What if #15

What if this was my final "What if" blog?

If that were to be that case I would probably make this blog pretty uneventful and not really talk about too much. I would probably be listening to pandora online radio on which Xavier Rudd is playing a song called "Come LetG Go". It's not a bad song at all. I would also prob ably be eating Raisin Bran Crunch because the crunchy clusters make it that much better than regular Raisin Bran. I dont like putting too much milk in my cereal because it gets soggy too fast and I like a little texture in my cereal while im eating it. I would have to periodically take breaks while writing this to eat my cereal to ensure it does not all get soggy.... mmmm delicious. Anyhow, I woke up about an hour ago and I had forgotten it's Cinco De Mayo. It kind of upsets me because I will not be able to celebrate tonight because I have 2 exams tomorrow. Well one is an exam the other is a presentation. So, I will let you go. Have a good one.

What if #14

What if nobody ever invented the wheel?

Where would we be today? We would be riding horses still obviously, although I would try to tame a grizzly bear to ride. Many other inventions have stemmed from the invention of the wheel. Historically, there would be no chariots, no wagons, and no carriages. Now we would be without cars, trains, and airplanes. We could not even have something as simple as a wheelbarrow without the wheel. Our society would be severely set back without the invention of the wheel. We would never be able to travel long distances in a short amount of time, and it would be nearly impossible for someone to travel the world. The wheel was a key invention to the advancement of man, and i could not imagine a world without it.

What if #13

What if computer programmers or IHOP managers were our heroes instead of Professional sports players?

If the average job was admired as much as the world admires athletes, it would influence a lot more people to work at being intelligent.We might have more and better technology if kids spent time researching rather than practicing sports. But if that were to be the case, I would assume that the obesity levels would be inflated even more than they already are. This situation would make the avarage job extremely desireable, and very difficult to get. It would no longer be the average job. They could get MVP awards. They could compete in a post season to see what store could generate the most revenue. The winner would be completely determined by the citizens, becsause they would go to the store of their choice to help them win. It would be interesting.

What if #12

What if everything was edible?

No more world hunger! But i think this would probably cause problems. Peoples belongings would end up getting eaten out of spite. Would there be a need for grocery stores? Or would every store just advertise for food and anything else you wanted? Would Tv's cost so much if we could eat them? I don't think people would actually eat their TVs if they cost so much. Im sure they would buy much cheaper wal-mart items to eat most likely. Pets would eat the owner's belongings. Wild animals might eat a family's house or car. Crazy things could happen. Would there be a point to hunting besides liking the taste of what you are killing? or maybe managment purposes. Who knows?

What if #11

What if there was no crime?

If there was no crime, a lot of people would be out of jobs. The fact that people do steal, kill, vandalize, etc. keeps many people employed, as bad as that sounds. Police officers, DEA, S.W.A.T., FBI, Lawyers, Judges, and even the Supreme Court would be out of work. So is it a good thing that we have crime? Most certainly not. If there was no crime, I feel that the world would be greatly overpopulated. All of the convicts in prision would be out on the streets with their spouses and most would probably have children. There are millions of people locked up in jail systems across the world. Just imagine millions more people in society plus all of their offspring. The government would probably have more money if there was no crime, because they would not have to pay all the law enforcement and judicial employees. They would also not have to support all the convicts in prision. They would all have to find their own jobs and support themselves like regular people. No more free meals, showers, and housing for them.

What if #10

What if we were able to use hemp to make everyday products?

The only reason hemp is not allowed to be used is because it is made from marijuana plants. Honestly, there are numerous uses for the hemp plant besides drug use. Most if not all of the uses would greatly improve our lifestyle and help the enviornment. It is a soft durable fiber that can last much longer than regular paper made from trees. Hemp paper does not need chlorine bleach, which pollutes rivers and kills fish and other aquatic life. Hemp paper is also stronger and longer lasting. Hemp can be used as a high amino acid and other essential fatty acid food. Hemp has more nutritional value than even soybeans.
Hemp is a possible alternative for petroleum fuel because it can be made into a non toxic diesel fuel. Many clothing, textiles, paints, and cleaners can be made and used from the hemp plant all of which are higher quality than the kind we use now. Apparently, 1 acre of hemp is equal to 4.1 acres of trees. I am no tree hugger or anything, but I cant find a reason as to why it would be bad to save trees and cut down hemp for use instead. The legalization of hemp production would greatly help our economy and our enviornment.

what if #9

What if Earth was no longer habitable by humans and we were forced to move into space?

