Category Archives: Uncategorized

Youtube algorithm uniting people unexpectedly

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gj47G2e1Jc

I came across this song randomly one evening. It caught my attention for some reason. Not because it’s a Japanese song in an American 90’s rock-n-roll playlist. It’s the grooves and the way the music feel. It was just pleasantly pleasing. I could close my eyes and just listen to the song. When I went to read the comment I saw that there are hundreds of people who were experiencing the same thing I was experiencing. A random YouTube recommendation of some 1980’s Japanese music. Like other commenters, I had no idea what this song was about. More than half of the song is in Japanese with some occasional English phases like “Im Sorry” “Don’t Hurry”. From the Rhythm of music I felt this sense of urgency. Suddenly the singer began repeatedly sing this English phrase,

“I’m just playing games
I know that’s plastic love
Dance to the plastic beat
Another morning comes”

then the song end. Listening to this song for the second time gave me all kind of mixed emotions. The music is pleasing and relaxing. But at the same time it’s creating this sense of urgency contrasted with a sudden shout of “Don’t Hurry”. The language barrier made me curious of what she is saying. but at the same time I felt like I understood what she was saying. At that point I just gave and said to myself “it doesn’t matter that the song is about, it feel relatable and I enjoy it.”

Schiller’s ideas made me think about this song. A random 1980’s Japanese song uniting people from across the world. It one of those thing that’s just pleasing and we don’t have to know what it’s about to enjoy it.

Tech Giants

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As i sit here procrastinating on my coputer science homework this carreer path i am taking forces me to reflect on the power the tech companies, I some day want to work for, have. The declaration of indepence marked the begining of american capitalism and a freedom from a tyranical ruler. This led to the creation of natural rights for man with “universal” equality. Though are we truly equal?. These powerful tech giants and their founders seem to be untouchable, maybe even superior with the way they manipulate the markets and their consumers in order to make a profit. Should these tech giants be heavily regulated?

Alabama, Arkansas I Do Love My Ma and Pa…

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This image is a map of the United States which shows the 50 individual states that have their own rights but still make up a whole country. Amendment 10 talks about the power that the individual states or the people are given when the power is not reserved for the United States. This is important because it defines the balance of power between the states and the government, and shows that the states have individual powers so that the federal government does not overstep its bounds and become tyrannical. The 10th amendment gives states rights in order to limit the authority of the federal government. However, states are still subject to federal law, so when does federal law override states rights? Should the federal government be able to take away states’ rights?

Kant’s Philosophy vs. North Korea’s Philosophy

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Kant’s philosophy of treating people as an ends in themselves instead of as a means to an end resonates powerfully with my idea of how politicians and governments should ideally treat people in a democratic country, or any country for that matter. This is a very important idea because it strongly emphasizes on the value of human life. I find this philosophy very interesting because Kant doesn’t just state the maxim out of a personal whim or opinion; he actually provides a logical explanation to back this categorical imperative. He reasons that since morality is determined by reason, moral law is universal because reason is universal. Hence moral law applies equally to everyone. Therefore, acting morally means to treat every person as a moral agent and therefore as an end in itself, not as a means to an end.

The reality, however, is far from Kant’s ideal. Some governments and politicians around the world regularly abuse human rights. For example, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is one of the most repressive and undemocratic states in the world. Kim Jong-un exercises absolute political power over the country. The authoritarian government restricts all forms of human liberty and freedom in the country, including freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and the freedom to form political parties. The government systematically forces citizens (including women, children and prisoners) to provide unpaid labor , who are forced to build the country’s infrastructure and participate in events extolling the Kim family’s ruling and the Workers’ Party of Korea. The government uses arbitrary arrests, punishments, torture and execution to incite fear in people’s minds and gain control over them. The government partners with Chinese authorities to capture North Korean refugees and punishes the refugees for making international contact. The government does not care to protect and promote the rights of marginalized and weaker communities like women, children and crippled people. Kant would be devastated and horrified by the of abuse people, and most importantly valuable human lives, in countries like North Korea.



