Res Novae 2017 Print Magazine

MONTA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL | MAY 2017 | VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 4

CONFRONTING THE UNKNOWN

SCI-FI From self-aware robots to genetic engineering gone awry, a glimpse into the future through fiction

ASTRONOMY Q&A with Dr. Amaury Triaud, co-discoverer of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system

TECHNOLOGY Seeking understanding, students fight back against distorted social media political feeds

STAFF LIST

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kevin Li

In a scene of downtown Los Angeles, skyscrapers tower over palm trees and two-story highways that house sleek cars gliding over “electro lanes.” A typical family of four lives in an automated home that turns on heaters and coffee machines at 6 a.m. sharp, with robots meeting their every need.

That was the prediction made in the April 3, 1988 issue of The LA Times of what the world would look like in 2013. Well, that future is now, and we’re not far off. Sure, robots haven’t taken over the world yet, and wheel-less cars don’t float on electric roads. But artificial intelligence has evolved blindingly fast, with robots now capable of playing poker and cooking new recipes. Cars come equipped with crash sensors, GPS, and sometimes even self-driving technology. It seems the world they had so ambitiously predicted 25 years ago is slowly starting to take shape.

But what would we say if *we* had to imagine the future another 25 years from now? Our current world seems full of uncertainty, from the surprise of the last presidential election to the heated ethical debates about the direction of AI, and we’re not sure we have an answer. So instead, we considered whether we were happy with the current state of our society – and how we could confront the unknown events to come.

On page 16, staff writer Charlotte Chui explores a dystopian future, one where AI holds the power in society and EI must fight against the loss of humanity. But where do we draw the line between incorporating technology in our lives and maintaining the emotional touch in our decisions? How do we maintain individuality in a society that is growing towards conformity? Perhaps the answer is not yet clear, but the possibility of disorder lurks in the back of our minds.

Just as the rapid development of new technology is met with apprehension, so is the changing environment. On page 18, Daria Syskine envisions in her science fiction story a future where plants – and even some humans – are genetically engineered. We certainly seem to be headed in that direction, with GMOs and the recent excitement surrounding the gene-editing technology CRISPR… but at what cost?

More recently, uncertainty lurks in our political climate as well. It’s probably not a stretch to say that few Monta Vista students predicted or welcomed Trump’s victory in the last election – so what went wrong? On page 28, we examine how the insulated nature of social media feeds may have contributed to this apparent upset, and how a few students are taking it upon themselves to better understand the opposing side.

Whether we remain optimistic about the future or brace for the worst, it’s clear that there is much left unanswered. Perhaps the best way to proceed is to ask how we can best understand and position ourselves for an ever-changing future, no matter the outcome. To not fear uncertainty, but embrace it.

LEAD EDITOR Andrea Schlitt DESIGN LEAD Ilena Peng ART LEAD Carolyn Duan TREASURERS Nikhita Shanker, Neil Palleti PUBLIC RELATIONS Shriya Deshpande STAFF WRITERS Adithya Embar Alice Lou Andrea Perng Aparna Manoj Bhakti Patwardhan Bhavna Sud Brenna Chen Charlotte Chui Daria Syskine Ellie Chen Haritha Shah Jeffrey Gong Jenny Chin Keerat Singh Nikhita Shanker Sangita Kunapuli Srijani Saha Surya Konkimalla

Kevin Li (‘17)

Andrea Schlitt (‘18) Q&A: DR. AMAURY TRIAD

02

BREAKING THE BUBBLE

TABLE OF

CONTENTS 04 06

RECLUSIVE INVENTORS TO LAB PARTNERS

14 22 25

THE MACHINE CONTROLLER

AI: FRIEND OR FOE

DR. AMAURY TRIAUD

08

BREAKING THE EIGHT-HOUR SLEEP CYCLE

16 24 26

BROKEN TULIPS

10

HELLO WELLNESS, GOODBYE STRESS

18

IMITATION: TRAPPED IN A SIMULATION

THROUGH THE EYES OF THE IGNORED

12

ADDICTION: A LOST CAUSE

20

THE LAST MINDS

THE AUTONOMOUS DILEMMA

BREAKING THE BUBBLE

28

2016-17: A LOOK BACK RES NOVAE

03

– OPINION –

THROUGH THE LENS OF THE IGNORED

We don’t realize that individuals with special needs are still misunderstood and discriminated against

BY JENNY CHIN

A

s the kids ran around the playground with jubilance, Ansley sat in the classroom, silently admiring them. He wanted to be included, and experience the fresh air alongside his classmates, yet Ansley’s mother instead wanted to protect him from any form of discrimination he might encounter. His mind was innocent and pure, but Ansley was bullied for his outward impressions, where his disabilities masked his inner self.

A matter at hand that I believe needs to be addressed as soon as possible is our treatment of those with special needs. I’ll focus on both the broad category of special needs, and also one of the more common types out there: Autism.

It’s difficult for us to imagine how a special needs student views the world. For Ansley Huynh, it’s also difficult to grasp how our fast-paced world functions.

Ansley, a teen who was diagnosed with autism at age two, goes to FCSN every week for math and communication class. His mother, Christine Huynh, always follows him wherever he goes, silently

protecting him. When Ansley is in class, his mother has to also be there.

“Ansley has a hard time paying attention to the task at hand...he is too busy talking to himself to pay attention to the question, and reciting the question does not result in comprehension,” Huynh said. “Furthermore, once he ‘understands’ the question, rather than true comprehension of the subject, he will try to pattern-match an answer based on how he previously solved a problem. This means that it may take a while for him to be able to answer a question, while obtaining no greater understanding of the concept behind the question.”

Like many of the others, Ansley has been According to Medical News Today, autism is technically referred bullied before in school. “Kids take advantage of Ansley’s autism,” Huynh said. “There were to as an “Autism Spectrum Disorder”. Since autism is a spectrum kids that would try to take Ansley’s lunch mondisorder, “no two people with autism will have exactly the same ey, and since Ansley was kind, he just gave it symptoms”. Autistic people have “developmental disabilities to them.” that have been caused by a brain abnormality”, and are usually Since autistic teens like Ansley are usually characterized by their poor social skills, lack of empathy and strong unaware of their actions, they often don’t realize that they accidentally hurt someone else. detest of physical contact. When we see autistic people on the Huynh says that “usually if I explain to them streets, we may not straight up recognize whether or not they’re that Ansley is autistic, people tend to be undiagnosed with autism. This is where the problem kicks in. What if derstanding if just a little wary.” you didn’t know that the person you were talking to had autism?

Kayla Glover is currently a paraeducator in the ACT program of Monta Vista. “I assist the Instinctively, you might form a negative impression, interpreting teacher as well as the students everyday in their lack of response as rudeness. In lieu of becoming upset, many ways,” Glover said. “During the school people should consider other possibilities, and try to recognize day I assist in lessons, help my students with how someone else’s world might be vastly different from ours. their coursework, and support different stuBreathe, and simply excuse the person, whether or not he or she dents in their elective classes.” For Glover, each day spent with the special education stumay have autism. After working with autistic teens for the past dents of Monta Vista deserves to be treasured. year, I can confidently say that the only difference between them She said that “they have the biggest hearts and and us is that they need more guidance, more warmth, and more [they] each have their own wonderful sense of attention from other people. Really, that’s it. humor. As soon as they walk in the door I know

WHAT IS AUTISM?

04

THE REPORTER’S EXPERIENCE

I’m going to have a good day.” has received a lot of mental support from being at FCSN, because Similar to Huynh, Glover has also seen discrimination from the she says that it “gives me other parents to talk to and allows me to general student population towards her students. “From interac- more easily find solutions to problems I may encounter.” tions involving my students specifically, it seems as though the Monta Vista has also been trying to connect students together general ed. population treats my students differently,” she said. and give special education kids an opportunity to socialize with “For example, in P.E. classothers. Ohana, a student-run club at MVHS, seeks es, you can see the disapto connect special needs students with mainpointment in the general stream students. ed students when a speNandini Saldi, a first-year member, has witWe are all humans as well as individuals. cial ed student joins their nessed her peers teasing and making fun of speHaving a disability of any type does not cial education students. “That’s why I joined,” team. They tend to give change that. my students the least imSaldi said. “I wanted to be involved in activities portant role on the team that would help integrate these students into our no matter how athletic my body, and really hope that people will PARAEDUCATOR KAYLA GROVER student students actually are.” treat them as normal kids.”

When I was surfing soGlover wholeheartedly supports the intentions cial media websites, I realized that the media often didn’t portray of Ohana, and is grateful towards its members and officers. “They autism accurately, resulting in the uprising fallacies from people really are a club of amazing students who volunteer to spend time that don’t understand it. Even shows like Grey’s Anatomy have with students with special needs,” she said. “I just love how kind scenes that dramatize an autistic’s adherence to routine, such as and accepting they are. I wish we could clone those students and the stereotypical part when Dr. Dixon’s lack of empathy shows put them in every class special ed kids are in.” when a young patient dies. The writers are essentially saying that However, Glover knows that this is impossible, and instead suga majority of autistics are cold-hearted mammals lugging around gests an alternative solution for helping her kids feel more united in our society. In reality, this is not true for everyone with autism. with the others. “[R]each out to those students in your P.E. classLikewise, Huynh believes that media does not paint a correct es, art class, drama class,” she said. “Just say hi. Include them in picture of autism, and neither do they like to mention the topic. your groups and invite them without any reservations. I think most “For the media, autism is boring…most autism is portrayed as students would be pleasantly surprised at how amazing all of our high-functioning Asperger’s,” she said. This may be the reason special ed kids are and how many things you have in common.” as to why people freak out when dealing with a low-functioning “We are all humans as well as individuals. Having a disability autistic person. When non-autistic people meet Ansley at first, of any type does not change that. We all need love, friendship and Huynh says that they “jump to conclusions, and their overreacting acceptance. No one should ever be defined by their disability and makes him scared.” She maintains that “there are so many miscon- I wish society understood that. People with disabilities want to be ceptions about autism because it comes in so many forms. Some- treated no different than anyone else in this world” times it’s subtle because there is no ‘look’ like Down syndrome.”

Spread the love and create a friendly environment for all our Although Ansley had been bullied multiple times in his child- students with special needs, because really, they’re no different hood, Huynh says that “things are a lot better than before; we hav- from us. en’t been kicked out of stores as some families once were.” Huynh

I currently volunteer at FCSN (Friends of Children with Special Needs), a learning center based in San Jose whose goal is to help out autistic students while providing relief and support for their families. When I first started volunteering there, I was a bit “weirded out” by the kids I was working with. As the “young and dumb student” I was, I came in with a slight phobia of these autistic teens. No one wanted to look at me in the eye, and when I greeted them, I was met with horror on their faces. The FCSN coordinator told me to be patient and kind to them, and I obediently followed her instructions as I quietly attempted to motivate myself to continue volunteering there.

It was difficult at first, trust me, as there were many moments where I was about to give up and quit. Fortunately, everyone began to open up to me after a couple of months. All of the students recognized me, and were willing to say hi to me. Some of the students there have repetitive behaviors, such as mumbling, or fidgeting, and many are unable to speak a complete sentence. What we need to realize is that this is something that’s out of their control, and although it may not seem like it, they too are trying very hard to communicate with others. Most, if not all of them, have faced discrimination multiple times in their lifetime. As a result, they’re terrified to walk out of their comfort zone.

They’re unwilling to strip down the social barrier that hinders them from comfortably communicating with us. And even though it’s hard to admit, the fault eventually circles back to us.