This is assuming we would have the technology of course... There would most likely be a lot of death. We would not be able to bring every human being to a different planet at one time; there are simply too many people. The people that did notmake it on the first fleet out would probably perrish in the newly uninhabitable atmosphere of the earth. As for the survivors, we would probably be on a long journey. If it was to the moon it would probably be a couple months, but if we were to try to inhabit another planet, it would take years to reach it. Because of this, we would have to have years of food for millions of people onboard the ship as well. That would weigh down the ships and make it unsafe to travel. They would have to make a ship to be exclusively a food distributor to all the other ships. Whenever the other ships needed food, The food carrier ship would dock up to the human transport ship and unload a lot of food for a week or so. Once we reached toe other planet, There would have to be a human friendly biosphere that was self sustaining already in place. We would need food to already be growing so that we wouldnt have to wait months before we had fresh food again. It would be a very difficult process.

What if #8

What if you woke up one morning and forgot how to speak and write?

First off, things would be very difficult for you to relay that you had not idea how to communicate. People would get frustrated with youbecause they would probably think that you were just messing around with them and they wouls start to get annoyed. Once you let the house, you would not be able to interact with anybody at all. You could not even make a simple food order at a fast food place. If this were to happpen to me, I would have a magazine with me at all times so I could cut out or hilight words to relay a message.
Even then though you would not be able to complete any school work or be able to do much at your job. The ability to communicate is how every animal on this planet has survived and flourished. It is because animals have been able to work together as a team by communicating that they have evolved into what they are today.

man who mistook reflection

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat Reflection

When I began reading “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat”, I did not realize that it was a series of different short stories because I declined to read the introduction for some reason. Therefore, at first I was confused as to why the chapters were not following each other with the same storyline. Once I realized what was going on, I was much more pleased with the book because I noticed that I would not have to remember the same plot from the same story once I reached the final pages. It made it a much more enjoyable read because once you are done with one story, you do not have to revisit it again and it seems like your just reading a lot of short stories, which is essentially what you are doing. I almost felt like comparing this book to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales because it is a collection of different stories about people who came to visit Mr. Oliver Stacks. I really enjoyed the fact that Stacks did not talk about these stories in a scientific, dry way. He really brought the reader in by sympathizing with his patients. Being a neurologist, Stacks seems to encounter a wide range of mental disorders that promise to keep his job and his stories interesting.

The story I enjoyed most was the short story “The Lost Mariner”. Although all these stories are sad, I tried to find something good from each one of them. I enjoyed this story because it kept reminding me of the Adam Sandler movie “50 First Dates”. This story is about a World War II veteran who suffered from a syndrome in which he could not form new memories. Much like in “50 First Dates”, where the Drew Barrymore cannot remember anything that happened the previous day, this man cannot remember anything that happened in the past few minutes. It was really a sad story because it made me notice that he could not make any new friendships, and probably had no real friends left besides his family. I cannot imagine waking up thinking it is thirty years earlier than the actual date and seeing all the new technology for the first time every few minutes.

Overall, I enjoyed this collection of short stories. However, I would not read this book again. I feel like one time was enough and reading it again would make it quite boring.

Oxygen

I am oxygen, and am rarely seen alone. Most the time I am with my brother and we form a diatomic pair. We have been all over the continent together, floating from place to place. Oxygen has not set path. Since we make up twenty per cent of the earth’s atmosphere, we don’t really have a single home. We drift staying nowhere very long.

