Welcome to the inaugural publication of The Clifton College Scholars Journal.
In this first edition you will find a collection of original work by our academic scholars from all Year levels in the Upper School. This collection represents some of the finest work produced by our pupils over the year, and it shows the breadth and depth of their interests.
The aim of this journal is to give our pupils a further opportunity to ‘fly’, to pursue areas of inquiry of interest to them, and to test themselves and their ideas beyond the classroom and the formal curriculum. What you will find in this volume is a tantalising taste of what does interest, challenge, and excite our pupils.
As suggested by the different sections of this journal, you can expect to be entertained, transported, informed, extended, and even challenged.
On behalf of them all, and the College, I hope you enjoy.
Dr Bradley Wells Deputy Head Academic
The spirit nourishes within
The Creative Mind
A Summer’s Evening
A Wooden SUP
Identity in Oscar Wilde and Janette Winterson
Senior Art Project
The Inquiring Mind
Innovations in the STEM Field
What if we dig a hole to the Centre of the Earth?
The Woman who could smell Parkinson’s Disease
Obedience in Individualist and Collectivist Cultures
A Thin Fortune
Can Robots Ever Replace Human Surgeons?
The Rhetorical Mind
Ethics and the Virtuous Soul
Why Music Matters
To What Extent do Prisoners Have Rights
To What Extent is Humour Universal?
Is Language Effective Communication?
Dylan Thomas and the Literary Map
Capitalism and Freedom
Appendix: Pippard Society Meetings 2024
Leyla G (Year 10)
Ben S (Year 13)
Megan C (Year 13)
Eleanor P (Year 13)
Flower Y (Year 9)
David C (Year 10)
Avik B (Year 12)
Issy B (Year 13)
Fergus F-H (Year 12)
Nicole L (Year 12)
Anna B (Year 13)
Arda S (Year 9)
Gilbert C (Year 9)
Henry S (Year 9)
Rory W (Year 9)
Eve M (Year 12)
Alex L (Year 12)
The Creative Mind
A Summer’s Evening Leyla
G (Year 10)
Angrily the cupboard doors slammed and clattered. The bedroom walls shifted and changed shape like those distorting fairground mirrors. Flashes of harsh white light struck our bewildered, sleepy faces as the ceiling lamp swung back and forth. A loud rushing sound, like roaring winds in an approaching storm, blasted through the room. For a moment, we held onto each other, crouching low, as the ground lurched beneath us. Without warning I broke away from my mum’s grip. Scrambling, I raced down the corridor, snatching bunny from my pillow and my little box of shells. Just above the howling, I could hear my mum’s shrill, frantic screams, ordering me to come back. But then a wave of splintering, cracking floorboards swept me off my feet, hurling me face down. Winded, gasping for air, I tried to stand up. My head throbbed painfully. Dust stung my eyes. My ears rang. Out of the darkness, a strong arm grabbed me and dragged me to my feet. We staggered to the door and down the concrete steps.
Outside, a crowd of dishevelled, shouting guests pushed, barged and shoved their way past us. Elbowing our way out of the building we joined duvets and pillows, jostling with large bags and water bottles; a bizarre hoard of half dressed guests, clutching belongings, converged around the poolside.
“We need to get away from the hotel, out onto open ground, away from the buildings.” Mum repeated for the tenth time, pacing back and forth. Baba swatted her away, tight-lipped and agitated.“We can’t all fit in the car. There are too many of us and I’m certainly not leaving my mother behind. We stay put, all together, it will be fine. The hotel staff will know what to do.”
Deckchairs were hastily claimed and dragged away into family groups. Seeing this, Mum grabbed the nearest chair and gestured to my brother Kasim to run and get one of the sun loungers. Everyone was busy, shouting to one another. The scraping and scuffing of furniture on marble was jarring. I carefully started to arrange my things on the plump, pink sunlounger. This would be my spot.
“You can’t have that one Leyla. Babaanne needs it.”
Baba gestured to his mother to come and sit down. Perched on the edge of a bench, I was startled by how small she looked. Her usually poised self was slumped, her tanned skin pale under the moonlight. She turned slowly, staring at him blankly. Heaving herself off the bench, she shuffled towards us, shrunken in her long, blue dressing gown. Clasping her handbag to her chest, she lowered herself unsteadily onto the cushion that moments before I had claimed as mine. Angry tears pricked my eyes. Picking up my things, I reluctantly found a space on the cold, stone floor. She caught my eye. Her warm smile betrayed nothing of the flash of uncertainty I had glimpsed in her gaze.
Muttering about aftershocks and supplies, my mum scuttled off, despite Baba's protests, back into the hotel to get ‘essentials’. A few moments later, she reappeared, armed with pillows, jumpers, blankets, water and biscuits. Triumphantly, she handed a small, black rucksack of valuables to Baba. She looked a little calmer now. “I wonder what the tsunami risk is here,” Baba mused, staring out onto the smooth, inky, blue sea in the distance.
“Oh for God’s sake,” Mum hissed through gritted teeth. Her tense gaze darted across the dark waters. She kept rummaging through her bag, going through her invisible checklist repeatedly, as if the solution to her worries might somehow be found there.
Hassled staff flitted around, like black and white moths, handing out mini water bottles. No one really seemed to know what they should be doing and there was no sign of the hotel manager. Baba was becoming increasingly frustrated.
“Surely they must have a disaster recovery plan, or a roll call to check guests. This is ridiculous.”
“This is Turkey,” mum said, “What do you expect?” Which annoyed Baba even more.
Again the ground shook, alive beneath us, a strange judder passing through our bodies, like a malevolent spirit. It was as if the earth was alive, revolted by our presence, trying to shake us away. I could hear the sharp, brittle rattle and clinking of cutlery and glass. Mum grabbed onto Kasim and me, as if to shield us. A wave of shouts, gasps and hurried talking washed over the crowd around the pool.
Then an uneasy calm. I could just about make out the outlines of the other guests. Some seemed to be sleeping on loungers, others huddled close, whispering. Gazing out beyond the hotel grounds and towards the sea, I watched the moonlight as it caught the waves, momentarily turning the dark water a sparkling, silver grey. For the first time I noticed how beautiful this place was. Palm trees and bushes rustled gently as the warm summer breeze fluttered by. Aside from the occasional bark of a stray dog in the distance, it was all very quiet. I dipped my flip flops into the pool, letting the cool water wash over my toes. Then I lay down next to Kasim, who was already motionless, breathing softly. A small knot of fear formed in my stomach.
A Wooden SUP
Ben S (Year 13)
This entry to the scholars’ journal is a build diary depicting the research, design and construction processes of my EPQ project titled “Designing and Manufacturing a Wooden Stand-Up Paddleboard”. On 29th December 2022, I embarked on an EPQ with the aim of completing an artefact in order to be able to spend more time in a workshop environment and to be able to better my skill set. This included both my practical skills using tools and machines as well as improving my essay writing and referencing skills - something that I didn’t have much experience with in the past. I split the write up of the project into 3 main categories which included; initial research, a development diary and an overall evaluation. Each of these were then split up into further divisions to help me document my findings.
The initial research of the project looked vastly into the origin of paddle boards, where they got their design from and how they work. Being able to gain an understanding of this meant that I was able to make design decisions based upon factual understanding as opposed to what first came to mind. This was especially apparent when choosing the materials and consumables that would go into constructing the board. After researching into different possibilities of woods to use for the board, I decided that Western Red Cedar would be the most appropriate for the body of the board. This is due to its lightweight nature and natural ability to withstand any damage that could be caused by moisture. Similar evaluation went into deciding the material of the fishbone in which I was led to marine grade plywood. The cross layered grain of plywood meant that it would be an ideal material for the frame bringing a great level of support without weighing too much. With the addition of moisture resistance, it meant that the marine ply would be the perfect match.
Following the initial research, I began the construction process which I have documented beneath in a shortened more concise construction diary.
Construction Diary
The first step in production of the board included downloading and printing out Pdf plans and stencils for the pieces to cut out that would go on to form the internal frame of the board. Using a plotter, I was able to print these out to scale and then was able to start to begin the practical process. I had purchased the plans for board from ‘JarvisBoards’ , a company that specialises in producing bespoke, wooden surfboards and paddle boards. I used their resources throughout the project for both guidance and inspiration when working on my own board. Once I had printed all of the required stencils, I then turned to roughly cutting each piece out in preparation for sticking them down.
With all the relevant stencils cut out, the next step involved positioning them around each other on a sheet of 6mm Marine Grade plywood before then gluing them down with a watered down PVA solution. Ensuring that the solution was an appropriate mix was important as with too much glue the paper was at risk of wrinkling while with too much water, there was a risk of the paper not adhering at all. The choice of marine plywood was due to its strength and stability produced by the alternating layers. This provided a stable base to use as the frame and meant that the rest of the board could be securely attached.
Using a jigsaw, I was able to cut closely to the lines of the stencils leaving a border of a couple of millimeters. Leaving this boarder allowed me to save a large amount of time while cutting out the pieces as it would then allow me to finely cut them using a bandsaw. Piece by piece, I fed the perimeter through a bandsaw making sure that they had all been cut to an appropriate size. This then allowed me to visualise how they would fit together and what the frame would begin to look like the more that I produced.
About 3 months into the project, I had reached the point in which all of the frame had been cut out and I was able to provisionally put it all together to see how it would fit. This was also the first point in time that I was able to see the true length of the board, at this stage 10”6. In the pictures above and to the left, there are visible tabs on the underside of the each piece which act as the equivalent of legs. These tabs allow the board to be fixed down appropriately to a surface and would provide stability to the frame for when the skins are laid. There is a contour to the tabs which helps provide the profile of the board and its rocker.
The Creative Mind
The weight of the board is an important part to how it functions and if it even functions at all. In order to try and save weight, I used various sized forstner bits to drill through the spine and ribs. Using circles to make the cutouts meant that no weak points were made as there were no corners. This enabled the frame to maintain its strength even with half of the material being removed. The frame, also known as a ‘fishbone’ or by ‘spine and ribs’ is one of the most important parts of the project. It acts as the foundation to then construct the rest of the board upon. Each rib acts as a point of contact for the skins which are documented further down.
Following the completion of the frame, I then turned to joining it together and fixing it down to a suitable surface to work on. The adhesive of choice to do this was Titebond III, a waterproof wood glue. The selection of this was based on its waterproofed properties providing extra protection if water were to ever get inside of the board. Like the legs on the fishbone, the plank used to fix the board to is another part that is simply to aid the construction process. Made from an old table top, it had been cut into strips and joined length ways to produce the surface necessary.
With the frame now being intact and securely fixed down, it meant that I was able to start on laying the strips to form the underside of the board. It very quickly became apparent that this would be the most time consuming process of the whole build as I was limited to the amount I could do per day. This was due to waiting for the glue to fully dry before being able to join any adjacent strips to the previous. I repeated the process of laying 7mm thick strips of the cedar that had been previously cut using a bandsaw. After approximately 19 strips joined adjacently, the underside of the board had been covered.
Flipping over the board, a near identical process was applied in order cover the topside. This time, I made sure to coordinate the colours of the strips and incorporated three dark stripes to run down the centre of the board. This is one of the features that I was aiming for earlier on in the design process. Once I was happy with the covering of both sides, I used a following router bit to run around the edge of the fishbone. This was followed numerous sessions of shaping using planes, chisels and abrasive paper, both by hand and through the use of orbital sanders. This combined left the board with a smooth to the touch finish.
With the board shaped to my content, I then starting to work on fitting any inserts and add ons. These consisted of a fin box and air vents which will be stuck into holes that are routed into the skins of the board. The fin box is a necessity to allow for the addition of fin to provide stability when on the water. This is mounted to the rear underside of the board along the central strip. On the other side of the board, the two air vents are fitted. These are to allow airflow throughout the board when it is not in use. This is in theory to stop trapped air inside of the board from expanding and subsequently cracking the fibreglass or the skins.
As of writing this entry, the board is yet to be finished and still requires the addition of a few finishing touches before it is complete. These include the nose, tails and rails as well as a layer of fibreglass cloth to cover the whole board. The nose tail and rails run along the perimeter of the board and are shaped to match the sloping contour of the board, with the nose being positioned at the front, the tail at the rear, and the rails along the sides. These too will be made from Western Red Cedar and improve the buoyancy of the board once complete. Once they have been fitted and shaped, I will be able to prepare the board and ready it for fibreglassing. This stage requires a roll of woven fibreglass cloth and an epoxy resin mix with epoxy hardener. I plan to give the board one more final hand sand to remove any remaining nicks or scratches. This will be followed an even coat of 50/50 epoxy resin hardener mix on the underside. Acting quickly, I will then apply the cloth of fibre glass followed by another layer of the epoxy resin. Trimming any overlying material will follow to ensure that the cloth doesn’t droop to far down. Once the epoxy has hardened, i will then repeat on the topside making sure to overlap on the sides as these are where the board will receive the most impact. Once the epoxy has all dried and the glassing stage is all finished the board should be complete and ready to take its long awaited maiden voyage. I currently aim to return to the workshops shortly after the end of my A-levels to be able to get these last few stages complete.down. Once the epoxy has hardened, i will then repeat on the topside making sure to overlap on the sides as these are where the board will receive the most impact. Once the epoxy has all dried and the glassing stage is all finished the board should be complete and ready to take its long awaited maiden voyage. I currently aim to return to the workshops shortly after the end of my A-levels to be able to get these last few stages complete.
Identity in Oscar Wilde and Janette Winterson
While both Oscar Wilde in The Picture of Dorian Gray (Dorian Gray) and Jeanette Winterson in Oranges are not the Only Fruit (Oranges) utilise identity in their novels to criticise the societies around them; Wilde exposes the hypocritical morality of the upper classes in Victorian society, whereas Winterson critiques repression of identity. Wilde criticised “modern mania for morality”1 in works like Dorian Gray, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde felt wronged by the 1885 criminalisation of ‘gross indecency’,2 while it was commonly known that the Prince of Wales was unfaithful to his wife3 - yet faced no consequences, unlike Wilde who was sentenced to 2 years of hard labour for his sexuality in 1895. Contrastingly, Winterson wrote Oranges in 1985 to critique repression of identity, through a semi-autobiographical reflection on her own childhood growing up in a strict Pentecostal community that entailed “abstinen[ce] from drugs, alcohol, gambling, immodest dress, and sexual immorality”.4 As Winterson was writing after he decriminalisation of same-sex acts in 1967,5 she was far more explicit in her critique of repression of homosexuality than Wilde, though both texts criticise the societies that they reflect.
Wilde depicts Dorian succumbing to social pressures on his identity through the corruption of Lord Henry, leaving the novel “for none but outlawed noblemen and perverted telegraph boys”6 in the words of the Scots Observerreferencing the Cleveland Street Affair, in which a male brothel was discovered being used by nobles.7 Contrastingly, Winterson depicts society somewhat accepting Jeanette despite her sexuality. By the end of the novel, Dorian enjoys “the coarse brawl, the loathsome den, the crude violence of disordered life, the very vileness of thief and outcast”8. This asyndetic tetracolon emphasises the extent of Dorian’s fall through the emphatic adjectives,9 which suggest a level of disgust consistent with Victorian views on homosexuality. While Dorian falls to repression, Jeanette overcomes social pressures and changes some feelings within this group. Martin Gray and A. N. Jeffares argue that the symbolism of oranges represents “Jeanette’s mother’s dogmatism, her lack of maternal care and Jeanette’s lesbian integrity”,10 however this symbolism more clearly represents the social repression Jeanette faces. The novel’s very title Oranges are not the Only Fruit, rejects the mother’s assertion that “oranges are the only fruit”,11 by which Winterson reflects the absolutism of Pentecostal beliefs required by the focus on personal relationships with God.12 In the hospital, Jeanette’s mother brings “a huge carrier bag of oranges”13, thus bringing a physical reminder, that is incredibly imposing due to the size14, of the social pressures that Jeanette remains under despite being in a different environment. This repressive imagery is even successful on Jeanette, as after her exorcism she describes oranges as an “icon”15, which has religious connotations, showing the power of repression. Ultimately, Jeanette rejects these social pressures as she later refuses to sell “Spanish Navels, Juicy Jaffas, Ripe Sevilles”16. This
Megan C (Year 13)
asyndetic tricolon conveys the total dismissal of oranges and social conformity by Jeanette, in contrast to Dorian’s succumbing to the pressures of Lord Henry in Dorian Gray. Moreover, Jeanette even reverses some of these social pressures with her mother admitting “oranges are not the only fruit”17 by the end of the novel as she uses only pineapples to cook on Jeanette’s return. This could be a recollection of a story from Winterson’s own life18 but in the narrative, suggests a resolution of the dichotomy between social pressures of absolutist belief and sexuality through the softening of ideology.
