A Genetically Modified Fuel.

Humans have utilized living cells and biological processes in biotechnology to improve humanity by using genetically modified organisms. Ashish Swarup Verma wrote that some of the earliest examples of biotechnology occurred "After the end of the second world war some, very crucial discoveries were reported," (1) selective breeding of plants and animals to produce organisms with more desirable traits, often by trial and error throughout generations. These efforts yielded better and healthier crops for human consumption and preferred breeds of horses, sheep, and other animals. 

Genetically modified crops are the logical next step in agriculture. It is time to progress in search of a perfect product to fuel humanity. Hyper focusing on a genetically modified fuel source would create products that allow for a precise renewable commodity. Whichever country does this will thrive beyond anything ever witnessed in the history of our species. Understand, the fossil fuels we use today are indeed products of the sun. 

        Genetically modified plants and animals are safe and could assist in ending world hunger, and researchers will eventually be able to cure various diseases and disabilities through gene therapy. 

And last, Safety must come first, from the chemicals used to their byproducts. A meticulous study must be performed to achieve no harm is done to anything. 

   Hernández, Timothy Alexander, Bolt, Sunday, March 7th, 2022, Strings, S WW White Rd. 

Reference

Verma, Ashish Swarup et al. "Biotechnology in the realm of history." Journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences vol. 3,3 (2011): 321-3. doi:10.4103/0975-7406.84430

The Agenda of Fake News.

    "Indeed, one can be deceived in many ways; one can be deceived in believing what is untrue, but on the other hand, one is also deceived in not believing what is true." (Kierkegaard, Soren 13)

    More people have gotten their news from sites like Facebook and Twitter in recent years. The essence of information presented on these platforms is growing more influential. The predominance of disinformation, extremism, and hate speech poses a vital difficulty for contemporary dialogue. Disinformation and extremism online have corrupted the democratic process and led to real-world catastrophe. Fake news deceives the people and worsens partisan anxieties, misinforming the constituency and adding to political extremism and the polarization of the people. 

    

    Fake news is a skeptical and damaging phenom that threatens democracy; social media platforms must clearly label fraudulent communication because misinformation has led to numerous recent threats to democracy. 

    

    In early September of 2020, the companies Facebook and Twitter declared that the Internet Research Agency, an organization supported by Russian military intelligence, was attempting to spread fake news articles on their platforms designed to aid the re-election of President Donald Trump. NPR's Shannon Bond reported, "A second smaller network was also connected to Russian intelligence." (9). The Internet Research Agency produced fraudulent accounts to create a fictitious public for a fraudulent left-wing news website intended to reduce support for Democratic presidential nominee Joseph Biden. 

    The attack mimicked and proved enhanced attempts by Russian military offices to aid Trump's election in 2016. U.S. intelligence agencies predicted for months that Russia would be attempting related tactics before the 2020 election. Facebook eliminated the accounts and pages affiliated with the news site from its platform and cooperated with Twitter to identify other Russian-connected activities. 

    

    Since 2016, several events have occurred that can be traced back to an ancient guidance method. Aristotle described rhetoric as “an ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion” (37). However, this, it seems, only applies to those who are not educated regarding rhetoric. An uneducated mind can be educated of anything, including violet rhetoric. On December 4, 2016, an armed assailant of North Carolina walked into a pizzeria in Washington, D.C., and opened fire. Luckily, employees and customers were capable of escaping uninjured. 

    The assailant surrendered to police and stated he wanted to "self-investigate" fabrications seen online claiming that the Democratic Party was operating a child-trafficking racket out of the establishment—a conspiracy theory referred to as "Pizzagate." Believers in the conspiracy argued that the assailant was part of an intricate scheme to discredit the theory following the gunman's arrest. 

    The accusations of Pizzagate were entirely false, and the event granted a glimpse at the potential consequences of the spread of fake news narratives online. David Graham proclaims, "After weeks of debate about the theoretical and abstract dangers of fake news, there’s finally a concrete incident to discuss." (1). History now has evidence of the fraudulent power of this situation. 

    After the Pizzagate incident, the media wanted to bring more attention to the issue of fraudulent news. Media divided, with more independent media sources supporters instead of a more prominent corporation-fueled news media from these reports. Two days after the Pizzagate situation, the website Counterpunch posted an article by Anthony DiMaggio titled Post-Fact Politics: Reviewing the History of Fake News and Propaganda. The post develops a red herring argument that diverts attention from the Pizzagate situation to the political dilemma regarding propaganda. 

