The Insider June 2020

THE INSIDER

THE INSIDER / 1

General partners

Special thanks to Morten Hansen, Anders Paalzow, Ksenija Sunepe, The Class of 2020, Diana Geiushova, Saba Jagmaidze, Mihaela Ciornenchi, Catalina Popescu

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BalticPrint 2 / THE INSIDER

CONTENTS 5

ASSOCIATES OF THE MONTH

6

ZOOM, MEET, TEAMS, LIVESTORM

7

HOW COULD I FORGET...

8

PARADOXES

10

PSYCHOLOGICAL HACKS

12

THIS IS A SIMULATION

14

WHAT DO WE OWE OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS?

18

YOUTUBE LOOPHOLE

20

DORM STORIES

22

TIME TO GRADUATE

24

VIDEO CONFERENCING PLATFORMS

25

JINX!

26

ZOOM HORROR STORY

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THE THEINSIDER INSIDER//33

Dear readers, We are catching up to summer, after what has been such a wild ride. Just a few deadlines and exams can be seen in the schedules of Y1’s and Y2’s, thereafter sunny and careless days will mix with internships.

For our graduates, the SSER journey has succesfully come to an end, kickstarting an exciting future. Meanwhile, we, the Insider team, have been recalling our experiences, overthinking maybe a bit too much and putting it all together in this issue.

Firstoff, enjoy Morten’s opinion on videocommunication platforms, as it represents what most of us are probably feeling like right now. Sometimes horrific situations occur, only confirming that Soros would be better. Nevertheless, if you had to choose one – we have prepared a bias review, which will help you make a decision.

What’s more, indulging in random YouTube videos have become more of an unintentional routine than before. In case you haven’t discovered everything on there yet, find our favorite picks in this issue.

Luckily, some of our SSE Riga students get to experience those and much more together, as dorms have become their home for the last few months. Read more about it a few pages ahead.

For those seeking a bit more mystery than 2020 is altogether, a few conspiracy theories and mind-boggling paradoxes should be right up your alley. Make sure not to jinx anything ;) We have, however, predicted a lucky and fortunate life ahead for our graduates, as they have checked all of the true SSE Rigan boxes and are ready to go further!

See you next semester!

Love, the Insider 4 / THE INSIDER

The Insider team EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Una Narnicka

DESIGNERS

Darja Sediha Elīza Ozola

EDITORS

Amanda Zvaigzne Petro Semenikhin Laura Kamergrauze Veronika Morozova Madara Buša Ioana Vataman-Margineanu Ksenija Sunepe Sāra Zdanovska

TH ANK YOU THA NK Y OU TH ANK Associates of the month IrÄŤna Sorokina

EDU COM Always helpful, deals well with difficult situations and a great asset for the SA ;)

Kris Matiakh

MARKETING COM Helped with the utterly long videos for Faculty Diaries all month, thank you for being so responsive!

Rebeka Nagle

MARKETING COM This is more like not just for a month but the whole semester - thanks for helping with your new ideas! It is a pleasure to have such an associate in any committee <3

THE INSIDER / 5

Zoom, Meet, Teams, Livestorm

by Morten Hansen

In the old days (mid-March 2020 and before) I didn’t know what Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Livestorm were. Now I have used all of them. They say you cannot teach an old dog a new trick. Obviously, I am either not old or not a dog; you choose.

But do I like those platforms? Nope.

OK, I see some usefulness but mostly for small groups of people when one can see the other participants. It worked last week when the Fiscal Discipline Council “met” with the ratings agency Moody’s where we were altogether seven people. It was even better when we had an SSER Economics Department meeting but perhaps it was the agenda that was the main attraction: Having a beer online with Nicolas and Konstantins.

And I certainly did not much enjoy it when I was giving a keynote speech at a business webinar in Lithuania – I caught myself thinking whether anyone was really out there? Were they listening? Did they find it interesting or purely boring? Did they check their Facebook account instead? Not interacting with people and not being able to read body language is a massive drawback.

And you cannot really crack a joke since it feels like you are telling it to yourself. Should I in the future have students react to yet another (lame) joke with a “Haha” in the chat box? I really hope not.

My conclusion therefore is: Zoom, Google Meet etc. work – but reality is still the number one invention!

GIVE ME BACK MY SOROS!!!!!!!

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How could I forget....

by Y3s

Morten banged his head on the blackboard... Probably the only time he regretted not having more hair on his head Inga was trying to convince us that BLS was a legit course and wanted us to come up with a punishment for ourselves. LOL. A.T. and L.R. got drunk af and didn’t want to come out of the bathroom.

“I was partying in a bar/club at night, several hours before defending an Anthropology project at 9am... And it was a big surprise for me when I ran into our opposition team in the same bar. All of us passed though.

I remember having a hard International Economics exam at the same day with a boat-trip. It was very satisfying finishing the exam, grabbing some alco in Spirits and Wine, heading to the ship and celebrating on the way to Stockholm.”

L.B and S.L were a thing. Had such hopes for you guys I cried when our MAF model balanced The most sincere memory, when my friends and I finished the thesis, we first went to CopyPro and then ate pizza in the park at night I didn’t remember anything in the morning. It was a good time...

During one of the first lectures someone said that Hectors is No1. product sold in terms of quantity in Latvia.

THE INSIDER / 7

Paradoxes

why our brains are stupid, yet smart

by Petro Semenikhin Paradoxes are cool. Who doesn’t like a nice brain teaser? Solving these regularly can increase memory, slow the progression of dementia, and give you that oh-so-evasive dopamine boost. However, what we call brain teasers is only one of the three commonly distinguished types of paradoxes, namely the veridical paradox.

