occur in fall. (note- the jewish calendar is a mixed solar/lunar calendar, which is why holidays occur at different times relative to the gregorian). On the high holidays, we ask god for forgiveness for the sins of the past year, and pledge to do better this year.

3. Theodicy and Afterlife

Unlike Christianity, there is no definitive concept of an afterlife in Judaism. It is something that is not highly emphasized or explored in Judaism. It is not even mentioned in the Torah. I want to reemphasize as I mentioned above about the relative unimportance of beliefs, that observance of the laws in this life is what is important. Beliefs about an afterlife come as an explanation for why bad things happen to good people (ie that rewards come in the afterlife not this life). Some Jews don't even believe there is an afterlife, that it and reward/punishment were introduced just to give those people who couldn't just obey because god says so a reason to observe. Other conceptions of the afterlife include reincarnation, a nirvana like state, a "world to come", or a revival of the dead in this world. Coming up with explanations for why bad things happen to good people became especially important after Jews lost self rule in 70ce, and were subsequently persecuted nearly everywhere they went for practicing Judaism.
Personally, I believe that whatever happens after this life, it is still better to do "good" things even if there is no reward. The "reward" is being closer to the eternal (god). The reason to do good, even when it may bring us harm, is that we have a partner in god as the one who commands us to do good.

4. Who is Jewish and Other religions.

You are Jewish only if your mother is Jewish or you converted. There are no half Jews. Judaism accepts converts, but not easily. This perhaps rises from the dual character of Judaism as a religion and a nation. It must be something one really wants to do. Judaism does not proselytize. If someone approaches you and asks to convert, you are supposed to turn them away three times. Then, if they persist, you are supposed to ask them "what do you see in this? Don't you know that the Jewish people are exiled, abused and harassed, and that great troubles befall them from time to time?" and if they still want to convert, they are then admitted to a process that takes around two years.
All people are required to observe 7 basic laws (against idolitry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft, eating the limbs off animals, and an obligation to set up a just judiciary system).
There was a request to specifically deal with why Judaism does not accept Jesus and Mohamed as prophets, and to explain the Jewish messiah. Note, here I'm not saying that Christianity and Islam are invalid, just why i don't practice them. Prophets in Judaism were really only meant to serve one function: bring the people back to obeying God's laws. A prophet who introduces something new or outside of the original law is not believed to be a Jewish prophet. This comes from the belief that God said everything he had to say in the Torah, and he has no more to say. I think the differences between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are evident enough to show that these religions were something "new". From my understanding, Judaism is much closer to Islam practically and theologically in terms of submission to the will of God and prayer style amongst other things. Also, the trinity doesn't fit with Jewish theology.
Again, there is no real dogma in Judaism, so the concept of messiah is ambiguous. It isn't mentioned at all in the bible (allow some will say it is indirectly). It was more fully formed after the dispersion in 70 ce. After we were exiled from the land and the temple was destroyed, a major focus of Judaism became mourning these events and hoping that we will one day return. Messiah arose as the belief in someone who would ultimately redeem us from our oppression and bring us back to the land. It is more of a political leader than anything. There are varying views on what exactly this Messiah will do. Some say he'll bring world peace, some say he'll rebuild the temple and reincarnate the dead. Some say he'll only come after we make world peace. According to the most popular tradition, in order to be the Messiah you must be Jewish, male, descendent of Solomon, rebuild the temple, and revive the dead.

5. Political issues such as abortion and stem cells

The views of Judaism get often misassumed here. Abortion is not against Jewish law. Life begins at birth, not conception according to Judaism. Still, Judaism would not have you say "I'm too lazy to put on a condom, you can just get an abortion". But it recognizes that the most important thing is the health of the mother- mental and physical.
Judaism is also for stem cell research, as it can be used to save living people. However, it believes the right way to do this is using embryos that would be discarded anyways as opposed to creating ones just for this purpose.


Please let me know if I have been unclear anywhere, or what needs more explaining. Also, please ask me questions. I don't get offended by anything.

Atheism

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Friday, November 07, 2008 comments (20)

Since I was tasked to represent atheism, I will do my best to help you all understand us. To start us off, here are two cool videos.