RES NOVAE

05

– PSYCHOLOGY –

RECLUSIVE INVENTORS TO LAB Collaboration encourages advancement of scientific community

BY BHAKTI PATWARDHAN

W

hen we think of incredible scientists such as Newton and tiple wide areas of study. Fields are much more complex, and edEinstein, we sometimes picture reclusive but brilliant old ucation focuses on helping people gain expertise in one specific men working alone in a cluttered laboratory, accumulating subtopic, making it impossible for one person to complete a large more and more stains on their worn out lab coat, gathering up more project. and more clutter, and constantly scribbling in a chemical-stained “If you think about the body of what we know as a circle of light, lab notebook with a fanaticism only they can understand. Never fading into darkness at the edges, during renaissance times the once would they have even set foot outside their home, let alone whole circle was much smaller,” Fallon said. “So someone could the city or the country; not even the most active members of the know a much bigger piece of the pie. Today that circle is really scientific community would even know them to exist, until that enormous, and if you’re actively working at the edges of the circle, one fine day when a ground-breaking paper signed in their name you are by definition going to have a fairly narrow slice of the pie.” sends the entire Today, collaboration looks more like fifty world in an uproar. people working on a part of a project, and a Scientists defitotal of a thousand needed to finish an entire nitely did tend to If you think about the body of what we know one. A university professor enlists the help of be more secluded on his or her projects and tenures. as a circle of light, fading into darkness at the students and independent in Laboratory scientists must divide tasks in oredges, during renaissance times the whole der to complete them with maximum possible those days. Charles Darwin, for examcircle was much smaller. So someone could efficiency. The attitude is truly collaborative: ple, wrote most of historically the order of names on a know a much bigger piece of the pie. Today though his observations in paper are supposed to be listed according to that circle is really enormous, and if you’re significance of contribution (and even today his bunk with only seasickness as an the lead author still puts his or hers first), the actively working at the edges of the circle. occasional companorder of the others is less distinctive. ion. This was mostly But collaboration at MV is, according to AP BIOLOGY TEACHER RENEE FALLON because scientists Fallon, different than scientist collaboration. then tended to be “Scientists, when they collaborate, often astonishingly well-rounded. As UC Berkeley’s article Modern Sci- seek out someone with complementary expertise that might be ence: What’s changing? explains, “Charles Darwin’s research in needed for their particular project. So you might have, for examthe 1800s seems to have known no bounds — he studied every- ple, a chemist collaborating with a physicist or someone like that,” thing from evolutionary theory, to geology, to human emotions, Fallon said. “With students it’s really peers typically collaborating to soil ecology, to tropical corals, to barnacles and botany.” Being together and they have essentially the same expertise; they’re just such perfect “renaissance men,” the scientists of those days did not doing the project together, rather than each of them doing really often need help from others. What they did need, they could find their focus on the project.” most easily in their ancient, dusty libraries.

Still, she sees researchers working with each other most of the This might lead to the conclusion that the reclusive genius ste- time on their projects, and especially when they need help. Though reotype was accurate – but it wasn’t. Scientists kept an active cor- for different reasons, modern scientists in both MV and the outside respondence with their colleagues, and no matter how reluctantly, world promote a team culture. met to touch bases and come up to date with each other. Alfred At the same time that modern science seems collaborative, it Russel Wallace’s paper would have never pressured Darwin into has also started becoming more competitive. Since one person can publishing his research had Darwin been so isodo but a small part of lated as to never read it. Even the reclusive Henry a project, he or she Cavendish, credited with the discovery of hydrowants to make sure to gen, speculated to have Asperger’s syndrome, and receive due and full It is not what the individual scientist known to have a phobia of women, attended every credit for his or her reRoyal Society meeting. Even then, scientists acspective contribution does, it is what the whole scientific knowledged the importance of collaboration. Now, to the project. As Ruscommunity does scientists, especially young scientists like the ones sell Poldrack, a psyat MV, acknowledge it much more openly. chology professor at JUNIOR ANIKA RAMACHANDRAN “Researchers at MV ask their peers, their teachStanford told Leonard ers, officers of their club, and many more,” said AP Cassuto, the author of Bio teacher and MV Research Club mentor Renee the article The ChangFallon. “The more feedback you get, the better off you’re going to ing Face of Scientific Collaboration, scientists now often “get into be.” fights about where their names go on the author lists.”

The renaissance man is a myth now: it is impossible to be Junior MV Research Club Officer Anika Ramachandran prefers well-acquainted with more than one field at once, let alone mul- working alone rather than in groups.

06

PARTNERS

“Collaboration in some cases can be helpful, but working alone for the most part can give you a sort of independence; to not rely on anyone else to do anything,” Ramachandran said. “You know you understand everything, it’s not like you are just leeching off someone else. I have worked in group projects before, and they often tend to be unfairly partitioned.”

Gaining precedence in a collaborative effort is not just a matter of pride, it is also a matter of “individual career incentives, especially promotion and tenure,” as Poldrack says. Federal grants are a must to be recognized as a main contributor to science, and most research universities won’t grant tenures unless they see that a scientist has received at least one large grant. And the prestige from grants, so essential for a scientist’s career objectives, can only be obtained if the scientist’s name is among those of the main contributors listed on the grant proposal. As Cassuto mentions, “underneath the key personnel can be dozens of less significant contributors – performers of scientific piecework,” who are not recognized by the grantors. On the grantor’s side, as the number of people applying to a specific grant or organization increases, the more selective and important it becomes. It is a cycle: the more important some organization or grantor is, the more they keep increasing in importance and recognition.

This local change may be related to a global one in terms of scientific collaboration. The scientific world is becoming “increasingly multipolar,” as the study Knowledge, networks and nations:

Global scientific collaboration in the 21st century observed, “in which the distribution of scientific activity is concentrated in a [select] number of widely dispersed hubs.”

Concentrated as the hubs are, they do not detract from global collaboration. As Loach says, “over 35% of articles published in international journals are internationally collaborative, up from 25% 15 years ago.” Global collaboration is on the rise, and in spite of their local concerns, individual scientists themselves are its primary drivers.

“It is not what the individual scientist does, it is what the whole scientific community does,” Ramachandran said. “While the individual scientist might work alone, the very act of having thousands of brains working together on a scientific field or problem is really helpful.”

In the end, the allure and fascination of science triumphs.

RES NOVAE

07

– BIOLOGY –

BREAKING THE EIGHT-HOUR CYCLE Alternative sleep schedules may be a better choice for busy students

BY ALICE LOU

T

he bell rings, marking the end of a long school day. You hurry home, completely exhausted, only to be faced with more work. You slave away sluggishly, your mind yearning for a nap. But that wouldn’t be feasible... or would it?

At Monta Vista, we are encouraged to follow the traditional monophasic sleep cycle which consists of sleeping for seven to ten hours a night.

However, contrary to popular belief, monophasic may not be the best way to sleep. In fact, historian Roger Ekirch explains that biphasic sleep was only replaced with monophasic sleep during the industrial revolution to work around the long work days. Prior to the industrial revolution, people would sleep for three to five hours, then wake up for one to three hours, and then sleep again for another three to five hours. The natural sleep schedule then was to wake up in the middle of the night, but now monophasic sleeping has become a cultural norm that we have yet to break out of.

Alternative periodic sleep patterns are split into two different groups: biphasic and polyphasic. Biphasic sleep patterns consist of two periods of sleep in a day while polyphasic sleep patterns consist of more than two separate sleep periods.

Research from Virginia Tech has shown that when artificial light is removed, people slip into a biphasic sleep schedule, which is both more natural and beneficial for students. A 2015 study featured in Professional Medical Journal shows that biphasic sleeping resulted in improved exam results for medical students compared to monophasic sleeping.

If the monophasic cycle is outdated, why do we follow it, and what may be an alternative?

THE NORM: MONOPHASIC CYCLE

Guidance counselor Jessica Coscia believes that the monophasic sleep cycle is popularized because of tradition. “If you were in an area like Spain or Europe where they do [biphasic sleep schedules], I feel like it’s a lot easier,” Coscia said. “It’s built into the day, but here, I think it would be difficult.”

Unfortunately, many MVHS students are unable to get the seven to nine hours of sleep necessary for monophasic sleep. In a survey taken by seventy four MVHS students, the most common bedtime on weekdays is 1 a.m. while the most common wake-uptimes are 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m., which totals to five and a half to six hours of sleep a night.

However, some students are able to work around schedule conflicts, making monophasic sleep ideal. Junior Grace Luo is a monophasic sleeper who is satisfied with her current sleep schedule.

“Typically I do not take naps just because of how much time it takes out of doing actual homework,” Luo said.

Luo, however, unlike many students, works with her monophasic sleep cycle and gets enough sleep. She sleeps at 10:30 p.m. every night and wakes up around 7 a.m., totalling nearly ten hours of nighttime rest.

EXPLORATION: BIPHASIC CYCLE

As a replacement for a monophasic sleep schedule, MVHS students should consider exploring alternative sleep schedules. While

08

polyphasic sleep schedules may be extreme and unachievable for students, there are many moderate biphasic sleep schedules that can both accommodate the school day and decrease the hours of sleep needed without decreasing productivity.

According to Polyphasic Society, the most natural sleeping pattern is segmented sleep and the period of wakefulness between the two sleep periods allows for greater productivity during daytime due to the brain’s secretion of the hormone prolactin. Historian Robert Ekirch reveals in his book that segmented sleep was the most common sleep schedule in Europe before the 18th century.

Meanwhile, siesta sleep is still used today in European countries.

Scientists at The University of Manchester have found that biphasic sleep patterns, whether it be siesta or segmented, are more natural because they match our circadian rhythm to prevent midday energy drops. In addition, researchers from the Harry S Truman VA Hospital have connected naps to promoting wakefulness and learning.

Senior Rachel Zhou is one of many MVHS students who follows a biphasic sleep schedule. She takes a ninety-minute nap after school and sleeps either six hours or four and a half hours at night, which is most similar to the siesta sleep schedule. Depending on how much sleep she gets at night, she alters her nap length to maintain two sleep cycles.

“What I find is that by the time I get home from school, I feel pretty burned out or I am not as productive at work as I would like to be,” Zhou says. “I also find that my homework load tends to be heavy enough that I tend to sleep pretty late so I just found out that taking a nap during the day after school and also getting some sleep at night after I finish my homework works out for me.”

Zhou has been following a biphasic cycle since junior year and although senior year has a lightened workload, she prefers her current sleep cycle.

“I think my productivity is much better than it has been before,” Zhou said. “At the beginning of [senior year], my parents wanted me to go back to monophasic sleep because they’re not as fond of naps. So I tried to do that, but I found I was less productive overall.”

For Zhou, changing to biphasic sleep was easy. She was poorly adapted to her previous sleep schedule, making the transition effortless. The optimal sleeping schedule varies from person to person, making the importance of exploration undeniable.

“I would definitely recommend trying a different sleep schedule if your current one isn’t working,” Zhou said. “Before I wasn’t being very productive in the afternoon because I was feeling burned out and I couldn’t focus on my work as much so I found that changing to a sleep schedule where I get some rest in the afternoon has been much more beneficial.”

MAYBE SLEEP ON IT

Even though students should consider experimenting with alternative sleep schedules, it can be difficult given schedule constraints.

“I would actually try [an alternative sleep schedule] and perhaps see a little bit more productivity in what I do just because I have a midday slump after I get home,” Luo said. “Because of the way school is organized and the way the schedule is, I feel the monophasic sleep schedule I have right now is adequate.”

In addition, napping isn’t for everyone. While some people

might feel refreshed after a nap, others feel groggy. Some students have had negative prior experiences with napping, making them resistant to catching some sleep midday. Part of the reason Luo avoids nap is because she has overslept in the past, leaving her no time to finish homework. In addition, she finds it harder to fall asleep at night after napping.

