An end to Zimbabwe’s dictatorship

On the 21st of November, Zimbabwe’s 37-year ruling president, Robert Mugabe resigned at 93 years of age. For the past 37 years, he has been the dictator of Zimbabwe, and the leader of the ruling Zanu-PF party. His resignation comes quickly after the military started an operation to prevent Mugabe’s wife from rising to power within her faction of the Zanu-PF party.

Speculation of his wife coming to power started after planning of an impeachment of Robert Mugabe, however, parliament reported that his resignation was “voluntary”. Over the past couple of days, the revolt against Mugabe had already started and become very popular across the country, and especially in the country’s capital- Harare. More and more people wanted to get rid of the president and change the country’s long-lasting dictatorship. They feel like their country will receive more economic benefits and positive relationships with other countries if they have a new and more democratic leader.

Apple & FBI in dispute over Texas shooter’s locked iPhone

Recently, the FBI released in a press conference that their investigation is being prolonged by the struggles of the forensics team who are struggling to retrieve extra information from the Texas shooter’s locked iPhone.

Controversially, Apple has publicly responded to this statement made by the FBI. They claim to have reached out to the FBI as soon as they heard about the press conference. The problem that Apple has also tried to address is the FBI’s lack of punctuality with contacting Apple. The reason Apple requires contact as soon as possible is due to the 48 hour timeframe that makes the phone easier to access, as within 48 hours, the chances are high that the owner of the phone would have used their fingerprint to unlock the phone. After that timeframe, anything that would usually be able to be unlocked with a fingerprint, now requires a password/code, making it harder to crack combinations.

 

Apple’s public statement

 

The reason I chose this as a 360 is because it made me question how private my data really is, because it’s clear that with a fingerprint, personal information is more readily accessible to companies and organisations. To what extent are other parties allowed to access my information? Have I signed to terms that I actually do not agree with? How do other parties use my information if they do have access to it?

Inspired by Volkskrant and USA Today

The Texas shooting and the controversy behind gun control

On Sunday the 5th of November 2017, a gunman entered the first Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He opened fire and shot more than 20 people. Two men from the town chased him down and opened fire on him to stop him from getting away. Eventually, the shooter was found dead, presumably from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.; however, he also appeared to have 3 additional gunshot wounds for the man who chased him down. He was a far-left supporter, and worked in the airforce for 4 years, being discharged in 2014. He has a violent history, having being involved in a case of domestic violence against his ex-wife. He was court-martialed after dishonorable conduct and it was therefore against the law for him to own firearms.

After every shooting in the United States, the international discussion about owning guns gets opened again. Many people outside of the US believe that guns should be banned entirely, but as it is the 2nd amendment, it is unrealistic to expect that to happen in the coming years. Many people, however, believe that there should be more intensive research on someone planning to buy a gun. Are they mentally stable? Do they know how to handle a gun? Have they ever been convicted of a crime? Does the law inhibit them from purchasing firearms? Many people also argue that there are too many loopholes in how you can obtain a gun. Currently, the arguments are constantly going back and forth, and not much progress is being made. However, it is clear that something needs to be done, but how many more lives is it going to take for that change to occur?

Robots crack Captcha quicker than ever before

Recently the progress of robots has been reflected in how quickly they can crack robot detection software. One of the most common software is the Captcha codes which are often found on many websites. The simple recognising-the-numbers-and-letters program has been effective in recognising robots. Up until now. Recently, robots have been able to crack the Captcha software without having been shown millions of examples. This shows a lot of progress in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry.

Making progress with robots and AI has huge benefits, but can also have consequences. Robots can allow certain industries to become more accurate and more efficient. On the other hand, many speculate that robots can also reduce human productivity, their drive to work, and also cause unprecedented rates of unemployment. Many fear that robots will eventually replace humans entirely. Robots will become smarter and stronger and outdo humans in all different aspects of life and society. In the future we might have to consider robot rights, to determine whether they could vote/marry/gain citizenship.

Source: Volkskrant

It’s impossible to create objective historical knowledge due to basic human nature

The importance of learning about history is undisputedly significant. As we are often told, history helps us determine what kind of events we should and shouldn’t repeat. It also is a great tool to showcase the progress humankind has made: with architecture, societal values, and health, for example. However, it is difficult to be able to determine what is accurate and what isn’t when it comes down to history. To determine validity we often turn to historians.

