Mind's Eye 2024

MIND’S EYE 2024

KILLER

Performance

RELATIVELY

Speaking

First

BLOOD All

BOXED UP

RANDOM

Thoughts

SWIFT

Thinking EMPTY

Promises

TIME at

Sea Mind’s Eye | July 2024

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“The last thing I wanted was infinite security and to be the place an arrow shoots off from. I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the colored arrows from a Fourth of July rocket.”

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

IMAGE: SYLVIA PLATH AT NEWNHAM COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, c1956.P38.

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Mind’s Eye | July 2024

Contents 30

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50 | Time at Sea Noah Boehmer

54 | A New Chapter Audrey So

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58 | Relatively Speaking Milly Cordeaux

62 | First Blood Luca Sand

68 | Jacob’s Ladder

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Angus Humphreys

70 | Black and Light

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Daniel Seo

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74 | Random Thoughts Yerlan Karassay

24 78 | All Boxed Up Enoch Addley

6 | Killer Performance

30 | Gone with the Windies

Zara Kolade

Charlie Woodhead

10 | Conflict of Interest

32 | Shiny Happy People

Ellie Henderson

Vera Loika

16 | Swift Thinking

38 | I’m Through

Gretchen Chang

Lily Hastilow

20 | Gardener’s World

42 | A Putt Above

Miles Packard

Sophia Payne

24 | Write Off

44 | I Know Not Seams

Mischa Durham

Lily Robertson

26 | Empty Promises

48 | Strong Language

Nick Clarke

Molly Jones

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Editorial Although we don’t prescribe what writers can write for Mind’s Eye, this year the content has produced a rather pleasing balance among all human disciplines. For example, we consider both the wilds and wonders of Nature by exploring on one hand what happens when you torture a killer whale by making it live in a tiny tank or, on the other, peacefully spending time in your garden communing with plants. In the Arts, we look not only at the routes to success of two mega pop stars, but also the relationship between art itself and the artist, and we celebrate the iconoclasm of the great Sylvia Plath.

Less famous is a strange movement in architecture, based on living organisms, that originated in Japan but never quite took off. Fictional women are also celebrated this year, in one beautiful homage to the long-suffering females of ancient mythology, who provided strong role models for the author. Sport features in a rather niche way: while one of our writers claims categorically that golf really is a sport, despite the portly gentlemen who clutter up the fairway every weekend, another reminisces about the most terrifying cricket team of all time.

Technology inevitably rears its head in this year’s issue, when a young engineer considers the amazing achievements of the genius who cracked longitude and saved thousands of lives, but a young scientist warns us that AI could mean all originality of thought in schools is about to go out the window, although (ironically) another writer explores the recent explosion of self-publishing on the internet, as though the populace is grimly hanging onto creativity and originality while using the very tools that threaten both. Two of our authors are concerned about language: one suggests that Westerners should learn Mandarin, however hard this may be, and another wonders what it would be like if all several billion of us had one language in common.

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WE LOOK NOT ONLY AT THE ROUTES TO SUCCESS OF TWO MEGA POP STARS, BUT ALSO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART ITSELF AND THE ARTIST.

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No magazine by young people would be complete without young people showing very clearly how old people keep messing up, and so we have two very serious and heavyweight meditations on a war that was precursor in many ways to the Great War itself, and a popular modern political movement that might end up causing a rematch.

And if it does all kick off again, one could always try, but possibly fail, to go and live in Australia, which one of our writers celebrates as perhaps the coolest place on Earth to live, but at a cost.

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After reading all that lot, if you have any brain room left you might like to find out what leads us to think deterministically (get it?) or meditate with one young physicist on the behaviour of black holes. (The editor understood this final article for about five minutes before he had to read it again.) Enjoy. Without you, our readers…

Before I go, I must thank the great Trajan Majomi, who put half of this magazine together before he had to spend a lot of time at his other desk.

Anthony Lyons Editor Mind’s Eye 2024 www.mindseyemagazine.com

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NO MAGAZINE BY YOUNG PEOPLE WOULD BE COMPLETE WITHOUT YOUNG PEOPLE SHOWING VERY CLEARLY HOW OLD PEOPLE KEEP MESSING UP.

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erformance

ZARA KOLADE explores what happens when you fail to treat an orca with respect.

24 Image: Tilikum and his trainer Dawn Brancheau / WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

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February 2010: remembers him, to commit such a It’s that time in horrific killing?

Florida when winter begins to ebb, when the sky 1983: At just two years old Tilikum was brightens and the south wind carries captured off the coast of Iceland and enough warmth to persuade you out of brought to Sealand in Victoria, Canada. your house and to SeaThere he was kept, World Orlando, home alongside other orcas, of star orca, Tilikum, in a net pen during and expert trainer the day and a floating BRANCHEAU BENDS DOWN steel container just Dawn Brancheau.

AND PLACES A PALM ON wider than his body TILIKUM’S NOSE, BUT HE You book a ‘relationship length at night – a DRAGS HER IN, HER BODY session’ and, feeling significant downgrade NOW IN HIS MOUTH. privileged to see such for an animal used to a renowned pair, take travelling an average your seat. You cheer as Tilikum leaps of 75 miles a day in the open ocean. out of the water, marvelling when his 11-ton body twists in the air – To learn behaviours and tricks, Tilikum weightless. The show is coming to an was paired with another, pre-trained end and Brancheau bends down and orca. This meant that if Tilikum failed places a palm on Tilikum’s nose, but to perform the behaviour that the he drags her in, her body now in his trainer wanted when the trained mouth. While you scream, he shakes orca did, the trainer punished both her and drags her under the water. orcas by depriving them of food. In There is no helping her. other words, he tortured them. This led to the trained orca becoming so Later, officials spin the story as frustrated with Tilikum that it raked an accident, a playful scene that him head-to-tail with tooth marks, simply slipped out of control, but marking the start of a tormented life. you were there and you’re certain of one thing: Tilikum knew exactly 1991: Whilst Brancheau’s was arguably what he was doing. But what led the most gruesome, hers was not such a ‘well-behaved’ orca, as former the first death involving Tilikum. In Sealand Canada trainer, Eric Walters, fact, his first kill took place at Sealand

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when, during a show, a part-time trainer slipped and fell into the orca’s pool. Swiftly submerging her, Tilikum and his two tank mates dragged the young girl around, keeping her away from the life-ring that had been thrown in by staffmembers and pulling her back in when she attempted to climb out. Witnesses report that she surfaced three times, each time with desperate cries of ‘Help me!’ before ultimately drowning. At the time, the incident was regarded as play gone wrong, with Sealand’s head of animal training claiming the orcas

Tilikum and his two tank mates dragged the young girl around, keeping her away from the lifering that had been thrown in by staff-members and pulling her back in when she attempted to climb out. ‘never had something in the pool that was so interactive’ and so got ‘incredibly excited’. A year after this incident Sealand closed and Tilikum was transferred to SeaWorld Orlando where he would go on to claim two more lives.

1998: At SeaWorld Tilikum was a star and people came from far and wide to see the 22.5-footlong apex predator perform all sorts of tricks.

But locked away in that glass tank with nothing to do except swim in circles, Tilikum couldn’t help but kill again. One morning, a 27-year-old

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IT IS OBVIOUSLY WRONG TO CONFINE SUCH INTELLIGENT BEINGS TO SUCH AN UNNATURAL EXISTENCE.

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At just two years old Tilikum was captured off the coast of Iceland and brought to Sealand in Victoria, Canada.

man was found on Tilikum’s back, dead. Tilikum had drowned and brutalised the man, ripping his genitals off and inflicting wounds, contusions and abrasions all over his body. However, what exactly happened was never confirmed because SeaWorld officials claimed that the event had not been recorded by any of the numerous cameras that monitored the orcas.

2010 to 2024: For over ten years Tilikum did not kill again until that fateful day in February when he butchered Brancheau, after which he was effectively retired from shows to appear only at the end as the ‘big finish’ when all humans were out of the water. Thus he spent most of his time alone in his tank away from the public eye. There he grew restless and was ravaged by constant infections. Eventually, in 2017, Tilikum’s sad life of captivity came to an end from what SeaWorld called ‘a persistent and complicated bacterial lung infection’.

Brancheau’s death led more and more people to question the ethics of keeping these wild animals confined to concrete tanks and forcing them to perform for our entertainment. After all, Tilikum is not the only orca to kill his trainer.

Keto, an orca at Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands, had killed his trainer just a few months before.

Brancheau’s death led more and more people to question the ethics of keeping these wild animals confined to concrete tanks and forcing them to perform.

No wild orca has ever killed a human. They are peaceful and playful creatures who rarely harm one another, let alone humans. It is obviously wrong to confine such intelligent beings to such an unnatural existence, but we still do it. If you were Tilikum, would you not get frustrated swimming around a lonely and sterile tank in SeaWorld? ¢

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Conflict of

Interest the art e t a r a p e s Can you ist? A sks ELLIE ar t from the DERSON. HEN

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TODAY WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON OUR DIVERSITY, BUT WILDE WAS SCANDALOUS IN HIS DAY, AND HIS WORK BECAME LESS POPULAR.

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hey say you are what you eat. I like to see this as meaning we are what we believe in, and our existence as creators will therefore most likely boil down to a couple of things – our work and what we stand for, forming altogether the art and its artist. a figurehead for artistic expression But what happens when the art is so revered that the today. And yet, as a society over a artist is brought to public attention, and their private century ago, we somehow confused self is put on a par with their work? And in this world Wilde’s difficult opinions with his of conflicts and critiques, is it right for their work to work being less worthy of attention. be valued primarily because of their politics or actions After being let out of prison, Wilde moved to alone? Is there any sense in abandoning a France and published under a pseudonym creation if you cannot agree with what the to still make an income, suggesting that his creator believes? Should we ultimately name, in correlation with his work, caused separate the art from the artist?

AS A SOCIETY OVER a drop in the demand for such art. But if we A CENTURY AGO, WE are so quick to articulate that Wilde’s work Take Oscar Wilde. Wilde’s work counts SOMEHOW CONFUSED should not have been separated from his as some of the most intriguing pieces of WILDE’S DIFFICULT art created in the literature world, with OPINIONS WITH HIS WORK ‘wrongdoing’, why is it so hard to separate an artist’s politics from their work today? The books such as The Picture of Dorian Grey, BEING LESS WORTHY OF answer is it isn’t. If we can sympathize with and plays like The Importance of Being ATTENTION. a man whose work was shunned because of Earnest. His work put him at the forefront his sexuality, there should be no difference in our support of Victorian literary and theatrical society, making Wilde of artistic expression created by someone whose opinions a generally popular artist for his time. But of course are frowned upon today. we cannot please everybody and, even more so in uptight Victorian society, the idea of homosexuality However, this is not to suggest that the freedom of was abhorred. Wilde was imprisoned on account of his sexuality should be compared with actions that result in various same-sex relations. Today we pride ourselves the harm of others. For example, most would agree that on our diversity, but Wilde was scandalous in his day, owning a poster of Jimmy Saville from his show ‘Jim’ll Fix and his work became less popular. For most of us who It’, though not traditionally ‘art’, could be dangerous due to honour freedom in sexuality, it seems inconceivable to allegations of his sexual violence. Equally, it is unlikely that punish a writer simply for his political stand. He is now most would choose to own a painting or sketch made by Adolf Hitler since it might attract some controversy of its own, suggesting that the Holocaust of which he was guilty is somehow excusable. Though extreme, these examples show that it is a matter of situation and extent that allows one to separate the art from the artist.

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A poster of Jimmy Saville from his show ‘Jim’ll Fix It’, though not traditionally ‘art’, could be dangerous due to allegations of his sexual violence.

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However, perhaps it is less about the belief itself that we find hard to separate from the creation that the artist has made, but rather whether their art is still enjoyed despite the problematic beliefs attached to the artist. I would hope that we might generally agree that Nazism is not an aspiration at all to follow. If this is the case, then why does Kanye West, or ‘Ye’, have 63.8

There should be no difference in our support of artistic expression created by someone whose opinions are frowned upon today. million monthly listeners on Spotify alone?

His music is considered good despite his neoNazi standpoint and marketing of merchandise that bears a symbol designed with an uncanny resemblance to a swastika, a symbol that needs no introduction. And yet we can separate his music from his political beliefs because the consensus is that his music is good. Equally, Tom Cruise is known for his acting talent while we can separate this from his involvement in the Church of Scientology. This might suggest that when one’s art has still got a wide audience, the politics is easier to ignore, meaning that artists can continue to profit from their work. If this is

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KANYE WEST’S MUSIC IS CONSIDERED GOOD DESPITE HIS NEO-NAZI STANDPOINT.

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Winston Churchill’s achievements have been overshadowed by his racist political opinions.

the case, then it seems that we can separate the art from the artist if there are enough followers willing to support their work.

Tom Cruise is known for his acting talent while we can separate this from his involvement in the Church of Scientology.

And yet this seems hypocritical. Are we so governed by the tyranny of the majority that we are unable to acknowledge that others may appreciate work when it is produced by a problematic artist with a smaller audience? Or do we deem an artist‘cancel-able’when their work no longer is as relevant as it was before, where other artists can still profit from their work regardless of belief? For example, Winston Churchill, by no means a small name, and not a typical ‘artist’ in this respect, is considered influential in winning the Second World War. However, his achievements have been overshadowed by his racist political opinions. While it is not a good idea to support his beliefs, the work he did for this nation against the opposition merits acknowledgement rather than the disgrace of his statues and contempt for his name, and his supporters dwindling from remaining veterans to wartime fanatics. It appears that we cancel him for his opinions, perhaps because most people are less supportive now than a century ago. And yet our support for artists like Kanye West or Coco Channel allows creators and figures to fall into extinction because their work has a

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THE LIFE OF AN ARTIST CAN BE A LOW-INCOME LIFESTYLE, WITH AN EXAMPLE BEING VAN GOGH, WHO ONLY MANAGED TO SELL ONE OF HIS PAINTINGS WHEN LIVING.

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smaller support today. Yet if this is the case, it implies that if we have enough supporters then we can be excused for our mistakes. This sounds oddly like ‘if you have enough money, you should the Protestant Reformation occurred, be able to get out of any issue’, which Catholic art was shunned along with is a dangerous motto to live by. For this the artists, in the Dissolution of the reason, why should we cancel the works Monasteries and hence artists began painting protestant of any artist regardless art to appeal not only of their support since we The artist is considering to the law but also choose to nominate safety the social contexts and to the most lucrative to those our consumerism incorporating not only market now that the allows to profit? their own inspirations religion had changed. but what will gain them This suggests that the We can extend this into support. artist is considering how we negate opinions the social contexts with public personas.