Wilde utilises the third person narrative to keep the homosexuality in Dorian Gray “implied”19 - as Ari Adut argues - rather than as an “explicit topic”20 - as Jeff Nunokawa suggests. Contrastingly, Winterson employs a first person narrator in Jeanette to increase sympathy for her experiences and criticise the homophobia she faces. While the love between Basil and Dorian is purely subtextual, suggested by Basil’s “jealous[y] of everyone to whom [Dorian] spoke” and desire to have Dorian “all to [him]self” - which evoke a sense of possessiveness more common in romantic relations - Jeanette’s love for Melanie and Katy are explicit in the narrative. Basil is unwilling to display his portrait of Dorian lest it shows “the secret of [his] own soul”,21 which critiques the repression of Basil’s own “soul” even in art. Similarly, Wilde added a preface to Dorian Gray, saying “there is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book”22 to try to avoid accusations about his own sexuality, as revealed in his art. Contrastingly, Jeanette and Melanie are publicly shamed for having “fallen foul of their lusts”,23 through which Winterson not only shows the detest that this religious sect feels towards homosexuality - through the loathsome connotations of “foul” - but also builds sympathy for Jeanette as she is debased by her own community and put at fault for having “fallen”. Winterson also symbolically represents this repression through the enclosure of Jeanette in a “wall for the body, a circle for the soul”.24 As Chloe Merlau argues, the “wall” symbolises the barrier between Jeanette and her body’s “unauthorised desires”, while the “circle” represents the “enclosure of the soul into heterosexual subjecthood”25 as it is all encompassing in the same way that social repression into heterosexuality is for Jeanette.
Moreover, Winterson furthers this critique by showing the aftermath of this repression in Melanie. She is removed from the fruit symbolism of oranges and instead described as a “vegetable”, who has “forgotten everything”26, which shows how her identity has been stripped and yet she is still an outsider, who is not a part of the repressive community represented by oranges, but still further away than Jeanette, who is represented by pineapples.27 Thus Wilde is forced by the moral society of which he was part to be implicit in his criticism of repression, while Winterson is more explicitly criticising homophobia, as she was writing after advancements for queer rights such as the UK’s first Pride march.28
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While both Winterson and Wilde critique coercion of identity by showing its consequences, Winterson depicts the difficulty of rejecting the religious identity, while Wilde shows these consequences externally through appearance. Jeanette admits she “miss[es] God”, who had been her “emotional role model”29. This suggests the uncertainty of Jeanette’s identity once she has left home due to the strong impact of her forced religious beliefs, in the way that now she has rejected God she feels as though something is missing. This same significance of religion is reflected in the form of the novel, which is a biblical satire with the chapters named after Biblical books, thus weaving religion into the narrative, which is reflective of Jeanette’s identity with the close first person narration. In contrast to the consequences of coercion of identity in Winterson’s novel being long-lasting shadows on Jeanette’s identity - likely reflective of Winterson’s own continued complicated feelings on religion following her own evangelical upbringing - there are physical consequences for the immoral things Dorian does as a result of Henry’s coercion. In this way, there is justice and good conscience in Dorian Gray, in contradiction of Sheldon Liebman’s view that the book is governed by a “god whose influence does not reflect any principle of justice”30 because in the end, the only main character who survives is Lord Henry, who is moreso the villain of the novel. In Dorian Gray “sin is a thing that writes itself across a man’s face”31, by which Wilde connects the morally abhorrent actions of “sin” to a person’s visage, thus having a strong internal morality in the novel, which Dorian is able to supersede thanks to the portrait. This is reflective of the way that many of the overtly moralistic Victorian upper class actually took immoral actions but faced no consequences due to their place in society. In this way, Wilde criticises the hypocrisy of society around him by mirroring their immorality without consequences with Dorian, while Winterson leaves lingering effects of religion in the very form of the novel as well as in the character of Jeanette herself to depict and criticise the long lasting effects of coercion of identity and beliefs in religious communities.
While both novels feature elements of magical realism, Winterson uses these aspects of the narrative to further reject the absolutism of the beliefs forced onto Jeanette and herself as children. Contrastingly, Wilde’s use of magical realism removes consequences for Dorian’s immorality, thus allowing his fall at the hands of Henry’s corruption to be more dramatic and therefore to almost hyperbolically reflect the hypocrisy of the overtly moral society around Wilde. Some, as Olu Jenzen, read the divergence in Oranges into stories of magical realism, as a way for Winterson to “‘contain’ [her] childhood trauma”;32 while this is supported by the first folk tales being after Jeanette’s exorcism, a moment following which Winterson herself was sexually assaulted, thus containing this traumatic memory.33 More compelling is the reading that this blurring of fact and fiction acts as a rejection of absolutist beliefs. Jeanette questions the separation of “storytelling which is not fact from history which is fact”,34 thus allowing the distinction between “what to believe and what not to believe”,35 this rejects the absolutism of her mother’s belief and links with
Winterson’s thinking that through Oranges she “read [her]self as fiction as well as a fact”.36 This nonsensical combination of reality and falsity is reflected in the narrative blurring of the semi-autobiographical sections with the folk tales that are interspersed.
Moreover, these tales criticise absolutism. Winterson subverts the Holy Grail story by having the Grail be perfection in the form of a woman. This admiration of perfection is mocked in the tale, as Winterson implicitly parodies the perfection sought after in devout religion. The prince’s goal of finding “a woman, without blemish inside or out, flawless in every respect”37 is tautological in nature,38 and thus connotes the impossibility of this request, mirroring the impossibility of Jeanette’s mother actually being able to achieve the perfection of God. In the tale, the prince realises the impossibility of his search, as the woman he found “was indeed perfect … but she wasn’t flawless”39 as he had in fact been searching “for balance, for harmony”.40 The simultaneous failure and success of the prince’s mission mirrors the failure of Jeanette’s mother’s strive for perfection in God, but suggests the importance instead of understanding and equity. Thus, Winterson renounces absolutist search for perfection in religion.
Furthermore, Winterson reflects the character of Jeanette with the character of Winnet, who is effectively kidnapped by a wizard and magically brainwashed to believe “she had always been in the [sorcerer’s] castle, and that she was the sorcerer’s daughter”.41 This familial relationship reflects that between Jeanette and her mother, thus connecting adoption with kidnapping. Winterson herself was adopted and used Oranges to show the innately traumatic nature of adoption. Winterson further critiques the coercion of identity at the hands of parents in religious communities: Winnet believes these things about the sorcerer simply because “he told her”,42 which reflects the way that Jeanette’s mother is able to manipulate Jeanette’s identity and beliefs due to their connection as parent and child. Thus, Winterson both implicitly criticises the coercion of identity possible between parents and children, and critiques absolutist religious beliefs by combining the semi-autobiographical narrative with allusions in folk tales.
In contrast, Wilde’s magical realism fits with the gothic genre and serves more as a “crucial” narrative device allowing Dorian to “suspend the conditions of reality which would otherwise limit his narcissistic pleasures [so] that he can thrive in the perfect freedom of indulgence”,43 in the words of Rachel Bolby. In this way, Dorian becomes a mirror for the hypocrisy of society around Wilde. Dorian derived enjoyment from the lack of consequences for his actions: he admired the picture and “his sense of pleasure” grew from the “sharpness of the contrast”44 between his own youthful visage and the “evil and aging face on the canvas”45. By this Wilde reveals the surface level nature of Dorian and Victorian society’s morality, while Dorian was once the picture of innocence in all manners, now that consequences have been removed as they are in real life, he is abhorrent and enjoys revelling in this. This is a similar trope to other gothic stories, such as
The Creative Mind
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886, wherein there is similar magical realism used to remove consequences for Dr Jekyll’s amoral actions with the potion to turn him into Hyde.
After Sibyl’s death, Dorian sees “lines of cruelty round the mouth” of the portrait, as if he were “looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful thing.”46 This cements both the original magical realism system as these “lines of cruelty” are seen as a result of doing “some dreadful thing” - which link ageing and typical ‘ugliness’47 with sinful crimes48 - and the subversion of this system as the lines are only on the portrait. However Dorian didn’t mean to remove consequences for himself but only to not “grow old, and horrible, and dreadful”.49 This polysyndetic tricolon emphasises Dorian’s fear of ageing and ugliness once he’s been forced to realise his beauty by Lord Henry, by which Wilde suggests the focus on overt morality in Victorian society, as represented in the novel by physical appearance, leads to Dorian’s downfall as he accidentally curses himself to having no overt conscience and falls into depravity. Therefore, magical realism in Dorian Gray frees Dorian of consequences in the same way the wealth of middle and upper class Victorians also made them largely exempt from the harsh morality they imposed, while Winterson’s forays into magical realism reject the absolutism of Evangelical belief by ‘muddying the waters’ of the novel itself: holding the truthful, autobiographical sections alongside the mythical folk tales.
While both Winterson and Wilde offer retribution in the ends of their novels, the retribution in Oranges gives the novel a more harmonic and peaceful ending, whereas Wilde’s retribution comes in the form of Dorian’s realisation of his conscience, leading to his death. Jeanette’s resolution of the dichotomy between accepting her mother yet rejecting religion is argued by Laurel Bollinger to show Jeanette’s “maturity consist[ing] in the continuation, not the elimination, of mother-daughter relations”.50 This continuation is shown in Jeanette’ pleasure that her mother “had a hobby” but her displeasure that her “particular sins were listed in the self-help kit”.51 Unlike Winterson’s resolution of the main fractured relationship in the narrative of Oranges, Wilde finally breaks the fractured relationship between Dorian and his conscience, as Dorian attempts to destroy the portrait, which is the only thing that holds evidence for his immorality. Dorian is pushed to this because the portrait, holding place for his guilty conscience after murdering Basil, “kept him awake at night”.52 This insomnia shows Dorian finally felt guilty about his actions and the consequences they may have “lest other eyes should look upon it”53, instead of resolving this peacefully, Dorian decides to “stab the picture”54 with the same “knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward”.55 This repeated verb and the use of the same weapon centres Dorian’s guilt about this murder in his final destruction of his conscience, which he feels would “kill this
monstrous soul-life”56 and allow him to “be at peace”.57 The language of horror in reference to Dorian’s soul in contrast with the harmonic language used for its destruction shows Dorian’s complete loss of all morality. In this way Wilde reflects the hypocrisy of upper class Victorian society, effectively accusing them of having severed their conscience in the same way Dorian does. While the mother at the end of Oranges is free from direct punishment and allowed to continue with her religious belief, having resolved the absolutism of that belief in her relationship with Jeanette.
Moreover, while Winterson focuses the ending of her novel on Jeanette’s mother, who even has the last line, Wilde ends Dorian Gray with the image of Dorian’s mangled, dead body, thus centering retribution for his fall from grace. Winterson ends her novel with Jeanette’s mother calling in to Manchester as “Kindly Light”58 in order to further spread her religious message. This ending emphasises the importance of Jeanette’s mother and religion in Jeanette’s own story, as well as the retribution in their relationship, which shows the preservation of both Jeanette and her mother’s identities while their relationship as mother and daughter is resolved. In this way, Winterson ends her novel with retribution for Jeanette, whose identity has been accepted without destroying her mother’s identity. Differently, Dorian’s identity has been completely destroyed, as his body in death is unrecognisable. Christopher Craft argues that this is reflective of Ovid’s tale of Narcissus, with “the last sign offered to understanding [being] a metonymy from which identity can only be inferred”.59
Dorian’s body being so “withered, wrinkled and loathsome of visage”60 that his servants can only identify him by “examin[ing] the ring”61 is reminiscent of the body of Narcissus in Ovid’s Metamorphoses only being recognisable by the “golden-throated flower that still bears his name”.62 This intertextuality is utilised by Wilde alongside the powerful tricolon63 to emphasise Dorian’s fall through his image. The immense beauty of both Dorian and Narcissus are destroyed by the end of their stories due to their own actions - Dorian’s immorality and Narcissus’ self-absorption. Thus, Wilde’s retribution of Dorian acts as a reminder of his atrocious actions and destruction of his original identity at the hands of the corrupting Lord Henry, in reflection of the unjust nature of Victorian society despite its upholding of morals outwardly. Contrastingly, Winterson wholly rejects any destruction of identity by allowing the mother to continue with her religious beliefs once she has stopped repressing the identity of Jeanette directly.
Therefore identity in Dorian Gray is completely destroyed by immorality and corruption, while in Oranges identity is protected. Wilde destructs identity to expose and criticise the impossibility of genuine expression in the overly moral Victorian society, while Winterson preserves identity to show its importance and ground her rejection of repression in any form.
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Bibliography:
Primary Sources:
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. (Vintage, 2007) Winterson, Jeanette. Oranges are not the Only Fruit (Vintage, 2001) Secondary Sources:
Adut, Ari. ‘A Theory of Scandal: Victorians, Homosexuality, and the Fall of Oscar Wilde.’
American Journal of Sociology, vol. 111, no. 1, 2005, pp. 213–48. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/428816. Accessed 13 June 2023.
Arnstein, Walter L. The Historian, vol. 64, no. 3/4, 2002. JSTOR, http://www. jstor.org/stable/24451167
Bollinger, Laurel. ‘Models for Female Loyalty: The Biblical Ruth in Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.’ Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, vol. 13, no. 2, 1994, pp363-80. JSTOR, https://doi. org/10.2307/464115. Accessed 24 June 2023. pp. 364
Craft, Christopher. ‘Come See About Me: Enchantment of the Double in The Picture of Dorian Gray.’ Representations, vol. 91, no. 1, 2005, pp. 109–36. JSTOR,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/rep.2005.91.1.109. Accessed 31 Jan. 2024. Dryden, Steven. ‘A short history of LGBT rights in the UK’ The British Library.
Gray, Martin & Jeffares, A.N. pp. 62 ‘Oranges are not the Only Fruit’ York Notes Advanced
Holland, Tom & Sandbrook, Dominic. ‘The Trials of Oscar Wilde: Sex and Scandal’ The Rest is History. 15th June 2023. Apple podcasts.
Jenzen, Olu. ‘From Magical Thinking to Magical Realism: Imagination and Queer Survival in Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’ Translate Trauma Network Research Day
Kay, William K. & Hunt, Stephen J. ‘Pentecostal Churches and Homosexuality’, in Adrian Thatcher (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality and Gender. 2014 (online edn, Oxford Academic, 5 May 2005), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199664153.013.39, accessed 22 Sept. 2023.
Liebman, Sheldon W. Character Design In ‘The Picture Of Dorian Gray.’’ Studies in the Novel, vol. 31, no.3, 1999, pp. 296-316. JSTOR, http://www. justor.org/stable/29533343
Luckhurst, Roger. ‘Perversion and Degeneracy in The Picture of Dorian Gray’ The British LIbrary, 15th May 2014.
Merleau, Chloë Taylor. ‘Postmodern Ethics and the Expression of Differences in the Novels of Jeanette Winterson.’ Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 26, no. 3/4, 2003, pp. 90 pp. 84–102. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/ stable/30053232. Accessed 23 June 2023.