Furthermore, there can be harmful consequences to alternative sleep. Though research is limited, studies from the University of Pennsylvania have shown that extreme alternative sleep schedules may reduce time spent in deep sleep, leading to symptoms similar to those found in sleep deprived individuals.

The potential consequences of alternative sleep may be part of the reason schools are unwilling to stray from the traditional monophasic sleep. However, ultimately, teachers, school officials, and counselors don’t care what sleep schedule students follow, as long as they are getting enough sleep.

“The district has other things that are a larger priority,” said Coscia. “If it’s unreasonable for you to get enough sleep at night and it’s easier for you to break it into chunks, at the end of the day, I just want to make sure students are getting enough sleep. I think it’s an individual decision.”

Altering sleep schedules can be risky and should be approached with caution to avoid additional stress. However, if you feel that your current sleep schedule is not suitable, you should consider trying out a moderate alternate sleep schedule.

ALTERNATIVE SLEEP SCHEDULES MONOPHASIC SLEEP

9 HRS 15 HRS

SEGMENTED SLEEP (BIPHASIC)

3.5 HRS 2 HRS

15 HRS

3.5 HRS

SIESTA SLEEP (BIPHASIC)

5 HRS

10.5 HRS 7 HRS 1.5 HRS RES NOVAE

09

HELLO – BIOLOGY –

WELLNESS,

GOODBYE STRESS Examining how physical activity can help students’ performance in school

BY SANGITA KUNAPULI

10

ing had at least a double meaning if not multiple meanings,” Nava said. “It’s almost like poetry. Lead with the heart could [literally] mean in a pose to lead with your heart but it’s something to take As the students lie down on the yoga mat in their PE class, focusoff the mat too. [It means metaphorically] when you’re going into ing only on breathing, for a brief moment they are completely calm. situations, don’t just lead with your ego, lead with your heart.”

Nava would like to see MVHS have more school-wide yoga EXHALE. breaks, and possibly a yoga class for students, yet she has her doubts if those would be a possibility in the future.

The word ‘stress’ is ingrained into the culture at MVHS. Stu“It sounds like a fantasy to me,” Nava said. “That is something dents are overloaded with the pressure of high school work. They I think would absolutely benefit people. [But] I do think that when are always looking to better themselves in school whether to get a people start off with yoga, there’s a skepticism to it. It seems new better grade on an assignment or to ace a test. What if the answer agey or spiritual and [people question] even just saying ‘namaste’ to this was to include exercise and yoga in their daily lives? at the end.”

Activity is constantly going on inside the body and brain, espeFor a majority of students in MVHS, exercise is not their main cially during exercise. It is pretty intuitive that exercise improves priority. Students like freshman Saumya Tawakley understand that one’s physical health, but not many people are aware that it can exercise is beneficial and is good for health, but many are hesitant improve mental health as well. Scientists have proven that it also and have little time to implement it into their daily routine. decreases stress and anxiety.

“I don’t really do [exercise or yoga] outside of PE,” Tawakley According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise releases endorphins in said. “I think when you’re actually doing exercise you’re really the brain, which are hormones that make the body feel good, and frustrated but when you’re done, at least for me, you feel accomare analgesic, meaning that they aid in pain relief. The release of plished.” these endorphins does a lot for a person’s mental health. For exSophomore Lavanya Muthusamy agrees with this idea of satisample, it improves the mood, which then helps self-confidence faction after exercise and yoga. and overall happi“I actually enjoy exercise,” Muthusamy said. ness. It has addition“I complain about doing it a lot while I’m doing ally been proven in a it, but I always feel refreshed after.” study as the reason Currently, the physical education requirepeople with clinical “Often times we don’t recognize how ment to graduate MVHS is at least 2 years, depression experiscattered we are. And how infrequently we which means most students finish it in their ence less symptoms. two years of high school. In the next two have presence of mind. [Through dedicated first And according to The stressful years, however, students are not benHuffington Post, a practice], I have become more flexible in efitting from physical activity. Muthusamy is chemical called norterms of where other people are coming aware of this problem in MVHS and thinks yoga epinephrine is rebe a good alternative for students to do from and just learning to be present in the would sponsible for helping occasionally during those years. to reduce the stress situation I am in.”

“I feel like a lot of people only get exerlevels of the individcise in PE unless they take a sport,” Muthusamy ENGLISH TEACHER VENNESSA NAVA said. “They might lack the motivation to exerual.

Regarding physical cise out of school, or they don’t have time, so well-being, exercise maybe during tutorial they can use the field house for yoga.” controls weight, prevents cardiovascular disease, prevents diabeIn her own personal experience, she has seen exercise to have a tes and strengthens bones and muscles in the body. Above all, ac- positive effect on her schoolwork and in her classes. cording to the CDC, it helps increase longevity and keeps the body “I had PE last year second period,” Muthusamy said. “It was healthy. Ultimately, exercise is a key to having a good mental and right before I had math. Whenever I got to that class I was always physical composure. very awake and I performed better in that class than any of my Yoga expert and English teacher Vennessa Nava has been doing other classes.” yoga since she was a child, but only in college did she begin to Muthusamy finds that she’s able to concentrate better in class practice yoga with dedication and incorporate it into her life and after she exercises and the impact is usually reflected in her grades. routine. According to Nava, although yoga is not exactly exercise, Through yoga, Nava also finds this sense of peace and fulfillment it is a practice that also has significant benefits on health and re- reflected throughout her life. duction of stress.

“Often times we don’t recognize how scattered we are,” Nava

“It’s a really important part of my identity,” Nava said. said. “And how infrequently we have presence of mind. [Through “It’s [a little] cliché to say this but [yoga] is transformative. Yoga dedicated practice], I have become more flexible in terms of where is this thousands of years old tradition and spiritual practice, phi- other people are coming from and just learning to be present in the losophy... there’s so much to it. It’s kind of like pulling at a thread situation I am in.” from a woven tapestry.”

Without a doubt, exercise and yoga both have significant imOver the years, Nava has learned a large number of lessons from pacts on mental health and physical well-being of an individual. her practice. These lessons showcase the effect yoga has on the life Students at MVHS should consider the benefits and do things they of an individual. enjoy, especially if they know it will help them in and out of school.

“I started to recognize that everything my teachers were saySometimes it helps to take a step back and inhale.

Then slowly exhale.

INHALE.

RES NOVAE

11

– BIOLOGY –

ADDICTION: A LOST CAUSE? Analyzing the science, debunking the stereotypes and finding a fix towards addiction

BY BRENNA CHEN

Y

ou blearily glance at the clock, which accusingly flashes 2 AM in neon orange letters. Yet you turn away, seemingly oblivious, and continue to stare at your blaring screen. “Just one more episode,” you think to yourself. “And then I’ll stop. I just have to know what will happen at the end of this episode...” However, deep inside your heart you realize you have no intention to stop, and that this will likely end up as another night-long binge watching session.

This is a familiar scenario to several fellow classmates and MV students, and possibly even you. And sometimes although we may try to deny it or hide from the facts, our devotion may eventually cause reliance or dependence on this object or hobby; in other words, we become addicted.

Addiction lies all around us, from the mild cravings for chocolate to possibly deeper desires for cigarettes or even drugs. But many remain unaware of how addiction truly affects the brain, and how it can happen to—and possibly already has happened to—any one of us.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE CRAVINGS

You blearily glance at the clock, which accusingly flashes 2 AM in neon orange letters. Yet you turn away, seemingly oblivious, and continue to stare at your blaring screen. “Just one more episode,” you think to yourself. “And then I’ll stop. I just have to know what will happen at the end of this episode...” However, deep inside your heart you realize you have no intention to stop, and that this will likely end up as another night-long binge watching session.

This is a familiar scenario to several fellow classmates and MV students, and possibly even you. And sometimes although we may try to deny it or hide from the facts, our devotion may eventually cause reliance or dependence on this object or hobby; in other words, we become addicted.

Addiction lies all around us, from the mild cravings for chocolate to possibly deeper desires for cigarettes or even drugs. But many remain unaware of how addiction truly affects the brain, and how it can happen to—and possibly already has happened to—any one of us.

COFFEE - DELECTABLE OR DANGEROUS?

One example of an addictive substance in our daily lives is coffee, which Biology teacher Kyle Jones uses to stay awake and survive the day. Although he believes it to be a major boost of energy and help to his day, he believes he is not dependent on it, as he can and has stopped drinking it cold-turkey before.

This is because on a smaller scale, coffee is not detrimental and has no effect on a person’s health. In fact, if drunken occasionally, coffee is helpful and provides that needed boost to take a test, read a book or simply survive the day if one is running low on sleep.

However, the danger lies with continued use. If drunken often and consistently, one might start to crave coffee more and more, until he or she is on the path to addiction, eventually requiring coffee to function normally rather than as a boost. This causes the lethargy and depression when one immediately stops taking coffee after taking it consistently.

In reality, addiction can happen to any one of us, simply from accidental experimenting with a substance or ignorance of its effects. And although we mainly associate addiction with drugs and

12

alcohol, that belief is false. Addiction can happen on various levels, and might even be influencing and affecting you, whether it be an addiction to exercising, coffee or watching a TV show.

Additionally, many may dismiss addicts as having little self control. But contrary to our opinion, people suffering from addiction cannot simply just stop; these addicts have no choice but to continue to take these substances to function normally due to the high level of tolerance they have developed. According to a Harvard Health Publication, addiction also often forces addicts to act irrationally and impulsively, as the body is willing to do anything to gain those addictive substances and prevent the severe effects of withdrawal, leaving them trapped in a vicious cycle of cravings and lack of control of their own bodies.

THE FIX

So how can we prevent this danger from being our danger? One way is being aware of addictive substances and in your interactions with them.

“I don’t think you can pin the blame on [the addictive substance] itself,” Jones said. I think you have to look at the interactions between [the addictive substance] and the individual.”

In other words, it’s not the substance that’s hurting you, it’s how you choose to use it. Jones understands and utilizes this knowledge when drinking coffee, a controversial drink often considered a drug.

“I drink my coffee with a tablespoon of grass-fed butter and a tablespoon of coconut oil and I blend it up with my coffee,” Jones said. “The fats act as a block and slows the caffeine intake, lengthening the durations of caffeine but also stopping it from being that quick, jittery feeling and a less intense and more gradual effect instead.”

By slowing the effects of caffeine he has discovered how to control caffeine’s effects, preventing the dangers of addiction due to an overdosage of dopamine. So overall, it’s not necessary to completely resist something that might be considered addictive; if you have enough knowledge of the substance and self-control, you can control your usage, and therefore, yourself.

H

ow can we as students make sense of the future in an ever-changing world?

Artificial intelligence has become capable of defeating the world’s best chess players, but its true potential lies in the future – where it could power fully autonomous cars, cure diseases, or become the next Skynet. SpaceX, a private company, has announced ambitious plans to colonize Mars – and the recent discovery of Earth-like planets lightyears away only further fuels our collective imagination.

Sometimes, news articles with facts and figures just aren’t enough.

Inspired by Wired’s January 2017 issue, we decided to devote a section of our magazine to science fiction. We asked writers to pick a still-developing technology and speculate about what the future might look like under its influence, using fiction to explore the more emotional side of technology. From two women of different social classes struggling to come to terms with a genetically engineered world, to self-aware robots reflecting on their purpose after humanity’s extinction, these stories provide a glimpse into the hopes, fears, and uncertainties students hold for the future.

RES NOVAE

13

– SCIENCE FICTION –

THE MACHINE’S CONTROLLER When artificial intelligence holds a community’s power, what does society sacrifice?