The life of an artist can be a low-income and incorporating not only their own lifestyle, with an example being Van inspirations but what will gain them Gogh, who only managed to sell one of support. Likewise, artists such as Wagner, his paintings when living. For this reason, Coco Channel and Hugo Boss all had inner in a time of political unrest, it is easiest for dealings with the Nazi party and, while it people to follow where the money is at, or does not justify a pro-Nazi belief, it poses which political opinion they most agree an explanation why these artists chose with. An example of this is the artwork to support Hitler. Perhaps we choose to that was created under Catholic rule, conflate opinion with output because such as that by The Wilton Dyptych artist, our sense of ‘othering’ people does not most famous for the image of Richard II accommodate their vast differences kneeling before Mary, who was following from ourselves. But for an artist, unless a strict religious code according to the you are incredibly wealthy, the majority current monarch and therefore one was might not be able to afford to be ‘holier more likely to paint from the religion that than thou’ and abstain from a political depicts a legal practice. However, when circle if it means they might be able to support themselves. Our complete lack of forgiveness cannot allow us to detach a political standpoint from the art that is created. Opinions and politics change as we learn more about science, art and human nature, and so surely if we were

Opinions and politics change as we learn more about science, art and human nature.

to attach the opinion of an artist to their art, the work that we could admire would always be changing, along with what is deemed acceptable today.

I believe that work should be an end in itself.

It should be admired for the interpretations it inspires and the commentary on the world it gleans through another lens. We are so sure that we know the truth, that what we believe is right, that if we do not separate the art from the artist our view on subjects will always be one-sided and we will never be able to learn. Instead, it is necessary that we enjoy the work of another simply because it is valuable, rather than the politics that is attached to its creator. Ultimately, we are not what we eat, since we cannot allow our beliefs to define ourselves as a species, in so far as we must cancel art purely because we cannot agree with one another. ¢

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IT IS NECESSARY THAT WE ENJOY THE WORK OF ANOTHER SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS VALUABLE, RATHER THAN THE POLITICS THAT IS ATTACHED TO ITS CREATOR.

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Thinking Why is Taylor Swift so successful?

Asks GRETCHEN CHANG.

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hether or not you’re a Swiftie, it’s with catchy and mesmerizing tunes. hard to deny the global cultural And when I asked my fellow Swifties impact Taylor Swift has had in what drew them to Taylor, the most the past two decades. common responses Her latest release, were something The Tortured Poets along the lines of ‘she Department, debuted in puts my thoughts April at No.1, giving Swift into words’ or ‘she SHE’S ABLE TO her 14th album in the makes me feel things’.

WEAVE HER WORDS top spot, tying her with Taylor has the talent INTO PASSAGES THAT Jay-Z for the most No. 1 for writing songs ACCURATELY DESCRIBE albums by a solo artist to convey a feeling, ‘ORDINARY’ EVERYDAY in the chart’s history. like in her hits ‘We’re EMOTIONS, OFTEN Consequently, she broke Never Ever Getting MIXED WITH CATCHY AND her own record (set by Back Together’, ‘Lover’ MESMERIZING TUNES. Midnights) of being the and ‘Blank Space’, as only artist to score 10 well as telling a story out of 10 in the Billboard Hot 100 at using the verses through different the same time, by occupying the top narratives. For example, one of her 14 spots with her songs. most vivid stories is the high-school love triangle between Betty, James, So, what makes Swift unique? Why and an unnamed girl, presented is she so successful? What factors through a trilogy of songs in her album contributed to her achieving world- Folklore. In the lead single, ‘Cardigan’, wide fame? Was it pure luck and Betty reflects on her past relationship coincidence? Or were there some with James, comparing their love to clever and well-timed strategies that a familiar, comforting cardigan, now we might easily overlook? associated with bittersweet memories; ‘August’ offers the perspective of the From my perspective as a Swiftie, her unnamed girl who experienced a songwriting skills are exceptional. fleeting summer romance with James, Despite being one of the most filled with the realization that their love successful artists of our time, she’s was temporary; and ‘Betty’ provides able to weave her words into passages James’s viewpoint: he expresses deep that accurately describe ‘ordinary’ remorse and seeks forgiveness for his everyday emotions, often mixed mistakes. Together, these songs create

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a rich, emotionally layered narrative exploring themes of nostalgia, regret, and love.

Swift is not only a skilful artist but also a clever businesswoman.

Swift is not only a skillful artist but On top of that, Swift has released more also a clever businesswoman. She is albums in the past nine years than most well-known as a pop sensation, any other big artists. With five new but did you know that her discovery albums, and four re-recordings, she’s spans at least three different genres? persistently creating new content, and continuously From the country becoming more and tunes of ‘Tim McGraw’ in her debut album She started re-recording more relevant in pop culture. But what are to the chart-topping her old albums, and re-recordings and pop song ‘Shake it Off’ by doing so she took what’s the deal with all from 1989 (Taylor’s back control of her discography. the ‘Taylor’s Version’?

Version) to the calming, Undoubtedly, it’s one melancholic ballad ‘The of the most careerLakes’ in her indie-folk album, Folklore, her releases are ever- defining points for her, as well as a changing and developing. In her Time showcase of the strong, independent Person of the Year Interview, she said woman she is. In June 2019, Scooter that she realized every record label Braun’s company bought the rights to was actively working to try to replace her original master recordings without her. ‘[So], I thought instead, I’d replace her permission, which sparked a public myself first with a new me. It’s harder feud because she was upset she didn’t to hit a moving target.’ She’s constantly get a chance to buy back her own music. reinventing herself, enough that However, she started re-recording her nobody else could replicate her moves, old albums, and by doing so she took but not too much that she isn’t ‘Taylor’ back control of her discography? The anymore. And, in my opinion, that’s one latest Taylor’s Version, 1989, debuted at No.1 and stayed there for two weeks, of the reasons she is so successful. extending her record for the most No.1

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IT’S SAFE TO ASSUME THAT EVERYONE IS SIMILAR WITHIN THE SWIFTIE FANBASE – YES, THE ONE THAT’S ALWAYS LABELLED ‘PSYCHOTIC’ OR ‘OBSESSIVE’ OR ‘INSANE’.

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spots held among women (which was then broken again by her later release, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’). A real problem to this solution is: who wants a new album that sounds exactly the same as the original? Well, we do.

I think it’s safe to assume that everyone is similar within the Swiftie fanbase that, and her life story mapped onto – yes, the one that’s always labelled her fans’ life story, in some way. As for a ‘psychotic’ or ‘obsessive’ or ‘insane’, younger generation of fans, like myself, although I prefer to see it as ‘devoted’, there was a lot of social media content ‘committed’ and ‘loyal’. So why is this about her (especially fanbase so dedicated? during the pandemic), First, I believe that when She’s constantly and she was putting out people become a super reinventing herself, fan it’s often because enough that nobody else many albums, so a new the public figure or could replicate her moves, generation discovered while they’re celebrity connects back but not too much that she her also having similar isn’t ‘Taylor’ anymore. to their identity in some experiences. way. In this case, it’s the common emotion and life experiences.

Having been a Swiftie for almost five Because she’s been in the public eye years, I think it’s really become a part since she was a teenager, many of her of who I am. I have met many friends fans grew up alongside her: when through fan events and activities, they were having some of these first and the community around Taylor experiences, maybe with relationships is welcoming and free. Plus, she is a or entering adulthood, she was doing role model to many. Taylor is a great that at the same time and singing about example of someone who sticks to their values and shows others that they can reach their goals, whatever those might be. Being there and experiencing her success alongside her can be a very inspirational journey. ¢

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TAYLOR IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO STICKS TO THEIR VALUES AND SHOWS OTHERS THAT THEY CAN REACH THEIR GOALS.

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’ Horticultural PACKARD.

therapy

E

by

MILES

very great civilisation has embraced This is also not the only benefit that helps plants and gardening – take the us get through the day. Studies have found famous gardens of Pompeii, for that harmful compounds in the air called example – but only now, through modern VCO’s (volatile organic compounds), which studies and analysis, can the psychological can cause allergy-like symptoms and can be benefits of being surrounded by nature be proven carcinogens, are partially removed truly observed. This became increasingly by having plants that can absorb and important after the Covid-19 lockdown in process them. Having flora close or in sight 2020, when it was drastically clear to many has further health benefits as proven by a of us that we lacked a study from the US National green space both indoors Library of Medicine, which and outside in which to found that plants are a ‘nonrecline and relax. invasive, inexpensive and effective complementary PEOPLE WORKING IN Houseplants have become medicine for surgical ‘GREEN’ SPACES WERE UP hugely popular over the patients’ because they TO 15% MORE PRODUCTIVE last few years, and it is reduce blood pressure COMPARED WITH OTHER easy to understand why, and decrease levels of EMPLOYEES WHO WERE NOT. with their sculptural and anxiety, fatigue and pain colourful nature adding in surgical patients. These to our homes, but they also provide many benefits far outweigh any argument that proven physical and mental benefits that houseplants are a large commitment and occur without us even noticing. The most require lots of attention since, although surprising of these benefits was found in the relationship between man and plant a study by Exeter University that showed may seem transactional, we have far more people working in ‘green’ spaces were up to gain from plants than they have from us. to 15% more productive compared with other employees who were not, which is This relationship extends outdoors and into especially important in the current era of our gardens too, in even more significant people working from home. ways. Gardens have an impact from early

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EMOTIONALLY, CERTAIN FLOWERS CAN HAVE DIFFERENT EFFECTS, MOST NOTABLY LAVENDER, WHICH IS USED OFTEN IN AROMATHERAPY.

Houseplants have become hugely popular over the last few years.

childhood with the development of taste: children who eat homegrown food are more than twice as likely to eat their ‘five-a-day’ compared to those who are served store-bought food. Having a vegetable-patch which can be tended to and experienced Mycobacterium vaccae which is found from a young age is also vital in the in soil specifically triggering the release development of our mental health of serotonin, all of which improves our since it is a method to gauge your mood and relieves anxiety. Therefore, place in nature and connect with and your garden can affect your entire grow respect for your environment, lifestyle, personality and even academic combating struggles ability: a study conducted with self-worth, self- Mycobacterium vaccae by the American Society consciousness and for Horticultural Science which is found in soil confidence in a world specifically triggers the found that students who which is so dominated by release of serotonin, studied gardening as part all of which improves the insincere and often of the science curriculum cruel forms of social our mood and relieves scored significantly anxiety. media. higher on a test on the subject than students The benefits of gardening even extend who studied in a traditional classroom to the chemical level in our brains, with setting. Although this could simply the actual physical exercise involved be the impact of the relaxing nature causing the release of serotonin and of gardening and visual learning, it dopamine as well as a bacterium called could prove that the brain works more effectively and intellectually when plants are in the near vicinity.

A key part of every garden is flowers too, which have their own impacts on us. For centuries flowers have appeared in myth, such as Narcissus becoming a flower (daffodil), and even as a form of language in Victorian England known as Floriography, with Lavender meaning ‘devotion’, for example. In our modern age, flowers still hold much

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emotional meaning and so it makes sense for us to be affected when we see them in our homes and our gardens. Physically, their colourful appearance and sweet scent stimulate our senses and promote positive emotions, as well as, like all plants, provoking the release of dopamine and other ‘happy’ chemicals. Emotionally, certain flowers can have different effects, most notably Lavender, which is used often in aromatherapy to create a sense of calm and relaxation due to its strong scent. Sunflowers The relationship have connotations of happiness and between man and plant optimism and these are reflected in our seems transactional: we mood when we see them, and roses have far more to gain are associated with love and passion from plants than they and evoke these emotions in ourselves. have from us.

Being able to see vibrant blooms is vital to the upkeep of a positive mental attitude and should be treated as any other form of natural medicine.

It is clear that for the improvement of our society and the mental wellbeing of all those in it, we must incorporate nature even more heavily into all aspects of our lives. Whether that be in the form of houseplants, bouquets, vegetable patches or garden borders, plants can benefit us in every way. ¢

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CHILDREN WHO EAT HOMEGROWN FOOD ARE MORE THAN TWICE AS LIKELY TO EAT THEIR ‘FIVE-A-DAY’ COMPARED TO THOSE WHO ARE SERVED STORE-BOUGHT FOOD.

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MISCHA DURHAM considers the dangers of plagiarism using AI.

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n recent years, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era of technological advancements. From self-driving cars to virtual assistants, AI is transforming the way we live and work. However, one of its more contentious applications is in the realm of written communication, particularly in the academic sphere. AI-written essays are becoming increasingly sophisticated and prevalent, raising significant concerns about their impact and the difficulty of detecting them.

AI-generated text, powered by advanced language models, has evolved to the point where it can produce essays that are coherent, persuasive, and remarkably human-like.

These AI systems can generate content on a wide range of topics, often with 24

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impressive accuracy and depth. For and writing skills. Furthermore, it students under pressure, the temptation creates an uneven playing field, to use AI to craft assignments can be disadvantaging those who adhere to irresistible. After all, ethical standards. with a few keystrokes, they can produce a Beyond academia, well-structured essay the proliferation of that meets academic AI-written content WHEN STUDENTS SUBMIT standards, potentially raises broader ethical AI-GENERATED WORK AS saving hours of effort. questions. While AI THEIR OWN, IT UNDERMINES continues to improve, THE ENTIRE EDUCATIONAL The primary danger distinguishing between PROCESS. of AI-written essays human and machinelies in the erosion of generated text becomes academic integrity. Education systems increasingly difficult. This blurring of rely on honest assessment of students’ lines can have serious implications abilities and understanding. When for fields that rely heavily on written students submit AI-generated work communication, such as journalism, as their own, it undermines the entire law, and public relations. educational process. It not only cheats the system but also robs students of the Detecting AI-written essays is no opportunity to develop critical thinking simple task. Early detection methods

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focused on stylistic inconsistencies and the use of overly complex language patterns that were characteristic of early AI text. However, modern AI models have become adept at mimicking human writing styles, making these methods less effective.

Advanced detection tools are now being developed, employing machine learning algorithms to identify subtle patterns and anomalies indicative of AI-generated text. These tools analyse factors like writing style, syntax, and the coherence of arguments. However, as detection technology improves, so too does the sophistication of AI systems, creating a continuous cat-and-mouse game between AI developers and those tasked with ensuring academic integrity.

Despite advancements in detection technology, the human element remains crucial. Teachers and professors play a vital role in recognizing the nuances of their students’ writing styles and capabilities. Familiarity with a student’s previous work can often reveal discrepancies that a purely algorithmic approach might miss. Encouraging open dialogue about the ethical use of AI and emphasizing the importance of original work can also help mitigate the temptation to rely on AI for academic tasks.

Addressing the dangers of AI-written essays requires a multifaceted approach. Educational institutions must invest in both advanced detection tools and educational initiatives that promote academic honesty. Policymakers need

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FOR STUDENTS UNDER PRESSURE, THE TEMPTATION TO USE AI TO CRAFT ASSIGNMENTS CAN BE IRRESISTIBLE.

to establish clear guidelines and consequences for the misuse of AI in academia. Additionally, fostering a culture that values the learning process over mere outcomes can help shift the focus from grades to genuine intellectual growth.

