- What forms of faster than light travel are most scientifically likely? My favorite SF project right now, The Expanse, doesn't have FTL travel, and it is one of the more scientifically realistic stories that I have read/watched.
- Possible new lead in the search for an Ebola virus vaccine. New protein target that may increase the effectiveness of the vaccines.
- Finding vs developing your passions.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Summer Assignment 7.24.18
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Of the three articles I read, I found the article titled "Faster-than-light travel:The science behind the fiction" the most interesting. This article fascinated me because I am familiar with the sources mentioned in this article. Such as Star Wars, Star Trek, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Doctor Who. All of these major franchises were previously known to me as entertainment sources which I watched for fun. The possibility of any Bifrost look-alikes or Millennium Falcons flying around is, quite frankly, awesome! Faster-than-light travel is something that has been scientifically impossible for quite a while because of the sheer lack of advancements in tech and fuel sources powerful enough to do the job. However, now that we have machines and an understanding of who we are and the world as a whole increased, I am looking forward to the creation of light-speed travel.
Another article that piqued my interest is the article "'Finding Your Passion' Is Awful Advice". The study that is conducted shows a negative aspect to having a set career path and passion as opposed to a wide variety. This article gave me a new perspective on questions that ask you to choose careers. It showed me that , in the words of the article, "Passion is developed" and this has a lot of meaning. It shows that we should not choose a career as a rushed decision but after a calculated one. Trying new things and seeing what best suits you as you nurture all of the possible choices. This article experiments with a group of students that were shown different focus of studies and a significant percentage chose a field that wasn't considered before as a possibility. This shows an eyeopening result that can change the opinions of many people who decide to choose a particular career. It can even cause a change of heart to someone who has yet to apply for a job.
I chose to read the third article: "'Find Your Passion' is Awful Advice". It explained the shortcomings of being told to simply find you passion, opposed to understanding that you can develop a passion over time. The notion that a person's passion is out there and just has to be found tends to be the belief of most Americans, especially students trying to select a major or career path. They are repeatedly prompted to follow their passion, however such a mindset is actually discouraging because any job that feels like work and does not fill the individual with emotion is deemed as the wrong choice. This is known as the fixed theory of interests, where it is believed that a person has the same core interests from birth. Another version is the growth theory, where a person can instead develop interests in any topic. People who believe the fixed interest theory struggle to have interests outside of the field of their assumed passion and are quick to give up on a new interest if it becomes difficult. This causes them to miss out on learning opportunities and hinders them in discovering new passions. Meanwhile, someone who knows that passions can be cultivated is less afraid of failure and can prioritize other goals because they are they are not as consumed with the need to find their passion right away. I found the article to be interesting and insightful. I feel that trying to keep a growth mindset will help me in my future choices regarding my education and career.
This week I read the article titled “Faster than Light.” While I don’t doubt that that there are other lifeforms in other galaxies and planets, they are impossible to find due to the fact that current technology is unable to travel fast enough. Using the fastest spaceship that we have, it would take 100 years to fly to the closest galaxy. Therefore humans won’t be able to survive the trip. Several sci-fi movies and shows have come up with ideas to avoid this problem. The most “logical” approach is the existence of wormholes. Backed up by Einstein, these shortcuts don't involve spacecrafts to move as fast or faster than light, which is scientifically proven to be impossible. Instead of going the full route, wormholes will allow people to cut through space, decreasing the distance and amount of time it would take to reach its destination. It’s extremely likely that wormholes, or Einstein-Rosen bridges, actually exist in our universe. Another option for faster space travel is warp engines. Like the wormholes, warp technology does not involve moving faster than light. The belief is that space will squeeze in front of and open up behind the rocket . While there are several other options, like hyperdrive and jump drives, these are the only choices that don't involve defying the laws of physics. While finding the solution to improving space travel is still far away, the possibility of wormholes and warp technology existing will pave the way for future generations. There is now a real possibility of exploring other galaxies and universes. I believe that with the discovery of this new transportation, new life can be found, and perhaps, space travel will become more common and accessible.
Out of the three articles offered I found the one titled “Scientists get first look at T cell responses in Ebola virus survivors”. I found this one the most intriguing because I found it interesting that despite the peak of the Ebola virus epidemic ending two years ago scientists are still looking for better ways to treat it and looking to expand their knowledge on the topic. I find this very important in science because there is always more to learn and new experimentation that can be done. In the case of the ebola virus, recently scientists have been looking at ebola survivors and looking at the key immune response cells they have. The study focused on killer T cells that Ebola virus survivors had. These T cells responded to the viral proteins that the people with ebola have. The goal of the study was to develop an effective vaccine that mimics the immune response that a person makes after they have the infection and after they have the infection. The study found that the majority of Ebola survivors made cytotoxic CD8+ T cells that can respond to proteins of the ebola virus called nucleoprotein. However, most people with ebola did not produce this protein. Scientists also discovered that there are small sites on the ebola virus proteins called epitopes that the killer T cells can target specifically. Since scientists began studying T cell responses numerous studies are going to follow and hopefully there will be a vaccine for ebola in the near future.
The first article I read was “Faster Than Light: 5 Sci-Fi Space Travel Methods and the Real Theories Behind Them” by Bob Al-Greene. I found this article interesting because it opened my eyes on some of the elements involved in famous sci-fi movies, TV Shows, and books. Prior to reading this article, though I was not too familiar with some of the mentioned sources, I did recognize them and was aware of their general storylines. However, I had never put thought towards the methods of space travel used in the sources before. I had always assumed everything was made up for the sake of entertainment and convenience for the author/writer. However, after reading this article I learned that there are five space travel methods in sci-fi sources that are faster than light and have been based on some scientific predictions and studies. The Einstein-Rosen Bridges, shortcuts that go from one location to another without breaking the speed of light, were predicted to exist by Einstein, and the work of other scientists, such as Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne, suggest that wormholes most likely exist but are still yet to be found. Warp Drives compress space in front of the craft and expand it behind, and though it may be possible to travel through space with these with an energy field of a lower density than the vacuum of space, there would need to be a specific energy process that is yet to be discovered. Hyperdrive is a part of real space in which physical laws do not apply in the same way, but since this form of travel has no theoretical basis, it is most likely a convenient form of travel for writers than reality. Jump Drives deal with interstellar teleportation, which will probably not be an actuality soon. Finally, Closed Time-Like Curves, which are not very scientific, involve time traveling through the means of a time machine that will allow a traveler to travel to any point in his or her own past.
The second article I read was “‘Find Your Passion’ is Awful Advice” by Olga Khazan. This article was just as eye-opening for me because it is a topic to which I personally relate. As a kid, whenever I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always responded “ I do not know.” The adult then proceeded to respond by advising me to find my passion and pursue my current interests that I was good at and make a career out of that. The study performed in this article was intriguing to me because it indicated that the mindset that interests can grow exists and that not everyone has the mindset that interests are fixed. This inspired me to later grow my current interests and find new interests to expand my horizons, instead of sticking to a few “fixed” interests.
Out of the three articles I found "Faster than light" interesting. Our solar system consists of many galaxies most of which that are so far away that with current technology we wouldn't be able to travel there. Current spaceships cannot travel faster than light and cannot even travel at the same speed as light. A human would not be able to survive a trip to another galaxy due to the amount of time it would take to just reach there. However many science fiction authors have come up with many non-realistic technologies that humans could possibly use to travel to other galaxies in their books. Although, there is one possible option that might actually exist in our solar system which is Einstein-Rosen bridges or also know as wormholes. In this theory, massive objects in space have the power to bend time in space to have two far apart locations meet. This wormhole theory is supported by Einsteins theory of wormholes. These bridges will possibly decrease the amount of time to travel in space between destinations. The wormhole entrance would be a sphere and could be a very realistic option since it does not break the speed of light. These bridges may give us a chance in traveling to other galaxies, and may help us come up with other technologies that can help humans travel within the solar system to far off places. Another article that was also interesting was "‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice". This article talked about how many people look for jobs based off of their passion. People believe that if their job is their passion they won't work a day. However this way of thinking causes them to turndown other opportunities since they were so set to a mindset that they only had one set passion and could only like certain types of things. However by being more open to new things you can develop a passion overtime. People can develop new passions all the time overtime if they try. This article showed that we shouldn't really follow our passion but we should be open to new things so we can find varieties of passions and follow them instead of only one that has been drilled into our minds.
