Curriculum Introduction

This curriculum is free for all students.
It includes thought-provoking debate motions, writing prompts, and challenging questions designed to help students apply their knowledge in creative and interdisciplinary ways. Whether you're curious about the future, inspired by the past, or eager to explore big ideas in new ways, this curriculum is your launchpad.

For those who want to go further, students can sign up for our Academic Support Services (Pro or Gold) or join our Gifted & Talented Programme (Premium or above) for more advanced opportunities.
⚠️ Please note: Admission to the Gifted & Talented Programme requires submission of a CogAT score or an equivalent assessment.

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Waking Up in the Future: What Would You Notice First?

Rip Van Winkle dozed off and woke up two decades later. Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, snoozed through seventy years. Aang, the Last Airbender, stayed frozen for a whole century. And yet, none of them seemed too worse for wear—aside from Rip’s impressive new beard. Now imagine it’s you who wakes up… not with superhero strength or a mystical glow-up, but just you, blinking your eyes open in the year 2120.

How long would it take before you realized you were no longer in your own time? Would your bed feel like it was floating? Would chairs bend and twist to your shape? Would your fridge be stocked with insect ice cream or lab-grown lasagna? Would the World Scholar’s Cup still be happening in Bangkok—or would something even stranger have taken its place?

And what about the world outside your front door? Would you find a thriving future full of solar cities and sky-high gardens, or would the streets be quiet and overgrown, like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie? Would you meet people who think and talk like us, or would they seem like a different species altogether?

The Past Shows Us Just How Fast Things Can Change

To understand what a hundred years can do, look back. Research what daily life was like in 1825, then compare it to 1925, and again to the present day. How different were homes, schools, and even snacks in those eras? Did kids have more freedom, or less? Did communities grow closer—or further apart? Has change in your own city or country been speeding up—or does it depend on what you’re noticing? Technology? Culture? Education?

Closer Than You Think: A Peek at 2045

Now rewind the future just a little: instead of a hundred years, imagine you’ve skipped ahead only twenty years, to 2045. What would life look like for someone your age? Will students still carry backpacks—or will everything be stored in a neural chip? Will schools still exist, or will we all learn from holographic teachers at home? What predictions feel easy to make, and which ones are complete mysteries?

Re-Igniting the Flame

Some things literally catch fire, while others spark excitement, passion, or ideas. When something "re-ignites," it means it’s catching fire again—whether it’s a cause, a memory, or a dream. But how is re-igniting different from starting something brand new? Is a second fire stronger—or riskier? Talk with your friends: when is it better for something to burn twice? And what’s the difference between burning up, burning down, and burning with something?

Passions That Return—And Why

We all have something that gets our hearts racing. For some, it might be the World Scholar’s Cup. For others, it could be fighting climate change, battling through the final boss of a favorite video game, or challenging the downsides of social media. But what would it take to reignite your passion for something—or someone—you used to care deeply about? Why do people sometimes step away from things they once loved, and what draws them back?

The Future Used to Feel Limitless

Not long ago, the future was viewed with wide-eyed optimism. At the beginning of the 20th century—and even at the end of it—many people believed that the world would keep improving, thanks to science and technology. It wasn’t just computers that were doubling in power every year—people imagined that everything was on a path toward better, brighter days. One example? The hopeful tones in the song “Counting Up to Twenty”.

But do you see the future that way? How does your view compare to your parents’, grandparents’, or teachers’? Are they more hopeful—or more cautious—about what’s coming next?

Hope vs. Fear: Which Will Shape Tomorrow?

Poet Robert Browning once wrote, “The best is yet to be.” Today, though, some people feel the opposite. With worries about climate change, global conflict, and economic instability, some adults even question whether it’s fair to bring children into such an uncertain world. If you met someone who had completely lost hope in the future, would you try to change their mind? What would you say to help them believe in tomorrow again?

Things That Come Back to Life

Now take your attention away from big world changes and focus on smaller things that can make a comeback too: long-lost music bands, forgotten TV shows, even old toys and tech gadgets. Ever seen someone at school using a retro film camera or wearing clothes from a totally different decade? Trends often return—but not always the way we remember them.