Funny video about Christians (from an secularist point of view), and a catchy upbeat song! I guarantee that you'll like it.


Here is short and entertaining video of Richard Dawkins.


Here's a funny Monty Python video that parodies Christianity


Here are the tenets of atheist thought and I think that I can speak for atheists in general.

1. Religions are inherently hilariously ridiculous.

Come on, a man was swallowed whole by a whale and lived to tell the story? A ship was built by a single man that contained more than 10 million animal species?

Seriously, guys?

If you really compare Christianity's claims with Scientology's they're not that far apart. A giant ship of all animals on earth isn't that far from the Evil Lord Xenu blowing up millions of aliens in our volcanoes with nuclear weapons.

Although many things in science are very far-out and non-intuitive (light's particle-wave duality, Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the Theory of Relativity) science's claims are backed by experiments, observations, and real practical technologies that utilize these claims.

I know what some of the religous people are going to say. "You can't prove that an Ark containing 85 zillion species of plants and animals didn't exist! You weren't there!" And you'd be right. I can't disprove the existence of Noah's Ark. But I don't think I should have to. The mere idea of it is hilarious and ridiculous, and I shouldn't have to disprove it in order to be confident in my belief that it never happened.

2. Religions bear an uncanny resemblance to mysticism and superstition.

These are all worldviews that are thousands of years old, make fantastic claims with suspicious evidence, and are filled with circular logic. And the Creator always talks to the prophet "alone in the woods or in a mountain" when it just happens that there's no other witnesses around to corroborate the story. And magically, this one person appears with tablets as the "word of God" for all to follow.

For an all-powerful being, God sure tends to communicate his commands through easily forgeable mediums a lot doesn't He? Most of the educated world has already rejected all forms of mysticism and superstition. Is there any reason NOT to consider religion another form of mysticism/superstition?

In summary, I argue that the burden of proof lies on religions to prove God exists.

Here's a little personal story on why. My grandfather was once accused by the Chinese government of being a spy for the United States. In China at that time, you were guilty until proven innocent. Except, as you can imagine, it's impossible to prove you're not a spy. It's easy to prove someone IS a spy, if you find the right documents and evidence, but what can you say or do to show you're NOT a spy? Anything you say is exactly what a spy would say. What documents can you show to prove you're not a spy? Any document you show is exactly what a spy would have specially prepared for this exact occasion.

In the same way, it's EASY to prove God exists. All you have to do is have God come out and say to everyone, "Hey, I'm real!" He just needs to say something out loud. On the other hand, if there is nobody pulling the strings behind the scenes, we cannot prove nobody's there. Any contradictory evidence, i.e. dinosaur fossils, is just an "elaborate ruse by God to test our faith." Any meaningless and senseless tragedy, i.e. school shootings or child molestations, although fully preventable by the all-powerful God, it shows that He has a "Greater Plan" or something, and we are unworthy to understand his logic.

If there is no God, it can never be proven that there is no God, just like my grandfather couldn't prove he wasn't a spy.

1 dollar 1 dollar, who wants cheap stuff!!!!

by snakesaywhat on Thursday, November 06, 2008 comments (18)

The holiday season is approaching, my last exam before the Thanksgiving break is tomorrow. As an authoritative figure in getting the most return for your dollar I am asking readers "What items do you want for Christmas!" I will use my superior art of bargain hunting to find a deal for you. If you have an amazing deal that is not posted, please leave a comment and I'll update the post.

Post will also include product recommendations. These are my opinions, I do not hold anything responsible. The product I recommend are items I would personally buy.

Updates 11/07/1008
Phones:
If you are renewing a new cellphone contract sign up with AT&T and get a XBox 360 + some randome cellphone for free. (Recommendtion on the deal, but not the individual phones)

Now a list of laptop computers:
Compaq 15.4in, 2GB, 160GB, $298, Black Friday only item.
(I do not recommend this laptop for school, unless your dirty poor. However this is usable for moms and dads, assuming your parents are not a video game addict, or use it for CAD and graphics)

Lenovo lineup. visite lenovo.com>>(under solutions for) Government & education>>Higher education>>under scroll options Student select Student & Alumni (click "Go")>>Notesbooks.
With this you can get a student discount of 5% and when you check out use the code USXTHANKSGIVING for an additional 10% off. 
(I recommend the entire ThinkPad product line, don't buy IdeaPads unless you think they are pretty and would boost your self esteem.)

