Sorry Camus, life is not meaningless

Currently, I am reading Albert Camus's The Stranger for my English choice novel unit. While reading this book, the message that the author tries to convey to the reader is quite clear: our universe is irrational, meaning, some events happen for no reason, and there is no point to finding rationality. This is derived from existentialism, the philosophical theory that emphasizes the existence of each individual as a way humans find themselves in the world. To my understanding, it stresses the fact that people choose their meaning in life through things that they have lived through, beliefs, and outlook. In Camus's book, the term existentialism refers to the idea that life has no meaning, and there is no rational order of events. I will discuss this book more in depth in a later post, but what I wanted to share was a TED talk I came across through my curiosity that stemmed from this book. Surely, Camus had a negative outlook on life, as evidenced by his criticizing of society for condemning a person who had a revelation about life, a mere hero. I must say, I am easily persuaded, but Camus did not sell me on this point: life is not meaningless. I refuse to accept that. So, instead, I questioned myself: what is the purpose of life? For those of you that do not know, in my free time I like to watch TED talks (because after all, those ideas are worth spreading, right? So might as well do humanity a favor an watch them). Impulsively, I typed the phrase, "meaning to life." I was determined to learn something. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. I found a talk by

Emily Esfahani Smith, titled "There's more to life than being happy" over the meaning of life. She asserts that having a meaning to life gives you something to hold on to during critical times in one's life. Specifically, she notes that there are four pillars in finding meaning in one's life: belonging, the bonds formed between family and friends, purpose, which signifies the strengths that you use to serve others, transcendence, meaning the moment when the sense of self fades away, and story-telling, which is the story you create for yourself, which can be altered and interpreted differently. Smith advocates a call to action for society to build these pillars for people to live as their best selves. I highly recommend watching this video, it brought me tears. I feel like after every TED talk I watch I think it is the best video I've seen. Below is the link to this life-changing video:

https://www.ted.com/talks/emily_esfahani_smith_there_s_more_to_life_than_being_happy  

What started out as just a topic for an AP Seminar presentation...

Hello again!
Because my last post was about George Orwell's 1984, I thought I could tie this into what I've been anxious to talk about. In 1984, Orwell warns about totalitarian rule with the Party's replacement of "Oldspeak," the English we speak in our world toady, with "Newspeak," a modified version of English with a much smaller vocabulary. After doing a little research, I found that Orwell was incorporating the theme of linguistic determinism --  the theory that language determines thought -- in this feature of the plot. Linguistic determinism is one-half of a broader theory labeled the "Sapir-Whorf hypothesis," otherwise known as linguistic relativity, which resulted to be quite interesting for me to research.

I didn't just decide to research linguistic relativity on my free time. It was sort-of forced upon me, as I had to choose a topic for my individual presentation for my AP Seminar Capstone research class that connected to the murky theme of "perception." The College Board releases every year a series of sources and students have to derive their individual projects from a connection found in these sources. So, based on a couple of sources about 3D pavement art, the book Alice Through the Looking-Glass, attitudes towards Muslim women, extra-sensory perception, etc., my classmates chose pretty relevant topics like "lucid dreaming" and "medical marijuana." However, I struggled to chose a topic. Perception?? All I could think about was poor Alice confusing dreams with reality as I wanted to escape my reality of the drawing deadline to finalize and commit to a topic. So I started asking around, and a guy in my Precal class who likes to research the most random things suggested linguistic relativity. I looked at him puzzled, "Don't you mean the theory of relativity?" What does Einstein have to do with this? "No. Linguistic relativity. It's really cool. It's in the movie Arrival. Such a good movie." Great. I was so desperate for a topic idea that now I had to use a movie as reference.

As more and more of my classmates were finding their research topics and turning them in, I was still stuck. So I decided to google "linguistic relativity Arrival" and hope some idea would come to mind, because I am all for movies. I didn't watch the movie right then and there because I wasn't exactly in thr position to do so, but I found out by watching a clip that in Arrival, the main character is able to communicate with aliens that come to Earth by learning their language, and in doing so is able to see the future. She talks about it in the movie and even refers to the name, "Sapir-Whorf." It's a real thing! According to me, after diving deep into researching it, that is.