Of the articles posted this week, I found "Faster-than-light-travel: The science behind the fiction" the most compelling. I initially read the article "Faster-than-light-travel: The science behind the fiction" and was fascinated by the connection made between light travel as portrayed in science fiction movies and light travel as we currently know it. I would never have anticipated that the concepts and technologies depicted in such fictitious movies might actually have the potential to be achieved by mankind. The article revolves around five space travel methods, including Einstein-Rosen Bridges, Warp Engines, Hyperdrives, Jump Drives, and Closed Timelike Curves, as portrayed in sci-fi movies. Space vehicles that utilize such methods accelerate beyond the speed of light whilst traveling. For one, the Einstein-Rosen Bridge is, essentially, a shortcut through space that can be achieved through the bending of space and time. As demonstrated by a character in the sci-fi movie "Interstellar", traveling across the surface of a piece of paper to get from one point to another would take time. However, folding the paper and puncturing a hole through the two points using a pencil, and then proceeding to use the pencil as a bridge, would be a significantly quicker process; the pencil-bridge would symbolize the Einstein-Rosen Bridge. The Einstein-Rosen bridge would appear a sphere in actuality as opposed to a tube; could theoretically garner stability if the right amount of energy were to be applied to it; and, on a realism rating scale with the number five being the most realistic, is rated a four-out-of-five. Secondly, as illustrated in the "Star Trek" movie franchise, warp engines condense the space in front of the space vehicle and extend the space behind it so that the surrounding universe is essentially being altered, thus propelling it forward. However, warp engines would require a tremendous investment of energy to operate, and the process of garnering such an investment is one that is currently unknown to mankind. Warp technology is thus rated a three-out-of-five on a realism rating scale, according to the article. Third, hyperdrives enable space vehicles equipped with them to travel through a sub-region of space known as "hyperspace" to which the same physical laws do not pertain. Nonetheless, travel through hyperspace, which fosters alternate names in alternate sci-fi movie franchises, does require certain technology to avoid collisions with other objects such as stars or other space vehicles. Additionally, the locations at which hyperspace begins and ends remain unknown. The hyperspace drive is thus rated a two-out-of-five on the realism rating scale. Fourth, jumpdrives, as portrayed in "Battlestar Galactica", are essentially a form of teleportation that enable space vehicles to travel from one destination to another with no hesitation. However, because jumpdrives function by contorting the space surrounding the vehicles, the possibility of nearby vehicles getting damaged in the process is imminent; jumpdrives are rated a two-out-of-five on the realism rating scale. Finally, a closed timelike curve, the feasible equivalent of TARDIS from the movie "Doctor Who", is similar to an Einstein-Rosen Bridge; the curve is surrounded by a bubble of space-time and a time-traveler who enters the curve can explore any moment on his or her timeline whilst time passes conventionally within the bubble. As proposed by two physicists, closed timeline curves may also be slit apart and linked together, thus enabling time-travelers to explore any aspect of space and time in general. However, the time-travel-based technology is only ranked at a one-out-of-five on the realism rating scale...
...I was most astonished by the fact that hyperdrives were only rated a mere two-out-of-five on the realism rating scale. Considering the vastness of space and the likeliness that it could be infinite, I would imagine there to be several regions of it in which the same laws and properties do not apply that scientists have not yet detected- including hyperspace. Additionally, I would agree with the statement that and understand why Einstein-Rosen Bridges are the most realistic of the five space travel methods covered in the article. A mode of transportation that serves as a shortcut through space and that involves entering and exiting spherical, pre-existing, astrological bodies would be most practical of all the space-travel options explored in the article. Furthermore, Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen based their proposal off the well renowned theory of general relativity, using it as evidence to explain the phenomena.
Of the three articles provided, the one I found most interesting was titled, "Students get first look at T cell responses in Ebola virus survivors." Even though it was several years ago, I still have vivid memories of the Ebola epidemic that plagued Africa and even infected some American citizens, as well as citizens of other countries. Even though the epidemic has greatly died down since then, research on an Ebola vaccine has not ceased, and as highlighted in this article, a new, more effective type of vaccine has recently been discovered. Previous vaccines targeted proteins of the virus called glycoproteins, but new studies led scientists to believe that a vaccine that targets both these outer glycoprotiens and the inner nucleoprotein of the virus would be much more effective. In order to determine this, scientists conducted a study in which they collected blood samples from Ebola survivors. The scientists tested the blood against majority of the proteins of the virus by examining the behavior of the "killer" T cells, and seeing which proteins the cells targeted. While only 38% of the survivors had T cells that responded to either of the two glycoproteins, a staggering 96% of the survivors had T cells that responded to the nucleoprotein. Additionally, over 30 new target sites of T cells were also revealed through this study. Reading this article showed me how the dedication of scientists can lead to good results, and the importance of examining survivors of a particular disease to develop vaccines. Survivors provide valuable knowledge as to how the body builds up immunity towards certain diseases, and their survival can in fact help many more survive in the future against a deadly disease.
The article, "‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice," is very interesting, especially because I can relate it to my own life. The beginning of the article introduces the fixed theory. To explain, it consists of your passion being predetermined. In my case, becoming a nurse has been a goal or passion of mine. Some may say it is fixed because a lot of my relatives are nurses, and my family really wants me to pursue that career. But I myself find the topics of nursing interesting, which is why I am taking this AP Biology course in the first place. Back to the article, they said that if your passion is "fixed," you are less likely to succeed, and get more down on yourself for failing, because you have this set goal in your head with no other options. I can fully relate to that because comparing my SAT scores to expectations from future schools disappoints me, and worries me that I won't be accepted. But at the same time I need to trust in the Growth theory, also provided in this article. In other words, your passion is developed, rather than found or pre determined. After studying anatomy, psychology, and now biology, maybe I will end up preferring a pharmacy career rather than patient care. In the article, K. Ann Renninger, a professor at Swarthmore College, says, "Before the age of 8, she said, kids will try anything. Between the ages of 8 and 12, they start to compare themselves with others and become insecure if they’re not as good as their peers at something." This is very true because a lot of my friends get really good grades without putting in as much effort as I do. It is very frustrating. But if I trust in myself and just focus on my own goals, I will be successful! Overall this article helped me realize that my nursing passion can definitely change, and I need to accept that for my own success.
This week, I chose to read "‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice". This article explained how many people wait most of their life to find their passion. But, it also explained how a passion isn't just found, but developed. It focused to teenagers trying to chose their career paths. The students are told to find their passion and pursue it, so if they feel like they are working while doing their jobs then that career is not there passion. The people who believe in this have a fixed theory. This means that they believe that every person is given core interests from birth and they just have to find it. on the other hand, there are people that have a growth theory. They believe that people develop new interests as they try new things and go through life. There have been a series of studies done by several different scientist to prove this. Most of the time, the people that have a fixed theory miss out on a lot in life. They only try things that they are comfortable with which causes them to give up a lot of opportunities that could have helped them. Meanwhile, the people with growth theories try new things and then find their passions. They live their lives to the fullest always trying to find new things to do. These people tend to not be afraid of failure because they have tried a lot of things and do the things they love because they love to do them not because they are good at them. I really liked this article because I think that I have found one of my passions right now but I know that I will develop a lot more as I get older. This article helped realize that I need to have an open mind so I don't miss out on anything.
I last recall reading about Ebola back in 2014 when the virus was brought to the US in a few different cases. Reading “Scientists get first look at T cell responses in Ebola virus survivors” reminded me that the virus doesn’t just disappear. Although I have not seen any news of Ebola recently, the virus is still a prevalent issue that ought to be addressed. The article indicates that research is being done to do just that. What is interesting, though, is that cytotoxic CD8+ T cells found in Ebola survivors responded to nucleoproteins. This is interesting due to the fact that Glycoproteins, which are apart of the virus, were thought to have been the main respondent of the T cells. However upon research exhibited in the article, this is not the case. What is particularly fascinating about this is that the results could possibly change the way we approach the virus. Knowing that the glycoproteins are not the main target alters the way scientists create vaccines because the article explains how to create a vaccine you must first understand how the immune system reacts to the virus. If you can recreate this reaction in order to build immunity then a vaccination is created. This is why discovering that the T cells actually respond to the nucleoproteins of the virus and not glycoproteins is a game changer. Not only that, but it opens the door for further research in the immune systems response to Ebola.