However, even historians can struggle to gather accurate information on past events. In most cases, historians use anecdotes or documents written by other people in the past. Numerous people could be interviewed to describe their versions of events, however, everyone can have a different interpretation of a certain event. These different interpretations cause historians to have a variety of descriptions to choose from. Eventually, they can all be used to piece together a timeline that the historians deem to be the most logical. This is where history encounters another hurdle because the timeline that the historian chooses can be a) inaccurate, and b) change the way history is told in the future. It is also common that historians use texts written at the time of an event. However, the authors of the text will also not always be neutral. Some will want to display only the positive side of an event while others will talk about the negative parts of an event. For example, Russia created a movie about the second world war where they portrayed their Red Army in a very positive light and full of defeats. In reality, many others have argued that that is not how the Red Army experienced certain battles in the second World War, but that Russia had simply glorified their army to their people. 

Another element we cannot ignore is people’s own personal interpretations of historical information. Different people have different opinions and will react differently to certain information. Consequently, this influences the way history gets passed down and taught from generation to generation. No matter how hard professors or teachers may try to remain objective, human nature and emotions inevitably come into play, making them also include their own opinions into their teaching. This all may seem like something negative, but it does teach us to fact-check, or at least to consider multiple perspectives/sources. It makes us aware of the fact that nothing is ever entirely free of influence, but that not all history is entirely inaccurate.

Arguably, there are certain methods of retrieving some historical information. Many of them have to do with natural history or the history behind certain structures (predominantly man-made ones). Retrieving this type of information is usually retrieved scientifically; generally with equipment which can look at the development of minerals, for example. Carbon dating is one of the most well-known and common ways to trace the history behind natural history and architectural history. Of course, there are some people that question the accuracy of this equipment and we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, but with technological advancements, carbon dating is one of the most effective ways to get objective historical data.

Ultimately, it is close to impossible to obtain completely objective, unbiased historical information. Our emotions, opinions, and experiences all come into play when passing on history. Our sources, too, contain bias. Of course, as carbon dating has proved, it is not entirely impossible to have unbiased information.

NASA’s Cassini comes to an end

NASA’s space probe Cassini has finally broken up after a mission that lasted 20 years. Cassini’s mission was to investigate the gas planet Saturn. One of the main things it was trying to collect data on was why the Northern hemisphere on Saturn has shorter days than the Southern hemisphere. Scientists at NASA thought that the answer might lie in data that would need to be collected from the magnetic fields that were located near the surface. However, for Cassini to reach that part of the planet, it would end up being destroyed. As the probe approached the area, it started to send data and information back to NASA the whole time. Eventually, the probe set on fire and was destroyed, but the information Cassini provided will be analysed by NASA over the next couple of months; and hopefully, it will be uncovered why the Northern hemisphere has shorter days than the Southern.

I chose to look into this story because space travel and exploration has always interested me. However, I also find it very interesting that space exploration programmes still exist. Extortionate amounts of money get poured in researching other planets, while more money could be invested in changing technology to benefit our own planet- green energy for example.

Tribal leaders try to stop future oil plans

Frontera Energy has been negotiating with the Peruvian government to continue mining for oil in one of the largest oil fields in the country. However, this oil field is part of indigenous lands. The leaders of the tribes in that area have said that they will block the government from having access to their land unless an indigenous rights law has been set in place within the next 20 days.

Leaders have said that they “live in a state where their democratic rights are not respected”. If the law is not set in place on time, the government will be blocked from accessing their land for the next 30 years. The law is meant to ensure more consultation between indigenous people and the government about what happens to their land; as there have been various oil spills that pollute drinking water and ruin the environment.

This case is similar to the situation in Indonesia with the palm oil plantations. Indigenous tribes have their land stolen and destroyed, with their rights and voices being ignored. The constant fight for energy in different countries has lead to the suffering of native people whose lives have been changed.

 

Results of an oil spill in Peru

 

Should we really be that sceptical about new theories in the natural sciences?

As a biology student, I recently learned about human physiology and the cardiac cycle. More specifically, we learned about the heart and its role in the human body. While covering this topic we also learned about one of the most widely disproven scientific theories. This was Galen’s theory of the circulatory system. During the second century, a physician named Galen came up with one of the first theories of the circulatory system. His main belief was that the liver produced blood, which was then pumped around the body by the lungs, and the blood was then “consumed” by the organs in the body. This theory was the accepted theory for 1’400 years.

The fact that it was the “go-to” theory for more than a thousand years is what arguably made it so difficult theories to become more accepted. Evidence of this can be seen when William Harvey came with a new theory concerning the heart and the cardiac cycle in the 17th century. In general terms, he discovered that the heart was what acted as a pump for the blood and that far too much blood gets pumped around the body for the organs to consume them. He waited many years to publish his works because he knew it would not get accepted straight away. Once he did eventually release his discoveries he did indeed receive a lot of backlash from many Galenists, despite Harvey having made a very valid discovery. After multiple centuries, his theory was eventually accepted, and William Harvey became known as the father of cardiology.