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A veridical paradox, as defined by American logician and philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine, is one that has an incredible, confusing result, but the explanation for it holds up, nonetheless. The first example that comes to my mind is Hilbert’s Hotel, a paradox aimed at displaying the intriguing and confusing properties of countably infinite numbers. In short, the paradox goes as follows: you run a hotel with a countably infinite number of rooms, and your inn is frequented every day by a countably infinite number of residents, occupying every single room. Here comes the paradox: if, suddenly, there appears one more guest than usual, and (seemingly) all the rooms are occupied, what are you to do? Well, don’t stress! Weird math has got you covered! If you simply move every guest to the next room over, i.e. the guest from room no.1 to room no.2, no.2 to no.3, etc., you will end up with one free room for the new guest. Why? Because ∞± n, where n∈R, is still infinity. So, both the number of customers and the number of rooms are technically still equal to infinity. Sounds insane but has a rational foundation– that’s a veridical paradox. If it were to be visualised, a veridical paradox would most often take the form of an optical illusion: you can measure that pact that the dots at the centre of the flowers are the same size, or that the lines are, indeed, parallel, but your brain still tells you that the result is unbelievable from a perception standpoint.

The next type of paradox, as a sort-of opposite to a veridical paradox, is a falsidical one. Its definition states that it produces an unbelievable result, which is then proven to be wrong by solving the fallacy beneath. Perhaps the most famous example of one is the Achilles and the tortoise paradox. Thought up by Zeno of Elea, a Greek philosopher back in living in the 5th century B.C. The paradox states that Achilles, the fastest runner at the time, could never outrun a tortoise if the latter got a head start. That sounds absolutely stupid, right?

Well, it does. And it is, but more on that later.

Anyone can outrun a tortoise, even with a 500m distance handicap.

So why in the world did Zeno think this, and how did he manage to prove it? Well, that’s the thing: he knew that it was not true physically, but he had no idea how to prove it mathematically. He had no idea about convergent series (12+14+18+…=1), and he thought that the distance between Achilles and the tortoise was endlessly divisible, i.e. Achilles would always be just a tiny little bit behind. Nowadays, however, we can obviously prove not only that he can indeed outrun the animal, but, knowing their velocities, we can even say when and at what distance from the starting point that would happen. We have solved the fallacy and can thus prove that the paradox is faulty in outlining the premise, meaning that the incredible answer is simply wrong.

P

And, finally, the coolest type of paradox: the antinomy. While the veridical and falsidical paradoxes are, technically speaking, opposites (one is objectively true and one is objectively false), they have one thing in common that an antinomy doesn’t: the former two have proof underneath them. Whether to reinforce a veridical paradox’s correctness or to prove the false nature of a falsidical one, you need proof, and it’s mostly there. However, the antinomy is a paradox that cannot be proven to be neither false nor true. Think of this: could you, given a time machine, go back and kill your grandfather? Your first answer is probably a yes, and rightfully so: if the time machine functions in the standard way then you could very well go back in time and shoot your ancestor. However, isn’t this ancestor of yours one of the reasons you exist in the first place? If, say, your father was never born because of the stunt you pulled, how could you then exist in the future to go back and kill your grandpa? And, well, as you might have guessed, there is no definitive answer. Just like with Achilles and the tortoise, major advancements in physics and mathematics will be needed before we can get proof for either answer. And that’s exactly what makes it the most exciting paradox, as well as a kind of precursor type to the other two: a paradox is antinomy before it is proven to be anything else. The best visual representation of an antinomy, in my opinion, is Dutch mathematician-turned-scientist, M.C. Escher’s, “Infinite Waterfall”.

That was a bit of a brainfuck, not going to lie. There is, actually, another form of paradoxes, called a dialetheia. It’s kind of a special case for an antinomy, but it’s not really looked upon through the lens of general logic, so I’m not going to go into detail about it. However, if you want to know more about interesting paradoxes, I suggest starting with Monty Hall’s Paradox and digging from there. Another interesting phenomenon to look into is the so-called Kettle logic, but it’s too long to explain in what is supposed to be the conclusion to the article. Finally, if you find this truly interested you, the world of logic is there to explore as one of the most underrated sciences ever, and I’m certain people would have lots of fun looking into it.

THE INSIDER / 9

Psychological hacks

by Amanda Zvaigzne

The social aspect of our lives has surely deteriorated due to this isolation situation going on. But it’s not just us, it’s everyone. We’re literally quite mentally ‘naked’, because there’s a lack of social shenanigans to back us up. So, we’re left with people acting as individual entities, and it’s a little off-putting, to say the least.

But it’s also an opportunity to see how people have been backing themselves up all this time.

There is this great image of a person who is good at reading others and themselves being a constant overthinker. Of them always being ‘in the game’, anticipating every move, having 7 back-up plans for their business idea depending on what you say you’ll be having for lunch. And the degree to which this is inaccurate is impressiveit’s really about paying attention when it’s needed, and not overthinking it . You go off of the information you find out, and that includes a lot more than spoken language and fidgeting during stressful moments.

Being conscious of the actions we usually do unconsciously may seem a little rough at times, so I’ve compiled some hacks that I find helpful for both getting general insights on what people are up to, and just small tricks that may come in handy when the crowds start gathering again.

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See who are the people mirroring you.

This definitely works when it comes to acquaintances and friends. Those mirroring you, no matter if it’s just the way you talk or the words you use, genuinely want to be a part of the world you’re creating. From that point on it’s a matter of looking at their intentions- whether they want to build relationships, achieve personal gain, impress you (by trying to look like ‘an insider’) or pretend. But mirroring is a fair psychological sign that what you are serving up to the table- it’s working.