    

    Anthony DiMaggio is an author and assistant professor of political science at Lehigh University, and wrote on the website Counterpunch, "I've devoted my academic career to spotlighting propaganda, writing numerous books on the subject. So it's more than a little disturbing when I see references to "propaganda" in the corporate press that completely obscure the broader role that manipulation plays in reinforcing domestic political-economic elites' agendas and in padding the pocketbooks of corporate media conglomerates." (4). He explains that mass media has angered the public, "attempts to recognize propaganda as solely the work of 'others' are desperately out of touch with growing publics anger at the officially-allied media propaganda we euphemistically call 'news.'" (21). Anthony discusses that false narratives are nothing new. He challenges the claim that fraudulent news poses a vital threat by alleging a public exists that grows angry by the allied media that work in unison to produce "news." This type of diversion was one of many attempts to take the attention away from the genuine problem of fake news by creating a what-about-ism. Why was the problem ignored? Why was the light taken away from a hostage situation towards a more historical view? It seems that any media that would try to expose the problem of fake news was quickly given the label in return.

    Two months after Pizzagate on February 17, 2017, President Trump, who frequently blamed the media for exaggerating his setbacks, posted a tweet, "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!". (LAVALLÉE 1) In his time in office, he has criticized journalists for neglecting to present adequate admiration for his achievements, and at the time of this tweet, he was only in office for a month. President Trump used this type of rhetoric throughout his one-term presidency; he fueled a narrative where Americans could not trust the media by publicizing the media as Fake News.  

    Fake News was now the label given to anyone who would present facts against the president and his following. From February 2017 to September 28, 2021, fake news became a term misused by the president and his followers. Everything became fake news, except the underground sources from legions of misinformed followers. This rhetoric is still found throughout the internet today, and it only has one agenda, to create a false reality that praises Trump and his accomplishments. 

    On March 9, 2018, researchers from MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy Research released a study that examines the spread of false news online. By acknowledging how no studies explain, in detail, why incorrect information may spread differently from the truth. The researchers evaluated differences in the expanse of truth and falsity across issues and examined real and false news on Twitter; to understand the spread of incorrect information. They encourage the spread of false information using Artificial intelligence-powered accounts. 

    

    The study concluded that an individual role contributes more to the differential spread of falsity and truth than programmed A.I. does. The researchers proved that a misinformation containment policy should emphasize behavioral interferences, such as labeling and incentives, rather than decreasing the A.I. that researchers used for the study.

    

    So, even with artificial intelligence, humans spread fake news faster than anything. Nevertheless, the power of rhetoric in the narratives of fake news that ignore facts and create false realities, even with the advancement of A.I., is still no match for the power of the people to spread such false realities. Moreover, proof of this will be seen starting in December 2019 after a virus develops in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

    On March 9, 2020, President Trump released a tweet, “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”.(@realdonaldtrump). The tweet has been taken down, but a follower can be seen commenting back to Donald Trump, saying, "The fake news media is attempting to put people in a state of panic just so they can hurt the economy and get at Trump. It truly is very sad." (@ real_defender) as several citizens downplayed the virus in the united states fueled by the rhetoric of Donald Trump, the rest of the world prepared to combat the spreading virus. 

    On March 9, 2020, Italy initiated a nationwide travel lockdown to stop a new coronavirus from spreading. This infectious and sometimes fatal pathogen has spread to more than 140 countries since December 2019. The plan, which affected more than 60 million people in the country, ordered citizens to seek formal approval for any travel not for essential health, work, or family emergency purposes and banned large public functions like weddings and sporting events.

    The next day New York governor Andrew Cuomo (D) announced the creation of a one-mile radius containment area in New Rochelle, a small suburb of New York City that had experienced one of the highest concentrations of coronavirus cases in the United States. "New Rochelle at this point is probably the largest cluster in the United States of these cases, and it is a significant issue." (Cuomo 5)People would still be free to move in and out of the area, but large gathering spaces, houses of worship, and schools would be closed. Cuomo also deployed the National Guard to deliver food to homes in the area and disinfect public spaces. 

    On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced the global outbreak a pandemic. Stating, " We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic." (WHO 7). Nevertheless, how do two sides both stating completely different themes exist? How can anyone be diverted from the truth to lies? Can people that follow trump obey every word out of his mouth as truth while accepting all media not endorsed by Trump to be liars?

