Learning

“I’ve never let school get in the way of my education”

I like that quote.

I often get asked “Dude, how do you know so much random crap?”. The answer is, when people were memorizing math formulas for the areas of circles, squares, and triangles, or when they were trying to remember what Einstein said about god and dice, I was learning about how to learn, how to absorb information, and how to educate myself.

Knowing how to learn is figuring out that this world has so much to know in it and that it is all so interesting when you appreciate it for its wonder and mystery. From there, I started to absorb information like a sponge, and it is a skill that is always active. Over time, learning becomes second nature.

One of the most important parts of this is preserving a child’s intense curiosity about everything. Instead of saying “whatever”  or “I don’t care” when I experienced something new, I tried to find out more about it. That involves using all your senses. When I first saw the Last Samurai, I wondered about how they made the swords. So I looked it up, and I found that it was interesting. From there, I joined a sword buyer’s forum and now I own my own sword. Thanks to the research done on the way, I learned a lot about the culture associated with swords in multiple regions, the fact that a katana is used on foot while a tachi is worn on horseback, and even the metallurgy of the blades. I learned about Einstein’s quote “God does not play dice with the universe” because I read about Heisenberg Uncertainty in The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. I even learned how to generalize a formula for the area of a regular polygon whose limit for an infinite sided shape is simply a circle. ( In reverse, lines can be thought of as circles of infinite radius).

I never let myself become apathetic about the world around me. One thing I read in an old history book was a poem that told of how humans rose. It said we may be weak and lacking in natural weapons, but there is a reason we have brains in our heads, and it isn’t to fill up the empty space.

So keep learning. Don’t ever stop. You might rediscover what school has slowly been making you forget: Learning is fun.

All I want from The Legend of Korra is to see Zuko as an old man, kicking ass like always.

“The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginning-less time, darkness thrives in the void but always yields to purifying light.”

One of my freshmen told me this and I shall never let myself forget it.

The lone and level sands stretch far away. Yet the sands where we make our mark will forever stay.

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark. In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but never have been able to reach. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.

Even More Webster’s

There are a number of ways to defy the established order or overthrow a government.
You can stage an uprising, which is a broad term referring to a small and usually unsuccessful act of popular resistance (: uprisings among angry workers all over the country).
An uprising is often the first sign of a general or widespread rebellion, which is an act of armed resistance against a government or authority; this term is usually applied after the fact to describe an act of resistance that has failed (: a rebellion against the landowners).
If it is successful, however, a rebellion may become a revolution, which often implies a war or an outbreak of violence (: the American Revolution). Although a revolution usually involves the overthrow of a government or political system by the people, it can also be used to describe any drastic change in ideas, economic institutions, or moral values (: the sexual revolution).
An insurrection is an organized effort to seize power, especially political power, while an insurgency is usually aided by foreign powers.
If you’re on a ship, you can stage a mutiny, which is an insurrection against military or naval authority.
But if you’re relying on speed and surprise to catch the authorities off guard, you’ll want to stage a putsch, which is a small, popular uprising or planned attempt to seize power.

Old Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

An Open Letter to Monta Vista High School’s Staff and Club Commission about Club Day Pricing Policies

    Like many other students, I love Club Day. I look forward to it every year and as a senior officer in a participating organization, I help sell for it every year. In the years that I have sold, I have noticed that all clubs are subject to certain rules, which is understandable, but some of these rules are well-intentioned but do not benefit anybody and should have their effectiveness reconsidered. The rules I am referring to are the price controls in place by Club Commission which hurt everyone involved, clubs and students.

     In order to understand the point of these price controls, I asked a class officer last year. The reasons given to me by her for these price controls were that some clubs were charging too much, that competition between clubs drove down prices to levels that were too low, and that clubs changing prices later in the day hurt either students who had bought them before (if prices were lowered later) or that students who bought later were being gouged with exorbitant rates (if prices were later raised). All of these claims have a spurious gloss of logic behind them, but ultimately do not make any economic or pedagogical sense. To demonstrate this, let us look at each claim with consideration to both basic economics and educational opportunities.

     First, the famous claim of price gouging and rates that are too high without price controls. This supposedly hurts students who want to buy, as they cannot afford the food, or it benefits clubs too much,as they gain “exorbitant” profits. Firstly, these two things cannot even happen at the same time. For a club to make money, it must sell to students, which is impossible if prices are too high for them to buy at. This is an example of the most fundamental idea behind voluntary, mutual trade: it must benefit both parties. People only trade if they believe what they are trading for is worth more than what they must pay for it. In this example, students value some food item (say a slice of pizza) more than they value their money, otherwise they would not give up money for some food they do not desire. The point is, if prices were free to change, they would stabilize to a level where both clubs and students feel they are benefiting, maximizing the benefit of both sides.

