Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Article About Time Travel

Article About Time Travel Suppose that i give you a time machine and you travel some seventy years back and kill your grandfather. Since your grandfather would not have been married by then your fathers birth is not possible and you cannot be here today to travel back in time to kill your grandpa. Hence your grandpa is alive then and you are here today, now there is again the possibility for you to travel back and kill your grandpa. Soà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I stopped my lecture and looked at the children .Some of them were baffled but many had bright faces. Though they didnt understand they were all enthusiastic so I continued my lecture. This has no solution it is like an infinite loop, we call it grandfathers paradox and it is one of the problems in time travel. There are others for exampleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦,I stopped to pick up my ringing phone , I was shocked to learn that my grandfather passed away. As I was on my two hour flight to Hyderabad I spent my time reminiscing about my grandfather .He often said that there were no coincidences but only choices, either ours or others. But it was not my choice to hear about his demise while talking of grandfathers paradox, may be it was gods. My grandpa worked as an engineer in The Archeological Department of India, and headed the project for discovering the lost Indus valley civilization. He used to tell me strange stories about the Indus valley civilization when I was a child, but one of them was so fanciful that I just took it to be a mere fable but as I grew older my scientific knowledge and reasoning taught me that it was also possible. So I have asked him whether it was true or not and he always replied with a smile I have made an arrangement for you to know about it after I am dead . After the funeral my bereaved mom handed me a file which my grandpa wanted to give me. It was a collection of reports about the archeological discoveries around the world, UFO sightings etc., cut off from the newspapers. They looked decades old and I couldnt find their age coz there were no dates on them. As I scanned those articles one of them titled- Mysterious artifact found in the excavations at Harappa, caught my attention .My heart started pounding with anxiety to know whether this was the proof I was waiting for ,and I started reading it. A mysterious artifact resembling those found in 1903 at the excavations near the pyramids in Egypt was found at Harappa last month .Neither the material from which it is made nor its age were found by carbon dating spectrum analysis, but due to its dumble shape scientists believe it to be a toy. They also claim that this establishes that there was trade between the ancient Egyptians and the Indians. I was dazzled by his creative genius, coz he created a great story based on this article and it went like thisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ ******** He conceived the world around him in a different way, he used to say dont just look manavada (grand son), observe and question ,and at that age I couldnt really understand the difference. When I was in sixth grade I asked him the same question, he stared at me for a while and asked me do you know how many stone blocks were laid to construct the Giza pyramid ?,I said no. about 25 lakh stones each weighing about 25 tons, have u ever wondered how they constructed such a great structure in those days when they had no iron to cut the stones. Have u ever wondered how they transported or lifted such heavy blocks. I said no. It is simple, someone with the technology must have helped them. May be they were constructed by aliens. come on thathayya ( grandpa) not a fairy tale againà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦., why is it impossible manavada, as Sherlock holmes says when you have eliminated the impossible, the remaining however improbable it may seem is possible. then which alien civilization do you think is responsible? May be the one a billion light years away or a well advanced civilization from this planet itself What, how is it possible for a civilization belonging to the same period to be so advanced than the Egyptians Not of the same time, may be their own future generations, time travellers. What nonsense ok then explain me this, the mortar used in the construction of the pyramid is responsible for its strength ,even the mortar we use today isnt that strong. Our scientists were able to decode its chemical composition but not the process by which it is made. Now imagine that in the future our scientists figured out this process and also some other science freak invented the time machine. To test the strength of this mortar our scientists go back 4500 years and help the Egyptians to construct the pyramids with it. Since our scientists discovered the process by reverse engineering the mortar and gave the technology to the Egyptians, it would not have been possible for the Egyptians to construct the pyramids without our scientists help, and if that is the case there would not have been the source for our scientists to reverse engineer and travel back in time to give it to the Egyptians. Now tell me who found the process first the ancients or our time travellers? . I was befuddled and told him that I dont believe in time travel just to save myself from his wizardry. Then he said I am gonna tell you a secret and please keep it a secret, I travelled in time