Author Archives: eaw242

A New Perspective

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On the 6th of May, we got a tour of the Project team workspace in the basement of Upson. This is were a majority of the Engineering Project teams work, build, and design, since there is a fabrication and prototyping shop down there as well. However, I am a member of the CUSail project team, so I was already familiar with the space. The interesting part of the tour for me was seeing another team’s work and hearing them explain it. This tour was led by two members of CUAUV, which stands for Cornell University Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. Every year they design and create robots that can function by themselves underwater and perform a series of tasks. I greatly enjoyed hearing about their work, since I tend to always see what they’re doing, but never have the time to go over and ask them about it.

Another reason I went was to try and experience an every day part of my life “as a tourist”. Often times after we experience something enough times it tends to get boring and mundane, no matter how unique. The first time I was down in that lab it was amazing, since there was so much activity. But after so many weeks of working down there, it just becomes another mundane part of my life. That’s why I wanted to try and see the workspace as an outsider, and perhaps restore some of its uniqueness to me. This idea of “being a tourist” is one I try to implement more, such as going to a popular tourist location in New York City where I live. Since people find the lab interesting, then I definitely should be able to also.

 

 

On the Topic of Transracialism

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The topic of this week’s table talk was transracialism and its relation to transgenderism. Specifically, the talk was focused on Rachel Dolezal, a Caucasian woman in Spokane Washington who, a few years back, made the news by declaring that she “identified as black” and altering her appearance in an attempt to solidify this “identity”. The general consensus at the table seemed to be that transracialism was not necessarily a legitimate concept. This was for varying reasons but one of the main ones was that it ignores the culture and hardships endured by a race of people. A constant theme in the talk was identity, and what constitutes a person’s identity and what about it do they have control over. While gender, sexual orientation and other similar aspects are certainly qualities that are ever changing and evolving in us, identifying as and trying to mimic a certain race almost fetishizes and even stereotypes it. But, the world changes quite rapidly so its may be worth keeping an eye on how this too might change.

Not Alone?

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In my opinion, being able to explain an extremely complicated subject simply and in a way anyone can understand is much more impressive than using a slew of long and technical terms that only a few extremely versed in the subject would understand. And this talk was definitely part of the former. The subject of the talk was means by which researchers on earth can deduce whether or not an alien planet could support life, and the effectiveness of each of these methods. In order to fully understand this subject, he had to spend many years studying a large variety of fields, from biology, to astrophysics. However, in a brief hour he was able to effectively get the whole room to understand the topic to some degree. And that topic was truly fascinating. Whenever you hear about aliens, it tends to be in the frame of science fiction, and very rarely grounded in reality. Yet, the main topic of this talk was the very likelihood of life being on other planets(perhaps not intelligent but life none the less), and it sounded extremely plausible. Using earth as a working model, researchers are developing more and more advanced ways of detecting this life, and anticipating how it may be different from the type of “life” we’re used to here on earth. Hopefully in time these methods will yield positive results.

 

Pleasant Surprise

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I try and attend Rose House events that genuinely capture my curiosity and that I want to learn more about. But there are some weeks where I pick an event simply because it’s the only one that fit my schedule. That was the case this week. Anyone who knows me knows the movies I tend to see fall in the action adventure/sci fi/fantasy genre. In the past 5 years, the only three films I can think of that I saw that weren’t in those categories were Hidden Figures, Imitation Game and La La Land. So “Before Night Falls” certainly wouldn’t have been on my “to-watch” list, had it not been the only event I could attend this week. But, I am very glad it was. I had gone into it knowing nothing about this film or the man it was about, and I think that made it even better. I had no idea what to expect, or what was going to happen, so every event that transpired was truly full of suspense and surprise. The two parts in the movie that stood out in my mind were when Reinaldo Arenas is in isolation in prison, and later being interrogated. In both instances, the scene plays out one way, before cutting back to an earlier sequence, and playing out a second way. The first way in both cases was a sort of day-dream sequence, but it flows so smoothly that you think its real and when the scene of reality comes back so abruptly it actually feels like someone just shook you awake from a dream

However , the most interesting part of the movie for me was the historical aspect. Two of the films I mentioned earlier, Imitation Game and Hidden Figures, were so captivating for me because of the dynamic way they portrayed history. “Before Night Falls” is able to display Cuban history from the mid to late 20th century through one man’s life, and how he experienced this change. This way of telling history really captured my attention and might even inspire me to see more like it. I am extremely happy I saw this film and hope to see more like it.

Cornell’s Mental Health Issue

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The topic of this week’s Table Talk was using art to represent the reality faced by those struggling with their mental health. This was a very unique portrayal of mental illness, as it allowed for a non-verbal, abstract way to describe what is largely considered a purely factual or concrete topic. Often times when we are told about depression or other mental health issues, it’s with a list of possible symptoms and consequences. However, these problems are deeply rooted in emotions, which are much harder to communicate with words. That’s why using paintings seemed so effective. In many cases, the purpose of art is to convey a feeling or emotion that cannot be put into words, making it the perfect medium to display what someone with mental health problems might be feeling.