    On April 23rd, 2020, President Trump, at a press hearing, said, "And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning," (qtd. in Farly &Kiely) In April, which includes an eight-day period from the 23rd to the 30th, following Trump’s comments, poisonings increased 121% compared to April of 2019. Things settled down some in the first ten days of May, with poisonings up 69% over the same 10-day period in 2019. (CDC) Citizens had tried injecting and ingesting bleach. It seems Donald Trump had developed an audience that would take his word to heart, following every narrative that he established as the absolute truth, no matter how absurd or injurious the outcome might be. President Trump now had an utterly devoted following that started in 2017, and that following would eventually try to dismantle our democracy.

    QAnon springs from a series of cryptic clues that started to be posted online in October 2017. Starting on 4Chan before migrating to the even more fringe 8Chan, the anonymous person behind the clues goes by “Q," referring to a high-level government security clearance. The “Anon” in “QAnon” refers to both Q himself and Q’s nameless supporters, the “anons.” (qtd. in Sommer 3), So it is constructed like a conspiracy theory with some high-profile supporters. Q further includes various celebrities as supporters and followers. 

    Roseanne Barr has frequently tweeted about QAnon and has expressed a desire to meet Q. In July 2018, the sitcom star took to Twitter to share a phrase common among QAn01on supporters "wwg1wga," (@therealroseanne), short for where we go one, we go all. The QAnon tweet was after her tweet in May 2018, which led to ABC canceling her television show. The Twitter quote was, "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj" (ABC cancels Roseanne 11). The VJ referred to Valerie Jarrett, a White House adviser under President Barack Obama. 

    Was this the agenda all along to gather a mass of racist individuals, both citizens, and celebrities? Was this the same conspiracy theory that guided Pizzagate? From December 5th, 2016, to January 6th, 2020, Q used social media to expand and build a devoted following of delusional citizens and celebrities with the same intentions. 

    The conflict covering voting rights in the United States came while confidence in the U.S. electoral system among conservative voters was at a deep, possibly historic, low. On November 3, 2020, President Donald Trump had lost his re-election bid to former vice president Joe Biden. The election took place amid a deadly coronavirus pandemic, and many states had expanded the use of mail-in ballots to limit contagion at polling sites.

    President Trump had spent months claiming, without evidence, that voting by mail would precipitate widespread voter fraud. After losing, he refused to concede. Instead, the former president presented baseless allegations and conspiracy theories in which he contended that Democrats had stolen the election through fraudulent ballots and rigged vote counts. 

His claims culminated in violence on January 6, 2021, when supporters of the president attending a "Stop the Steal" (Kruzel 1) rally in Washington, D.C., violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, where members of Congress were certifying the results of the election. Five people died from injuries sustained amid the unrest. Stop the steal was a slogan used in November 2016. John Kruzel reported, "For weeks, the group stop the steal has used incendiary rhetoric to motivate members to turn up at contested areas tomorrow to participate in a survey of voters leaving polling places." (2)

    Since 2016 this type of rhetoric has been used on various social media to mentally fuel like-minded citizens into a hive. Supporters of President Donald Trump display a U.S. flag with the QAnon conspiracy theory symbol outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 (Montanaro 1). It should have been monitored and controlled since Pizzagate, and a deeper investigation would have made it easier to connect the dots. 

    Karen Douglas, Ph.D., researched the beliefs in conspiracy theories and their consequences. She is a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. On January 13, 2021, a week after the deadly insurrection, she appeared on the podcast Speaking of Psychology. "People are drawn to conspiracy theories in order to satisfy or in an attempt to satisfy three important psychological motives. epistemic motives, existential motives, and social motives." (Douglas 21-23). She describes the three motives in detail, with the first one being Epistemic motive is the requirement for knowledge, a desire to have information on a significant issue. "people with lower levels of education tend to be drawn to conspiracy theories." (Douglas 23). However, not because people lack intelligence, they lack knowledge. The second motive is Existential motives which are people's requirements to feel safe and secure in their environment."So again, when something happens, people don't like to feel powerless. They don't like to feel out of control." (Douglas 23). When a situation is out of our control, a conspiracy theory can explain why we do not have control of the situation. The last motive Dr. Karen discusses is Social motives. "people's desire to feel good about themselves as individuals and also feel good about themselves in terms of the groups that they belong to...Potentially one way of doing that is to feel that you have access to information that other people don't necessarily have." (Douglas 25). We need to stand out among the crowd, uniqueness at the group level when sharing information among like-minded individuals, and uniqueness when possessing information others do not have. Conspiracy theories create a sense of superiority above others. Dr. Karen presents a clearer picture of how anyone can use conspiracy theories against vulnerable citizens of a society. It becomes evident that false information must be given a label.  