Mirror when you want to know.

This may seem rather obvious considering that we tend to mirror others without even noticing it. But if you opt for hearing more genuine opinions, it’s really about the level of comfort the other person is feeling. Sure, some people are more straightforward, some try avoiding certain conversations. Adapting your lexicon, and the tone of your voice- these are the things to look out for. And this is not ingenuine, it’s not ‘trying to coax out information by faking your personality’. There is really not a standard personality for a person, there are only things we expect more or expect less. As long as you stay true to what you’re trying to do, you’re all set. ‘ Good liars’ are bad liars.

Before trying to see if the person is lying or not, it’s good to know if they’re more introverted or extroverted. The most common pitfalls for outgoing people who try to lie are rambling or adding unnecessary details. It’s just like listening to one of those montages of a song where all the pauses have been removedjust a ‘ConstantStreamOfWordsNoPauseTryingToBuildaAStoryByAddingMoreAnd MoreDetails’ to create this world where the lie is plausible, trying to ‘play it off’. People who are not as outgoing are usually more startled when having to lie, so longer pauses are to be expected. In both cases asking to ‘elaborate’ won’t do much good. Just more rambling or stuttering, which do nothing to actually get to the deal. Rather, saying ‘I call bullshit, you keep saying/doing this, when it sounds like an attempt to…’ often levels the conversation. Yes, confrontation is a power tool of sorts- very startling, so using it the wrong way will make all fire alarms go off at the same time. But, if you know how to use it, it’ll get you far.

If you’re dodging- you’re too fast.

Say, you’re on a busy street, following that above-average pace of a student trying to get places. And you end up having to dodge everyone on that street. There is actually this unspoken rule of walking- whoever walks the fastest is supposed to dodge, and it has nothing to do with who the person is. If you pause and slow down relative to the person walking towards you just a little bit, they will ultimately understand that you won’t make a move, and that it’s up to them to do the dodging. Hating public transport in Riga with vigour, I’ve seen this work too often when walking to SSE. If you’re late- run. If you want to get somewhere fast- be fast, but slow down when people come toward you. ‘ Establishing boundaries’ one step at a time.

Most people are rather social beings, and besides the standard understanding of ‘personal space’ there is not much we can estimate. Everyone’s been in a situation where you really need to get your point through, but it’s just not taken seriously. ‘Haha, classic Joe, always worked up about getting caught for tax evasion.

The man should chill.’ Sometimes the things that we take seriously don’t mean jack shit to others, because it’s all in our heads.

The boundary between Yes and No is too arbitrary, so we have to test the limits. So, start with establishing a single boundary early on- doesn’t matter how insignificant it is, as long as it’s a hard cut-off you never overstep. Get people used to you having strong preferences- from that point on, no matter the choice, they will get used to you having more cut-offs. Not-trying new things (the traditional epitome of ‘boring’) is not about boundaries, and there is very little excuse in not going beyond what we feel is ‘comfortable’.

But by showing that your boundaries tend to not mean ‘Maybe’ you may increase your control over your decisions.

Trick yourself on goal-setting.

It’s difficult to build habits if they’re unrewarding, especially in a social setting where everyone else is seemingly living their best lives. But sometimes that’s life, and we just have to accommodate. And one way of building habits is by forming a network around a single serious long-term goal. Make an excuse to yourself that you have to do this small thing because it’s actually ‘deeply intertwined’ with this serious goal on a ‘very real’ basis. Look for links- no matter how insignificant they seem. The brain needs something to anchor itself on- just think how a teeny tiny thing has previously been able to hold you back or push you forward. It’s really about a trigger and tricking yourself that it means something.

We can only take advantage of the things we are conscious about, and some things are better left untouched. Life can get overwhelming at times, and that’s definitely the wrong moment to think about what others are thinking about. But picking up a few insights never hurt- even if you notice someone mirroring you once a year, you can feel more comfortable knowing that this is no coincidence.

As always: TL;DR We exist in people’s memories. If all of them would be summarized, would the average memory of us represent who we are? Yeah, not really.

THE INSIDER / 11

THIS IS A

SIMULA T

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TION

by Una Narnicka

S

trange coincidences happen all the time and, naturally, questions arise. We want to know explanations, in order to make sense out of a situation. Searching up ‘reliable sources’ might not always be on top of the ‘To Do’ list, therefore, coming up with conspiracy theories is not that hard of a task. People generally perceive the world through stories and are looking for patterns to make connections.

Conspiracy theories also surround the current situation, with Bill Gates gaining a lot of attention. In his 2015 TED Talk he discussed the importance of pandemic preparedness since the next outbreak might hit even harder, the Ebola virus then being one of the more current topics. This has been taken as evidence to prove that Bill Gates had foreknowledge about the Coronavirus. Additionally, his $250 million contribution toward creating a vaccine has also raised some suspicion. As a result, he’s been blamed for co-hosting the pandemic, in order to install digital ID through vaccines and gain access to people’s personal information. Furthermore, there has been a lot of conspiracy relating to the 5G network. It is said to be responsible for transmitting the virus through radio waves. Not to worry, the virus might not even be real, as many believe that it’s just a plot to limit our freedom. Perhaps they’re right?

Unfortunately, conspiracy theories prosper in times of trouble. Not all answers are immediately available, therefore, people feel anxious and start speculating. Social media platforms, such as YouTube or Facebook, are only fuelling people’s belief in these theories. Nowadays it is easier to reach a wide audience, occasionally evoking a severe response. There

have been multiple arson attacks attempting to damage mobile phone masts, in order to stop the virus from spreading through radio waves. Furthermore, those, who believe that the virus is made up, don’t even bother abiding the #stayathome restrictions.

