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4/15/2021 0 Comments

Time Travel and The Mandela Effect

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​images.app.goo.gl/v61xwEh8cDEhRFnw5
The novel The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch is a futuristic novel that revolves around time travel. Shannon Moss, an agent in a secret division of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), travels through time in order to solve crimes. When Shannon travels through time she enters the IFT or Inadmissible Future Trajectory. These IFT’s are examples of possible futures, but are not definitive futures. The Terra Firma is the only “real” timeline, because the IFT’s stop existing as soon as the time traveler leaves. At one point in the novel, Shannon is rescued from an ITF by her crew, or at least they think they rescued Shannon. Shannon is exclaiming that they have the wrong Shannon, when in reality the real Shannon has passed and this is an IFT Shannon created by a time knot (very complicated I know). It took me until I got to the end of the novel and did some research to realize what had happened, however when Shannon was saying they have the wrong Shannon, it made me think of the Mandela effect. The mandela effect is a phenomenon where a large number of people remember something differently than how it actually occurred. Examples of the mandela include “Looney Toons'' when its actually “Looney Tunes,” “The Berenstein Bears” when it is actually “The Berenstain Bears” and “Oscar Meyer” when it is actually “Oscar Mayer” just to name a few. (source ) Scientists at healthline believe that the mandela effect could just be an example of how poor memory is, however there is a conspiracy theory that each mandela effect could be proof of alternate universes. Like in the Gone World, where the ITF Shannon is remembering things from her past life that don’t make sense in this new world, this could be an example of an individual Mandela effect since a true Mandela effect occurs when a large group mis-recalls an event. The idea of multiple ITF as presented in The Gone World goes along with multiple alternate universes and maybe, the Mandela effect or other instances of misremembering could be examples of ITF, or a new Universe.
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4/1/2021 0 Comments

New Normal - Zone One

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https://images.app.goo.gl/e3rMFVHnhm7R5AB8A 

Normal - it’s what we’re used to. A routine, the usual. But at what point does change or a “new normal” become just, normal? Why do we have a desire to make things as they were, even if others have never experienced it? This theme is present in Colson Whitehead's Zone One. A virus has taken over that turns people into feral zombies. This plague conquered the world, and while the worst seems to have passed there is still an area of Manhattan that must be cleared of the zombies before rebuilding is possible. In Zone One they are so close to rebuilding, yet, it seems almost impossible with the events that have occurred and the P.A.S.D. (Post Apocalyptic Stress Disorder) that many suffer from. This new stress alone, shows how the world will not be as it was before. This desire to rebuild and return to “normal” reminds me of another novel we discussed: Station Eleven. In Station Eleven a flu like virus spreads rapidly throughout the world, killing persons infected in 24 hours. Technology no longer functions, cars are not used, and museums are made that house this “old” technology. Throughout this novel those who had lived with technology had a major debate and struggle of what to teach their kids about the past. They longed for an easier life, a life they knew, a life that was “normal,” yet this life was long gone and a ways away. Children who have never experienced life with technology, yet they still want to return to “normal” even though they have never experienced it. What is seen in these novels is also present in our current pandemic. The desire to return to “normalcy” but there are some small children who don’t know what that is. I read a story about an online kindergarten teacher who gave her zoom class some free time and they decided to play school. Instead of saying things like “raise your hand, come to the board, sit on the carpet” they said things like “unmute your mic, turn on your camera, am I sharing my screen,” things that a year ago would make zero sense. To these kids this is normal. They’ve never been to school in a classroom. So why do we want to return to “normal?” Is it because it’s safe? Or easy? Or is it really because it is “normal?”