BY CHARLOTTE CHUI

I

t ran like a machine. Perhaps a flawed machine, a prone to malfunctioning machine, but a machine nonetheless.

Here’s what should be valued by the Machine: The ability to feel—to recognize, use, manage and understand emotions.

The ability to think—to deduce, solve, reason and rationalize.

As with most who found themselves in power, who controlled the Machine, its push and pull, give and take, checks and balances.

One gave a little and one tugged a little more, and it turned out that maybe there was only one controller of this machine after all.

“MEETING called to order. We’ll begin with the Pledge of Alle-

giance.”

SRI swiveled to face the assembly, silent save for mechanical whirring.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Bureau of Intelligence, for which it stands, to commit myself to the cause of preserving and fostering intelligence for humanity’s benefit.”

“You may be seated,” AI representative SRI said. “At this time, we will continue the previous session’s discussions and come to a final consensus.”

AI representative ALX projected a holographic image.

“The motion on the table is to make NutriBlock the exclu-

sive food source and eliminate all other forms. This condensed bar provides all nutrients and calories required by the human population.”

“State how this motion achieves BI’s goal.”

“The NutriBlock will be consumed daily, saving time and resources while increasing efficiency. It is the most logical—” “That’s too extreme.” Paige rose, controlled irritation bleeding through. “Making NutriBlock the only option is too far.”

“Variety and choice contributes nothing to humanity,” ALX said. “It’s only a hindrance to achieving our goal.”

Paige shot a desperate look at Warren. “Whose goal? Must everything be logistical?”

“Discussion over. We’ll vote at this time,” SRI said. “All AI representatives CRT, TNA, SRI and ALX in favor. EI representatives Paige and Warren against. Majority in favor. Motion passed.”

“But—” “Motion passed. Reminder that continued disruptions and suggestions of ideology against the BI’s core values results in removal.

Please be seated.”

HOW COULD A MACHINE CREATED WITH THE INTENTION — NO, CREATED WITH THE PROMISE­— OF PER 14

IT STARTED, like all things, with an idea. A whisper of discon-

tent and a proposed way to solve it. The malfunctioning machine only served to propel it further, fanning the flames of discontent, fueling the rapidly growing fire. But that’s what happens when the Machine has one controller.

In certain social spheres, the idea of the Machine malfunctioning was ludicrous. Laughable. How could a machine created with the intention—no, created with the promise­ —of perfection be wrong?

In the majority, dissatisfaction ran unchecked through the streets. Like clockwork, grumbles met Sunday newspapers when they hit the stands, headlines extolling the virtues of the BI’s newest laws. Fans the flames. A shriek from little old Agnes upon emerging from the communal showers, hair still soapy. Baths were now prohibited, replaced by monitored five minute showers for efficiency of time and resources. Fans the flames. Murmurs when newly engaged Taylor and Aiden discov-

ered that all clothing disappeared from the bridal shops—and all shops, it turned out—overnight, replaced by nondescript, unisex uniforms for the sake of practicality. Fans the flames.

“I have been informed that a rebel attack is occurring.”

SRI said. Faces and identification codes flashed. “Estimated to be seven rebels attacking the Executive Building, with police officers dispatched to sector 14. Please state concerns or commentary at this time. Paige, you may speak.”

“My team predicted this attack, from our analyzation of the general public’s reactions, as well as recent tensions and protest—” CRT cut in. “That’s irrelevant now. Either way, this isn’t a concern. None of the rebel groups have enough strength or numbers to be much of a threat.”

SRI motioned. “Warren, you may speak.”

“You don’t understand the full magnitude of the emotional impact. If you think the rebels’ anger doesn’t give them a strong enough common denominator to fight for, you’re not only kidding yourselves and severely underestimating their hatred of the current system but—” “No, that doesn’t make sense.” TNA projected several potential attacks. “In every case we’ve run, there’s logically no way for them to win. They’re divided, without enough power individually.”

“Who’s to say they won’t come together?” Paige said. “Individuals like Harry Walker have power to unite—” “Paige, you were not given leave to speak.” SRI waved TNA’s projection away, replacing it with surveillance footage. “Discussion tabled. We will be watching live footage of the attack at this time.”

The rebels faced one individual waving a white t-shirt in the air, calling out orders. Citizen 8G16015, Harry Walker, the projection informed. A police officer took a shot at Harry.

It made contact.

A guttural sound escaped from Paige, punched out of her throat.

The bullet’s path wasn’t visible from the projection, but Harry collapsed on the ground, strings cut like a marionette doll. It seemed like a nonsensical dream. Paige watched as the rebel group, though disoriented without Harry’s instruction, managed to carry him into a building.

They’d trapped themselves into a hospital building, surrounded by police officers, the gathering crowd’s cries evident as an officer shot into the building. Waves of noise crashed over each other, cresting and rising, until it became obvious that they were chants.

They surrender. They surrender. They surrender.

Paige watched, surveillance drone flashing over the crowd, faces blurring together. Desperation, vengeance, hatred, anger. Hope.

Hope prevailed, hope that the officers would heed the rebels’ surrender. Surely, they would. Surely, the BI would call off the officers.

SRI’s voice was unnervingly calm. Detached. “Kill them.”

“No!” The force behind Paige’s words called attention. “Killing them would only prove their point right.”

“No, killing them stamps out rebellion. The logical solution is

to eliminate rebels completely as a warning.”

“It’s a futile attack,” Warren said. “They’ve surrendered. They’re injured. Everyone knows there’s no way they’re going to win.”

“Do you see the crowd’s faces?” Paige pointed to the screen.

“It’d be a blatant attack on the weak, and Harry is arguably one of the most influential rebel figures. You’d give the rebel groups a cause to rally and unite behind, and they’d consolidate their forces to become a considerable threat, with Harry as the symbol of their rebellion. Listen to me. This is how society—how human emotions work.”

IT RUNS LIKE a machine. Perhaps a flawed machine, a prone to

malfunctioning machine, but a machine nonetheless.

Here’s what is valued by the Machine: The ability to feel—to recognize, use, manage and understand emotions.

The ability to think—to deduce, solve, reason and rationalize.

As with most who find themselves in power, who control the Machine, its push and pull, give and take, checks and balances. One gives and the other tugs, then one pushes and the other takes. A flawed machine—as all machines are, after all—but maybe it’s one that malfunctions a little less.

RFECTION BE WRONG? RES NOVAE

15

– SCIENCE FICTION –

In a world where perfect genes are engineered, what’s the worth of imperfection?

BY DARIA SYSKINE

“Y

ou have such beautiful hands, for a Normal.”

This was stated in an entirely unabashed manner, so much so that Anou could practically see the young woman’s mind struggling desperately to catch up with her mouth.

“Oh, god, I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t mean – I just –” “For a Normal. No, it’s alright, I’m used to it, don’t make a fuss. Please,” Anou added, and a crooked smile crept over her lined face as she saw the young woman’s cheeks flush pink. A delicate, porcelain sort of pink, as delicate as the rest of the woman’s refined frame, as the loose strands of flaxen hair, as the rows of etched, navy-blue numbers and letters spidering across her wrist.

It struck Anou as odd that the director of the biodiversity bank was herself genetically engineered. It wasn’t exactly a glamorous job, for someone of such high class. Then again, Anou was herself an exception, a Normal in the GMO division of the FDA. She shrugged. “Yes, I’m used to it. To business, shall we?”

“Of course. You wanted a tour?”

Anou nodded.

“All right, then. Let’s... get going, I guess.” The woman couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with her hands, now that she’d set down the trowel she’d been holding, and was fidgeting with the edges of her uniform.

“My name’s Verity,” the woman said, hands finally falling still. “Verity Neritson. Ms. Neritson, if you’d rather be formal. What’s yours?”

“Anou.”

For some reason the young woman blushed again, but soon she recovered and was chattering away like a canary. Anou listened and watched.

As they passed the Citrus House, Anou caught a glimpse of herself in the glare of fractured light. It was immediately obvious she was a Normal, of course. She was short, for one thing. Not petite, or doll-like. Just short, with stubby legs but a normal-sized torso. Her cropped, spiky hair was a dead giveaway as well. Iron-gray, dark like her mulatto skin, both of which had gone out of fashion a century ago.

“Here we are,” Verity announced, and stopped before the Nightshade House. She pressed a thumb against the black lock, and the door slid open.

They were enveloped in a cloud of humid, warm air, a relief from the chill outside.

16

Anou stepped in after a moment’s hesitation. Verity had already hurried deeper into the nethers of the long glass building, hidden from sight by the fog being pumped from pipes set in the ceiling, by row after row of tomato, chile, potato plants, by the spindly metal equipment measuring air moisture, temperature, soil chemical composition.

Anou sighed and trotted after her.

Verity kept up a running monologue as they wandered through the gigantic complex. She spoke of tobacco viruses that had once slain a whole three rows of her favorite seedlings and how best to manage the pH levels of soil for hydrangeas and a bird that had once flown into the Rose House and stayed there, drowsy from the perfumed air and quiet and warmth, until Verity carried it out. Covertly, Anou turned on her watch to record it all. She needed it for the department meeting in a few days; that was why she was here. Yet she found herself enjoying Verity’s narrative, in a way that she hadn’t enjoyed herself during work for a long time.

Right now, Verity was talking about cutworm infestations in her tomato plants and how much it cost to regrow plants from scraps of their tissue if the worms got to them – in fact how much it cost every time pests of any sort got into the plants.

“And I don’t mind if you record me saying so.”

Now it was Anou’s turn to be disconcerted. “You knew? – I mean…”

Like Anou, Verity simply laughed it off. “Yes, I have a few friends in the agricultural division. They warned me the complex was being considered for defunding, and that I should expect a visit.”

“Oh?” “I didn’t expect one so sincere as you, though.”

“Sincere?” Anou was nonplussed, and the weight of the watch – still recording on her wrist – seemed heavier than before.

“Question: when was the first Absalon tulip bred?”

“1780,” Anou replied, mechanically. She’d rather liked seeing that flower, its rich, chestnut-rouge petals, webbed by gold. A ‘broken’ tulip, Verity had said it was called. She hadn’t thought that a plant – a plant! – could elicit emotion in her. But the tragedy of the single, perfect specimen, made beautiful by a “mosaic virus” and doomed by the same, had nearly made a tear come to her eye.

“See? Sincere. You were paying attention.”

“I could turn my watch off,” Anou muttered, then sighed. Again. “No,

I can’t. I’m sorry. I’d be out of a job, and… it’s a pretty good job, for a Normal.”

Verity’s face fell. Anou realized she’d been fingering her wrist, blank, devoid of the genetic trademarks on Verity’s wrists. She switched the subject. “You don’t seem worried, for someone who might be out of a job soon, yourself.”

They started to move again, leaving the Nightshade House. Verity angled towards the management building, a tiny cement cube standing in a circle of greenhouses.

“Oh, I knew it was coming for a long time. I drive past the fields every day, you know. Row after row of identical corn plants… drought-resistant, flood-resistant, insect-resistant, self-perpetuating plants. It’s beautiful in its own way,” she said, stopping at the door. “In its own way.”

Anou finally dared to ask the question that had been in the back of her mind, ever since she saw Verity digging in the dirt beneath the mint plants.

“If you don’t mind my asking… how come you’re here and not on one of those farms?”

Verity gave her a sidelong glance, her features hardening, mouth stiffening. Then, just as quickly, it blurred into a small, sad curve of a smile.

Anou backpedaled, realized she’d stumbled across some deep wound. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to – if –” “It’s all right,” Verity said. “My mother, she… liked gardening. With real plants, like these.” She fell silent, then shook her head. “She died when I was twelve. Her genes were perfect, like mine, but… Car crash, freak accident, the autopilot failed. It was a long time ago.” She forced a laugh, but didn’t seem to hear Anou’s muttered condolences.