So, while AI-written essays present significant challenges, they also offer an opportunity to reexamine and strengthen the foundations of academic integrity. By staying ahead of technological advancements and fostering a culture of honesty, we can ensure that education remains a true reflection of a student’s abilities and efforts. As AI continues to evolve, so too must our strategies for maintaining the integrity of our academic institutions, but we mustn’t forget how undetectable these essays are. For instance, you may be unaware of the very fact you have been reading an article generated by the renowned Chat GPT AI. ¢

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AS AI CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, SO TOO MUST OUR STRATEGIES FOR MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF OUR ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS.

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Populism is getting popular, warns NICK CLARKE.

I

n 2024 around 4 billion people (roughly half the world population) will head to the polls in the greatest election year in history.

There will be major elections in the USA, India, Mexico, the UK (probably), the EU and many more. 2024 therefore has the chance of being a triumphant year for democracy when more people than ever before get to exercise their democratic right to have a say in how they are governed, but 2024 could also go very differently. The dark spectre of populism will hang over almost all elections this year. ‘Populism’ is a term that is naturally thrown around a lot these days.

Although the accusation ‘populist’ is frequently heard in modern politics, there is considerable debate about what actually constitutes a populist. It is commonly stated that the defining characteristic of a populist is the criticism of the political ‘elite’ and 26

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representation of the ‘people’ who has a better definition, that populists have been left behind by the political are not only anti-elite but also antisystem. One look at the pluralist. Anti-pluralist rhetoric of any major means they claim that populist would confirm only they can represent this. For instance, Victor the people and anyone Orban (populist Prime else who claims to do THE DARK SPECTRE OF Minister of Hungary) so is merely part of POPULISM WILL HANG OVER once called his political the evil ‘elite’. They also ALMOST ALL ELECTIONS THIS movement ‘plebeian claim that those who YEAR. democracy’, and in a don’t vote for them are 2016 debate Donald somehow not part of Trump admitted to the ‘real people’. It is this benefiting from tax loop holes whilst sort of thinking that led Nigel Farage to accusing Hilary Clinton of creating claim that BREXIT was ‘a victory for real those loop holes to benefit her donors. people’ despite the fact that 48% of the country voted against it, thus implying It is true that all populists are critical that Remainers were not ‘real’. of elites, but it is not a complete definition. Under this definition we It can also be seen in the invocation of would have to call the likes of Bernie ‘the silent majority’, a term popularised Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn populists by Nixon and used frequently by and that simply doesn’t feel right. So, Trump, which implies that there is a a different definition is needed. The latent mass that always exists in favour democratic theorist Jan-Werner Müller of the populist candidate, but is not

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POPULISTS CAN RIG DEMOCRACY IN THEIR FAVOUR BY SILENCING OPPOSING VOICES AND CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION ITSELF.

always heard, and such a concept delegitimises any government that doesn’t conform to the silent majority. More recently Liz Truss described the opposition and members of her own party as part of the ‘anti-growth coalition’, which degraded them from elected representatives trying to do what’s best for their constituents to bad actors doing their best to hurt Britain and its economy. We can therefore use this formula of anti-elitism and anti-pluralism to identify a number of high-profile populists in modern politics. This list includes Donald Trump, Viktor Orban, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (President of Turkey), Narendra Modi, Geert Wilders (a major figure in Dutch politics), Nigel Farage and Jair Bolsonaro, amongst many more.

Now that we have defined what a populist is, the next question is: why are they so dangerous?

The dangers of populists naturally stem from their anti-pluralistic tendencies. By claiming that only they represent the people, they are able to legitimise measures that harm democracy, and marginalise opposing views and voices. This is particularly true for younger and less developed democracies such as India and Turkey, where both Narendra Modi and Recep Erdogan have begun to limit freedom of the press and silence opposition voices. In Hungary, Viktor Orban was able to rewrite the country’s constitution in 2012 based on a mere survey which was taken by only 920,000 people and could be interpreted freely by the constitution’s drafters. The resulting constitution included measures which greatly favour Orban and his party. Populists therefore can rig democracy in their favour by silencing opposing voices and changing the constitution itself. Such threats are less of an issue in more mature democracies, such as the USA, where Donald Trump is neither able to limit freedom of the press nor freely change the constitution.

happens in a mature democracy the younger ones will tend to imitate it. The 2023 Brazilian Congress attack was inspired by and planned to be like the riot that took place in Washington DC two years earlier. Whilst America and other mature democracies can withstand such events, weaker democracies may not be able to, and it is entirely possible that such events in the future could lead to a coup d’état and a dictatorship.

Populists are therefore dangerous because they threaten the very idea of a liberal democracy by attacking the free press, rewriting the constitutions meant to limit their power, and by inspiring popular distrust in democracy that can lead to riots and even coups.

If we turn our attention back to 2024 and all of the coming elections, we can see that a number of high-profile populists are running for office this year: Trump is running for his second term in the USA; Nahrendra Modi and his India People’s Party are looking to win a third consecutive Indian election; and there will be hundreds of populist candidates standing in this year’s European Parliament elections. This could therefore be a year of populism continuing to grow in both power and influence across the world. That has certainly been the case at the time of writing, when the populist candidate, Prabowo Subianto, was elected President of Indonesia

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BY CLAIMING THAT ONLY THEY REPRESENT THE PEOPLE, THEY ARE ABLE TO LEGITIMISE MEASURES THAT HARM DEMOCRACY, AND MARGINALISE OPPOSING VIEWS AND VOICES.

In these countries Populism poses a different kind of threat: it decreases people’s faith in the political system. This is, of course, exemplified by the 2021 capital riots when protesters invaded the seat of their country’s government because they genuinely believed that the election was stolen. The other threat posed by populists in mature democracies is that when something Mind’s Eye | July 2024

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in February. It is therefore possible to view many of the coming elections as a forgone conclusion, while a wave of Populism sweeps across the world, but to think like this is both impractical and overly pessimistic.

India and Turkey, where both Narendra Modi and Recep Erdogan have begun to limit freedom of the press and silence opposition voices.

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of a political elite that doesn’t care for Populism can be and has been the people, so it would only strengthen beaten, but that is not done through support for them. The second is that pretending it doesn’t populists are antiexist. Populist candidates pluralist in nature, and to A number of highmust be debated and prevent a populist from profile populists are engaged with; they running for office this speaking is anti-pluralist, cannot be marginalised year and there will be so to prevent a populist and side-lined during an hundreds of populist from speaking is to act election campaign. This candidates standing in like one. Their supporters is for two reasons. The this year’s European should be treated with Parliament elections. respect, unlike Hilary first is the practical issue that if you refuse to give Clinton in 2016 who a populist leader a popular platform it referred to potential Trump voters as plays into their pre-existing narrative ‘deplorables’. These are people with genuine concerns about the economy and society and they should be treated as such, even if you don’t agree with what they say. Instead, the focus should be on trying to get the message across to people that populists don’t have the country’s best interests at heart. In 1968, Republican candidate George Wallace’s campaign fell apart after southern unions showed their members how little Wallace had done for the working man in Alabama. In 2016, the Austrian Greens were able to keep the populist Freedom Party out of the governing coalition by showing the populace how a populist government would threaten Austrian Democracy.

Both these examples show how people are more reasonable than some politicians may give them credit for, and that their sense and intelligence can be successfully recruited if they are respected.

People are more Populists nonetheless will still reasonable than probably win big in 2024, but that some politicians doesn’t have to be the prevailing may give them narrative. Populists can be beaten, credit for. but to do that requires knowledge of what they are and the danger they pose. I believe, perhaps optimistically, that if the dangers of Populism are respectfully displayed to the people who intend to vote for it, a majority will turn their back. They just need to be represented and listened to by the other candidates. ¢

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VICTOR ORBAN (POPULIST PRIME MINISTER OF HUNGARY) ONCE CALLED HIS POLITICAL MOVEMENT ‘PLEBEIAN DEMOCRACY’.

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“

Goneith

W The

T

wenty-two years ago, in the late summer sunshine at The Oval, the West Indian test cricketers, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, walked off the pitch for the last time.

Since then, the fortunes of what was once the most formidable cricket team the world had ever seen have been in astonishing decline.

The West Indies team late in the Twentieth Century was almost unbeatable. It included legends of the game: Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Sir Vivian Richards, and the brilliantly-named Sir Garfield Sobers, to name but a few. The fast bowlers were virtually unplayable, routinely delivering the ball at speeds of over 90 mph. In 1993, Curtly Ambrose bowled a spell against Australia that took seven wickets at the cost of just a single run. Brian Lara’s career featured two stratospheric knocks of 375 and 400* (both sadly against England), the second being to this day the highest Test score ever. Victorious in the inaugural World Cups of 1975 and 1979, the team was also unbeaten in Test series for fifteen years straight.

22 June 2019: Chris Gayle of West Indies hits the ball for six during the West Indies v New Zealand, ICC Cricket World Cup match, at Old Trafford, Manchester, England. (Image: ESPA/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA).

The West Indies’ Decline and Fall by CHARLIE WOODHEAD.

THE WEST INDIES TEAM LATE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY WAS ALMOST UNBEATABLE.

One of the factors in the Windies’ deterioration is that many players are much more interested The modern side is a less in earning huge sums imposing prospect. Between of money in lucrative 1979 and 1993, the Windies franchise leagues around won 78 of their 182 matches the world. The Big Bash IT’S NOT THAT THESE and lost 44, giving them a League in Australia, the PLAYERS DON’T LOVE respectable win/loss ratio of IPL in India and even PLAYING CRICKET FOR THEIR their own home-grown 1.772. Since 2000, they have COUNTRY. IT’S JUST THAT played 214, lost 116 and won league, the CPL, can pay THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO. just 45, with a win/loss ratio players £200,000 for six of an abysmal 0.387. Over that weeks’ work. Big-name time period, even England managed a ratio of players such as Dwayne Bravo, Kieron 1.33 from 301 matches.

Pollard and Nicholas Pooran have all

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missed international series in recent years for franchise commitments.

Bravo and Pollard have even both retired to pursue big-money deals, and their defence for this is that they don’t get paid enough by the Cricket West Indies (CWI) board to allow them to live a comfortable life during and after their playing years. ‘Love for the game doesn’t buy you groceries,’ as former limited-overs captain, Darren Sammy, rightly said.

It’s not that these players don’t love playing cricket for their country. It’s

06 June 1980 - England V West Indies at Lord’s; Viv Richards hitting one of his many fours during the West Indian innings at Lord’s. (Image: Keystone Pictures USA/ZUMAPRESS).

just that they can’t afford to. And this begs the question: why aren’t the CWI keeping up with other boards and paying their cricketers what they deserve?

Sometimes the behaviour of the CWI towards its own players is not merely mean-spirited, but vexatious. An example of this led to the forced retirement of one of the great West Indian batsmen of recent times, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. He was handed an NOC (No Objection Certificate) by the board after asking their permission to play in the Masters Champions League. But there was a condition tantamount to blackmail or extortion: if he did not announce his retirement with immediate effect, he would in fact not be allowed to play in this competition. Subsequently, he retired from all cricket at the age of forty, leaving behind a legacy spanning two decades of service to the Windies that would forever be marred by the circumstances of his retirement. work into his performances in the domestic Super50 tournament, where he was the top run-scorer, in a bid to earn back his place in the side. Lead selector Desmond Haynes defended the decision as an investment in younger players looking There have been some ahead to the next ODI World Cup in outstanding individual 2027, a comment which prompted performances, such Bravo’s brother Dwayne to label the as Chris Gayle’s 333 system as having ‘failed again’. While against Sri Lanka in Darren was excluded, 33-year-old 2010.

Kjorn Ottley was picked for the first time since his first two ODIs in 2021.

West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose in action against England at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.

Another example of poor treatment is how 34-year-old Darren Bravo was left out of the West Indies’ recent ODI squad against England despite putting vast amounts of

It is worth remembering that it’s not all been bad since the dawn of the millennium. Glimpses of hope were shown in back-to-back T20 World Cup victories in 2012 and 2016, both times under the captaincy of the brilliant Darren Sammy. There have been some outstanding individual performances, such as Chris Gayle’s 333 against Sri Lanka in 2010, and Chanderpaul’s 203* against South Africa in 2005. But none of this detracts from the underlying problems facing the West Indies, and they can be put down mainly to their management system.

So, surely the only way is up for the Windies? After their shock failure to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup, they have likely reached their lowest ebb.

A home T20 World Cup this year should help to boost funding, hopefully leaving all memories of corruption and blackmail far in the past, while they look on to new horizons in the 2027 World Cup and beyond. As the old saying goes, ‘When the Windies rise, the cricketing world feels the breeze.’ ¢ Mind’s Eye | July 2024

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VERA LOIKA takes a look at the fortunes of Australia.

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ustralia today is one of the most successful economies in the world. Its GDP per capita ranks 18th globally, putting Australia right behind Germany and above Finland and Saudi Arabia. The quality of life in the country is therefore very high. So how can it be that Australia is one step away from economic collapse while showing none of the symptoms?

Nevertheless, Australia’s abundance of natural resources generates a lot of revenue.

That is reflected in the GDP of the country but, unfortunately, does little to improve the real state of the rest of the economy.

The ‘resource curse’ or ‘Dutch disease’ is an issue that hits close to home in Australia’s case. The piles of rock shipped overseas make the economic figures of the country look very good but HOW CAN IT BE, THAT To break it down, I will answer have little benefit for most AUSTRALIA IS ONE STEP three questions: What are Australians. The mining AWAY FROM ECONOMIC the issues in the economic operations are incredibly COLLAPSE WHILE system of Australia? How does remote and employ few SHOWING NONE OF THE it manage to seemingly do so people, who are moved SYMPTOMS? well despite them? And, are its there for the duration of the solutions flimsy band-aids or job and back. These are the will they keep the country stable forever? so-called ‘fly-in, fly-out’ workers. This means that one of the most profitable industries One notoriously unreliable industry that is is completely cut off from the rest of the thriving in Australia is mining. This industry is economy. more characteristic of developing economies rather than ones with similar prosperity Other lucrative industries such as technology to Australia. The country’s largest export and finance have helped build major cities is coal, a fossil fuel that most countries are in the US, Europe, and Asia, as their workers now trying to move away from in favour of spend their money going out for dinner more sustainable energy sources. Australia’s after work or buying a new car, allowing position is made even more vulnerable due the money to flow through other industries to who the buyers of these exports are. The so that all participants in the economy can country is highly dependent on China, as it benefit from the revenue of the big sectors. is responsible for over 40% of all Australian This would be a clear example of the idyllic exports. What this leaves Australia with is a trickle-down economy, which is far from massive mining industry that is bound to be reality in Australia due to the nature of the at the mercy of global markets and actions mining sector. One solution to this issue of other economies thousands of kilometres could be taxing resource sales and using away. the money to fund government projects.