Their actions only jeopardize attempts to improve the global situation. Reckless behavior also applies to people, who are overwhelmed by their disbelief in climate change. They don’t try to change their habits since there’s no point.

Luckily, there are many less serious conspiracies out there, that are veeryy interesting to read and can be simply used as entertainment. People already made fun of the Flat Earthers by laughing that it must be hard with the 2 m distance – some of us might fall over. In addition to the Earth being a mystery, you should also know that the Moon is really a hologram.

The reason why it moves is that NASA keeps forgetting where they placed it in the previous day, eek.

Also, did you know that Barack Obama could control the weather? Maybe it’s a special requirement, that regular people don’t possess... If that’s not enough, Obama and other influential people are actually reptilians. For them to maintain their human form, they drink huge amounts of human blood and continue to control all of us. If for some reason you don’t believe this, maybe vampires will seem more plausible – your choice.

It wouldn’t be correct to claim that each theory is just a creation of some nutjob, as some conspiracies have indeed turned out to be true. Nevertheless, don’t be afraid – we won’t fall off the Earth. Just stick to the reliable sources and you should be just fine.

THE INSIDER / 13

What do we owe our future generations?

Yes, yes, here comes one of the many - allow me to call it this way - existential questions we do not get to think about too often in our daily lives. However, when asked about it, we most probably are too busy or occupied by something else, so we refuse to give it too much of a thought. Subsequently, this question remains hanging and, often, untouched.

What can we possibly owe our future generations if there are no future generations? At least not in the present, they exist only in the future.

One would say, we cannot owe anything to someone non-existent.

That, in fact, is undeniable and sounds reasonable, but can it really just be like that – no duty towards someone in the future? If we speak particularly in terms of our own family’s future generations, namely, children, grandchildren, the topic becomes friendlier and answers become clearer – the future generations we have been talking about become identifiable. But the major question here is - should we all together as the present generation consider our aggregate actions as of relevance to the future generations altogether?

We tend to compare our lives to the lives of people from the history, or how certain actions in the past have shaped and affected the lives of today, but we barely think how much is in our hands that, if approached improperly, can drastically affect people living in the future. On one hand, there cannot be a moral obligation, and no one can make us owe something to future generations, because at the end of the day we are the ones living our lives today and we get to decide what to do and how. But then again – who are we to claim it for sure?

Every day we make loads of decisions that seem to benefit us today, but less seemingly – leave harm and create an adverse impact on future generations. There is an urgent need to distinguish and weigh out whether it is more important for us to enjoy the benefits or, perhaps, refuse from and save them to those yet non-existent generations. Or to say differently – weigh the benefits for us today against the harm to future generations. And here comes the difficulty.

by Laura Kamergrauze

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Human beings often favor the thought of being superior in this world, especially superior to other beings. It is not too complicated to solve the equation – we would prefer not to lose our benefit to the potential harm in the future that we do not even know for sure would exist. The way we are used to having all the resources at our disposal and the means of living our lives is an undeniable proof that we merely think about our benefit today. The odd thing here is that no one has given us the right to live and act like we, humans, are superior. The manner of behaving like we do has come naturally and is no one’s fault; however, taking into account the limited resources we have and the expected rapid growth of human population, we should start reconsidering the moral obligations and ethical issues that might arise if we continue to live following the same pattern. If not, then here we are – humans making ourselves superior also to future generations. We take away their rights to have the same rights as we do.

We come into this world without knowing and having any idea what to expect, but then, flowing through the life, we start acting like we own this place. As a result, we live like we have the resources for only ourselves and the present. Day by day, year by year we are, to some extent, destroying the planet, the nature, thus also destroying it for future generations. In the ‘future present’ the planet we will have passed on is going to be completely different compared to what was passed on to us. We on our own have decided that the planet is for sure ours, at least for now, and that we should not save it for someone in the future. Without future generations’ consent we take away their chance to have a saying over this matter.

we thought was at our disposal actually is – we are just borrowing while we are here. From the latter can be derived a few positive outcomes, namely, we do not destroy the planet assuming it is ours, and we can freely pass it on to future generations without taking away their right to have the same planet to borrow. Not only in practical terms this would seem like a good option, but also morally – we would diminish the proof of acting like superior as being exceptional.

On the other hand, how do we know that, the way we are developing thanks to using the resources as we do now, is not something future generations would be thankful for and appreciate? What if it all is the other way around and they would actually want to have the world as it is now? It is not like we have to sacrifice all our thoughts and decisions based on what future generations would want for us to have passed on, but this is undoubtedly an important question to ask ourselves - our generation.

Despite everything, I want to believe that the just mentioned “borrowing way of thinking” is what should be really considered as the right thing to do. Regardless of what the future generations would like for us to have passed on, although it is of importance, there is no one who has given us the right to take advantage over the planet and the resources. But also, how to avoid the other extreme – how else would we be able to live if not with all the resources assumed to be at our disposal?

The world is pulled in a never-ending vortex, where everything constantly changes and develops; so, is there anything we can possibly do in the present to hold ourselves somewhat morally obliged towards future generations What if the issue is approached from a differ- and their right to make their own decisions? ent perspective, meaning, what if it all is in a way that we on this planet are only guests for some certain period of time and that nothing

Thanks to the recent elective course “Climate Change” and Xavier for raising a discussion about this exact question. Ever since, the matter has been in the back of my mind and has got me thinking.