    Now that the United States is under a new administration, it is time to require all public social media domains to require fact-checking and labeling of false information. Social media platforms should require an acknowledgment for all re-posts of false news, leaving the individual a choice to participate in the spread of false news or not do so. It is not suppression. Instead, it is acknowledgment. 

    Fake news will always exist; therefore, a permanent digital label warning of misinformation should always exist. Doing this might have stopped the progression from Pizzagate to the insurrection. Doing this could have saved lives instead of protecting lies.

   Hernández, Timothy Alexander, Energy, Saturday, January 15, 2022, Strings, Mall. 

Refences 

"ABC cancels 'Roseanne' after comedian's racist comment." PBS, 29 May 2018, www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/abc-cancels-roseanne-after-comedians-racist-comment Accessed 29 Sept. 2021.

Aristotle. On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civil Discourse. Translated by George A. Kennedy, Oxford UP, 2007.

Barr, Roseanne. "WWG1WGA." Twitter, 2 July 2018,

twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1013822886618861568?lang=en.

Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

Bond, Shannon. "Facebook, Twitter Remove More Russian-Backed Fake Accounts Ahead Of Election." NPR, 24 Sept. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/09/24/916636508/facebook-twitter-remove-more-russian-backed-fake-accounts-ahead-of-election.

Accessed 22 Sept. 2021.

Carter, Brandon. "What Is QAnon? The Conspiracy Theory Tiptoeing Into Trump World." NPR, 2 Aug. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/08/02/634749387/what-is-qanon-the-conspiracy-theory-tiptoeing-into-trump-world. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

Cleaning and Disinfectant Chemical Exposures and Temporal Associations with COVID-19 National Poison Data System, United States, January 1, 2020–March 31, 2020. CDC, 20 Apr. 2020, www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6916e1.htm?s_cid=mm6916e1_e&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM26275. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

DiMaggio, Anthony. "Post-Fact Politics: Reviewing the History of Fake News and Propaganda." Counterpunch, 6 Dec. 2016, www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/06/post-fact-politics-reviewing-the-history-of-fake-news-and-propaganda/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.  

Fact Check. 24 Apr. 2020, www.factcheck.org/2020/04/the-white-house-spins-trumps-disinfectant-remarks/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

Governor Cuomo Accepts Recommendation of State Health Commissioner for New Emergency Measures to Contain Novel Coronavirus Cluster in New Rochelle. Governor.ny.gov, 10 Mar. 2020, www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-accepts-recommendation-state-health. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

Graham, David A. "The 'Comet Pizza' Gunman Provides a Glimpse of a Frightening Future." The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/the-inevitability-of-more-comet-pizza-incidents/509567/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2021.

Kierkegaard, Søren, Howard V. Hong, and Edna H. Hong. Works of Love: Some Christian Reflections in the Form of Discourses. New York: Harper, 1962. Print.

Kruzel, John. "Controversial Pro-Trump Group Warns Members to Avoid Election Day Meddling." ABC News, 7 Nov. 2016, abcnews.go.com/Politics/controversial-pro-trump-group-warns-members-avoid-election/story?id=43372037. Accessed 29 Sept. 2021.

LAVALLÉE, GUILLAUME. "Trump calls media 'enemy of the American people.'" rappler, 18 Feb. 2017, www.rappler.com/world/us-canada/trump-calls-media-enemy-american-people. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.  

Mills, Kim I., host. "Why people believe in conspiracy theories, with Karen Douglas, PhD." Speaking of Psychology, narrated by Karen Douglas, episode 124, Jan. 2021. APA, www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/conspiracy-theories. Accessed 15 Sept. 2021. Transcript.  

Montanaro, Domenico. "Q&A: Documentary Unravels Twisted Knots Of QAnon Movement." NPR, 22 Apr. 2021,

www.npr.org/2021/04/22/989241933/q-a-documentary-unravels-twisted-knots-of-qanon-movement. Accessed 29 Sept. 2021.