Hard drives:
For external HD you can purchase an internal HD and put an enclosure on it, making it a external or you can buy one prebuilt. 
Enclosures: Search newegg.com, make you match sata to sata or ide to ide.

Cameras:
DSLR vs Point and Shoot: In ample light conditions, point and shoot camera can produce similar results as a DSLR. However, DSRL will have far better performance under low light conditions, such as in doors. DSLRs have minimal shutter lag (the time between when you press the shutter button to the time when the picture is actually recorded), usually bellow 0.5 seconds. Point and shoot camera will be well above one second. If you don't like missing shot or take a lot of action photos you would want an DSLR. DSLRs also allow manual control, enable you to creat special effects. You can also change lenses, allowing you to shoot far and near with the same camera body. The down side is that DSLRs are very expensive, ranging from 500-8000 dollars without the lens. Cheap lens will cost around $150-600 and more professional lens will range from $1000-10000. 

Canon SD1100, awsome quality for your money. It lacks a wide angle zoom, depend on your usage, this might or might not be a problem
Nikon D40, entry level DSLR
Canon Xti, entry level DSLR
I'm keeping an eye on these cameras as Black Friday approches and the ads are released

TVs:
Buy a major brand television (Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, etc) unless your dirt poor. In that case you can have my old CRTs. If you need explaintation for the difference of DLP, LCD projection, LCD, Plasma, laser, OLED, etc, etc, etc please post a comment and I'll explain. 

If you live in England you can now purchase a Dodge Avenger and get one for free... no kidding

More to come...



A neat gadget for those of us who spend a little too much time on our laptops...(me? guilty as charged)

by zexi on Wednesday, November 05, 2008 comments (3)

Windows users rejoice! SlifeLabs is finally sharing the love with their windows version of Slife, a productivity manager.

Their website description:  

"Designed around a set of intuitive visualizations, Slife 2.0 helps you stay on top of your activities and productivity automatically. Create activity groups, set goals and discover how you spend your time."

I for one have been looking for a desktop productivity manager for quite some time, and although I'm not sure if this'll fulfill  exactly what I've been looking for, it definitely looks cool and worth trying over the next couple of days.

Check it out here and see for yourself! 

A Look into the Future

by epfanne on Tuesday, November 04, 2008 comments (18)

Now that the election is over (go Obama!), we expect revolutionary changes perhaps in the near future...

Many believe that in 50 years we will no longer be using laptops, plasma TV, and many other high techs that we are lusting after today. So which direction is technology headed?

Futurama seems reasonable to me. Agree?

Chinese Classical Thought & Buddhism

by Grandpa's Way on Tuesday, November 04, 2008 comments (10)

It's interesting that I'm discussing this topic under the religion section, because neither Chinese classical thought nor Buddhism were originally intended to be religious. Either way, what I'm about to talk about should still be relevant to the discussion on religion and belief systems.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are some unique features of Chinese classical thought:

- The universe is self-creating and self-perpetuating. Because of this, the Chinese originally did not have a creation myth (though many were introduced later).

- Cosmic forces such as ying yang, qi, the 5 agents/elements, and the Dao are in dynamic interaction with each other. Thus, the universe is in constant flux and nothing remains stagnant or permanent. The idea of "to be" (that something just exists) so prominent in Western thought was not a part of classical Chinese thought.
As I see it, these cosmic forces were not exactly religious in nature, rather, they were means by which ancient people could explain the world around them.

- Everything works in correlation. The way that something is comes from the way it relates to everyting else, not from its inherent properties. Therefore, the whole is emphasised over the parts and, in society, the group over the individual.

- No mutual exclusivity. The existence of duality without dichotomy. It is possible to have two mutually defining entities A and B, such that A is A because it is not B, but A can also become B because they are ultimately both part of one big harmonious whole.
The same applies to belief systems; one could potentially be a Confucian in the morning, a Buddhist in the afternoon, and a Daoist at night.

