Wait, isn't it spring?

So with these snow flurries in spring, it seems that global warming is at play. But how many people just believe that global warming is the reason for the oddities in weather, rather than to go and find out themselves? Although it is true that the world is warming up, the irregular weather patterns may not have all that much to do with global warming. The tilt of the Earth's axis is changing ever so slightly every year, and with this change, seasons are longer. Global warming is just a scapegoat for people, a reason to sounds like they care about the environment. How many people complain about global warming, yet they buy plastic water bottles, slowly polluting the worlds oceans and destroying the Earth. So before you complain about global warming, stop and think about what you are doing to help solve it.

Since I am on the topic of global warming, it seems proper to insert a pin to prick the bubbles of those who love to tan. It seems that sun-screen may protect you from the two most common types of skin cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), it does not protect you from malignant melanoma. Malignant melanoma is a very rare type of skin cancer, but its responsible for 75% of all skin cancer deaths. Melanomas are easily visible for they look like little blotches on your skin. If spotted and treated early, they are nothing more than mere nuisances. But if allowed to grow, they can go down into the skin and travel around in the blood. Melanoma is usually cause by sunburns, so usually sunscreen would be the natural answer. But what sunscreen has been discovered to do is, it stops the skin from showing warnings that melanomas are developing. UVB radiation stimulates the skin to produce melanin to protect the skin. Putting on sunscreen blocks the stimulation of melanin, and the skin does not produce melanin. Melanin is what accounts for the skin pigment, and it acts as a natural barrier to UVA and UVB radiation.

Just some food for thought, enjoy.

Process of Elimination

I think that the process of elimination is one the best things I have learned in high school. After doing countless tests and exams, the process of elimination sure helps to pass. Although this is not something they teach in the books, this problem solving skill is something everybody should have in their pockets. The process is not difficult to learn at all either. The process involves removing all other possibilities that cannot be correct, and by doing this, raises the probability that the correct answer will be within the choices left. Now that you know how to use it, I'll explain some uses for it.

First and foremost, you should almost always use this method whenever you are doing multiple choice questions on a test. 1 out of 4 is only 25% that you will get it right, but by eliminating 1 incorrect answer, you will have a 33% chance! By eliminating another answer you will end up with a 50% chance of guessing the correct answer. This shows that you don't necessarily have to know the answer to get it right, as long as you know what the answer isn't you can just work backwards.

A more ghastly use of the process of elimination could be to eliminate your opponents, allowing you to win at whatever you may be doing. Although most circumstances it would be illegal to do this, its a guarantee win. (unless you get caught :p)

There are many many more possibilities out there for using the great problem-solving technique. So just remember, every time you are stuck with a problem, try using the process of elimination.

Welcome to my life

Ahh the bittersweet taste of disappointment. How truly numbers on a page can attack and undermine even the greatest. Set yourself up high, and you are only doomed to be disappointed. Well I guess it was about time for me to realize that everything in life isn't as easily obtained as I imagined. While I moan and groan about getting 80% in a test, others would gladly trade their marks for mine. From today forward, I am hoping to start trying to focus once again on school. I think that I am too easily discouraged, but I am also easily encouraged. So hopefully I will once again get into my routine of homework first, then some reading, then computer. But lately, it seems that going out and having fun is quite the distraction.

Also with all this graduation stuff coming up, it just adds to the immense aberration. Grad is overrated, and thats all there is to it. Why can't it just be a simple "Congratulations, here is your diploma," and then we're done. All this fancy shmancy just for graduation. If only people did not make such a big deal about graduating. But I think my mom is right, its overrated because most parents have no graduated, so their like "OMG they're sooo smart! Let's all celebrate." Such minor things in life are not deserving of celebration, and if such minor things are made to be more than what they are, its just creating a false sense of accomplishment. I could go on for a few more paragraphs, but I must go and try and do something with my time other than ranting about the uselessness of many things.

Large Hadron Collider

So the LHC is going to start its operations this summer, and there has been quite a bit of talks about the 8 billion dollar particle accelerator lately. So for those who don't know about the LHC, its a massive underground accelerator that is about 27km long in a circular shape. Along the collider are large magnets placed to accelerate the particles that will be fired into the tunnel. With particles being fired at each other at extremely high speeds, scientists hope to discover new particles, such as the Higgs boson particle. The Higgs boson particle is a theoretical particle that is suppose to be responsible for the mass difference in matter. The LHC will also hope to uncover some more information about black holes. And it is with the black holes (RIP John Archibald Wheeler) that the controversy arises. Many skeptics are scared that within the LHC, the crashing particles will create a mini black hole which will suck up everything. Perhaps this is true, but it is very unlikely this will occur, as the black hole will only form for a nano-second, and then disintegrate. By performing these collisions, scientists wish to gain more information about the creation of the universe, and the moments in time after the Big Bang.



So that is the Large Hadron Collider. Why am I talking about it? Well it seems like today we live in a world where knowledge is so easily accessible, yet there is still so much to know. What if everything we learned was false, and that the truth is the most absurd thing you can imagine? But then again, somebody out there in the world has to be right. My love for knowledge stems from the fact that there is always something to be found. As years pass, there will always remain something that humans do not know. And within all humans, there is the innate longing to know.

And its all in my head

So, the last 2 months of school, isnt this suppose to be the time when everything is finishing up, and just cruising along? Nope, all lies. There doesnt seem to be a break in sight for me, stacked up with homework and tests. AP English exams coming up, Euclid Math contest, Biology competition. Woot all these things to do, no time for actual school homework.

But at least it is the weekend, and I am so excited for our school play. Hearing from all those who have already seen it, I just can't wait. This post is a wee bit short because for some reason I am super tired today, and I just want to sleep forever. Too bad I have math tutor tomorrow morning at 8:30.