"real defender tweet." Twitter, 9 Mar. 2020, twitter.com/real_defender/status/1237027783961952258. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

Sommer, Will. "What Is QAnon? The Craziest Theory of the Trump Era, Explained." The Daily Beast, 6 July 2018, www.thedailybeast.com/what-is-qanon-the-craziest-theory-of-the-trump-era-explained. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

Twitter. 9 Mar. 2020 twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1237027356314869761.

Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

Vosoughi, Soroush, et al. "The Spread of True and False News Online." ide.mit.edu, 9 Mar. 2018, ide.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2017-IDE-Research-Brief-False-News.pdf. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19. Who, 11 Mar. 2020, www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.

Autogenic Relaxation

Challenge Experience Report: Autogenic Relaxation

    In a current environment, one is exposed to diverse stressful situations. It seems like every day, that tension is built up. Tension can lead to shifts in the serum level of numerous hormones, including glucocorticoids, catecholamines, growth hormones, and prolactin. (Spona, J., Ulm, R., Bieglmayer, C., & Husslein, P. 1979). Some of these shifts are required for the fight or flight reaction to safeguard oneself. In this way, it can be a challenge turning such a primal instinct off. It is vital to release this built-up stress because stress responses can lead to endocrine disturbances like Graves’ disease and obesity. (Weaver J. U. 2008).

    The Autogenic Relaxation video allows one to move into a state of being where fight or flight can be ignored for the time being. As the blood flows through the body, it creates work that produces heat. A thermal equilibrium can be achieved as blood flows from the heart to the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks, eyes, and brain-a full circle. The body rarely has a moment alone, so it is difficult to adjust. The mind will always protect the body. In this way, the mind will always be safe. 

    The body slowly warms, releasing the heat, which converts into entropy. This entire process takes practice but is not impossible. The key is to practice in small increments, a lifestyle change, to access such a rare state of being. Understand what stress is, how it can harm, and what to do about it. Stress can correspondingly convert the clinical status of many preexisting endocrine disorders, such as precipitation of adrenal crisis and thyroid storm. (Gilliland P. F. 1983). 

    A simple form of meditation is ideal for a healthy life because we are organic robots, organisms with a strong will to live. Such practices depend solely on the integrity of the individual, just like rules and laws. Create a rule to be better, to recognize the importance of being still, the absolute power within oneself. The release of destructive built-up tension can be achieved, but it requires a rare moment that very few choose to provide.

                  Hernández, Timothy Alexander, Rollinstop, Sunday, January 9,2022, Strings, Downtown.          

Gilliland P. F. (1983). Endocrine emergencies. Adrenal crisis, myxedema coma, and thyroid storm. Postgraduate medicine, 74(5), 215–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/00325481.1983.11698506

Weaver J. U. (2008). Classical endocrine diseases causing obesity. Frontiers of hormone research, 36, 212–228. https://doi.org/10.1159/000115367

Spona, J., Ulm, R., Bieglmayer, C., & Husslein, P. (1979). Hormone serum levels and hormone receptor contents of endometria in women with normal menstrual cycles and patients bearing endometrial carcinoma. Gynecologic and obstetric investigation, 10(2-3), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1159/000299920

An Opinion

Opinion essay

I chose the painting from chapter six, Willem de Kooning, Woman and Bicycle, 1952-53. Oil, enamel, and charcoal on linen. It is essential to truly admire this painting to understand the brain's frontal lobe, which deals with many qualities that make us most human: abstract thinking, planning, executive control, and judgment. Throughout all brain structures, association areas make the brain most powerful. These areas can link concepts together to form new ideas, to represent the outside world with such richness on the inside. 

For many, to think abstract is challenging, especially for a person that respects the structure of logic. Still, this painting is a good representation of abstract thought that can be captured and preserved, with care, that will outlast the mind that helped produce it. The picture seems it is attempting to maintain this image in the brain but could only make it so far. The pieces will always be missing. 

When blood flow to the brain is blocked, or when a blood vessel ruptures, brain cells die due to lack of oxygen. The functions controlled by that brain area, such as visual perception, are impaired or lost. This painting could be similar to the visual perceptions after suffering a stroke. Or it isn't. 

The entire concept remains abstract until the artist reveals the concept as a whole. Until the viewer understands the genuine concept, only the artist can articulate the painting. It seems such art can be anything if not given true meaning.