Merritt, Eve Collyer. ‘Pride in the UK: From its roots to today’ House of Lords Library. 10th February 2023. House of Lords Library: Pride in the UK: From its roots to today
Nunokawa, Jeff. ‘Homosexual Desire and the Effacement of the Self in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’’ American Imago, vol. 49, no.3, 1992, pp.311. JSTOR, Wilde, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. (1895)
Winterson, Jeanette. Introduction to Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit 2014
Winterson, Jeanette. Why be Happy When You Could be Normal (Vintage 2012). pp. 147-148 ‘Pentecostalism’. BBC, 2009 BBC - Religions - Christianity: Pentecostalism.
1Wilde, Oscar. An Ideal Husband. (1895) Act 1, Scene 1.
The Creative Mind
2In 1885, the ‘Buggery Act’ was amended to remove the death penalty as well as the need for the act of sodomy to be proven, as any homosexual act then became illegal. Holland, Tom & Sandbrook, Dominic. “The Trials of Oscar Wilde: Sex and Scandal” The Rest is History. 15th June 2023. Apple podcasts.
3Arnstein, Walter L. The Historian, vol. 64, no. 3/4, 2002. JSTOR, http://www. jstor.org/stable/24451167 pp.866.
4Kay, William K. & Hunt, Stephen J. ‘Pentecostal Churches and Homosexuality’, in Adrian Thatcher (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality and Gender. 2014 (online edn, Oxford Academic, 5 May 2005), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199664153.013.39, accessed 22 Sept. 2023.
5The 1967 Sexual Offences Act decriminalised gay sex between men above the age of 21 in England and Wales. Dryden, Steven. “A short history of LGBT rights in the UK” The British Library.
6Luckhurst, Roger. ‘Perversion and Degeneracy in The Picture of Dorian Gray’ The British LIbrary, 15th May 2014.
7idem.
8 Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray (Vintage, 2007) pp. 162. All other citations taken from this version.
9 “coarse”, “loathsome” and “crude”. Wilde. pp. 162
10 Gray, Martin & Jeffares, A.N. pp. 62 ‘Oranges are not the Only Fruit’ York Notes Advanced
11 Winterson, Jeanette. Oranges are not the Only Fruit (Vintage, 2001) pp. 29. All other citations taken from this version.
12 Pentecostal Christians believe that their religion should be more experiential rather than based around ritual and thinking, which may explain Jeanette’s mother’s total encapsulation by religious thinking leading to the neglect of her daughter. ‘Pentecostalism’. BBC, 2009 BBC - ReligionsChristianity: Pentecostalism.
13 Winterson. pp. 27
14 “huge” Winterson. pp. 27
15 Winterson. pp. 130
16 Winterson. pp. 134
17 Winterson. pp. 167
18 Winterson brought home a black girlfriend from university and Mrs Winterson used pineapples thinking that that was what all black people ate. Winterson, Jeanette. Why be Happy When You Could be Normal (Vintage 2012). pp. 147-148
19 Adut, Ari. ‘A Theory of Scandal: Victorians, Homosexuality, and the Fall of Oscar Wilde.’ American Journal of Sociology, vol. 111, no. 1, 2005, pp. 213–48. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/428816. Accessed 13 June 2023. pp. 214
20 Nunokawa, Jeff. “Homosexual Desire and the Effacement of the Self in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’” American Imago, vol. 49, no.3, 1992, pp.311. JSTOR,
21 Wilde. pp. 9
22 Wilde. pp. 3
23 Winterson. pp. 102
24 Winterson. pp. 111
25 Merleau, Chloë Taylor. “Postmodern Ethics and the Expression of Differences in the Novels of Jeanette Winterson.” Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 26, no. 3/4, 2003, pp. 90 pp. 84–102. JSTOR, http://www.jstor. org/stable/30053232. Accessed 23 June 2023.
26 Winterson. pp. 166
27 The pineapples that Jeanette’s mother cooks with at the end represent Jeanette.
28 The first Pride march took place in July 1972, to commemorate the Stonewall riots that happened in 1969, and to call for greater queer liberation. Merritt, Eve Collyer. ‘Pride in the UK: From its roots to today’ House of Lords Library. 10th February 2023. House of Lords Library: Pride in
the UK: From its roots to today
29 Winterson. pp. 164
30 Liebman, Sheldon W. “CHARACTER DESIGN IN ‘THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY.’” Studies in the Novel, vol. 31, no.3, 1999, pp. 296-316. JSTOR, http:// www.justor.org/stable/29533343
31 Wilde. pp. 131
32 Jenzen, Olu. ‘From Magical Thinking to Magical Realism: Imagination and Queer Survival in Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’ Translate Trauma Network Research Day
33 Winterson, Jeanette. Why be Happy When You Could be Normal pg 81
34 Winterson. pp. 91
35 idem.
36 Winterson, Jeanette. Introduction to Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit 2014
37 Winterson. pp. 59
38 Not only must the woman be blemish free - both inside and out - but she must also be flawless, despite these terms ultimately meaning the same thing. Winterson. pp. 59
47 “lines”, which are possibly what are called ‘smile lines’ in modern culture or more generally likely referring to wrinkles. idem
48 “cruelty” and “dreadful” both have strong connotations of horror, shamefulness and brutality. idem.
49 Wilde. pp. 26
50 Bollinger, Laurel. “Models for Female Loyalty: The Biblical Ruth in Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, vol. 13, no. 2, 1994, pp363-80. JSTOR, https://doi. org/10.2307/464115. Accessed 24 June 2023. pp. 364
51 Winterson. pp. 169
52Wilde. pp. 193
53 Wilde. pp. 193
54 Wilde. pp. 194
55 idem
56 idem
57 idem
58 Winterson. pp. 171
59 Craft, Christopher. “Come See About Me: Enchantment of the Double in The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Representations, vol. 91, no. 1, 2005, pp. 109–36. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/rep.2005.91.1.109. Accessed 31 Jan. 2024.
60 Wilde. pp. 194
61 idem
62 Craft, Christopher. “Come See About Me: Enchantment of the Double in The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Representations, vol. 91, no. 1, 2005, pp. 109–36. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/rep.2005.91.1.109. Accessed 31 Jan. 2024.
63 “withered, wrinkled and loathsome of visage” Wilde. pp. 194
Senior Art Project Eleanor P
(Year 13)
The Inquiring Mind
Innovations in the STEM Field
Flower Y (Year 9)
An evaluative comparison of five different innovations in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
CRISPR
Gene editing is potentially a very powerful tool for curing genetic diseases and a platform for biological research. But, this was traditionally a very time consuming process and not entirely accurate. However, a new technology called CRISPR-Cas9 (short for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats”) was discovered in 2012, and won the Nobel prize for Chemistry in 2020. CRISPR is a technology that research scientists are using to selectively modify the DNA of living cells and organisms. CRISPR DNA consists of repairing sequences of genetic code, interrupted by space sequences, which are residues of genetic code from previous invaders. The system serves as a genetic memory that helps the cell recognize and destroy invaders (bacteriophage) when they return. The Cas9 enzyme is programmed using CRISPR sequences to target specific stretches of genetic code, and to edit the DNA at precise locations and they hope that in the future, it may make it a possibility to correct mutations at precise locations in the human genome to treat genetic causes of disease. CRISPR genome editing allows scientists to speedily create cell and animal models, which researchers can use to speed up research into diseases including cancer and mental illness. Scientists are also currently exploring genome editing in clinical trials for single gene disorders, including cystic fibrosis and haemophilia
mRNA vaccines
Vaccines help to prevent infections by introducing a harmless piece of bacteria/virus into our bodies, stimulating an immune response. Most vaccines consist of a weakened/dead bacteria or virus. However, scientists have created a new strain of vaccine that utilises mRNA (short for messenger RNA) instead of actual bacteria/viruses. When the human body is exposed to a foreign object, the immune system realises it should not be there and makes specialised proteins, otherwise known as antibodies, which protect the body against diseases and infections by learning to recognise specific viruses and pathogens, attaching itself to them and marking the pathogens for extermination. Once they are made, the antibodies remain in the body, including when the pathogen is no longer there, so that the immune system can quickly respond if it is exposed to it again. mRNA is a type of RNA that we use for the production of proteins. mRNA from vaccines doesn’t enter the nucleus and doesn’t alter a cells’ DNA. Instead, mRNA vaccines work by adding a piece of the mRNA that correlates with a viral spike protein, usually found on the outer membrane of the virus. By using the mRNA, cells make the viral protein needed. If a person is exposed to a virus after receiving a mRNA vaccination for it, the antibodies can speedily recognize it, attach to it, and mark it for extermination before it can cause serious illness for infections. The mRNA vaccine was revolutionary as it was the first vaccine not to inject bacteria/ viruses into the body. They can also be designed and produced much quicker than traditional vaccines, making them more useful for rapid onset viruses/epidemics such as covid-19.
Starlink
Many people rely on the internet for information, work, news and communication. There are vast numbers of people living and working in remote areas who struggle to get access to the internet. When they do, they have to pay extraordinary sums of money for satellite internet which has a very high latency. However, in 2019, the first Starlink satellites were launched. Starlink is the world’s largest satellite constellation, with around 6,000 satellites currently in orbit and there are plans for 12,000 more. It uses advanced satellites and user hardware to deliver fast, low-latency internet all over the world. Starlink satellites have a low earth orbit of 550 km instead of the usual 35,786 km. Satellites normally orbit the earth at this height as that is when they are geo-stationary, meaning you can always point a dish at them. However, as Starlink has so many satellites, that isn’t a problem for them. Its low earth orbit allows Starlink to provide broadband internet much faster compared to other satellite broadbands and enables it to support steaming and other high data rate activities. Starlink satellites are located all around the world, allowing users to access it in any country. Their satellites are compact, have an automated collision avoidance system, and are even testing out an optical space laser, enabling the spacecraft to transmit data directly without having to use local ground stations to provide total global coverage. Starlink’s network is designed, owned and operated by SpaceX. SpaceX is considered to be the world’s leading provider of launch services. Starlink provides internet access to remote regions where ‘normal’ internet can’t reach, such as islands and ships, and its low latency allows for much smoother internet streaming. This allows people in remote areas to work from home, which would be impossible without Starlink. Starlink has also been used in military operations. For example, It was first requested by President Zelensky during the Battle of Kyiv in early 2022. Starlink has been offered to Ukrainian military, and since its activation, Starlink has been used to carry out military operations in Ukraine and is still in use on all front lines.
Quantum computing
In classical computing, bits (transistors that can be either on or off) can only correspond to the states 1 and 0 (binary). Quantum computing uses subatomic particles, including electrons and photons. Qubits, short for quantum bits, allow these subatomic particles to exist in more than two states at the same time. The most powerful computers today are called supercomputers. The way supercomputers solve big problems is by making the computer itself bigger, which is not sustainable. Quantum computing, on the other hand, is capable of solving problems that classical computers can't solve by using a completely different approach. Some of the specialised technology quantum computers use includes computer hardware and algorithms that utilise quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is a field of physics that describes how minuscule objects have simultaneously both the characteristics of particles and waves. Physicists call this the “wave particle duality”. One of the main benefits of quantum computing is that they can create superior, clearer models for how atoms interact with each other. This has led to a higher level and more precise understanding of molecular structures of the atoms. This in future will hopefully impact drug and chemical research, revolutionising the way new medicines can be developed.
The Inquiring Mind
Hornsea wind farms
The Hornsea project consists of 2 operational huge offshore wind farms, however a third one is currently being developed and a fourth one is a potential in the near future. They are being operated, constructed and developed off the East Coast of the UK, in the North Sea by Orsted. They are much more large-scale than current wind farms, and are located further from the coast than ever before. These wind farms hope to be a new generation of offshore power stations, and inspire more in years to come. The 3 farms are called (very imaginative) Hornsea 1, Hornsea 2, Hornsea 3, with the fourth one proposed to be called Hornsea 4. Hornsea 1 held the title of largest wind farm in the world until it’s sister farm, Hornsea 2, overtook it in August 2022. Hornsea 2 is still currently the second largest wind farm in the world, having been overtaken narrowly by China last year. Hornsea 2 spans a total area of 462km2. It powers close to 1,500,000 homes with green, renewable energy. It consists of 165 wind turbines of 8MV, each of which is around 200 metres tall. A single rotation of one blade can provide a home with 24 hours of energy. They are also located around 100 km off the coast, meaning they can’t be seen or heard by residents, which has been one of the main problems we have encountered with wind turbines in the UK. They are revolutionising wind farms, and they hope to inspire other companies to invest in green energy in the future to combat climate change.
Overall, I believe that the mRNA vaccines are the most exciting and useful innovation. As they can be designed and produced much quicker than traditional vaccines, they can decrease the length of epidemics, such as covid. They allow us not just to save lives, but to improve the quality of these lives. One of the main examples of this is covid-19. Before the mRNA vaccine for covid was invented, we were in a global lockdown, with countless deaths a day. Once the vaccine program was rolled out, restrictions began to lift and the mortality rate dropped substantially, as these vaccinations are permanent - once they are produced, the antibodies will remain in the body so that the immune system can quickly respond if exposed again. mRNA vaccines mean we are prepared for the next global epidemic - although hopefully this won't happen in the near future! This is why I believe mRNA vaccines are the most practical, inspiring innovation. Whilst the other innovations are life changing, they don’t directly improve, or save, human lives. CRISPR will change millions of lives, however it is still in the research and clinical trial stages, whilst mRNA vaccines are fully functional.
What If We
Dig a Hole to the Center of the Earth? David C (Year 10)
What If We Dig a Hole to the Center of the Earth? Potential Challenges and Possibilities.
(Serious scientific answers to a absurd hypothetical question)
Introduction
Have you ever wondered, “What if we dig a hole to the centre of the Earth?” This thought has probably sparked curiosity in many of us since childhood. The idea of digging a hole to the centre of the Earth, using it as a bottomless pit for waste disposal, seems almost ingeniously straightforward at first glance. But as we dive deeper into the more technical side of geology, physics, and engineering, we uncover a world of challenges and possibilities. The concept of digging a hole to the centre of the Earth has fascinated scientists for centuries. While it remains a theoretical exercise, drilling technology and our understanding of Earth’s interior make it a compelling topic for possible future exploration. This article aims to investigate the feasibility, challenges, and potential uses of drilling deep to the Earth's centre.
Soviet scientists may have been the only group of people to undertake such a monumental scientific endeavour. It aimed to penetrate the Earth’s crust (specifically the Baltic Shield continental crust), which was approximately 35 kilometres thick. They managed to dig 19.7 km (with a width of 30 cm) over a 22-year period. Unexpected discoveries emerged, challenging existing geological paradigms. Without overcomplicating things and to summarise this project, the Kola Superdeep Borehole stands as a testament to human curiosity and scientific ambition and was the deepest humans ever dug.
Background
Earth consists of several layers: the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. Each of these layers presents unique physical features with varying temperatures, pressures, and densities that would pose significant difficulties if we ever tried digging a hole that deep. The crust is the outermost layer; it's mainly solid and relatively thin (considering the full depth of the Earth, which is 6,371 km). The mantle is a thick layer of semi-solid rock that extends to a depth of about 2,900 km. The outer core consists of molten metal (primarily iron and nickel) extending to a depth of about 5,150 km. The inner core is a solid sphere (again mainly iron and nickel) with temperatures reaching up to 5,000°C. The temperature increases with depth, as does the pressure, and the density is determined by the varying layers.
Challenges
Similar to the Kola Superdeep Borehole, we would face significant challenges, including unexpected geological changes and formations, water ingress, and technical difficulties when extracting samples and data recordings from extreme depths. The extreme heat would melt any electronics, and the high pressure would need to endure immense pressure without collapsing.
Theoretical Drilling Methods (All of Which Are Not Possible)
Calculation for mass of earth needed to be removed during this project.