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A good example of this strategy is Norway where, like Australia, an abundance of natural resources is shared by a relatively small population.

In Norway, private companies that profit from natural resources are heavily taxed. Combined with a stateowned company in the field, lots of money is generated that is stored in the enormous Sovereign Wealth Fund. This national savings account invests the money and uses it to fund government services. This allows Norway to improve the standard of living for people who are not directly part of the resources industry. Australia failed to introduce direct taxes on mining. For this reason, it have that many people. Some major has little to no benefit for anyone other cities around the world have more than the few extremely wealthy owners people than this whole continent. of the extracting companies and the relatively small labour force employed But the picture changes drastically if by them. This also contributes to the we look closely. Most of the land in the country is uninhabited large wealth gap in desert. Most of the Australian society and What this leaves population lives in a adds to the problem of Australia with is small handful of dense unaffordable housing a massive mining cities next to the coast, for most citizens. industry that is bound to be at the mercy mostly Sydney and of global markets Melbourne. The former Housing in Australia and actions of other is one is the second is among the most economies. most expensive cities expensive in the world. in the world and has On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense. Its price, like that little room for expansion because it of anything else, is shaped by forces is surrounded by mountains and cut of supply and demand. On the supply off by the sea. What complicates the side, Australia has a lot of land, being problem of land even more is the sixth in terms of size by total land mass. fact that Australians culturally prefer On the demand side, it simply doesn’t large freestanding homes rather than

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apartments. The apartments that are being built quickly and cheaply by companies attempting to take advantage of the housing crisis plague the market, and their poor quality turns potential buyers back towards freestanding houses once again. On the demand side, Australians have very high incomes, with the world’s highest minimum wage. Buying houses is also heavily incentivized by taxation policy.

This is true not only for houses bought for residential purposes but even more so for those purchased as investments or to rent out.

The tax policies in Australia are such that expenses on the asset can be written off against income. This is not unique to the country. However, what makes it different from other places is that the income is not limited to the profit generated by the asset; instead, expenses can be written off from your total income. In other words, if you earn $150,000 a year, you can claim $50,000 in expenses on your house on paper and only pay income tax on $100,000.

This feature, paired with one of the highest income taxes in the world— income above $115,000 is taxed at 45%—leads to lots of tax avoidance.

This makes such a difference that it is considered financially irresponsible not to buy a house and pay a lower tax rate. This made housing in Australia an investment rather than a place to live. What inevitably follows are skyrocketing prices in the sector and less development in other areas of the economy, especially given low international investment.

If Australia keeps things as they are, it is going to get more and more difficult for young people to enjoy a high quality of life in their own country.

So, how does Australia manage to carry on unaffected even though its economy is as reliant on natural resources as Russia’s, Venezuela’s, and Saudi Arabia’s, and lots of its wealth is contained in the housing sector, which does not contribute much to growth, and suffers from poor-quality development, an issue that China is facing at the moment? The answer is that Australia’s economy is not about selling dirt or houses but about selling Australia. It is one of the most desirable countries in the world to go and live. A big reason for that is the country’s political stability.

It also has an incredibly high standard of living, good weather, and a strong culture of diversity while being an English-speaking country. That means that people from all around the world have a good chance of being fluent enough to work and live here.

Education in Australia is attractive too, with many great private schools and world-class universities. This allows Australia’s economy to benefit not only from the tuition fees paid by the students and the funding universities get from them to conduct more research and create jobs, but also from the money brought in from abroad that pays for the students’ living expenses. On top of that, as they graduate, Australia has a high chance of keeping the young professionals who will soon get a job and pay taxes to the country.

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THE COUNTRY IS LIKELY TO STAY VERY ATTRACTIVE AS A PLACE TO START A NEW LIFE.

Australia is beyond happy to welcome the new immigrants if they bring some value.

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On the other hand, already wealthy people often want to make Australia their home too since, despite property in major cities being so expensive, they are ranked as some of the most pleasant places to live in the world.

Quality of life metrics are like those existing citizens became ever more of the famously happy Scandinavian wealthy because of it. Simply owning countries, but what makes Australia a house can make you millions. This the winner in many cases is a fact that seems like a positive thing, as being a doesn’t make it on the spreadsheets tourist and immigration destination and statistics – Australia’s is a very stable feature sunny and hot climate, to build the economy If it slows the rate of its beautiful beaches, immigration to reduce around. The country and nature. is likely to stay very the competition for existing residents, then attractive as a place to a lot of the country’s The country is beyond start a new life. wealth could be happy to welcome the destroyed. new immigrants if they However, the economic bring some value, and it’s prosperity that such an planning to accommodate 1.5 million approach leads to is once again not new arrivals over the next four years. shared with an average Australian. For The industry accommodating them young people who had not yet made is massive in Australia, and already their wealth, buying property and moving out often becomes impossible, and, in general, living in the country soon becomes unaffordable. They do not enjoy the tax breaks that people with property do, so over time they often end up paying relatively more while earning less. Unlike most other unaffordable cities – New York, for example – Australia’s case contrasts, as ultra-high prices are not a result of opportunities for very high incomes in the city centres where highly technical industries pay their workers incredibly well. Wages in Australian cities are

considerably lower than New York ones while prices are higher. It is not the incomes that keep the prices high but the desirability of the lifestyle and the tax breaks owning property gives to high earners. If Australia keeps things as they are, it is going to get more and more difficult for young people to enjoy a high quality of life in their own country. If it Being a tourist slows the rate of immigration and immigration to reduce the competition for destination is a existing residents, then a lot very stable feature of the country’s wealth could to build the be destroyed. economy around.

So, Australia seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Despite seemingly doing very well on the surface, the country serves as a cautionary reminder to all other developed nations about the dangers of letting issues like housing grow out of proportion. Whatever path Australia chooses to take, it is an interesting case study, the development of which the whole world should follow and learn from. ¢

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DESPITE PROPERTY IN MAJOR CITIES BEING SO EXPENSIVE, THEY ARE RANKED AS SOME OF THE MOST PLEASANT PLACES TO LIVE IN THE WORLD.

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I’m

h Throuveg sa gi W O L I T S LILY HA s in platholog y. as master cl

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PLATH’S SEMINAL WORK, THE BELL JAR, IS A SCATHING COMMENTARY ON THE SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS IMPOSED ON WOMEN IN THE 1950S.

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he representation of women has been an ongoing interest amongst writers for as long as stories have been alive. From the beginning, ancient writers such as Aristotle have shown that the role of women in Greek literature has demoralized them and shown them in a maligned light. The women are illness, heightened by these portrayed as frail, cruel, insensitive, or as seductresses. societal pressures, underscores the These characteristics have been integrated into today’s destructive nature of a patriarchal society and have built the standards and defined the society that stifles female ambition moral outlook of women. However, in Greek mythology, and individuality. Esther’s struggle powerful women are not as well celebrated, such as mirrors Plath’s battles she faced throughout Athena. This prejudice against women all her childhood and into womanhood, stemmed from the sheer fact that all the blending fiction with a brutal honesty that well-respected members of society, let resonates with readers to this day. alone the writers, were men, so the view THROUGH HER POETRY of women was from a very one-sided AND PROSE, PLATH In her poetry, Plath’s confrontation with point of view, with no evidence from the EXPOSES WOMEN’S patriarchy is equally vivid. ‘Daddy’, one of women’s perspective.

SYSTEMIC INEQUALITIES her most famous poems, uses the metaphor AND CHALLENGES THE of a tyrannical father to represent the larger, Sylvia Plath is an iconic figure in American OPPRESSIVE FORCES THAT oppressive male-dominated society, and literature. She is renowned not just for SEEK TO SILENCE THEM. how her father has greatly affected and her confessional style but also for her shaped her life. The poem’s raw emotion acute critique of patriarchal structures. and defiant tone challenge the traditional reverence for Through her poetry and prose, Plath exposes women’s patriarchal figures, revealing the deep psychological systemic inequalities and challenges the oppressive scars they can leave. Lines like ‘Every woman adores a forces that seek to silence them. Plath’s seminal work, Fascist’ starkly illustrate the internalized oppression and The Bell Jar, is a scathing commentary on the societal the complex love-hate relationships women often have expectations imposed on women in the 1950s. The with patriarchal authority figures. The poem ends with protagonist, Esther Greenwood, navigates a world that the revelation that she has been weighed down by the offers her limited options: conform to domesticity or memory of her father, which has caused her grief, and now face ostracism. The novel’s striking portrayal of mental that she has come to terms with what he used to be like he can stop torturing her from the grave.

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One of her most famous poems uses the metaphor of a tyrannical father to represent the larger, oppressive maledominated society.

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Plath’s exploration of the domestic sphere in her collection, Ariel, further critiques the patriarchal confines of traditional female roles. Poems like ‘Lady Lazarus’ and ‘The Applicant’ dissect the objectification and exploitation of women. In ‘The Applicant,’ Plath mocks the institution of marriage and its transactional nature, where women are evaluated based on their utility to men. The biting irony in her verses exposes the absurdity and cruelty of these societal norms.

Moreover, Plath’s depiction of the female body is revolutionary. She refuses to adhere to the

She describes her body’s resurrection not as a divine miracle but as an act of personal defiance and reclamation. sanitized, idealized images cultivated by a maledominated culture. Instead, her poems often present the body in its raw, vulnerable reality, reclaiming it from the clutches of patriarchal control. This is evident in ‘Lady Lazarus’, where she describes her body’s resurrection not as a divine miracle but as an act of personal defiance and reclamation.

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SHE REFUSES TO ADHERE TO THE SANITIZED, IDEALIZED IMAGES CULTIVATED BY A MALE-DOMINATED CULTURE.

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Her depiction of women’s struggles against oppressive societal norms continues to inspire contemporary feminist discourse.

Plath’s work is not solely an expression of personal anguish but a broader feminist statement. Her depiction of women’s struggles against oppressive societal norms continues to inspire contemporary feminist discourse.

By laying bare the realities of living under patriarchy, Plath provides a voice for the voiceless and a lens through which to examine the persistent inequalities that women face.

As society continues to grapple with gender inequality, Plath’s writing remains as relevant as ever. Her courageous exploration of the female psyche and the constraints imposed by a patriarchal world challenges us to reflect on our progress and the work still needed to achieve true equality.

Her works serve as a timeless call to arms for women to reclaim their identities, challenge oppressive structures, and assert their voices.

Sylvia Plath’s legacy, therefore, is not just as a poet and novelist but as a fierce critic of patriarchy. Her works serve as a timeless call to arms for women to reclaim their identities, challenge oppressive structures, and assert their voices in a world that has long sought to silence them. ¢

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Golf is not just for middle-aged men in checkered trousers claims SOPHIA PAYNE.

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ow can an activity mostly undertaken by unathletic middle-aged men, while wearing checkered trousers, ever be considered a sport? But look around. These men, however prominent in golf’s stigma, are only about 26% of golfers and, while this seems like a lot, compare this to the number of young people playing – almost six million – and these ill-dressed men seem insignificant. But people still wonder why it’s a sport.

Looking at a 50-year-old holding a beer can while driving an electric buggy can give golf a bad image, but in reality this is no different to any other game. Compare this to tennis, a sport well respected and played all over the world. There is the same, not quite so athletic player as golf, as well as having giants such as Novak Djokovic or Iga Swiatek. The same is true in golf.

Just look at Scottie Scheffler or Rory 42

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McIlroy, not to mention the infamous golf ball at 130 mph hundreds of yards Tiger Woods. All sports have their stars, in the air, hoping to have channelled and they have their, all this energy with well, not quite as good the right orientation players, so clearly this is and, sometimes, luck, not a reason to discredit to get a 1½ inch ball golf as a successful and somewhere near a COMPARE THIS TO THE proper sport. hole only to repeat NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE this process again for PLAYING – ALMOST SIX The Cambridge the next shot. If even MILLION – AND THESE Dictionary says a sport one of these intricate ILL-DRESSED MEN SEEM is a game, competition movements was INSIGNIFICANT. or activity needing slightly off, you could physical effort and be sending your ball skill that is played according to rules. to land in a lake, or roll into the rough, Golf fits the bill perfectly. A game or bounce off tarmac, never to be seen designed in 15th Century Scotland, again. And you tell me that golf isn’t a golf has players of all ages competing game, competition or activity needing against each other, be it for money physical effort and skill? or for simple glory, as in the annual Masters at Augusta National. People If you’re still not convinced, let’s look at use their bodies to push against the the Olympics. Golf, if you didn’t know, is ground and thrust a golf club forwards one of the many sports involved. Now, with an explosion of power to push a I know that a competition traced back

to 776 BC that has survived the test of time wouldn’t take the decision to add a sport lightly. While many of us watch the daredevils skateboarding on a course, I know, just like 80 million other people, women playing football that golf is a sport and for the pride of their playing it regularly country, we can see all develops strength and the sports represented precision like no other. Golf in the Olympics are there must be a sport if so many ALL THE SPORTS because they are all other people play it, and REPRESENTED IN THE sports, and golf is one of I haven’t even started on OLYMPICS ARE THERE them. Now, some of you how many people watch BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL might say there are some it! 450 million! That’s got SPORTS, AND GOLF IS ONE OF very odd sports in the to mean people think it’s THEM. Olympic games, one of a sport, or they wouldn’t which is curling. Sliding be spending hours of their around on ice and pushing big stones week gluing their eyes to the screen, trying about: what could possibly be sporty to find the source of the precision and about that? I agree. Curling doesn’t power executed by the professionals at the seem like a sport to me, but if you take top of their game. a closer look you will appreciate the precision necessary to get the stone in If medicine and science are your thing, here the right place on the ice. This shows us is legitimate proof of golf’s prominence as even the wackiest games are actually a sport. When you swing a golf club, you sports – another reason why golf is a are using 17 different muscles and even sport. more to coordinate the movements of the club from above the head right down to impact. This does not even include all the muscles used to walk around an 18hole golf course for hours. Clearly science proves golf’s significance.

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WHEN YOU SWING A GOLF CLUB, YOU ARE USING 17 DIFFERENT MUSCLES AND EVEN MORE TO COORDINATE THE MOVEMENTS OF THE CLUB FROM ABOVE THE HEAD RIGHT DOWN TO IMPACT.

All sports have their beer drinkers and weekend players. We do too. But this is a sport, and a great one it is. ¢

Golf has players of all ages competing against each other.

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I

Know Not

Seams

LILY ROBERTSON explains why she finds the women of ancient myth inspiring.