THE INSIDER / 15

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THE INSIDER / 17

Inside the YouTube rabbit hole It doesn’t matter whether you are graduating today or still have two (or three) more years of studies. We all like funny videos, some of us (not me) spend hours on YouTube watching completely random stuff just because. So I decided to share some of mine and The Insider’s team insights in what may be called the depths of the deep in YouTube. (Cringe alert)

By Veronika Morozova

1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_OVxxIvqVw – The rainbow sponge review. I have never seen anyone be so excited about anything in life as much as this woman. The “oh my gosh” and count in this video is outstanding, and the extent to how much she likes wiggles will get you laughing.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5d8pVg3Qtg – James Veitch is a terrible roommate.

James Veitch’s performances are my type of TEDx talks. The absurdity of his hilarious ideas will make you laugh at first and then think how lucky you are not to have a roommate like him. Bonus: if you like this video, make sure to watch his stand ups about replying to spam email to learn how to reply to these things properly. This is gold, literally. You’ll get it when you watch it.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGPNv71_w-U – Zodiac signs in Gina Linetti quotes. This is the Brooklyn Nine-Nine reference many of you probably don’t know about. However, the best thing about this video is that you don’t need to know the context to relate to this video, it stands for itself. Watch Gina be Gina and explore different zodiac signs’ quotes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6Lh-TB2_mA&feature=youtu.be – Batfishes. If you are in a more of a Discovery Channel kind of mood, I suggest you watch this one. There is a lot of very insightful information about what can be called one of the most pissed-looking fish in the world. Also, make sure to turn the volume up to hear the narrative, he makes watching this documentary type video a completely different experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KpvuUS4U8w&feature=youtu.be – Too random to explain. If you want to be surprised, this is where you go.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlBskd3IaNw&feature=youtu.be – How to write an Alt-J song. My personal favorite. This song is everything you want to be, and actually, it is very similar to Alt-J’s repertoire. Even the band itself loves this song, so you definitely have to check it out.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms7capx4Cb8 - Explaining the Pandemic to my past self.

Unbelievably relatable video that will make you remember what you did in January and how everything you planned changed dramatically because of the quarantine.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EShUeudtaFg – Am I pragnet? I found this video many years ago, and it is always relatable. Funny how one word can be misspelled so hard someone makes a video about it, so here’s a compilation of horribly misspelled questions that will make you feel better about yourself when you misspell a couple of words in your report.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TjeRtz_mao - Overdramatic Indian T V Scenes. My dad once tried to make me watch a Bollywood movie, and I didn’t know what I was missing out. It appears to be that Indian film directors are very keen on being overdramatic not in the script, but in post-production. You’ll enjoy this one.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuCn8ux2gbs – history of the entire world, i guess. This is a classic, I am pretty sure that many of you have seen it. But those who haven’t, you definitely should. The video is more entertaining than educational, but you will be reminded of some history facts, and will be surprised how many of them make no sense now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy5H1pOz25k – 20 Ridiculous Reasons We Will Miss Eurovision 2020. Ah, Eurovision, the Crème de la Creepy. This show has evolved so much in the last decades that it is difficult to watch it without laughing at practically every performance, and this is why we love it. This is the most recent video of this channel, but the author makes one every year, and all of them are ridiculously true.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXKUgjYh7lo – That song in every musical that no one likes. I don’t like operas and musicals, so if there is anyone like me, you will enjoy this one because it gathers all the thoughts that gather in your head while you are stuck on a play with more than 2 songs in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNAhG3CbqSw – How to make a Post Malone song (compilation). I know this comes from TikTok, but a compilation is on YouTube, okay? Anyway, this one is really funny but also makes you feel kinda ashamed about the music that is being produced nowadays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExukCRD7gN0&t=21s – BBC Talking Animals. Because every YouTube video list needs to have at least one video with cute animals, and no, the one about a Batfish doesn’t count! The guys from BBC have done a great job in recording a voice over for this video, especially the fragment with “Alan! Alan! Alan!”

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqPARIKHbN8 – How to Become TripAdvisor ’s # 1 Fake Restaurant. This story of VICE got very popular two years ago, and it still blows our minds. It is definitely worth watching until the end, and actually, all stories with Oobah Butler are something out of the box, so check them out, you won’t regret it.

THE INSIDER / 19

Being Isolated Together

By Ioana Vataman-Margineanu

What is the atmosphere in the dorms during the quarantine?

What do you usually do the whole day?

Any activities with the others?

Diana Geiushova (Y2): There is a huge difference between a normal and a quarantine day. It is that everyday there are people playing outside volleyball, football etc. and it makes the whole thing feel like a summer camp (not until someone accidentally hits your window)

DG: I still study, but sometimes I sin and wake up 37 seconds before the lecture just to reach for the laptop and watch the whole thing in bed. I cook. Haven’t discovered my inner chef though, because I don’t want to burn down the dormitories’ kitchen. Movies, scrolling through tik tok and having video calls with friends fill up the rest of the days.

Catalina Popescu (Y1): I think dorms is one of the best places where quarantine could have caught me. Even if we respect all the regulations, we are able not to lose real life communication since we live in the same house. Now, more than ever, we became a family.

Saba Jagmaidze (Y1): Calm, very calm and smooth - in the mornings. Latvia seems very generous with sunlight and birds singing. Yet when it comes to evenings - IT DEPENDS. We had game nights; humble gatherings to celebrate Easter; random talks with people in the corridor or in the kitchen. What I have noticed is that students now find more reason to have fun.

Mihaela Ciornenchi (Y1): At the beginning, it started to become a routine and a simple walk to the grocery store seemed an adventure. But you just get used to it and adapt.

Now, I do not feel like it is somehow different since a lot of people are staying here.