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With this as the fundamental structure of Chinese thinking, later schools of thought (mainly Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism) emerged and integrated themselves in the basic framework to create what we would now call today "Chinese thought."

Daoism
- claims that what's on the surface does not reflect reality, mistrusts words because they cannot fully articulate the Dao
- advocates non-action (wu wei) as the means of aligning oneself with the way of the Dao (which is the ultimate goal of human beings)
- Focused more on individual spiritual living and returning to nature than the other schools.

Confucianism
- The goal of humans is to become moral beings through education, which begins in the family with filial piety. A person must learn his/her proper place in society and act accordingly. Eventually, the things that one wants to do ought to be the same as the things that one should do.
- As you can see, this really isn't a religion, but rather an ethical code governing social relationships and individual life. The only reason why it's an "ism" arises from later historical developments.

Buddhism
- Life is full of suffering. When you die, it doesn't get any better because you are reborn and just begin the cycle of suffering over and over again.
- Desire is the root of all suffering. Buddhists have ascetic practices to control and ultimately eliminate desire. With enough training, one eventually reaches enlightenment and will no longer suffer the cycle of rebirth.
- When Buddhism was introduced to China, it became "popularized" so as to reach a broader audience. An afterlife was introduced, as well as Bodhisattvas (people who have reached enlightenment but choose to remain behind to save everyone else on earth).
Thus, Buddhism, originally more of a philosophy than a religion, became more of a religion than a philosophy.

Hinduism

by Sujeeth on Monday, November 03, 2008 comments (10)

Due to poor documentation and the abstract nature of the religion itself, there are several interpretations (and misinterpretations) of this religion. The core idea, like in all religions, is to somehow relate the self to the divine. Hinduism tries to offer different paths to this goal (every individual can pick the path that's right for him/her) and argues that they are essentially equivalent.
There are three so-called "major paths" classified by the nature of the human. Jnana Yoga (Path of Knowledge) is suitable for Sattvic people ("Pure" people, usually Brahmanas (Priests) - more on the caste system in a later article), Karma Yoga (Path of Action) for Rajasic people ("Dim" people, usually the Kshatriyas (Warriors) and Vaishyas (Merchants)), and Bhakti Yoga (Path of Devotion) for Tamasic ("Dark" people).
So to sum it up, the goal of human life is salvation (called Nirvana = release from the cycle of reincarnation), which can be achieved through Knowledge, Action, and Devotion.

War on Religion

by epfanne on Monday, November 03, 2008 comments (23)

Speaking of different religious belief, it has become a rationale for terrorism, a way of justifying what is "right" and "wrong".

In the past 200 years, we have gone through 4 waves of terrorism and modelski. we started out with terrorism due to anarchists from 1880-1914, then moved on to nationalist and ideologists from 1920-1960 and 1960-1990 respectively. Finally, religious terrorism initiated after the 1990 and has become a transnational and comic one. The state is no longer the political arbiter, which in turn leads to larger and more violent acts of terrorism.

I can't say what's Al-Qaeda's ultimate motive, but his ideology is justified by his religious belief. He opposes all nations not governed to a particular interpretation of Islam and the US forces in the Middle East, therefore he "attack the enemies of God" in order to create a unified Muslim-state.

Though he might've used religion only as an excuse, but it's sure powerful enough to bring his people together and follow his lead.

So does religion advocate peace or war?

Mini Reminder

by sophlightning305 on Monday, November 03, 2008 comments (4)

Hey everybody, I'm glad to see that we have so many new authors for the blog, as well as visitors who just drop in. I'd like to just say welcome to the new authors, and it would be great if you guys could briefly introduce yourself, either in a post or on the post called "Introduce yourselves" lol. I'd also like to encourage readers who feel like they have things to say, but are not sure if their comments will be well received to definitely share their opinions. Differing viewpoints is a big goal on this site!

But I also think that we have suddenly gained a large number of different expectations and viewpoints, without a sense of what this site is truly about. I know that many of the new authors may have joined so they wouldn't hurt inviter's feelings (if only the people i invited were that kind haha) but now's the time to decide if you would like to stay on as a contributing author.

MISSION!
To have a site where everybody can go to and find that all of the posts are stimulating and fun.

