This past weekend I watched the Wachowski Brother's latest, "V for Vendetta." Interesting movie, but I am referring more to the present day implications. The first thing that I thought of was George' Orwell's "1984." (Yes, I do read from time to time.)
So much to say, and I don't want to overload my blog. I must say that the ideas behind both this movie and this book seem strangely familiar. Present day politics (on both sides) seem to be heading us in this direction. The "wiretaping" and phonecall database issues may be innocent now, but I fear where a future politician may take it. And on the other side, the idea behind "social tolerance" could swiftly backfire.
[Now I am a scientist, not a polititian or sociologist, so forgive me if I get the "who's" mixed up. I am note looking to place the blame, but rather my point is that this is present day stuff.]
Though I do believe in "the system" in general, and think that America is closest to the mark when it comes to democracy, I do still have this aversion to Big Brother. As our technology increases, the ability for governments to collect more personal data, inventory it, and make it easily accessible greatly concerns me. One of the only things I remember from my statistics class was that if you look hard enough for patterns, YOU WILL FIND THEM. If you collect enough info on a person, you are bound to find patterns and connections that could sound the alarms.
There are bad things brewing in our world. And the "bad guys" have this same technology at their disposal too. Does this justify governments scrutinizing citizens more and more, all in the name of safety? I would rather risk someone causing me harm and be more free, than for my safety to be nearly guarenteed and have no freedom.
And for those that say, "Preach it brother," thinking that I am here to bash Bush, I say be careful what you assume. On the other side there are the people that do the same thing just using (or shall I say mis-using) words and social pressures. This idea of tolerance is crazy! Yes to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of opinion. But the other side twists that around and starts calling some talk "hate speech" and labelling some religions as "uneducated" and "controlling." As a result our society loses freedom as people are afraid to voice their thoughts and opinions. Just because someone is wrong doesn't mean that they should be silenced or ridiculed. In "1984" the biggest form of control was by controlling speech and peer pressure. Definitions of words were changed, and clubs were formed to make it prestigious to have radical opinions that supported the government's agenda.
Sadly, I do not see or expect things to actually improve in these areas. I am by nature an optimist, but I also know how human nature works and the destruction that this world has for a future.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Money vs. Freedom
As I sit here at my desk at work, I savour the freedom I have at my work. I spent two hours having lunch with a missionary friend whose office is down the hill from my university. We talked about his upcoming Lake Tahoe trip, our mutual enjoyment of cycling, a current devotional book we have been working through. There was no rush for me to get back to the lab. Ahhh...this is the life.
Of course there is the fact that I am in grad school, and as one professor put it, "There is no free time while you are in grad school." But since I am finishing up my fourth year, I have adopted a heavy dose of "I-don't-care," medically called "senior-itis." The fact still remains that academic research positions are VERY laid back. Sure we have some deadlines that HAVE to be met: publication deadlines, grant applications, and that pesky thing called "a thesis." But it is far different than those who work construction, sit at an assembly line, or manage a classroom of students. If I feel like coming in late, I don't have to tell anyone. There are the days, I must admit, where I have to stay until the experiment is complete (once until 11pm). Also the work I do on mice has to happen when they are at a certain age (to the day). I almost had to work on Easter, except that assignment got handed down to a lab tech.
The money isn't swell though. As a soon-to-be PhD holder, I make less than many of my friends that have jobs using their B.S./B.A. in liberal arts. And when I do finally have the coveted PhD, if I decide to go the post-doc route, I will still be making less than someone with a B.S. in Engineering or a Masters in Education. Sad but true. Academic science is not where the money is.
Funding is very similar between the sciences and missionary work. We both ask people to pay us so that we can do work for the betterment of mankind. Our funding agencies do not ask us for any end product, only that we add to the intellectual commonwealth and that we give them credit for helping us along the way. Very vague, wouldn't you say? And not terribly fullfilling, at least for me.
So as I contemplate the path I have chosen, I often ask which is more important to me, money or freedom. And I must say freedom. My only change would be that I could use my freedom to work with people, even helping them. Right now, unless you are a mouse, I can't help you. But hopefully that will change very soon. But first I have to get back to this pesky thesis.