Here's the break-down: two twentieth century American linguists by the name of Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf (Whorf was Sapir's student) believed in the relationship between language, culture, and thought. Sapir might have even drawn this idea from his teacher, anthropologist Franz Boas, who did several studies on Native American tribes. While Sapir and Whorf never actually got together and named a theory after themselves (I know right, misnomer), linguists today tend to refer to the concept that the experiences gained by individuals are based on the structure of language they speak as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. However, as if it doesn't get confusing as it is, there are two versions to this theory: the "strong" form of it, called linguistic determinism or Whorfianism, states that language is a pure determinant of thought. Like in 1984. The other version is the "weak" form of the hypothesis and contends that language only influences thought. However, this whole Sapir-Whorf deal was considered a spoof after Noam Chomsky came up with his universal grammar theory in the 60's. This dude, who looks like the man least likely to care about children, basically came up with the idea that all babies are born with the skill set to form grammatical structures. Crazy, right? This idea of an innate "Language Acquisition Device," as Chomsky called it, became the answer that scientists across the world were looking for -- a link between biology and language that can be tracked down to the dawn of humanity -- and linguists began used it in language acquisition practices. Quite recently, Chomsky's idea has been rebuked. Some non-European languages had features that simply did not fit into his universal grammar structure. Meanwhile, the weaker form of linguistic relativity has gained popularity again, with experiments across the board in the psycho-linguistic field that serve to prove Sapir and Whorf's ideas. Such experiments include research that people who speak languages that involve the use of directions are good at keeping track of their location, even in unfamiliar regions. In addition, research conducted by Lera Borodistsky, professor of cognitive psychology at Stanford University, and linguist Alice Gaby where they gave Kuuk Thaayorre speakers from the Pompuraaw tribe in Australia picture cards to organize in correct temporal order revealed that those who think differently about space may probably think differently about time, as the Kuuk Thaayorre speakers arranged the cards from east to west, instead of from left to right like English speakers or from right to left like Hebrew speakers. In addition, categories in language can affect performance of simple perceptual color discrimination tasks due to perceptual distinctions that are habitually made in that particular language, as seen in the Russian speaker advantage in completing color tasks over English speakers due to the distinction between lighter blues and darker blues that exist in the Russian language. Linguistics also impacts thinking in the form of quantities, as seen with the Brazilian Amazon Piraha tribe that have challenges with exact quantities because speakers only use verbal expressions such as “several” and “few” instead of precise numbers. These are all experiments of how language influences the way our brains work, and you can see it in bilinguals, too. Cognitive researchers Danziger and Ward tested whether Arab Israelis’ attitudes towards Arabs and Jews differed depending on if the associations were instigated in Hebrew or Arabic. The results showed that language use can selectively influence the accessibility of socially relevant associations, as well as proving the statements of language and culture being intricately linked and bilingual people thinking about their social circumstance in a different way depending on their current language context. This is crazy! I've experienced this firsthand myself, as I tend to think differently when I speak Spanish than when I speak English. It has to do with culture, and ideals that are valued in that culture as well, I believe.


Anyways, all of this research has gotten me to think about what I want to do as a career choice. I so admire Lera Boroditsky, one of the big researchers that I looked into. What if I could be like her? I also found some TED talks about cognitive researchers, and the field really interested me. As a result from this, I have decided to take AP Psychology next year and find more about how the brain works. Learning that language has such a big impact on our thinking has me wondering what other things influence each person's psychological state.
In addition, I realized that although there are several different languages in the world, there is one language that has been able to cross cultures. MUSIC! Wow, classic me, always relating everything back to music. As I may have discussed somewhere on this blog, music has been around for a long time. The fact that humans have been able to categorize harmonious sounds into a whole written system may be proof that a universal language indeed does exist. Music has been able to be a medium of communication for ideas, and it is something that can be shared and understood by anyone no matter the language they speak. It is why I can go to my Argentinean grandmother and show her my piano books from the U.S., and she is able to play the songs that are written on the page.
Thanks for reading my rant about my current interest!




P.S. The research question I settled on for my Seminar class is, "Should the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis be implemented in second-language acquisition in the United States' education systems?" Have you ever wondered what the effects are from the U.S.'s persistence in having a monolingual culture? The fact that several monolingual people choose to not learn another language due to English being the "superior" language has some drastic consequences...Stay tuned for more!

Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

In the bleak painted world of Orwell’s 1984, Winston Smith lives in Oceania, where the political party of Big Brother controls its citizens’ every move. A member of the Outer Party working for the Records Department in the Ministry of Truth, Winston is against the Party but initially keeps his rebellious acts, such as his writings in his diary, low-key, recognizing that he is a “dead man” in just committing thoughtcrime (28). However, Winston’s insurgence towards the Party only grows when the dark-haired girl from the Fiction Department gives Winston a note that reads, “I love you,” leading to a love affair between the two (108). Believing that O’Brien, a member of the Inner Party, is also against Big Brother, Winston and Julia confess to him about their relationship, hoping to join the conspiracy of the so-called “Brotherhood”. Things take a turn for the worst when Winston and Julia are caught in their hideaway by the Thought Police. The next thing that is known by Winston’s conscience is his presence in the Ministry of Love, where he is tortured by O’Brien, who reveals to Winston that the Party, including himself, had been monitoring him for the past seven years. Winston is completely stripped of humanity when he is taken to Room 101 to experience his worst fear, leaving his only sense of emotion to be his distorted love for Big Brother.

