Author Archives: Elizabeth Heon

Visiting the Project Team Space

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While I was impressed by Cornell’s project team space, and by the work that the various teams, and in particular CUAUV do there, I must confess I got a little “contact anxiety” from visiting the space.

I am an engineering major who consciously choose not to join a project team because of the time commitment. I entered Cornell engineering fully intending to join a project team. “Project teams” for engineers are teams that participate in various competitions. Our tour of the project team space was led by members of CUAUV – “Cornell University Autonomous Underwater Vehicle”, which designs a sub to complete an assigned series of tasks. CUAUV is one of several project teams, which also include “concrete canoe”, “steel bridge” and a mars rover team. Each team works together to design their product – a sub, a canoe, a rover – etc. Joining a project team seemed to me like the perfect way to build my resume for grad school or a future career. But I balked when I considered the significant time commitment joining a project team. I did not believe I would be able to keep up with my courses, and ultimately I choose not to join.

I truly admire the work members of project teams put in. But visiting their workspace inspired in me a fear I imagine many other people have had during their tenure at Cornell – the thought that all my classmates are doing more than me. But it also prompted me to examine this fear, and remind myself that I created a schedule that works for me, and other people are doing what works for them, and that’s all fine.

Visiting the project team space also reminded me that maybe joining a very collaborative team extra-curricular would not have been the best idea for me. I’m a long wolf. I work in a lab in a mini-clean room. I like my clean room very much. Visiting the project team space also reminded me how much I love my extracurriculars, and how valuable it is to do something other than course work – even if balancing the time commitments is hard.

For those who have never seen any of the very impressive products created by the Cornell project teams, I would advise you to stop by and see them sometime. The members of Cornell’s project teams do exceptional work, and it’s fascinating to learn more about what they do and how.

 

Foreknowledge

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The central character of Arrival, Louise, is a linguist. She is tasked with deciphering the language of a visiting alien race, the heptapods. Louise’s ultimate mission is to find out why the heptapods are on Earth. The aliens eventually explain to Louise that 3000 years in the future, they will need the humans to help them. In exchange for their assistance in the future, the heptapods have come to offer something in exchange: their language.

As a result of learning the heptapod language, Louise begins to perceive time in a non-linear fashion. We learn that her visions of her daughter, Hannah, who died a terminal illness, are not flashbacks, but flash forwards. Louise will marry her colleague, Ian, and one day have a child named Hannah.

While it’s not the focus of the plot, Arrival raises interesting questions about the nature of time and of foreknowledge. Specifically, I wondered whether or not the events in the flash-forward visions that Louise and the heptapods have are inevitable, or whether, by knowing the future, the heptapods, and Louise, can change it.

Examining the film, the evidence in the case of the heptapods seems mixed. If knowing the future allowed them to change it, why don’t the heptapods simply avoid whatever trouble they’re going to be in 3000 years in the future? Perhaps it’s because that trouble is inevitable – or maybe reaching out to humanity is simply the most effective way to solve the problem.

In Louise’s case, the film seems to suggest that Louise choose to allow her future with Hannah and Ian to unfold, even though she knew it would end painfully. This suggests that the visions are not inevitable. Yet, if what you’re seeing doesn’t have to happen, you’re not really seeing the future, are you? You’re seeing a possible version of events.

It’s interesting to consider what heptapod society would be like if all individuals have this forecasting ability. Would it complicate the visions if everyone involved could see them and change their actions in the present if they wished events would turn out differently? How would it affect you in the present if other people know you will do something bad in the future?

Louise also faces an interesting dilemma, in which case she knows that her future will bring both great happiness and great sadness, and must decide whether to let it happen.

Or, maybe the visions –  or at least certain components of the visions – are inevitable. In this case, the real question is not what choice you would make in Louise’s shoes, but whether or not you would prefer to know the future if you did not have the power to affect it.

Both interpretations raise interesting questions. I’m not sure which one I would prefer. One offers the power to choose your future – but also a great deal of responsibility. The other one would likely make you feel powerless. Either way, it is fascinating to consider to what extent the future the heptapods see is in flux.