Key notes:

Quality not Quantity- Most sites are going for size...amounts of posts, authors and readers are huge...But the fact is that the quality just can't be good on those sites and readers are not prompted to read posts outside of their pre-determined interests.

Here, I'm hoping that each post is good enough so that I will be willing to read and respond to something about politics or sports (things i usually avoid cuz of the lack of personal creative thought put into it). Essentially, you should not have to sift through the site to find something remotely interesting.

Creativity- Sure news stories are interesting...but there's a lot hmmm...everywhere.

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Well, that's it for me, if you have suggestions or ideas for the direction of this site (where u want it to go) by all means share it. O and btw, I know everyone's busy so no worries if you don't post for awhile, it's the thought that counts.


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snakesaywhat: Can we give people creative titles? Like facebook? Anyone know how to write the code to change the "contributor" section to add titles to people? I call dibs on "chief engineering officer" hee hee

A Call for Religious View Points

by eohcnrk on Sunday, November 02, 2008 comments (5)

Heaven-hi!

Joey wanted us to form a religious discussion (not necessarily a debate) allowing us to share our view points. I guess Kevin went ahead and posted an article concerning the FSM, although Kevin is an atheist, so I wasn't sure how serious he was about FSM...

Before I bring this challenge to you, I would like you to watch this random youtube clip:



I thought this clip really demonstrates how small we could be, and it raises the question of the existence of a god, or whatever else may be out there.

Obviously religion is an important issue amongst us. As far has history has been able to recount for the existence of human beings, religion has also co-existed. This discussion is really here to reach far into all corners of philosophical thought pertaining to religion. For example, how do we validate our religion in our own perspective? To what degree of devoutness do we ascertain? What do we believe happens to others who do not follow our religion? How do we justify our religion as being correct? How valid is the historical background of our religion? Certainly do not limit your post to these questions as I encourage those to touch all base necessary. If time permits in your schedule, I, amongst others (I'm sure) will be willing to read the articles to its entirety, so be certain to be thoroughly extensive with your thoughts.

I presume there will be no swearing, hate messages, bigotry, and etc. Again, I encourage those in discussion to avoid attacks on other religious thoughts in hopes of avoiding heated and circular debates.

So I open this discussion to 6 people in particular, though I encourage as many people as possible to participate:

Kevin Tao to discuss Atheism
Roland Liang to discuss Christianity
Wei Luo to discuss Buddhism and Chinese Traditional Thought
Sujeeth Baradawaji to discuss Hinduism
Jeremy Siegel to discuss Judaism
Ibrahim Mekki to discuss Islam

So...get to it

An Explanation of my Religion

by Kevin, NeuEve Team on Sunday, November 02, 2008 comments (2)

Joey asked me to write a little about my religious beliefs, and so I've decided that I will write about that.


I am a worshiper of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM). I have chosen this religion for many reasons. One of the reasons is because it is obviously more logical and reasonable than all other religions, in one of its major strengths is that it is the only religion that cannot be disproven.


If you are interested in learning about the FSM, here are some of our core beliefs.

There is an invisible, all-powerful being known as the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It is our Creator and Intelligent Designer.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe after drinking heavily, which is why world is flawed and humans are imperfect.

Depending on whether you accept the Flying Spaghetti Monster as your Lord and Savior, you will be sent to Heaven or Hell. We believe Heaven is filled with beer volcanoes and stripper factories. Hell is just like heaven except the beer is stale and the strippers have VD.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster hid dinosaur fossils and other so-called "evidence" for evolution
underground to dupe us. Being all-knowing, he knew we would dig them up and start to fabricate blasphemous "theories," to test our faith. In fact, whenever mere mortals attempt any kind of scientific measurement, the FSM is manipulating the results with His Noodly Appendage.

Pirates were the FSM's chosen ones on this Earth. For the near extinction of pirates, we have greatly angered the FSM, and It is punishing us with global warming, earthquakes and hurricanes. Here is the proof.

And finally, we believe that Jesus was the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. If you're feeling ballsy, and think that you can prove otherwise, there is a $1,000,000 reward (this is legit yo!). But obviously no one has yet been able to prove that Jesus was not the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Because he was, duh!