20 / THE INSIDER

CP: Studying, cooking and having fun. We’re somewhere in between the Masterchef show during the day and Olympic Games during the evening and night: Foosball, Volleyball, Uno, Cards Against Humanity have become a must! Sometimes I’m feeling like in the good old summer days when we were meeting in the yard with all our friends and played all day long.

SJ: If not lectures, I walk or cycle. Also, my dormmates love playing their own modified version of volleyball.

MC: The dorms might seem pretty empty, because everyone is sitting in their rooms.

The meeting points are, of course, the kitchens. If you have a cool group of friends as I do (shout out to the Moldovans +1) you can never get bored. We can spontaneously organize game nights, play volleyball or a mini foosball tournament.

How is it to study and write the exams in your room? Do you study together?

What else interesting can you share with us?

DG: Writing an exam in your room is weird, but bearable. Although, during AF exam I couldn’t concentrate, because some Russian babushka was casually sitting in front of the dorms, having a rant about her grandkids’ private life.

DG: I’m literally the worst person to ask cause all I do is eat, reference tik toks in conversations (apparently, I have an addiction), which I guess will cost me a couple of lost friends pretty soon, and try to look funny for an Insider.

CP: Sometimes it is easier to study at home, but of course the atmosphere is not like the one at SSE. One of the few things that stayed the same is the supportive community.

CP: I would like to mention Ruslan (some people know why).

SJ: I enjoy the view from my window and still manage to understand financial ratios. So, it is okay. A few times I joined the seminar from outdoors. The exams are also okay. My desk is 5 times bigger than the W32 table, thus I cannot complain.

SJ: Some say that no commute is a perk of quarantine... Meh, they have never heard “Nākamā pietura Areeeeeeena Riiiiiiiga” MC: Be ready, everyone. You will meet the next foosball champion in August.

MC: Well, taking the exams 20 minutes after you woke up in your beloved and comfortable pajamas is definitely a plus. I am the kind of person that loves studying alone. As far as I know, everyone is studying like that. The best experience is cooking while listening to accounting concepts.

DG: Well, the kitchens are pretty empty.

Having more than 3 people there at once is a rare occasion. Even the infamous kitchen 2 rats have disappeared, but they are not welcome back.

CP: Actually, the only main difference is not going to university every day and to Puce every Friday. Now, since there are less restrictions, we even managed to go for a walk in Mežaparks (I must say, a really nice park).

SJ: Before the quarantine, we spent most of our mornings and afternoons at SSE Riga and studied in the evenings. Now everything’s changed since people here try to compensate lack of socializing in the evenings with just playing or hanging out outdoors or in each other’s rooms.

Play the PYRAMID with your friends! Download the powerpoint and follow the instructions.

THE INSIDER / 21

TIME

he most awaited moment after 3 years of suffering from all-nighters and "study hard, party hard" lifestyle has finally come - it's time to graduate! However, nobody could have predicted that the Year 3's final handshake from our rector would be a virtual one.

All around the world highschool and university classes of 2020 are coming together for non-traditional ceremonies.

Because I was not able to spend the last few weeks DIY-ing decorations for the graduation party of your dreams, at least let me share some ideas from all around the world to still have a good time and celebrate the freedom and opportunities the diploma is going to provide for you.

T

ost of my friends have also developed an unhealthy obsession with video games and many of those provide the opportunity to play together with friends.

Some graduation parties around the world have been thrown in Minecraft, with students building their whole university campus virtually, Animal Crossing and other games, and the possibilities are endless.

M

22 / THE INSIDER

Technology has become our best friend during the past couple of decades and since March everybody has been holding their devices very close both for the constant news updates and entertainment.

Why not use mobile phones for coming together to celebrate?

In one business university in Japan human-like robots were used for the students to attend their graduation. Using a videotelephony platform, their faces were displayed on tablets attached to the robotsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; faces. Although, most of us do not have human-sized robots hanging around our house (and attaching you friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face to an Irobot does not seem appropriate), our favourite video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and others make you feel like your friends are sitting right next to you, and changing the background to a certain destination can make the virtual graduation party feel like the one you were supposed to have.

TO GRADUATE

By Madara Buša

W

ho said that online games can not be brought outside?

Many event organizing companies have now adapted to a different format for you to spend time outside with your friends and family. If you speak Latvian, look online for cilpot.lv weekly events that combine going on a walk outside and clever

tasks that you have to do after a certain distance. If you are from another country, look for companies, who use the LOQUIZ or other location-tracking apps for online outdoor events in your language. The games can be played from anywhere around the world, so you can connect with your friends that you can not meet in person, because of the travel restrictions.

If you are like me, by now you have probably watched almost every single movie available online, but rewatching some old classics can be turned into a celebration for you and your friends by using Netflix Party feature. To go with the graduation theme look online for Netflix movies that cover your incoming post-grad stress and coming of age, such as “Kicking & Screaming” or “Lady Bird”.

raduating university can be very stressful and emotional and this year has brought a little bit of sadness that we are not going to be able to party with you in the usual format. But once this is all over, remember that you will always be welcomed to come home to celebrate these 3 years in SSE Riga.

G

THE INSIDER / 23

Video conferencing platforms – a bias review.

First of all – this review will be completely useless.

Now that that’s out of the way – the past few months have put all of us in a more virtual world than before, where videoconferencing apps have become our main means of face-to-face communication. None of them are flawless, some have more cons than others, and if you’re interested, feel free to read an impeccably bias review of a few of them.

Zoom

+ You can change the backgrounds, have a little goof with friends - 40 minutes are not enough to spill the hot tea + Whiteboard makes it easy to play drawing games - Who is the rich person that actually pays for Zoom? I can’t play anything in 40 minutes with friends. + Easy to use, has the cool feature of having a small speaker view window open on whatever screen you have open - Have to make 17 different email accounts in order not to run out of unlimited group meeting minutes

MS Teams + + -

Why? Just why?