Like the Kola Superdeep Borehole, the width was 30 cm, then the radius was 15 cm. If we use those measurements we will roughly have to dig up 2.48billion kilograms of earth mass. Calculation below
1. Given Values:
• Radius of the cylinder: 0.15 metres (since 15 cm = 0.15 metres)
• Depth of the cylinder: 6,371,000 metres
• Average density of the Earth: 5,515 kilograms per cubic metre
2. Volume of the Cylinder:
• Formula: Volume equals pi times radius squared times height
• Calculation: Volume equals 3.14159 times (0.15 metres) squared times 6,371,000 metres
• Result: Volume is approximately 450,432.02 cubic metres
3. Mass of the Removed Earth:
• Formula: Mass equals density times volume
• Calculation: Mass equals 5,515 kilograms per cubic metre times 450,432.02 cubic metres
• Result: Mass is approximately 2,483,622,083 kilograms
So, the mass of the Earth that needs to be removed is approximately 2,483,622,083 kilograms (about 2.48 billion kilograms). That's a lot and will probably take such a long time. The borehole the soviets dug was 19.7km over 20 years. That's roughly 2.70 metres dug a day.
1. Total number of days in 20 years:
• Total days = 20 * 365.25 = 7305 days
2. Average digging rate:
• Total distance dug = 19,700 metres
• Average digging rate = Total distance / Total days
• Average digging rate = 19,700 metres / 7305 days ≈ 2.70 metres per
This would mean we would be digging for 6371000/2.7 = 2359629.63 days. Humans will probably go extinct by then.
The
Here are some ideas on how we could speed things up…
“Why don’t we just blow up the Earth's crust?” some may ask. This concept might theoretically work. Using controlled thermonuclear explosions to blast through layers of the Earth works by deploying nuclear devices at carefully calculated intervals to melt and vaporise the rocks, creating a tunnel. Thermonuclear weapons, sometimes referred to as hydrogen, or “H-bombs,” utilise both atomic fission and nuclear fusion to create an explosion. The combination of these two processes releases massive amounts of energy, hundreds to thousands of times more powerful than an atomic bomb. This method is highly hazardous and ethically questionable. Managing the immense heat and pressure generated by the explosions might be harder than actually digging to the centre of the Earth, but... hey, you never know until you actually try.
Another crazy (theoretically possible) method of tunnelling to the centre of the Earth is high-energy plasma drilling. This concept leverages the intense temperatures generated by plasma to vaporise rock and create deep boreholes. Plasma torches or plasma jets can reach temperatures exceeding 10,000 degrees Celsius, sufficient to melt and vaporise rock, thus facilitating rapid and efficient drilling. This mechanism works by focusing high-energy plasma at the rock face, breaking down the molecular structure and turning it into gas, which can then be removed from the borehole. However, this method presents significant energy challenges. The process requires a substantial and continuous supply of power to generate and sustain the high-energy plasma, demanding advancements in energy production and storage technologies. Efficiently converting and delivering this energy deep underground without significant losses is another critical issue. High-energy plasma drilling holds
promise due to its potential for significantly faster and more efficient deep-earth penetration compared to traditional mechanical methods.
Quantum drilling leverages quantum tunnelling, a principle where particles pass through barriers they theoretically shouldn't, to revolutionise deep earth drilling by reducing the required energy. This approach involves creating and maintaining quantum states in particles at the drill bit, using precise electromagnetic fields to maximise tunnelling probabilities and weaken atomic bonds in rock. The main challenges include scaling quantum effects to macroscopic levels, achieving precise control in extreme environmental conditions, and ensuring energy efficiency despite the high energy demands of maintaining quantum states. While current technology is insufficient, advances in materials science, quantum computing, and engineering hold the potential to make quantum drilling a transformative tool for resource extraction and scientific exploration.
Potential Uses
Geology: Direct access to Earth’s interior would provide invaluable data on its composition and structure while improving our understanding of seismic activities and Earth’s magnetic field. Geothermal Energy: The Earth’s interior heat could be harnessed as a renewable energy source. Technologies like Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) could tap into the immense thermal energy, providing a consistent and powerful energy source. Climate and Weather Predictions: Access to the Earth’s interior could improve our understanding of geothermal processes that affect the climate. Better data on these processes could enhance climate models and weather predictions. Seismic Monitoring: Enhanced monitoring of seismic activity could lead to improved earthquake prediction and understanding of tectonic movements.
The Inquiring Mind
Potential Waste Disposal: This links to the question that I have imagined for a long time. Although people may think of this as a stupid idea, nobody really has answered this (even online). In the Simpsons episode "Trash of the Titans" (Season 9, Episode 22), Homer Simpson becomes Springfield's Sanitation Commissioner and comes up with a series of outlandish waste management schemes. This episode humorously touches on the impracticality and challenges of dealing with large amounts of waste, much like the concept of digging a hole to the centre of the Earth for waste disposal. In reality, such an endeavour would face insurmountable challenges, including extreme depths and temperatures that make it impossible to reach the Earth's core. The intense heat and pressure encountered at such depths would render current technology ineffective and pose severe risks to any potential drilling operations. The high temperatures and pressures found deep within the Earth could potentially incinerate waste. However, the idea raises several environmental and ethical questions, such as “What happens to the gases and chemicals released during incineration?” Some may ask why we couldn’t just seal the hole. The toxic gases and fumes would seep into the soil, causing major environmental damage. The feasibility of transporting trash to such depths efficiently remains a significant challenge. Although we could use this hole to store nuclear waste, which is a long-term solution to a big problem.
Whilst researching, I found a video explaining another interesting idea. This was from a podcast between Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice. The Concept of the Gravity Train.
In a hypothetical scenario, consider the idea of digging a tunnel through the Earth. This notion, often humorously suggested in childhood, involves imagining a straight tunnel from one side of the Earth to the other. A common misconception is that such a tunnel from the United States would emerge in China; however, a more accurate calculation reveals that it would exit in the Indian Ocean. Assuming one could dig a perfectly straight tunnel through the Earth's diameter of approximately 8,000 miles, the behaviour of an object falling through this tunnel can be analysed using basic principles of physics. When an object is dropped into the tunnel, gravity would pull it towards the centre of the Earth. As it approaches the centre, the gravitational force decreases, reaching zero at the centre. The object would achieve maximum velocity at this midpoint. After passing through the centre, gravity would decelerate the object until it reached the other end of the tunnel. Ignoring factors like air resistance and the presence of the Earth's core, this journey would take approximately 45 minutes one way. Thus, a round trip, assuming no other forces intervene and the object is not stopped, would take about 90 minutes. This duration is intriguingly similar to the time it takes for a satellite to complete one orbit around the Earth due to the principles of free fall. Extending this concept, if a tunnel were dug between any two points on the Earth's surface—say, from the East Coast to California—the travel time would still be 45 minutes. This remarkable consistency arises from the nature of gravitational acceleration and deceleration, regardless of the tunnel's length, assuming it penetrates the Earth's surface and travels through the core. This theoretical transportation method is often referred to as the "gravity train." However, practical implementation of such a system faces significant challenges. The Earth's molten core, tectonic plate movements, and the need for a low-friction environment within the tunnel present substantial obstacles. Despite these issues, the gravity train remains a fascinating theoretical exploration of gravitational physics and potential future transportation innovations.
The Inquiring Mind
Below is a transcript of a discussion between Neil deGrasse Tyson and his comic co-host Chuck Nice that elaborates on this concept in an engaging and illustrative manner:
Chuck Nice: Yes, you get tired of these explainers?
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Of course not. I have an unlimited capacity for this. I could do this forever.
Chuck: Okay, I'm gonna take you up on that. I'm gonna see how long we can go, all right? Until you just give up and jump away screaming, right? All right, so I got one for you. Remember when you were a kid and you joked about digging a hole through the Earth and coming out on the other side? Here in the United States, everyone said, "Oh, you dig a hole, you end up where? China."
Neil: Of course. That was the whole idea. I remember researching that in early middle school, maybe sixth or seventh grade. First, the centre of the Earth would vaporise you, so it's not workable. Second, if you go through the Earth, you'd likely want to go through the centre and come out the other side, which from the Northern Hemisphere puts you in the Southern Hemisphere. You wouldn't end up in China; you'd end up in the Indian Ocean if you dug a hole from the United States.
Chuck: Okay, so if you dig a hole through the Earth all the way, Earth's diameter is like 8,000 miles. You jump in, what happens?
Neil: As you fall, gravity pulls you towards the centre. The force decreases as you get closer to the centre, and you reach maximum speed there. Then, gravity slows you down until you emerge on the other side. You'd travel to the other side in 45 minutes, purely due to gravity, no brakes needed. It's like the ultimate log flume ride.
Chuck: Yes, and if no one catches you on the other side, you'd fall back through, taking another 45 minutes for a round trip of 1.5 hours.
Neil: That's the same time it takes for a satellite to orbit the Earth.
Chuck: Exactly. Now, if you dug a hole between any two points on Earth, like from the East Coast to California, it would also take 45 minutes. This concept is known as the gravity train.
Chuck: That's amazing! But there are practical issues, like dealing with the Earth's magma and tectonic plates.
Neil: Yes, but in principle, it's a fascinating idea.
This conversation highlights the theoretical concept of a "gravity train," where a tunnel through the Earth would allow travel using only gravitational forces, taking 45 minutes regardless of the distance.
Conclusion Summary
The idea of digging a hole to the centre of the Earth poses numerous scientific and engineering challenges, including extreme temperatures, high pressures, and varying densities. While current technology makes this impossible, future advancements may provide a solution.
Implications
Achieving this could revolutionise our understanding of Earth's interior, potentially provide new energy sources, and inspire innovative technological solutions. The broader implications for science, technology, and society could be profound, ranging from new energy solutions to novel waste disposal and transportation methods.
Future Research
Further research should focus on developing materials and technologies that can withstand extreme conditions and exploring the potential practical applications of accessing the Earth’s interior. Additionally, environmental and ethical considerations should be at the forefront to ensure that such an endeavour does not negatively impact the planet.
Joy Milnethe Woman who could smell Parkinson’s Disease Avik B (Year 12)
Joy Milne, a retired nurse from Perth, Scotland discovered that she had an almost supernatural ability to detect Parkinson’s Disease (PD) through smell. She was able to ascertain this information after entering a PD support group, she was immediately overwhelmed by the same smell which she previously had smelt from her husband. This then led to her taking part in a research project, in collaboration with Manchester University, to detect whether she had the ability to smell a difference in the oil produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin of those with and without Parkinson’s. As a result, it is now known that alongside other effects, PD is also able to cause changes in the structure of the oils that coat our skin.
Joy’s ability is a result of hyperosmia, a condition which causes a heightened sensitivity to smell. Scientists tested her ability to smell PD by presenting her with 12 t-shirts, 6 of which worn by people with PD, and the other 6 worn by those without. She was able to correctly identify the 6 shirts of those with PD, however incorrectly assigned a shirt of a healthy volunteer to the PD pile. However, the healthy volunteer who wore this shirt, was later diagnosed with Parkinson’s, showing that Joy was able to detect PD before the current medical diagnostic tests. The chances of Joy being able to guess all 12 correctly is 0.000244 (3sf) which is practically impossible.
Before this research, the aspiration would be to establish a method to detect Parkinson’s far earlier than the current technology was able to, similar to the ability of Joy.
After completing this research, it is apparent that it was a huge success. ‘It has inspired scientists to develop a swab test’ in which a small sample of sebum is analysed in a laboratory to detect structural differences to the sebum
produced by someone without PD. This is due to Joy displaying that we are able to recognise Parkinson’s through features in the sebum as these are what allowed her to smell the PD. This led to a faster and earlier diagnosis and planning of medical treatment to manage Parkinson’s Disease. Whilst this has not directly led to a cure for Parkinson’s, it has led to great advancements in pursuit of it, as scientists are now studying the structural changes in the sebaceous oils and are getting closer to pinpointing the key factor to be able to cure PD. For example, scientists were able to establish that ‘symptoms of Parkinson’s disease occur when nerve cells in the basal ganglia (in the brain) are impaired and/or die,’ as scientists were able to link the structural differences of the sebum to the brain.
To conclude, the article provides us with hope for the future as this is a huge step in improving the quality of care for those with Parkinson’s. Currently, there is no chemical test for Parkinson’s, so this ‘a confirmatory would be transformative.’ Finally, this has given a chance for us to recognise the potential we have to improve not only the care we provide for the patients with PD, but also the knowledge we have regarding genetic conditions. Could this be the beginning of a new level of understanding of the Human Genome?
Bibliography:
(All accessed on dates: 29/05, 01/06, 04/06, 06/06)
Original BBC article on Joy Milne’s ability to smell Parkinson’s: https://www. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-47627179
Further BBC article on Joy Milne and her cooperation with Manchester University Scientists: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-62795737
Guardian article for background information on Joy Milne and Les: https:// www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/07/woman-who-can-smellparkinsons-helps-scientists-develop-test
Article outlining the research performed in order to detect structural biomarkers in the sebum of those with Parkinson’s Disease: https://pubs. acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacsau.2c00300
Obedience in Individualist and Collectivist Cultures Issy B (Year 13)
Obedience in Individualist cultures vs collectivist cultures
INTRODUCTION
This study was conducted to determine whether year 6 pupils would portray higher levels of obedience whether they were from an individualist or collectivist culture We carried out the research by using an opportunity sample of year 6 pupils from both England and Thailand We asked them to complete a self-report questionnaire that involved 5 scenarios involving different authority figures and they had to rate their response using a ranked scale We also collected data from year 6 teachers to see if there would be a gender difference
Experimental design:
Independent groups design
IV: Children from Thailand vs Children from England
To determine whether the obedience levels of 10-11 year olds (as assessed through a score out of 35 on a selfreport questionnaire) is affected by culture (collectivist vs individualist)
DV: Obedience levels based on both self-report data and teacher assessments
CVs: Age of pupils (year 6 ages 10-11), same environment when filling out questionnaire (classroom), same set of questions, same number of questions
Target population:
Year 6 students from both England and Thailand, both male and female
Pupil questionnaire consisting of 5 ranked scale questions
Teacher questionnaire consisting of 2 sections each with 5 ranked scale questions
Consent form for the teachers to sign on behalf of the pupils due to the fact they were under the age of 16,
Procedure:
To collect the data from the students we arranged to spend 15 minutes with 30 pupils (15 girls, 15 boys) We did this in both an English school in Bristol and Thai school in Bangkok
We explained how they should fill out the questionnaire and clarified anything the pupils didn t understand The pupils questionnaire consisted of scenarios such as Would you follow the instruction to tuck your shirt in when asked after school by your teacher? that they had to rate on a scale of 1-5 on how likely they would follow the instructions (1=definitely not - 5=definitely)
The teachers were also given a questionnaire with two sections one giving scenarios in relation to male pupils and one for female pupils The questions on both were the same except for the gender of the pupil An example of a question was ‘How likely is it that girls in your class would obey the instruction "Tuck your chair in ? The teachers were also required to rank their response from 1-5 (1=definitely not - 5=definitely) This meant we would be able to calculate a score of obedience /35 However although this was a useful comparison we decided not to include it in our data analysis due to the small sample size which therefore limits the statistical power
We also informed them of their right to withdraw at any point during the research and that their data would remain anonymous The pupils teacher also signed a consent form due to the fact that the pupils were under the age of 16
We didn t inform them of the aim of the investigation until after they had completed the questionnaire to avoid the display of demand characteristics By delivering a debrief we solved the issue of deceit
We compared the obedience scores of all UK pupils to all Thai pupils using a ttest and found Thai pupils to be significantly more obedient (T-test: p<0 01 n=30 two-tailed t=3 96 critical value=2 75 ) We then conducted repeated pairwise Mann-Witney U tests comparing UK male - UK female UK male- Thai male, UK female - Thai female, Thai male- Thai female We incorporated a Bonferroni correction to allow for the repeated use of the same datasets and adjusted our significance level to p=0 01 The only result found to be significant was UK females - Thai females the latter being significantly more obedient (Mann Witney U test: p<0 01, n=15 two-tailed U=41, critical value=51)
HYPOTHESES
Alternative – There will be a difference in levels of obedience in children from a collectivist culture compared to children from an individualistic culture based on a self-report questionnaire /35 and a teacher assessment/35
Null – There will be no significant difference in levels of obedience between children from a collectivist culture compared to individualistic cultures based on a self report questionnaire /35 and a teacher assessment/35
What are collectivist and individualistic cultures?