This Table Talk also sparked another, perhaps more personal conversation, this one about the mental health issue in Cornell. This University is already considered one of the most stressful places to go to school, and I’m sure everyone on campus can attest to that. Half the conversations I have with my friends are about how much work we have in the coming week, or how much sleep we won’t get. It’s gotten to the point where 5-6 hours sleep is considered a good night, while 3-4 is considered normal. Of course, Cornell is a competitive University, so large workloads and stress are to be expected. But, the real issue comes with how the administration handles that stress. We’d hope that mitigating it as much as they possibly could would be a top priority, but that may not be the case. While I didn’t know of this before-hand, many members at the Table Talk brought up how Cornell has not been keeping up with a previous plan to try and improve mental health on campus, which would include more counselors. In addition, there were also stories about how when someone did go for counseling, it was largely ineffective. I’m not aware enough of the administration’s decisions to make any large claims, but I can see that everyone would benefit if the University put more effort into addressing mental health issues, and I’m hoping other students see that as well. Hopefully we’ll see improvements in the future.

Crying During Coco

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I have never cried in a movie before. Maybe it’s because I’ve never found a movie I really connected with before, or maybe its because I’ve never been too emotional, but I can’t remember any time I’ve ever actually shed a tear during a movie. Of course, when Coco first released, the only things I’d hear about are how much people cried at the end. Considering the fact that this is a Pixar film, that’s not surprising. Especially when you take into account that the director, Lee Unkrich, is the same man behind Toy Story 3, extreme tugging at the heart strings is to be expected.

But, what about Coco made it such a tearjerker? On the surface, it simply looks like another colorful, feel good, family Disney/Pixar movie, with the main plot being about a young boy who aspires to be a musician(in a family that hates music), trying to return home from the land of the dead. And it certainly manages to keep a lighthearted tone all the way through. But it’s much more than that. Coco is able to touch upon sensitive subjects such as death and hateful grudges in such an effective and tactful way, giving it an extra layer that not many family movies have. But its key messages, and ultimately what everyone in the audience relates to, is the constant theme of familial bonds and remembrance. Regardless of who you are or where you come from, everyone shares a special bond with their family. Through its 109 min run, Coco continuously builds up this idea through little moments and actions, cementing the importance of family in the mind of the audience. Those themes and ideas finally come to a head in the movie’s finale, making for such a touching and emotional ending that I was thankful that no one was sitting by me in the back row. Because Coco is the first movie to actually make me cry. Everyone should watch this movie at least once in their life, and even more so with their family.

A Chili Saturday Morning

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With so little time to get off campus the Annual Chili Cook Off was a fantastic excuse to get down to the Commons and relax a little. I wasn’t sure what to expect, maybe just a small thing with a few stalls on the side, or maybe something a little bigger. What I found when I got there was a town -wide celebration with every store and restaurant represented by a stall. Each stall I went to had better chili than the last, and I found that the 7 tickets we were given ran out very quickly. My favorite chili had to be the one served by the Loui’s Food Truck stall. However, if I’m allowed to have a favorite dish other than chili, the Texas Roadhouse stand had fresh buns with honey butter that was so good I used a ticket to get seconds.

But, looking past the food, the biggest aspect that I noticed about this event was how it brought the community together. In the town I’m from, there was never a feeling of community and everyone tended to keep to themselves. At the Cook-Off, there was a very real sense of togetherness, with everyone enjoying the hot chili on a cold Saturday morning. At every stall, the people in it were extremely warm and open to talking if no one was waiting in line behind me. It’s the sort of thing you might see in a movie but never experience in real life. It’s in moments like these that I believe Ithaca truly shines. While it may not be the biggest or most modern town, it gives off an air of friendliness and welcoming that many places lack. I greatly enjoyed myself and will be sure to go back next year.

 

Bitcoin or Bust

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A few years ago my grandmother came over to my apartment and as we were talking she handed me an article and asked if I knew anything about something called Bitcoin. That was the first time I’d heard of it, so I simply shook my head. After what my grandmother could describe and a brief Google search, I learned that Bitcoin was a cryptocurrency that people obtained by having their computers “mine” data for them. It certainly sounded interesting, and it caught my curiosity, but I was already busy with high school and knew I wouldn’t have time to really look any further into the matter, so I just put it aside and forgot about it. Now, years later, I probably should have put more time into understanding an obtaining this cryptocurrency.

That sentiment is probably one many share or did share up until a few weeks ago. Almost everyone at this point has at least heard of Bitcoin. Even if they know next to nothing about current or recent technology, its impossible to escape the news and not have at least heard of buzzwords such as “cryptocurrency” and “blockchain”. But, many probably don’t know much beyond that. Using Bitcoin as a prime example, a cryptocurrency is simply that, digital currency with no physical form. In the simplest terms a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin is created by having your computer solve a large amount of extremely complicated math problems, which is called “mining”. Then, whenever a transaction with bitcoin occurs, that transaction is recorded in a blockchain, which can be compared to a massive ledger that records all transactions.

Ignoring the technical aspect, everyone seems to know how valuable Bitcoins were by the end of 2017. Nearing almost 20k a coin, it seemed almost like a miracle. However, very recently the bitcoin has seen a tremendously steep decline in value, proving that it’s not the miracle money maker everyone thought it was. In the end, the currency is akin to a stock, except without a company to back it up. So if a large amount of people decide it’s losing value and start to sell, it’s going to drop, and continue to do so. This is mainly what kept me out of investing the past few months. I knew that it would be too big a gamble considering the limited amount of knowledge I had. In the end, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies like it such as Ethereum, are simply a very volatile gamble that have the potential to earn a profit, but are just as likely not to.