Considering Dairy Production

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I learned a lot of interesting facts about dairy cattle during my visit to the Cornell Dairy teaching barn. There are several different types of cow: the classic black and white spotted cows are Holsteins, while Jersey cows are smaller and brown. Holstein cows and Jersey cows produce milk which is chemically distinct. I also learned a lot about dairy farming practice.

The cows at the Cornell Dairy teaching barn live in a relatively spacious enclosure. They have sand beds they can lie down in – apparently the cows are somewhat territorial, and they don’t like when another cow sleeps in their bed.  The floors in the barn were grooved, to help the cows get traction so they won’t slip or injure themselves.

I also learned that dairy calves are separated from their mothers soon after birth. According to the vet student leading the tour, dairy cattle are not known to be excellent moms. The calves are moved to individual enclosures outside the barn for several weeks – think a large doghouse with a pen in front – before being sent on to a calf raiser or an auction.

Prior to this trip, I believed that cows were timid animals. The cows at the dairy barn, however, were curious about our presence, sticking their heads through the bars to try to reach us. It was also interesting to observe the cows’ behavior.

I must say that visiting the Dairy Barn made me feel a little…icky. Obviously, I was aware of how milk was produced before, and I didn’t see any mistreatment of the cows – but I cannot say that I am completely comfortable with dairy production.

Having seen baby cows, I can confirm that they are essentially giant puppies. Even if dairy production doesn’t necessarily seem cruel, we’re still treating cows in a way we would never treat dogs, and I’m not comfortable with that. It was especially sad for me thinking about male calves being sold off as beef cattle – the dairy and beef industries are related, so not eating meat doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not supporting meat production if you still consume dairy.

Visiting the Cornell dairy barn also prompted me to think about the wider dairy industry, and to consider whether other dairies follow similar practices and have the same standards for animal welfare. It’s definitely an important issue to consider, given that dairy is in so many products that we consume.

Indirect Observations

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Astronomers use several methods to detect exoplanets. As an exoplanet passes in front of its sun, it blocks a small amount of light. If a small drop in the luminosity of a distant star is detected, it may indicate that a planet is passing in front. Another method uses the fact that as a planet orbits around its star, the star also moves through a small orbit due to the planet’s gravitational pull. The motion of a star through an orbit causes changes in the frequency of emitted radiation, which can also be detected from Earth.

It seems to me that much of the evidence in astronomy is indirect – you cannot see a planet, but you can see a change in radiation from a star, and infer the existence of the planet. Even if you can take a photograph of a planet, and image from so far away doesn’t show much detail. Similarly, we can only collect indirect evidence for life on other planets. We do not have, and may never have, the technology to visit other worlds and observe their life for ourselves.

As an engineer, I don’t think I would like being an astronomer. I like being able to take things apart to see how they work. I think I would find myself incredibly frustrated if the objects of my study were too far away to observe directly.

I am, however, extremely impressed with the work astronomers do, and with the solutions they have developed to observe indirectly what we cannot currently observe directly. I found it especially interesting to consider the ways in which the study of life on Earth informs the study of life on other planets. It’s interesting to me to consider the ways in which life on Earth might or might not resemble life on other planets.

For most of the history of the Earth, all life was microbial. This leads astrobiologists to conclude that life on exoplanets would most likely be microbial as well – hence, not intelligent life that we could contact or speak to. I didn’t find it very disappointing to hear that most life out there is probably microbial – if anything, it’s cooler to me to think that intelligent life is currently evolving somewhere in the universe, as opposed to believing it already exists.

I appreciated learning about astrobiology, and, while I do not think it’s for me, I very much appreciate the ways in which astronomers and astrobiologists use incomplete data and indirect observations to learn about things we cannot see firsthand.

Shifting the Burden of Oppressive Policies

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The Settman sisters live at an interesting intersection of privilege and disadvantage. Identical septuplets, the sisters live in a world with a strict one child policy. They survive by sharing an identity. Each sister is named after a day of the week, and on that day, they take on the identity of Karen Settman, going out into the world, going to work, and behaving as if they are “the one and only Karen Settman”.