I read the article titled “‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice”. In this article the idea that one’s passion is something that can be nurtured rather than something one is born with is discussed. I chose this article because the idea of this interested me. Likewise to what’s described of the typical person in the article, I too had the idea that one’s passion is simply discovered as though it were a treasures hunt. A study at Stanford was done to challenge this idea. They coined the two mindsets “fixed theory of interests” and “growth theory”. Students participating in the study first took a survey on their interests and their beliefs on “core” interests changing. Afterwards they were asked to read an article not related to their interests, and the results showed that those with a “fixed theory of interests” mindset, were less interested in the article. The study was then repeated with the students reading about either of the two mindsets first, and results were similar. This may suggest that students overlook opportunities to develop a new passion because they believe they have already found theirs, and they are more likely to give up in search of a passion. Another study has shown that students who learn about “fixed theory” are more likely to lose interest in things they previously enjoyed when it got more difficult, and thus never be able to develop a passion for said things. I find that this article relates a lot to students in college, especially those that go in undecided or switch their majors. Going in the students have a “fixed” mindset that they have a certain interest and pursue a degree that encompasses that interest. However after needing to fulfill core class requirements, they find they love something that is not related to their original major. Their new found passion needed to be explored to be enjoyed, showing how passions are developed and not always predicted at first.
After reading all the articles, I found the article titled, “ ‘Find your passion’ is awful advice,” by Olga Khazan the most fascinating as it changed my mindset completely. From an early age, after reading books and watching movies, it was ingrained in my head that I would find my passion one day. However, after reading the article I was surprised to find out that passions are not found, but in fact, developed and can be cultivated over time. Paul O’Keefe, Dweck and Greg Walton performed a study which shows that we need to change our perspective about interests and passions. The authors conducted these studies on college students. First, the students answered questions that would categorize them as “fuzzies”-students who were interested in english and humanities or as “techies,”-students who were interested in math and science. Afterwards, the students read articles did not match their passion. The more fixed the students were on their passions, the less captivated they were by the articles. This led to the author’s concluding that the fixed mindset is actually discouraging as one may overlook other interests and opportunities as they are locked into place. In addition, this theory can cause one to give up more easily, using the excuse, “it is not my passion” and move on. This theory is actually harmful as it makes one believe that their passion will not be difficult at times, since one will have “unlimited motivation”. Overall, this article does really change the American mindset; passions can be cultivated and grown over time.
Out of three articles I found, "Scientists get first look at T cell responses in Ebola virus survivors" the most interesting. Scientists did a study of immune system cells of Ebola survivors from West Africa that can kill infected Ebola cells. I think it is so important that scientists are researching a vaccine for a virus that blew up 3-5 years ago. This shows that medicine is always evolving and we are constantly making new discoveries. Researches decided to test blood samples against the 7 or 8 proteins encoded in the Ebola virus's DNA. This allowed them to study the CD8+ cytotoxic T cell responses in Ebola survivors. These proteins were shown through cells that were already infected. They found that 96% of the Ebola survivors made cytotoxic CD8+ T cells that answered to a protein called the nucleoprotein. However, only 38% of these survivors responded to either of the virus's two glycoproteins. I believe this is a huge step forward in order to make a vaccine that will fight this virus.
This week's articles were extremely interesting, starting off with a breakdown of faster than light (FTL) travel from popular science fiction stories in “5 sci-fi space travel methods and the real theories behind them.” I was interested by how we could possibly use the theories/ideas presented in science fiction writing and storytelling, and bring them into fruition. I also enjoyed the humor throughout the article, and the way they ranked each type of travel. The first type of travel, the Einstein-Rosen Bridges, are loopholes in space-time, but using them is a far-off future compared to other methods, and they might not even exist. Instead, it is more commonly used in science fiction stories, such as the MCU, as a way to explain their extremely fast travel without describing the complicated details. Out of the five breakdowns in this article, I was intrigued by the warp engines the most.The warp engines use actual physics and may become a reality soon with advanced technologies. I found that the basic principle behind it was very ingenious, as it compresses space in front of the spacecraft, and expands it behind allowing for the craft to ride this “space wave.” The next two less plausible theories are Hyperdrives and Jump drives, using a subregion called hyperspace or using quantum entanglement to teleport your ship to your destination, respectively. Both of these are great fantasies for good storytelling, but in my opinion would be very hard to develop even with futuristic technologies, and are less likely to become reality than warp engines. The last possible method discussed in the article was interesting, but the most far off from reality. This method uses a bubble of space-time, which is interesting and fun to think about, but unfortunately is most likely not going to become a possible method of FTL travel. The second article that I read, “‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice,” was very interesting. They discuss different mindsets, including growth, and talk about how waiting for your passion to come and find you is an unlikely dream. Instead, they found through their findings that people with a growth mindset are more willing to change, and grow their interests instead of giving up when something becomes hard. They argue that passions are developed, and did a study to prove this. The participants who had a “fixed theory of interest” were less willing to change and learn something new just because it did not it in with their “passion.” On the other hand, the participants with the growth mindset were more willing to change, and were committed even when it became more difficult. This was because they were more open to change and develop their passions, instead of only focusing on what they believed was their passion. This article caught my interest, because it proved that you have to develop your interests, and always be open to change. By adapting to changing times by changing your interests, you will increase your chances of a successful future.
After reading the three articles, I found “Faster Than Light: 5 Sci-Fi Space Travel Methods and the Real Theories Behind Them” by Bob Al-Greene very captivating and full of fascinating information. This article caught my eye because I am fond of many interstellar movies and shows such as "Star Wars" and "Doctor Who" so I was very curious to see how these science fiction forms of travel through space could turn into reality one day. To start off, this article talks about five forms of interstellar travel that have some potential, some having a better chance than others, that we might be able to use in the far future to explore the depths of space. The first form of space travel is called Einstein-Rosen Bridges, also known as wormholes. Through Einstein's general theory of relativity, he predicted wormholes that would show up in space due to a massive object big enough that it could bend spacetime and create a connection between two different points. This way of travel through space proved to be the most scientifically possible because according to physics it is impossible for anything to get past the speed of light. In this case, an object can travel through space without having to reach the speed of light and go from point A to point B through the wormhole. The second form of space travel mentioned in the article was Warp Engines. What Warp engines do is that it bends space by compressing space in front of the craft and expanding it behind. By contracting space ahead of the ship and expanding it behind, the spacecraft can "ride a wave" forward in space. However, this form of travel also has similar flaws as traveling through wormholes and requires a lot of energy for it to be possible. It surprised me how these two forms of space travel are plausible and can happen in the future if we find some material that can fuel enough energy. Another form of space travel was Hyperdrive which is much less likely to happen compared to the other two forms because it requires a spacecraft going past the speed of light which is impossible. Another flaw is that it needs a "navicomputer" for the object that is traveling, so it avoids impact with any other object in space. This method of traveling is essentially not possible unless we travel through another universe that it is physically possible to do so in. However, one possible way that is similar to hyperdrive is Jump Drive which brings us to the next form of interstellar travel. This is when the spacecraft or an object instantly teleports to its destination in space with no delay. This method has a small chance of happening, but only through quantum enlargement. This is a phenomenon where particles act in the same way even when separated by gulfs in space. You would have to use quantum information from particles at one end and transfer them to particles at the other end so they can behave similarly. However, another flaw occurs with this as you would have to either kill the original version or create a clone of yourself every time you teleported. The next way of space travel is called Closed Time-Like Curves which is the same method used in "Doctor Who" for the TARDIS. Primarily, the TARDIS flies through the time vortex and reappears at a location during another time period. Physicists Benjamin K. Tippett and David Tsang theorized something similar to what the TARDIS does. They described a bubble of space-time containing a time-traveler entering a Closed Timeline Curve where the traveler can go anywhere on their own timeline. This form of travel is highly unlikely and does not really have a chance compared to wormholes in space and does not have that much scientific proof to back it up. All in all, these five forms of space travel, specifically the first two forms, made me extremely curious about what our future would be like if we somehow achieved a form of spacetime travel and explored the universe in its entirety instead of focusing on and traveling to the same spots.