once. I broke with laughter and said do I look so foolish?, where did u get such a huge time machine from? The time machine need not be a machine at all. There is a state called singularity, it is the state of matter at the core of a black hole. When a large star explodes it is called a supernova. The substance present at the core of a supernova is called Dark Matter, and the dark matter can be used to harvest a worm hole. And Albert Einstein stated that by constructing such worm holes we can travel back and forth in time. In 1952 I was sent to Egypt for fieldwork, there we found strange dumble shaped tools. I secretly brought one of them to India and gave it to my friend who is a physicist to find what material it is. He found a small portion of darkmatter that must have been left by some time traveller and we used it. Though it seemed silly I was awe struck by his creativity, so I asked him where did you go then? Do you know what caused the extinction of Indus valley civilization? Well there are several theories like Aryan invasion, frequent floods of the Indus, continuous seismic activity etc.. These theories are only a twenty or thirty years old, in 1952 the only theory was Aryan invasion theory. And we traveled back 3500 years to the time when this civilization started declining to verify this theory. But to our wonder we found no sign of any invasion, floods or other calamities. We were enthralled by the brilliance of the harappans, and the splendor of the hakra and indus rivers, our rivers today are just canals when compared to them. They were constructing a behemoth sized dam over the hakra river that even the great pyramid is no match to its magnificence. I never heard of any such large construction on the Indus before let me complete, as we were on our way back something unexpected happened. My friend used a little more amount of the darkmatter to create the worm hole , as we entered the worm hole a huge explosion occurred and it shattered the dam causing a chain of floods and earthquakes leading to the decline of the Indus valley civilization. Now do you understand why the Indus valley civilization became extinct?. Obviously because of you and your friend, if you would not have gone there it would not have become extinct, if it was not extinct you would not have gone there to find the reason, causality paradox I guess. So the Aryan invasion theory is false. No, infact it is the only true theory and the Aryans were none other than me and my friend. why didnt you travel back in time again to prevent the destruction? How could we, in that chaos we left the dumble there and now we cant go back.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell :: essays research papers fc

Topic 1: What warning does the novel carry for readers at this point in time about where their society is heading? Introduction NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR’s society carries a warning to our society about where we might be heading. However I believe that we are already at a parallel with the society in NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR . Taking the focus of the media it becomes very clear that our society is very similar to the one in NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR if to a lesser extent. Looking at the media shows that the media have control over what we know and therefore what we think. Therefore who ever controls the media controls our thoughts, both here and in NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR . By showing the similarities between NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR and our world through the media it becomes clear that our society is very closely related to that of NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR . Control of our knowledge The media controls our knowledge of the outside world. If we don’t listen to the news we don’t find out what is happening in other countries. The media can be very selective about what stories they broadcast; they will broadcast the news that they think the public will want to hear. An example of this in our world was the September 11 attacks. We heard lots of news about how approximately 7000 people died but we didn’t hear about: o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The floods in India which killed thousands of people o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 32700(approx) people who died from hunger and curable diseases on September 11. In NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR Ingsoc controls the media. They decide what the people need to know and so effectively control their knowledge. If the party says that Oceania is at war with Eastasia then for all the people know it is. This is also true if the party says that Oceania is at war with Eurasia. Effectively the media controls our knowledge – we know what they choose to broadcast. Control of media Every media group is controlled by somebody. Whoever controls it controls what is broadcast to the public. The extreme case of this is in NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR . The party controls the media and so all stories go through them. They broadcast what they think it is necessary for the people to know and that is the end of the story. The party is basically the media and everything they say is always correct. If it turns out to be incorrect they change their records so that it is correct.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

How Are Fashion and Appearance Central to the Construction?