The sisters’ position is thus precarious. If discovered, the Settman siblings believe they will be placed in cryogenic stasis, to be awoken at some indeterminate time in the future, if and when humanity recovers from the population crisis that prompted the institution of the one child policy. The individual Settman sisters are in a very vulnerable position, as they have no legal status and thus no rights or protections within their society.

Karen Settman, however, appears to exist in a position of relative privilege. Karen is employed in a bank – a traditionally lucrative position. As the events of the film unfold, we learn that she is up for a promotion.

The world of “What Happens to Monday” looks more similar to our own than I would have imagined, given that the film begins with an accounting of ecological collapse and an overpopulation crisis. The Settman sisters appear to exist in a capitalist society, capable of producing a variety of consumer and technological goods. It would also appear that class divisions have persisted, given that “Karen Settman” is employed as a banker.

It is clear that the citizens of the world of “What Happened to Monday” face authoritarian oppression. However, I could not help but wonder to what extent people were complicit in supporting the one child policy. As I imagine it, the one child policy, designed to curb humanity’s consumption of food and resources, seems to be what enables a modern, capitalist society to continue to exist. The world could probably support a few more people, but this would likely require that everyone else use and consume a little less. Society would probably look a little less familiar.

In exchange for maintaining the patterns of use and consumption, the standard of living and the society of past generations, the Settman sisters’ society has traded away the legal rights of siblings, and the legal right of individuals to have more than one child.

The one child policy is at least “fair” in the sense that it applies equally to all people in society. Near the end of the film, however, Nicolette Cayman gives a campaign speech for public office in which she proposes that all people wanting to have a child must prove financial stability and the ability to provide for the child’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Thus, we see the burden of reproductive restrictions being shifted towards the disadvantaged. I find this plot point quite interesting. To me, it underlines the way in which more privileged members of society are complicit in reproductive oppression, and how they seek to shift the burden away from themselves.

“What Happened to Monday” is not the most enjoyable film. It is something of a brutal slog. But watching the film does raise interesting questions about the ways people accept oppression if they feel the gain something from it – wealth, safety, etc – and the ways in which members of society attempt to shift the cost of oppressive policies from themselves to others.

 

Jenny

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“Forrest Gump” has some enjoyable moments. If nothing else, I enjoyed the soundtrack. However, I find the film’s portrayal of Jenny problematic, and this prevented me from enjoying the film.

Forrest Gump and Jenny have been friends since childhood. Forrest frequently professes his love for Jenny, but she treats him as only a friend for most of the film, dating several other men, some of them abusive. Forrest is frequently set up as Jenny’s “Knight in Shining Armor”. Eventually, Jenny moves in with Forrest for a period before leaving again. Later, it is revealed that she gave birth to Forrest’s child while way. She then returns home with Forrest, and a short time later she dies.

Thus, the primary emotional conflict of this film is that Forrest loves a woman and she doesn’t love him back, or at least refuses to be in a relationship with him. This doesn’t work for me as a narrative conflict. My admittedly unsympathetic response to Forrest was “deal with it”. People are not required to reciprocate romantic love. If Jenny doesn’t love you, find someone who does. I don’t like the idea of Jenny being painted as a villain, because she’s not. Maybe she’s a bad friend sometimes, but it seems to me that’s she’s doing the best she can in difficult circumstances.

The film reveals early on that Jenny’s father was abusive. She goes on to have abusive relationships with men. It seems to me that Jenny’s shutting Forrest out was not about being cruel to him, but was rather inspired by a desire to protect him. Jenny is processing a trauma – one that Forrest does not seem to fully grasp the impacts of – and any relationship between them is unlikely to work out. It seems to me as though, by refusing to be in a relationship with Forrest, Jenny is protecting them both from pain.

What really bugs me is that Jenny dies at the end of the movie. Having Jenny die enhances the “tragic” element of Forrest and Jenny’s romance, but it feels unfair to Jenny, who I feel deserved a happy ending – as did Forrest. For this reason, and because Jenny is unfairly portrayed as a villain, when she is really a victim of unfortunate circumstance, as is Forrest, I did not enjoy this movie.