“Faster than light: 5 sci-fi space travel methods and the real theories behind them” was an interesting article. It presents theoretical solutions to the problem of FTL travel. FTL, or faster than light travel would be necessary for human beings to explore the universe in a reasonable amount of times. Many points of interest in our galaxy are light years away, and even the closest star to our sun is 4 light years away. Our fastest methods of transportation are only 5% of lightspeed, meaning reaching the closest star to us would take about 80 years, making a manned mission incredibly unlikely. With FTL travel, these great distances would be far less daunting, and we would be able to explore our world. The realm of science fiction has often fantasized about this, and that is what this article is based on. Something that bugged me about this article is that it seems to glorify Albert Einstein, even going so far as to cite his successful record as a predictor of scientific advancements as a reason to give credit to his proposal for FTL travel: Wormholes. This idea has had a massive amount of research dedicated to it by Einstein and other scientists today, but at the end of the day, it is only theoretical, and I believe that it could be terribly ruinous to put people on pedestals because of a series of successes. We should not assume that they will be successful every time, as each instance should be analyzed separately. Giving Einstein’s ideas extra credibility because he is the one who came up with it is ridiculous. Take what he has said with a grain of salt, just as you would do with any other person. Perhaps I am over reacting, but this irked me, as I am a very doubtful person in general.
“‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice” was an inspiring article. It advocates for people becoming aware that interests and passions are not things that you are born with and are inherent, but rather are able to be developed. You have the power to grow interests if you continue to pursue them with a fair amount of zeal. People are told too often that their passion must be found, and that they will feel a great deal of emotion once they find what they are meant to do, but this simply untrue. People can develop a passion for anything, provided that they do not give up on it. As long as you give something a chance, it could become your passion. Young people should not be discouraged when they do not instantly feel passionate about a subject. Once it becomes a big enough part of your life, you will have developed a passion for it. This information makes it easier to continue through something you may not be completely interested in. Just because it does not immediately captivate you does not mean it won’t make you happy given time. It makes quitting much harder to do because it may just be a temporary feeling, and sticking it out through the hard times may prove to be worth it in the long run. This article makes me feel far more confident about my choice to stick through things that were tough or boring at first, but soon became big parts of my life.
Out of the three articles, the one titled, "Finding Your Passion is Awful Advice" immediately had me hooked. This is because my whole life, teachers and adult figures have told me the same exact thing, and it's very surprising to now find out that I've been taking the wrong advice. When carol dweck and Greg Walton performed the study, I was very curious to see how it would turn out. What was even more interesting is that they chose to perform on college students, and not high school kids. This is because college students have mostly already decided what path they want to take, while high school kids are still undecided. The students first answered a survey which would categorize them as either techy, which means they are interested in maths and sciences, or fuzzy, which means they are interested in arts and humanities. The techy students were less interested in the piece on Derrida, and the fuzzy students were less interested in the article about algorithms. This led the authors to believe that students who have fixed interests might ignore important lectures because they don't agree with said passion. Another reason to not buy into fixed theory is because it could cause you to give up too easily. If the major your passion involves becomes too difficult, it could lead you to think that it's not your passion after all. Instead, the article states that passions have to be formed. That is the only way a person would be really motivated to follow a passion. The article states, "People who think passions are developed, meanwhile, prioritize other goals over immediate enjoyment at work, and they “grow to fit their vocations better over time,” the authors of that study write." People who think passions are found tend to pick jobs that fit them well from the outset.
The article that I found the most interesting this week is “Faster-Faster-than-light travel: The science behind the fiction than-light travel: The science behind the fiction.” The fact that the article is about the technologies used in all these science fiction movies/books really grabbed my attention because they are so fascinating and advanced. It was interesting learning about the science behind them and how realistic they are. The first FTL (faster than light technology) discussed was the Einstein-Rosen Bridges also known as wormholes. As the article explains it, wormholes act as shortcuts in space allowing you to move faster than the speed of light. Many people also believe that you could use wormholes to travel between universes. This idea has been demonstrated in many films such as Thor: Ragnarok and The Avengers when showing aliens coming to Earth from different planets, solar systems, and universes. Some scientists believe that wormholes caused by supermassive black holes may be unstable and collapse easily while others think that the could be stabilized with the right amount of energy. The second form of FTL technology that the article talks about is warp technology. Warp technology is used often in the Star Trek series as a form of transportation. The reason that its so fast is that it bends space itself. A physicist named Michael Alcubierre believes that this technology may be possible. However, just like the wormhole, the warp drive would require a massive amount of energy and other materials that may not exist. The third section of the article is about Hyperdrive which is a technology that allows you to travel faster than the speed of light. In the Star Wars movies another name for this is Hyperspace which has no regard for the laws of physics. However, it needs a droid or a “navicomputer” to create a course and prevent any collisions with other hyperdrive ships. The next part is about Jump Drives. They allow you to travel without any delay. Basically, it is a form of instant teleportation. Jump drives were common in Star Trek and would be used to beam the people from place to place. However, there is a small chance of them becoming a reality anytime soon. The last technology discussed is closed time-like curves. Doctor Who used this technology as a form of transportation. He used a box called TARDIS that would disappear, go through a time vortex, and reappear again. It would take a very long time for TARDIS to become a reality because it is extremely advanced.
After reading the three articles, I found "'Find Your Passion' IS Awful Advice" the most riveting. In my opinion, I agree with the scientists and do believe that it takes time to develop a passion. Additionally, the author mentioned how following your passion can lead you to give up much more easily. This is due to students believing something difficult is not their passion. Therefore, one can only tell their passion after working on something for a while. The saying "follow your passion" can cause some to give up, which is the opposite from what it intended to do, which was to motivate others. Thus, finding your interests can be intimidating and can actually cause people to shy away from trying things. The example of the student who jumped from lab to lab finding a topic that interested her is an example of how this saying can have a negative impact. The student should have stayed at a lab to see if her interest increases because she could have skipped a lab that she was actually passionate about. This article was interesting and proved as a valuable lesson as I learned it takes time to develop your passion and chasing your passion can sometimes steer you away from great opportunities.
The article that I found interesting this week is called “‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice”. The article talked about the phrase commonly heard in classrooms (“Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”) and how this ideology is harmful to students. The article discusses how students these days are told to find their passion and not to settle for work that “feels” like work. This causes students to jump around from profession to profession, or from lab to lab, trying to find their passion in life. There are two types of mindsets when it comes to a person's passion. The first is a fixed theory of interest. This states that a person is born with specific passions and has to find them. A person who had this mindset would be reluctant to pursue interests or hobbies that they are not immediately interested in. This is harmful because this may lead to them never settling for a job or taking opportunities. In addition, this type of person would not be motivated to put work into something because they feel that if they are not naturally good at something, it is not meant for them. The growth theory states that you can discover and develop interests over time. A person with this mindset would be open to trying new things. This article is important to everyone, but particularly teens/ people who are trying to figure out what to do with their lives in the near future. It encourages them to try new things and not be discouraged if they fail.
There are many questions about space, such as what came before the big bang, what is space expanding into, and, the most famous, are we the only ones in this vast, dark, openness. The answers only lie out there, waiting for us to encounter it. However, with modern technology, we can't even reach the nearest star system, which is more than 4 light years away. With the current technology, reaching far distances even in our own solar system is a tough trip! However, 'Faster than Light' by Bob Al-Greene, looks to record-breaking science fiction movies that offer plausible solutions to this situation. The most realistic solution is the use of Einstein-Rosen Bridges, shown in the movie Interstellar. Since Einstein, himself proposed of the wormholes, this theory is highly likely, and can possibly be used in the future, ranking a 4/5 in the realism rating. Although an actual wormhole has not bee n encountered yet, scientists believe that this can work, however, a vast amount of energy would be needed, in order to stabilize the wormhole. Warp technology also sparked my interest, as it is the other plausible solution to traveling FTL, the others, such as hyperspace, either show no way of being accomplished or are not scientifically possible. Warp technology occurs when they bend space, expanding behind the craft and shrinking in front. This too is also somewhat plausible, as it ranked 3/5 in the realism ratings, scoring a little lower as it too needs a lot of energy, feeding off of a hypothetical dilithium crystal in the sci-fi movies. This article intrigued me as it shows the possible answers to traveling FTL in outer space, allowing scientists to acquire much-needed knowledge about the enormous place we call outer space. Currently, scientists are working on ways of traveling faster, such as the use of atomic bombs, but with these new possibilities, scientists can discover the ends of space, and what it is exapnding into!