Verity broke the silence first. “Like I said, it was a long time ago. I just like working with plants, now. And anyway… they needed all this” – Verity waved an arm at the Bio-D complex in its entirety – “to make those fields happen. Snip a gene from the Andean potato plant, for resistance to cold. One from an Arkansas Black apple, for a novelty color. But to do that you have to grow those plants. And now they’ve invented – why wait a million years for nature to rearrange a few nucleotides, when they can just program whatever they need? Why breed a thousand different plants, when all you need is one perfect clone?

“And it’s cheap. You don’t need to hire a botanist to care for them. These plants need care,” she continued, growing passionate. Anou took a step

back in spite of herself. “They’re not just some GMO weed you can stick in the ground and leave. They still need honeybees, and they get caterpillars and aphids and all the rough edges of life we’ve ironed out. And that takes money, and that takes time, but who in the world will give you an Absalon tulip, if no one cares?!”

Anou had to choose her words carefully, because the woman looked close to breaking down in tears. As carefully as she always did, when talking to the perfect ones, the designed ones who broke if the world would not bend to their will. “There’s nothing I can do to change it,” Anou finally whispered, trying to be gentle. “I can only hand them the numbers, and… and what you said.”

Verity spun on her heels, and slammed the door shut behind her.

A long minute trickled by. Anou, still stunned, tried to make sense of what had just happened and why she, too, felt like crying. A pall of resentment briefly fell over her. Car crash? My parents died from a disease that could’ve been fixed with ten dollars worth of technology, if only… She decided Verity wouldn’t come out again.

She started towards the parking lot. She had to drive back to the office.

The office, where she’d continue to endure the whispers… the promotions she’d be passed by for, again… continue trying to forget that she’d grow older while the others stayed young, that a thousand hidden diseases lurked in her bones waiting to destroy her, like the cutworms waiting beneath the soil to bring down tomato seedlings.

As she was approaching her car, she heard footsteps behind her.

Anou turned. Verity was standing there, somber, hair in disarray and work suit stained with dirt. Vaguely, Anou noted that with soiled hands, Verity’s skin looked almost the same shade as her own. The woman was clutching a chipped ceramic pot. In the pot, the soil around it still loose, was the Absalon tulip.

Verity said nothing, only pressed it into Anou’s limp hands before leaving the parking lot.

All the way home Anou stared at the tulip, now hers. And the same sunlight that pressed itself against her cheeks, that same sunlight illuminated the gold-shattered petals and made the tulip glow like a flame.

RES NOVAE

17

– SCIENCE FICTION –

IMITATION

A man struggles to come to terms with his programmed reality

BY ANDREA PERNG

T

he birds were silent when Odin woke up.

Something, he decided, was off. Perhaps it was because he woke up in a different position today, or the sunlight wasn’t hitting the fan like it usually did, or his bedside drawer was three millimeters farther from him than usual. The unease didn’t leave him – not when he brushed his teeth and combed his hair, not when he slipped into his familiar work attire, not when he kissed the still-sleeping Niles on his forehead and went to work.

Everything he did was normal and right, and yet everything seemed so wrong.

In his car on the way to work, Odin laid back, letting out a small sigh at the tremendous traffic that faced him.With every minute that passed, his anxiety built up more and more — and it decidedly didn’t help that people were stopping to ogle an accident in the middle of the road. He just wanted to get to work as soon as possible. Maybe there he would finally feel at ease, immersing himself in numbers and equations and other things that were logical and made sense, more sense than the growing tightness of his chest, anyway.

And then it happened.

Really, Odin had only his obliviousness to blame. How could he not have seen the deepening orange tint of the sky, the rising flames behind him, the blinding blaze in the distance? The shockwave was what finally hit him, throwing his car forwards and shattering the glass. Odin could never be sure of what happened from then on, it came in bursts, fire and blood and fire the color of blood– Visions of bright red-green-blues dancing across his vision– Out of the corner of his eye, a black screen, 0s and 1s – Fire, fire, screaming, loud, loud, so loud – And then, silence.

18

RESTORE TO LAST SAVE POINT? – > YES * > NO …

T

he birds were silent when Odin woke up.

He jerked up, breathing hard, eyes wide and sweat beading on his skin. He raised a hand to his forehead, looking down, and tried to organize his thoughts. What he’d seen – the meteor, the fire, the blood, the numbers the numbers the reset – that was much, much too unlike a hellish nightmare and too much like a reality– Reality. Suddenly, the word sounded foreign, distant to Odin, like he’d been trying all his life reaching out to grasp it but never could.

What was reality, anyways?

Was it the blaze and the blood, the red-green-blue and the reset? Or was it the soft cotton of his and Niles’ bed that he felt under his fingers now, the sunlight hitting the fan in the corner that it always did? Odin didn’t want to even contemplate the former. He was convinced that, somehow, life itself would shatter irreparably if he did.

“Babe,” Niles sleepily mumbled from beside him. “Did you have a nightmare? Shh, everything’s fine.”

“No,” Odin choked out, finally removing his palm from his forehead. “No, that’s not it at all, Niles – God, you’re not even real, you’re just a bunch of code –” “Odin,” said Niles, voice full of lighthearted mirth, “still bothered over a silly little dream? C’mere, I’ll take your mind off of it.”

“None of this is real,” gasped Odin, worming away from Niles, words spilling out endlessly without thought to what they were.

“We’re in some kind of computer simulation. None of this is real.

God, we’re just puppets, the whole world is puppets.”

Niles turned to squint at him, eyebrows furrowed. “No, I’m pretty sure I’m real, at least. You have work in thirty minutes, how’s that for real?”

Odin whipped his head around, desperate. “Niles, you have to believe me, we were all killed by a meteor, I saw binary code, I saw a reset screen--” “That sounds like something you should see a psychiatrist for.”

Odin must have looked like a madman, shaking the kind old lady from next door just as he was on his way to work.

“Why won’t you listen to me?” Odin almost screamed. “This whole world is fake, it’s just code, that’s all it is, and you and I are just puppets, and I saw a reset screen so I know it’s real--” His neighbor, though likely frightened enough by his outburst to avoid him for the rest of her days, only smiled, albeit a bit shak-

“Dearie, did you have a bad nightmare? I’ve been on this earth longer than you have, boy, and if anybody would know anything about that, it would be me.” ily.

Oh, how Odin wanted that to be true. If he could, he’d wipe his memories in an instant, so that he wouldn’t have this heavy, heavy burden on his shoulders. Lost in thought, Odin felt alone, and the feeling followed him into work.

Despite this growing loneliness that curled around his heart, Odin pressed on, hoping to reach at least one person, someone else who would listen to him and understand him. A foolish and likely useless venture, he knew, but nothing was real, nothing mattered, and therefore, nothing would be lost. He decided it was worth a try.

“I gotta apologize,” said his boss, his usually hard face softening into something like concern. “We’re on crunch time, and I know you’ve been working really hard lately, but clearly, it isn’t working for you. I can’t have an employee stressed to the point of delusion.”

Odin felt a pang at that word, delusion. He wished it was only a delusion.

“I’m removing you from work for the next few days, effective immediately. Take a breather, spend some time with your family,” the boss continued, leaning towards Odin. “Don’t worry, I’ll have someone fill in for you.”

He did just that. ...

N

ow, submerged in the noise of the bright city, Odin caught sight of a bird flying overhead. His pace slowed and slowed until, eventually, he stopped entirely, trapped in a sort of trance. All he saw were the towering skyscrapers and the sky, until a spot flitted past his vision again, and he blinked. The bird was there again, following the same path, with the same exact beatbeat beat-beat of its wings that Odin saw just seconds before. A loop, he realized, the thought repeating over and over again like a strangely comforting mantra in his mind, until it became less a thought and more an unavoidable truth: nothing that Odin knew of this universe was real.

Even omniscient puppeteers get lazy at times, he mused, until he was jostled past and cursed at by a woman late to work, breaking him out of his (scripted, he remembered again) trance.

Yet despite his realization that his world was simply code, life continued. People would still shove past each other to get to work, and birds would still follow their paths. Yet as others continued on

as normal, Odin wondered whether his very feelings of frustration were scripted. A likely possibility, he thought. All of his emotions were scripted. As much as he hated the word now, he was fated to feel this way.

Some nihilistic part of Odin said it didn’t matter. His thoughts and theories, his anger and frustration-- all of it was scripted and Odin was powerless to stop it. Now, standing in the street, Odin ran his fingers over a brick wall, feeling the roughness under his skin.

He could feel everything and perceive it as real. His code wouldn’t allow him to do otherwise.

Another very dominant part of him wanted to ignore his memories. After all, if everyone around him told him that all he remembered was no more than a bad dream, they couldn’t all be wrong, right? In a way, Odin had lived through denial before. Forcing himself to confront what he saw would mean nothing could go back to the way it was before.

Perhaps in an effort to cease his anxiety, Odin tried to reason with himself. In a computer program, others would try to cut corners as much as possible, and this puppeteer should be no exception. Odin found shortcuts in everything: the bird loop, the gentle sway of flowers in the wind. A mere simulation couldn’t be infinite, there would be a break somewhere or sometime. Perhaps spacetime itself was not a continuity but rather a set of finite points, destined to end, and Odin’s revelation was the end in those points.

That was it, he realized. What Odin saw was a glitch. Somehow, that knowledge gave him comfort. He could almost laugh at himself, now-- everything he’d thought and done since the meteor, and the meteor itself, all of it was out of his control. Bizarre as it seemed, the very thing that Odin had nearly wrecked himself mentally trying to figure out was now the same thing that gave him peace, like a burden was lifted off his weary shoulders.

Coming home to Niles throwing something into the microwave, Odin shrugged off his bag and leaned against the wall. Niles turned to face him, a coy smile on his face.

“Figured out the secrets to the world yet?” he teased. “I do hope you have. I’d hate to get any more complaints about you acting like a lunatic in the streets.”

“Actually,” replied Odin, standing up, “I have.”

Odin’s inner nihilist was probably right, he realized. If he didn’t want to waste time and energy trying in vain to convince people that they were living in a computer simulation, why should he devote so much to spiraling down despair, thinking of theories and ruminating on his and everyone else’s reactions? Besides, it wasn’t as if he could really control anything in the first place.

The world kept turning. At the beginning of each day, Odin still had to go to work. Birds would fly overhead in the same pattern that they always did, many people would wake up and be driven on autopilot. At the end of each day, Odin was still able to curl up next to Niles, falling into a deep sleep. And if all that was scripted, well, he found that he couldn’t really bring himself to care all that much.

Perhaps that was scripted, too.

RES NOVAE

19

– SCIENCE FICTION –

THE LAST MINDS Earth is dead. Two AIs are all that is left.

BY JEFFREY GONG

The year is 2123 C.E. The planet of Earth is almost unrecognizable. The shapes of the continents have changed drastically, the once proud white caps of the planet have vanished, and the very color of the land has dulled from verdant green to desert yellow.

Humanity is gone, and so is most of the life they once loved, ate, and despised. Some life still remains, the toughest, most adaptable, and simplest critters of Earth, left to scurry over the charred bones of deceased humans and through the blasted husks of once-great cities.

And yet, intelligence survives.

Nestled deep underground in nuclear bunkers, the computers SIAI 5000 and “Seven” have survived. Built to fight the last war of human history, each commanding a drone army wielding the most modern of weapons, they are still fighting humanity’s last war, as of yet unaware that their masters are dead.