Thank you for your time! For more on my religion, check out http://www.venganza.org/

President

by seagull5000 on Saturday, November 01, 2008 comments (6)

Hey everyone,

I haven't really been on here in a while, so I hope I didn't miss this, but who are you voting for for President and why?

Also, what do you think of the electoral college? Is it time to do away with it?

I have my ideas, but I want to here what you guys think first......

speech recognition

by Sujeeth on Saturday, November 01, 2008 comments (3)

hey all, so i've been thinking about this for a while. say you're in a crowd of a hundred people, the human mind can channel out 99 others and "listen" to just one. To mimic this, they have directional microphones. An interesting problem is to come up with some algorithm that can channel out (and actually recognize the speech, to some level of accuracy) a hundred speakers with a single microphone. I haven't read too much about it, but please let me know what you guys think of it. For those who want to read more about it, this idea goes by the name of "speech diarization" in the signal processing literature.

Second Chance

by epfanne on Saturday, November 01, 2008 comments (3)

A powerful song for you to enjoy.

Movies

by a.kim on Friday, October 31, 2008 comments (4)

This has been a topic that has been bugging me lately. There really hasn't been any good movies out lately (haven't seen Dark Knight yet). They're either some sort of sequel (Saw 5??? umm they're still going on??) or some sort of comedy that can't be really considered a GOOD movie. Because of this, I feel like I should try to create my own, creative storyline and submit it to like... I dunno George Lucas or someone.

I just want to finish my blurb by saying... I dunno about you guys but I'd like to see a MegaMan movie. That kid is straight up sick.

-a.kim

New Member

by a.kim on Friday, October 31, 2008 comments (0)

Hmm... Well my name Andrew Kim. All you need to know about me is... I know Mike Choe. I think that's a good enough introduction. Cuz he's freaking Mike Choe.

-a.kim

Entrepreneuring

by sophlightning305 on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 comments (7)

Hey everybody, on a more serious note than the $20 auction, does anybody have any ideas for entrepeneurship? There is something on the 15th at Northwestern University called Entrepreneur Idol where winner gets a 25k 10% investment to start up their idea...at UofI. So, if you come up with one, you will definitely be included in the project although possibly not in the presentation/pitch of the idea on the 15th. But we must also come up with well-rounded teams to show to the sponsors that their 10% commitment is worth it. So please just brainstorm and bounce ideas around. Here are a few of mine.

New Plane "Seats"-
Background:
Airplane seats are heavy, they give you not much leg room and they are terribly annoying to sleep in.
Invention:
A light weight board like structure that shapes itself to your body. It is vertical during the plane ride and you strap yourself in, so instead of sitting, you're standing but with not much weight on your legs. Instead, your weight will be supported by things both under your armpit and legs (need help on other ideas to support weight of standing/slightly reclined person). The "seats" or "stands" shall also be positioned back to back so that you have maximum room between you and the next person, although you will be looking at someone the whole ride. The extra people that can fit into the middle aisles mean that some of the sides can be left open. Here I propose things that will hold these stands horizontally, that are attached to the walls. Essentially, when you get tired, you will attach your board to the wall and climb up into your new bunk bed. Benefits are that you have more legroom during the ride and more comfy i think, because you won't feel really weak after your trip, and you can actually lay out in economy class.

Swimming Start Helper-
Background:
There are tens of thousands of swim teams all across the world. Add that up and there are easily a few million club (mostly pre-highschool), highschool and college swimmers along with the countless millions who swim recreationally. As a swim coach, the most time taking skill, yet a skill that is crucial for competitive swimming and just looking like you know how to swim...is the start. Learning to not belly-flop takes most swimmers about 3-4 years to develop and at least 100+ hours average. It also unfortunately often takes individual coaching to develop since most of the problems come from confidence and it is difficult to pause and think in the half second it takes to enter the water.
Invention:
So, I propose a pair of rails that will allow a person to be suspended (after they jump off the block) and moved forward (by ball bearings on the rail and a harness around the person) and into the water. The shape of the track guides the person through the path and feeling of a correct start. A biiig benefit is being able to feel the actual speed that a real start should feel like. Similar object can be created for divers who (if you add more friction) can go through their diving procedures in slow motion, and can learn the feel of their dives just by following of the track. (design idea thanks to jake)

Breathalyzer-Key (TAKEN ALREADY by SAAB)
Background:
No more drunk driving
Invention:
So basically, you have a key that's retracted in a little tube and cannot be used until you blow into the breathlyzer that's attached. So if you're drunk, your key will not be accessible.