What other things from the past do you think could make a comeback in your lifetime? A favorite food from your childhood? A toy, a store, or even a family-owned restaurant? And here’s the challenge: would you just hope for it to come back—or would you actually do something to bring it back?

Resurrection Isn’t Just for Fairy Tales

Even though bringing someone fully back from the dead is still science fiction, many people experience a kind of rebirth after tough times—whether it’s recovering from illness, getting released from prison, or emerging from a long period of sadness or struggle. In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, this idea of being “recalled to life” is powerful and real.

Do you know anyone who’s had a fresh start like that—who’s had to rebuild themselves and their life? What kind of support do people need when they’re starting over? And what can you do, even now, to help someone feel like they matter again?

Introductory Questions - Expansion

Introductory Questions

Greetings, readers! The exploration continues.

Rip Van Winkle dozed for two decades, Steve Rogers for seven, and Aang for a century—each awakening with remarkably little impact on their well-being. (Rip, however, did grow a notable beard.) Envision yourself in a similar predicament, stirring in 2120 without superpowers or exceptional hair. How quickly would you sense you’d vaulted into the future? Would beds feel unfamiliar? Would chairs have odd shapes? Would the fridge contain strange new foods? Would global gatherings still occur in places like Bangkok? Stepping outside, would you find a vastly different society, one much like today’s, or perhaps a striking (and likely eerie) post-apocalyptic scene? [📚 LIT, 🌀 SPC]

This curriculum opens with a thought-provoking dive. Time-travel scenarios, particularly those sidestepping “true” time travel, spark endless questions. Let’s begin!

All characters discussed are fictional.

Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle is the protagonist of a Dutch-American story by Washington Irving, himself Dutch-American. The tale follows Rip, who falls asleep in New York’s Catskill Mountains and wakes 20 years later.

Set in colonial America, Rip’s days center on avoiding work whenever possible (sound familiar? 😄). After meeting mysterious figures in the mountains and drinking their brew, he slips into a deep slumber. While he sleeps, the American Revolution transforms the world.

(He also sprouts a prominent white beard.)

Fascinatingly, Irving wrote this without ever visiting the Catskills, drawing inspiration from a nostalgic conversation about the area.

Below: An illustration of Rip Van Winkle

Steve Rogers

Known widely as Captain America, Steve Rogers endures a decades-long freeze. Not a Marvel expert, but Wikipedia’s got my back! 😜

A WWII super-soldier, Steve gains enhanced strength, endurance, and speed from a serum. Battling Hydra, he sacrifices himself, crashing into the Arctic and entering suspended animation for about 70 years. A U.S. defense agency, S.H.I.E.L.D., revives him. His story hinges on adjusting to a future where his loved ones are gone.

(The comics vary slightly, but the essence holds.)

Below: Steve Rogers (Captain America)

Aang

Aang, the lead of Avatar: The Last Airbender, hails from a world where four nations—Earth, Fire, Water, and Air—coexist in harmony. At 12, he learns he’s the Avatar, a divine figure. Overwhelmed, he flees, accidentally trapping himself in an iceberg during a storm. Freed by Water Tribe members, he discovers he slept for 100 years (not your typical tween hobby! 😅). In his absence, the Fire Nation launched a century-long war, throwing the world into chaos.

(Sorry to Avatar fans if I’ve fumbled the details! 😜)

Below: Aang (Avatar: TLA)

These summaries may seem a bit flat—these characters are far more dynamic than my quick sketches imply!

“Slice of life” goes beyond film: explore everyday life in 1825 and 1925 to understand the changes over that century and from 1925 to now. Has change in your community sped up, slowed, or does it depend on what you’re examining? [📚 LIT, 🏛 HIS]

The Slice of Life genre portrays genuine, everyday moments. Born in the 1950s as a critique of certain TV dramas, it emphasizes minimal plot, character arcs, or timelines, offering realistic, open-ended glimpses of life. Its aim is to let audiences interpret characters freely.