    The next big fear is price competition. Say DECA and FBLA both sell In-N-Out burgers. The price for both starts at $5. Both want gain customers, so they will lower their prices to beat out competitors. One might even go into temporary loss just to gain all the customers. The fact is, this is actually a very good thing, not something to be banned. The whole point of Club Day is to benefit students, just like any other market. If prices are low, more students benefit. In addition, competition is what keeps prices at reasonable levels and prevents clubs from being able to charge the high prices that are also, ironically, banned. You don’t have to worry about clubs suffering from low profits. Clubs make a profit based on how well they can satisfy the students, and they deserve only what students are willing and able to pay them for food. Clubs will charge as high as they can, and students will bid as low as they can. In the end, a price somewhere in between emerges, and this is the price people actually buy at. The very idea that prices can be “too high” or “too low” is purely subjective. All prices are based on value judgments, and for Club Commission to try and set a fixed price is to impose its idea of what prices should be on people who do not want and do not benefit from it. Clubs lose out on customers, and students lose out on a variety of food.

    Lastly, clubs are restricted in when they can change prices. You must wait a certain time before lowering or raising your price, or your club will incur a strike. This is somehow supposed to benefit students. This is simply a measure that although well-intentioned, hurts the people involved. If a club later lowers its price, then the students who bought at the old, higher price were not hurt. They simply did not benefit. The distinction between the two situations is important. Students are not hurt by the future price changes, as they bought earlier at a higher price to satisfy their hunger. Since they were more willing to pay the higher price, they got food earlier, which satisfied their preference to get food quickly. Others who wait benefit from lower prices because of their patience. The converse can also be true. If prices are later raised, that is because the food item is popular (otherwise raising prices would make no sense), and higher prices ensure that only the people who really want the food get it. Both of these benefit a particular club, as a club that has a relatively unpopular food item benefits from being able to lower prices, while a club that has food which people really want benefits from being able to raise prices. Both of these have their uses, and both cater to different types of students. Restricting them arbitrarily does not help anything.

     The simple fact is, ultimately, what is “good” or “bad” should be decided by students. In high school, students are supposed to be treated more like adults, and a good way to start is to offer them freedom in their food choices. It is perfectly fine to pass judgment on their decisions, but it is not fine to restrict those decisions so long as they do not involve endangering anyone. Questions of what prices are the right level or what food to sell or what time to sell at should be decided as they are in the real world, with free people making free choices.

    Although it may seem inconsequential in something so small, the basic idea behind it is crucial. Club Day is meant to give clubs an opportunity to make some money to fund their operations, and for students to get a chance to try some tasty food. We should let it be just that, and let students and clubs buy and sell freely at whatever price they find mutually agreeable.

    If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask them to me. I will answer as best as I can.

   Sincerely,

      Alok Singh

Life

Life is not fair

Life is painful

Life is hard

But so long as there is someone there

It’s OK

Life is beautiful

Life is good.

Teaching

You need to know it, because the person you are teaching demands you explain the who, what, where, how, and the why. They demand truth, and accept no hypocrisy. There are only bad teachers, not bad students. This is because the burden of educating is on the teacher. And if the student does not want to learn, then he is not truly a student, but merely someone wasting his time and yours. But if you have a proper student, teaching can be such fun. I taught my brother most of the math he knows, and I can still remember the day I taught him how to add numbers all those years ago. 10 years later and I still love teaching, especially math and economics. I suspect my brother has learned more math from me than he has from school, and I’m proud of that. And slowly but surely, I inculcate an appreciation for mathematics into him that I hope will one day become a love for it. Until then, I’ll keep teaching him and anyone who asks.

“Fundamentally, rights to entitlements of any kind, that must be paid for involuntarily by other people, are no more legitimate than the alleged property rights of slave owners in their slaves.”

Eyes

People share their most important things and their truest thoughts not through their words, but with their heart and eyes. Their heart beats, and it gives away the liar. But even more important are the eyes. One can calm their heart, but they cannot change their eyes. Some people smile with their eyes, and they are the best smiles of all. Many of these people cannot smile with their mouths, but their eyes twinkle and sparkle with honest joy, and those smiles make you smile and feel happy to share such joy. The eyes of a liar will betray them, and they cannot hide that. Trust people by their eyes and not their words and you will know where you really stand. When you find one with honest eyes, keep those people close. With them around, your own eyes will sparkle before long.