Tag: ark

Posted in History & Literature

Christmas

Posted on by Jinavie

Christmas (also called X-mas), on the 25th of December, is the religious celebration day of Jesus Christ’s birth. It is a beloved holiday that is usually the biggest in the year for many countries. Every year on Christmas Eve (24th), children put out cookies and milk, and with a resolution that they will not sleep they await Christmas’ undying star, Santa Claus.
But as soon as they fall asleep, Santa arrives in a sleigh pulled by reindeers, comes down the chimney and unloads many presents (only to “nice” kids) under an already-decorated tree. When the 25th comes around, children run to open their presents and celebrate. On this day, most stores close to go into a festive mood. In the evening, the whole family gathers for a feast and celebrates this joyous day.

As with most holidays, Christmas has many interesting stories tied to it.

Firstly, is the 25th of December really Jesus’ birthday? This question has plagued scholars since the 18th century, as the Bible has no record of this. In fact, historic records (old texts, the Bible etc.), scientific data (astronomy etc.) and logic all show that there is a lack of evidence for Christmas actually being the day Jesus was born. Instead, it is suggested that Jesus was born in spring, more specifically the 25th of March. Interestingly, this is celebrated as Annunciation in Christianity, the day when Jesus was allegedly conceived by the Virgin Mary. So which story is correct? This may be linked to the next story.

Secondly, the 25th of December is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Because of this, many Pagan holidays coincide around this time. For example, ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia between the 17th and 23rd, to honour the god of agriculture, Saturn (a fun fact is that there is a tradition where they brought a tree inside the house for this day, which is the roots of the modern Christmas tree). Also, later in Rome’s history, the official sun god, Sol Invictus, was honoured on the 25th of December. Many historians hypothesise that when Christianity first developed, it absorbed many of its preceding religions’ holidays, thus giving birth to Christmas.

Lastly, a story about Santa Claus. Santa Claus is based on the Dutch Saint Nicholas, but is also influenced by many other traditional holiday figures, such as Odin from Norse mythologies (who gave gifts to children who put out treats for his eight-legged horse on Christmas day). What is peculiar is the reason Santa wears red. Many people believe that the “red and white outfit” was a product of Coca-Cola’s advertising in the early 20th century, making Santa wear the company colours. However, this theory has some errors. Most importantly, there are many illustrations from before 1925 (when Santa first featured in Coke advertisements) where Santa is portrayed in his plump, bearded form clad in red clothes with a large belt, exactly like the modern Santa. But as there were many other portrayals of Santa back then (e.g. green clothes, skinny etc.), it can be safely said that Coca-Cola’s aggressive advertising and explosive popularity played a vital role in cementing the image of the Santa that we know and love now.

Santa is also known as children’s last innocence. This is because it is something that can only be found in the hearts of children who pray every Christmas to this mythical man to receive a present. Unfortunately, as they grow and learn science and facts (about their parents being the provider) their innocent beliefs turn to ashes. Because of this, some parents like to dress up as Santa to deepen the children’s faith in him, while some never allow the faith to be born in the first place. What is amusing is that in some European countries such as Poland, the idea of Santa Claus is taken quite seriously. Every adult (especially adults and teachers) take strict care not to crush this dream until the age of 4 or 5, almost religiously.

As a final note, some people note that there are some strange connections between Santa and communism: red, large beard, providing only to “nice children”, working the elves in a factory… may whoever reads this decide that fact for themselves.

Posted in Life & Happiness

Boredom

Posted on by Jinavie

Boredom can strike anyone at any time. When you aren’t interested in what you are working on, or have nothing special to do, it comes knocking like an unwanted guest. When you are bored, you can’t be bothered doing anything, you can’t sit still and experience a strange phenomenon of time slowing down.

Everyone has a unique way of resolving boredom, usually tailored to one’s style. There are simple ways such as bouncing a ball off a wall, or you can pick up a guitar and sing a song.
However, there are times (such as in the middle of a lecture) where props like these are not available. In these situations, first check what you are carrying; with imagination, anything is possible.
If you are carrying a cellphone or an iPod, problem solved – but be careful not to get caught. If you have a book, read; if you have pen and paper, write (or draw). If you have absolutely nothing, fall back into your imagination and thoughts. You will find an endless supply of fun.

Posted in Life & Happiness

Patience

Posted on by Jinavie

“Patience is a bitter plant but it has sweet fruit.”
     ~German Proverb

“Three 忍 (character for patience) can prevent evenmurder." 
     ~Korean Proverb

"Ninja (忍者): He who has patience.”
     ~Japanese word

Although it may be hard sometimes, those who have patience will be rewarded, for patience is a virtue.

