Author Archives: Sophia He

Bandwidth and Latency in Terms of Internet Speed

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This past Wednesday, Professor Jeff Prince from Indiana University spoke to us about the difficulties of pricing the intangible: a.k.a. the Internet. He mainly spoke about two aspects that have the potential to increase internet speed: bandwidth and latency. While I had heard the term “bandwidth” prior to coming to this Rose Café, the term “latency” used in this context was completely new to me. In my heat and mass transfer course last semester, we learned about latent heat, which is the heat required to convert a solid into liquid or vapor, or convert liquid to vapor, without a change of temperature. However, I had trouble relating the term from heat transfer to internet speed.

Professor Blalock provided the analogy of a highway. Bandwidth is the number of lanes on the highway–a greater number of lanes promotes less traffic and thus faster travel. Latency is the length of the highway–if the distance between destinations A and B could somehow decrease, the speed at which you would get from A to B would of course increase. Ideally, you want your bandwidth to be as high as possible and your latency to be as low as possible. It is my understanding now that latency is the time delay between stimulation and response. I found this talk particularly interesting because of this introduction of this completely new concept. In comparison with past Rose Cafés, this talk was definitely had more of a technical basis, which was refreshing to me.

Human nature as portrayed in City of God

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City of God impacted me greatly not only because it portrayed the vicious, never-ending cycle of gang violence in Brazil, but also because of how it portrayed the gang leaders as humans. These grown men showed the exact characteristics of small, petty children, on a larger scale: when Li’l Ze is turned down by a girl, he throws a childish tantrum–in the form of holding the girl’s boyfriend at gunpoint and making him strip. This analogy is made prominent by the filmmakers during the last scene, when Li’l Ze is dead, and the focus is on the “Runts,” who are only elementary-school age, making plans for who to kill next.

This reminded me of a major theme of Lord of the Flies, a novel in which a group of school-age boys becomes stranded on an island. Without the laws of society, the boys quickly turn savage. Indeed, we as human beings are only as “human” as the laws that guide us and the morals that tie us to other humans.

Coffee moments

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I arrived at Gimme! Coffee earlier than the rest of the group that Saturday. I had just gone to the Ithaca Friends of the Library Book Sale [A success; I bought all of the Haruki Murakami books on the shelves], and I sat alone in the coffee shop for a good 15-20 minutes waiting for everyone to arrive by bus.

The moments before they arrived:

  1. I sat by the window and read my book, a rare and peaceful instant; time was calm, faded.
  2. Well, now that I remember: I walked in and I saw someone who went to my high school working at the counter. This was not too surprising; I went to high school 45 minutes away from here.
  3. The little girl next to me asked the man on the other side of me how he was doing, to which he replied, “Alright.” They had a nice conversation which I half listened to. [I tried not to eavesdrop but it was quite hard not to seeing as I was sitting right in between them.]

When everyone finally walked into the coffee shop, we all sat at a long table and wrote down our coffee orders. I ordered a small latte, perfect for a rainy day. We made small talk, but I hate small talk, so I mainly listened to everyone else’s stories and blurbs about themselves.

Free Sale and the Aftermath

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Last weekend, I volunteered alongside GRF Magdala and two other Rose Scholars at the Free Sale, hosted by the Catholic Charities of Ithaca. So what exactly is a “free sale,” you might ask? It is exactly what you imagine a yard sale to be–selling old clothes, shoes, and appliances; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, after all. The catch is that everything is absolutely free! We had a fun time folding clothing donations from storage and setting them out for everyone. We had everything from men’s polos to baby shoes. It was hilarious to see just how much our neat set-up changed after everyone came to take their pick of the various clothes we set out. [Picture courtesy of Magdala :)] Overall, it was a lovely and rewarding experience to see how just one morning spent volunteering could help the community.

Art in Space and Time

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Pt. I:

Last Saturday I arrived at the Johnson Museum after volunteering at the Museum of the Earth, and I noticed a completely different environment from where I had spent explaining dinosaur egg diagrams to kids. I have always been big on museums, and these two museums were no exception. I glimpsed “Cosmos,” the LED outdoor ceiling display created in homage to Cornellian astrophysicist Carl Sagan. Comparing this experience side by side to seeing the fossilized creatures on display at the Museum of the Earth, I noted the vastness of the universe across both space and time, and I felt dwarfed by magnificence. We as human beings play such a small role in the grand scheme of things–a both terrifying and comforting thought.

Pt II:

Afterward, we went back to Rose House and created our own art using oil pastels. I loved art in middle school, and my parents would send me to art camp as a child, but being a STEM major, I hadn’t touched oil pastels in years. I found it relaxing to sit for an hour in silence and draw as we pleased. I would definitely love to do more art-based activities in the future, maybe even take a few classes eventually.

Dr. Strangelove and Relationship Issues

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Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove portrays a comedic, albeit dark, side to the Cold War. The film has been on my to-watch list since I saw Kubrick’s on-screen depiction of one of my favorite books, A Clockwork Orange. Although I still prefer A Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove did not disappoint. Although many observations could be made about how the movie portrays war, peace, and the human condition, one thing for certain could not be missed: the male-centric plot and the sexualized phallic symbolism through missiles and firearms.

It was my impression that this imagery was meant to emphasize a tense love [war] affair between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R, Uncle Sam and Mother Russia. This could be especially noted in one of the scenes in the war room in which Turgidson receives a call from Miss Scott during an important meeting, during which he reassures her in a hushed tone, that of a patronizing man talking down to a hysterical woman, “Of course it isn’t only physical! I deeply respect you as a human being!”

