Reflections

     Do you know that humans have the ability to imagine whatever they want in their minds? And when I say ‘imagine’, I actually do mean imagine as in ‘visualise’ or ‘see’. For instance, if I asked a person to imagine a red star, they’ll be able to see a red star in their head. If you’re not impressed with what I’m saying or if you think it’s common knowledge, then I am envious of you. I’ve spent sixteen years thinking my inability to visualise things was normal.            “When I ask you to see a red star, what do you see in your head?” Would you believe me if I said there are 5 answers besides ‘a red star’ for this question and that all of them are correct?      Once again, close your eyes and try to imagine a red star to the best of your ability. Then, take a look at the image above and choose the number that best describes what you were able to see. If you chose either 4, 5 or 6, then that means you ...

    We are in a way like snowflakes- you’ll never find two of us exactly the same. We have different intellect. Different perception. Different personality. Different opinions. And that’s perfectly fine, because after all, that is what makes us humans. John F. Kennedy said it best when he said ‘If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity,’. Let this diversity begin with the classroom. When you are normalising the concept of diversity, you are helping promote a tolerant lifestyle free from racism, sexism, and discrimination. You’ll soon see that with ability grouping, this diversity has no place. After the abolishment of slavery in 1865, it didn’t take much squinting to observe its remnants. And one of those remnants was segregation, and most notably of the classroom. Back then it was an issue of colour. Now it is an issue of abilities and ‘intellect’. Ask yourself: Do you support discrimination by race? By col...

Section I: The Legal System Introduction to the Legal System      The legal system is the procedure in which the law is enforced. It dictates an individual’s rights, responsibilities, & limitations. Two major examples of legal systems are civil law & common law. Civil law, also referred to as non-criminal law in some nations, is concerned mostly with disputes between individuals or between an individual & the government, such as libel (defamation), negligence, or breach of contract. Common law is different from civil law as it does not refer to written laws passed by legislatures .  Instead, it refers to the rules made by judges in cases. That means that in common law, past legal rulings   act as a precedence & influence future legal rulings. Most types of torts are examples of common law.       In general, the legal system could differ from one nation to another. That is why it was necess...

           In 1945 and with a single release of a technological ‘advancement’, the world was face-to-face with a threat like never before- one that promised to put all daunting human challenges to ridicule. Ever since the disastrous bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world was introduced to the ever-growing threat of nuclear warfare. Without a constructive defence, we would have certainly shot ourselves in the foot. As such, the ‘brilliant’ thinkers of our time decided that the only way to deter countries possessing that threat would be if they themselves became the same threat. I and opponents reject such a primal theory, asserting what we have all been taught in grade school: two wrongs do not make a right.      Logically, one would assume that if two nations are in possession of nuclear weapons, they would not instigate nuclear warfare or attack each other. That is the basis of the nuclear deterrence theory, which stat...

           The first scene opens with Colonel Robert Shaw, who appears regretful in delivering some news about wage deduction to his battalion. He is evidently discontent with the news, discreetly asking if anything can be done and sympathising with his unit. Different from him, however, his battalion acquiesces, with only one person, Private Trip, protesting. Trip's words eventually reach his team-mates, and they all rip their cheques in unified protest. Expectedly, Colonel Shaw sides with the men and rips his cheque as well, saying he won’t get paid if his men won’t. What can be seen here is two approaches to the same problem- restriction of freedom. Private Trip acted in the spur of the moment, protesting the instance of the news. Colonel Shaw’s approach, which we never actually get to see due to Trip acting first, involved protesting to the War Department later on. Colonel Shaw has intended for his battalion to keep their cheques and protest...

     Roosevelt achieves multiple things with her quote, such as highlighting the duality of man (as in emotional and logical), establishing the necessity of a balance between logic and emotion in treatment of people, and serving a requiem for human experience/nature. Roosevelt’s quote resonates with me as it’s easily observable in the open world. More often than not, I’ve seen people force-feed logic down others' throats when it’s the wrong quality to use in the situation. For instance, how often has the following scenario played before you: An angry person vents to his friend, and his friend responds by telling him what they’ve done wrong. The result is an even angrier person. What that person needs at that moment isn’t scolding, constructive criticism, or whatever you may call it. They want compassion, sympathy, and reassurance. Similarly, in certain situations, emotions (and especially empathy) are a horrible quality to show.  If you can differentiate ...