In anime and manga, Slice of Life often highlights relatable settings, like school romances or workplace dynamics. Critics sometimes call it overly dramatic, teetering on unrealistic.

Hilariously, there’s a Japanese subgenre of this subgenre, “air-type,” which ditches romance to focus on pure, unfiltered character development.

If AI-detection writing contests were a thing, I’d crush them! 😜

1825 to 1925: A Century of Transformation

This era teems with pivotal shifts, ripe for study. Key developments include:

Invention of the telegraph, telephone, and airplanes
Abolition of slavery and the American Civil War
Development of the theory of evolution
The Second Industrial Revolution
Growth of train and car industries

Sadly, firsthand accounts from everyday people of this time are scarce, as interviews only started in 1836. (No need to recall that date, but it appeared in prior studies!)

A century is immense. Now picture waking up, like Rip Van Winkle, just 20 years ahead in 2045. What would life be like for students like you? What’s simplest to predict? What’s toughest? [💭 INT]

This is for discussion—share ideas with friends!

Predicting the Future

Foretelling technological advances is famously challenging. In the 1900s, French artist Jean Marc Côté made predictions, some accurate but with wildly offbeat aesthetics.

Shockingly, many didn’t foresee ChatGPT’s emergence, though its tech existed for years (awaiting commercial success). This shows how the future often defies our wildest guesses.

In 20 years, we might see holographic devices and cloud-computing dominance. Or societal decline. Perhaps aliens will share immortality tech. The possibilities are endless! [🔬 SCI]

Some things catch fire literally, others metaphorically—and we’re captivated by those flaring up again. Without looking ahead, brainstorm with peers what “re-ignition” means compared to first ignition. When is a second spark better? How does burning up, down, or with differ? [💭 INT]

The science of fire, covered later, is worth noting. Keep an eye out!

Aindra (of BISV): You probably guess what’s on my mind. I won’t say it outright, but I’m eager to dive into… something specific. Maybe I’ll move past this fixation someday.

In 10 years, I might reread this with fond nostalgia, chuckling at my clumsy prose. Whoops—nostalgia was last year’s focus!

Passions run deep. For some, a cause like climate action, a game’s final boss, or social media’s downsides might ignite that fire. But what would rekindle zeal for a project, place, or person? What leads someone to step away from a pursuit, only to return with fresh energy? [💭 INT]

“Forgotten Land” might refer to Kirby and the Forgotten Land, where Kirby explores a deserted civilization. Its themes—cloning, space-time rifts—tie to futurism, though it’s likely not a focus.

This recalls Steve Jobs, ousted from Apple only to return later. Not a perfect parallel, but close!

Not long ago, the future felt limitless. In the early and even late 20th century, many believed progress—social and technological—would march on forever, like a universal Moore’s Law. (One prominent thinker still does.) The song Counting Up to Twenty captures this vibrant optimism. Back then, future forecasts were ambitious, sometimes ambitiously bland. How do you see the future, and how does it compare to the views of older generations? [🌐 SOC, 🎨 ART]

Curiously, the linked article isn’t the thinker’s essay but a summary. The curriculum excels at introducing varied perspectives!

Sam Altman

Sam Altman, the mind behind ChatGPT, leads the ironically named OpenAI. His vision, paradoxically, champions “open” resources.

Moore’s Law, detailed later, posits technology costs halve every two years. Altman extends this, claiming the “AI revolution” (the fourth industrial revolution, he says) will slash all product costs. He envisions robots building homes and even other robots.

Altman proposes a “capitalistic communism,” with everyone earning $13,500 yearly (worth more as costs plummet). He ties taxes and land to GDP growth, pitching it as a “conversation starter” to avoid backlash.

(Dan Tao, the summary’s author, is likely irrelevant.)

The knack for finding obscure, fitting songs is remarkable. Counting Up to Twenty by Michael Crawford nails the curriculum’s vibe.

Initially, its video had ~2,500 views; now it’s over 15,000. Imagine the creator’s confusion: “Why’s my 12-year-old niche video spiking?”