Worst Date Ever!

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This past Tuesday, my day ended completely differently than I had planned at the start of the day. I’m deathly afraid of public speaking and my sense of humor is dead-pan at best, so I would have never imagined myself standing in front of a stage of people doing a stand-up comedy set. At 5:30 AM when I went to work, I was scrolling through my socials on the bus and stumbled upon an event at a local restaurant called Herb and Wood. The event was a “Worst Date Ever” themed storytelling competition. Ironically, the prize was dinner for two at said restaurant. Maybe it was the prospect of free food, or perhaps the tiredness of waking up at 4:45 AM for work, but I ended up submitting a set a mere 10 hours before the event.

I really enjoyed the experience so much! I had absolutely no expectation coming into this event, other than to enjoy myself and have a few laughs with my friends. However, I ended up winning $150 of dinner so it was 100% worth the 10-minute stand-up set I threw together in a matter of hours. But, my biggest motivation to sign up was to challenge myself to be out of my comfort zone and maybe learn a new skill. While I don’t really believe in New Year’s resolutions, at the beginning of the year I always say to myself that I will try something new each month because I never know until I try it if I would be any good. This has led me to discover so many of my current passions and hobbies like cooking, powerlifting, and now maybe even stand-up comedy!

This mindset really reminded me of a lot of Kant’s perspective on untapped talents. He states in the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, it is failing to do your duty when “[one] finds himself in comfortable circumstances and prefers to give himself up to pleasure than to trouble himself with enlarging and improving his fortunate natural predispositions” (74). He argues that it is a disservice to yourself to not try and see what talents you have the potential to love. If you go in without any sort of intention of winning (like I did) and do something new purely out of wanting to be happy, even if you fail, it is still morally good to have tried at all. So, I encourage you all to try something out of your comfort zone (maybe even once a month!)

Below, you can see a brief video of me mentioning UCSD as part of a bit 🙂

IMG_8493Download

Here come dat boi!

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Hey all, I’m Dat Ta. I’m a computer science major, I like everything computer and technology related. On my spare time I like to play video games, mainly Minecraft and Starcraft. I have a small small small collection of just 50 HotWheels still in their packaging, hung up on the wall. My favorite books in the HUM sequence is between the Aeneid and Njal Saga, reading is not something I enjoy doing. However I very much enjoy reading these 2 titles. I guess it because their journey through life is very different from our; I may even say that it’s basically impossible to have such life, in today’s time, without being considered a maniac. Yet these people are heroic. It’s much easier to appreciate the past than the present.

“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them” – Andy Bernard (The Office)

This is my favorite song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ .

However my all time favorite is
Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM and
Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8craCGpgs

Introduction

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Hello. My name is Andrew im a third year computer science major from Salinas CA. I spend most of my free time going out with friends or working out. That being said one of my favorite workouts is MMA training which I have done for about 3-4 years.The book I have found most interesting throughout the Hum sequence would be Plato’s “Symposium” due to his interesting theory on love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrOntz51sYY

Hello there…

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Hello 😀

My name is Tim Hong and I’m an Electrical Engineering major. I was born and raised in Orange County here in SoCal and am in my second year at UCSD. I love playing tennis and guitar, as well as enjoying 3 am walks.

My favorite book from the HUM series so far is Discourse on Method and Meditations by Rene Descartes. In his writings, he questions everything, including his own existence…something I do on a daily basis. Eventually, he accepts his place in this thing called existence, something I hope to one day achieve as well.

Hey Guys!

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Hey guys! My name is Sarah Cebrynski. I’m a second-year Gen Biology major from Phelan, California (which is about 2 hours away in the mountains). I enjoy paddle boarding, listening to music, and going to the beach.

My favorite book throughout the HUM series has been the Lais of Marie de France. I thought that they were so interesting to read, and I loved the fact that she was one of the female authors we were given the opportunity to read and compare to other works during that time.

This has been my favorite song since middle school so I hope you enjoy https://youtu.be/cjPyvoLXPs4