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3/18/2021 0 Comments

American War - Fiction or Destiny

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image: ​https://www.arabnews.com/node/1683636/lifestyle
American War by Omar El Akkad is set between 2075 and 2086 during the second American Civil War. The main character, Sarat, is only 6 when the war begins. The Northern portion of the United States has deemed fossil fuels illegal, however the southern states reject this law, thus beginning the second civil war. Throughout American War the reader sees elements usually seen in war torn countries such as: extreme poverty, refugee camps, and vulnerable persons who become weapons of war, in the setting of America. These events are seen at their most extreme in this novel, something that we do not see in America today, but does not mean it is impossible to happen in America. The question remains: is the story of American War El Akkad’s prediction of the American future? In an interview with UK based Foyles authors, when asked if his novel is how he sees America in 2074, he responded: “I honestly didn’t even intend for this book to be primarily about America. I set out to write a book about the universality of revenge, and I set it in America because the sort of things I wanted to talk about tend to happen far away from here, in some of the poorest and most war-torn places on the planet, and it felt necessary to make them happen close to home.” While it was not El  Akkads intent to portray America in 2074, he was showing what some countries look like in present day. By setting the novel in America, El Akkad was able to bring attention to the political and social issues of, as he put it, “the poorest and most war-torn” countries in the world. Does this mean America could never see the level of destruction in these war - torn countries? Absolutely not, America is very susceptible to the destruction these poor countries are facing. This year alone, we have had huge civil rights movements (Black Lives Matter) against the misuse of force in our police officers, we had riots in our nations capital (January 6th), and we have seen a huge increase in radical political movements. These events have divided our nation, and in my opinion, it is only a matter of time before American War becomes non-fiction.

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2/26/2021 0 Comments

Station Eleven:Why do we teach History?

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​uh.edu/education/research/jsshe/
Ah yes, history, my least favorite subject. Growing up memorizing fact after fact, date after date, person after person. Memorizing was not my strong suit. However when I began to take AP United States History (APUSH) and we started also talking about why things happened, the cause and effects of certain events, and what we can do now to prevent history from repeating, I began to actually like history. In a survey of educators conducted by EdWeek, 78% said the purpose of teaching history is “to prepare students to be active and informed citizens.” The other 22% said “to teach analytical, research, and critical thinking skills.” (Ujifusa) In the EdWeek research, while most educators said the primary purpose is to create informed citizens, EdWeek makes sure to point out that those who said “to teach critical thinking skills” are not wrong. So today we teach history so we can better prepare the youth for the future. Overall I would say this is true especially if you consider we continue to move forward as a society so everything today is better than it was in the past… right? In Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, a strain of the Georgia Flu causes society to collapse and enter an apocalyptic state. In this apocalyptic society there is little to no technology, the life expectancy is short, and there is a lot of yearning for the past. However, there are children born who had never experienced the before time, and there is this conflict of what you teach these kids about the past. When told about how good life used to be compared to the survival life they live now, it is very painful for children to live in a world that is so close, yet so far from their current reality. On page 269 Michael is talking with Daria about how his daughter cries when she learns about the past and how “amazing” it was. Daria makes a point of how she would like her kids to know of all the knowledge they used to be, as long as it doesn’t cause them any sadness. Michael then says it causes his daughter less happiness, and thinks she would be better without the knowledge of the past. If the world ended tomorrow, and we were left in a state like those in Station Eleven, I am not sure if I would present today’s world as bigger and better than the apocalyptic world. Yes, there are less struggles for food and shelter and more technology and fun opportunities, but there are still so many problems today that, if we were given the chance to start history over, I would want to change. When teaching history it is important to teach ALL of history, and not just pick out what we “think” is important. In Station Eleven, they choose to talk about the greatness of the past instead of the problems, making the students sad and feel as if they missed out on life. However, if they talked about all of history, including the civil rights struggles, government corruption, social inequalities and so much more, students may be motivated to recreate the good of the past and fix the things that weren’t so perfect. By teaching all of history and not being selective, students would become informed citizens with critical thinking skills, which is the true goal of history education. Yes, we should teach history. We should teach ALL of history in order to create the most informed and research driven youth to create a better future from today.



Ujifusa, A. (2020, December 29). Sure, We Teach History. But Do We Know Why It’s Important? Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/sure-we-teach-history-but-do-we-know-why-its-important/2020/01

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2/11/2021 0 Comments

Future Home of the living God - Reality of Reproductive Rules

Erdrich’s Future Home of the Living God is set in a time where it is essentially illegal to be pregnant. In the novel, fetuses are seen in ultrasounds to have mutations and traits that resemble that of a stage of evolution before  humans. This devolution is causing a lot of worry among the government and scientists, and thus all pregnant women must turn themselves in in order to receive treatment. 