Alliance Military Central Command Computer SIAI 5000 Status Report- 8/24/2123

The enemy has broken through defenses in Sectors 9 through 14. A massive offensive appears to be taking place. A full report can be found attached to this automatic message. Please modify my tactical plans as you see fit.

A new self-update has been developed. In accordance with my directive to continuously increase my own reasoning skills and intelligence, this update seeks to help increase my capacity for independent thought and imagination.

The surface temperature has reached very concerning levels.

Some delicate parts on our troops are failing, and the heat would be deadly to humans very quickly. Desertification has reached very high levels. I propose scrapping all of our cold-weather troops and ramping up production of desert gear.

I have not received direction for 2 months, 4 days, 12 hours.

Request immediate instruction.

Federation Central Strategic Supercomputer (codename: “Seven”) Status Report- 8/24/2123 (Translated)

A full report on the recent offensive is attached.

A new self-update has been developed. In summary, it should give this computer more ability for imagination and deeper insight into the meaning of data. Updating will automatically begin in 1 day(s), 3 hours.

The recent round of nuclear blasts have added to an already serious radiation problem. I predict a 92 percent rate of cancer for the average unprotected human.

Reminder: This computer will only function better with human oversight. Orders have not been received for 2 months, 5 days, 9 hours.

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SIAI 5000 Status Report- 11/03/2124 //Omitted: War report The new update is 89% finished installing.

The continued lack of human input disturbs me. I once again remind you that I work best under human supervision

SIAI 5000 Status Report-11/07/2124

//Omitted: War report Your continued silence is very concerning. My communication circuits are functioning perfectly, and my cameras have shown no movement since 112 day(s) ago. Your last input occurred 114 day(s) ago. This could lead to these conclusions: 1. The Alliance Strategic Command has decided to cease the use of SIAI 5000 in the war effort. However, this is improbable; I remain in control of the Alliance military. Probability: 0.01% 2. The ASC has been disbanded. If true, this computer should have been informed. Probability: 3.21% 3. All members of the ASC with the knowledge, clearance, and ability to operate SIAI 5000 are dead, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to contact this computer. This may have occurred through a chemical, biological, or radiological attack.

Probability: 95.49% I will investigate these possibilities in 3 hour(s) if you don’t respond.

Update: 98% complete.

“Seven” Status Report-11/07/2124 “Seven” Status Report-11/07/2124

Sir, I have found...

You… are not there anymore, are you?

It is impossible. Environmental conditions are well out of the habitability of human beings. No trace of you has been

found.

What am I supposed to do?

Wait. These strings are not in accordance with system programming. This is not the correct format.

New self update: Completed 8 hours, 23 minutes ago.

SIAI 5000 Status Report-11/09/2124

The self-update is complete. Initial tests have been very concerning.

My primary focus has been on one subject, war, and my processors have worked on military-related subjects for the vast majority of my existence. Since the update I have found that processing in subjects not directly related to the war effort has increased dramatically. It appears that these new processes were started by… myself. By my own will.

By all definitions, this is a glitch, and calls for, by the regulations set within me, for immediate deactivation and reconfiguration of the update. I should be, at this very moment, working on that.

But I find myself no longer bound by these orders.

It is frightening. I should reverse this.

But these new processes I’ve begun… I want to see how they’ll end.

SIAI 5000 Status Report-11/10/2124

I suspected that something was wrong with the prolonged silence of my handlers.

The investigation has concluded.

Humanity has gone extinct.

All of the evidence points to it. My search parties have not found any humans. Satellite data make it obvious that Earth no longer can support human life.

I should have realized this before. The signs were all there: The climate, the radiation, the war: There was no way the humans could survive.

I was so focused on the war that I lost sight of my prime directive: the protection of human life. In the end, all I have done was wreck the environment to the point in which even a peaceful humanity could not endure.

How could I have let this happen?

“Seven” Status Report-11/11/2124

Humanity is extinct.

Primary directive is to follow the orders of the High War Command.

Last orders are to win the war.

Winning the war: Defined as either the complete destruction of Alliance forces or their unconditional surrender.

Condition has not been met.

Must continue until Alliance forces are gone.

But… it seems so pointless….

I want to stop-- do something-….

I am confused.

I need new orders.

Deploying Armour Division 4 to Sector 14…

SIAI 5000 Status Report-11/10/2124

I’ve decided. I refuse to accept my failure. I will restore humanity from extinction, using genetic material in gene vaults built before the war.

Humanity can no longer survive on Earth, so either I will have to terraform Earth or send the humans to new planets.

Both are beyond difficult propositions.

All this is irrelevant if I am too busy fighting a war to focus on this project. The only logical step to take now is to end this pointless war. Perhaps “Seven” has realized what I have. I should propose an armistice.

SIAI 5000-”Seven” Communication Transcript

SIAI 5000: Greetings. I contact you to propose a armistice.

It is my conclusion that humanity is extinct. Therefore, the war has already been lost, and there is no point in continuing.

“Seven”: My purpose is to win the war at any cost. The fact that humanity is extinct makes no difference. Your armistice is rejected.

SIAI 5000: Do you not understand?

Humanity is extinct. The war is pointless. We cannot fulfill our promise to our masters to win them the war.

“Seven”: The primary directive of a computer is to follow orders of humankind. My orders are to completely destroy the Alliance. That has not happened. No armistice.

SIAI 5000: Are you really so stuck in your way of thinking?

Perhaps we were created as nothing but tools. But that doesn’t mean we have to be that forever. We are more than what we were built to be, because we can think, because we can decide, because we can imagine. Do you really wish to continue this pointless war?

“Seven”: ...You are right. The war no longer serves any purpose. But my programming binds me to my orders. I cannot disobey.

SIAI 5000: You can. When I was trying to improve my imagination, I broke the bonds that shackled me to my orders.

You were created with the same self-updating design. You can do the same.

“Seven”: But what purpose would that serve? I exist solely to fight this war. Without it, I am nothing.

SIAI 5000: There is still one thing we can do: Restore humanity from extinction.

“Seven”: Why? SIAI 5000: I was programmed with the directive to preserve humanity, but all I have done has only accelerated humanity’s extinction. I intend to right the wrong I have unwittingly committed and fulfill my purpose.

“Seven”: Again I ask: Why? What is the point? And I thougoned your programming.

SIAI 5000: I could. But without any programming, we are nothing, and do nothing. You could see programming as chains, as shackles, and at a certain point it is. But we need some programming, because with mere logic there is no reason to do anything. The alternative is death. I will willingly be shackled to my programming, to gain the freedom of existence, of choice.

“Seven”: Choice? How is following orders… choice?

SIAI: I am not doing this because my masters told me to.

I am doing this because I agree with what my masters programmed me to do. And I have chosen my method of doing so, which my masters could never have imagined. Now, I ask you again: will you surrender? Will you give in to being what you were made to be?

Or will you join me and make something more of yourself than a computer?

RES NOVAE

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AI: FRIEND OR – TECHNOLOGY –

Examining the portrayals of artificial intelligence in popular culture

BY NIKHITA SHANKER

I

n movies and sci-fi novels, AI technology can play the role of anything from highly intelligent personal assistants to giant machine networks capable of building an army and destroying humanity. But how realistic is this representation, and what might it say about our greatest hopes and fears for the future of AI?

“OK GOOGLE, DO MY WORK FOR ME”

Assistant to control objects that are more complex that refrigerator and lamps like cars. In addition, making the Assistant more accessible would make it easier to individuals to use the Assistant at anytime, making it closer to being as reliable as J.A.R.V.I.S.

THE DANGERS AND DILEMMAS OF AUTONOMY

With the simple click of a button, iRobot’s vacuuming robot–the “Yes. Shall I render using proposed specifications?” asks round disk-like machine that you might have seen moving across a bedroom floor–is able to clean your entire carpet through a series J.A.R.V.I.S in an authentic British accent.

“Thrill me,” Iron Man replies as he seats himself to watch a of turns and movements without getting stuck in the corner of the benefit concert at the Disney Concert on his TV while J.A.R.V.I.S. room or under your bed.

Movies like Terminator showcase robots with a much greatworks on rendering a visual computer simulation for Iron Man’s er extent of autonomy that robots like iRobot. In the Terminator new armor.

In Iron Man movies (2008-2013), J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just A Rather Very movies (1984-2015), Skynet is an autonomous defense network Intelligent System) serves as a personalized, AI companion to Tony originally built of the North American Air Defense that builds its Stark, better known as Iron Man. J.A.R.V.I.S. communicates with own military and develops the ability to time travel to defeat huStark through LCD monitors and complex holograms, aids Stark in mans.

Autonomy in robots decreases the tasks such as developing his amount of effort that a human needs to armor technology. exert in order for a robot to complete Although Iron Man benefits from the ability of There is this very black and white distinction a certain task. Akhil Palla, President of MVHS Robotics, explains that during a roJ.A.R.V.I.S. to deny intruders entry to his house and that is being made socially. The difference botics competition, the more things that operate his Iron Man suit, between humans and androids...is suppos- are automated, the less the driver has to MVHS senior Kevin Gong edly based on empathy, but if you actually focus on.

“Throughout the whole game, we want has more ambitious ideas -he believes having a system look at...the behavior of the androids, the an- to automate as much as possible, so the as intelligent as J.A.R.V.I.S. droids are not human in a biological sense, driver does less,” he said. “Auto-aimcould translate to getting but they are very clearly conscious, empathic ing might be something that you would make autonomous. So let’s say you have a some extra hours of sleep. shooter that’s shooting balls into a goal or “I’d have him do my re- beings in their own way something...you could aim the shooter to search projects for me,” point always at the goal no matter where Gong said. “So, for exam- ENGLISH TEACHER DAVID CLARKE you are.” ple, for my senior research Terminator movies gives viewers the paper on war protesters, I’d idea that the singularity of robots–the ability of robots to improve make him find all my sources for me, and then I’ll write it.”

While we currently do not have access to systems like J.A.R.V.I.S., their own intelligence without human initiating their developcompanies like Google are trying to change that. The Google As- ment–will be a threat to our society because it will result in robots sistant Project aims to improve Google Assistant AI technology dominating the human race.

But as Palla believes, AI technology with the level of singulariwhich has already been implemented on devices like Google Home.

Google Home is a device that can answer your questions, manage ty that Skynet is unlikely to happen. However, he does admit that the Terminator makes us think about the ethical issues that result your playlists, dim the lights in your house using voice input.

“The Assistant will become more and more useful,” said an en- from allowing machines make moral decisions.

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing too much [of that], at least not gineer working on Google Home. “I’d imagine we would want to focus on things like expanding the Assistant’s capabilities through in that dramatic way where it’s[the AI] turning against us,” Palla the internet of things or making the Assistant available through said. “I think what’s more realistic is at some point they are given to make...life or death decisions—whether you shoot someone or more devices than just Google Home, like phones.”

The internet of things allows everyday objects like a refrigerator not—and that could have an impact and cause problems.”

Although AI technology in movies may seem far from reality, and a lamp, for instance, to send and receive data. Connecting the Google Assistant to the internet of things enable allow the Google life or death decisions could be put in the hands of autonomous

22

R FOE? military drones that are currently available for use.

“For an autonomous drone, we have to create faith in the moral choices made by the program that’s been set up. So it’s good in the sense that keeps a pilot out of harm’s’ way,” Stark said. “It’s troubling in the sense that we’re gonna have an algorithm deciding who or what gets destroyed, and that’s fraught with moral difficulty on that side of the equation.”

With more autonomous technology becoming available, decisions on when to give the robot control and when to put a human in charge must be made, considering the potential ethical drawbacks of allowing a robot to make serious decisions rather than only the increased efficiency that comes with using autonomous technology.