Individualist cultures value personal autonomy and independence whereas collectivist cultures are more focused on loyalty to the group, interdependence and cooperation Consequently, there is the suggestion that those from an individualistic culture such as the UK are more likely to be less obedient due to the value placed on independence and self-determination In contrast people from collectivist cultures such as Thailand are more likely to be more obedient because a sense of duty may override their desire to rebel
What is the power distance index?
The power distance index (PDI) of a society refers to how accepting people are of hierarchical order and inequality in society In countries with a high PDI subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat - Hofstede 2017
Therefore, it can be expected that those living in a country with a high PDI are more likely to show high levels of obedience compared to those from a country with a low rating Thailand as of 2021 has a PDI of 64%, compared to the UK which has a much lower rating of 35% (as reviewed in Flanagan et al 2018)
Kilham and Mann 1974
Wesley and Kilham (1974) found significantly low obedience levels in Australia at 28% Australia also has a low PDI with a score of 36% (Hofstede 2017) A recent replication in Poland - Doliński et al 2017 - found a very high level of obedience of 90% alongside a PDI of 68% This correlates with Hofstede s expectations that higher obedience levels will occur alongside a high PDI
Gupta 1983
Although Wesley and Kilham found a relationship between PDI and obedience levels, a Milgram replication study in India in 1983 found that although India has a high PDI of 77% (Hofstede 2017), the results showed relatively low levels of obedience - 42 5% When analysing gender differences the females in the study were much less obedient than the males This difference is said to be due to the fact that when in household and family situations Indian women have authority and so therefore this could explain why the levels of obedience were low They may have been affected by gender differences rather than the country’s PDI
RELATED L TERATURE
KILHAM W & MANN L (1974) LEVEL OF DESTRUCTIVE OBEDIENCE AS A FUNCTION OF TRANSM TTER AND EXECUTANT ROLES IN THE M LGRAM OBEDIENCE PARADIGM JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
29 696-702
GUPTA (1983) OBED ENCE TO AUTHORITY AMONGST UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYS S
UNPUBL SHED DOCTORAL THES S, UNIVERSITY OF DELH , DELHI INDIA
FLANIGAN C JARVIS M LIDDLE R RUSSELL J & WOOD M (2018) EDEXCEL PSYCHOLOGY FOR A LEVEL YEAR 1 & AS 1 ILLUMINATE PUBLISHING UK
CONCLUSION
We can accept our alternate hypothesis that there is a difference in levels of obedience in children from a collectivist culture compared to children from an individualistic culture based on a self-report questionnaire It appears that UK students are less obedient than Thai students with Thai females being the most obedient group
DISCUSSION
A strength of our research was the use of the Bonferroni correction This allows for the repeated use of the same datasets and adjusted our significance level to p=0 01 This reduces the risk of a type 1 error and therefore increases the accuracy of the conclusion
However, a weakness is that we used opportunity sampling Children present in the class when we collected the data may not have come from the target population For example as Clifton College is an international school some of the students in the class did not actually come from an individualist culture Therefore, our results may lack reliability
To further our research we could increase sample sizes and increase the age ranges we studied to improve the generalisability of our findings to the wider school community It would have also been interesting to increase our teacher sample size in order to carry out statistical testing
A Thin Fortune
The Development of Goldene
Gold has been used to demonstrate wealth for centuries. Throughout history possession of precious metals - such as gold - has managed to ascend one's social standing whether that be a golden sarcophagus, ornate shining goblets or stacks of gold bullions sitting in a high security vault. However, gold is not just used to flaunt your riches it is also an incredibly vital element in an industrial setting. It is used in electronic systems due to its high conductivity of heat and electricity, used in the chemical industry as a catalyst and is increasingly being used in medicine (for example the coating of hearing implants) due to its unreactivity1. Despite all of its glowing properties gold has a major drawback: its price. Gold is approximately, as of June 2024, £60 per gram; certainly a steep increase from the start of the year where the price was sitting in the low fifties2. This makes the use of gold very viable economically resulting in many industries opting for less expensive alternatives.
In April 2024, a paper from Linköping University was published3 demonstrating the synthesis of an allotrope of gold that only consists of one layer of atoms, opening up an intriguing set of possibilities. Sheets of gold had managed to be produced using a MAX phase, a technique that involves multiple different compounds consisting of layers which are able to be exchanged. The ‘M’ refers to a transition metal (in this case Ti), the ‘A’ a group A element (in this case Si) and the ‘X’ either carbon or nitrogen (in this case C). An exchange intercalation occurs between the MAX compound which contains Si and a similar compound which contains layers of Au instead of Si. Put simply, the Au is removed from the compound due to the Si and sheets of chemically stable Au are etched from the chemical, these have been named Goldene. Goldene is also predicted to have some ‘exotic properties’ like many similar structures which may prove to be very practically useful.
Fergus F-H (Year 12)
The creation of this ‘thin fortune’ has the potential to massively impact gold use in industry. As only small masses of gold are required to produce the allotrope, the use of Goldene is substantially more economical than standard crystalline solid gold. Due to their size, the nanoparticles of gold may hold great implications in areas of biomedicine and intricate electronics3. In addition, Goldene could be used as a catalyst in a chemical reaction which can turn plastic into biomass enabling industries to boost their efforts of net zero emissions3. However, whilst chemically stable Goldene is not physically stable with lead materials physicist Lars Hultman describing how “it started to curl up on itself like a scroll”4 seconds after production resulting in a surfactant being added to reduce surface tension and hence preserve its 2D shape. This may cause complications when the Goldene is required in more extreme conditions for industrial or medicinal purposes.
Goldene certainly offers a plethora of possibilities but will they come to fruition? If the use of Goldene is implemented on an industrial scale the effects will be both overwhelmingly positive and - of course - intriguing.
Bibliography
(1): Education. (n.d.). Gold in Industry. [online] Available at: https://www. thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/education/additional-precious-metalsinformation/gold-in-industry/#:~:text=Approximately%2011%20percent%20 of%20all [Accessed 3 Jun. 2024].
(2): Gold.co.uk. (n.d.). One Year Gold Price per Gram. [online] Available at: https://www.gold.co.uk/gold-price/one-year-gold-price-per-gram/ [Accessed 3 Jun. 2024].
(3): Shun Kashiwaya, Shi, Y., Lu, J., Sangiovanni, D.G., Grzegorz Greczynski, Magnuson, M., Andersson, M., Rosen, J. and Hultman, L. (2024). Synthesis of Goldene Comprising single-atom Layer Gold. Nature synthesis. doi:https:// doi.org/10.1038/s44160-024-00518-4 [Accessed 3 Jun 2024].
(4): Ware, S. (2024). Scientists Developed a Sheet of Gold That’s Just One Atom Thick. [online] Science News. Available at: https://www.sciencenews. org/article/goldene-sheet-gold-one-atom-thick [Accessed 3 Jun. 2024].
Figure 2: A diagram displaying how MAX phase is utilised to generate Goldene3
Figure 1: A graph displaying the price of gold per gram (in GBP) over a one year period2
Can robots ever replace surgeons?
Robotic surgery was first introduced in the late 1980s during prosthetic hip replacement procedures, utilising the Robodoc orthopaedic image-guided system.1 In 2000, the da Vinci Surgical System gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first robotic surgical platform2, facilitating 8.5 million global procedures with over 6000 da Vinci systems in operation today3. The increasing integration of robotic surgery in modern medicine inevitably sparks an intensifying debate over the potential complete replacement of surgeons with automatic robotic technology. This essay explores the medical, ethical and economic dimensions of this issue, thereby suggesting while partial replacement is feasible, complete replacement raises a myriad of concerns.
Current robotic surgical systems are mainly manually operated, with surgeons manipulating the robots to make microscopic incisions. The presumption of full replacement implies a scenario where surgeons are omitted from decision-making and execution in the operating theatre. This challenges the possibility of fully automated robots possessing human-like consciousness and adaptability for unforeseen incidents.
A significant stride occurred in January 2022, as a pig intestine was sutured in a fully automatic laparoscopic robotic surgery4. While the study demonstrated mechanical competency and potential, I would argue that the distinct human qualities inherent in surgery remain irreplaceable. The robots’ ability to respond to a myriad of unforeseen emergencies (e.g. sudden intestinal obstruction like incarcerated hernia, and appendicitis)5 has yet to be proven. Surgery demands real-time decision-making and a deep understanding of human biological intricacies, including complex psychology. Robotic surgery maintains a 0.9% failure rate and causes 0.5%-5.4% patient damage.6
Nicole
L (Year 12)
Advocates of autonomous robotic surgery argue that its minimally invasive nature enhances patient safety by reducing blood loss.7 The rate of blood transfusion in robotic surgery is 18.6 times lower than that of open surgery (0.6% vs. 11.2%; p<0.001) 1, which significantly reduces challenges in dissection due to increased visibility obstruction from intra-operative blood loss.8 Moreover, at least 4,000 surgical errors occur annually in the US due to human factors such as communication gaps and inadequate surgeon training.9 Automation could eliminate human errors like tremors and anxiety of surgeons, potentially enhancing success rates.
Ethical dilemmas arise if autonomous robotic surgery replaces surgeons, as it is linked to increased risk of accidental haemorrhage caused by lacerations and tissue injuries.5 Determining responsibility for robotic errors becomes complicated. Should the blame fall on the robot, its developers or the supervising registrar? If patients in near-fatal positions express detestation to robotic surgery while it remains the sole option in the administered area, the medical system’s lack of choice will become non-beneficent and malevolent to the patient.
Economically, high robotic surgery costs hinder massscale replacement of surgeons. Significant cost disparities between robotic ($6,752) and open ($4,437) surgical methods (P < 0.0001)10 stem from operating room (robotic $2,798 vs. open $1,611; P < 0.001) and surgical supplies (robotic $2,015 vs. open $185; P < 0.001) expenses. Unlike developed nations, low-income countries (LICs) are unable to adopt this shift without substantial financial aid or benefits from technological economies of scale.
In conclusion, the complete surgeon replacement by automatic robotic systems faces medical, ethical and economic challenges. While robotic surgery offers merits to patient care, advancements are necessary before a comprehensive transition can occur.
1 George, E.I. et al. (2018) Origins of robotic surgery: From skepticism to standard of care, JSLS : Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons. https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6261744/
2 FDA approves New Robotic Surgery Device (2000) ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/07/000717072719.htm
3 Mayor, N., Coppola, A.S. and Challacombe, B. (2022) Past, present and future of surgical robotics - mayor - 2022 - trends ..., Past, present and future of surgical robotics. https://wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tre.834
4 Saiedi, H. (2022) Autonomous robotic laparoscopic surgery for intestinal ... - science, Autonomous robotic laparoscopic surgery for intestinal anastomosis. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abj2908 .
5 Debas, H.T., McCord, C. and Ozgediz, D. (2015) ‘Chapter 4 General Surgical Emergencies’, in Essential surgery. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
6 Ferrarese, A. et al. (2016) Malfunctions of robotic system in surgery: Role and responsibility of surgeon in legal point of View, Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5329842/#:~:text=Lucas%20estimated%20a%20total%20of,between%200.5%25%20and%205.4%25.
7 UC Davis Health, P.A. and M. (no date) Minimally invasive surgery, UC Davis Health. Available at: https://health.ucdavis.edu/surgicalservices/minimally_invasive_surgery.html#:~:text=patient’s%20unique%20situation.-,Robotic%20surgery,through%20small%20incisions%20and%20openings
8 McAlpine, K. et al. (2019a) Robotic surgery improves transfusion rate and perioperative outcomes using a broad implementation process and multiple surgeon learning curves, Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l’Association des urologues du Canada. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC6570603/
9 Rodziewicz, T.L.R.L., Hipskind., J.E. and Houseman, B. (2023) Medical error reduction and prevention - statpearls - NCBI bookshelf, Medical Error Reduction and Prevention. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/
10 Ho C;Tsakonas E;Tran K;Cimon K;Severn M;Mierzwinski-Urban M;Corcos J;Pautler S; (2011) Robot-assisted surgery compared with open surgery and laparoscopic surgery: Clinical Effectiveness and economic analyses [internet], National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/24175355/.
The Rhetorical Mind
Is Human good the activity of the soul exhibiting virtue?
There is much controversy surrounding the view that human good turns out to be activity of the soul exhibiting virtue. Many scholars would disagree with this statement because they disagree with Aristotle and his theory of virtue ethics. However, other scholars may agree with the statement because they believe that if we follow it, we will be good people and live good lives. In this essay, I will be disagreeing with Aristotle and objecting to the statement “human good turns out to be activity of the soul exhibiting virtue”.
One objection to Aristotelian ethics is the question of whether a life of virtue leads to eudaimonia. Eudaimonia has been described as a combination of well-being, happiness and flourishing and it’s the ultimate goal of a human being. This argument outlines the differences between a good, virtuous life and one in which you flourish or achieve eudaimonia. It focuses on how Aristotle’s loose definition of what eudaimonia actually is sparks debate because some people argue that what is just and what helps you get eudaimonia sometimes contradict. The objection is that Aristotle doesn’t distinguish between what is good for others and what is good for us in eudaimonia. For example, if you are sacrificing yourself for others then that is the morally right thing to do and therefore a virtuous act, however it does not contribute to a good life for you - the life of virtue and eudaimonia seem to contradict as there are some virtues that are not in our self-interest. There are many examples of people leading virtuous lives but not flourishing. For example, a nurse who spends her life suffering and helping others, but dies sick and miserable; Her life displays many virtues but she personally cannot be described as living well. This is why some people may argue that Aristotle is wrong to think that virtues are just traits that contribute to one’s eudaimonia and they may say that his approach to eudaimonia was egotistical and self-centred because it’s all about self benefit.
On the other hand, there are many responses to this criticism. Annas provides us with a reply claiming we have misunderstood the concept of eudaimonia. The interpretation of eudaimonia as happiness and self-interest is too confining as Aristotle never actually specifies what living a flourishing life is. You cannot argue someone striving for eudaimonia is self-centred because they are simply aiming to live in a fair, generous and just way and in their opinion they’re flourishing. Also, to live a good life you must treat
Anna B (Year 13)
others in morally good ways and having commitments is a key part of what it is to flourish. While pursuing eudaimonia, you should value your interests higher than others and being virtuous can often lead to good things that might not benefit you personally. One response to the example of people living virtuous lives but not flourishing is that they live with integrity and this makes their lives good because they are working for the values which they believe in. However, Aristotle’s eudaimonia doesn’t work well as virtues can conflict, such as keeping a promise to your friend may require you lying to someone else, and there are different interpretations of flourishing.
A second criticism of Aristotelian ethics is that it doesn’t really give us any guidance on how to act. Utilitarianism offers the principle of maximising happiness; Kant offers the categorical imperative; However, Aristotle offers nothing like that. Some may argue that the doctrine of the mean is the guidance, although it doesn’t offer nearly as much help because ‘too much’ and ‘too little’ are not quantities on a single scale. Additionally, it gives us no understanding, for example, of when we should get angry in excess and how angry we should get - anything could be ‘the mean’. Furthermore, the practical wisdom, or phronesis, theory isn’t any help either. If I have practical wisdom, it seems that I know what to do, but if I do not have practical wisdom, what then? Aristotle may try to respond to this by arguing that the criticism is far too simple. We saw that knowledge of the good can come in degrees, and that we can improve or destroy our ability to know what is good by the kind of character we develop. Also, people can improve their knowledge of what is good by becoming more virtuous people. Annas argues that we already have some general guidance from the culture we grew up in. Also, that we are each at different stages in ethical development and have different aims and ideals in life.