Okay, cool backgrounds Can’t see yourself when sharing screen Sure, unlimited meeting minutes If Google Meet has boomer energy then this one has whatever generation came before that. + Alright, can easy make group chats and calls within them - It’s just unnecessary and I will never admit otherwise

24 / THE INSIDER

Google Meet + +

Free to use Has boomer energy to it Video quality is bad The quality is so bad that no one notices my I-woke-up-3-minutes-ago face - Can only see 4 people in gallery view

Skype + Reminds of a time when having Skype calls was the place to meet with your friends after school, even though you saw them 30 minutes ago, and then you decided to go on Omegle and saw things that your underage eyes should not have seen - Honestly, I have not logged in there for years, pretty sure my nickname still has mIxeD CaPiTaliZatiOn and emojis next to it + Used by *actual* grown ups

Discord

+ Extreme gamer energy That’s all I know about it, I’m sure it’s great.

JINX! • If you see Morten before an exam, you get 3 extra luck points.

• The day that you get your Narvesen’s coffee for free will be super-productive.

• Don’t use the lift to the library. Everytime you take the stairs, your success factor increases a little bit.

• If you go to PC Lab before the first lecture that day, you will learn everything your printed out.

• If you’re the first to enter the school in the morning, you won’t have to wait in line for the bathroom.

• Blacking out during a party is seen as good luck. It means that you make space in your brain for new study materials.

• If you’re mentioned five times in a row in the gossip page, you’re doing amazing sweetie :* It’s considered good luck.

• If you’re the one spending the most time (semi)naked during NCC, it increases your chances of topscoring at least one course.

• Don’t say ‘no’ to a marriage proposal from your SSER significant other. Legend says that your children will pass FE on the first try.

• Each 3 min question you ask allegedly increases your Linkedin network.

• The amount of ‘it depends’ and ‘I assume’ is proportional to the eye rolls of whoever is reading your work.

• Missing out on Je Joue activities is considered to be bad luck.

• If you sit in someone’s unoficcial-official seat in Soros, your balance sheet will never balance.

• Whoever passes O&M on the first try, automatically gets their name written in a special book in the rector’s cabinet.

• Students, who send in memes for the Insider, will have great team members in courses with randomly assigned groups.

THE INSIDER INSIDER // 25 25 THE

ZOOM HORROR STORY All the Things Going Wrong

By Amanda Zvaigzne

It’s one of those days where technologies just refuse to cooperate. So far using Google Meet or Zoom has been rather breezy. You know, despite the audio automatically connecting and disconnecting as it pleases. And the shared screen being constantly frozen of the first slide, and the next time it unfreezes is only 20 minutes later, and no one says anything to the lecturers because it’s not like it would actually help. And as the video quality feeling like the footage is being filmed with a raw potato and replayed on a Nokia 3310 through the game ‘Space Impact’. But other than that, things don’t just ‘go wrong by themselves’, right? Wrong. And this is all of those things compiled.

It starts with one of those ‘obligatory attendance’ lectures. It wasn’t good enough that the lecturer asks how the entire course is feeling and is waiting to reach at least three camera-and-mic-on answers to the

26 / THE THE INSIDER INSIDER / 26

questions that takes solid 5 minutes of uncomfortable silence. At least doing it on the computer helps with knowing if the camera is on by showing the little green light of death, so working out during the lecture is just a matter of checking if the mic and camera is off. It’s also a lecture where whether you’re there or not is being measured by a Zoom poll. The best tool available in the 21st century. Not being there for the attendance means an individual re-submission of the assignment, which is, technically, nothing too horrid, but it hits a little hard if you’ve actually been there for the 2-hour lecture. And it’s not even one of those polls that require any serious mental input, rather, it’s just testing if you even exist.

‘Vote on which one of these concepts impressed you the most’ are the words mid-lecture. The ‘I’m going to launch the poll now’ rings out, and nothing shows up.

Just sitting and looking at the screen for solid 20 seconds, living the best life waiting for the poll to show up, before understanding that obviously answers are rolling in already. Quickly typing in the chat if the poll was launched, it turns out that, of course, it was. In hindsight it seems obvious, because, why not go wrong when it can, it’s just not there. Okay, good time to whip out the backup plan, and open the app on the phone. Yeah, it’s a little laggy, it’s not like there are any better options out there. Haven’t been using Zoom on the phone due to the sound just randomly turning off for the presenter, and the Zoom support just asks ‘if speakers are being used’. From that point on it falls apart spectacularly.

Computers are smart. They indicate if the camera is on. When you turn on Zoom mobile, it by default turns the camera on. The point being- a Zoom lecture turns all kinds of funky when your course mates see a side of you, they never wished to know existed. Gets even better when it’s not you who realizes that camera is displaying a quarantine animal in its natural habitat for the whole course to see. It’s that ‘who-ping’ sound of a WhatsApp web message popping up in a group chat saying that everyone can see the most glorious moments of this life. The only point was to check in for attendance, but that would be just too easy. Among the vicious run between reading the WhatsApp web messages, one also has to note that the odds of the speaker being off on the phone at this point are close to zero. And that doesn’t sit particularly well with the workout tutorial by Joanna Soh in the background telling the audience to ‘lunge lower’ and ‘keep their abdominals tight’. From that point on there is nothing left

to save. It is a crash-and-burn situation. In desperate attempts to make the ‘situation’ stop, not much more can be done that disabling all cameras and muting the speakers. Now there are two people with the same name in the lobby, and at least that has to be fully shut down. After managing to turn off Zoom on the phone, possibilities for future have to be evaluated.