Out of the three articles, I found the article “Faster Than Light: 5 Sci-Fi Space Travel Methods and the Real Theories Behind Them” by Bob Al-Greene the most fascinating. This is because I always believed that the speed of light was the fastest speed in the universe and that anything faster would be completely unfathomable. The universe is huge, which means that traveling to other galaxies and planets would require us to move faster than the speed of light, as outlined in this article. The article starts off by explaining that with current technology it would take as a century to reach Alpha Centuari (the nearest star system); that is, only if we move at 4.5 percent of light speed using nuclear power. FTL speed, or faster-than-light speed, hasn't been reached yet in reality, but there are various accounts of it in science fiction. The first account is the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, which allows us to travel through space using a shortcut by warping spacetime. Einstein's theory of relativity predicted wormholes, making this method of interstellar travel the most likely to exist. This is an interesting approach to FTL speeds because wormholes don't actually require you to exceed the speed of light to travel through space. I liked this example of FTL speed because wormholes are present in almost every episode of Rick and Morty, one of my favorite shows, where a kid and his grandfather travel through space to fight aliens. The second account is the warp engine, a popular vehicle in the Star Trek series. Like the wormholes, warp engines don't actually reach FTL speeds. They compress space in front of them, and expand the space behind them. However, warp engines are unlikely to actually exist because they take an enormous amount of energy to move. The next account is hyperdrive, which is moving through a theoretical area of real space called hyperspace. This is unlikely though because it doesn't correspond with the laws of physics. The fourth account of FTL technology is the jump drive. Jump drives basically allow you to travel through space in almost no time at all. In other words, jump drives correspond to teleportation. However, this is very complicated because you’d have to deal with quantum entanglement, or transporting quantum information from particles at one end to the particles at the other end. Finally, the last account is the closed time-like curve, which is the least scientific out of all of the examples of FTL technology. Closed time-like curves, or in other words, time travel, requires some sort of a TARDIS (Traversable Achnronal Retrograde Domains in Spacetime) vehicle. According to physicists Benjamin K. Tippett and David Tsang, there are theoretical means of traveling to your own past, with a retrograde-capable time machine. They stated that there would be a bubble of spacetime containing that specific time-traveler, and this bubble would enter a closed time-like curve, which is the same as an Einstein-Rosen bridge. In that bubble, time passes normally, but the time-traveler could go anywhere in their timeline only. However, the two physicists even theorized that if you split and connect the timeline curves, you can go anywhere in space and time, making this faster than any FTL technology. In conclusion, I was really fascinated by this article because I didn't know that people have theorized such ways of moving faster than light. However, this occurring is very unlikely, and even if it was likely, humanity as a whole is a long way from discovering a method of FTL technology.
Out of the three articles presented, I found the articles, "Faster-than-light travel: The science behind the fiction" and "'Finding Your Passion' Is Awful Advice" the most intriguing. I found it extremely interesting and amusing how the content introduced in some science fiction movies today can actually be recreated in real life. For example, many scientists have spent decades trying to figure out how to reach Alpha Centauri since the spaceships created don't have the ability to travel faster than the speed of light. However, many science fiction writers have utilized their imagination and have been able to create an atmosphere where anything is possible, including the idea of traveling faster than the light of speed. The article addresses how some ideas presented in the writings of these authors such as Einstein-Rosen bridges and Warp Engines can actually be recreated and built in real life. I also found it very entertaining to read the comparisons made between the fictional ideas and real-life possibilities. If we are ever able to create any wormholes or warp engines, it will definitely open up so many new doors in the scientific field. Being able to bring many science fiction ideas to life can produce a huge breakthrough in the field and can possibly answer many questions of the past. Out of all the possibilities, the author states that wormholes have the highest chance of existing in real life and maybe, if we get wormholes to exist, it'll be easier for us to discover new parts of space that we could have never done before.
The next article, "‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice," focuses on the idea of having a predetermined passion and its negative effect on upcoming generations. The author addresses his/her concern about how having a predetermined passion can inhibit children from reaching their highest potential by limiting the choices they can become in the future. I can greatly relate to this idea because my family has always encouraged me to become a doctor and due to that encouragement, as a child, I had always felt that I had no other option but to become a doctor. However, I eventually grew out of that dilemma, for now, I desire to be a doctor based off of personal reasons rather than outside influence. Back to the article, the author talks about the Growth theory which I agree with tremendously. Passion should be developed, not predetermined. Children should be given the opportunity to choose from a set of choices regarding their job and career. I feel that children can never reach their full potential if they have a limited collection of choices and that passion will develop slowly as time goes on. In that time, children should be able to make their own choices and gain experience from them.
Out of the three articles, the one that I thought was most interesting was “‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice” by Olga Khazan. This article went against the popular idea that one has to find their passion. The article discusses multiple professors opinions, and they agree that this is simply not the case. Paul O’Keefe, an assistant professor from Yale said that “That means that if you do something that feels like work, it means you don’t love it.” The various professors argue that passions are developed rather than found. They had theories for two mindsets students had, one was that they decided they had their passion when they were born and just had to find it, and the other was that their passion would be developed and grow rather than just be found. It was also said that it’s not how a student experiences school, as they are lectured and taught a variety of subjects and they can develop interests into said subjects, therefore their passion is growing over time. The article also talks about why students find it easier to believe that they just have to find their passion. The reason is because they can just give up on other things easier, as they have the excuse of saying it’s not for them and not their passion. Students who believed the fixed theory of having a passion to be found were found to be less likely to pursue a difficult passion. The article says that to start building a growth mindset of passion, parents should teach their children to not give up on hobbies as soon as they become difficult for them to do. Personally I agree with both mindsets, and I think I can keep both in mind. I can not give up easily on something that seems difficult, as it could be my passion, but at the same time I’ll believe that my passion is something that can be found, just that it might take some time to develop. For example, if I decide that playing piano is too difficult, but I still am developing an interest for it, I will not give up on it right away and continue to see if it truly could be my passion. -Akshith Macherla
Although the concept of space absolutely terrifies me, “Faster Than Light” was a fascinating read. Trying to comprehend these theories and how they would work was difficult because our minds are practically incapable of understanding them; there’s no way to possibly appreciate how fast a lightyear is or how massive the universe truly is, not to mention trying to fathom how an Einstein-Rosen Bridge works. Nevertheless, scientists - and authors - continue to study and theorize in order to gain a greater understanding of all of these concepts. Initially, I found it strange that there have been studies based on fictional universes such as the ones of Star Trek and Star Wars. However, when I kept reading I was shocked that some of the theories could possibly be true. Even the less plausible ones, such as Jump Drives and Hyperdrive, still have potential at a ⅖ rating. After reading the article, I still have one main question: is it possible to find out which theories, if any, are true? Will technology ever be advanced enough to find the answers that these scientists have been searching for for decades?
The article “‘Find Your Passion’ is Awful Advice” was very informative, especially as a person applying to colleges soon. I can’t count how many times people have told me to “Do what you love” or “Follow your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life.” These cliches have haunted me for the past two years and leave me speechless, mainly because I hadn’t “found my passion.” After reading this article, my entire outlook on these phrases has changed. I now know that I don’t need to find my passions, but develop them. For example, last year I took AP Psychology. I absolutely loved that class and have been considering pursuing it in college. I now know that “finding” a passion is not enough; I need to develop it by furthering my knowledge and appreciation of the subject. Some ways I can do that are by reading articles and watching videos about the field of study. In a way, that’s what we’re doing with these summer articles and comments. They are helping us develop a passion for biology.
After having read all the articles, I found the article “ ‘Find Your Passion is Awful Advice’ ” written by Olga Khazan the most interesting. The article examines how from a young age people are asked to “follow their passion”, but according to professor Dweck has been greatly misleading individuals. Paul O’Keefe, an assistant professor of psychology at Yale after hearing this theory then decided to perform an experiment based of the theory that passions aren’t found, but developed. A survey was then created categorizing students into 2 categories, “techy”;interested in math and science or “fuzzy”; interested in arts or humanities. After the students were lead to read various articles, and were more inclined towards articles they were interested, or passionate about. They say passions are somethings they can’t be fully formed so you should always be looking around for your passions.