Cedar, the main protagonist, must hide from authorities so she is not captured, however she is unable to hide for long. Eventually she is taken to the hospital and it is there we learn that the pregnant women are not in a luxurious hotel to give birth and connect with their babies. They are given drugs to sedate them, given spoiled food, having procedures that may not be needed, and after giving birth, the majority of the women  do not even get to keep their babies.

This policing over women's bodies is not limited to Erdrich’s novel. In our society today there are examples of how limiting women's bodily autonomy is used to promote politics, religion, and the betterment of society. 
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Photo From: https://www.ultrasoundschoolsinfo.com/ultrasound-technology/
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To start, in America pregnancy has become a hot topic in politics, particularly around abortion. Politicians will use abortion in order to bring religious voters to their side. There have been many laws created around abortion and when it is allowed and aan overview of these laws can be seen here. Even though laws exist already restricting women during pregnancy, there are still people fighting for more laws, or more restricting laws, and really, no matter what laws are in place, there is always going to be a moral and ethical dilemma. In The Future Home of the Living God the goal of rounding up the women was to protect human DNA, which could be seen as reasonable. However, the way they were capturing women and treating them raises a question of ethics.

A real life example of birth limits can be seen in China. In 1979 the chinese government limited families to only one child per family to reduce the population and reduce the harm the population was causing on their environment and country (Festini). These laws were successful in their goal. The population was reduced to a sustainable amount and now those laws have been lifted. These laws also provided an opportunity for women to exit their traditional household roles since their families were much more limited in size. Overall this program was a success in achieving their goal, however more problems and questions are arising today revolving around the ethics of this law and its impact on society today.

In both Erdrich’s Novel and in life today these reproduction laws are limiting women's bodily autonomy, even if the law is created to better the future of society. There must be a more ethical way to reach the same goals without mistreating women and limiting their autonomy.

Festini F, de Martino MTwenty five years of the one child family policy in ChinaJournal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2004;58:358-360
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1/28/2021 0 Comments

The year of the flood - how long do we trust science?

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Credit: ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN RIORDAN from nature.com
The protagonists in Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood live with the God’s Gardeners cult. The God’s Gardeners are based in the pleebs away from the CorpSeCorpse and live a vegetarian, minimalist style. They live for the earth, by the earth, and most importantly stay away from the CorpSeCorpse. The CorpSeCorpse is a large corporation that much of Atwood's world follows blindly. HelthWyzer and CorpSeCorps work together to preserve their HelthWyzer compound and remain in power with high influence. Once in these corporations it is difficult to escape, which is why they are so dangerous. Anybody that goes against the corporations then suffers “corpsicide” where it looks like a suicide, but it is really of the corporations doing. This is just one example of why people would not trust CorpSeCorps. 

​CorpSeCorpse controls HelthWyzer, which is a health corporation that produces medicines, vitamins, and supplements. The mother of Toby, one of the two protagonists, had fallen ill when she was young and Pilar, one of the God’s Gardeners, starts probing about why her mother may have been ill especially if she was “so careful about her health.” On pages 104 - 105 in
The Year of the Flood we discover Toby’s mother took supplements and vitamins provided by HelthWyzer. It is then inferred through Toby's and Pilar’s dialogue that her mother had fallen ill from the supplements she was taking to keep her healthy. Pilar then says to Toby “Now, promise me that you will never take any pill made by a corporation. Never buy such a pill and never accept any pill offered, no matter what they say.” (Atwood p. 105) When I read this quote it made me realize there are many people today who think all corporations are bad and trying to chip us and brainwash us. They will never get vaccines, they think the pandemic is a hoax, and to moderate people they appear crazy. In The Year of the Flood this ideology really helped Toby survive as Pilar had foreshadowed the use of the BlissPlus pill as a poisonous, pandemic starting vehicle. However, in real life, especially during the COVID - 19 pandemic we trust our doctors and scientists, and to think for a second we wouldn’t take a medicine they approved is insane. This ideology is problematic because I want to trust the scientists and doctors and believe they have my best interest in mind, however when would we know that we are no longer the priority? I would love to read the first book in this series to see how the CorpSeCorpse came to power, and see how close our world is to that of Atwood's novel.


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