During my last Rose Scholar event this semester, I learned how to tie a tie and also heard other people’s experiences wearing ties and tying them. It was very cool to hear what type of events people wear ties. It was also interesting to hear how some people haven’t even worn a tie in the past few months or years. So, it was a great refresher to learn how to tie a tie, especially a bow tie. Not only was it a valuable skill to learn for formal events, but we also enjoyed learning how to tie a tie. We helped each other out and it was much more enjoyable than simply just learning to tie a tie. In the midst of learning, one student shared a unique, faster way to tie a tie which caught all of our attentions. Someone even mentioned that they were going to use that method now on. Overall, it was a great time to learn a skill and I look forward to other events like this in which we learn while helping each other and enjoying the experience.
Author Archives: sk2377
Simulated Reality
On Friday, this week’s movie was called The Matrix, which depicts a futuristic society in which AI machines trap humans into simulated realities. I found this movie particularly interesting because last semester I took an FWS course called Robots. During the course, we watched similar movies and read books about the idea of AI taking over the world. Most of the pieces we discussed in the course were about how AI would destroy the human race with their massive intelligence. The Matrix had an interesting take on this idea about how AI machines preserved humans instead of destroying them and using humans as a source of energy. For a 1999 movie, it depicted this idea well and would be a great continuation to my FWS class from last semester. It definitely had a better perception of AI than other pieces like Ex Machina where AIs kill humans. This movie also would connect very well to Black Mirror episode “San Junipero.” That show was about how people could live in a simulated reality after their death. We had discussions about the morality behind this idea and The Matrix has a similar idea except each human’s entire life span is simulated. These ideas of simulations and AI are really interesting to discuss about and bring up many questions about ethics of computer usage that would be important to discuss in the near future.
Separation of Democracy
On Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to attend an event with Professor Ken Roberts to speak about the polarization of American Democracy. Being an engineer, it’s very hard for me to participate in such discussions about politics, history, etc. So, it was so nice to take a break and take it back to my high school history knowledge. Professor Roberts had many interesting points and graphs on his slideshow. In particular, the geographic separation of the democratic and republican parties was interesting. The fact that most republicans were in rural areas and democrats were in urban areas brings out many interesting debates. The electoral college debate was hit most by this figure. This map and the fact that during the 2016 election the popular vote was won by the democratic party. This may be considered a major flaw in the election process due to the overrepresentation of many states. Towards the end of the event, we discussed about how social media and technology has been affecting politics. As a Computer Science major, you wouldn’t think your actions could be directly tied to politics. However, through apps and social media platforms, politics is promoted and discussed widely on these platforms. Actually, Twitter had announced its ban on political advertisements on its platform that day. Once again, it was amazing to branch out of my strict science and math curriculum to discuss history and politics with a renowned professor.
Repair Clothes
This Thursday SA Beverly took the time to teach us how to sew using different techniques. She taught us three techniques: running stitch, backstitch, and the invisible stitch. The last time I sewed was in middle school, so this was a great refresher. One technique in specific was using the running or backstitch to fix a hole in your clothes. I never knew how easy it was to repair a hole in any type of clothing using the running stitch. Moreover, when testing the strength of this stitch repair, I was very surprised to see how well the stitch held the hole together. There have been many instances when I or one of my friends and family have thrown out perfectly good clothing just because there was a seam that ripped. Now knowing how to repair these types of clothing, I feel like I can repair clothing and save many clothes from being thrown out. I can also use and repair other people’s clothing and possibly donate those clothes to charity. Tonight, I learned a very good skill which I hope to use in the future. Thank you, Beverly!
Impacting the Community
This past Thursday, I was fortunate enough to attend with Jeff Godowski to give our opinions on how to improve the West Campus Living Community. We got to share what we like about Cornell and how to incorporate these things into West Campus, such as Health and Wellness, Intellectual Inquiry, Cultural Learning, and other topics. I appreciate that Jeff allowed us to share each of our opinions and valued them equally. As a group, I think we organized our thoughts well for each topic and how we can use these categories to leave an impact on the West Campus community. I was part of a similar group in high school in which we met on a monthly basis to discuss how we can improve our school. It was a valuable and rewarding experience. Similarly, this Rose Scholar event felt rewarding to leave an impact on our living community. I’m very excited to see what events and community engagement comes out of these meetings.
Ethical or Not
The growth of technology doesn’t only mean a new iPhone every year. It goes much further than that and affects humans on a greater scale. Specifically, the area of biotechnology has advanced so fast and far that many ethical questions have been raised. Our GRF, Shiv spoke about these ethical issues and the recent experiments performed. A genetic modification method called CRISPR has been tested to successfully genetically modify an organism. In fact, CRISPR has been used on humans to “cure” (Not a proven, active method) HIV being passed onto future generations. However, this raises many ethical issues. Should this be used or regulated? Is it even safe to use yet? I believe that it’s ethical for the purpose of preventing the transfer of diseases. Yet, I’m not sure if it is safe yet to perform on humans or if there are any other issues that may arise after the genetic modification. Furthermore, the continuation of genetic engineering on humans might lead to modifying features like eye color, height, etc. To me, that isn’t ethical and can change the world for the worse. But this is the path we are heading in and I hope there will be regulations set forth soon.
Professionalism
Cornell offers many different resources for professional help which I truly appreciate. Today I was fortunate to have attended a photography event in which I got my own headshot. Although I have a LinkedIn profile, I really needed a real, professional headshot instead of simply a high school photo. I just really want to thank Flora Rose house for having this event and helping me along with my career path. I’m very happy with how to the photos came out and it was great to see how many people got their headshots tonight. I wish everyone good luck in their future professional endeavors!
Love the Process
Often, we prohibit our own happiness just by having the wrong mindset. After attending the UThrivediscussion with Zachary Grobe, I came to the realization that this is exactly what I’ve been doing. Although freshman year at Cornell was a great year, I didn’t have the right mindset which caused me not to enjoy it as much. As stated in UThrive, we should let happiness lead us to success, not vice versa. My mindset has always been, “After this prelim, things will get better.” However, my mindset should be to enjoy the entire process of learning. This year I am definitely going to try to enjoy the process more instead of waiting to enjoy it after.
One other point Zachary brought to my attention was that life is a bunch of decisions. Thus, we can choose to be happy or not. I didn’t realize how simple it was to appreciate things more and control my mood. Zachary mentioned looking at the positives throughout the day to help keep a positive mind. Without even knowing, I’ve been practicing this for the past few weeks at Cornell and I’ve truly been enjoying my time much more. Everything makes sense from the law of attraction. Simply having a positive mindset can lead to a more enjoyable experience while even attracting more positive things to happen.