Oxygen is very reactive with other elements like we interact with many other people. It can be said that we have a particular interest in hydrogen when we make water. I have been on the water my whole life. I enjoy being in water, catching fish that live in the water, and drinking water. As oxygen, water plays a vital role in my life. It is not just hydrogen however. Oxygen forms bonds with many other elements. I enjoy making new friends and acquaintances, because everybody has something different to offer, and every bond is a different bond. I can bond to form an oxide with nearly any element or any person. Hydrogen is my favorite; I form one of the strongest bonds known to hydrogen. Its called a hydrogen bond. I share this kind of bond with few people. Only my closest friends and relatives can share a bond such as this with me.

If I were to ever get mixed up with the wrong crowd, such as carbon, my true friends, plants, could take me in and help me shed the awful carbon. They do this so I can once again be myself, a regular oxygen molecule, instead of being bogged down by carbon, making me CO2 where I am of no help to humanity or the animals that live on this planet.

I am the fuel to my own fire. In order for there to be a fire, oxygen must be present. Without oxygen, the fire would go out because fire feeds off of oxygen. By fueling my own fire, I can motivate myself easily, and get done what needs to be done. I also feel that I can motivate other people. I can be the fuel to someone else’s fire. Without my push, the fire might go out.

Oxygen is a common element, but every oxygen is destined for something different.

Outside event 2

In early march, I attended a reading at Burke's bookstore. I have been to the place twice before and nothing out of the ordinary ever happened so I wasn't worried to go in there like I am to go in to the Otherlands now. The author's name was Richard Bausch. It seemed to be a pretty popular event because there were lots of people crammed into that small bookstore. Bausch one of his short stories "Immigrants" or something like that. It was about a two older married people that lived in Memphis. They were trying to get residency since they were from out of the country. They went to the place to get their residency and the woman who worked there asked some questions when the wife began to cry. The story ended kind of boring and without a point to me. He was a cool guy to listen to and it wasn't too difficult to stand and listen to. Better than the Otherlands at least haha.

Outside event 1 (Sorry thought these were due tomorrow not today)

Anyways, one brisk saturday morning I attended the walk through the woods in Overton Park. I'd be lying if I said I was wasn't wishing that I was still laying in bed. Either way, it turned out to be a nice little morning walk. I learned lots of interesting things about the forrest that I had no idea about even though I have been living in memphis for over ten years. I brought a pen and paper to take notes. Apparently the park was opened in the early 1900s and was named for a Judge Overton who was there near the founding of the city of Memphis. The forrest was an amazing sight, and one that I could really appreciate because I am a big fan of nature. Some of the trees in the forrest were massive and had to be hundreds of years old. Apparently there are over 70 tree species that can be found in the Old Forrest. That number baffled me because I cant really tell much difference between most trees. I feel that I need to come back and take another tour in the summertime but maybe without the guide.

What if #7

What if every professor I have did not wait until the week before spring break to make everything due? I would be a lot less stressed out. I am not exaggerating at all. I am having to skip a very important class to attend an outside event. MY chemistry class has an exam on monday. I have a chemistry lab on monday. I have to read a book and do a reflection on it by next week. I have 2 outside events due next week. I have 7 blogs due next week. I have to write a 5-7 page paper for next week. I have a huge Bio test the day we get back from spring break. Thats the one that really pisses me off. I cannot believe what kind of person gives college students a very large important test the day after a week of straight binge drinking. Professors know that college kids do on spring break, they are not stupid. Another thing that really annoys me is that Science majors get SCREWED more than any other major on campus. We take two 3 hour labs a week. each lab counts for only 1 credit. So really, I am taking 18 hours of class per week, but only getting credit for 14. It is not fair to the students. If we re paying for 3 hour, we should get credit for 3 hours. I cannot wait until I am done with all this pre-requisite bullshit. Yes I am mad because I just found out everything possible is due in 5 days.