The song comes from EFX, the grandest theater show ever, staged in Las Vegas from 1995 to 2002. It celebrated human imagination through fictional tales. Crawford’s rendition was in the original cast album, but his exit due to stunt injuries sparked controversy when David Cassidy took over, cutting this song.

In EFX, it’s H.G. Wells’ song, with lyrics tying progress to “counting up to twenty.” Its catchy chorus (endured via a sibling’s loud singing) is:

Counting up to twenty
Has been difficult for some
But as we learn to count to twenty
Should be easy to get to twenty-one

It likely reflects optimism for the 20th-to-21st-century shift, fitting EFX’s 1995–2002 run.

“The best is yet to be,” wrote English poet Robert Browning, often quoted (out of context) for hope. Yet many call our time pessimistic, with some avoiding parenthood to shield children from a grim future. If you met someone certain of coming suffering, would you try to restore their hope? What would you say? [🌐 SOC]

The curriculum’s political dive is fiery. Is Donald Trump’s flame-like hue a coincidence? Probably! 😄

Robert Browning, an English poet and playwright, was known for irony, dark humor, and social commentary. His “the best is yet to be” from Rabbi Ben Ezra reflects on aging, life’s purpose, and faith. It frames youth as simple, with life’s depth emerging later. Today, it’s a hopeful catchphrase, echoing Victorian progress.

Ezra Klein, Vox co-founder, argues Trump’s bold claims voice unspoken American fears, not age-related quirks. Amid “woke” media and left-leaning norms, his blunt remarks—on Iraq, immigration, China—divide. Some see authenticity; others, recklessness. Klein calls them “rash.”

The shock of Trump’s 2024 election win, Klein says, stems from media sidelining “radical” views that voting revealed.

Bryan Walsh’s 2024 article pushes “changeable optimism” (Hannah Ritchie’s term for action-driven positivity) across six topics:

Human Progress: Tracks gains in nutrition, fertility, and tech, tackling the Malthusian Trap (population outpacing food).
AI Slowdown: Urges pacing AI to avoid catastrophe, citing the alignment problem.
Climate Optimism: Balances pessimism with advances (solar, nuclear), advocating action.
News Negativity: Notes negativity’s media appeal; suggests amplifying positive stories.
Dutch Agriculture: Highlights Holland’s “seed valley,” addressing the Yield Gap.
Indigenous Folklore: Links Turtle Island’s creation/destruction cycle to colonial and future resilience.

A stark shift: over one-fifth of climate scientists hesitate to have children, fearing a harsh future or added emissions. Younger ones prioritize kids’ well-being; others see education as legacy. Population control debates, like Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb (1968), stir controversy, with some eyeing the top 1%’s outsized impact. In the Global South, where women often lack reproductive choice, data is limited.

Focus on smaller revivals: bands, shows, or products (like film cameras spotted at school). What dormant trends, institutions, or eateries do you hope resurge? How much effort would you invest in reviving a beloved family restaurant? [💭 INT]

Resurrection’s impossible, but renewal isn’t. In A Tale of Two Cities’ first book, characters revive post-imprisonment or despair. Know someone who’s started anew? How can we support them? [📚 LIT]

With a Flesch–Kincaid score of 9.5, A Tale is tough, so no full read here! 😜

Book the First: Recalled to Life tracks Jarvis Lorry and Lucie Manette. Lorry decodes a mission to free Dr. Alexandre Manette, thought dead after Bastille imprisonment. In Paris, they find him shoemaking (a prison skill), frail and distant. Lucie, unrecognized at first, takes him to England, aiming to restore his spirit.

“Recalled to life” symbolizes Manette’s redemption from a hollow state, a theme woven through the series.

This mirrors The Count of Monte Cristo, with its imprisonment, identity loss, and redemption. Saw it in Wildhorn’s musical—a haunting parallel. Not curriculum, but a neat connection.