Please criticize, comment and provide other creative ideas.

$20 Auction

by sophlightning305 on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 comments (26)

Ok, for all of you smarties out there, I'm gonna auction off $20. Rules are:

Bids have to go up by 50 cents at least...so no $1 and then $1.25
If after 12 hours no new bid has been placed, you win.
If you are the second highest bidder after the end of the bidding, you must pay me your bid.

This is for real! Please post bids in the comments.

Those at Duke will be paid by Kevin Tao

Enjoy! (even those who sit out should have a good time)

Social Experiment

by sophlightning305 on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 comments (9)

I heard an interesting thing in Economics a few days ago that when polled, 80-90% of the population think that they're "above average" drivers. Same results for looks. Supposedly, they look around and say hmm, "well i know i'm no brad pitt or sarah pallin"...but I'm pretty decent. Obviously 80% of people can't be above average.

Odd that our confidence levels seem to be so high according to these tests...almost doesn't seem to stick with what we know about people. Now, I think that these two things are hard for people to self-inspect because people rarely get people telling them how "beautiful/ugly" they are. For drivers, bad drivers just say that they're "aggressive" and not unsafe, while the unbearably slow drivers just claim to be "safe". There are also no ways of quantifying either of them (tickets/horn beeps might, but people justify more tickets with time saved on the commute...so not poor skills but a conscious trade).

Instead, what about intelligence? Would people generally say they're above average when they know they're a C or a B student? Would be interesting to have people comment anonymously with a number between 1-10 with how smart they think they are COMPARED TO THE WORLD. I think we have pretty high average, seeing how this is an "intellectual" blog haha...and it'll be interesting to compare that number to what happens in the next post.

Use your brain!

by Unknown on Monday, October 27, 2008 comments (6)

Imagine now you're a runner at a competition. you run so hard and now just behind the second runner.........here's the question: when you overpass the second runner, your rank become...?

the way you might think:

1. because I outstripped the second, I became the first.
2. because I outstripped the second, then I replace the ranking of the second, I became the second runner

Clearly, we all know n0.2 is the right way to think.

then, how about this......

you 're also running in a competition and you overpass the last runner, your rank become...?

choose your answer:

1. the last one
2. the second last one

think carefully before you answer it....HA

Transformasphere- Prize involved

by sophlightning305 on Sunday, October 26, 2008 comments (3)

I am not sure how many people read the previous article. But if you haven't i encourage you to read the previous one before visiting this website. Norton's letter also exemplifies the message.

However, many people believe that humanitarian efforts are a world apart from our careers. They see it as building homes in louisiana, wells in Africa and everything in between. In all honesty, I haven't heard one person claim that their dreams were of being a construction site worker.

Misconceptions...I like this idea called Transformasphere that encourages each of us to make a difference through our careers, not apart from them. These are professional spheres like education, healthcare, commerce...spheres in which we will all become involved (engineers, ur part of commerce =P). Please read the website to get the necessary information.

http://www.transformasphere.com/node/100

So what I would like is for everybody here to brainstorm and we will come up with something that will change the world. Here is truly our chance to use our real talents to make a lasting difference in the world and have the funding to do so. Lastly, because my small group was offered a lunch should our idea win, I am offering it right back. Whoever's idea is believed to be best on this website will be treated by me to a restaurant of his/her choosing...I don't care where you live (although I'll have to choose the date haha). So if you hear a good idea, please give a thumbs-up for it as a vote, as well as suggestions. We are trying to come up with a master plan...not a bunch of little ones.

Where we are....Truly

by sophlightning305 on Sunday, October 26, 2008 comments (4)

Our generation looks up to the few titans that seemingly moved the world with their abilities and contributions to the world.