The article that I chose for this assignment was "'Find your passion' is terrible advice" by Olga Khazan. I found it very interesting to learn that you are capable of developing passion for your job throughout time. This because i had always thought of it as the opposite. I believed that in order for you to enjoy your job, you must have a passion in it. This article changed my perspective on the way to finding a career in life because now I know that even if it the career will not interest me now, it may have a chance later on in my life. To prove this, Dweck and Greg Walton developed a procedure where they were able to prove that time may change our opinions on our interests. This article is necessary for students to read due to the fact that kids might be limiting their career pathways by trying to find a job within their passion and interests instead of going outside of it and exploring. The authors surveyed them to determine whether they were into math and science or arts and humanities. Then, they read articles that were not relevant to their topic of interest. They had observed that less interest was shown into the articles which had mismatched their interests. Throughout this article, I have learned that for passions for a certain topic or career can be developed overtime and does not necessarily have to be a current passion. This changes the common belief that you have to have passion in a career in order to love it and enjoy it.
The article discussing the nature of passions was quite interesting. It proposed that passions are developed rather than found and explored the difference between people with the two mindsets, dubbed fixed and growth. Through various experiments, the researchers found that passions can be developed at almost any age. Additionally they found that the fixed mindset of finding passions was closed off and narrow, often having detrimental effects. People who believe passions are found are less likely to give enough effort when they try new things and give up more easily. This results in them having less opportunities to actually figure out what their passion is. On the other hand, those with growth mindsets will try new things and grow to like them. The researchers found that increased use of phrases such as “follow your passion” and “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” is leading people to lean towards fixed mindsets, which although it isn't directly harming them, is less beneficial than a growth mindset. Additionally, I found it interesting that a comparison could be drawn between interests and love, the two topics most often associated with the word passion. Most times attraction begins as a small crush and then develops overtime, in some cases becoming love. This is the case in most scenarios, so it makes sense that interests would follow a similar pattern of growth and development.
"Faster-than-light travel: The science behind the fiction" was the article that I was most drawn to this week, particularly because of the references it made to science fiction. The article provided an in-depth explanation on hypothetical FLT transportation present in science fiction. I was very intriguied by Einstein-Rosen bridges, or wormholes, and the role they played in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Einstein-Rosen bridges warp time and space to create a connection between two far-apart locations. A simpler perspective is folding a piece of paper and stabbing it with a pencil. The distance is less between the two locations when using the pencil as a bridge than traveling over the surface of the paper. The entrance to the wormhole is believed to appear as a sphere based on our view in 3-D space. Wormholes are the most plausible of the modes because it isn't necessary to travel faster than the speed of light. It's possible to enter the wormhole at lower levels of speed and still travel through it without hinderances. The one hitch is that if wormholes were to exist, they may be too unstable to go through. However, physicists like Stephen Hawking hypothesize that it's possible to stabilize the wormhole with the right amount of energy. I found it extremely fascinating the amount of wormholes scattered throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Bi-Frost in Thor and the galactic highways in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 are all Einstein-Rosen bridges. The fact that there was so much science behind some of my favorite movies was very captivating and what drew me to the article. Another mode of FTL travel is warp drive, which functions by compressing space in front of a vehicle and expands behind it. This propels the vehicle forward as it "rides the wave". Essentially, you're riding a bubble of regular 3-D space as the universe transforms around you. Warp drive might've been possible if not for the massive amount of energy it requires. There still may be potential if a source of enormous power could be found. Warp drive can be found in the Star Trek series, which uses dilithium crystals as that source. Third, hyperdrive allows vehicles equipped with it to travel through hyperspace, a sub-region of space, at lightspeed. In hyperspace, the same physical laws that exist in our universe don't apply. Thus, vehicles can travel at the speed of light or faster. Hyperspace could also be catastrophic because of the precision needed to avoid collisions. Chances of hyperdrive existing are very low because hyperspace and devices to navigate it don't. Star Wars has countless examples of hyperdrive including the hyperdrive devices installed in their vehicles to travel across the galaxy. Next, jumpdrive is in essence instantaneous teleportation that works through quantum entanglement. During it, a vehicle manipulates the space around it and can possibly destroy other vehicles in the vicinity. Another flaw is that everytime you teleported you may have to kill the original version or create a clone. Therefore, it's more likely that jumpdrive doesn't exist. Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek both have traces of jumpdrive, or instantaneous interstella transportation without delay. Lastly, closed time-like curves are a theoretical concept that allows a person to travel anywhere in their own timelines once entered. It has been theorized that if the curves could be connected, people can travel in other timelines across space and time. Although the concept is the basis of TARDIS in Doctor Who, it is near impossible for closed time-like curves to ever be a reality...
... I also read "Scientists get first look at T cell responses in Ebola virus survivors" this week. I found this a true example of persistence in science because even though the epidemic has died down, scientists are still looking for a more efficient vaccine. While studying the blood of Ebola survivors, scientists discovered that CD8+ T cells, immune system sentries, react more to the nucleoprotein of Ebola rather than the glycoprotein. Previous vaccines targeted Ebola's glycoprotein when killing the infected cells. However, new research shed light to the fact that 96% of Ebola survivors have T cells that responded to Ebola's nucleoprotein. They also discovered 34 new viral proteins in Ebola that T cells are sensitive to. This new information can help scientists create more effective vaccines against Ebola. I found these two articles very interesting, the first because of it's fictional aspects and the second because of the impact it has on a previously global issue.
One of the articles which really struck me was, "Find Your Passion Is Awful Advice" by Olga Khazan. Common American beliefs cause us to have faith in the fact that one day we will find our passion and just like that, we will know what we want to do for the rest of our lives. Although there is a type of comfort behind that belief, to know one day we will figure everything out, it is not true. There are two main theories regarding passions. The first is known as the fixed theory of interests. This means that you've always had an interest since birth but just waiting to find it one day. The second is known as the growth theory. This says that anyone can develop certain interests over time. In a recent experiment, the techies, people who are interested in math/science, and the fuzzies, people who are interested in arts/humanities were given articles relating to the opposite areas of interest. The participants displayed the "fixed theory of interest" and showed little interest in the articles. This theory also results in less motivation because the minute people fail at something they use the scapegoat that it is not their passion. Phrases such as "Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life, (Khazan)" cause people to believe that the slightest feeling of 'work' means that it is not their passion. It is important for many students to read this as they choose their future professions because working hard does not mean necessarily mean that it is not your passion.
One of the more interesting articles I read was, “‘‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice,” which tells of how finding your passion is just a statement that is representative of a fixed mindset. Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, did a study on “following your passion” and its effect on American college students. In the article, Dweck and Greg Walton of Stanford suggest we change the way we think about our interests. Passions aren’t “found,” they argue. Instead, they’re developed. In their paper the authors delineate the difference between the two mind-sets. One is a “fixed theory of interests” the idea that core interests are there from birth, just waiting to be discovered and the other is a “growth theory,” the idea that interests are something anyone can cultivate over time. To examine how these different mind-sets affect our pursuit of different topics, the authors performed a series of studies on college students. First, students answered a survey that would categorize them as either “techy” or “fuzzy.” They also filled out a survey determining how much they agreed with the idea that people’s core interests don’t change over time. They then read an article that mismatched their interests. The more the participants endorsed a “fixed” theory of interests, the less interested they were in the article that mismatched their aforementioned identity as a techy or fuzzy. The authors then repeated a similar procedure, but they had students read first about either the fixed theory of interests or the growth theory. Again, those who learned that interests are fixed throughout a person’s life were less captivated by an article that mismatched their interests. This meant that students who have fixed theories of interest might forgo lectures or opportunities because they don’t align with their previously stated passions. Rather than magically finding a passion, it is through a process of investment and development that you develop a passion in a field. People with fixed mindsets are also more likely to give up easily because they assume that it simply must not have been their passion. People who have a growth mind-set about their own intelligence tend to be less afraid of failure because they believe smarts are cultivated, not innate. This article really changed my perspective on mindset and passion. I have now learned to have a growth mindset in life is crucial to finding and growing interests.