A final criticism of Aristotle’s virtue ethics is the issue of circularity in defining virtuous people and acts. The definition of a virtuous act is something a virtuous person should do in any given situation and the definition of a virtuous person is someone who does virtuous acts. This is seen to be a problem because these descriptions are circular, meaning they require the other word to define them and therefore say nothing meaningful about what a virtuous person or act actually is. Circular reasoning occurs
when the subject is contained in the predicate, for example, ‘the unmarried man is a bachelor’. In Aristotelian ethics, we end up being told that a virtuous person is someone who is disposed to do acts that would be done by a virtuous person which really doesn’t mean anything at all. Additionally, we can’t tell whether an act is virtuous without knowing whether a virtuous person would do it and we can’t tell whether someone is virtuous without seeing whether they do virtuous acts.
Some people may reject this criticism as they say we should simply pay closer attention to Aristotle’s definitions. A virtuous act is indeed an act that virtuous people do, when they know what they’re doing and choose the act for its own sake. However, a virtuous person has the virtues, or traits, that enable them to achieve eudaimonia. These virtues include states of character and excellences of reasons. States of character relate to our choices and actions, but
they are equally concerned with our passions and what we find pleasure in. Also, eudaimonia is defined, not in terms of virtuous actions, but in terms of many activities of the soul. You could also argue that, while it is true that the criterion for an act being virtuous is that it is an act that a virtuous person would do, we already have a good idea of what a virtuous person is without being able to name particular individuals as virtuous or not.
In conclusion, I disagree with the statement “human good turns out to be activity of the soul exhibiting virtue” because of the reasons I have stated above and also the problem of conflicting virtues. This criticism is when the requirements of one virtue may be opposed, or contradictory to the requirements of another. For example, the requirement of honesty is for us to tell the truth, even if it upsets someone. Whereas, the virtues of kindness and compassion point to us remaining silent, or perhaps even lying to avoid harm.
Why Music Matters
Music is an essential part of our daily lives. We listen to many different types of music: classical, rap, jazz, pop and many many more. It has the power to affect us greatly both in just one moment and for the rest of our lives, it can help us when feeling down, it can lift us out of a lazy mood and give us confidence to tackle the arduous day ahead. Creating and playing music can hone our creativity and our love for music and make us want to listen and expand our musical repertoire. With this, there are some further questions that we need to consider: Is music an essential component of a good life?
Music has the great capability of shaping young minds for the future. A study conducted by a group of German Psychologists shows a direct correlation between the IQ of young people and whether they frequently listened to music or played a musical instrument.3 This is proof that playing a musical instrument and frequently listening to music has a positive effect on the mind. This development shows that with music, children can advance their cognitive abilities from a much earlier age and at a much faster rate than without music.
Music is also known to improve the mental health and to lift the mood of a person. The listening of music triggers a reaction in the limbic system which is a section of the brain that is involved in processing emotions and controlling memory in our brain. When our ears perceive music, the limbic system “lights up” and that is the effect of being uplifted when listening to a certain piece of music. As well as the limbic system lighting up, “as your brain becomes familiar with a particular song, your body may release dopamine upon hearing just the first few notes of the song.” 2 Pfizer, a well known Pharmaceutical company also explores the effects of music and memory as well as music decreasing pain perception.
While music is an essential part of the good life, it can also lead to making poor decisions, leading to a life of violence, discrimination and crime. Despite there being many other major contributors to crime, music can be a major contributor and one example of this is the rap industry and the many deaths it has caused. Most of the rap musicians that have been assassinated have been due to their poor background, and links with rival gangs and drug crimes.
Arda S (Year 9)
It all depends on the type of music you frequently listen to. Most pop songs and classical music don't affect this, but more violent types of music, which have lyrics about gang crime or vulgar lyrics such as slurs have been shown to do this. This doesn’t mean that you should not listen to any rap or drill music, but frequenting these types of music can lead to poorer decision making in life and leading a dishonest life. On the other hand, despite there being a link between violent music and increased involvement in violent activities, this might also be a very disturbing form of artistic expression, in which the song writer has to get all of his evil, sub- human thoughts out so he does not suppress them, leading to a darker turn. 1 This has also been explored in a UK study done by Craig Pinkney, a criminologist and lecturer at the University College Birmingham. This study proves that alongside music, social media also fuels the violence of gang rivalries. Another paper published in 2003 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, reported that music can incite aggressive thoughts and feelings. During five experiments with 75 female and 70 male college students, those who heard a violent song were shown to feel more hostile than those who heard a nonviolent song, from the same artist and style. 11 Violent types of music can also be a good release for violent and unhealthy thoughts and emotions, which might lead to something more sinister, this is also similar to what the songwriters might do to expel their unhealthy thoughts in the form of music. This shows the more malicious, unknown side of incorporating music as a regular part of your life.
In conclusion, music is an essential part of the good life, and there are several musical elements that are crucial in having a good, calm, relaxing life. Playing an instrument, frequently listening to music, and making music as part of your daily routine in general. On the other hand, music can be a gateway into a bad life, involved in crime and other violent behaviours due to influence from musical sources. All in all, the good outweighs the bad, and if incorporated properly, music is a key component to having a good life. As the great Ludwig Van Beethoven once said, “ Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy, Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit thinks and invents”.
To what extent should prisoners have rights? Gilbert C (Year 9)
The judicial system’s job in the UK is to uphold the law, in the name of our government. This is the system of courts that interprets, defends and applies the law in the name of the governing body. A part of the responsibilities of the judicial system is incarceration of those who have broken the law. These people are commonly labelled as criminals. These people have broken the law, and usually deserve punishment. We can also discuss, what is the purpose of punishment? Should it serve as a deterrent to others, so they won’t walk the same path? Or is it genuinely for the good of the prisoner, to make sure society will benefit from a reformed prisoner again? Or is it to protect society from dangerous people, who have broken the law and deserve retribution? Different people may have differing views on punishment, and this will alter a prisoner’s treatment and what rights they deserve. This essay will discuss the extent to which criminals should enjoy the privileges or the rights normally bestowed upon civilians.
The question of whether criminals should have rights despite not being law abiding citizens is a complex issue. On one side of the argument, there’s the argument that all people, regardless of what they have done, deserve inherent rights as a human being. This perspective suggests that depriving criminals of specific rights could lead to arguments on whether the state has the power to remove one’s human rights. So to understand what rights criminals deserve, we first need to understand, what is the purpose of punishment?
Punishment itself is a problematic concept, as it can be understood and defined in multiple ways. It can be considered synonymous with sentence, or legal sanction, however, in the Criminal Justice Act¹³ it is regarded as one of the purposes of a sentence, hinting at its retributive value. Punishment can be instrumental in achieving other aims, such as reducing crime through deterrence and rehabilitation. So is punishment a deterrent? Or something with which to gain retribution for one’s actions? I believe that it is a mixture of both, and that it is used with the safety of the public as priority ⁵.
Now that we have discussed the implications of punishment, let’s look at a very common form of punishment. Prison. Do tougher prison sentences mean a safer society? Imprisoning offenders is how offenders have always been dealt with. It works because it keeps the criminals out of circulation, and acts as a deterrent for others.⁸. Our prison population in England and Wales has more than doubled in the last two decades, but the crime rate has also steadily fallen. Proponents of prison would use this to argue that incarceration works. Rehabilitation is useful, but the fundamental purpose of prison is to keep the bad in, and the good out.⁸. Other people argue that a more humane
approach should be taken. Its advocates argue that it is not only humane, but acts for the betterment of a society as a whole. In the UK, 47% of prisoners reoffend after they are let out, however, in Norway, only 20% do. Is this because they treat them like human beings, and not just criminals?⁸. I believe that harsher prison sentences just brew more hatred, and if you want prisoners to learn their lesson, treat them like you would anyone else, and find the root cause of the problem⁸.
Now that we have talked about whether tougher sentences will help society, we need to talk about how effective prisons even are as a form of punishment. Many believe that it is an archaic method, which lacks humanity and doesn’t solve the root cause, whilst others believe that it is the tried and tested way forward. One argument for prison is that it is an effective deterrent. Prison can be seen as a tough type of punishment because it takes away your freedom, potential support networks and in many ways, it strips away your identity. The thought of prison is enough for some people to not even contemplate committing a criminal act.⁷This could therefore justify the removal of human rights, as if prison’s job is to deter, then stripping people of their human rights and making prison unappealing would be a necessary part in reducing crime. Prison sentences are also a message to the wider public that this is what will happen if you commit a crime. Prison advocates would say this is a message to wider society about what is right and wrong and what will happen if you commit a crime. So how can we assess the effectiveness of prisons? A large part of prison ideology is reform, which is one of the most vital parts of prison, to ensure offenders do not return to crime. The UK government talks about opportunities to support prisoners⁷, including; Improving prisoners’ mental health and tackling substance misuse, improving prisoners progress in maths and English, and increasing the numbers of offenders in employment and accommodation after release.
I believe that prisoners should also be taught money and finance, as a lot of illegal acts are done in pursuit of money, and helping people from less privileged backgrounds learn to save and invest could be a valuable life skill for them once they get out, as well as helping them develop an emotional understanding if they are lacking. This way, prisoners will truly get the most out of prison. However there is a large issue with prisons that people have not been tackling as effectively as possible⁷. Systematic racism in prisons can lead to increased damage to the victims self-worth. For this reason, reform might not be as effective, as they are dealing with hatred every day, and do not get the time to process the positive things, but only view the negative. Problems like this need to be tackled in prisons today, or people will go nowhere.
Any form of punishment seems to have one thing in common. Removing at least one human right. Freedom. So what further rights can be taken away? Does a capital crime, such as murder warrant the loss of your human right to life, or is that too far? Should prisoners have promoted rights for education and work in prison? Many prisons offer courses such as Numeracy, Literacy, Art, and Business Studies, to help their prisoners, or practical courses such as Bricklaying and Plumbing¹⁰. So whilst prisoners have had some rights taken away for their crimes, some rights have been promoted, to give them a better chance at life. So if prison is used as a way to help inmates, then is it a form of social progression? It can be argued as such, as it helps humans who have made mistakes to learn from them, and to try to integrate themselves back into society. This will benefit society, as not only have the offenders learnt why they were wrong, but now they can help to build society themselves, almost a form of reparation in itself.
However, if the law can promote rights, does this give it the right to take human rights away? Can the law take away the right of life from someone who has committed murder? Some would argue that humans have a few absolute rights, which can never be taken away.³ These include the right to life, the right to not be subjected to torture, and the right to liberty. But if you’re being punished for something, should you not lose some rights?³ As well as this, it is stated
on the Prison Reform website that all prisoners and staff are required to be given meals that meet their dietary, religious and nutritious requirements¹. All rights come with responsibility, and if someone can’t manage these responsibilities, should a prisoner not have at least one right taken away? Prisons’ main form of punishment is the loss of the right of freedom.³ Or community service taking away the freedom, which limits freedom, but not to a magnanimous extent, whilst also promoting civic responsibility. to do what you want. If a grave crime is committed, some governments still allow the death penalty, taking away the right to life, which can be viewed as one side of the extremes, the other being not punished at all³.
In conclusion, I believe that all people have rights, no matter who they are or what they have done. As Lewis Schwellenbach said “Every right has its responsibilities. Like the right itself, these responsibilities stem from no manmade law, but from the very nature of man and society.” If you cannot manage these responsibilities, you should have less rights than other people. However, punishment should rarely, if ever, violate the absolute human rights. This ensures a judicial system that is firm, but not just as bad as the people being imprisoned. As the US representative Horace Greeley once stated “I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample underfoot”.
Bibliography and Research
1 prisonreformtrust.org.uk, Prison Reform Trust, Food in Prison
The NOMS Catering Operating Manual, which is Annex B of PSI 44/2010 Catering – Meals for Prisoners, states the following: “It is a fundamental requirement that prisoners and members of staff are provided with meals which meet an individual’s religious, cultural and medical dietary needs. It is further necessary that all prisoners are provided with food commodities that are stored, prepared and served in an appropriate way. Food in Prison.
2 https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk , Crime and rehabilitation: An overview. Taylor, R (2022). In 2013, the then coalition government published a summary of evidence on the importance of offender rehabilitation for reducing reoffending rates. Summarising the evidence, it highlighted the importance of supervision and the relationship between offender and offender manager. It stated that “good quality supervision, case management and holistic, tailored approaches can support and enable rehabilitation and reintegration”. Rehabilitation in Prison.
3 Chiverssolicitors.co.uk, Basic rights for prisoners, Absolute rights.
The rights of access to the courts and of respect for one’s bodily integrity - that is, not to be assaulted - are such fundamental rights. Others may be recognised as the law develops. Prisoners lose only those civil rights that are taken away either expressly by an Act of Parliament or by necessary implication. Absolute Rights
4 https://www.gov.uk, Prisoner privileges
Prisoners who follow rules can earn privileges. This is called the ‘Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme’. A prisoner may be able to: get more visits from family or friends, be allowed to spend more money each week.
5 Privileges in Prison howardleague.org, The pain and purpose of punishment Punishment is one of the purposes of sentencing and may additionally serve instrumental functions, primarily the reduction of crime. However, the current sentencing framework rests on a flawed understanding of the experience and severity of sentences. The Purpose of Punishment
6 lawtonslaw.co.uk, Types of criminal sentencing, Under UK law, sentences depend not only on the offence but plea, criminal history and personal circumstances. There are five main types: discharge, fines and compensation, driving disqualification or points, community orders and prison sentences. Types of sentences
The Rhetorical Mind
7 www.law.ac.uk, Is prison an effective form of punishment? Fielder, C (27/5/21-25/7/22).
One argument for prison is that it is an effective deterrent. Prison can be seen as a tough type of punishment because it takes away your freedom, potential support networks and in many ways, it strips away your identity. The thought of prison is enough for some people to not even contemplate committing a criminal act.
The first argument would be that prisons do not work. Those advocating for prison reform highlight reoffending statistics as an example of the ineffectiveness of prisons. The adult reoffending rate for the October to December 2018 cohort was 27.5%. Almost 101,000 proven re-offences were committed over the oneyear follow-up period by around 25,000 adults. Those that reoffended committed on average 3.97 re-offences. [Source – Home Office – Proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales, published October 2020]. Is Prison Effective?
8 Intelligencesquared.com, Do tougher prison sentences mean a safer society? Lawson, D/ Dalrymple, T/ Vollan, M/ James, E/ Paxman, J. Lock them up. That’s the way we’ve always dealt with offenders. Criminals deserve to be put away for their crimes. Prison works because it keeps those criminals out of circulation, and acts as society’s most effective deterrent. Our prisons may be more crowded than ever – the prison population of England and Wales, for example, has more than doubled in 20 years – but our crime rate has steadily fallen: proof, proponents of prison would argue, that incarceration works. Rehabilitation is all well and good – but the fundamental purpose of prison is to protect the public, and to punish those who have done wrong.Do Tougher Sentences Mean a Safer Society?
9 www.jstor.org, Deterrent punishment,
The nature of legal punishment has been so frequently discussed that the subject has lost something of its original freshness, yet the difficulties that surround it, and the importance that attaches to it, were never more clearly appreciated than now. Punishment as a Deterrent.
10 prisonreformtrust.org.uk, Prison education and Work, There is an education department in every prison.
You can take part in educational courses and training to gain skills and qualifications. This could help you find work when they are released. Education and Work in Prison
11 forbes.com, Quotes on Human Rights, Greeley, H/ Schwellenbach, L. Rights Quotes
12 https://www.echr.coe.int/, European Convention on Human Rights, Appendix 1. European Convention on Human Right
13 legislation.gov.uk, Criminal Justice Act 2003
An Act to make provision about criminal justice (including the powers and duties of the police) and about dealing with offenders; to amend the law relating to jury service; to amend Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Part 5 of the Police Act 1997; to make provision about civil proceedings brought by offenders; and for connected purposes. Criminal Justice Act 2003
To what extent is humour universal?
