I'm not motivated to do this blog post.

Im not motivated to do this blog post right now. I'll do it later though, don't worry.



In the meantime, here's some food for thought:

Science and Politics. Because I couldn't think of a more creative title.

Due to the ailing economy, once again I have found it necessesary to use a corporate sponsor for this blog post. Thank you Bank of America^® for generously agreeing to sponsor this blog post. Your help is greatly appreciated.

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Science and Politics. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of these two subjects is Political Science. However, that's not what I've come to this computer to blog about today. What I am going to talk about is Politics/Government and how Science plays a role in it.

There are many possible ways I can think of right now to look at science and politics. One way is discussing how Politics is used as a way to help scientific endeavors grow, whether it is by having government approval or funding; that's what this blog post will cover.

In my personal opinion, government funding for science is something that seems to have been cast aside in the past 8 years, and for some reason it has suddenly seen the light of day again. I will rant about this later on...

Anyways, if it weren't for the government's help, many of the scientific achievements we have made wouldn't have happened. These range from the atomic bomb to stem cell research to alternative energy methods.

As I just mentioned in the previous paragraph, the government can make or break what can be achieved in the scientific realm. RANT TIME! In the past 8 years, our government was very unwilling to approve or fund research for many important scientific studies. This includes stem cell research and alternative energy. Personally, stem cell research is one of the most important scientific endeavors to be funded right now. Stem cells can be used to help cure many ailments that are currently deadly. In fact, if it weren't for stem cell research, my grandpa wouldn't be alive right now. Thankfully, Barack Obama has put scientific research, including stem cell research as one of his top priorities, so hopefully many new discoveries will be found that will lead to a better future for humanity and the humans that live within it.

It just occurred to me that I suddenly went on a rant about stem cell research and the failure of the Bush Administration.... well to conclude, I believe science and politics can coexist, and politics/government can help science grow to new levels thanks to approval and funding.

The Nuclear Power Debate

== NOTICE ==

Due to the ailing economy, I have been forced to add subliminal advertising to my blog posts in order to be sure that I don't fall behind on my mortgage payments.

Alrighty then! The nuclear power debate! :D

Since the beginning of harvesting nuclear energy in middle-ish 20th century, there has been much debate over its use, mostly because of the hazardous nature of the waste it produces and the possibility of "accidents".

So where do I stand on the nuclear power debate spectrum? Well I can't really answer that, because I'm sitting in a horse carriage right now holding a megaphone, and standing would take too much effort. I just hate it when he does that!

Thanks to modern technology, I have been able to create a diagram showing where I fit on the spectrum while still being able to sit in this horse carriage.

As shown in the diagram above, I am mostly in favor of nuclear power, however I think there are some problems that need to be solved, especially with the issue of disposing nuclear waste. For now, we should use other clean sources of energy for the most part until we find a solution to these problems.

The bad economic times we are currently facing, as well as the huge national debt that we didn't have during the Clinton administration (see below) made me realize that the generations before me really left a burden on my generation's hands that won't go away for a long time, and we shouldn't add the problems nuclear waste brings to that burden.

New Blog!

Hello earthlings.

I encourage all of you to read my new blog which I just set up, where I will talk about many things. Here's the link:

http://cholleb.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoy reading it!

- Connor

Atoms!

ATOMS! ATOMS ARE EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!

Quantum Mavericks? Say it ain't so!

Quantum mechanics is a very interesting topic to me. However, that's only because that is the way I view it. Depending on how others view it, it may be different.

I will admit, when Mr. Grdinic first warned us that our complete understanding of reality would change, I was somewhat frightened (because that's how I viewed myself!).

After watching the videos related to quantum mechanics, it took me a while to let this concept sink in. I'd like to point out, however, that in a parallel universe (which I am in at the exact same time), I understood the concept immediately! It made perfect sense; what other explanation is there for our ability to walk through walls? Back to the normal (same) universe. Once I allowed the concept to sink in a bit, there were quite a few assumptions I am now able to make about quantum mechanics, including the founders and phenomenons in nature.

So, let me start with a very obvious assumption I was able to make about the founders of quantum mechanics, no matter what parallel universe you're in. These guys were Quantum Mavericks (see picture at right). They were willing to go against what was accepted by their colleagues at the time in order spread their ideas. In fact, one of the most well known scientists of this time period, Albert Einstein, was very opposed to the theory, saying that "God does not play dice with the universe."

While many people are confused and worried about quantum mechanics, I'm taking advantage of the many loopholes I have found from it. From now on, whenever I have to solve a math problem or answer some question about moles on a chemistry quiz or test, I don't have to put any effort into it! If I don't try to solve the problem, then I must assume the answer is anything. Here's an example of how I am going to solve problems from now on:

√π = (-∞, ∞)

While quantum mechanics can seem very intense to almost everyone, I like to live by a quote of a very intelligent historical figure who will remain unnamed -- "We don't need to be intense, we've got classrooms." "Wha?! What's he talking about? Huh? That guy's crazy."

Did you know?

After watching this video, the way I view education at GBN, as well as throughout America has changed. Some specific facts stood out in front of others for a number of reasons.

The 25% of India's population with the highest IQ is greater than the total population of the United States.

To me, this fact seems to be trying to compare India's education system to America's; however, I found it misleading. A followup fact reads:

India has more honors kids than America has kids.

Due to the fact that India has over a billion people and the United States only has approximately 300 million, it would make sense that the 25% of India's population with the highest IQ would be greater than the 25% of America's population with the highest IQ, as well as the entire population of America -- that's just simple math. However, I do think that this fact brings up an important point: America is falling behind when it comes to education; we aren't even in the top ten when it comes to certain subjects.

It is estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.

This fact was one that especially fascinated me. In the 21st century, we typically see newspapers at least once per day, and usually we take them for granted. We may read just one section, or in my case, the comics, and overlook the rest. Because of the lack of modern technology in the 18th century, people only got information from what others have told them, or by learning it on their own. This shows how far we have come as a country within the past three centuries.

For students starting a 4 year technical degree . . . half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

This fact is interesting, mostly because it makes you wonder if what you would learn in your first year of study is even worth it, since it may be outdated by their third year. To me, it would be worth it; the information that you learn can always be revised, and just be added to your previous knowledge.

NTT Japan has successfully tested a fiber optic cable that pushes 14 trillion bits per second down a single strand of fiber.

The idea that a fiber optic cable can be at as high of a speed as 14 trillion bits (14 terabits/Tb) per second is mind boggling to me, especially since 10 years or so ago, data traveled over the internet at speeds of 56 kb/s. More recently in America, most internet connection speeds are at a maximum of 10 Gb/s (10 billion bits) if wired or 540 Mb/s (540 million bits) if wireless. This is incredibly minute compared to this new optic fiber, which can go at such fast speeds.

Quite honestly, although the information in this film is fascinating, it make me view honors chemistry or any other of my classes differently. However, it did make me think about the future and how quickly technology is changing. Another fact that I didn't mention before was the one about a supercomputer exceeding the computational abilities of the human brain, as well as the entire human species in the not-so-distant future. If this technology is going to exist within the next 40-50 years, It makes me wonder what sort of technology will exist in 60 years? 100 years? Will robots one day rule the earth?! We won't know the answer to these questions... at least not for now.