What if #6

What if human cultures did not advance past the lifestyle we lived in the paleolithic or neolithic age? In the paleolithic age, we were strictly hunter gatherers. During the neolithic, we used agriculture to support ourselves with little or no surplus. Over the millennia, humans have gotten overly dependent on others and extremely lazy. If right now, farmers stopped producing surplus and only grew food for themselves and their families, I guarantee that a huge amount of the world population would starve to death within the month. Only people who were self-reliant and could actually fend for themselves in the wild would be able to survive. The hunters, fisherman, and farmers would be the only people that could survive. It is extremely annoying. The human race will never experience a divine apocalypse because we are going to kill ourselves. By the time we are done with this planet, there will be no green left on the earth, and we will have been taken over by robots. People say that God wants us to use our talents so we do not waste them. I think that may be true to an extent, but if we use our talents to develop technology that destroys the earth little by little, I do not think God appreciates such talent. Thank God I am fortunate enough to not be alive when the human race self destructs. I am happy that I know of places where I can escape the industrialization, development, and destruction of the planet. How long will I be able to escape it though? How long until the wild that I escape to turns into cities?

What if #5

What if we had already developed the technology needed to live on the moon or on mars? What would we use the colonies on extra terrestrial planets for? I think I have a couple good ideas, some controversial, some not. My first and best idea would be to use them as a kind of quarantine for incurable, transferable diseases. Diseases such as AIDS would be the perfect candidates for such a colony. If we were to transport all humans infected with a certain disease we could wipe out AIDS from the human race. If there was nobody to transmit it, then we could not catch it again and we would no longer have to spend money on research for a cure. AIDS would be the perfect disease to do this with because it is not an airborne pathogen. It is only transmitted through contact with blood of an infected person. I am sure it would be possible for the human race to contract the disease again, but i think it would be difficult and we would be able to locate its origin. After the infected have all died of natural causes, other humans can inhabit the space colonies and decrease the overpopulation of earth.

Hot Zone Reflection

I recently finished the nonfiction book The Hot Zone by Richard Preston and I am surprised to say that I found the book hard to put down. Because of time constraints, I was almost forced to read the book quickly, but unlike most required reading, I actually did not mind being under pressure to finish reading. The Hot Zone really presented some new information to me that I had never thought about before. It made me ask myself “what if?” throughout the entire book and made the viruses discussed in the book a lot more real to me.

There is really nothing to argue about with this book. Since it is a non-fiction piece, there is no questioning the validity of the information. I think the book made me realize for the first time how vulnerable human beings are. I think the reason it made me think so much is that it struck so close to home. Most of the time people hear about exotic diseases, it is never effecting the United States nearly as much as other parts of the world. It actually scared me a little bit, and every time I had to put down the book, I felt like I was still in a Biohazard Level 4 lab. The book made me a bit paranoid to touch things with a cut on my hand, and I found myself washing my hands a lot more often. I think it was because I was so immersed in the book. I think Preston is a very effective writer, because it has been a long time since I have read a book as gripping and real as this one.

The subject of the text has to deal with viruses they call “hot agents”. A hot agent is a virus that has been known to have a high mortality rate in humans, and is not safe to handle or work with without a biohazard space suit. One of these hot agents makes its way from Africa to the Philippines and finally to the United States by way of monkey. A monkey seller located in Reston, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C., imported some diseased monkeys form the Philippines and they had an outbreak of a Biohazard level 4 virus in the monkey house. The U.S. army and the Center for Disease Control were put in charge of the operation to sterilize and euthanize the monkeys in a controlled environment in order to keep to public safe.

There are really not many opinions in this text because of the nature of nonfiction writing. I would think that most nonfiction authors try to include as little opinion in their works as possible in order to deliver a historically accurate read. In order to make the book more credible, Preston flew all over the country in order to interview eyewitnesses and participants. As a reader, I was appreciative of Preston while reading. I appreciated the fact that he did fly a lot of places for interviews, and that he did so much work to write a book. It made the reading experience more personable because I was able to relate better to real life people, knowing their background.