If a philosopher is alone in the forest and tells a joke and there is no one to laugh, is it funny? (Boersema, D. 2015)
Humour is a fundamental part of society which allows us to enjoy the world for brief moments, in even the harshest of environments. But is it universal to every culture and if so why? Or why might humour not be universal and cultures have different types of humour? In this essay, I will explore these topics and conclude that humour - broadly speaking - is universal and helpful for both the individual and wider society, but different cultures and age groups access it in different ways leading to no particular style of humour being universal.
In some ways, humour is universal: all cultures do enjoy jokes in some shape or form and feel a need to laugh, but why is this? It seems as though there must be some evolutionary or sociological reasons behind why we share jokes.
Jokes can help to build communities and unite people in a way that makes one who is included, feel comfortable with the people that they have shared the joke with. This may be good for a society as it helps to unite people and band them together and therefore a higher chance of thriving and longevity. While jokes can be self-deprecating, some jokes can create humour at the expense of others. This can build a sense of “us” and “them” which can be harmful, reinforcing stereotypes and sowing seeds of division may lead to a break in society that can be devastating. This could mean that in some ways humour is dangerous if used incorrectly. But these jokes may also deepen a sense of closeness within the community and if “they” are an outside threat to the society in which the joke is shared, this can be helpful in the preservation of community.
Often humour requires deep skills of observation and quick thinking. Although not universal, some humour can signal a degree of social intelligence and therefore within a society, jokes create the opportunity for elevating charismatic leaders for people to rally around. Even if humour is not the method with which these leaders rise, we can see that joking can increase one’s knowledge of community helping them create a societal environment in which they can take full advantage and rise up.
Humour could be for other things. Studies have shown that as well as serving as a mental immune system, humour can help boost your physical immune system as well. It also improves cardiovascular health and lowers blood pressure (Davis, M.2022). This can obviously improve a community and is a key benefit of having humour. This is particularly useful in times of high pressure or stress. “Black” or “dark” humour has often been used in times of war as a mechanism to help people get by in an otherwise intolerable situation.
Henry
S (Year 9)
One of Humour’s benefits is that it produces a relaxed environment in which people’s thoughts are free to flow with little distraction. This leads to greater creativity and productivity (Davis, M. 2022) by relaxing their minds and making them feel more comfortable in the environment they are creative in. This in turn help cultures advance in their knowledge and infrastructure.
If we take the utilitarian view of society, humour is one of the greatest attributes as it helps make people happy in large numbers and aligns with the theory of right action as jokes have no limit to the amount of people they can have an effect on; therefore humour is good. This can also show that comedians play a vital role to make people happy and therefore they have a strong moral role in society and help build our community for the better.
Some areas of humour are not universal; children and adults laugh at different things and different cultures have different types of humour. Why is this? As we can see, humour has evolutionary roots, so we can infer that different types of humour are similar to different physical characteristics of animals, all adapted in different ways and suited to their different habitats or, in our case, societies. Everyone's uniqueness has led to different preferences in humour and as cultures often have similar genetics, this could have led to some types of humour being more prevalent in some societies than others.
Different areas of humour are more widespread than others. These humours are normally silly and fun, such as slap stick, rather than satirical or observational. These types of humour are more likely to be widespread as they can be used in very basic society and can be understood by everyone. This leads to us developing a sense of humour for them at a very young age. Often this sense of humour is not lost and grows. Even in later life our childishness is still often inside leading to these types of jokes being present in most cultures.
Satirical or dark humours are less likely to be present in all cultures as often they are challenging our perceptions of morality. These humours often rely on more sophisticated cultures as well as they often poke fun at politicians and other leaders of society. The concepts of politicians as the leaders over kings or emperors is relatively new, therefore we can see that more developed cultures seem to have more satirical jokes often with more developed setups and a more nuanced punchline.
Part of the universality of jokes comes in their patterns. Although it is almost impossible to place a template on all jokes, humour generally occurs when your brain realises that it recognised the wrong pattern e.g:
What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?…
You think you recognise the classic pattern of a question and answer scenario and are expecting something further to come but then realise that the question is in itself a rhetorical question. This can also be understood as the sudden revelation of a previously concealed or unclear fact (Carr, J. 2021)
This helps to show that all humour can be drawn together by patterns and this is a fundamental part of humour that brings it ever closer to universality.
Almost all individual jokes cannot be universal as they rely too greatly on a certain aspect of the society they poke fun at or make reference to popular culture that is simply not know all around the world (Blauvelt, C.2017). Also, many jokes can be lost in translation; how could this line:
“Surely, you can’t be serious?”/”I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley” (Airplane!, 1980)
- work the same in any other language (2017).This is probably why more slap stick and silly jokes work better in all languages as they can rely less on these sort of linguistic nuances.
In conclusion, we have seen that humour in its essence is universal and is included in all societies. This is because humour is a valuable asset to a society as it increases our health and brings us together for the same cause, leading to a more aligned community with more chances of success. Despite this, many areas of humour do not enjoy as widespread recognition as others; often satirical humours are left in the metaphorical dust. Overall we can see that thoughtful humour is a force for good, bringing societies closer together, creating an environment for self expression and community, elevating leaders and helping people to cope with stress. Good jokes can even bring the writing or marking of a philosophy essay to the realms of tolerability!
A pun, a play on words and a limerick walk into a bar… No joke.
Bibliography
Anderson, A. (2014). What’s the definition of comedy?, TEDEd https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-s-the-definition-of-comedy-bananaaddison-anderson
Boersema, D. (2015). The Philosophy of Humour, Philosophy Now https://philosophynow.org/issues/111/The_Philosophy_of_Humor Blauvelt, C. (2017). Why comedy is not universal, BBC Culture https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170821-why-comedy-is-notuniversal
Carr, J. (2021). Before and Laughter, Quercus Publishing Kaigani. (2023). Why isn’t AI funny?, Medium https://kaigani.medium.com/why-isnt-ai-funny-7a1c8db701c0
Kim A. (2020). Humour isn’t as subjective as you think it is, Quartz Hill High School https://qhhsubiquity.com/4735/humor/humor-isnt-as-subjective-as-youthink-it-is/
Meskauskas, J. (2023). Why can’t A.I. be funny on purpose, Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-cant-ai-funny-purpose-jimmeskauskas
Davis, M. (2022). Why a good sense of humour is an essential life skill, Big Think https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/humor-life-skill/
Stanford Philosophy Reference (2012). Philosophy of Humour. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/
To what extent is language effective at communication?
Introduction.
Peter Drucker says that “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said” (Drucker, P, 1989). He believes that it is important to not take words at face value and to read between the lines when you communicate with others, but also he stresses the importance of non-verbal communication when you try to understand what isn’t being said. The usual reason humans communicate is to impart information through multiple different media; the most recognised method is speech in which the person uses language to specify an idea to others. However language has a problem as it can be easily misinterpreted depending on each person’s views or how the receiver interprets the information. This opens the door for another means of communication - non-verbal communication - in which the person communicates using gestures, expressions, and tones to shift and specify the meaning of the words that the person is communicating with. Furthermore non-verbal communication does not need speech to be effective as you can communicate through art and music. Therefore this essay will argue that language is not always necessary and effective for communication and that other media should be used at times, for example nonverbal communication.
Discussion.
A philosopher’s view on the subject of language is that of Wittgenstein who firstly believed that “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent” (Wittgenstein, L. 1933:23). In this quote Wittgenstein is saying that some topics may be impossible to articulate meaningfully using words and it is better for you to simply not say anything about the topic at all. This shows how he views words to have limitations and can not always be useful as these words must have empirical evidence to define them before you can use the word to begin with. However in later works he develops a new point on Sprachspiel or language games (Wittgenstein, L. 1953) in this he says that words are inexact and do not contain an inherit meaning; for example if I pointed to a book and said book you could not know if that word was referring to the object, to the paper, the shape or anything else about the object. This means that language can only be learnt through experience and as you use the words you will understand what it’s referring to. This means words are defined by social constructs as words have meaning depending on how the person uses it. This leads to the idea of the language game in which words can be defined in the activities that they are used for, an example of different types of language games are: religious games or factual knowledge games. The language game suggests that human communication is built around rules and only by knowing the rules can you communicate effectively. As If you do not know the rules then the words are meaningless to you. This means to communicate with others you must know their language
Rory W (Year 9)
game which is not universal this leads to problems with how you can communicate. For example the word “spirit” has a huge religious context as it represents the human soul but also in christianity it represents inspiring believers but if you are speaking a different language game like the alcohol game then the word spirit could refer to a distilled alcohol beverage. This creates a completely different meaning for the word meaning it would not be possible for people to communicate while playing both of the language games. Another time that words do not mean exactly what they say is if someone said, you are never listening. However they do not mean that you have never listened to them but they are suggesting that you are not listening to them at this time. The only way that you know this is what they mean is by knowing the language game that they are playing. This can lead to misunderstandings and in some cases make it completely impossible to understand what is being said without understanding their mindset and use of the words. This creates instability in the use of language meaning it can not always be trusted and may not always be effective at communication.
A different way humans can communicate with or in conjunction with language is non-verbal communication which can be vital for the communicator to express information. (Braun.M.1970:1). This allows the communicator to express their information more clearly than they could without the use of non-verbal communication. This is shown in Plato’s belief that “an utterly simple person… if he thinks written words are of any use except to remind him who knows the matter in which they are written”. (Plato.1925: 275). Plato is saying that It’s too difficult for someone solely relying on language to understand someone’s words as they were meant by the writer. Furthermore, thinking about Wittgenstein’s point about language games it is almost impossible to know the rules that the writer is writing under. This may not be a problem if the person simply told the words to the reader as then the person absorbing the information would be able to understand the speaker’s tones, gestures and expressions to conclude the message that the communicator is trying to communicate and take in the context of the rules that the communicator is expressing with.
In a different angle you can take a modern look at Plato’s words through communicating online. Communication online is rife with miscommunication and misunderstandings as a simple word or phrase that one person thought was appropriate can be misinterpreted completely. A way humans have tried to get around this problem is adding emojis in text messages. (Fosslien. L. 2020) as emojis are simply screenshots of non-verbal communication that can be plastered with words. The fact that emojis exist is strong evidence that humans can not communicate without nonverbal communication as there must have been a problem
The Rhetorical Mind
for them to be introduced. Also they must be more efficient than regular text at quick communication which is the purpose of communicating online as they are easier to make conclusions about from looking at them. This is proven by a study that said men can identify emojis’ meanings more accurately than even facial gestures (Nogare, L, 2023); this proves that emojis can be very accurate at allowing someone to understand the emotions that the communicator is trying to express.
Another reason non-verbal communication is used on social media is because it cuts down the time that you would have to use to express yourself. The more time you spend trying to express an idea the harder it is for the listener to understand the message (Velazquez. A 2020: 4:31). Furthermore the added use of non-verbal communication would free up space to develop your point of view more thoroughly and to communicate more effectively. This is not only the case for online communication but also ring’s true in face to face encounters as the less amount of words you use in a conversation the easier it is for the other person to understand the words and move the conversation forward. This is true without non verbal communication, as the communicator’s meaning is easier to be distorted if more words are being used. However some ideas can not be expressed without using lots of words and in that case the more words could be more useful . This shows that language is generally more effective when used sparingly and with a focused purpose as it is easier to understand and at a certain point the use of language limits the effectiveness of the speaker’s ability to communicate.
In regular writing miscommunication is rife but it does not stop in simple texts but goes to legal documents as well. One of the most famous parts of the American constitution is the second amendment which is the right to bear arms (Horner. R 2014). When you look at this phrase you have to make assumptions of its meaning as to what constitutes a weapon that is allowed by a citizen. For example we do not know what is meant by an “arm” without added context or having a speaker that knows the meaning of the words explain them with the use of other forms of communication. An example of how this phrase may be taken out of context is that the right to bear arms may only extend to old muskets that they had at the time - not tanks or automatic rifles or it doesn’t even mean weapons but simply states that all citizens have the right to defend themselves. This shows how words that are written do not tell you what they mean because they can be taken any way that the reader wants them to - this links back to Plato’s distrust of written words. This shows that it is important to gain information from the person expressing it so that you can get the full picture of their idea as they can specify clearer and be more effective at conveying their message.
Looking at communication in a different way you can see that people communicate in the world in many different creative ways. Two main ways are music and art. For art this takes place through a varied use of creative abilities and the imagination to create a visual piece that can send an emotional feeling to the person looking at the art. Art can
be very effective at sending a message with different colours being associated with different emotions. For example, a more dull and cool colour shows sadness whereas a bright and warm colour is more lively and joyful. Also different media of art like sculptures or animation can be even more effective at communicating as they can be 3D and tell a more indepth story. Furthermore “Art is sometimes the only language with which we can communicate across time with generations long dead” (Caldwell, J 1960:2) this is the case as good art without obvious flaws tells a story in which you can create a picture of the artist’s life. This allows historians to communicate with the dead and make assumptions of their religion, economic standing and other key aspects of their life. This can be more effective than regular writing as most art can be appreciated without the need to understand the language of the country that the art originated from and without the problems that both Wittgenstein and Plato have propagated about words. For example many Roman artworks tell stories of heroes of the roman world with the heroes key memorabilia to tell them apart from others this can be studied without language and can usually tell the story effectively. However not all art is useful to be studied as some art is made using the artist’s imagination and does not communicate anything tangible about the world but the art still tells a message even if it is not about the world of the artist but more about their feelings. Music on the other hand communicates with different notes and beats bringing out different emotions in the listener, this is added as “the enjoyment of music is associated with the reward areas in your brain” (Nendick,Z, 2022) as music entices the listener. This means the listener is waiting for the next cord which creates an effective dialogue of the exchange of information. Furthermore music can be very effective with language at conveying a message more so than if there was just language as there is more context to the words. This allows the listener to take the chords and tempos of the piece and make conclusions about the message. This shows that humans can communicate creatively with a mixture of speech and mainly nonverbal communication.
On the other hand, there are times where speech is the only way to communicate and times when there are problems with using non verbal communication. The first problem for using non verbal communication is that it can be difficult for people from different cultures to understand the social cues and expressions that native speakers could take for granted. This could create a situation where a non-native speaker learns a language thoroughly but they might neglect the culture of the people who use the language and therefore lose their ability to communicate effectively. Furthermore, this creates a more complicated and stressful situation for the non-native speaker than if non-verbal communication was simply not used. This is proven in a study which shows that cultures have non-verbal accents that permeate through their gestures (Marsh. A. 2003: 373-76) this could show that some gestures may not permeate the accent barrier for the other party to receive and understand. This is an even bigger problem for people with neurological conditions like autism who find it very hard to read facial gestures and expressions at all. This could
show that speech is necessary for communication in some situations without non-verbal communication and that non-verbal communication may not be a universal way to communicate as not everyone is able to access it. Another situation where non-verbal communication may not be helpful is when the communicator is trying to communicate explicitly on a complex topic. This is the case as non-verbal communication is more used to be a foundation and polisher of an idea rather than to define a complex topic. This means that non verbal communication takes the words that are being communicated and directs their meaning and smooths over possible points of misunderstandings, for example saying something sarcastically can only be understood if the speaker changes their tone.
However looking at speech you can see that it is not always useful when trying to describe a complex topic because sometimes the ideas that are being defined can not be defined using words. This is the case for many feelings or states of mind that have only recently been able to be defined. You can see this trend in different languages where certain ideas can be expressed in a simple word but in other languages the entire concept is foreign and is practically impossible to express. This links back to the idea that Wittgenstein propagated about how words must be defined before they can be used and how in some cases that is impossible. An example of this is to try and define what is “good” and as the definition is alussied and as it is incapable of being expressed it is better to not try and explain the word and keep quiet about its definition(1933:23). This shows the limit of words on a complex and deep topic and how it is not always effective for communication.