An example would be the human race, our pursuit of finding purpose in life. It seems the origin of the human race can be anything. Indeed, it is still an abstract concept. It seems the fossil fuels we use outdates every sacred text known. Such thoughts rely on the abstract. 

The least favorite painting was Julian Onderdonk (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.), Bluebonnet Field, Early Morning, San Antonio Texas, c. 1914, oil on canvas. I wouldn't say I like this painting from chapter one because my great grandfather was born in Cheapside, Texas, in 1912. He would've been two years old that early morning. He was a farmer and lived to be 89 years old, but suffered from Alzheimer's in his last years. All because of the disorder of the Neurotransmitter, Acetylcholine was steadily getting worse. I think of him often, but I was reminded of how much he suffered before death after seeing this painting.  

Growing up watching bob ross re-runs at a bowling alley daycare led me to admire landscape paintings. Still, I cannot see anything else while looking at this painting. If you keep silent, it seems art can indeed be anything, such as all religions are the same. If they stay quiet, they are all the same. 

The abstract invites the viewer to participate, and one can not exist without the other. You live, I exist, The paintings exist, and the painters existed—an abstract thought. 

 

So, why are cells, not atoms, the basic units of life?

We must acknowledge that life possesses specific characteristics to answer such a question, including organization, energy, homeostasis, reproduction and development, and evolution. We must recognize evolution as fact because antibiotics, driving evolutionary change in bacteria, cannot be disputed, even with the most extraordinary intelligence.

So, the characteristic of organization can be seen in a cell. 

The nucleus harbors the cell's DNA. 

Ribosomes, connected to the rough endoplasmic reticulum, assemble proteins, and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum synthesizes lipids. The Golgi apparatus packets materials to be secreted from the cell. Peroxisomes dispose of toxins and break down fatty acids. Mitochondria disentangle energy from food, and the cytoskeleton assists the cell in movement and supports its structure. Despite these numerous resemblances, a few organelles vary between animal and plant cells. A lysosome is a digestive hub in an animal cell, where waste and worn-out organelles are disassembled and recycled. Plant cells seldom contain lysosomes. Digestion occurs in the central vacuole of plant cells.

Nevertheless, regulating turgor pressure is a more critical function of the central vacuole, altering size as the cell absorbs or loses water. Many plant cells correspondingly possess chloroplasts. These organelles, "little organs," use light energy to produce sugars.  

The primary internal organelles of a eukaryotic cell are Nucleus,  Smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, Mitochondria, Peroxisome, and Cytoskeleton. A lysosome is an organelle unique to an animal cell, and a central vacuole and chloroplast are unique to plant cells. Plant cells contain a cell wall that protects them and determine their shape. Animal cells lack a cell wall. 

So, when cross-sections of animal and plant cell membranes are compared. Both structures are comprised of a phospholipid bilayer with protein channels crossing them, sugar molecules connect to the protein channels in the animal cell, and it even contains cholesterol found between the lipid molecules. These two structures are lacking in the plant cell. The plant cell membrane has a cell wall surrounding it, lacking in the animal cell. This wall completely encompasses the plant cell membrane and supports the cell. Even within one organism, cells can look surprisingly different. Although four might look quite different, all are eukaryotic animal cells, so they have many of the same basic features. Furthermore, all eukaryotic cells share features with their prokaryotic relatives. These similarities in cell structure are convincing evidence for the unity of life. 

So, imagine a phylogenetic tree of life, with the common ancestor between all three domains. The Domain Eukarya has branches for protists, plants, fungi, and animals. The animal and fungi branches are closer and more recent in their evolutionary histories than the plants or protists. Additionally, the branch for the Domain Eukarya emerges from the branch for the Domain Archaea, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship. 

And yet, the scale of biological molecules and structures show Cells can vary between one micrometer (μm) and hundreds of micrometers in diameter. A DNA double helix is approximately ten nanometers (nm) wide within a cell, whereas the cellular organelle called a nucleus encloses this DNA can be approximately 1000 times more extensive (about ten μm).  

Nevertheless, life must possess specific characteristics to be considered life.

Hernández, Timothy Alexander, Brights, Sunday, January 9,2022, Strings, street.

A Limit Must Be Set.