This real life situation then got me to extract the knowledge question “To what extent do previously accepted theories prevent us from making new discoveries in the natural sciences?” For example, because Galen’s theory of the circulatory system being widely accepted for well over a thousand years, not only did it make it difficult for new discoveries to become accepted, but it also discouraged scientists to be willing to challenge and develop on existing theories. It can be argued that if it wasn’t for Galenists, we could have made far more progress in the medical world. William Harvey’s theory was what completely changed the way patients were treated. The 17th century was when medicine was first administered through intravenous injections. This eventually created a base for countless medical processes, such as extracting blood, administering vaccines, providing MRI contrast fluid, and allowing blood transfusions.

Not only do dated theories inhibit progress in the medical field, but they stretch beyond that. They concern our own planet, such as the eventually disproven theory that the earth was flat. But they the world outside of our planet, for example; how it used to be thought that the earth was at the centre of our solar system and that the sun and all the stars orbited around us. There are plenty of discoveries that are yet to have been made, so currently, we still follow some “outdated” theories. This is still partially relevant, as said by Naomi Oreskes: “scientists now judge what’s right or wrong with a sense of organised scepticism”.

Should we still be sceptical about new scientific discoveries, knowing that it could lengthen the road to progress?

Photo credit: Cori Kindred via Flickr cc

Why the Importance of Being Earnest is Relevant today

As much as Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is an incredibly comedic play, there are some deeper underlying messages that are brought forward in it. The main goal Wilde had for his work was to criticise the society he lived in. His play was supposed to embody the Victorian Upper Class during the 1800’s and get his audience to reflect upon their own lives. Wilde knew exactly how to critique society- he used humour to ensure his upper-class audience was entertained and could laugh at themselves, but also bring to light how not everything in society at the time was the way it should have been. His play was both of its Victorian time, but also radical for the standards at the time it was written.

So why is this relevant to me or just our modern society as a whole? Well, of course, our society now doesn’t behave exactly how it did during the Victorian times (thank goodness for that). However, as much as we like to tell ourselves that as a society we’ve progressed and that classes aren’t a thing anymore, there are still plenty of people who have more money than others and thus perceive themselves to be better, there are still elitists in the world today. We must also not forget that even in today’s time, it can be increasingly difficult for people with financial situations to get out of them. These issues are largely created by the wealthier population. Wealthier people have extensive networks, allowing them to become social climbers and making it easier for their family members and friends to become more successful in a shorter period of time.

But how does this relate to The Importance of Being Earnest? Well, what Oscar Wilde was able to do was address social issues. Maybe we shouldn’t be looking that the relevance of The Importance of Being Earnest from the point of what it was trying to say, but more by looking at how it was trying to say it. Wilde’s use of humour to focus on something unjust in the world he lived in allowed for social matters to be viewed in a completely different way. Wilde was able to revolutionize satire. So where do we still see satire referring to things in society? Well, take Saturday Night Live’s renditions of the 2016 USA presidential elections. Of course, the highlight of them was the how funny they were. But isn’t that what made The Importance of Being Earnest so special? Despite Saturday Night Lives’s humourous approach, it still managed to bring to light how incapable Donald Trump was to become president. Viewers could see that some of the policies or things Trump said were ridiculously unsuitable. Of course, Saturday Night Live didn’t spark a whole societal class to reflect on its behaviours and values, it was still an effective way to spark the interest of people, get allowed them to view something from a different perspective.

Ultimately, The Importance of Being Earnest was a powerful tool in sparking a change in society during the time he lived in; which is still relevant today in societies that still struggle with wealth/status divides. Despite bringing to light a particular issue, Oscar Wilde also allowed for a new way to communicate a message with a large audience. Humour is now not only used to entertain, but also to communicate, and this can be seen throughout our modern day media today.

Photo credit: summonedbyfells via Flickr cc & University of Minnesota Theatre Arts & Dance via Flickr cc

Pink Lake in Melbourne

Recently, a lake in the centre of Melbourne recently turned entirely pink. The lake is a saltwater lake, and the pink colour is caused by a single-celled microbe that releases carotenoids.

The lake will return to its normal colour when temperatures drop back to a more “normal” level. The reason for the sudden colour change was due to an increase in salinity. Lately, temperatures in Melbourne were high enough to result in a large amount of water evaporating from the lake; the lack of water resulted in a high concentration of salt being left behind. This phenomenon isn’t uncommon in the world, for example, the La Salinas de Torrevieja in Span regularly experiences this change in colour.

It might also be interesting to note that carotenoids are sometimes extracted from lakes like these for flavouring, food dye, and pharmaceutical dyes.