So, the options. The classic one is, of course, changing passports, and moving to Mexico to sell avocados. But with the amount of jokes about the location, it would be no surprise if moving there would mean running into other people who have also desperately tried to escape their lives, be it a bad cut-and-run attempt or a Zoom failure. So, Mexico is off the list. European countries seem too close, so that just leaves the rest of the world. Collecting fruit in plantations in an exotic country could also work, but it would be an amazing waste to just disregard the great economic knowledge one possesses after having completed a single AGPSS assignment. So. Business analytics is where we’re heading towards, good to know. A great Asian country for a senior analyst would be Taiwan, becau-…

Yeah. Amidst of all this the lecture had already ended.

Missed the poll. Life is actually spectacular at these little glimpses of heaven. And not because it’s that great, it’s because a part of the human soul has died today. I’m seeing light. There’s not much to do other than resubmit at this point. No dignity can actually be saved here. For this whole experience there’s only a single thing left- going on Google Play and leaving a 1-star review on Zoom.

THE THEINSIDER INSIDER//27 27

they say that... they say that...

28 / THE INSIDER

I miss just casually walking up to people and starting a conversation, messaging them is just not the same, it's way too personal and direct :( I just wanted to say that the previous Insider was amazing!

All good things take time, I suppose!

đ&#x;&#x2DC;Ľ

So what's up with graduation?

Lecturers are talking in 1.5 speed I'm telling you, weather in the Baltics is cooperating with the government to keep us inside SSE will have to pay for my glasses, seeing how much time I spend in front of the computer accidentally cursing during a presentation is next level haha Keep it up SA, I'm rooting for you! I wish you to overcome this period with creativity ;) I honestly have lived a very interesting life, and it shows that S. doesn't know that.

Just you dare try me.

The next time you plan on pulling a move, I promise I'll be waiting

Can everyone who says deBt pls drop out?

I wanna sleep and shout and let it all out, and sleep and shout and let it out. We say oooweooweoweoo... (no, it's not going good) have to admit that seeing that always groomed suit-boy with a wild beard during a zoom presentation freaked me out a little Waking up at 9.15 for a 9.15 lecture is such a mood. Also, waking up at 9.30 for a 9.15 lecture, and even 15.00 for a 9.15 lecture. Thank you, recordings I love that SSE has managed to use 3 videoconferencing platforms. its not like life is already confusing enough.

I miss drinking with no judgement by my parents in Riga :(((( I can only imagine how crazy SSER parties will be next year when they're allowed Writing in chat that your mic is broken while we can hear you typing is another level, nice one G.U.

Imagine similar -to -FE-tempo studying for 2 weeks forthe AF exam, just to fail it because half way through the exam, the software decides to lag and not let you complete the exam :') what a great waste of time hey, Larysa, would you mind criticizing me a lil bit? cuz I want some extra fail at the end of this year xx shoutout to all the friends that keep in touch, ask how you've been and always listen to the whining sessions! <3 Day by day I get more surprised about some of the people that got into SSER, and how far they have gone without a gap year Press F to pay respect to those Y2s who have been studying well and being active in like 3 organizations for over a year to be able to go to on an exchange to the south of Europe just for it to be cancelled because of something you cannot change.

Kostjaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s format of IE in Covid is the best out of all courses in covid so far, prove me wrong

When you have been living with this format of lectures for more than two months already, but every new course always starts with a disclaimer from the lecturer â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure this is a very strange format youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not used to for all of you, It certainly is for me...â&#x20AC;? no hate, just a bit funny at this point :)

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing better than being put in randomised groups with people who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care and then having a horrible experience and stress for an entire course! <3 thanks, SSE, a global pandemic simply was not enough! :)))

I suppose my sense of humor has suffered a bit, since I now find it quite amusing, when someone accidentally turns on their camera or microphone during a lecture

Heidi is such a sweetiepie!

Loved how she was the lecturer who has broken all records in apologizing to us :D

I miss you all, even the haters

đ&#x;&#x2DC;Ľâ?¤ď¸?

What gossip, I mean at this point itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just making fun of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tiktoks or instagram stories that are just mildly unsual, nothing juicy, just bullying M.I. (Y2) and K.M.R. (Y2) did not shave their beards from the beginning of the lockdown so they both look like bears right now.

DD still has a small â&#x20AC;&#x153;toolâ&#x20AC;?

đ&#x;Ś&#x2021;

Who is sadder? Comment for Y3â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cancelled Graduation, or comment for Y2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cancelled exchange, or just comment to pay respect for both for entering the workforce at its worst

â&#x153;&#x152;

đ&#x;&#x201C;&#x2030;

I wanna marry Nicolas The Insider has a hot team

Apparently Lithuanians know ratios, so hot

having a breakdown has become my weekly activity. maybe I should start scheduling them in my google cal, so they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t overlap with lectures

I want to partyyyyy and get drunk and dance and make out with someone maybe and dance some more and laugh and ugh I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do any of that :(

seems like dudes only know two things to do with their hair - shave it off or donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ever touch it with scissors. ever. thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no in-between.

I hope yall arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t working out or learning something insane like French while at home, otherwise I will feel even more like a piece of shit than I already feel like

Last time to learn names of my course mates, thanks Zoom for the opportunity

đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x2122;â&#x153;&#x152;ď¸?

â&#x153;&#x152;đ&#x;&#x2DC;&#x2122;

THE INSIDER / 29

30 / THE INSIDER

THE THEINSIDER INSIDER//31 31

The connection youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re 32 / THE INSIDER waiting for is within reach

What impact will you make? lv.career.deloittece.com