Of course there is the fact that I am in grad school, and as one professor put it, "There is no free time while you are in grad school." But since I am finishing up my fourth year, I have adopted a heavy dose of "I-don't-care," medically called "senior-itis." The fact still remains that academic research positions are VERY laid back. Sure we have some deadlines that HAVE to be met: publication deadlines, grant applications, and that pesky thing called "a thesis." But it is far different than those who work construction, sit at an assembly line, or manage a classroom of students. If I feel like coming in late, I don't have to tell anyone. There are the days, I must admit, where I have to stay until the experiment is complete (once until 11pm). Also the work I do on mice has to happen when they are at a certain age (to the day). I almost had to work on Easter, except that assignment got handed down to a lab tech.
The money isn't swell though. As a soon-to-be PhD holder, I make less than many of my friends that have jobs using their B.S./B.A. in liberal arts. And when I do finally have the coveted PhD, if I decide to go the post-doc route, I will still be making less than someone with a B.S. in Engineering or a Masters in Education. Sad but true. Academic science is not where the money is.
Funding is very similar between the sciences and missionary work. We both ask people to pay us so that we can do work for the betterment of mankind. Our funding agencies do not ask us for any end product, only that we add to the intellectual commonwealth and that we give them credit for helping us along the way. Very vague, wouldn't you say? And not terribly fullfilling, at least for me.
So as I contemplate the path I have chosen, I often ask which is more important to me, money or freedom. And I must say freedom. My only change would be that I could use my freedom to work with people, even helping them. Right now, unless you are a mouse, I can't help you. But hopefully that will change very soon. But first I have to get back to this pesky thesis.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Spoiled children
Politically I am very moderate in my views of social issues. People are people, no matter their skin color, religion, political views, education level. However, I do have issue with people in America that are not carrying their load (I am referring to U.S. citizens). Welfare, free health care, low income housing. Yes, there are people that need these programs. But there are others that see the government as a big wealthy parent, and so they don't get off their hindquarters and do their part.
What comes to mind is a spoiled child that never leaves home after finishing high school. They have it so easy right where they are, why not? What often is the advice to a parent in this predicament? Cut off the funding, kick them out of the house and the child will be forced to get a job and a life! So why don't we do the same thing here? Sure, if the son or daughter is mentally handicapped or physically disabled, the parent would do whatever is necessary to care for that person. The government fortunately has the same perspective. But in comes the issue of immigration
There are people from other nations going to great lengths to get into our country so they can have a chance to work hard and increase their standard of living. They sometimes cover hundreds of miles just to have a chance. They work for next to nothing, and will work long hard hours. Quite different than those on welfare. Why do we have these opposing attitudes? Many of these foreigners are in just as bad, perhaps even worse, situations as those in the U.S. claiming hardship. So the "I never had the opportunity" excuse doesn't fly. Could we create a program whereby freeloaders in our society have the option of either doing their part or else reliquishing their citizenship to someone who will?
The problem is so big, and there is no way to force someone to be responsible. Part of it is that some citizens don't have the direction and opportunity to lift themselves out of where they are. More money should be spent to give thems the means to accomplish this. But a better system needs to be implimented to make it very uncomfortable for the freeloaders to continue in their ways.
I guess it comes down to honor and personal attitude. Why have so many Americans become so very selfish?
What comes to mind is a spoiled child that never leaves home after finishing high school. They have it so easy right where they are, why not? What often is the advice to a parent in this predicament? Cut off the funding, kick them out of the house and the child will be forced to get a job and a life! So why don't we do the same thing here? Sure, if the son or daughter is mentally handicapped or physically disabled, the parent would do whatever is necessary to care for that person. The government fortunately has the same perspective. But in comes the issue of immigration
There are people from other nations going to great lengths to get into our country so they can have a chance to work hard and increase their standard of living. They sometimes cover hundreds of miles just to have a chance. They work for next to nothing, and will work long hard hours. Quite different than those on welfare. Why do we have these opposing attitudes? Many of these foreigners are in just as bad, perhaps even worse, situations as those in the U.S. claiming hardship. So the "I never had the opportunity" excuse doesn't fly. Could we create a program whereby freeloaders in our society have the option of either doing their part or else reliquishing their citizenship to someone who will?