- Karan Nayak
In 2014, the Ebola outbreak had made its appearance all over the world, and the mass hysteria spread rapidly. Since I was present during this time period, my eyes caught the attention of the article “Scientists get the first look at T cell responses in Ebola virus survivors.” In the study described in this article, 96 percent of survivors had T cells that responded to nucleoprotein, while only 38 percent, shockingly, still carried glycoproteins which were suspected to be the main targets of the T cells. Therefore, as professor Michael B. Oldstone suggests, a more effective vaccine would be one that targets both the glycoprotein but also Ebola’s nucleoproteins in contrast to the current vaccines which only target glycoproteins. Furthermore, the article “‘Find Your Passion’ is Awful Advice” also captured my attention. Growing up I was always advised to search for what I love and follow it, so upon reading this title, my mind was confused. Contrary to the article, I was always told that doing something you’re passionate about will mean you will never get tired of it. However, Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford University, suggested that it isn’t always like that. In a study, Dweck, Greg Walton and Paul O’ Keefe discovered that passions are not found rather they must be developed. Two mindsets thus were differentiated: “fixed theory of interests” and “growth theory”. The fixed theory comes from the belief that interests are present from birth waiting to be discovered, while the growth theory stems from the idea that interests can be cultivated over time. In addition, I agree with the idea that the fixed theory can cause people to give up easily because they will believe it wasn’t meant to me their passion. Moreso, those with the growth mind set lack the fear of failure because they can push themselves to attain interests in that area. For example, this relates to my life in multiple ways. To start, I started playing soccer when I was around five years old, and I would always find a way to mess up. Similar to the fixed theory, I had a carefree attitude and told my mom that it wasn’t for me and to let me quit. Instead though, she put me in training camps and altered my attitude into one of growth where I learned to push myself and control the game rather than let the game control me.
Of the three articles presented, I found the article, "'Find Your Passion' Is Awful Advice to be very intriguing. The article is basically stating that the advice isn't the best to follow as it can cause misconceptions on finding career paths and also obstruct a person from other interests and passions in other fields. All this time, I had thought that passion was something found as well. I had thought that if I really like something, then pursuing a career in that field would be the best, thus resulting in me not being too open to other fields. However, after reading the article, I realized that by following the advice and finding my passion, I had not helped myself in going towards a career path, I had only closed off other good opportunities to find out where my true interests lie. As a result, I had shied away from everything else that seemed to contradict my passion and involves work that I didn't want to try. Now it makes me realize that if I had not been in that mindset, then I would have found other areas of interest, expanding future career choices. This article also made me realize that what people have been taught when learning will impact their thinking, thus impacting their future and career choices. I heard the phrase once, "What you teach someone becomes their truth." This article helped me understand that phrase and made me wonder, if the phrase "Find Your Passion" actually obstructs others from finding new interests, has it done any good in helping others find interests? What other teachings also intimidate others from exploring new fields? Finally, this article helped me realize that interests can be built, thus helping me be more open to new topics to find other interests to pursue a career in.
Another article I read was "Scientists get a First Look at T Cell Responses in Ebola Virus Survivors". This article intrigued me because it talks about how new information on the immune system reacting to Ebola virus helping toward a better vaccine. According to the article, the immune system mainly targets the virus' nucleoproteins, not glycoproteins like thought of before. This new lead can help cientinsts because now they can further their research and make more effective vaccines that target the nucleoproteins of the virus instead of the glycoproteins. The study also showed that epitopes also are targeted by T cells, so making vaccines that make T cells target epitopes can be very effective. This study can help open new possibilities too because it may be the case for other viruses too; they may also b targeted via epitopes and nucleoproteins. Better vaccines to already known viruses can also be improved because of this new knowledge too. Overall, this new information can help create a lot of new and improved vaccines and cause a breakthrough in science.
The research in "‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice" was truly thought provoking and offered new perspectives on a saying that I've personally grown up hearing. From a young age, hearing and seeing the phrase 'find your passion' related to success and happiness naturally made this a motto of sorts relating to potentially all of my goals for the future. As a young kid who had yet to be exposed to basically anything at all, this phrase made it easy to fall into the trap of thinking that future work and career prospectives should be easy and if we have truly found our passions, then there should really never be any work involved. The fact that 'passions' take time and effort to develop and form an interest in is completely ignored. No one can just stumble upon a passion and decide that they want to dedicate their entire lives to it, such passions have to be built up because everything takes work and even passions can be difficult sometimes. The idea of a fixed theory of interests and a growth theory was also fascinating. The studies performed using this basic idea of these mind sets were able to illustrate how subjects with a fixed mind set were less open to different types of information- such as lectures and opportunities that strayed from the field that they saw themselves in- and those who have a growth mindset tend to think of their smarts as something that can be grown over time, not as something that is inherent. In the end, this phrase is intimidating many people and preventing them from going into a field just because it is a little challenging. Those that are taught that your passions exist from the beginning and it is just your job to find it are inhibited from exploring anything new that may be of interest because it's difficult or eventually becomes challenging. This article changed my outlook on a phrase that has essentially been indoctrinated into our minds. It showed me how anything that is of interest takes effort and just because something may become difficult, it does not mean that we won't develop a love for it and maybe even find a passion there. Knowledge is the key to eventually developing a passion that we want to pursue, and it all takes a little hard work and dedication.
The article that immediately attracted me was, “‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice,” by Olga Khazan. The title automatically caught me eye as throughout my entire life, I’ve heard and been taught to in fact find my passion, and this article contradicted what I’ve been following my entire life! So I decided to read this article to discover the reasons as to why this author could possibly be saying that ‘finding your passion,’ is bad advice, and truth be told, I thought it was completely absurd! However, after reading this article, my understanding on finding your passion & your passion affecting your career definitely changed. I learned that you can only truly discover your passion if you develop your interests, instead of just giving up on them. I also realized that your passion isn’t just automatically found, & it definitely doesn't just appear out of thin air! You really have to develop your passion for it to truly become your passion, and the only way you can do so is by deeping your interests by further pursuing them! I found it very fascinating that there are 2 distinct mindsets: “Fixed-theory of interests” & “Growth-theory.” The fixed theory of interests is the idea that specific interests are within you from birth, just waiting to be discovered. On the other hand, the growth theory is the idea that interests are something that grow & develop over time. Furthermore, the experiment that the authors performed on a series of college students also led to results that were quite interesting & really reflected the way our society is shaped- mainly based on the ‘fixed theory,’ which definitely needs to change. First, the college students took a survey which determined whether they were either “techy”- interested in math & science or “fuzzy,”- interested in arts & humanities. Then, they read an article that was the opposite from what they were assigned (alongside this, they filled out a survey stating how much they agreed with the fact that main interests of people don’t change overtime). It turned out that the more the students had a ‘fixed’ theory of interests, the less interested they were in the article that wasn’t matched with their supposed interest. This actually was an eye opener and it really proves that it's all in the mindset. Some of these students most likely just had a fixed mindset- “Oh, the survey told me I was so & so, so I’m sure the other article won’t even be of any use to me.” With this mindset, they dismissed the article that ‘mismatched’ their interest, possibly just having dismissed something that could have possibly been their interest/passion if only they had given enough time. The fixed theory can also cause people to lose a passion forever. This theory causes many people to simply just give up. Many people begin to think that “oh, this is difficult for me; well, I guess it’s not my passion.” In saying this, they lose a potential passion, due to the fact that many are unaware that passions are in fact developed & cultivated, not something you just magically have. So even if something is quite difficult, it doesn’t mean it can’t be your passion. This article, completely changed my view and millions of people, students, and adults, and really anyone should read this as it’ll give them a new understanding about their interests & potentially help them realize the mistakes they were making about their passions/interests before it's too late.
Of the three articles listed, I found the article "Scientists Get First Look at T Cell Responses in Ebola Virus Survivors" the most intriguing. Ebola was a widespread disease, which caused panic in many countries. It originated in Africa and wiped out more than hundreds of people. Scientists collected samples of immune cells from survivors of Ebola. The majority of the survivors had killer T cells which responded to viral protein. Viral protein is nucleoprotein (nucleic bonded to a cell) which act as Ebola proteins. Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, collected blood samples from 30 survivors of the the epidemic. Their study proved that 96 percent of individuals formed killer T Cells as a defense against the nucleoproteins of Ebola. However, only 38 percent of the individuals created T Cells against Ebola's glycoproteins. Researchers also discovered that killer T Cells tend to target an Ebola virus at a specific site, also known as an epitope. With these new discoveries, scientists are hoping to gain more knowledge about the Ebola virus. For example, they would want to understand why some people experienced a relapse in the disease, after surviving it. In order to answer that question, more research is to be conducted to further improve scientists' understandings about this deadly virus.