How are fashion and appearance central to the construction of social identities? Fashion can be defined as the prevalent style and custom at a certain point in time. Besides being necessary and protecting us, clothing also shapes and defines us in the cultural, social and psychological aspect. It has been a part of culture and identity since the earliest of times. We live in a world where fashion and clothing play a significant role in shaping and determining the identity and social image of people. This physical appearance often determines other people’s impressions of us and becomes a measurement of our self-worth.Nowadays with an increased self-consciousness, establishing the social identity of a person, fashion and appearance have played a crucial role. Wilson (1992: 13) has said, ‘clothing in fact, has the unique characteristic of being able to express ideas about sex and the body while simultaneously it actually adorns the body. ’ While sexuality for both me n and women has largely been shaped by the central ideas of fashion and appearance, there is evidence indicating women have been impacted more by the influences of fashion than men have.Therefore it is possible to say women, who are strongly influenced by fashion, may be more susceptible to social identities as Craik (1994: 176) said, ‘women are fashionable but men are not. ’ Although Finkelstein (1996: 56) has argued that, ‘fashion has been seen as a device for confining women to an inferior social order,’ showing that these identities have not and are not always positive and empowering. In the concept of the ‘male gaze,’ the relationship between sex and sexuality in women’s fashion is entirely geared towards pleasing and catering to the male sexual desires.Although Craik (1993: 156) argues that, ‘despite the rhetoric that women dress to please men, other evidence suggest that women primarily dress to please other women. Further, there is no clear pattern as to whose ‘eyes’ women view other women through. ’ To see the progression of how fashion and appearance has become what it is and what it represents in the world today in creating social identities, the past plays a huge role.After the regimented discipline of World War II where fashion was purely functional, uniform and designed to blend in with the background there was a period where tough economic frugality which included rationing of almost every product, the unavailability of fabrics due to the collapse of the UK textile industry, very few imports because foreign currency restrictions and a general impoverishment of society as a whole. The fifties saw a gradual lifting of the stringent restrictions and along with the introduction of television and American made programming; a new sense of optimism took hold in the UK.Programmes such as girl  ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬debutantes (See Fig. 1) gave women a role of their own in society, unlike the ‘surrogate mens’ jobs in industry that they had to endure during the war. Sex and sexuality however was not key in the fashions of the time. The Calvinistic influence of the southern states American ‘Bible Belt’ in politics and popular culture determined distinct roles for women, and even though there were the beginnings of change, the only careers open were those of housewives, teachers and nurses.And then, with the dawn of the sixties, everything changed. America elected a young handsome president, JF Kennedy, the birth control pill was launched and a four piece band from Liverpool called the Beatles became gods for a whole new grouping. The teenager. Teenagers were rebellious, questioning, and everything that their parents were not. In America they protested against the Vietnam War while in England they questioned all authority from the local police constable to the Queen herself.Sexuality, and sex was everything and it was born out in the sty les and colours of Carnaby Street, the mini skirt, Twiggy and the twist. The boring military uniform was transformed into the rainbow colours of the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper and the crew cut became a mop top. By the time the seventies arrived, division had to appear. Free Love and LSD resulted in addiction and sex-for-sale and fashions split the youth into Mods or Rockers. A macho motorbike riding image was adopted by the rockers, wearing clothes such as black leather jackets and listening to the likes of Elvis and Gene Vincent.While the mods, wearing designer suits protected by Parka jackets and other clean-cut outfits, adopted riding Vespa or Lambretta scooters. Mods favoured listening to rhythm and blues, Ska music and The Who. The mods attention to detail and obsession with style was the complete contrast to their arch rivals the rockers’ love of motor cycles and leather jackets and this often cause friction between the two subcultures. These two subcultures faded from the public view by the late 1960s and media attention turned to two new emerging youth subcultures – the hippies and the skinheads.So, sex and sexuality only became a central theme and basis for fashion and appearance from the 60s and 70s and has developed and expanded on a monumental scale until today, and will continue to do so. Given the strong connection more so between female sexuality and fashion, many people have begun to discuss the ways in which identity and perception from fashion have influenced certain ways women think they ‘should’ or ‘have to’ look like. This couldn’t be more evident than in the media advertisements that surround our environment constantly.These thoughts can often be distorted and obscured, not necessarily the truth and reality of what the average women looks like. Media advertisements for fashion, more often than not, show