I

believe I was six years old when I was given my first book on mythology. That day, flipping through the pages, all I could think about was how thin the paper was, yet what heavy words and emotions it held. I’m sure that book created my ebullience today about the power women hold. But it didn’t start that way.

Often in the myths I used to read I was disappointed by the part girls played in the stories. It didn’t make sense that I hadn’t read about many women who were wielding swords, conquering kingdoms or earning glory on the battlefield. But I learnt admiration.

I felt sorry for Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, when she had to endure years of uncertainty and unwanted attention from suitors during her husband’s absence. But when I looked deeper, past the obvious disregard for these women, I found something much more noteworthy and interesting. A thing I really wanted to dwell on. These women 44

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had grit. Penelope didn’t despair and stories were common representations give in to relentless men when she had of humanity and I thought about how no man for protection. While Odysseus these portraits of women as monsters was away on his long journey, Penelope must have affected the way women remained faithful and loyal, fending were seen in real life. Perhaps all these off suitors who sought wildly threatening to marry her and claim Penelope was the first female figures fortified Odysseus’s kingdom. woman who taught me a male fear of woman’s that a women’s war is Her faithfulness and not any less brutal than latentapower.

And resilience in the face of one fought by a man on isn’t that an interesting adversity made her a thought? Of course a battlefield. compelling character to eventually I found the the younger me. Penelope was the first female warriors I’d been searching for woman who taught me that a woman’s in every chapter, my favourite being a war is not any less brutal than one brave woman called Atalanta. fought by a man on a battlefield. And that lesson was such an awe-inspiring In one story, a ferocious boar was moment. wreaking havoc in the kingdom of Calydon. King Oeneus called upon the I sailed the malicious waters with greatest heroes of Greece to join him Odysseus and learned the hardships in hunting down and slaying the boar. made by temptation. All the while, Atalanta, being a skilled huntress, was during the tale, I wondered why most among the heroes who answered the of the antagonists on his trip were call. During the hunt, Atalanta proved female. I could picture young girls herself a formidable and courageous and boys back in the time when these warrior, fought alongside the male

Image: The Race between Hippomenes and Atalanta by Noël Hallé.

so hard to break free from societal constraints. Her defiance of gender roles became a symbol for me of empowerment and equality in history.

Her story reminds me that women have always been capable of extraordinary achievements, regardless of expectations. Rules are made to be broken, right?

these women warriors back. I’m really glad I was proved wrong.

The character who stuck with me and showed me people’s idiosyncrasies was my girl, Circe. The enchantress represents to me a complex mixture of power, vulnerability and compassion.

Initially, she uses her powers to CIRCE’S COMPLEXITY LIES The only problem I had turn Odysseus’ men into IN HER ABILITY TO BOTH was that she ended up pigs but, when Odysseus ENCHANT AND RELEASE, marrying a man despite proves his strength and TO BE BOTH POWERFUL her blatant dislike for the intelligence, she releases AND VULNERABLE. notion. Sure, the success them all and shows of the engagement was mercy. This demonstrates heavily influenced by Aphrodite, but that Circe is not purely malicious or evil, I still wondered why women always but rather a nuanced character with have to be linked with love. It seemed her own motivations and desires. In to me like love was flimsy and only held addition to her magical abilities, Circe is

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I HADN’T READ ABOUT MANY WOMEN WHO WERE WIELDING SWORDS, CONQUERING KINGDOMS OR EARNING GLORY ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

Image: ‘Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus’ by John William Waterhouse.

heroes and displayed her exceptional skills in archery. Her hunting contributions were highly praised, and she played a significant role in the boar’s demise.

Atalanta’s participation in the hunt challenged the traditional expectations of women in Ancient Greek society.

By showing her exceptional hunting skills and bravery, Atalanta proved that women were capable of feats typically associated with men. Her involvement highlighted the underrated abilities women can possess, challenging the notion that they were limited to domestic roles.

Atalanta became an inspiration for me because her tale encouraged me to pursue my passions after she fought Mind’s Eye | July 2024

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also portrayed as a woman who desires companionship and love. She becomes romantically involved with Odysseus during his stay on her island, offering him immortality and a life of luxury.

But Odysseus ultimately chooses to leave and continue his journey home, highlighting the conflict between Circe’s desire for love and her realization that she cannot keep Odysseus captive.

Image: ‘Circe’ by Giovanni Battista Trotti.

Circe’s complexity lies in her ability to both enchant and release, to be both The only special parts about a woman powerful and vulnerable. She embodies were her appearance, her heart and the duality of human nature, showing the absence of a ring on her finger. that even those with great power This annoyed me greatly. The powerful can still experience thing for me about Circe longing, loneliness, and to this day is not her By showing her a need for connection. magic but the way she exceptional hunting Overall, her complexity proves that love has skills and bravery, in The Odyssey adds meaning and importance.

Atalanta proved that depth to the narrative, Women being depicted women were capable of feats typically challenging traditional as emotional is not always associated with men. gender roles and just an excuse to make revealing the intricacies men seem superior to of human nature. She serves as a women. It can be a beautiful thing that reminder that characters, like people, explains how the heart should have are not simply good or evil, but rather control over the brain. a matrix of emotions, desires, and motivations.

But the real reason I possess such high expectations of myself is linked to the Because of Circe I started to understand misconceptions about a woman’s role the power of feelings. Formerly, I in a man’s story, still today. I decided resented some myths for making long ago, after reading a lot of Greek women out to be suitable only for love. myths, that I can’t be defined by one

part of me. It’s not possible. I have ambition and strength and love, but not just for people: for my passions and goals for the future too. I think it’s important to understand that these myths were written in a specific time period, but they have reverberated through history and make their mark now nonetheless.

These myths affect my writing and poetry today because the women showed me the colour and light to be found in bleak grays and maddening darkness. Although these fictional women will never know the respect I feel for them, I sit content knowing that their endurance of undeserved hardships influenced me massively.

Many of them suffer an unhappy and unfair end, but that has never presented my own character with a negative example to follow. ¢

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WHILE ODYSSEUS WAS AWAY ON HIS LONG JOURNEY, PENELOPE REMAINED FAITHFUL AND LOYAL, FENDING OFF SUITORS WHO SOUGHT TO MARRY HER AND CLAIM ODYSSEUS’S KINGDOM.

Image: ‘Penelope and the Suitors’ by John William Waterhouse.

Aberdeen City Council (Archives, Gallery and Museums Collection).

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HER HUNTING CONTRIBUTIONS WERE HIGHLY PRAISED, AND SHE PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE BOAR’S DEMISE.

Image: ‘Meleager offers head of the 47 Calydonian Mind’s Eye the | July 2024 Boar to Atalanta’ by Giovanni Battista Crosato, c1747.

Mandarin by MOLLY JONES.

M

andarin is renowned in many Western countries for being the hardest language to learn. Its complete departure from the familiarity of Indo-European languages, such as French and Spanish, which are most often taught in the United Kingdom, lend it a sort of mystique.

When I tell people I am learning Mandarin, their response is usually one of surprise and admiration. It is comparatively rare to find a secondary school student studying the language, and the notion that it is inherently difficult makes it seem impressive that I am even trying.

I began to learn Mandarin in Year 3, since my school was one of a handful in the country that taught it at this age.

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own lanterns and dragon boats out but there is also the question of the of paper – I immediately developed complex stroke order and multiple a fascination with the components that make beauty and intricacy of up each character. the written characters.

Mandarin requires Before this point, I had the memorisation of never imagined that a MANDARIN IS TWO LANGUAGES thousands of these language could also be IN ONE: THE SPOKEN DIALECTS (often highly detailed) BEAR NO CORRELATION TO an art. characters.

THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE. THIS When I left prep school, MEANS THAT THERE IS TWICE There are several I was very lucky to have THE LEARNING REQUIRED FOR aspects of Mandarin EVERY SINGLE WORD. the opportunity to that can make it less learn Mandarin again, difficult than you this time in a more serious, academic might expect. Grammatically, verbs are manner. I began to understand that not conjugated (having different forms Mandarin is two languages in one: the for different tenses); instead, a single spoken dialects bear no correlation to character combined with a verb can the written language. This means that turn it into the past or future tense. The there is twice the learning required for agreement between adjectives and every single word. Not only must you nouns in Mandarin does not require remember the pronunciation, the tones changes to the form in number or and the pinyin (the most common gender. The characters themselves also romanisation system for Chinese), contain ‘radicals’ (a graphic component)

In spite of China’s rise, relatively little is known about its language, culture or history in the West and UK.

that can help you to remember their meaning. For instance, the water radical – three dashes on the left-hand-side of a character – appears in words such as hăi, meaning ocean; and kě, meaning thirsty. interact with this fascinating country. The key to However, it is understandable that many consider this, I believe, is being able to communicate in Mandarin the hardest language to learn. And Mandarin. The language itself gives us a window when you realise that approximately 400 million into Chinese culture and tradition, and even a basic people in China are learning English (a number awareness of Mandarin can lead to opportunities larger than the population of the United States), it opening up, while more and more is also difficult to see a reason for companies seek people who are native English speakers to concern able to provide an insight into themselves, in turn, with learning China, a nation that, until recently, Mandarin. This is an attitude that THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF has not widely been studied in the needs to be challenged.

CHINA HAS SEEN IT BECOME UK. A GLOBAL SUPERPOWER, The exponential growth of DOMINATING INTERNATIONAL A few decades ago, the United China has seen it become a ECONOMICS AND POLITICS. States and the USSR were the global superpower, dominating two major world powers. But international economics and with Western civilisation in decline and China politics. It is, and over the next few decades will rising in status, these developments must have continue to be, a prominent player on the world consequences for the educational system in this stage. Yet, in spite of China’s rise, relatively little country. It will become increasingly important is known about its language, culture or history in to have British fluent speakers of Mandarin, who the West and UK. This knowledge may not seem can comprehend the complicated but compelling important but, while we continue to observe history of China in its own language, which is so China’s remarkable development, from a fractured vital in shaping the society it is today and the way and disintegrating warlord state just a century it interacts with the rest of the world. The pathway ago to the global powerhouse it is today, it will needs to begin with augmenting the popularity of become ever more necessary to understand and Mandarin in the UK, as well as dispelling the myth that it is unnecessary, and too difficult, for anyone non-Chinese to learn. ¢

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Even a basic awareness of Mandarin can lead to opportunities opening up.

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Time At Longitude by NOAH BOEHMER.

T

he earth is criss-crossed by lines of latitude and longitude that run horizontally and vertically.

The lines of latitude run East to West, where the equator is at 0° latitude, whereas the lines of longitude divide run from North to South and are at 15° intervals all around the globe.

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catastrophic for a ship before the mid1700s. For example, in 1707, Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell was in command of a fleet of British ships coming home from Gibraltar in foggy weather, when, only about 30 kilometres from the south-west tip of England, they shipwrecked off the Isles of Scilly, killing Shovell and over 1500 others.

The ability to find TO FIND IT, ONE MUST latitude was discovered KNOW THE TIME AT A over two thousand The first to find REFERENCE POINT, SUCH years ago, by the a solution to the AS THE PRIME MERIDIAN, ancient Greeks using longitude problem AND THEN COMPARE IT TO was Galileo Galilei in astrolabes, which use THE LOCAL TIME. either the position of about 1610. He was the sun or a known star, the one of the first to usually the North Star, in order to work use a telescope to view the sky and out latitude. Longitude, however, is he believed that he could find the far more difficult. To find it, one must answer there. He attempted to tackle know the time at a reference point, the issue by observing four of Jupiter’s such as the Prime Meridian, and then moons and spent a year cataloguing compare it to the local time. Since we and calculating the orbital periods know that the Earth rotates 360° every of Jupiter’s moons and counting day, or 15° every hour, one’s longitude the number of times the satellites can easily be calculated. vanished behind Jupiter. From his observations, he created charts that The only issue is knowing exactly showed when each of Jupiter’s moons what the time is. At the equator, was expected to disappear and where every degree of longitude is at reappear. And so, Galileo had found a its highest, each degree is about 111 solution to longitude. Eclipses of the kilometres. So even small inaccuracies moons of Jupiter, he claimed, occurred in time measurement will amount to 1000 times per year, so you could large errors in location, which could be set a watch in accordance with these

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eclipses and, assuming a ship knew the time in a place of know longitude, it could find its own.

The first to find a solution to the longitude problem was Galileo Galilei in about 1610.

He was the one of the first to use a telescope to view the sky and he believed that he could find the answer there.

Although in principle Galileo’s method works, it comes with many limitations.

These eclipses only happen less than three times a day and Jupiter can never by his father to be a joiner, which is be seen during the day due to the why his early timepieces were made sun’s brightness. These of wood. When in nighttime observations July 1714 the British In July 1714 the British could also be carried Parliament announced Parliament announced out only during certain the Longitude Act, the Longitude Act, parts of the year and which offered a prize of which offered a only when the sky was prize of £20,000 £20,000 (roughly £1.5 clear. Galileo’s method million in today’s money) (roughly £1.5 million to the first person to was far too inconsistent in today’s money) to find a practical and for conventional use at the first person to reliable method. sea when the stakes were find a practical and far too high. A method reliable method to that could become undone by the sky find longitude to within half a degree, being too cloudy was simply not good Harrison started working on his first enough. marine chronometer, H1.

John Harrison, the eventual discoverer of a reliable and precise method to find longitude, was born in 1693 in North Lincolnshire and was trained

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Creating a clock that was able to withstand the harsh conditions brought about by storms and large changes in temperature on board a ship was thought to be impossible by even some of the greatest scientists of the time, such as Sir Issac Newton and Christian Huygens. Newton even said to a parliamentary committee in 1714 that ‘no known clock could work accurately amid storms and changing temperature, humidity and barometric pressure, not to mention variations in gravity and the pitching, rolling and yawing of a ship at sea.’

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It took Harrison five years to build his first marine chronometer. It had two interconnected swinging balances that were designed to cancel out the effects of the rocking of the ship and it had a ‘grasshopper’ escapement, which them was precise enough to earn the he designed himself, that minimized Parliamentary reward. But in 1761 friction between parts. The H1 clock is Harrison was ready to test his final still running, with almost chronometer, H4. His son, no wear, 300 years later in William, set sail on HMS H1 was first tested the Royal Observatory in Deptford, from Portsmouth out on a voyage to Greenwich.

Lisbon in 1736 and to Kingston, Jamaica. Over the 81-day voyage, the performed very H1 was first tested out on clock was found to be five well and correctly a voyage to Lisbon in 1736 predicted the ships’ seconds slow compared and performed very well to the known longitude in location on many and correctly predicted occasions.

Kingston. This was easily the ship’s location on many enough to earn the prize, occasions. It was a good first attempt, but the Board of Longitude refused though not good enough to receive the to accept the result and demanded a £20,000 reward. second voyage.