For technology we have: Bill Gates with Microsoft, Steve Wozniak of Apple, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google.
Science: Our very own Leon Lederman, whose discovery of the muon neutrino and bottom quark leaves a mark in every physics textbook, Stephen Hawkings, for achieving so much despite his numerous disabilities.
Politics: Bill Clinton
Sports: Michael Jordan

Mr. Rogers made sure that we knew we were all special, Barney told us we would be loved no matter what, and the teletubbies seemed just to promote tele-tubby custard. You pair that with our parents telling us that each of us can be "anything we want to be", and it seems like you're close to Utopia. WRONG! We have bred a spirit of mediocrity where the phrase becomes "Oh, I can do what Bill Gates did...I insert excuse here"

1.) just don't want to
2.) don't want to work that hard
3.) don't care though.

So here I am to tell you the truth. Take any one of us out the world right now, and the fact is that the world would not care. True there will be one more empty seat in Chem... but all you are is a butterfly...and I'm telling you your effect does not stir tornadoes in Jakarta. In essence, the world does not need you, it does not need me.

Some will say, wait..."if I become a good doctor, will I not save hundreds of lives, which changes the future?" Take a look around princess, there's a room-full of people who are capable of doing the same thing that you are making your highest goals, that you believe will set you above mediocrity. Remove you, and the hospital finds another like you. After all, it's not just your class that churns out pre-meds, but every campus in the thousands of schools across the world. So, I ask you now, have you broken mediocrity?

Instead, think about the teacher who goes in and truly makes a difference in her students. Somebody who inspires them to be a doctor rather than drop out of school. Not everybody has the patience, the ability to communicate, the leadership of becoming a good teacher. I would argue that this person has become something great. Turning back to the pre-meds, not all is lost. Think about the people in our generation who will cure cancer, remove the suffering of those with AIDS, and find the cause of diabetes. Hard-work and sacrifice makes us into these worthwhile servants of society. These are the people society recognizes and needs.

For those who are Christian, He gave us Talents, do not be the servant who simply buries it...or even the one that makes only one Talent for his Master. Each one of us ARE special, now realize your strengths and weaknesses and apply them. The keyword is "servants". Let us not let down the world.

For the many of us who are deciding on a career path, remember that how we end our lives in 50-60 years is just a sum of all of our everyday actions right now. With the goals that many of us have right now, even if we achieve them, if this article finally hits home at the age of 50, we will realize that we have been doing nothing worthwhile with our lives. Consider this: I'm an econ major. My job right now is to study and do the best I can to absorb the knowledge around me. Nothing special about that. There are millions of other econ students doing almost the same thing as me. What sets me apart to do something extraordinary lies in three places.

1.) The skill set to allow me to become a great economist
2.) The right goals with what I'm going to do as a "great economist"
3.) The passion for the work that it entails.

I will never be 6'7" and "be like Mike", nor will I be able to memorize what the parts of the body are and what to do when one hurts. My skill sets allow me to analyze human thoughts about money and react on it. Sure I can choose to be a doctor or basketball player, but there will be thousands with the potential to be better than I am. So instead of becoming the 1001st doctor, I will choose to go into a field where I know few have my potential.

Similarly, I have to have a goal that complements my potential. The person next to me may be studying econ just as hard as I am and have the same skill set. He's like many of us, studying to pass the next test and someday get a random job that will pay well. But, if I'm doing it so that my knowledge may one day benefit an impoverished nation that suffers from bad government economic policy, I'm the only one on the path to extraordinary deeds.

Finally is the passion. If I care nothing for helping people or the workings of the "Leviathan" which is our economic system, then both my goals and my job mean nothing. The work that my goals and occupation entails must be something I truly enjoy, or else I will never make the sacrifices necessary to reach my goal. Instead, it's passions combined with our skill-set that should determine our goals.

After all this downing thought, I would like to remind all of us that each of the Titans are also born into mediocrity. Bill Clinton came from an abusive single-parent home after his father, a salesperson, died in his childhood. His hardwork and motivated heart led him to become the able-leader that America needed for a decade of prosperity, positively influencing billions of people around the world. Most people would have given up in Stephen Hawking's shoes, but he ran the extra mile so that his mind could be a blessing to the world. So once again I'll ask you, can you and will you break out of mediocrity?

Each of us can do it.