As many qualified professional book readers do, I read the blurb as soon as I received this book. Being a huge fan of novels containing historical features, the phrase that stood out to me when reading the description of 1984 was “timelier than ever”. Indeed, this book has remained timeless and even internationally acknowledged through several decades, as my father told me that he and his siblings read the book when they were in secondary school during the ‘70s in Argentina. The question that I ponder is, what exactly has enabled this book to become such an enduring novel to this day?

Like many political writers, Orwell had an intended purpose that went beyond the miserable fate of the “Last Man in Europe”. Orwell warns his readers of the dangers of totalitarianism; this can easily be understood by the circumstances that were occurring around the time of 1984’s publishing, which greatly influenced Orwell’s political thoughts. Upon researching Orwell’s political stance during his lifetime, I found that one event in particular deeply affected Orwell’s view towards totalitarianism. Believing in the socialist ideal of abolishing class differences, Orwell travelled to Spain in 1936 to fight for the communist republicans in the civil war against the fascists. However, when the Spanish government under the influence of Moscow persecuted members of The Marxist Workers’ Party, which Orwell happened to be a part of, Orwell was left with a deep mistrust and hatred of communism and fascism because he saw how the regimes from both sides has misrepresented the truth of the Spanish Civil War. From 1936 onwards, Orwell was to dedicate everything he wrote towards waging war on totalitarianism. In 1984, Orwell pursues his warning against totalitarian governments by demonstrating through Winston’s perspective how the Party controls its subjects’ through manipulation. The Party, which “seeks power entirely for its own sake,” alters history in order to control the present (263). That is why when Oceania is declared to be at war with Eastasia, it has always been at war with Eastasia according to the Party, and never with Eurasia, although Winston notes that this is not true. The Party does not allow its citizens to keep photographs, and the sources of information given to the citizens are always falsified, as seen by Winston’s job in the Records Department. Moreover, when people are vaporized, as what happened to Syme, no trace of them is left behind, further proving how the Party controls even people’s existence.

In the beginning of the book, Winston questions, “If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable—what then?” (80). This very question is enforced by the idea that the Party holds superiority over reality when O’Brien tells Winston, “Nothing exists except through human consciousness,” which indicates that if the Party controls people’s minds, then they consequently can control the present (265). Much like the contradicting USSR policies and the misrepresentation of intellectuals that Orwell experienced during his lifetime, the Party is able to manipulate its citizens with the language called “newspeak”. Newspeak is what allows dual explanations, such as that of “the earth is the center of the universe” to be recognized as false only for “certain purposes” where it is “convenient to assume that the earth goes round the sun and that the stars are millions upon millions of kilometers away” (266). In addition, Newspeak is able to further restrict the freedom of the citizens of Oceania by cutting down words, which in turn makes the ability to express opinions impossible. Thus, as Syme states, “orthodoxy means not thinking,” because with Newspeak, there is no need for thought (53).

If purely based on the quality of a well-resolved storyline, I would not recommend 1984 to the average passionate reader. 1984 is by far the most disturbing book I have read, as the psychological and physical torture that is experienced by Winston illustrates an intense reading atmosphere. Furthermore, I was left with several questions and a feeling of lonesome at the ending of this book. Although I did not enjoy discovering the hopeless and dreadful situations of Winston and Julia, I ached to find out if the Party ever fell. The appendix containing “The Principles of Newspeak” describes Newspeak in past tense, which implies that the Party did indeed fall, but a more substantial resolution would leave me, as the reader, more at ease. However, I do recommend 1984 for a more philanthropic reason; Orwell was effective in his motive of warning his readers about the dangers of a totalitarian government. My own father, having grown up under the right wing dictatorship in Argentina, was lucky enough to receive a copy of 1984. Because of such political literature, my father was able to recognize the threat of his country under a repressive government and escaped the similar dystopia in which Winston will forever be entrapped in this timeless forewarning.

Book Review: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

“Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities” was once said by a man by the name of Samuel L. Clemens, who was better known by his pen name, Mark Twain. In his most praised literary work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the struggle between “sivilization” and freedom is apparent as Twain recaptures the reality of the Pre-Civil War Southern society surrounding a young boy.