Over the next two decades, John Harrison would create two more clocks, H2 and H3, but neither of

Image: Harrison’s H1 Clock, Royal Museums Greenwich www.rmg.co.uk

IT TOOK HARRISON FIVE YEARS TO BUILD HIS FIRST MARINE CHRONOMETER. IT HAD TWO INTERCONNECTED SWINGING BALANCES THAT WERE DESIGNED TO CANCEL OUT THE EFFECTS OF THE ROCKING OF THE SHIP.

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THE H1 CLOCK IS STILL RUNNING, WITH ALMOST NO WEAR, 300 YEARS LATER IN THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY IN GREENWICH.

Over the next decade, John Harrison fought the Board to get his full prize, and eventually, in 1773, he was paid the last chunk. The total he received was £23,065, but he also saved hundreds of thousands of sailors’ lives with his reliable solution to Longitude. ¢

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A New

Chapter The rise of BookTok by AUDREY SO.

S

ocial media has seen a dramatic eager readers, waiting to see what the rise in popularity over the last few fuss is all about. By being hot topics, years, and an online community popular books have been pushed to has been established between the top of the BookTok hierarchy – and, authors and book lovers. More and seemingly, to the top of the modernmore authors have day literature been using this hierarchy.

This platform to promote motion has become their up-and-coming both a source of SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHORS novels, a huge encouragement and HAVE SEEN AN OPENING percentage of them discouragement for OPPORTUNITY ON THE being self-published indie and pre-debut INTERNET, BECAUSE IT’S A authors.

Selfauthors.

PLATFORM THAT IS EASY published authors TO USE AND CONVENIENT have seen an opening One of the most FOR REACHING LARGE opportunity on the popular ways authors AUDIENCES. internet, because it’s promote their books a platform that is easy is by emphasising to use and convenient for reaching their tropes to appeal to internet large audiences. Since acquiring users, but new authors on BookTok a literary agent for traditional fall under the assumption that their publishing has the probability of books will go viral if they use the most a one-in-6000 success rate, many popular tropes in their own books, authors have turned to the internet to leading to a disassociation between get their book out in the open for the what is written and what is needed in public to recognise. Such a staggering the novel. This is not to say that you number of authors and readers have shouldn’t highlight your book tropes! joined the book community on the If your target likes another novel internet, it has since shifted into the with similar aspects to yours, it draws mainstream media, forming a trend attention to your book when you known as ‘BookTok’, since this primary sell its highlights, building your own book community resides on TikTok. target audience. However, BookTok videos often lead to users admiring Novels such as Fourth Wing by the tropes more than the quality of the Rebecca Yarros and The Song of book, indirectly pressuring authors Achilles by Madeline Miller have found into adding trendy tropes to attract a themselves in the hands of new and certain target audience.

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Many authors have unfortunately embarked on a path of formulas not out of their own inspiration but out of the public demand.

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This boils down to the overestimation of the internet. There are thousands and thousands of books which share similar tropes and ideas, but only a fraction has stood out. The idea of writing an ‘appealing’ book is tempting, but there is no strict guarantee that it makes the mistake of introducing will become a success. New authors younger readers to New Adult (NA) fall under the impression that a book recommendations, which often book’s success depends on a formula. contain explicit content. While some However, this has been older teenagers are proven wrong time and aware and can handle The algorithm time again by the books provocative discussions, makes the mistake that have not made it to the same cannot be of introducing mainstream media but younger readers to said for younger people.

New Adult (NA) book have similar elements as They cannot gauge the recommendations, popular BookTok books. book for its underlying which often contain Many authors have message, and it becomes explicit content. unfortunately embarked difficult for them to on a path of formulas not differentiate fiction out of their own inspiration but out of from reality, and right and wrong. the public demand.

For example, if an NA novel explicitly depicts an unhealthy relationship, a BookTok’s influence has left authors young person can easily be misguided prone to criticism because of their into believing that the portrayal is a impact on young readers. The algorithm take on what all relationships look like.

This is not the author’s fault. Authors are free to write anything they want, but because of how easily accessible NA books are to younger audiences on the internet, this creates repercussions towards both parties involved. While the author receives hate and backlash for the discussions they provoke, the reader is plagued with unrealistic and unhealthy ideologies.

While there is no denying that BookTok has problems, the platform does bring forth heartwarming success to lucky authors. Lloyd Deverux Richards spent 14 years writing a whodunnit called Stone Maidens. When it was published something that doesn’t feel authentic more than a decade ago, it garnered to you, even if it seems to increase the little attention in the book community. probability of success. Stone Maidens is But years later his daughter an example of that. made a TikTok video BookTok has put an promoting Richards’s emphasis on writing BookTok has put an book, and the video went emphasis on writing a viral a viral book that viral, amassing over nine causes many authors book that causes many million likes and forty to believe success is authors to believe success million views. In the span gained by hopping on is gained by hopping on a of days, Stone Maidens trend. On the other hand, a trend. became an Amazon sellit gives indie authors a free out sensation. This shows that there are platform to promote their novels, and it unexpected success stories that come has since become the most convenient out of BookTok. There is no guarantee way to promote all books. We can of popularity and fame, even if you make BookTok a place that supports follow a recipe, and you certainly aren’t boundaries and celebrates versatility, guaranteed enjoyment when writing diversity, and thought-provoking discussions, to beat the idea of having the ‘perfect recipe.’ This does not mean debunking or slandering popular books, but rather creating an enriching environment for authors to write their book as they please, and to create something they enjoy. ¢

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IT GIVES INDIE AUTHORS A FREE PLATFORM TO PROMOTE THEIR NOVELS, AND IT HAS SINCE BECOME THE MOST CONVENIENT WAY TO PROMOTE ALL BOOKS.

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Should we all speak the same language?

Wonders MILLY CORDEAUX.

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n a world with over eight billion the speed at which it can be learnt. With people, spread across 197 countries, industrialisation and globalisation, people speaking over seven saw the advantages of an thousand languages, international language, it can be hard to find causing more and more common ground. One people to have a go. This IN THE PAST, THERE HAVE way of bridging the gap was much to the disdain BEEN VARIOUS ATTEMPTS TO between people could of Adolf Hitler, who MANUFACTURE A UNIVERSAL be through a common imprisoned Esperanto COMMON LANGUAGE BY language. This would speakers because its COMBINING ELEMENTS OF be highly beneficial for creator, Zamenhof, was PRE-EXISTING LANGUAGES. ease of communication Jewish.

Despite this, and the improvement Esperanto became of international relations, so it would increasingly popular, establishing make sense if everyone spoke the same communities of speakers across the world language, right? and, in 1954, it became an official UNESCO international auxiliary language, although In the past, there have been various it is not an official language of the United attempts to manufacture a universal Nations. Since then, Esperanto has declined common language by combining elements in popularity while English has been used of pre-existing languages, forming what increasingly in commerce. is known as an ‘international auxiliary language’ or IAL. The most popular My personal experience of learning example of an IAL in history is Esperanto. Esperanto was interesting. As a frequent Created in 1887 by Polish ophthalmologist, user of the language-learning app, L. L. Zamenhof, Esperanto is mostly derived Duolingo, my interest was piqued when from Romance languages (e.g. French, I learned that Duolingo had an Esperanto Italian), with some influence from the course. I decided to give it a go and was Germanic and Slavic families. This makes surprised by how easy it was to understand it easier for speakers of these languages to and learn the grammar structures and learn. rules. I was able to understand basic conversational Esperanto in a surprisingly In the early 20th Century, Esperanto grew short time. But it does have its drawbacks. in popularity due to its simplicity and One of these is the lack of speakers. Even

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though Duolingo’s Esperanto course has approximately 300,000 active users, you would be hard-pressed to find one of them in the wild. The only other person I know who speaks Esperanto to any degree is one of my friends, who started learning on Duolingo shortly after I did. The fact that I know only one person who can speak a bit of Esperanto renders my basic knowledge of the language useless. This is why constructed languages are not as enticing to learn: few people speak them in the first place, and they are only learnt by language enthusiasts with a little bit too much free time on their hands. After all, why would you put effort into learning a language that you cannot speak with anyone you know?

Esperanto, and other IALs in general, are often criticised for being Eurocentric.

These languages tend to derive from languages that originated in and are mostly spoken in Europe, making these International Auxiliary Languages not very international at all. These IALs fail to consider the vast numbers of people who do not speak European languages, such as the Chinese and Arabic. Ultimately, it is hard to create a completely perfect language, since languages across the world are so varied and have so many unique features that it is hard to amalgamate

EVEN THOUGH DUOLINGO’S ESPERANTO COURSE HAS APPROXIMATELY 300,000 ACTIVE USERS, YOU WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED TO FIND ONE OF THEM IN THE WILD. these into one common language without it being a complete mess.

The natural equivalent of an IAL is known as a Lingua Franca. These are languages which, like IALs, act as a common language between nations that do not speak the same language.

The difference between a lingua franca and an international auxiliary language is that lingua francas are usually preexisting languages with existing native speakers that have naturally developed

THE MOST POPULAR EXAMPLE OF AN IAL IN HISTORY IS ESPERANTO. CREATED IN 1887 BY POLISH OPHTHALMOLOGIST, L. L. ZAMENHOF (right).

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and spread across the world, whereas IALs are completely constructed and purposefully designed to be used by as many different cultures as possible.

However, when asking the question whether the world needs a lingua franca, the answer is that we already have one: English. English is the most spoken language in the world, with over 1.5 billion total speakers. It is the official language, or one of the official languages, of fifty-eight countries worldwide. English became so popular through early colonialism and the popularity of English-language media from the USA that has spread across the world. Nowadays, English is a compulsory subject in schools almost everywhere, even in countries that do not have English as their main or even secondary language. English is also used as a common language for international relations, commerce and agreements made across the world.

There is no doubting the dominance of English in modern global society.

But let’s think about what the world would look like if we had a lingua franca that was spoken by every single person internationally. This hypothetical language would be used for international relations and communication, similar to how English

Supporting linguistic diversity has been seen to strengthen people’s cultural identities and heritage.

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WHEN ASKING THE QUESTION WHETHER THE WORLD NEEDS A LINGUA FRANCA, THE ANSWER IS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE ONE: ENGLISH.

is today. In this world, I think we would see a dramatic decrease in the use of pre-existing languages and, over time, the extinction of languages with fewer speakers and existing endangered languages. This is because interest in learning them would decrease, which can already be seen in the UK with languages like Scots Gaelic and Welsh, which are slowly declining and have been labelled as ‘endangered’

by UNESCO. The extinction of these languages would have a significant impact on linguistic diversity across the world, which would be devastating to see.

We should encourage linguistic diversity and not use the prominence of English to justify not bothering to learn another language.

The world is a beautiful, diverse place, home to thousands of languages, spoken by billions of people, and linguistic diversity is one of the best ways we as a planet can represent ourselves and our identities. Supporting linguistic diversity has been seen to strengthen people’s cultural identities and heritage, which is important for providing insight into the culture and history of communities and groups of people. Although English is already becoming increasingly popular in use around the world as a lingua franca for international communication, I believe that we should encourage linguistic diversity and not use the prominence of English to justify not bothering to learn another language. I think English should be used as a common tongue for international relations, but this should not be to the detriment of existing and endangered languages. ¢ Mind’s Eye | July 2024

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The Balkan Wars 1912-1918 by LUCA SAND.

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prelude to the First World War, we here, I will refer to the Greek province as often forget The Balkan Wars, a result South Macedonia to avoid confusion and of the power vacuum created by the clarify the geographical location. long struggle against the Ottoman Empire in the region. It may be helpful to first The power vacuum left in the Balkans by familiarise yourself with the Balkan region, the long-term Ottoman decay, combined particularly the locations with rising nationalism and of the City of Thessaloniki, ethnic tensions in the 19th Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Century, created a volatile and other points of situation in the Balkans. interest.

Macedonia The Ottoman Empire still THE POWER VACUUM LEFT should also be noted, held sway over Greek IN THE BALKANS BY THE given the considerable Macedonia and Albania, LONG-TERM OTTOMAN confusion in recent years. as well as other regions DECAY CREATED A VOLATILE The nation of North claimed by the new Balkan SITUATION IN THE BALKANS. Macedonia was renamed powers, in which large from Macedonia in 2018, populations of Bulgarians, after a diplomatic row with Greece over Greeks and Serbs lived. Tensions between the name of the country lasting decades, Serbia and Bulgaria over claimed territory which was often confused with the region would go on to play an important role, of Macedonia in northern Greece, where and both nations desired to expand to Thessaloniki is located. For my purposes their full size, becoming militarised states.

Bulgaria expanded its military hugely, becoming ‘the Prussia of the Balkans’. It could not defeat the Ottoman Empire by itself, though, and on 13th March 1912 Serbia and Bulgaria signed a treaty which promised Northern Macedonia to Serbia, and Southern Macedonia to Bulgaria. In May 1912, Greece and Bulgaria agreed to a similar treaty, promising military action against the common enemy. Montenegro also promised its commitment to Serbia in a treaty. Bulgaria was keen to secure the important port city of Thessaloniki, believing its large army could reach it before the Greeks.

Image: The Balkans before the first Balkan War (1911).

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In 1911, Italy had launched an invasion of Libya, defeating and expelling the

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BULGARIAN FORCES WAITING TO START THEIR ASSAULT ON ADRIANOPLE. SIEGE OF OTTOMAN ADRIANOPLE BY BULGARIAN AND SERBIAN FORCES, 1912.

Ottomans, which gave hope and encouragement to the Balkan states that they too could defeat their common enemy. On 8th October 1912, Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, and it was soon followed by Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece. The Ottomans mobilised an army of roughly 350,000, facing 600,000 Bulgarians, 255,000 Serbs, 120,000 Greeks and 40,000 Montenegrins.

Bulgaria was overcome by an Allied offensive from Greece, capitulating in September 1918.

The Serbs and Montenegrins achieved some success in the West, around modern-day Kosovo, as did the Serbs and Bulgarians in Northern Macedonia.

Bulgaria focused heavily on Thrace, managing to push back the Ottomans to within In the First Balkan War, the Ottoman In the First Balkan War, the 60km of Istanbul, where army was quickly they were held. In North Ottoman army was quickly and decisively Macedonia, the Serbs and decisively defeated, defeated. broke the Ottomans at mostly being expelled the battle of Kumanovo, from Europe. In following and Albania, Kosovo, and other peace treaties, Macedonia was divided regions fell not long after. The Greek between Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, army advanced northward, capturing with each nation gaining numerous Thessaloniki on 8th November. The city territories. However, the Bulgarians was badly wanted by the Bulgarians, were not content, and this would lay the foundations of the Second Balkan War.

