Train of Thought

 The world is ruled by an invisible dictator. He controls what we see, hear, and feel, as well as basic human interaction. The craziest thing? People willingly choose to be controlled, submitting themselves to an unseen ruler known as the internet. As the world is sucked deeper into the hole of technology, it can sometimes take a wake-up call to really see what's happening. Banksy's piece titled "Mobile Lovers" shows what happens when you zoom out and look at the bigger picture. At face value, we see two lovers, but with a little more context, we realize their true infatuation lies with their phones. The irony with this piece lies in the fact that the common passer-by would be looking down at their phones, and therefore completely miss as well as play into the message Banksy delivers. Banksy shows the weakening relevance of face-to-face human connection, being taken over by a digital world. Some people no longer feel comfortable in the presence of others, and use thei...

 As the global pandemic continues, schools were forced to discover a new method of teaching: zoom. This development has strangely led to a new evolutionary line of students, dubbed by scientists studenta procrastinatis . The diagram below shows a mock-up of the new elusive species in it's natural habitat. As seen in the diagram, studenta procrastinatis has developed an aversion towards pants, and roams from class to class in its pajamas. Taking a closer look at the laptop, a minimum of four tabs occupy the space at all times, with an average of 6-8 according to recent studies. Studenta procrastinatis  dwells on the bottom of the food chain with many predators, one of which named the breakout room. In the scenario that studenta procrastinatis encounters this terror, it engages its natural defense mechanism: the disable video button. Hiding behind the black screen until the coast is clear,  studenta procrastinatis manages to escape group discussions 96.8% of the time. Anoth...

     Oedipus and Brave New World portray different philosophies regarding the strengths and drawbacks of catharsis. The strain of our day to day lives can frequently become exhausting, and frustrations begin to build into anger. This anger is frequently portrayed by a pressure cooker, with steam building up inside,  similar to  how anger "boils" up inside of people. As the pressure reaches a critical maximum, we must either vent our anger, or "explode", often harming those around us.        Though catharsis as a therapeutic technique was first described by a colleague of Sigmund Freud, the technique used by Sophocles was very similar. By overwhelming his audience with tragedy and  negative events, the audience is purged of all emotion and left feeling numb.  Just as the pressure cooker is about to explode open, Sophocles tears off the lid, allowing the emotions of the audience to flow freely like the steam trapped in the cooker...

      As I read Oedipus, the idea of destiny as unchangeable jumps out at me. No matter what actions are taken, the prophecy laid out for him reigns true. After the news that the boy would kill Laius, the messenger sends him far far away rather than killing the young boy, attempting to give him a second chance at life. Despite this effort, both aspects of the prophecy occur; first Oedipus kills his true father, and then he realizes that he has been sleeping with his mother. Although our own lives (hopefully) aren't nearly as dramatic, I began to wonder if we truly control the outcome of our story. Sure we make our own choices, but are these choices directed by some outside force? Is Oedipus really a bad person who killed his father, or is he simply a victim of fate? For the sake of Oedipus, I believe his narrative is predetermined, as all actions taken to try and divert fate fail. In my own life however, I think I have my own personal narrative, determined by how I choose...