Finally, however much language is necessary for communication; the final purpose of language, non-verbal communication and all other media of communication is to communicate effectively. This means that it should be done efficiently. A study by Albert Mehrabian shows the ratio that people use to make decisions and conclusions on others goes as follows: 55% for non-verbal communication, 38% vocal communication and only 7% for words. (University of Texas, 2001). This shows that non verbal communication is more effective when trying to have other people make good first impressions of you. This shows the language may not always be the correct choice when communicating with someone for the first time or when you want them to agree with your ideas. However it may also point out that communication is even more rife with miscommunication with non-verbal communication as I have already pointed out non-verbal communications flaws. However I think it is more likely to add information than make others misinterpret your ideas because without non-verbal communication it is hard to express yourself at all. So it is still more important to use non verbal communication than to ignore it but it is not always useful in all situations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, language is effective at pinpointing the information that you are trying to communicate and is even more so when using fewer words. However, language can not always be trusted as the meaning of the words are fluid
and can change depending on the speaker’s intent and the language game the communicator is communicating with. Furthermore language is not the foundation of effective communication; instead it is a secondary tool that builds on the back of non-verbal communication. This does not mean that you are able to always communicate solely with nonverbal communication prompts but it can be used to add nuance and prevent misunderstandings; this is proven as you can communicate through art and music effectively. This all shows that to communicate effectively it is best to use a mixture of both language and nonverbal communication with a different amount of focus on either depending on the situation.
Bibliography.
1 Braun, Elizabeth V. “SOME PERSPECTIVES ON NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION.” The Kansas Journal of Sociology, vol. 6, no. 1, (1970), pp. 12–20. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23255071
2 Caldwell. Oliver (1960), Art and communication, VOL. 13, No. 8, 4-6+2122pp. https://doi.org/10.2307/3186683
3 Drucker, Peter. (1989): A World of ideas.
4 Ford, Joseph Kevin. “Implications for Non-Verbal Communication and Conducting Gesture.” The Choral Journal, vol. 42, no. 1, (2001), pp. 17–23. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23553881
5 Fosslien, Liz and Mollie West Duffy, (2020) 10 Digital Miscommunications — and How to Avoid Them. https://hbr.org/2020/03/10-digitalmiscommunications-and-how-to-avoid-them
6 Garner, Arthur E., and Leila M. Acklen. “NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION: What, Why, and How.” Middle School Journal, vol. 11, no. 2, 1980, pp. 6–7. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23291290.
7 Horner, Robert, (2014), Philosophy now: How to understand words. https:// philosophynow.org/issues/100/How_To_Understand_Words
8 How much of communication is non-verbal, (2021) University of Texas Permian basin. https://online.utpb.edu/about-us/articles/communication/ how-much-of-communication-is-nonverbal/
9 Marsh, Abigail A., et al. “Nonverbal ‘Accents’: Cultural Differences in Facial Expressions of Emotion.” Psychological Science, vol. 14, no. 4, (2003), pp. 373–76. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40063811.
10 Nendick, Zoe (20220, How does music make you feel? https://www.bps. org.uk/psychologist/how-does-music-make-you-feel
11 Nogare L, Cerri A, Proverbio AM. Emojis Are Comprehended Better than Facial Expressions, by Male Participants (2023) https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10045925/#:~:text=They%20are%20 often%20complementary%20to,voice%20prosody)%20in%20textual%20 communication.
12 Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 9 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. (1925). Page 275 d-e https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/ text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0174%3Atext%3DPhaedrus%3Apage %3D275
13 Velazquez, M. Alexander. (2020), Ted Talks: The art of effective communication. The Art of Effective Communication | Marcus Alexander Velazquez | TEDxWolcottSchool https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=2Yw6dFQBklA&t=1s
Let me take you on a journey in time, to 1930 and to 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea, where we’ll find Dylan Thomas residing in his boxroom, voraciously at work writing stories that when later published would become some of his most famous. Here he read immensely, filled his notebooks with life and listened with a perfect ear for the sound of Wales around him. So who was Dylan Thomas, why has he not only contributed to the content of modern literature as we know it but played a significant role in shaping it, and why do I believe he deserves greater recognition?
Dylan Thomas was both a Welsh poet and playwright, who wrote prolifically from a very young age and was primarily known for his ability to do so with accuracy, honesty and intent, the qualities of all great writers. In his lifetime he amassed 5 collections of poetry, a play and several film and radio scripts to his name, with those most notable being ‘Under Milk Wood’ and ‘Do not go gentle into that good night.’
To understand Thomas we must understand the world around him, the suburb of the Uplands where the experiences of the working class community, one deeply affected by the Great Depression of the 1930s, inspired a plethora of his writing, writing he wished to share with a community other than his own. Britain was the first industrial nation and although in the years prior to 1929 had prospered, the Wall Street Crash left our country in a state of major economic depression. During this time, Britain was in a state referred to as ‘the hungry thirties’, with emigration from Wales to more prosperous areas where light industries thrived such as the Midlands were on the rise. For those where such a thing was not possible, popular entertainment became the main form of escapism, offering a sense of morale to the poverty stricken communities of Wales. With Thomas came an upsurge in Welsh Literature written in the English Language as well as a shift in universal themes that didn’t focus on the harsh realities of Industrial life but instead lyrical poetry that uplifted the spirits of those suffering during a period of squalor, where he became one of the first poets to popularise readings of poetry as a cheap form of entertainment, accessible to a larger majority.
This period of history gave way to the rise of what’s known to us as ‘Anglo-Welsh literature’ and although it is arguable that Thomas may be considered the greatest Welsh poet of all time, inexplicably, all his work was written entirely in English.
Eve M (Year 12)
A world before Thomas however, was one where Wales was virtually invisible and silenced. There was a significant lack of Welsh writers as well as the characters in the books written and read. Dylan Thomas changed that. He had the ability to depict Wales in a way that read like music and to portray a sense of ‘Welshness’ that to this day taps into the patriotism we carry with us in our blood, by making the ordinary extraordinary, pushing the boundaries and norms of what was considered to be traditional poetry and opening the doors for the infinite possibilities we are fortunate enough to know today. Which is why it is so disheartening that the literary elites neglected Thomas as he was “Too English for the Welsh, and too Welsh for the English”. However, contrary to this belief, Gillian Clarke, who, like Thomas, is also a Welsh poet stated in The Guardian, “Dylan Thomas wrote with unforgettable eloquence about being human, in an English that remains uniquely Welsh”.
Dylan Thomas, through his work, was able to put Swansea and Wales for that matter on the literary map, and significantly alternated the perception and challenged the stereotypes of Wales, principally of it being considered the ‘insular’ part of Britain. His evocative and rich descriptions drew global attention to Wales with many having a deepened appreciation for its culture and identity as a land of poetry. His prose has been introduced into the curriculum, exposing pupils to his acutely emotional poetry as well as allowing pupils like myself to form deeper connections with our heritage, and allowing people outside of Wales to resonate with his universal themes.
In essence, Dylan Thomas has left an indelible mark on the city of Swansea, one that cannot be washed away, burnt down, nor forgotten, and more importantly he has left a mark on all the people around the world, who like Thomas are obsessed with words which shape our future of tomorrow. Dylan Thomas was and still is distinct compared to poets of his time, seen in the complexity of his work, with its immersive experience and the pictures of Welsh landscapes that he painted with these words.
I think this following quote from Thomas himself truly encapsulates my speech today, it reads “A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him.”
Capitalism and Freedom
An appreciation essay
In the illustrious tapestry of economic literature, there exist timeless masterpieces that sculpt the contours of discourse for generations to come. Among these towering edifices of intellect stands Milton Friedman’s magnum opus ‘Capitalism and Freedom’, which beckoned me like a siren’s song, its title a promise of enlightenment and emancipation. As I delved into its pages, Friedman’s profound insights illuminated a path toward understanding the intricate dance between economic systems and individual liberties. Here, capitalism and freedom dance in a harmonious duet, their intertwined melodies echoing through the corridors of history. In the vast theatre of human endeavour, capitalism emerges as the virtuoso, conducting the symphony of innovation and prosperity. Within this opus, freedom takes centre stage, its radiant light illuminating the path to self-determination and opportunity. Together, capitalism and freedom compose a sonnet of boundless possibilities, where the pursuit of dreams knows no limits, and the human spirit soars on the wings of free enterprise. In the grand narrative of civilization, they stand as stalwart guardians of human dignity and
Alex L (Year 12)
architects of a world where every soul has the opportunity to flourish.
“Capitalism and freedom are two sides of the same coin; one cannot exist without the other” ~ Milton Friedman
As I delved deeper into Friedman's meticulous deconstruction of economic theory and policy recommendations, I discovered several elements that underscored the enduring significance of this opus and elucidated why it struck such a resonant chord within me.
Foremost among these revelations was the masterpiece’s impassioned plea for the preservation of individual autonomy and the untarnished sanctity of voluntary exchange. In an era besieged by the encroaching tendrils of state power and the erosion of personal liberties, Friedman's fervent defence of free-market ideals emerges as a bastion against tyranny and coercion. By articulating the inseparable link between economic freedom and political emancipation, Friedman presents an irrefutable case for a society where individuals can pursue their aspirations, engage in mutually beneficial transactions, and carve out their destinies without the oppressive shadow of arbitrary state intervention looming overhead.
In an age characterised by the proliferation of bloated bureaucracies and the expansion of welfare states, Friedman's proposition of negative income tax, education vouchers, and free trade struck a chord with my belief in the primacy of fostering self-reliance and incentivising productive endeavour. By proposing a system that extends a compassionate safety net to the disadvantaged while simultaneously preserving incentives and competitiveness for industries and entrepreneurs, Friedman offers a pragmatic alternative to the paternalistic excesses of the welfare state, one that champions dignity and self-sufficiency over dependency and entitlement.
Moreover, this incredible work distinguishes itself with its searing critique of the prevailing orthodoxies of its time, particularly the Keynesian consensus that glorified the virtues of state intervention in the economy. In dismantling the conventional wisdom surrounding the efficacy of fiscal and monetary policies, Friedman lays bare the fallacies of central planning and exposes the unintended consequences of well-meaning interventions through the vehicles of meticulous analysis and empirical evidence. As a staunch sceptic of the government's capacity to intricately manage complex economic systems, Friedman's scepticism towards state intervention perfectly mirrored my own apprehensions regarding the limitations of bureaucratic expertise and the perils of hubristic policymaking.
“Government should be limited to protecting individual rights and enforcing contracts, not directing economic activities” ~ Milton Friedman
One of the paramount reasons I gravitated towards this profound literary offering is its enduring relevance. Despite hailing from the inkwell in 1962, Friedman's insights have weathered the sands of time with remarkable resilience. As I navigated through his arguments, I couldn't help but be struck by their striking applicability to contemporary issues, from the spectre of government overreach to the perennial struggle for individual liberty. This timelessness serves as a testament to the enduring importance of Friedman's ideas, which continue to inform and enrich modern debates and policy deliberations.
Moreover, this economic classic didn't just alter my intellectual landscape - it rewired the very circuitry of my worldview. Friedman's eloquent articulation of the symbiotic relationship between economic freedom and individual liberty struck a resonant chord within me, prompting a profound reevaluation of the role of government in our lives. His impassioned plea for the preservation of individual autonomy awakened me to the inherent dangers of unchecked state intervention, igniting a fervent desire to safeguard our cherished liberties against encroaching authoritarianism.
“Economic freedom is the bedrock of political freedom” ~ Milton Friedman
Furthermore, Friedman's advocacy for free markets as engines of prosperity has left an indelible mark on my understanding of economics. His lucid elucidation of the virtues of competitive markets and the perils of bureaucratic meddling has ignited a newfound appreciation for the intricacies of economic systems. I now recognise the transformative power of market forces in driving innovation, spurring efficiency, and enhancing overall welfare - a revelation that has kindled a voracious appetite for further exploration into the realms of economic theory.
“The free market does not guarantee success, but it does allow for equal opportunity to pursue it” ~ Milton Friedman
Yet, beyond its intellectual impact, ‘Capitalism and Freedom’ has also touched me on a more personal level. Friedman's emphasis on personal responsibility and voluntary cooperation has instilled in me a sense of agency and empowerment, enabling me to confront societal challenges with renewed vigour and determination.
“When individuals are free to pursue their own interests, they often unintentionally benefit society as a whole” ~ Milton Friedman
Yet on a deeper personal level, prior to delving into the profound depths of Milton Friedman's ‘Capitalism and Freedom’, I found myself adrift in the sea of life, with the comforting embrace of books slipping through my fingers like grains of sand. Lost amidst the relentless rhythm of daily existence, I grew disenchanted with the perceived relevance of literature, relegating my once-cherished passion for reading to the shadows of neglect. Yet, as fate would have it, Friedman's magnum opus emerged as a beacon of intellectual enlightenment, casting a brilliant light upon the
dim corridors of my literary dormancy and reigniting the flames of my fervent love for the written word.
‘Capitalism and Freedom’ beckoned me back to the world of literature with an irresistible allure, compelling me to reevaluate the intrinsic value of intellectual engagement and the profound significance of informed discourse. Friedman's prose, as crisp and invigorating as a mountain breeze, captivated my senses, drawing me into a realm of ideas that I had long overlooked. With each turn of the page, I found myself spellbound by the richness of its content and the profound depth of its insights.
Far more than a mere academic treatise, the work served as a portal to a boundless intellectual odyssey. It challenged me to question the very fabric of my assumptions, to confront contentious issues head-on, and to engage with the complexities of the world with a newfound sense of critical inquiry. Inspired by Friedman's relentless pursuit of truth and his unwavering commitment to intellectual rigour, I have embarked upon my own journey of discovery in the eternal search for answers to my brightest burning questions.
Crucially, in rediscovering the joy of reading through the two hundred and thirty pages of ‘Capitalism and Freedom’, I came to realise the transformative potential of literature in shaping our understanding of the world and our place within it, alongside the incredible capacity of books to ‘free’ us from the trials and tribulations of daily life. Each word penned within its hallowed pages served as a testament to the enduring power of books in kindling the flames of intellectual curiosity, in igniting the fires of critical thought, and in inspiring profound and lasting change. As I immersed myself once more in the boundless expanse of ideas, I found solace in the realisation that books, especially treasures such as ‘Capitalism and Freedom’, possess the remarkable ability to awaken our imagination, to broaden our horizons, and to enrich our lives in ways that are both timeless and profound.
In conclusion, my decision to embark on a literary odyssey through the pages of ‘Capitalism and Freedom’ has been nothing short of an epiphany. With its timeless relevance, penetrating analysis, and paradigm-shifting ideas, this book has not only reshaped my understanding of economics, politics, and society but has also ignited a fiery passion within me to challenge the status quo, embrace intellectual curiosity, and champion a world characterised by justice, prosperity, and freedom. This masterpiece is an absolute mind-bomb, detonating thoughts and ideas I never knew existed. It's like a lightning bolt to the brain, electrifying my senses and igniting a wildfire of inspiration within me. This text doesn't just provoke thought - it sets my mind ablaze with possibilities. It's a literary juggernaut, leaving an indelible mark on my psyche and reshaping the very fabric of my understanding. If cognizance is power, then this book is a nuclear reactor of wisdom, and I am certain that its enduring legacy will serve as a guiding star in my ceaseless pursuit of knowledge and sagaciousness, illuminating the path towards a brighter and more enlightened future for myself and for all.
Date
Presenter
Monday 19th Feb 2024
Dr B. M. Wells
Topic
The Art of Rhetoric: A masterclass in how to exploit the persuasive genius of Aristotle, Donald Trump and others.
Monday 26th Feb 2024
Miss S Lynch
Are we on the precipice of World War Three? A geo-political analysis.
Monday 4th March 2024
Dr G. M. Turner
Life-worthy learning skills: what are the learning skills needed to be successful in a rapidly changing modern world?
Monday 11th March 2024
Mrs K Dodd
Art History: Does Banksy deserve a place in the history of art?
Monday 18th March 2024
Mrs A John
The History of AIDS: what lessons can we draw from this epidemic?
Monday 29th April 2024
Mr N Mills
Aesthetics of nature: How we experience our environment and why does it matter?