how women could change or improve their appearance and this is where women’s t houghts and perceptions are drawn from. The easy answer could come from the idea that ‘sex sells’ which is the truth and reality of today. For many products being advertised it is possible to find a sexual connection or connotation.This sexual connection it much easier to set up for men than for women, as men’s sexual desire have minimal criteria; as long as a women looks healthy and young enough, she is desired. By using women’s bodies and associate ‘getting the woman’ with the product, it is easier getting a man’s attention. Thus, playing on his instinctive view rather than his intellectual view of the world. Using sex in advertising to women can be much more difficult, as women are looking for more than mere anatomy. This becomes a cycle where advertising can sell the product because â€Å"women want this ‘product’ in a man.Get the product, get the woman. † The use of healthy, fit men does attract a woman’s instinctive attention and create desire but sexual desire for women is more complex. Women tend to not only focus on man’s physical appearance, but are also corned with the long-run and future with a partner. These factors are often learned through culture and society. Tom Ford’s advertisements for the launch of a male perfume (See Fig. 3) has been considered to be highly controversial, while at the same time it provides insight into the world of advertising sex and appeal and how it works.Tom Ford’s advert is full of suggestion and imagination; the perfume bottle between the woman’s breasts could suggest male genital, not simply just a perfume bottle, creating a very erotic and adventurous feeling to the advert. This therefore makes it extremely appealing to any male who comes across the advert. Male instinct kicks in and immediately it becomes about if I buys this product then will I get lucky in the bedroom? D & G advertisement promoting their 2007 re ady-to-wear collection (See Fig. 4) has also received a lot of controversial feedback.The advertisement showed a woman pinned to the ground by the wrist by a shirtless man, with other men in the background looking on. It is possible to say that the female figure is shown in a degrading manner and offending the dignity of the individual. This can be contrasted by the fact that in her role it can appear that she’s actually willing to yield and surrender to the man’s aggressive behaviour willingly. From Biological Basis of Human Behaviour males have often linked sex and aggression to a certain degree and therefore in return females have learnt this association as well.And in a way if she didn’t enjoy it, it didn’t matter as long as life was create as a result. So, this advert could represent a learned role of females that is possibly now acceptable, enjoyable to an extent and even desired. Thus, it is clear that sex is a strong appeal to use in advertising e ven though it can be gender linked appeal. Fashion and appearance have repeatedly shown to have a massive, immediate and sometimes potent effect on the public in a wide range or circumstances.In particular women’s appearance seems to play a key role to one’s identity and self. Chapkis (1986) has said that, ‘a women is made to feel continually insecure about her physical appearance, and simultaneously so dependent on it. ’ Women, more so than men, are willing to go to dangerous and sometimes painful lengths in order to ‘improve’ and alter their appearance. Thus feeling like we fit with the desired lifestyle and with what is considered socially normal and acceptable in society today.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Explore the Construction of Identiy in Hamlet and Beowulf

Thesis: Identity is constructed through the character’s change/realisation of social ideals and personal experiences throughout the text. â€Å"’Identity has been increasingly used to refer to the social and historical make-up of a person, personality as a construct. Sometimes such identities are conceived narrowly psychological, individualist terms, as the cumulative result of personal experience and family history† This is seen particularly in Beowulf where all men are referred to as their fathers’ sons’. Family history was massively important in those times and men well often well respected because of the heroic things their ancestors had done. Warriors also felt the need to reach the same level of notoriety. This is shown when we are†¦show more content†¦Beowulf establishes his identity as a warrior and a hero by recounting his successful endeavours: â€Å"They had seen me bolstered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night sea slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes and avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it upon themselves, I devastated them).† Beowulf is a warrior more by reputation than what he actually does throughout the duration of the text. Although he defeats Grendel fairly quickly after being introduced to us, and after that Grendel’s mother, fifty years pass without much detail of Beowulf’s triumphs. The form of both texts has an impact on the identity of both Beowulf and Hamlet as individuals but also society as a whole in the two texts. Beowulf is an epic poem which are traditionally used to recount heroic acts and important events in history. This gives the text an authentic feel as well as reflecting the culture of the times in which Beowulf lived in; most stories were shared by word of mouth, often by song or poetry and not often documented. Men craved the notoriety and were willing to die in battle do achieve it. The unusualness of an epic poem also reflects complete difference of the world we live in where we not only have no warrior culture, people