I've always ben fascinated with science fiction movies and how they depict situations that exceed reality. Numerous movies like Star Wars and Star Trek introduce ways of space travel aren't real or are yet to be discovered. The science fiction genre has many instances in which ways of space travel unknown to mankind have been introduced. Because of this, I chose to read the article, "What forms of faster than light travel are most scientifically likely," by Bob Al-Greene. The article debunks five ways of faster than light travel shown in sci-fi movies nd rates them based on how realistic they actually are. Traveling through space has always been a challenge for scientists because of how long it actually takes. The proper resources and discoveries aren't present to allow astronauts to travel through space efficiently. Although, a way of space travel faster than the speed of light called Einstein- Rosen bridges have been used in many movies. This way of space travel rates 4/5 on the reality scale. Einstein- Rosen bridges or wormholes work by serving as a shortcut between two faraway places in space. Space time is warped and astronauts can travel to different planets or galaxy by going faster than the speed of light. This proves to be a very helpful way of space travel that could benefit future generations if these wormholes actually exist. With the current technology today, it would take nearly 100 years to travel to distinct galaxies which cannot be achieved. Many of these ways of faster than light travel defy the common law of physics saying that nothing can go faster than the speed of light. Similar to wormholes, warp engines bend space and compresses the space in front and expands it behind to allow space ships to pass through. The other forms of faster than light travel are more unlikely rather than true. If these ways of traveling through space actually exist, then everything we know about space could change. New space expeditions that were once impossible could become reality. The genre of science fiction introduced new ways of faster than light travel which could change the world forever if they prove to be real.
The article that interested my this week was, “Find Your Passion Is Awful Advice,” by Olga Khazan. I have always heard the phrase "If you do something that feels like work, it means you don't love it" many times throughout my life. This coincides with the main argument of the article which refers to the fact that passions aren't found but developed. Two different mindsets were described throughout the article which included the Fixed Theory of Interests and the Growth Theory. The Fixed Theory of interests described that the idea of interests are from birth and are waiting to be discovered while the Growth Theory described that interests are something anyone can cultivate over time. It was apparent that the stance of the author sided with the growth theory because the author had stated that interests come from a process of investment and development that you develop an abiding passion from in a field. The author had also proposed the idea that many people may lose interest in a certain field because they believed that it was not for them, thus showing a flaw in the Fixed Theory. It is very naive to believe that the Fixed Theory of Interests is a viable claim when coming to career choices because society is not accounted for by the description of this mindset. Society has many values and social structures that can direct one individual towards a certain career path which may not be the one that was thought of from birth. It is important to realize that certain interests develop from being exposed to various situations and developing a fondness towards a certain career from these situations. By doing so, a suitable interest would have been carefully thought of without regrets.
The article that I found the most amusing this week was, "Finding vs developing your passions. The article conveyed 2 ideologies:fixed theory of interests and a growth theory. The fixed theory is the belief that your core interests are written at birth, which contradicts the growth theory, an idea that interests are cultivated over time. As discussed in the article, a reason not to fall into the category of people who believe in the fixed theory is because it can cause people to give up too easily. I found this insight very cool because it gave two sides of how people end up with their passions.
Of the three articles this week, the one that interested me the most was the one titled "Scientists get first look at T cell responses in Ebola virus survivors." Scientists carried out a study that showed tat 96% of the Ebola survivors had killer (CD8+) T cells that responded to viral protein. It was surprising to researchers to find that Ebola's outer glycoproteins (main targets for killer T cells) were only found in 38% of infected people. Professor Michael B. Oldstone suggests that "a vaccine targeting not only the glycoprotein but Ebola's nucleoprotein would likely be more effective than the current vaccines that only express the glycoprotein." After analyzing blood samples from some of the survivors, researchers found that 96 percent of the Ebola survivors made cytotoxic CD8+ T cells that responded to a protein of Ebola virus called the nucleoprotein. Only 38 percent of these survivors responded to either of the virus's glycoproteins. Scientists previously had thought that only the glycoprotein should be the target for effective immune responses, so that was the only substance included in the vaccine. This study opened the eyes of scientists to look further into the Ebola virus and its smaller sites called "epitopes" that killer T cells target. The study is also educating scientists and doctors on how to prevent Ebola using vaccines to stop it from occurring/reocurring in individuals.
I read the article Scientists get first look at T cell responses in Ebola virus survivors and it was very interesting to me. I last heard of the ebola virus when the outbreak came to america in and took over the news for weeks. The virus is not a common virus here in the United States, it is still a prevelent issue is the world and still needs to be addressed. Upon reading this article, I found that the cytotoxin CD8+ that are respondents to T cells are found in ebola survivors which created a huge understanding of the virus itself. Glycoprotein were thought to be the main responded to the ebola virus. However, studies are now being done to realize that they are not the main respondent to the virus and glycoprotiens are the main responded. The article emanated how the vaccines are made and the steps it takes to create one, including the understanding of the human anatomy and immune system. Now that scientist know that the nucleoproteins are the main cause of the virus, vaccines can be made better to target those nucleoproteins and not the T cells. This is changing the field in the ebola vaccine game and will help defend he human body from ebola better than before.
I found “‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice” the most captivating article as well as the most relatable. As a rising senior who will be applying to colleges this year, the article made me realize that it is okay to not have a set career/major choice. The article explains two different theories related to having a passion: the fixed theory of interests and the growth theory. The fixed theory describes that people are born with core interests that will one day be discovered. The growth theory asserts that anyone can develop any interest within their lifespan. Studies have found many negatives associated with the fixed theory of interests. For instance, it causes people to give up easily if they feel that something is too hard for them, as they will think something that is difficult is just not the right fit for them. I often see this happen to the people around me, and to myself. Therefore, I strongly believe that people should be more aware of the negative impact of supporting the fixed theory of interests. As an athlete, I have learned that it takes effort in order to achieve a goal, so I do strongly agree with the growth theory. However, I found it surprising that when it comes to a career, the article suggests you should not prioritize enjoyment over good pay and instead prioritize other goals over immediate enjoyment. This is something that I disagree with because I feel that you should be happy with your job, as it is something that you have to do for the rest of your life. As a volunteer first aid responder, I did find happiness in helping people, but I did not find happiness in working in a stressful environment. This made me realize that I did not want to pursue a career in emergency care. Thus, I think that enjoyment in what you do does have a role when it comes to choosing a career. However, I still agree with all the other aspects of the growth theory and I believe other people should too in order to live a successful life.
Out of the three articles, I found myself gravitating towards the article "‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice" the most. I struggle to find what I'm passionate about constantly and it bothers me because I don't know what I'm going to spend the rest of my 60+ years doing. It's hard to find something I'm genuinely passionate about because I often lose interest too quickly or I'm unable to put forth my maximum effort due to my tendencies of not believing in myself. I learned that it's more beneficial to focus on developing your passion rather than searching for it, nothing should be forced. As I stated before, I tend to give up very quickly and according to the article it's because once things become a true more difficult I'm so quick you lose all motivation and I can honestly agree with it. I like how the scientists incorporated experiments with a group of students, considering the fact that they are always pressured to know their passion before entering their 20s. The article was very eye opening and it actually gave me hope that one day life won't be so bad.
I real the article "‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice" by Olga Khazan. This article explains how when people are telling you to find your passion, its pointless and wrong. Passions are developed, according to the growth theory. The growth theory states that passion cultivate and develop over time, from our experiences, they are not instilled within us when we are born. The article also highlights how "finding your passion" can lead to giving up too early. People can assume that if something does not come naturally to them, then its not their passion and they should just not worry about it. This could negatively impact someone's life because they could jump around from activity to activity and never truly succeed because they are waiting for their "passion" to reveal itself and that will not happen because passions are developed not given. Children 8 or younger have a better chance of developing these passions sooner, because they are more open to trying new things, where as children aged 8-12 reflect their peers and are insecure. The article explains that if something is difficult for children, dont let them give up, push them to get better and this will develop passions the proper way.
"‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice," was the article I chose this week, I believe this article was very interesting. This is because people live their life trying to find their passion, when it's not possible to find it and instantly love it. There will always be hard times in whatever you do. The truth about passion is that you have to develop it. Through hard work and effort, you will learn to love something and that will be your passion. Work will always feel like work, but it is your choice to enjoy it.
Out of the three articles, the Faster Than Lifht travel intrigued me the most. I already knew about Einstein Rosen Bridges, but nothing about anything else. This article focused more on the sci fi possibilities more than the inescapable fact that traveling at light speed requires an infinite amount of energy, keeping us hopeful that maybe one day it will be possible. All of these types of travel cultivates questions in my mind, which what was made it so interesting. The article also compared theories to movies most of us know and love, which made it easy to understand. This definitely would appeal to many different types of audiences.
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