GREEK SOLDIERS ESCORTING BULGARIAN PRISONERS IN 1918 DURING WW1 AFTER GREECE DEFEATED BULGARIA AT THE BATTLE OF SKRA-DI-LEGEN. 64

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who had expected to capture it before the Greeks, and was to be a continued bone of contention. An armistice was signed on 3rd December 1913. However, amidst ongoing negotiations, a coup on 23rd January 1913 put a Young Turk government in power, which promptly resumed the war. Following further Ottoman losses, a final treaty was signed on 30th May 1913, in which Ottoman territory in Europe was reduced to only a narrow band in Eastern Thrace.

Despite early celebration in the Balkans, the friendly relations between countries soon deteriorated. Territorial agreements made prior to the first war were broken, with Serbia occupying areas of southern Macedonia, and Greece ruling Thessaloniki, which angered the Bulgarians. This and other factors ended the Bulgarian-Serbian alliance and seeing a potential threat the Serbs started negotiations with

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ITALIAN SOLDIERS HAUL A MONSTER GUN UP THE ALPINE SLOPE IN THE WINTER CAMPAIGN 1915-16.

IN 1911, ITALY HAD LAUNCHED AN INVASION OF LIBYA, DEFEATING AND EXPELLING THE OTTOMANS, WHICH GAVE HOPE AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE BALKAN STATES.

the Greeks, who also had reasons to be suspicious of Bulgarian intentions. The two countries signed a defensive alliance in June 1913.

The Tsar of Bulgaria, Ferdinand, wanted to create a large Bulgarian state – ‘Greater Bulgaria’, which would encompass extensive lands in the Balkans including Istanbul and Thessaloniki. Tensions rose between the powers, and on 27th June Montenegro announced its support for Serbia; a day later Romania declared that it would The Tsar of not remain neutral in the case of Bulgaria, Ferdinand, Bulgarian aggression. Skirmishes wanted to create a large Bulgarian continued in Macedonia and state – ‘Greater tension continued to rise, and it Bulgaria’, which became clear that another war would encompass would soon break out. On 29th extensive lands in June Bulgarian troops started a the Balkans surprise attack against Serbia.

The initial attack was repulsed, and offensives from Serbia and Greece pushed back Bulgarian forces. Romania invaded Bulgaria unopposed across the Danube in July. This lack of resistance convinced the Ottomans to join, and soon Bulgaria was surrounded by enemies and pushed back on all sides.

The defeat of Bulgaria was mostly a result of poor planning, a rashness to declare war on its former allies and the over-optimism of the Tsar. On 10th August the Treaty of Bucharest gave Eastern Thrace back to the Ottomans, Dobrogea to Romania, North Macedonia to Serbia, and lands in the south to Greece. Still, Bulgaria had increased its size by 16% from the start of the First

Image: The Balkans after the First Balkan War.

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IN NORTH MACEDONIA, THE SERBS BROKE THE OTTOMANS AT THE BATTLE OF KUMANOVO, AND ALBANIA, KOSOVO, AND OTHER REGIONS FELL NOT LONG AFTER.

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Balkan War, with Serbia almost doubling in size, and Greece expanding by 68%. After the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria was still not content, and eager for revenge it would go on to join the Central Powers in the First World War.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by Serbs caused the Austro-Hungarians to send the July Ultimatum, and war was declared on 28th July 1914.

Image: The Balkans after the Treaty of Bucharest 1913.

Although the First World War is not referred to as the Third Balkan War, it began in the region, and it was an important front throughout the war. In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Bulgaria aligned itself with the Central Powers, even though this meant an alliance with the Ottomans. Recuperating from the defeat in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria sat out the first year of the Great War. Serbia never accepted the annexation of Bosnia by Austria-Hungary, and in June 1914 the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by Serbs caused the Austro-Hungarians to send the July Ultimatum, and war was declared on 28th July 1914.

Austria invaded Serbia at the beginning of August, and was met with stiff resistance by Serbia, and it could only spare one third of its army to attack Serbia due to involvement on other fronts. Amidst a successful Serbian defence, Bulgaria was convinced by the Central Powers to join the war, and invaded unopposed, taking over Serbia within a month.

The remaining Serbian Forces retreated to

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BULGARIA WAS CONVINCED BY THE CENTRAL POWERS TO JOIN THE WAR, AND INVADED UNOPPOSED, TAKING OVER SERBIA WITHIN A MONTH.

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GREEK IMMIGRANTS LEFT NEW YORK CITY TO RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRY AND FIGHT IN THE FIRST BALKAN WAR, IN 1912.

Bulgaria was overcome by an Allied offensive from Greece, capitulating in September 1918.

Image: The Balkans after WWI.

Greece, which was experiencing an internal struggle between the pro-German King and the pro-Allied Government, only joining the war against Bulgaria and the Central Powers in 1917.

Romania joined the war on the Entente’s side in August 1916, with the main priority of uniting with Transylvania. Despite initial success, it was overcome

by German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian forces, and signed an armistice in February 1917.

After a year of stalemate in the Balkans, the tide began to turn in favour of the Entente, while German and Austro-Hungarian forces were withdrawn to fight on other fronts. Bulgaria was overcome by an Allied offensive from Greece, capitulating in September 1918. Soon after this, the Romanian Government cancelled the armistice with the Central Powers and invaded Hungary. Meanwhile, the combination of the Arab revolts and the Allied advances forced the Ottoman Empire to sign an armistice on 30th October 1918, which was followed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 3rd November, and the First World War ended on 11th November 1918 with Germany’s surrender.

Six years of bloodshed in the Balkans, from 1912 to 1918, destabilised the region, causing poverty and struggle.

Although the third conflict in the Balkans was not an isolated event that time, the events which played out were a direct consequence of the first two wars.

After the Great War, the Balkan layout completely changed. Bulgaria was reduced in size, so that it could never again pose such a threat, while Greece united with Macedonia, and Romania regained its ethnic-majority areas. Serbia later formed the country of Yugoslavia, and both the AustroHungarian and Ottoman Empires were dismantled.

Six years of bloodshed in the Balkans, from 1912 to 1918, destabilised the region, causing poverty and struggle. There would not be peace in the Balkans yet. ¢ Mind’s Eye | July 2024

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by ANGUS HUMPHREYS.

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COLLIER HAS NOT DISAPPOINTED THE WORLD WITH HIS INNOVATIVE ABILITY TO DEVELOP TRADITIONAL MUSICAL HARMONY AND TEXTURE, CREATING A NEW AND BOUNDARY-FREE STYLE OF COMPOSING.

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n the last few years, Jacob Collier has become one of the most influential people ever in the music industry. Following his recognition by the New York Times as ‘the colourful Mozart of Gen Z’, Collier has not disappointed the world with his innovative ability to develop traditional musical harmony and texture, creating a new and boundary-free style of composing.

He continues to produce records apace, expanding his ambitious collaborations with other highly talented musicians. His watchword? “It’s not: ‘How many people did I reach?’ It’s the people I reached. ‘How many of them did I move?’”

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his sheer engagement with his listeners. He comes from an average background, and lives in a small flat in London, writing songs in his bedroom whilst wearing his multicolored ‘collier crocs’.

Jacob Collier emerged onto the music scene with his debut album, In My Room, One thing Collier excels at is pushing the which showcased numerous instances of COLLIER’S UNDERSTANDING boundaries of music while maintaining musical brilliance and virtuosic passages.

OF THE EMOTIONS EVOKED an audience that includes non-musicians.

While this impressive display garnered

BY MUSICAL KEYS ALLOWS A subtle way he achieves this is through significant attention within the musical HIM TO PAINT A MORE microtonality, which involves composing community, it left many listeners unsure COMPLEX AND VIVID with intervals smaller than a semitone, of how to interpret the complexity of his PICTURE WITH HIS MUSIC. moving away from the traditional twelve work. However, Collier has since developed notes of an equal-tempered scale. an exceptional ability to strike a balance Collier’s understanding of the emotions evoked by between accessibility for non-musicians and the inclusion musical keys allows him to paint a more complex and of intricate and stunning harmonies. This remarkable vivid picture with his music. In one of his popular songs, synthesis contributes to the distinctive beauty of Collier’s ‘Hideaway’, released in 2016, he starts in D major tuned more recent releases. His use of microtonality is a subtle to A 432Hz and ends in D major tuned to traditional A way to engage more experienced audiences while 440Hz, achieving a brighter feeling by the end of the maintaining a diverse following. piece. This modulation creates a euphoric climax when returning to the home key.

Collier often discusses establishing brightness and darkness in his music and continually making changes to Videos of his audience choirs that he conjures out of achieve a greater impact. His experience in music-making ordinary crowds of people have been flying round the is vital in evoking precise emotions in his listeners, which internet as of late, and they are some of the most awehelp to show off his brilliance in the art of composing. So, inspiring sights. His ability to do this all boils down to in case you haven’t already, please allow me to convince you into listening to some of his music, because he has one of the most remarkable and inspiring talents the world of music has ever seen. ¢

His use of microtonality is a subtle way to engage more experienced audiences while maintaining a diverse following.

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Black And

t h g i L

Diagrams make a difference, says DANIEL SEO.

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once heard someone say, ‘Each equation you add will half everyone’s attention span.’

I experienced this fact in quite an embarrassing way after putting about 15/16ths (93.75%) of an audience to sleep during a presentation about hot objects. I myself have always loved equations. To me, equations and derivations tell the same story a cumbersome paragraph and large diagram do, but in a more concise and elegant manner. Sadly, this turned out to be an abhorred opinion, but luckily such abhorrence provoked me into research that revealed how visual aids in the form of diagrams that play with the intuition of readers are far more intriguing to the general reader base.

After taking inspiration from the works of Leonard Susskind, I tried to explain one of the more complex topics in 70

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Physics without mathematical aid, and I felt that the notion of a location becoming the future was enough mental strain for a Mind’s Eye reader.

I’ve always liked the idea of a thoughtprovoking article, so this passage will conclude by linking this theory to a general problem with all human thought and reasoning. Enjoy.

I. Light Cones Imagine a source of light in a dark room, something as simple as a light bulb.

When you turn it on, light is produced in every direction and fills a ‘bubble’ around itself which continuously grows at the speed of light.

means that by turning on this lightbulb we have set a boundary for possible positions we could be in after a given period of time.

As soon as you are inside this so-called bubble, you will never be able to leave its perimeters. This is because to do so we must surpass light’s speed. This

If we imagine our lightbulb in a twodimensional space with time as our third axis, we see that our bubble, or circle now, grows as we move along

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This creates a strange limit to cause and effect relations because an event which happens far away from Earth will only take effect once the light cone has reached us. This gives us the definition for causality: an event that triggers another at the speed of light.

WITH THE BASICS OF LIGHT CONES IN PLACE, WE CAN USE THEM TO DIFFERENTIATE AND DEFINE THE AXES OF SPACE AND TIME.

With the basics of light cones in place, we can use them to differentiate and define the axes of space and time.

II. Space and Time

Space can be thought of as a threedimensional grid in which we can move and experience different events. In this grid space, we can move in a sphere of different directions: up, down, left, right, forwards, backwards and everything in between. We can even do things like go on a circular path that traces back onto itself.

in time, widening from past to future.

This creates a cone-like shape which represents how the parameters in which we can move in a given period of time change as time goes on.

We can also note that as light always travels a constant distance for each unit of time (one light year every year), the growth of the circle can be projected using a straight line at 45° from the horizontal time axis. Hence its name: ‘Light Cone’.

unlit bulb because the viewer will only see the lit bulb once the light produced has travelled into the viewer’s eyes.

The point in time at which this change occurs can be interpreted as the moment at which the light cone passes over the eye.

Although our access to this space is in effect boundless (we can move in the same direction forever and never reach the end), our ideas of light cones allow us to write a more specific definition for space at a specific time as simply the light cone which an object is in.

Unlike space, time is a lot stricter in terms of manoeuvrability. Time is a one-dimensional axis which is

Now, suppose we have the same situation but from the perspective of a stationary viewer far away from the lightbulb. In the instant that the bulb is turned on, the viewer will still see an Mind’s Eye | July 2024

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perpendicular to space and forces all objects into a singular direction (past to future). This means that directions like left, right, up, down and backwards do not exist and circular paths also do not exist.

This is due to successive light cones created during our movement forcing us in a forward direction. As all matter within a light cone are bound inside of it, it becomes impossible to turn around. Hence, in relativity, time is simply defined as the direction in which light cones are orientated. Therefore, our future lies in the general direction which all light cones point.

III. Gravity and Black Holes Let’s go back to our imaginary light bulb, but now it is above a massive object like the Earth. We know that the bulb will begin falling towards the Earth due to gravity, but we must also acknowledge that the light produced from it will also bend towards the Earth.

As light gets closer to a massive body, successive light cones begin to stop aligning, curving so that the axis of time now points towards the Earth.

Although the bulb was above Earth at first, its ‘Future’ points downwards.

Mass distorts the geometry of the universe, like above, bending time.

Space-time becomes relative, the orientation dependent on where we are. This is general relativity.

towards it, this massive body will have time tilted at 45° or greater so that objects travelling away from it at the speed of light are still destined to be pulled into its centre.

The extent of this bending depends on the distance of the light cone from the object and the object’s density. This means that if we have an object massive (contains a lot of mass) enough, at some scale all light cones will point towards the object. Unlike with the example of Earth, where time is only tilted slightly

Because no light can escape its gravitational field, its appearance is pitch black, gaining itself the name Black Hole, a spherical region whose curvatures in space-time cause everything to be driven towards its centre. The distance from the black hole where light cones begin to point

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IF WE HAVE AN OBJECT MASSIVE ENOUGH, AT SOME SCALE ALL LIGHT CONES WILL POINT TOWARDS THE OBJECT.

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in this way is called the horizon since beyond this point no light can ever be seen.

If we think of this situation from the point of view of a astronaut who is beyond the horizon, his spacetime axes tilt further as he approaches the centre until the axis of time has turned 90°. Geometrically, time has swapped axes with space, now pointing downwards. It is almost as if the horizon is no longer a space, but an event in time that occurred in the past. As the astronaut has no way of stopping himself, the centre of the black hole is where his predetermined future lies. This is why the horizon is more commonly known as the ‘event horizon’, because past this point space outside the black hole becomes a passed (and past) event in time, never to be accessed again.

IV. The Information Paradox Information about an object, to most of us, is what we can observe using our senses, some examples being colour, texture and shape. We know that an apple is red, smooth and round, unlike an orange, which is orange, rough and round. These properties allow us to differentiate between two things.

Likewise, in science, information at the microscopic level is analysed as quantum information. Quantum properties like the spin, momentum and position of the fundamental particles that make up our universe are studied. Because all these particles have a unique set of quantum properties, if we crush an apple until it is unrecognisable, the information of the apple will not have been destroyed.

If collected perfectly, this can be used to recreate a perfectly identical apple.

Much of physics relies on this law called the conservation of quantum information: ‘The total amount of quantum information in the universe must stay constant.’