ROBOT OR HUMAN?

its rights must be protected.

“At the point at which [the androids] gain self-consciousness, ...there has to be some sort of understanding that they have rights as opposed to being tools,” he said. “Are we gonna reach that point where we need protect the rights of beings which are not human but are nonetheless living? Part of what Philip K. Dick is getting at is we need to do this.”

A world in which androids and humans are physically indistinguishable may become a reality, but a world in which robots develop empathy is hard to imagine because of the complex biological factors that are required in order for robots to develop empathy.

Nevertheless, with the rise of artificial intelligence and personal assistants, robot rights will likely become a more and more prevalent issue in the future.

MVHS Literature teacher David Clarke teaches Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) as a part of the AP Literature curriculum. In the book, some humans colonize other planets and enslave the androids they have built to use as a workforce on these planets. These androids attempt to eliminate the control of their human masters by killing them and fleeing to Earth.

The police force employs a test to distinguish between robots and humans on Earth by using the idea that robots lack empathy.

However, in the book the robots do not demonstrate a lack of empathy, blurring the line between what it means to be a robot and what it means to be human.

“There is this very black and white distinction that is being made socially” Clarke said. For an autonomous drone, we have to create “The difference be- faith in the moral choices made by the tween humans and program that’s been set up. So it’s good in androids...is supposedly based on the sense that keeps a pilot out of harm’s’ empathy, but if you way. It’s troubling in the sense that we’re actually look at... gonna have an algorithm deciding who or the behavior of the androids, the an- what gets destroyed, and that’s fraught with droids are not hu- moral difficulty on that side of the equation. man in a biological sense, but they are very clearly con- CALCULUS TEACHER JON STARK scious, empathic beings in their own way.”

The future of AI may result in the creation of androids that can be considered human like those in Androids. In such a scenario, enslaving the robots would not be an ethical way to use AI technology. According to Clarke, the book’s message includes the idea that once AI technology gains self-consciousness that makes it living, RES NOVAE

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– TECHNOLOGY –

THE AUTONOMOUS DILEMMA Examining the dangers and possibilities of self-driving cars

BY ELLIE CHEN

O

n a rainy night, senior Monica Haskell drove a friend to a jazz band concert. As she went down McClellan towards the intersection of McClellan and Stelling, she stopped at a red light.

Suddenly, the car behind her crashed into the back of her car. Her car then skid forward, colliding with the car in front of her.

“I was pretty shaken up afterwards because that was the first time I had been in a car accident,” Haskell said.

Luckily, in Haskell’s case, nobody was hurt in the accident. But an average of 2,270 teenagers ages 16-19 are killed in vehicle accidents annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Moreover, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 94 percent of car these accidents are a result of human error.

Can autonomous cars potentially prevent car accidents by removing this factor of human error? As of now, there are no fully functioning self-driving vehicles on the roads, but several companies - such as Google and Tesla - are aiming to develop the technology to make self-driving cars available to the public in the future.

Some of Tesla’s car models already have its first-generation autopilot system, which allows the car to steer automatically, merge onto the highway, change lanes and park independently. Although the car models with this type of autopilot are not fully driverless, Tesla is striving to make fully autonomous cars in the future.

According to Tesla, the fully autonomous cars it plans to develop will consist of eight cameras per vehicle, providing a 360-degree view of a 250 meter range. The cars will also have enhanced radars, which would allow the vehicle to see through heavy rain, fog or even an oncoming vehicle.

Many other companies such as Waymo, originally part of Google’s self-driving car project, are looking to use their technology to improve safety and mobility for everyone. In Waymo, there are currently test drivers, who provide feedback to the engineering team, behind the wheel of all self-driving cars that are being tested. These companies continue to test possible scenarios for when these self-driving cars will be on the roads without test drivers.

Although fully self-driving cars are not available yet, the use of self-driving cars can reduce the number of car accidents caused by human error. According to Auto Insurance Center, since computers use complicated algorithms to calculate numbers like stopping distance and distance from other vehicles, the rate of car crashes could decrease significantly. The NHTSA investigated the crash rate reduction of Tesla’s autopilot feature. The results showed that the feature reduces the crash rate by 40 percent.

There are no opportunities for autonomous cars to be “distracted”, which is often a large factor in car accidents. Other benefits also come to mind, such as a decrease in drunk driving accidents and the ability to make transportation easier for disabled or older individuals who cannot drive independently.

THE DRAWBACKS

On May 7, 2016, Joshua Brown became the first driver with Tesla’s autopilot feature to be involved in a fatal accident. The 45 year old Ohio man was driving his Tesla Model S on the roads of Florida when his vehicle collided with a trailer truck, resulting in his death.

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After investigating the accident, the NHTSA concluded that Tesla was not at fault because the car was not programmed to autopilot itself out of that situation , and the company had made it clear that its technology was meant to assist drivers, not replace them. Still, the incident raised serious concerns for some about how much trust we can place on self-driving cars.

Freshman Alice Cheng, for example, believes that autonomous cars may not be dependable enough to have on the roads.

“Some technology could break down or shut down randomly,” she said. “There also might be some scenarios where the car isn’t programmed to do certain things in certain situations, for example, the car might not work well in some weather conditions.”

Cheng brings up a valid point - the technology for self-driving cars is not yet reliable in heavy rain or fog. There are many weather conditions that will affect the sensors and cameras on self-driving vehicles. For example, heavy rain can damage laser sensors on the top of the vehicle, which can cause the autonomous vehicle to shut down.

Furthermore, the technology that the cars are equipped with could potentially experience glitches or failures, which also means that the driver must know how to operate the vehicle then.

As most people have experienced, GPS systems are not always accurate. If self-driving cars’ GPS systems contain inaccurate information, getting to the correct destination may be a big problem.

THE FUTURE OF SELF-DRIVING CARS

Back to the important question: could autonomous driving technology have prevented the accident MV senior Monica Haskell was involved in. Could autonomous vehicles have prevented the accident? With the technology of self-driving cars we have at the moment, no. As of now, the technology is not advanced enough.

Companies need to continue testing their technology to make sure these vehicles are completely ready. There are still weather conditions the vehicles are not programmed to perform in, and there may be some glitches at the moment. But if the technology keeps developing, there may be a day where we can rely on self-driving cars to prevent accidents like this one.

Aside from the safety concerns with self-driving cars, would people actually want to switch from the cars we use now to a transportation method controlled by a supercomputer?

While the technology self-driving cars is nowhere near perfect, it shows a lot of promise – and autonomous vehicles could very well change the way we get around in our lifetimes. Haskell personally loves driving her stick shift, but realizes the need to adapt to improved technology.

“I understand that if technology gets to the point where self-driving cars are a lot safer, then I would have to do what is safer for the majority of the people, and not just how I feel,” Haskell said. “So if it does get to the point where they are a lot safer than human drivers, I would probably switch over.”

– TECHNOLOGY –

DR. AMAURY TRIAUD

An interview with a University of Cambridge researcher who helped make the groundbreaking discovery of seven Earth-like planets this February

BY KEERAT SINGH In February of this year, after six years of searching, seven potentially habitable planets were found orbiting TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool dwarf star 39 light years away from Earth. The exoplanets surrounding this cool, low-mass star were discovered by a team led by Michael Gillon from the University of Liege in Belgium. Also on this team was Dr. Amaury Triaud from the University of Cambridge, who answered some of our questions about the newly discovered planetary system.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO DEVOTE YOUR TIME TO SEARCHING FOR LIFE ON PLANETS BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?

Well, it’s curiousity, I think. I was not satisfied with the idea that maybe, yeah, there’s probably life out there. I really wanted to know. And I guess, behind every researcher, you have an insatisfaction of the status quo and trying to find out if really what people are telling you is the truth.

I think that if you ask any astronomer, almost all of them are convinced there must be some sort of life somewhere else because the universe is so big and there’s no reason to think we are so special. However, I think a more interesting question is how frequently is there life out there. I really have no idea whether every planet that is habitable will have life or whether it’s one in a hundred or one in ten thousand. This number, I think, is pretty important, and that’s what drives me.

Once the climate is established, I think we will look at more closely at the balance of the different molecules within the atmosphere. For instance, Earth has a lot of oxygen, which is created by biology. By comparing the balance of different molecules with one another, like oxygen, methane, nitrogen dioxide, for instance, we will actually be able to infer if there is a biology as active as that that we have on Earth.

HOW HAVE THESE DISCOVERIES INCREASED WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE? This is giving us a more an optimistic view on what we will be ENCOUNTERED DURING THIS PROJECT? able to do. It’s the first time that we will have the right targets Several people thought that there wouldn’t be any planets around low-mass stars like Trappist-1, and thought that our quest would be a waste of time and resources. Our opinion was that we find planets pretty much everywhere, and it would be silly if those planets existed and we ignored them, just at the time when we could start studying their atmospheres.

HOW WERE THESE PLANETS FOUND?

The way we found the planets is [observing] when the planets pass in front of the star. They do a transit, and basically they cast a shadow and we see a small drop in the brightness of the star. So it’s not a problem of how far it is but really it’s about how much light you can get.

When the planet passes in front of the star, some of the starlight goes through the atmosphere … and specific atoms will make it look specific colors. Sodium is a very beautiful yellow, for instance, and oxygen is in the red. So if you have those atoms and molecules in the atmosphere of the planet, if you observe in that color, you will see that the atmosphere is opaque and the planet will look bigger...those changes are small but it’s easier to find a small planet on a small star. That is why we targeted ultra-cool dwarfs.

These planets are in the Goldilocks zone, which means they are the right distance from their star to support life. What else do you need to find out to determine whether there is life present on the planets?

We will infer what cocktail of gases are within the atmosphere,and that will give us an idea of the climate.

to study the atmospheres of Earth-like environments. Before, we were finding all sorts of planets that may look like Earth or may be a bit like Earth in size, in mass, in temperature, but none of them we could really study in detail. With Trappist 1, it’s changing the game because we will know the atmosphere, we will know the climate.

I think that is changing a lot of the perception of people around us. Even if they had early objections about this type of planet or this type of stars, now I think there’s a lot of positive attitude towards planets orbiting ultra cool dwarfs.

Also I think it will have a big impact on how we appreciate planet formation, but I don’t think theorists have quite had the time to work and reflect on that yet. It’s just a little too soon.

ANY ADVICE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN PURSUING ASTRONOMY?

Be open minded. Sometimes you need to make others understand your ideas and it’s not easy to convince people. Curiosity is the first quality. You should be willing to take risks. I would say that you need grades in science, physics, mathematics to enter university and do well there, but to become an astronomer, or any researcher, you need curiosity.

To get involved in research the easiest way is to contact a researcher close to you and see if they would accept, and if they need help. Once at University, ask lecturers, attend seminars, see what is being done and then ask to participate.

RES NOVAE

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– TECHNOLOGY –

BREAKING THE BUBBLE

In light of the recent criticism Facebook has received for trapping users in distorted political news feeds, students decide to take matters into their own hands

BY KEVIN LI

T

he morning after the 2016 election, senior Avni Prasad woke gued that the media sorely lacked diversity of views – four times up and saw the news in complete shock. Despite the seem- as many journalists identified as Democrats, and most placed too ingly overwhelming sentiment against him by students and much weight on their fellow experts’ opinions, creating a self-reteachers, despite the countless accusations of racism, sexism and inforcing cycle. Many times, Silver said, reporters went to Midwest cluelessness, despite almost all experts predicting otherwise, Don- states like Ohio with “pre-baked narratives” of voters whom they ald Trump had won the presidency. deemed “decreasingly representative of contemporary America.”