In a later scene, this tone is mirrored when the president of the U.S. calls to explain the bomb situation to the president of the U.S.S.R., for which he starts off civil and reassuring but then exasperatedly rants,”Of course I like to speak to you! Of course I like to say hello!”

“Well listen, how do you think I feel about it, Dimitri?!”

The scene shows the absurd nature of the war and tension between the two nations by portraying what we all imagine should be a civil, rational conversation as a heated lovers’ quarrel. Although this is deeply disturbing, the humor behind this was not lost, and the film left a sweet-turned sour taste in my mouth, pretty standard for a Kubrick film.

On Brazil, its biomes, and its school systems

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I was particularly intrigued with Brazil and its history and culture after watching City of God a few weeks ago during one of Flora’s Friday Films, and it was to my pleasure that Professor Andre Simores, an animal science and economics professor at the Mato Grosso do Sul State University, came to speak at last week’s Rose Cafe about just that.

As an equatorial country, Brazil is known to be hot and humid; however, because the country is so large, there are many varying ecosystems within Brazil. Professor Simores elaborated more about the different climates in these various ecosystems. He spoke about the Cerrado, a tropical savannah region, the Pampas, which are fertile lowlands, the Pantanal, which are wetlands, the Amazonia, the rainforest region, and Caatinga, the drylands.

He also spoke about some interesting cultural differences between Brazil and the U.S. One topic that intrigued me was the Brazilian school system. Brazil has tuition-free public universities, which is amazing to a U.S. private-goer myself. However, the good high schools are private, and you must go to a good high school in order to get into a good college. This is the reverse of the U.S., where many of the high schools are public, but you must pay tuition to go to a private college. It makes me wonder what the pros and repercussions of each system are. Perhaps the American system is set up so we have more room for error–if we fool around when we are younger, this doesn’t stop us from going to a decent college However, it seems like Brazilians have a lot more to lose if they don’t get into a good high school.

It was interesting to hear about cultural differences such as this one at the talk last Wednesday–I am sure there are countless more. I wish Professor Simores the best during his stay here in the U.S., and I hope he enjoys living here on Cornell’s lovely campus.

Master and Blaster, Mind and Body

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Last Friday, I watched Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in the Rose dining hall. I had seen the newest installment, Fury Road, when it came out, and I thoroughly enjoyed it not only because of the action but because of feminist icon Furiosa. Fury Road being my first exposure to this post-apocalyptic universe, it was interesting to see how dated this movie, made in 1985, was compared to the 2015 film. The color and resolution quality of Beyond Thunderdome was one noticeable difference, but another obvious indicator could be seen from Mel Gibson’s mullet, a classic 80’s hairstyle, compared to Tom Hardy’s shorter style.

While I found Beyond Thunderdome interesting as a time piece, beyond that I found nothing extremely compelling about the plot. However, I did think the dynamic between the characters Master and Blaster was an interesting statement about the division between mind and body. Master is a dwarfed man who sits on the shoulders of the physically able and strong Blaster, and together they form one character “Masterblaster.” Master is portrayed as intelligent and power-hungry, with a deep understanding of the political heirarchy of Bartertown. He knows that though he seemingly is in charge of literal pig shit, he in fact controls the whole town because the fecal matter of the pigs powers the electricity, and without power, the town cannot function. Blaster is  portrayed as the brawn, following the commands of Master to a T. He is revealed during his fight with Max to be developmentally disabled with the mental functions of a child, as Master screams “Don’t kill Blaster! He’s just a baby!” On his own, Master is disabled by his dwarfed height, and without Master, Blaster is lost and without guidance. This symbiotic relationship to me represents that the two components, mind and body, though functional on their own, are incomplete without core aspects of the other.

Heroin vs. Fentanyl and Safe Injection Sites

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Last Wednesday at the Rose Scholars’ Cafe, we discussed with Judge Scott Miller his experiences of being a judge in the area and working for the judicial system overall. In a calm and collected manner, Judge Miller spoke about a variety of dilemmas he had to face, from external issues related to crime to internal issues related to ethics.

What surprised me during the talk was the apparent amount of drug users and abusers found in the area who have been caught and tried. I suppose in our relatively safe little bubble that is Cornell’s campus we rarely have the need to ever be made aware of these problems. Judge Miller, who worked as a defense attorney for many drug users such as heroin addicts prior to becoming a judge, recounted tales of abuse and overdose due to both heroin and the synthesized and more deadly fentanyl, which is often sold under the guise of heroin. The danger of buying heroin off of the street is that it may be laced with or replaced by fentanyl, which is 10x more deadly (3 mg can kill a grown man compared to the 30 mg of lethal heroin) and primarily used as anesthetic, that is, under the careful supervision of a trained anesthesiologist. When used on the streets, fentanyl can be fatal.

A possible solution to this, brought up by Judge Miller, is safe injection sites, where addicts would be able to go to shoot up under the close supervision of a nurse. Addiction cannot be cured overnight, and the safe injection sites would serve as an intermediate between dependent addiction and full recovery. Additionally, in the case of an overdose, this supervision could mean the difference between life and death. While a viable solution, these sites cannot be supported by the law and thus cannot be supported by Judge Miller because heroin use is and will remain illegal.

As a drastically uninformed student, I was saddened to hear about such prevalent problems occurring just outside of Cornell. Hopefully we as students in the future can fight issues such as these and change our communities for the better, alongside people like Judge Miller.