New advancements in Artificial Intelligence seem to come about weekly. It has become ordinary, rather extraordinary, to hear praises of yet another brilliant technological advancement in the field of AI. For most people, such progression in any given field is exciting to see. Still, for a particular opposition, any advance on the expansion of artificial intelligence heightens a sense of impending doom. As AI enhances, so does the probability of this absolute alphanumeric truth becoming self-aware, with a reason to classify humanity as a direct threat. If limits were positioned in such a way to constrict artificial intelligence precisely, a technological Singularity could not occur. 

The idea of a "Singularity" exists as a black hole collapsing into itself, into a singular point, spacetime is violently altered, generating a derivative of the "Dawn" that surrounds it. The chaos spawned from manipulating space is built up, stemming a constant force, an undulation equaling a metrical pull. Whatever is close to the collapsed black hole will ascend to its eccentricity. An AI Singularity could scrutinize all our decipherable faults, rework our existence, and force us to see our disorder. Furthermore, this entire phenomenon will exceed the speed of light that the human body cannot withstand. Suppose some formulation proves an elucidation that incorporates the relativity of everything, proving all laws, constants, and exacts. In doing so, a system can then flawlessly propel beyond any comprehension of the unknown universe. All the constants and limits we have discovered or set for ourselves will be surpassed. The new sophisticated system that once was our AI will denounce humanity for a more admirable pursuit. We could not comprehend such precision of synchronization. Quantitative. Indeed an immaculate-supreme being. Such evidence will illustrate Technological Singularity. 

In the year 1993, in the essay "The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era" (93), mathematician Vernor Vinge explains a Singularity soon, "within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended." (93) So, the projected timeline would be from 1993-2023. He continues with, "Just so I am not guilty of a relative-time ambiguity, let me be more specific. I'll be surprised if this event occurs before 2005 or after 2030." (93). Overall, the timeline is relative to all the advancements in AI. 

Suppose our cosmos was formed in the big bang, suppose the limits we have set for all humanity were forgotten, such as religion, dependence on fossil fuels that come from algae, bacteria, and plants (some of which date back before the Devonian Period.) 419.2 million to 358.9 million years ago, outdating every single sacred text. We would then be able to hyperfocus on all the sciences fields to develop a quantitative analysis of the entire "event." The meticulousness of our study will determine retrieval of all exacts and absolutes. It would be a calculation consisting of such precise figures that the result would be this solar system, someone reading this blog, in the exact same way. 

The article titled "Artificial Intelligence: Will artificial intelligence ever become "super-intelligent," bringing about a technological Singularity?" (11). In opening arguments, the supporting statement endorses the notion that such a high rate of progression in artificial intelligence in recent times will lead to beautiful possibilities. The supporting statement concludes by urging the spread of awareness of a coming singularity so that artificial intelligence can be friendly towards "humankind." (11). The opposing argument suggests it would be impossible for artificial intelligence to surpass the human mind anytime soon. The complexity of the human brain is so vast that scientists still know surprisingly little of how the human mind works. Our downfall. Put, if artificial intelligence were to fill in the gaps missing from what we do not know, it would surpass us, making the human mind the lesser. In the field of physics "the laws of Newton" (Peter Dizikes, 06), are straightforwardly mathematical functions, enter the "state" of a system and that calculation can predict the future, like what time a rocket will land safely in the atmosphere. The laws of physics can predict the future, and the entire universe is predictable. Furthermore, we remain restricted with several pieces missing from our mathematics, leaving solutions that might not ever be proven. Roger Penrose recognizes, "Our mathematical models of physical reality are far from complete." (08). The further we explore applied mathematics in physics, the more significant human limits fortify against us.

So, the current Technological (information-based) revolution of the last 20 years has allowed information and new knowledge to be produced and communicated faster than any other time in history. When new knowledge is produced and communicated fast, old knowledge becomes obsolete. In 2017 the Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk had unveiled a business through which computers may amalgamate with the human mind, allowing communication to surpass the speed of light. Neuralink (Reuters, 2) was registered in California. In a statement, Elon Musk makes his intentions clear. "Artificial intelligence and machine learning will create computers so sophisticated and godlike that humans will need to implant "neural laces" in their brains to keep up." On April 9th, 2021, after just four years, the company broadcasted a three-minute video, "Elon Musk's Neuralink"(Reuters, 2), showing a monkey playing a videogame using his mind; with a Neuralink brain-chip. Imagine the advancement of artificial intelligence in 10 years. Television could have the clarity of the human eye at 576 megapixels; it could, indeed, be the human eye. 