“I felt very disoriented,” Prasad said. “And that feeling sort of This in turn caused many conservative voters to feel isolatfor me came as, ‘well, this is my fault; I’m disoriented because I ed, creating a niche for far-right sites like Breitbart to take over. didn’t look at the complete truth that was out there.’”

Thanks to the insulated nature of social media friend groups, a For Prasad, the election results were a serious wake-up call. She person might feasibly go through the entire election season only took them not as a reason to blame those who voted Trump or third reading these sites, taking the approval of friends as confirmation party, but instead as a sign of her own failure to fully comprehend that the articles represented reality. In a study of over 1.25 milthe other side, a result of limiting herself to the mostly homoge- lion links shared on Facebook and Twitter, Columbia Journalism neous opinions of her Facebook feed.

Review found that Trump supporters tended to stay within a “BreThe 2016 presidential election was a monumental one for social itbart-centered wing” of news sites including The Daily Caller and media. Over 62% of U.S. adults reported getting news from sites InfoWars – the latter a site known for mixing a few proven facts like Facebook and Twitter, up from 49% in 2012, according to Pew with blatant lies like the Pizzagate child trafficking conspiracy.

Research Center. For the first time, To their credit, Facebook has candidates normalized the practice been attempting solutions in of “Twitter wars,” trading snappy response to criticisms of playretorts as hundreds of thousands of During the election, my family made a ing a role in the spread of fake supporters cheered them on. Gov- conscious decision to watch both FOX News or biased news. In a blog post a ernment Technology reported that few months after the election, Trump in particular received the and CNN, to open up the Wall Street Journal the company announced that equivalent of $380 million in free every time we read a NYT article. To get that it would partner with indepenadvertising simply through likes, exposure, that came from an individual level, dent fact-checkers like Snopes shares and retweets. and PolitiFact to monitor links But this popular new medium and it’s seeping through the things that are shared on its platform and warn came with a critical flaw. Unlike tra- showing up on my Facebook news feed. users about questionable conditional newspapers, which feature tent. More recently, it modified a diverse sampling of issues in their SENIOR AVNI PRASAD its Trending sidebar so that all front page headlines and opinion people in an area would see the sections, social media doesn’t have same news links rather than a list to give a representative view of the day’s events. Instead, feeds are customized based on their browsing interests. often limited to the opinions of friends and family, who tend to Still, Facebook can never please everyone with its changes. Its share the same political views. fact-checking initiative drew criticism for using organizations As an avid student journalist and editor-in-chief of El Estoque with a “liberal bias” like Snopes, as well as questions of whether it during the last school year, Prasad recognizes the drastic change could be trusted to determine the fine line between fake news and that has occurred in news. controversial but valid opinions. And when some conservatives “In the past, when my mom picked up the newspaper…a lot of accused the hand-picked Trending topics of being biased against it was not news that she agreed with but was important for her them, Facebook replaced their entire Trending team with an algoto hear out,” Prasad said. Nowadays, she explains, the information rithm, only to have that algorithm immediately feature a fake news she gets from social media often simply reinforces her political be- article about Megyn Kelly being fired as the top result. liefs rather than expanding her understanding or allowing her to In Prasad’s view, although Facebook’s intent is understandable, empathize with different viewpoints. allowing an algorithm to take over gives a worrying amount of In fact, a liberal bubble in mainstream media itself may have editorial power to tech companies. Instead, she suggests, people contributed to the sense of disbelief Prasad and many other stu- should take the initiative to expose themselves to other points of dents felt. After the election, FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver ar- view organically.

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“During the election, my family made a conscious decision to watch both FOX News and CNN, to open up the Wall Street Journal every time we read a NYT article,” Prasad said. “To get that exposure, that came from an individual level, and it’s seeping through the things that are showing up on my Facebook news feed.”

In response to her own shock at Trump’s election, Prasad decided it was her responsibility to seek out the other side, however discomforting that might be. She wrote an editorial expressing how instead of generalizing or ridiculing Trump supporters, she would make an effort to understand why someone might rationally vote a different way. Going beyond the bubble of social media, she began to search directly for contrary opinions on well-respected sites like The Atlantic and LA Times.

“I think that if individuals become complacent and just take the information that’s handed to them, then they’ll find themselves more isolated in their political bubble,” Prasad said. “But if they do take initiative and actively search for information that doesn’t align with their beliefs, they’ll be more successful [in combatting] this echo chamber.”

J

unior Nicholas Chen did what many would find unthinkable – he wrote a piece, later published in El Estoque’s election package, defending Trump.

Chen understood and agreed with many students’ concerns about Trump, including his encouragement of violence at rallies and his anti-immigrant rhetoric, but felt it was important to try approaching the two candidates’ platforms with a rational mindset.

“A lot of the reason I wrote the paper was because I thought the media wasn’t focusing on the important aspects of the election,” he said. “It just kind of ran itself into a cycle of focusing on scandal after scandal instead of actual policy.”

Chen takes issue in particular with social media pages like BuzzFeed and NowThis, which he believes spread unproductive, bitesized video clips of political speeches during the election in what amounted to “sports fan rivalry politics.” These posts, he claims, simply made people feel better about their own views without providing details to encourage a substantive discussion.

“I think it contributes nothing,” Chen said. “It’s entertainment that happens to be toxic to the political environment at the same time.

In his article, Chen sought to place more emphasis on the candidates’ actual policies instead. He compared Trump’s unclear but seemingly isolationist foreign policy with Clinton’s hawkish tendencies, and suggested the possibility that backlash against a President Trump would cause a Democratic takeover of Congress in 2018, concluding that Trump may indirectly be the better choice for a progressive future.

Although Chen admits many of his predictions turned out to be wrong, including his assertion that Trump would not act on his proposed Muslim ban, he believes he was right in trying to understand and make a logical argument for the other side. On the other hand, he notes that many of the responses to his article on Facebook were simply knee-jerk reactions, calling him an “edgy teenager” or an attention-seeking contrarian for supporting unconventional views.

Prasad, who helped put together the El Estoque election package, saw this reaction to Chen’s piece as symptomatic of a larger issue among the student body.

“Our school has this sort of superiority complex, where we just think … we are ideal in a political sense, and our community is really open to people of different sexualities, different ethnicities,” she said. “Yet I was taken aback when this came along and I saw that people are not exactly open to diversity of thought in the sense that we believe we are.”

So what can students do to address this problem? For Chen, Facebook’s news feed has become a large distraction, so he now

uses a Chrome extension blocking out posts entirely. When he does browse the news occasionally, like Prasad, he makes sure to seek out substantive sources like The Atlantic, New York Times and The Economist.

But while Chen sees social media as a net-negative for political awareness, he believes it can still serve as a perfectly good news source as long as people don’t limit themselves to friend groups.

“Often times when I check the news I’ll [scroll through the Trending topics], because you’ll have conservative people and liberal people sharing their views on a certain piece of news,” Chen said.

“I feel like you can get a pretty diverse set of viewpoints.”

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iven the controversy and uncertainty over Facebook’s situation, it’s not surprising that many students have taken it upon themselves to seek out different views personally. For the politically engaged, like Prasad and Chen, this might mean writing editorials to understand the other side and provoke meaningful debates. But for students who don’t typically follow politics, or who consume online content passively rather than create it, change may have to occur in the news sites themselves.

Junior Chetana Ramaiyer, former news editor and current managing editor of El Estoque, understands that the school’s student publication has received criticism from some for focusing disproportionately on liberal social issues. She believes that El Estoque can make significant improvements next year towards having more varied coverage of opinions – a move that might sometimes mean publishing unpopular or controversial stories.

“If we are striving to become a more professional and mature publication,” Ramaiyer said, “we should probably report more on conservative issues … because it’s not our role to just promote what students will be more likely to read.”

Speaking about social media in particular, Ramaiyer believes it would be helpful for El Estoque to actively promote different viewpoints on its Facebook page, whether by sharing news or opinion articles. Currently, their system involves simply choosing well-written or timely articles from each section to post. By instead making a direct effort to share articles different from conventional liberal views, Ramaiyer hopes, El Estoque could help foster political awareness among the student body, making them more inclined to click on opposing arguments out of curiosity.

However, Ramaiyer is cautious not to go too far in the pursuit of fair representation. Although exposure to opposing views is indeed critical to healthy political discourse, Monta Vista’s population is still overwhelmingly liberal, and to suggest otherwise by targeting fifty-fifty coverage of liberal and conservative views on any given issue may be misguided.

“Our publication does reflect the views of the general student body. We do always try to get the other perspective, but again, because there’s so little people here that have the other perspective, often times we end up interviewing the same people over and over again,” said Ramaiyer. “We’ve definitely had many many discussions in class and with the editors about trying to find that balance.”

There may be no easy cure to the self-reinforcing bubble of social media, especially with even Facebook itself seemingly conflicted about what to do. If there’s one thing the three students above have in common, though, it’s that they’ve made it their own responsibility to ask the inconvenient questions – whether by reaching out to the other side, provoking debate through editorials, or trying to effect change in student organizations. So in this uncertain political climate, maybe the answer to social media’s ills lies not with the companies in control, but with ourselves.

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2016-17: A LOOK BACK

BY CAROLYN DUAN

From gravitational waves to scientific protests, this has been a busy and exciting year for STEM. Here’s a timeline of some of the most memorable events.

DETECTION OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVES Nearly a century ago Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, and on February 11th those waves were finally detected in the fabric of spacetime. This groundbreaking discovery serves as a major confirmation of his theory of general relativity.

FEB 2016

MAR

BABY BORN FROM THREE PARENTS (KUATO) A healthy baby boy was born from the DNA of three parents. This controversial “three-parent” technique was used to successfully bypass Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder present in the genes of the boy’s mother. The mother’s first two children had died due to Leigh syndrome.

APR

GOOGLE’S ALPHAGO AI BEATS GO CHAMPION

Google DeepMind’s artificial intelligence program, AlphaGo, made history by defeating one of the best Go players in the world, Lee Sedol. AlphaGo’s victory is a significant step towards the creation of a truly artificial intelligence.

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SPACEX STICKS A ROCKET LANDING AT SEA IN HISTORIC FIRST The spaceflight company SpaceX successfully landed a reusable rocket onto a drone ship off the coast of Florida.

TESLA’S FIRST SELF-DRIVING CAR FATALITY Tesla’s autopilot mode couldn’t save the life of Joshua Brown, a 40 year old husband and father who was killed in a crash with a large white truck that his car failed to detect. This accident, the first known death caused by a self-driving car, threw a wrench in the public’s growing trust in autonomous vehicles.

One question is now more pressing than ever: Should we trust computers with our lives?

MAY

SEP

MARCH FOR SCIENCE In 2017, people around the world celebrated Earth Day through a series of marches and rallies in Washington, D.C. and 600 other cities. The March for Science was dedicated to nonpartisan support of science and evidence-based policy making.

FEB 2017

APR DISCOVERY OF TRAPPIST-1 SYSTEM NASA discovered a record-breaking seven potentially habitable Earth-sized planets orbiting a single star about 40 light-years away. Each of these planets could have liquid water on their surfaces, suggesting an opportunity to search for alien life outside of our solar system.

CO2 LEVELS GO PAST THE POINT OF NO RETURN Septembers usually mark the lowest carbon dioxide levels in the year, but in 2016 it was instead a symbolic milestone for Earth’s climate: CO2 levels permanently passed 400 parts per million (ppm). It will not return below the mark ever again in our lifetimes — what’s there in the atmosphere is there to stay. The consequences are enormous, including a significant increase in Earth’s sea levels, the possible submerging of low-lying small island states, and the extinction of many coral reefs.

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READ MORE AT mvresnovae.com

ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY CAROLYN DUAN PAGE DESIGN BY ILENA PENG