Imposter Chili

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I wanted to start this blog post with a quick definition of what chili is. It turns out, that’s a little bit complicated. Originally, chili is from Texas. According to the internet, Texas chili is made with meat and chili peppers. This was a little surprising to me, as every dish I have ever seen described as chili has been tomato based, and usually contained beans. So, it would seem that there is chili-one specific dish with a set ingredient list, originating from Texas, and then there is “chili”-a general category of foods containing a lot of different recipes for meat and or vegetable stew type things.

I don’t eat meat, so the only chili I can eat is from the latter category-imposter chili. I have almost never eaten chili, as most of the chilies I have encountered in my life have been meat based. Discovering that the Ithaca Chili Cook Off had vegetarian and vegan judging categories was exciting for me, as it meant getting to try a type of food I have rarely experienced before.

The first chili I tried was from Ithaca Soy Company. It was, of course, a tofu chili. The chili itself tasted good, but I’m not sure how much the tofu added to the experience. For those of you who haven’t eaten it, tofu is essentially flavorless, and soaks up the flavoring of whatever it is seasoned with / marinated in / cooked in. In chili, the tofu did not announce its presence to me either by taste or texture. If I were making chili myself, I would probably leave the tofu out. Beans are also a good source of meatless protein, and I liked the texture of beans in the chilis I tried considerably more than the tofu.

Of the chilis I tried, my favorite had some of the most unconventional ingredients. This chili included corn and spinach. (I wasn’t really looking at who the vendors were, or ingredient lists – I kind of just wanted to experience the chili without any preconceived notions). The only chili I did not like was, ironically, from my favorite take-out restaurant. This chili contained what appeared to be raisins, which for me was a bridge to far. Chili can be unconventional, but not that unconventional.

While my primary interest was the food, I also enjoyed the Chili Cook Off. The event was a nice way to get local businesses together to compete. I would definitely attend again.

I have also heard that Ithaca holds a chowder cook off, which I am now really looking forward to. That said, I am from New England, and I’m not sure how much I would enjoy people messing with my culinary heritage, rather than Texas.

Why Football?

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I wanted “Friday Night Lights” to answer one question: Why football? Specifically, why on earth would people care so much about football, and especially about a small town high school football team? As such, I’d like to talk about what I think football meant to the town of Odessa in the film “Friday Night Lights”.

The film makes the point early and often that football represents a unique opportunity for the Odessa-Permian players. One of the opening scenes shows the quarterback, Mike Winchell, reviewing a book of plays with his mother, who then pointedly asks if he is going to get a scholarship. Don Billingsley’s father, who in the film is a high-school football state champion, tells his son to enjoy his senior year playing football, essentially telling him that he will never get another opportunity like this and that he should make some memories while he can.

Odessa’s football team seems to fill a void for the town: Odessa might lack economic opportunities, it might not be famous or cosmopolitan, but when it comes to football, Odessa-Permian can win. And when the Permian-Panthers win, the whole town wins vicariously through them. Watching the film, I could understand why the Odessa-Permian fans would feel such an intense “local-nationalism” for their town and team. That said, the film is not uncritical of the Odessa fans’ football hyper partisanship, and does an excellent job of showing how toxic it is. In one particularly striking scene, Coach Gaines’ daughter asks if the family will have to move if the team loses the big game. Clearly, Coach Gaines’ has experienced some truly reprehensible behavior at the hands of the disappointed football fans in the past.

I do not enjoy football, but watching Friday Night Lights made me understand why the Odessa-Permian players played, and why the fans cared so deeply about the outcome of their play. The film humanized all its characters, and made it impossible to feel the same easy contempt that one might feel for Philadelphia Eagles fans breaking things because their team won.

That said, the film doesn’t really touch on the more lasting destructive impacts of football – particularly CTE. For the people of Odessa and the other towns, football is bound up in issues of race and class and privilege. And yet, it is a terrible medium for addressing any of those issues. I think we can all agree that making children give each other concussions is not an effective way to solve any problem. The film points out some problematic aspects of football culture but does not seem to go so far as to say that football is a genuine problem. But, given what we know about the effects of football on those who play it, I think it is past time to admit that football is a problem.

Odessa-Permian loses the climactic state championship game. But, seeing how the players were getting beaten up, that’s not how I thought the movie was going to end. I thought the quarterback was going to die.