The problem arises when we throw the black hole surface with energy and an apple into a black hole. When the antiparticles reduce the mass of the something is absorbed by a black hole black hole due to its negative energy. it is incorporated into the mush of This means that black holes will slowly mass, and results in a near-infinitesimal evaporate and disappear. increase in the body’s radius, effectively removing this information from the Where did the information go? This universe. Many theorists question continues to believe that the increase lay dormant after the in radius shows that best part of 40 years information is stored, with multiple theories although it may be cropping up that try DUE TO SPACE AND inaccessible.

However, to explain where the TIME FLIPPING NEAR Steven Hawking made information has gone.

THE HORIZON THE a discovery in 1970 that These range from ANTIPARTICLES ARE would come to disprove black holes leading ABLE TO BE PULLED that. to another parallel AWAY FROM THE REAL universe, represented PARTICLE BEFORE THEY Hawking radiation is the in the extended CAN ANNIHILATE EACH release of particles from Penrose Diagram, to OTHER. just above the event our entire existence horizon. In quantum field being a hologram and theory, a vacuum is defined by the information being compressed into destructive cancelling out of vibrations reduced dimensions. in space. This can be understood as a real particle with positive energy and In most of modern physics, we try an antiparticle with negative energy to come up with theories to explain colliding to annihilate themselves. As something we cannot see and will this process happens instantaneously, never experience. I will now leave you these particles, in practice, should not with some questions. exist.

With all these exceptions and new However, this is not the case for black discoveries, which force us to adjust holes: due to space and time flipping what we think is correct, can there ever near the horizon the antiparticles are be an objective truth? And how will we able to be pulled away from the real know if we have found it? Can we only particle before they can annihilate know for sure that we are wrong? ¢ each other. The positive particles leave

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Uncertainty and Determinism by YERLAN KARASSAY.

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or centuries, we understood Nature by using Classical Mechanics that consists of works by the greatest scientists that we can all name on the spot, such as Galileo, Newton and Einstein. The Classical Mechanical viewpoint of reality can describe any event as due to the conditions of the event prior, using mathematical laws.

For example, the notorious laws of Newton could perfectly describe a collision between a London Bus and a Lamborghini moving at full speed.

Using Newton’s Mechanics, we can deduce how the event would unfold right after the instance of collision. We can even calculate whether the man in the far-right corner of the bus will break his toenail if we know the conditions 74

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right before the collision event to the minutest detail. (We would even have to know if the poor guy at the corner was crossing his legs or not).

universe, its past and its future. The theoretical Laplace’s demon would be able to compute exactly where you will be located from its knowledge of the positions and the Apply the laws of motion velocities of particles and see the future unfold 10 million years ago.

THE NOTORIOUS LAWS exactly as predicted. There Determinism is thus OF NEWTON COULD is a clear use of causality incompatible with PERFECTLY DESCRIBE in this process, which led free will because ‘if A COLLISION BETWEEN to the idea of scientific my body’s motion is A LONDON BUS AND A determinism, popularised already determined LAMBORGHINI MOVING

by Laplace and his idea of by the particles AT FULL SPEED. ‘Laplace’s Demon’. Laplace millions of years concluded that if a genius ago, how could mathematician deity who knows all it be my choice to move my hand?’ the laws of the universe and the exact Thus philosophers agree that either positions and speeds of particles in determinism is false or free will is an the universe at any instant, the deity illusion. would know the entire history of the

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It was later shown that electrons are waves spread around the nucleus that are governed

by Schrodinger’s Wave Equation. Their definite positions can only be determined by collapsing the wave-like nature of the electrons. This idea of collapsing the wave-function means that electrons and subatomic particles are wavelike in nature, rather like water waves in a pond, but stop behaving like a wave once there is an attempt to measure the position of the electron.

This is because to measure the position of an electron you must use light, fundamentally made of particles called photons that interact with the electron and change its properties in a way that cannot be predicted.

Heisenberg comes along (Walter White’s alias in Breaking Ba)) and determines that it is impossible

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THERE IS A CLEAR USE OF CAUSALITY IN THIS PROCESS, WHICH LED TO THE IDEA OF SCIENTIFIC DETERMINISM, POPULARISED BY LAPLACE AND HIS IDEA OF ‘LAPLACE’S DEMON’.

Image: Laplace By Johann Ernst Heinsius

Then comes the quantum world: the mechanisms that govern the tiny. The behaviour of subatomic particles has now been shown to be nothing like what we see in the real world. The classical understanding of the atom was completely wrong. If Classical Physics described reality atoms would not exist so we wouldn’t exist. Let’s outline some key ideas. First, electrons are not spherical particles that orbit around the nucleus of the atom in the way the planets in the solar system orbit the sun (yes, that picture of an atom shown everywhere is incorrect). According to that incorrect model of the atom, electrons orbiting the nucleus would constantly be losing energy because the law of electromagnetism states that an accelerating charge such as an electron (anything that orbits, accelerates) would be constantly releasing energy until it collides with the nucleus. This would mean atoms can’t exist, but they do.

to know the exact position of a subatomic particle and its exact speed. Well, obviously people knew that it would be hard to know the speed and the position of any particle that small. But they didn’t know the universe had literally said no. This is called the Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle; it You can determine whether the coin unites and protects the will land on heads quantum mechanics. It is a very real property or tales every single time. because otherwise any technology that requires the use of Quantum Mechanics would not work.

So, what does this uncertainty tell us about nature?

It means that there is a true randomness in the foundations of the universe, in every single atom that makes up you and everything you see around you. You can say randomness is nothing new, when I toss a coin: whether it can land on heads or tails is random: everyone knows that. But that is false: in principle, if you knew the exact force to flick the coin, the exact point of your thumb’s contact with the coin, and the air resistance paired with the knowledge of the dimensions and mass of the coin, you can determine whether the coin will land on heads or tales every single time.

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Of course, this would require a complicated experimental setup so the outcome we deem as ‘random’ is just due to us not being bothered with doing the complex mechanics. If it were to be random, the outcome could have been otherwise and not be determined by its conditions. Where an electron will appear cannot be determined every single time in any way due to the Uncertainty Principle. The best we can do is to use the Schrodinger’s Wave Equation to calculate the probability of an electron appearing somewhere. It’s the same principle that makes radioactive decay truly random. This is an inherent property of the universe that we live in, not due to the insufficiency of measurement technology. The universe simply doesn’t allow us to know. So, we can conclude that in the quantum realm the rationality breaks.

THE BEST WE CAN DO IS TO USE THE SCHRODINGER’S WAVE EQUATION TO CALCULATE THE PROBABILITY OF AN ELECTRON APPEARING SOMEWHERE.

Einstein wasn’t happy with the idea of randomness, and he famously stated, ‘God doesn’t play dice with the universe.’

But his observation was largely due to his emotional connection with the deterministic law of Physics since his Theory of Relativity was deterministic too. But Stephen Hawking put it better: ‘God not only plays dice; he throws the dice where they cannot be seen.’

Sorry, but reality is not deterministic, continuous or logical. ¢

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HERE IS A TRUE RANDOMNESS IN THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE UNIVERSE, IN EVERY SINGLE ATOM THAT MAKES UP YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU SEE AROUND YOU.

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ELECTRONS AND SUBATOMIC PARTICLES ARE WAVE-LIKE IN NATURE, RATHER LIKE WATER WAVES IN A POND, BUT STOP BEHAVING LIKE A WAVE ONCE THERE IS AN ATTEMPT TO MEASURE THE POSITION OF THE ELECTRON.

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All

Boxed

Up

Metabolism in Architecture by ENOCH ADDLEY.

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hange is fundamental. Life is sustainable model for urban growth driven by change, from the and hoped that cities would become reshuffle of DNA leading to more adaptable and evolve with new mutations and evolution, to the changes of lifestyle. change of a computer bit in 2003 during an election leading to the A Metabolist manifesto was published voting tally of a Belgian candidate in 1960 for the Tokyo World Design having 212 extra votes. Some Conference of the same year. This fields ignore change, garnered international minimise it and remain exposure for these ignorant to the fact that experimental architects. change is inevitable.

The manifesto consisted THEY SOUGHT TO Some argue that of four essays titled REVOLUTIONISE JAPAN’S Ocean City, Space City, architecture, with its POST-WAR URBAN façade of permanence, Towards Group Form, LANDSCAPE THROUGH has fallen foul of this. and Material and Man. THE USE OF BIOMIMETIC But I disagree, and so This included designs ARCHITECTURE AND did Kiyonori Kikutake, for cities floating on MODULAR SYSTEMS, Kisho Kurokawa and oceans as well as plugINSPIRED BY AND Fumihiko Maki. in capsule towers that MIMICKING ORGANIC incorporate organic CELLS. They are the ‘founding growth. A realised fathers’ of an underrated example of this was and unknown architectural the Nakagin Capsule Tower designed movement known as Metabolism. by Kurokawa. In their manifesto, they Heavily influenced by their renowned laid out their planned cities where the architect professor, Kenzo Tange, urban fabric would be organized by they sought to revolutionise Japan’s circulation systems like veins around post-war urban landscape through which builds and parts of the builds the use of biomimetic architecture. could be replaced and renewed Modular systems, inspired by and without interrupting the whole mimicking organic cells, were viewed system. This is where their name as a solution to the rapid expansion originates. Oxford Languages defines of the Japanese population and metabolism as ‘the chemical processes its accompanying urban areas on that occur within a living organism limited land. More broadly, they saw in order to maintain life.’ Metabolist modular developments as a more architects believed that different

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parts of the city have different rates of ‘metabolic’ change and that new land needed in Tokyo and other cities could be made by reclaiming the sea.

Several megastructures were designed over the coming years after the publication of the manifesto, which followed the principles of metabolism and mimicked organic biological growth. However, due to the radical nature of the projects and the financial investment needed, none were realised.

One of the only achieved designs by Metabolist architects was Kurokawa’s experimental Nakagin Capsule Tower.

Construction started in 1970 and the building was finished in 1972. It exemplified Metabolist principles and provided the first capsule architecture design. Reflecting Japanese urban life, the capsules were designed to be inhabited by travelling businessmen commuting into central Tokyo during the week. It became a model for sustainable, recyclable architecture since the capsules could be replaced and adjusted when necessary. This was possible due to the central structural core being accessible from the exterior, which allowed the capsules to be plugged in.

The building was 14 storeys high with 140 capsules surrounding the core at differing angles. Each module was

attached using only four high-tension bolts, enabling the units to be replaced.

This technology was designed by Kurokawa himself because he believed this was the future of housing. With only a 4 x 2.5-metre floor area per capsule, the rooms can accommodate just about one person. If this sounds too small for you, the capsules were also designed to amalgamate into a bigger living area. Each capsule has its own porthole-style window, appliances and furniture. This unique ability to grow, adapt and evolve contrasts with

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previous conceptions about how a building should function, and this is what made Metabolism so radical and experimental.

The Nakagin Capsule Tower was demolished in 2022. It did not need to be demolished. The building was purchased by Capsule Tower Building (a group of real estate firms) in 2021. The last residents were moved out. Many petitions arose from conservationists that included the designer himself.

Nakagin Capsule Tower had suffered from leaks and maintenance problems for its last 20 years due to degrading materials, as well as the difficulty and expense of their replacement.

However, the historic landmark represented Japan’s post-war architectural momentum and was one of the only realised icons of Metabolism that played a crucial role in shaping Japanese architectural modernism. It signified an age of experimentation and future-minded thinking and challenged conventional norms in residential architecture through its prefabrication off-site, and its modular structure. Kurokawa had designed the building with adaptability in mind, but obviously this was overlooked, even though the infrastructure of the building communicated its function to be restored. Tatsuyuki Maeda, a

Metabolism did not take off. Virtually no designs were realised. But some key principles have prevailed, and it has left a bold watermark on experimental architecture.

member of one of the conservation campaigns, claimed that 2 to 3 billion yen ($16 million to $24 million) was required to renovate the tower. The capsules could have been repurposed for modern needs as Kurokawa had envisaged, functioning as renovated residential spaces, or studios or even novel hotels. But sadly, due to a lack of financial investment, this was never achieved, and the building was demolished. Kurokawa originally claimed that the capsules should be replaced every 25 years. Instead, they deteriorated into disrepair.

Nakagin Capsule Tower offered a unique syzygy of architectural innovation, cultural heritage and historic value. Its demolition directly led to a loss of appreciation and study of the underground movement of Metabolism, a loss of provided opportunities for adaptive reuse, and a loss of emphasis on sustainability in architecture.

Metabolism did not take off. Virtually no designs were realised. But some key principles have prevailed, and it has left a bold watermark on experimental architecture and is possibly more relevant now than when it was first conceived due to the ever-increasing need for future-proof housing.

Due to the radical, and subtly political, nature of the movement, heavy financial investment was needed to at least create a platform for the movement to flourish, and in a struggling post-war economy people did not want to hedge their bets on experimental architecture. The general view shifted

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from envisaging the future in an experimental light to wanting immediate solutions to the urban issues faced. Technical limitations also fed into the movement’s collapse when many plans and designs needed structural technology that was not available. This was furthered by a diminished supply of resources for industrial production in 1960s Japan. Concrete cast-in-situ was more economically viable than capsulated design, but it did not align with Metabolic attitudes using the prefabrication of modules.

Concrete cast-in-situ was more economically viable than capsulated design, but it did not align with Metabolic attitudes.

Metabolist architects even accepted this.

Kurokawa admitted this fault in his book Metabolism in Architecture: ‘Our plans serve to explain how cities should exist, even though they entail visions which cannot be turned into realities at present.’ But now that technology has become more advanced and abundant, why are

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PEOPLE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE IDEA OF CONFINEMENT AND MODULAR HOUSING BECAUSE IT CAN LEAD TO AN INFRINGEMENT ON FREEDOM.

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The manifesto consisted of four essays and included designs for cities floating on oceans as well as plugin capsule towers that incorporate organic growth.

Is there that much of a difference between the housing developments being built now and the concepts of prefabrication and modular design?

there not more Metabolist structures? Answer: people are not ready to shift their lifestyles this radically and dramatically. It boils down to the fact that people do not like change.

Change can be accepted in increments, or when people are blinded by its benefits, but when doubt creeps in, people get scared and change is prevented. Along with other radical urban planning schemes, Metabolic buildings are rejected because people are uncomfortable with the idea of confinement and modular housing because it can lead to an infringement on freedom and can be viewed as tyrannical because of its links with social engineering. But what house does not manipulate the way we socialise and live? Is there that much of a difference between the housing developments being built now and the concepts of prefabrication and modular design? ¢

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PODS SAVED FROM THE DISMANTLED NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER ARE RESTORED AT A WAREHOUSE NEAR TOKYO. IMAGE: TATSUYUKI MAEDA. Mind’s Eye | July 2024

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