Posted in Philosophy

Commonalities

Posted on by Jinavie
  • An appropriate amount improves the quality of life and induce happiness.
  • Excess use can harm both the user and those around him or her.
  • There is a large variety, and each person prefers a certain type.
  • It is highly addictive, and progressively takes up a larger portion of life.
  • The history of its use by people stretches far into ancient times.
  • It destroys many people’s rationality.
  • It can provide hope to those who have none.
  • Removing it from the world is probably for the better, but it is impossible to.

These are the common points between religion and alcohol.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Stranger Danger

Posted on by Jinavie

Babies first show “stranger anxiety” at between 8 to 10 months of age. As their brains develop rapidly, they also learn social-emotional skills and recognise the identity of “parents”. Thus, they do not trust any other adults that are not “parents”. This phenomenon usually disappears after two years, but they then receive education from adults that they should not trust strangers, or Stranger Danger.
Interestingly, most kidnapping cases are committed by an adult the child knows well.

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Another fact related to stranger anxiety is that it is dependent on how close the baby is to its parents. Take the Strange Situation Test developed by Ainsworth as an example:

Put a baby under the age of 12 months and its parent in the same room, then separate the two. Next, send in an adult the baby has never seen before, then after a short while exchange the adult back with the parent.

Normal babies become anxious and agitated when a stranger enters the room, but then they calm down almost immediately as the parent returns. Also, when the parent returns the baby requests to be held, as physical contact represents safety for a baby.
However, a baby that has spent less time with its parents, or a baby with unresponsive parents exhibit a different behaviour. In fact, they become more agitated when the parent returns, and often show avoidance. This is because there has been insufficient bonding between the two.
A more extreme case is of a baby that has been abused. These babies become extremely disorganised and disoriented upon the parent’s return. This is also due to improper socio-emotional development. Babies like these that were not intimately bonded with their parents tend to have trust issues even after development, which may lead to social problems in adulthood.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Tattoo

Posted on by Jinavie

The history of tattoos is as long as the history of civilisation itself. From the priests of ancient Egypt to the modern Maori’s moko, people have always inscribed something on their skin. Even in modern society, tattoos are quite popular (especially among the youth and gangs).

There are many types of tattoos, but all carry the same message: “I own my body and can do what I want to it”. Reason being, people believe that the only thing they truly have full control over and exert total freedom on is their own body. This results in teenagers and young adults to get tattoos as a sign of rebellion, which sometimes stays even in adulthood.

However, there are other reasons for having a tattoo. For example, one can have something precious to them, something they never want to forget, or some ultimate life goal or purpose etched into their skin to remind themselves every day of it.
Also, in a religious sense, it could be done as a way to announce that “my body belongs to my god”. This seems like an archaic ideology, but many people still carry tattoos with such a meaning.
Furthermore, some tattoos mean that “I belong to this group”, which is analogous to branding a cow. For instance, many indigenous tribes in South America and the Pacific Islands give a child who has passed initiation a tattoo to prove that he/she is an adult.

Lastly, tattoos can be simply aesthetic, but they often carry the previously mentioned “ownership of the body” meaning also (a common example is the “tramp stamp”).

Posted in Life & Happiness

Lemonade

Posted on by Jinavie

Making lemonade is quite easy.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4~6 lemons
3~4 cup cold water (to dilute)

Firstly, dissolve the sugar in 1 cup of water to make syrup. If the sugar does not fully dissolve, warm the water a little.
While the sugar dissolves, juice the lemons until about 1 cup of lemon juice is collected.
Mix the lemon juice with the sugar syrup, then add an appropriate amount of water. The key point is to get the ratio just right to balance the sweetness and sourness.
Then, pour the mixture into a pitcher and put it in the refrigerator. Cool for 30~40 minutes. A cool summer drink can be made this easily.

In Western countries such as the USA, it is quite common to see children selling lemonade in a cup at a stand on the streets. It is quite popular as the children get to pretend running a large business while earning some pocket money.
How much profit will a business that sells a cup of lemonade at 10~50 cents (USD) make? (for convenience’s sake, NZD will be used with New Zealand prices in 2010)

If the above ingredients makes 2L of lemonade, and the cost of cups are included:
Ingredients: ($0.85 x 6) + ($1.49 x 0.5) + ($1.69 x 2) = $9.23 (lemon, sugar, cups)
One cup holds about 100ml, so 2L makes about 20 cups of lemonade. This means the cost of producing one cup of lemonade is: $9.23/20 = $0.46
Therefore, if a child wants to make any profit, he/she needs to sell the lemonade at least 50c a cup (about 38c USD). This makes a profit of 4 cents per cup, and the child earns less than $1 per pitcher of lemonade sold.