Another thing that made the book more believable was the act that he used his interviews and put quoted directly into the book instead of writing about the events from the interviews without any quotes. Even though he did was not able to use his own words when using the quotes, he still had a lot of pages with no dialogue and just description. Preston’s word choice and style really help the reader understand what is going on in the book. Even somebody with no biological or scientific background would be able to pick up this book and almost fully understand what happened throughout the book. It is amazing how well Preston explains certain parts of the text. I went from knowing nothing about hot agents to knowing a fair amount without doing any research.

I really enjoyed the book and the subject of the book. I think Richard Preston is an extremely talented science writer, and would not hesitate to read another one of his science related books, fiction or nonfiction.

What if #4

What if our marriages, jobs, and lives were decided by our parents at birth like back in native american times? Would people generally be happier or more unhappy? In my opinion, such practices would lead to less stressful lives. People would not have to worry about finding the right spouse, the right job, or the right pay. It would all be decided by our parents, and would most likely be what our parents did. Instead of attending classes for 17 to 21 years, we would be masters of a craft by the age of eighteen. We would be fully competent in our profession because we would be learning to do exactly what we would be doing for the rest of our lives for fifteen years. We would not be learning information that did not pertain to our craft and we would therefore be able to achieve mastery at a much earlier age. We would not have to spend a couple of introductory years mastering the craft out of college either. We would have greater lifetime earnings because of the supplementary time of work and apprenticeship. Overall, it may be a good idea. Also, i heard recently that in cultures where mirages are still arranged, there is less divorce... ponder on that for a bit

What if #3

What if every college student stopped attending classes? Even if they failed that semester, the college could nto be around much longer without all of the money coming from the students and scholarships. Every university in the world would be out of money and would have to close. It would put probably millions of people out of jobs. What would companies do? they would have to start employing people without college degrees. I think what they would do would be to have apprenticeships. Even now it isn't a bad idea. Instead of going to school for years, why not just be someone's apprentice and learn directly from the experts in the field. You will learn exactly what you need to know and not have to take unreasonable pre-requisite courses. I think people would be a lot better off because they would not have to break the bank for their children to attend college. Their kids could be making money, learning, and working all at the same time. Just a little food for thought.

What if #2

What if Memphis had to live in these icy conditions year- round? Would everybody be freaked out all the time like they are right now? Everybody refuses to drive on roads that are nothing but ice. Nobody would ever make it to work or school. Of course if we lived in a climate which was always icy or snowy, our local government would probably invest in snow plows and salt trucks like they have up north. That is the biggest problem we have down south. We aren't going to spend money on snow plows if we are going to use them once or twice a year. Those one or two times a year scare everybody into hiding for about a week though. This morning I had to wake up at 6:50 for some communtiy service, and I managed to make it downtown in one piece in my two door, front wheel drive Nissan Altima. If i can make it in my two wheel drive coupe, then people can most certainly make it around memphis in a heavier, more stable car. I know that a lot of people in the south like to drive their trucks. They should have no problem with their four wheel drive vehicle.

What if...

The other night while I was laying in my bed, I got to thinking. As numerous thoughts crossed my mind, I got stuck on one thing. Electricity. I was using my lap top and had my overhead light on when I thought... "What if Thomas Edison had never harnessed the power of electricity?" When I thought more about it I realized how different our world would be without it. However, in the beginning stages of my brainstorm, I just wondered if anybody else would have been able to do what Thomas Edison did. I figured that eventually somebody would look into it and figure it out. Then the question of "If another person harnessed electricity, would they put it into the light bulb?" Who knows what design would have been thought up. It may not be the exact circular bulb seen today or when it was first invented, but I think that it would have been realized that the bulb was the best way to go in the fabrication of it.

I went in another direction also. What if nobody ever invented the light bulb or the ability to use electricity? Our world would be very different. We would not be able to do the simplest task without electricity. If you think about it, nearly everything we use is the product of electricity. Things from our cars to tv to computers to microwaves, and even to the light we use to see at night. We would still be using candles for light. We wouldn't have the internet, or radio. Therefore we would have to get all our information from newspapers or books. It would be a difficult life if we were expected to still maintain a high caliber of education as well as taking ourselves.