It’s Friday. The congregation is gathered at Calculus AB. Mr. Kim is preaching about the virtue of integrals The first fundamental theorem of calculus says: Thou shalt obtain the antiderivative F as the integral of f. The second fundamental theorem of calculus says: Thou shalt subtract function f(a) from f(b) to evaluate the integral from a to b. Mr. Kim shares his testimony – how Mathematics transformed his life and saved him from ignorance. Everyone bows their heads in accord, but will they follow the Word and change their ways?
Hey, I am a dummy-blog. My role is to absorb the anger of the OVS Editors. My creator has not turned in a single blog over the past three weeks, so I am here to help him. You can hate me, you can despise me, but you can’t ignore me. Besides, I am just a blog – squiggly lines bunched together. Are they even supposed to make any sense, carry any meaning? What if my author just hit the keyboard long enough, without intending anything in particular. Or maybe he even used ChatGPT to get over with the blog and go watch the SuperBowl. Whatever the truth is, it does not matter. My job here is done, and my purpose is thereby fulfilled.
There is actually none. Zero. I do not believe that the biology of human brain has changed enough to make us lie, cheat, hurt less.
But the culture has. The institutions that uphold our societies have been modified, transformed, reinvented. I doubt it was due to everyone’s sudden enlightenment that we have formed fundamental ethical principles. But I can see how through a painfully slow, gradual shift in culture, technology, and environment, we have changed our views and with them our ways.
Take the women’s current status in society. If it wasn’t for the World Wars, one can only wonder how many more years it would have taken for them to reach it.
Men were drafted, factories became empty, someone needed to build ammunition. Women finally got a taste of independence. When the war was over and the women were sent home, they were reluctant to go back to the previous state of things
It was scientific advancements that gave us the Enlightenment. It was Industrial Revolution and Urbanization that altered the class system and stopped the slavery.
The ethical arguments for why something should be changed usually comes only after the necessary economical, technological, scientific, and other circumstances are already in place.
The most important conclusion from these facts is that even our chaotic nature can be directed in the desired path.
Even if by nature we are prone to enslaving one another, hating one another, and a myriad of other very human kind of things to do, we are, in fact, capable of controlling this nature.
Through cultural, scientific, technological and other changes, we can restrain what’s negative, and maximize what’s positive.
It can happen accidentally, as it has been for the most of human history, or, we can bring these changes about with our own efforts – by creating the necessary institutions, pushing for the appropriate cultural changes, and making the right personal decisions.
We have abolished slavery and written the human rights. Then what should stop us from ceasing lying or murder?
The truth is, it can only be us. Since we can construct these institutions and manifest these changes, we can also bring them to ruin. And much much easier so than build them.
It seems NORMAL to us that humans have rights, men and women are equal, and slavery is wrong. But it does not take much for all of this to disappear. It might be a nuclear war, it might be forming your whole identity of off your political affiliation, or simply being a jerk to the people around you. So let’s put some thought into it all.
We have been give the ten commandments. But what if we create our own – ones based on empathy, deep thought, and mutual flourishing?
The truth is, we as a species are the ones responsible for the greatest lie we have ever told ourselves.
Toasters, TikTok, physics and much of the other progress that is intended to satisfy the human need of happiness has ultimately distanced us from it.
Cold, hungry, dirty, without their phone to scroll through, but surrounded by their mate and their tribe – that was the peak of human happiness which our ancestors have figured out a long time ago.
Except, they did not have the psychedelics. Us – 1: Our ancestors – 0.
A campfire, a freshly killed game, a twentieth child, and an intertribal respect – that’s what it means to be happy. I am sorry, kids, but I think this is the moral of the story.
If we are going to be traversing the universe and uncovering its many mysteries, we first have to figure out what to do with the limitations of our own very Earthly, and very scary nature.
Hey, it’s a holiday break already. It has been 109 days since the beginning of the school year. Or 2616 hours. Or 156960 minutes. Or 9417600 seconds. Wait, no, 9417605 seconds. Nope, 9417611 already. Crazy, ha? There is a 3 week break now. Then, a month of school and a Winter break. Then, again, a month of school and another break. Afterwards there 56 days of school and that’s about it. All the seniors are off on the road. Then, college(if that’s your plan), career(or living in a forest?), whatever you will do with your life, and the FULL STOP. At least, that’s what Oxford dictionary calls the dot in the end of the sentence. It’s going be quick. So, if you get another day, make it count.