Posted in History & Literature

The Shortest Letter

Posted on by Jinavie

The following is the shortest letter ever written in history and its reply:

“?“

 “!”

It was written by the author of the famous “Les Miserables”, Victor Hugo, in 1862 to ask his publisher how his book (Les Miserables) was selling. The publisher, amused by Hugo’s creativity, sent back an equally witty reply.

Posted in History & Literature

Alchemy

Posted on by Jinavie

Alchemy, which is considered the origin of chemistry, is commonly thought to have originated in ancient Egypt, but many scholars in the East studied it also. For example, Chinese alchemists invented black powder, the first gunpowder.
The history of alchemy can be seen from ancient Egyptian books dating to 4000BC.

There were two things that alchemists sought: transmutation of common metals into gold, and the creation of the philosopher’s stone. A philosopher’s stone is a mystical stone believed to drastically boost an alchemist’s abilities and grant immortality. This is similar to Eastern alchemy’s goals of seeking immortality. 
Also, the idea from ancient Greece that all matter is formed from the four elements air, water, fire and earth, is very similar to the Five Element Theory of Eastern philosophy.
However, the major difference between Western and Eastern alchemy is that Western alchemists sought gold for wealth while Eastern alchemists sought medicine for the people.

In the Middle Ages, a “recipe” was invented for transmutation and the creation of the philosopher’s stone, called Magnum Opus, or “The Great Work”. It mentions three steps, which strangely mimics the creation of the world.
Firstly, the Black Step (nigredo) involves mixing Materia Prima (the first matter) in earth and burning it. This causes all the ingredients to become a black, solid mixture, entering a state of chaos.
Secondly, the White Step (albedo) heats this black solid, turning it into a liquid (a property of water). Impurities are washed away by aqua vitae, The Water of Life.
(Some sources suggest that there is another step, the Yellow Step (citrinitas), between the White Step and the Red Step, that involves the “yellowing” of the matter into gold.) 
Lastly, the Red Step (rubedo) continues to add heat until the liquid is totally purified, while obtaining the sediments created from the fusion of matter and spirit, which is gold.

At the end of these three steps, the alchemist gains the philosopher’s stone. Upon closer inspection, one can see how the steps transform simplicity into complexity, bring order to chaos, and develop ignorance into enlightenment.
Therefore, the philosopher’s stone is only the knowledge that we gain, nothing more, nothing less. Although that may not be a simple task.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Habit

Posted on by Jinavie

A habit is the automation of behaviour after many repeats. For example, if one fries an egg every morning, eventually frying egg becomes routine and can be done without even thinking. This is the most primitive form of learning.

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“Automation” suggests that a habit comes from the subconscious mind. Because of this reason, people often do not know they have certain habits, as they do not think about the behaviours that are already habits.
In psychology, habits are defined as “the reduction of sensitivity following repeated stimulation”.

The system of habituation played a crucial role in the evolution of life. Habits saved an organism time by using the subconscious mind to behave more efficiently and more quickly.
For instance, an animal that is faced by a predator usually flees before it can think about the situation. This is the result of practical experience that the animal had gained throughout its life, knowing that running is the best way to avoid being eaten. And because of the repeated behaviour, it has become habituated, subconsciously fleeing when the same scenario comes along. This way, the animal maximises its chance of survival.

However, in modern society this primitive system often causes harm rather than doing good. This is seen in cases of procrastinating students, impulsive consumers and businessmen who smoke every lunchtime (addictions are strengthened by habits). These phenomenon tend to be caused by stress brought on by life and the person’s desire to relieve that stress or resolve their discomfort. This is why having hobbies and interests to relieve stress regularly is a good way to prevent bad habits from forming.

Bad habits form quickly, but good habits seem to take longer. But this only appears so because of the short-term rewards. Bad habits tend to bring satisfaction and stress relief almost instantly, but the advantages of good habits only become apparent slowly (but also steadily). So, what is a way to develop good habits easier? Giving yourself a small reward (such as chocolate) after a desired behaviour is effective in reinforcing such behaviour, leading to habituation.
According to a research, the average time that takes for a habit to fully form is 66 days.