Opening in the Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri and following the events that occurred in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, along with his best friend Tom Sawyer, own a large amount of money which is being held by the trusted Judge Thatcher. Adopted by the wealthy sisters, Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, Huck is forced into a life of civilization, which involves schooling, manners, and church. When his drunken father, Pap, appear and kidnaps Huck for his money, Huck manages to escape and hide on Jackson’s Island. There, he encounters Miss Watson’s slave Jim, who has run away fearing separation from his wife and children and tormenting oppression from talk about his master selling him down the river to a plantation. Huck questions himself over the proper view in which he should consider helping a runaway slave. Nevertheless, he agrees to not turn Jim in. Over the course of the next episodes of the book, Jim and Huck experience a variety of adventures in which they learn lessons on morals, slavery and domination, friendship, and loyalty. When Jim and Huck at one point are sold back to their respective slaveries – Jim as a slave and Huck to the civilized society offered by Tom’s aunt and uncle – they try to escape, which results in Tom being shot in the leg. Jim sacrifices his freedom in order to save Tom, but then they receive news the Miss Watson had died two months earlier and had declared Jim to be free in her will. Huck finds out that his father is dead, which enables him to pursue a life without the “sivilizing”.

In understanding the historical context of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it is essential to consider the factors that influenced Twain’s writing. Twain, born into an economically disadvantaged family in Missouri in 1835, never received an education: instead, he educated himself by writing articles for his brother’s paper and spending as much time as he could in the library reading books. In 1859, Twain received a license to pilot steamboats, where he gathered most of his experiences concerning the Mississippi River. When the civil war came about, Twain briefly served under the Confederate army before moving out west where he commenced his writing career. Twain was very popular during his life time as he was the first person to include the vernacular dialects of the South and realistic styles in American literature.

Twain emphasizes the hypocrisy in society through the reoccurring theme of civilization versus that of freedom in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  In the beginning, Huck shows his disgust with the confinements of a “sivilized” life living with Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas. He seems annoyed as the fact that he “couldn’t go right to eating” when at the table and he “had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though there warn’t really anything the matter with them” (1). In addition, Huck feels that he is in captivity by his drunken father. This theme can also be applied to Jim, as he is trying to escape slavery. Together, the two escape the bondages of civilization whilst traveling along the river. To further point out the hypocrisy in civilizations, every time Huck meets with civilization, he encounters misfortunes, whether that be the involvement with the Grangerford and Shepherdsons feud, the fraud King and Duke, or being caught on the run. Twain shows the irony in civilization with such situations as the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons that demonstrate barbarism with their ongoing feud which has resulted in the unnecessary deaths of several family members. In the end, Huck proves to remain unchanged from the beginning of the novel. Not being able to “stand” Aunt Sally because “she’s going to adopt [Huck] and sivilize [him]” results in Huck’s move “out for the Territory ahead of the rest” (232). This characteristic of the plot is influenced by Twain’s generation, in which the American West was a testing ground for American individualism and freedom.

Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain exhibits several dialects ranging from the region of the Mississippi River. The use of such words as “injun” and “warn’t” make the text particularly difficult to comprehend, seeing as the use of this dialect is not as common today. Despite the challenge of understanding the novel, I found this book to be a “page turner” due to the amount of action that was packed in each period of the story plot.

Piano Recital Piece 2018

For my piano studio's recital this year, I played "The Swan" from the Carnival of the Animals, composed by Camille Saint-Saëns. Originally scored for solo cello accompanied by two pianos, I played the solo piano arrangement and I fell in love with it. Click here to watch it!

2017-2018 School Year...almost done??

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for failing to keep up with my intended goal of "Keeping Up With Kristina." Many have warned me before that junior year is the most difficult year of high school. I can testify this for myself now, as this school year has been indeed hectic! So now it is April, and most of my classes are wrapping up the curriculum teaching as we approach the AP testing dates. In addition to studying for 4 AP exams, I made the amazing decision to sign up for the SAT date that is THE WEEKEND before AP tests start. What a mistake.
I have forgotten what it feels like to blog, so bear with me as I attempt to find the passion for this informal writing opportunity (it seems to me that I don't have many of these opportunities these days, with my English and US History teacher requiring us to learn how to write a variety of analysis essays).
On another note, I have done some traveling since the last time I blogged and I am looking forward to sharing these experiences with whoever reads this, although I am pretty sure nobody reads this blog.
LOL I am such a loser.

Keep in touch,
xx