It’s late evening of November 30th. Tomorrow, I will find out if I get the scholarship to go to college. Surprisingly to myself, I am at peace. I mean, if I get rejected, I can always apply the standard way through the common app and still qualify for many scholarships. If that does not go well either, Ventura community college has a 100% acceptance rate. If I am the reason they modified it to 99%, I can always go work in McDonald’s. If I mess that up, well, I have always fancied the idea of experiencing what it’s like being an Amish. As you can see, the possibilities are endless. Sure, not all of them offer unlimited access to hot shower, but maybe that’s for the better. And even if get accepted into one of the colleges, it does not change the fact that one day I will turn into dust and none of that is going to matter. Gotta keep things in perspective. So, I will see what happens and have some fun with the path I have to take.
Over six weeks ago, I hurt my ankle during the first play of the last flag football game of the season. The injury left me unable to perform one of the most basic human tasks – run. This meant major restrictions on much of the physical activities. For the first time in my life, I felt crippled – not able to do what I so earnestly longed to. The recovery, therefore, has been painfully long and frustrating. Not once had I placed my foot in the most unbearable way. Not once had I regretted that dire game. But my foot has healed! And now it was time to play against Newbury Park, one of the best soccer teams in the league. This was both the first official game of the season and my first game since recovering. I am playing as a middle back. The game is far from over, and every pass counts. The opposing team is rolling the ball towards our half. We are dropping back to protect the goal. The player with the ball is only 20 feet in front of me. He passes the ball to his teammate, and I intercept it. With all my strength, I kick the ball towards their goal. And drop down from the pain in my ankle. I have hurt it. Again.
Both of my ankles are hurt, I haven’t showered in 4 days, my palms are bloody, and I am freezing. I am sitting in the cold van, warmed by the rays of the dawning sun and the half-full cup of coffee in my hands. It is nearly unbelievable how joyful these plain comforts can be. Piercing the constant cold and usual discomfort, the bleaks of comfort appear heaven-like. My excitement and anticipation before every sip of coffee seems child-like. In fact, it is. The reason is – I am so dang grateful for that instant of surreal content and satisfaction. I am engulfed by state of what it seems like perfect clarity – a true understanding and love for everything in that blissful moment. That is the magic of a life free of the comforts we have chained ourselves with. A wild life of fully experienced and deeply felt moments – be that intense pain or subtle happiness.
Kyiv, Ukraine. It is yet another Russian bombardment. My friend Nastya is awake and running down into the bomb shelter at 3 am. Again. In just a couple of hours, sleep-deprived, she will be sitting at the desk as if it’s normal day. Only 4 months ago she participated in an extremely competitive selection process which made the education financially feasible for her. During the two former years, in spite of ceaseless airstrike sirens and a constant anxiety, she had been studying – relentlessly. And her hopes paid off – she earned a scholarship to study in an Architectural college in Kyiv. Even so, there was a price to be paid – more intense airstrikes and even less security. Like this, without much sleep, and amidst this overwhelming chaos, she has completed 2 months of her studies. Nastya followed this path because she knew – this might be her only chance, a morbid one, but a chance for a better future. Her example is a constant reminder of how absurdly fortunate I am. What if a person like her had opportunities like me? In some disturbing sense, wars are necessary to cultivate people that are going to grit their teeth. Comfort kills. Struggling is just another word for being alive.
Surfing is thrilling. Especially when you do not know how to swim. This morning marked the second time I gave myself to the waves without a way to escape their grip if things went south. After forcing myself out of a warm bed at 5:00 a.m. and immersing myself in the cold of the dawn once, I became addicted. The perfect peace and clarity of mind that I experienced is what gets me out there in spite of my inability to swim. Still, every time I enter the tide, it seems as if I am playing with my fortune. Could this time be my last one? In my case, a mistake can be fatal. Although so far, things have been smooth, I am certain there is yet to be a moment when I will stand on the edge. Nonetheless, the calm and happiness I experience on the waves will draw me in again and again
OVS Journalism Blog 
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