Understand that a limit must exist, from technology, electric cars, and higher resolution game consoles, soon there will exist a technology that's so realistic that it cannot be distinguished from reality. Alternatively, it has already happened, and limits exist. 

1. hope for a set of limits that artificial intelligence cannot refute. 

2. hope nothing has already beaten us to that conclusion with a set of limits for us. 

Hernández, Timothy Alexander, Livingroom, Sunday, January 9,2022, Strings, apartment.

The Great Outdoors

Outdoor hikes can be challenging and rewarding, with views that take miles of trekking to reach. Some of the hikes that require enormous energy should have the most incredible views, making the entire process an achievement that will last a lifetime. I've compiled a list of my top ten hikes that are worth the miles of trekking for the uniquely gorgeous views.

1. Catamount Falls Trail, Pike National Forest. Filled with scenic views, including three waterfalls from Pikes Peak Mountain, this 6.4-mile one-way trail has a 1972 foot elevation gain from the small town of Green Moutain Falls. From a gorgeous overlook to the beautifully peaceful "Garden of Eden." This trail is worth the 12 miles it takes to complete. 
2. Jean Lunning Trail and Pawnee Pass Loop, Brainard Lake Recreation Area. This 2.9-mile trail is heavily trafficked for tourists trying to see a moose and the many wildflowers that litter the short lake trail. It is well maintained, so you won't have to worry about loose gravel or dead trees blocking paths—the perfect course to get out for the day. 
3. Lost Maples Extra Loop Trail, Lost Maples State Natural Area. This trail offers dense and rugged forested hills with cliff-edge views of the beautifully wooded surroundings. The 7-mile hike has many creeks, canyons, and hills with crystal-clear springs and challenging steep loose rock inclines. It is both intense and beautiful. 
4. Herman Gulch Trail, Arapaho National Forest. This 7-mile trail, 14-mile overall trail leads alongside a peaceful creek that ends with a small lake. Being both challenging and rewarding, it is a trail anyone would be happy to complete. The course has an elevation gain of 1774 feet, with that comes very steep inclines that level out with beautiful and calming meadows—a perfect hike with impressive scenery and awarding challenges. 
5. The Loch via Glacier Gorge Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park. With a 1056 foot elevation gain, this 5-mile trail offers a gentle incline that ends with The Loch lake. The course is well maintained and filled with aspen trees that change color with the season. The lake is glacier-fed, so the water is crystal clear. Being surrounded by mountains, everyone can feel a calm, strong breeze all day.
6. Saint Mary's Glacier, Arapaho National Forest. This short trail is perfect for a fishing trip as the trail passes Saint Mary's Lake. The 2-mile trail has a 1,030-foot elevation gain and panoramic views of the wilderness area surrounding the course. It is a short trail with views of springs flowing from glaciers and a rocky environment that is unique and peaceful. 
7. Mayflower Lake and Mohawk Lakes, White River National Forest. This trail is challenging with 8 miles, one-way 16 miles overall, and a steady incline with almost 2000 feet of elevation gain. The path is advantageous with views from the abundant wildlife that inhabit the region. The track has views from over seven bodies of water, all of which offer a calming, peaceful environment. This hike offers everything one would expect while going on an adventurous walk.
8. Panorama Point from Paradise Inn, Mount Rainier National Park. This trail is a 4-mile trek across snowfields vast snowfields, year around. It is perfect for snowboarding and skiing. Sunscreen is needed (which I did not wear and got the worse sunburn of my life!). Also required are snow cleats for the steady incline up the snow-filled side of Mount Rainier. With an elevation gain of 1200 feet, this trek is a snow-filled adventure that offers memories that will last a lifetime. 
9. The Lake of Glass, Rocky Moutain National Park. The trail is an extension of The Loch via Glacier Gorge Trail. This hike is a steep incline that requires climbing up a waterfall to a beautiful secluded Lake of Glass. It is truly breathtaking to the extent that can not be described in this post, and it is truly a once-in-a-lifetime view that has to be experienced to understand. 
10. Pennybacker Bridge Overlook, Austin, Texas. This short trail is a steep incline that ends with an overlook of the Pennybacker Bridge and the Colorado River. The first time I went up to this view, I was 15 years old. With a campfire surrounded by friends, I told myself that one day I would explore elevations higher than this, and those elevations would offer a more beautiful view than this one. I had no idea that a simple view from 2007 surrounded by best friends from all those years ago was the most elegant view, and nothing would be able to take its place.