The problem is so big, and there is no way to force someone to be responsible. Part of it is that some citizens don't have the direction and opportunity to lift themselves out of where they are. More money should be spent to give thems the means to accomplish this. But a better system needs to be implimented to make it very uncomfortable for the freeloaders to continue in their ways.
I guess it comes down to honor and personal attitude. Why have so many Americans become so very selfish?
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
A Peculiar Thing Sleep Is
Temps yesterday were high 90's yesterday, and I couldn't get to sleep until the wee hours. When it was time to get up this morning, my body ached from the lack of rest. Reminded me of some thoughts that sometimes bounce around this silly noggen of mine.
Sleep. People are so used to the "activity" that they might not think how strange it is. Odd that an episode of "Star Trek: Next Generation" is the first time I remember anyone mentioning sleep as actually a scary idea (and no, I am not a Trekie). I mean, every day the body completely shuts down, and is extremely defenseless. And yet most of us look forward to the rest that sleep provides.
Cars. Why doesn't our body repair itself like we repair a car. You know, take it in every once in awhile for a tune up. Or maybe repair itself like I repair this sad attempt at deep prose: edit and fix as I go.
Motionless and braindead. If we were to just lay on our beds, motionless but conscious, we would hardly feel rested. So it isn't that the muscles, joints, bones, etc just need a break to repair. And it isn't the shutting down of the brain that is the key, since if we didn't dream we wouldn't feel rested either (and studies show that there is less brain activity in someone watching tv than someone sleeping).
Run ragged. Without sleep, some of us would never come home, never take a break from our work or from our fun. And perhaps like with our cars, without sleep some of us would never get around to the maintenance repairs and the much needed ones.
Evolution. Isn't sleep kinda counter to the theory of natural selection? If evolution were true, wouldn't animals that sleep be weeded out right from the start? Talk about a weakness! And yet every animal of any complexity sleeps for a significant amount of time. Sure makes animals more dependent on the social unit.
God. Sleep is one topic I will definitely be asking God about when everything is said and done. Perhaps He made it a necessity for survival so that we would be forced to depend on others, trust others, and admit to ourselves that we are weak vessels.
This is a topic that recomfirms in me that we are purposefully made by a creator. Strange but true.
Sleep. People are so used to the "activity" that they might not think how strange it is. Odd that an episode of "Star Trek: Next Generation" is the first time I remember anyone mentioning sleep as actually a scary idea (and no, I am not a Trekie). I mean, every day the body completely shuts down, and is extremely defenseless. And yet most of us look forward to the rest that sleep provides.
Cars. Why doesn't our body repair itself like we repair a car. You know, take it in every once in awhile for a tune up. Or maybe repair itself like I repair this sad attempt at deep prose: edit and fix as I go.
Motionless and braindead. If we were to just lay on our beds, motionless but conscious, we would hardly feel rested. So it isn't that the muscles, joints, bones, etc just need a break to repair. And it isn't the shutting down of the brain that is the key, since if we didn't dream we wouldn't feel rested either (and studies show that there is less brain activity in someone watching tv than someone sleeping).
Run ragged. Without sleep, some of us would never come home, never take a break from our work or from our fun. And perhaps like with our cars, without sleep some of us would never get around to the maintenance repairs and the much needed ones.
Evolution. Isn't sleep kinda counter to the theory of natural selection? If evolution were true, wouldn't animals that sleep be weeded out right from the start? Talk about a weakness! And yet every animal of any complexity sleeps for a significant amount of time. Sure makes animals more dependent on the social unit.
God. Sleep is one topic I will definitely be asking God about when everything is said and done. Perhaps He made it a necessity for survival so that we would be forced to depend on others, trust others, and admit to ourselves that we are weak vessels.
This is a topic that recomfirms in me that we are purposefully made by a creator. Strange but true.
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