Metacognition: Get Organized

Today, I organized my drawers.  Seeing that they were unusually untidy, I decided that they would be the best choice to straighten out.  Just like any sixteen and one sixth year old boy, I don't keep a clean room.  My drawers are no exception.  So, I was really hating this whole project before I even started.  It took me a while before I even began; facebook, twitter, dinner, dessert, and a long, relaxing shower were all inconvenient setbacks.  I eventually made my way up twenty-three steep stairs and across twelve feet of thick carpet.  My estimated time of arrival to my room is now 10:06.  I somehow made it to my room one minute and thirty seconds before i planned, so I listened to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" on the radio.  Finally, all the stars were aligned for me to start my project. 

It took me a while to come up with a plan of attack, but when I did, the task suddenly looked less and less daunting.  I pulled out drawers and switched a item of clothing here and there.  Looking back on it, I don't even remember my thought process while I was doing this project.  I guess that is just because it was such a menial task with little to no thinking involved.  Also, I think it was mindless because I have been organizing clothes my entire life.  I observed and learned about what clothes are worn in what conditions, what clothes I am supposed to wear in the same outfit, and so on. 

When I finally finished the project, I felt great.  Just like any other project, I always feel accomplished after the matter, no matter how big or small the task was.

The project really did not change the way my mind felt.  I am not really good at monitoring my mind's feelings, but I don't think my mind felt untangled after sorting my drawers.  This is probably because it was such a small task and I interact with my drawers once or twice on a daily basis, or maybe because my drawers don't really affect my mindset.

After this project, I discovered that I have had a ten dollar bill in a pair of my old jeans for quite a while.  I also know that organizing anything is a nice mini workout for your brain.  One thing in particular I know now about my personal organization preferences is that I organize with my sight.  In this project, I organized my clothes based on color and shape.

iMedia: Haiti

The picture above made me question my role as a human on this earth.  As you can see, there is a man trapped in a pile of rubble.  You can also see bodies laying in the background, seemingly unconscious, possibly dead.  What you can't see in the picture, is the photographer, the person taking the picture.  The most baffling question that arose in my thoughts while looking at this picture was, "What was the photographer thinking when he/she took this picture." 

What I mean, is that the photographer was looking straight into this trapped man's eyes, a man who probably witnessed his friends, family, or neighbors die during this horrific incident, and the first thing he does... is take a picture.  I cannot say exactly what I would do in this situation, but ever since I was born I have been told to help others in times of need.  I can only hope that I would forget about the picture and rescue the man.

This picture is a clear reflection of the general mindset of modern America.  That mindset is: me.  This is obviously a very selfish mindset, but unfortunately it is true, as shown by this picture.  My guess is that the photographer took this picture just to make another dollar, instead of stepping back, realizing his duty as one human to another, and immediately saving the desperate man. 

Connection: Shakespeare and Greek Literature

Greek literature resembles that of Shakespeare in that they are both stories of tragedy.  The Greek qualifications for a tragedy was that  it must be relateable to the reader (in order to evoke emotion), and it also must involve a terrible misfortune to the main character.  In Homer's Oedipus, for example, the main character tries to avoid his fate, but unknowingly marries his mother and kills his father, fulfilling his destiny and creating disaster in his city and family. 

As we have seen so far in King Lear, the main characters have been put through hell; Shakespeare is making them go through the worst events possible... except death (because he knows he has to keep them alive for now).  From what we already know about Shakespeare, we can tell that the book will most likely end in tragic deaths for whom we call the good guys (i.e. Lear, Gloucester, Cordelia). 

There are many similarities between the tragedies in Oedipus and King Lear.  First, we see that both tragedies start on the family level, then lead to political problems.  Also, the protagonists in both tragedies are kings.  This makes the tragedy more "tragic" because the death of a king usually means chaos in his realm, thus affecting more people.  Another similarity between these two tragedies is that both protagonists lose their "sight."  Shakespeare repeatedly tells us that Lear is blind, suggesting not that he can't see, but that he is oblivious to the truth around him.  We  in Oedipus that after the protagonist realizes that he has both killed his father and married his mother, he gouges his own eyes as punishment.

The relationship between Shakespeare and Greek literature shows us one example of an influence on Shakespeare.  We know that Shakespeare wrote during the late Renaissance (a time when classical Greek literature was revisited) and early Boroque periods.  By understanding influences on Shakespeare, we can better understand his style and decision making throughout his writings.

360 Degrees: The Perfect Form of Government

Over the course of history, civilizations have been trying to accomplish something nobody has yet, formulate and implement a perfect form of government.  Some of the most successful have been: monarchy, democracy, and communism.  But of course, none of these have proved perfect.  Is there a perfect system?  Or does it just not exist yet? 

Monarchy was one of the first successful forms of government; we see it in Egypt, through the power of the pharaohs.  We also see it in France, through King Louis XIV.  Obviously, both monarchies came to an end; however, that happened after quite a long time.  On the other hand, there are many flaws with a monarchy.  Most notably, is that the citizens are likely to revolt.  With little representation in government and very often high taxes, citizens become unhappy usually ending in chaos.

Next up is democracy.  The current form of government in the United States of America, democracy is quite the opposite of monarchy.  The major flaw in a monarchy is no problem in a democracy.  All citizens have the opportunity to vote, and an average Joe has representation through local government.  We do see some flaws however.  For example, in my opinion, the most intriguing part about democracy is also a problem.  democracies hands too much power over to average Joe's.  When a nation is making a major decision, there needs to be one person taking the reigns and doing what  is best for that specific nation.  When there are thousands of other people, many of them with conflicting ideas, not much gets done, and the result is piled up problems.

I believe that communism is the best form of government... in theory.  Having one working class and one elite class is the most simple, yet genius form of government in my mind.  But the only problem is that people aren't stupid.  Skilled and educated citizens making minimum wage know that they deserve higher pay.  Communism is therefore a short cut to the end result of monarchy- revolt and replacement. 

The two alternatives to this predicament are that either there is no perfect form of government, or we just haven't found it yet.  It is very plausible that there can not be a perfect form of government.  Just as there is no perfect person, physically, (Plato relates the three parts of the body and the state) there is also no perfect state.  One might respond, "False.  That's preposterous!  The perfect person can be easily achieved, through steroids and long, rigorous workouts."  "Ha!" I would exclaim.  Because I know, that the same way the human body would break down after years of steroids, a government would crumble if it disguised itself as steroids do to a human body. 

But what if years of evolution in human thought lead us to the belief that we have created a perfect form of government?  What would it look like?  Who would hold the power?  "Elites"?  A supreme ruler?  Civilians?  Could there possibly be a balance of power between all the people in a civilization?  If a government is indeed perfect, does that mean that the civilization would never fall?  Can social, economic, or religious indifference lead to the fall of a perfect government?  Is a perfect government even affected by society, economy, or religion?