Additional Reflections

This exploration of renewal and futurism prompts deeper thought. Past innovations, like the telegraph or early AI, once seemed unthinkable. What might 2045 bring that we can’t imagine? Perhaps bioluminescent cities or fully virtual schools. Or stagnation. Discussing these with peers could reveal what fuels change or revival.

For those driven by causes—climate, culture, or fandoms—what reignites passion after a break? Figures like Jobs or Manette show setbacks can lead to comebacks. Supporting renewal might mean offering empathy, resources, or faith in potential.

Nostalgia often drives revivals, like vinyl records or retro games. Could local diners or crafts like letterpress printing return? Reviving a family restaurant might blend tradition with modern flair, depending on its sentimental value.

This blend of literature, history, science, and reflection ties past, present, and future. From EFX’s song to Browning’s verse, these works highlight optimism and renewal as enduring quests.

Introduction Question - Challenge Questions

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A. Big Promises, Shifting Realities

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Why-Do-We-Try-to-Predict-Tomorrow

🛜 A Promise That Changed (and Changed Again): Australia's Internet Plan

In 2009, the Australian government made a bold promise: to build a super-fast internet network using brand-new fiber cables that would reach 93% of the population. But by 2013, a new government decided the original plan was too expensive and would take too long to build. So, they revised the plan: instead of using fiber all the way to people’s homes, they reused older copper wires and cable lines. This compromise resulted in slower connections for many users.

In 2020, the government announced the project was "complete"—claiming that over 11 million homes and businesses could now connect. But around 35,000 locations still had no access at all, and over 230,000 couldn’t reach the minimum 25 Mbps speed that qualifies as broadband in Australia (The Register).

By 2025, many Australians remain stuck with slow or no internet. While the network helped support Zoom calls and online schooling during the pandemic, critics argue it would have performed better if the original fiber plan had been kept. Others say technologies like 5G may make the debate less important.

💬 Team Talk: Why do governments change big plans halfway through? Should a project be considered “finished” if many people still can’t use it properly?

🚆 Canada’s High-Speed Train... That Isn’t

Canada once hoped to join the global race for high-speed trains. But over time, the vision shifted. Instead of building high-speed rail, Canada rebranded its project as “high-frequency” rail—meaning the trains would come more often but not move significantly faster.

As of 2024, traveling from Toronto to Montreal by train still takes over five hours—roughly the same as driving—and roundtrip tickets can cost more than $300. Only about 50% of Via Rail trains ran on time in late 2023. Unlike other G7 countries, Canada has no true high-speed trains. Why? Because Via Rail owns only 3% of the tracks it uses. The rest belong to freight companies, which prioritize cargo over passengers (The Walrus).

High-speed rail could boost business, cut pollution, and reduce travel time. But with a projected cost of up to $40 billion, many governments have hesitated. Current plans may reduce travel time by just 20–60 minutes.

💬 Team Talk: Should countries aim high even if they might fail—or focus on smaller, realistic goals?

🌍 Big Ideas, Slow Results: Megaprojects Around the World

Australia and Canada aren’t alone. Around the world, governments begin ambitious infrastructure plans—then revise or abandon them halfway through. Some succeed. Many struggle.

📌 Famous Megaprojects:

Big Dig (USA)
Channel Tunnel (UK–France)
California High-Speed Rail (USA)
Sejong Smart City (South Korea)
Hambantota Port (Sri Lanka)
NEOM (Saudi Arabia)
Khazar Islands (Azerbaijan)
Three Gorges Dam (China)
Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (China)
New Eurasia Land Bridge (Asia–Europe)

💬 Team Talk: Why do some countries succeed while others fail? Should governments be cautious or bold when planning big projects?

🧱 Why the World Is Slowing Down

In many developed countries, leaders are backing away from bold infrastructure and choosing safer, incremental improvements. As The New Yorker explains, Seattle’s “Big Bertha” tunnel-boring machine broke down underground, delaying the highway project for years. It took over a year just to lift Bertha out. Buildings nearby cracked. The whole project became a cautionary tale.

Studies show that 9 out of 10 megaprojects run over budget. Some planners even give intentionally low estimates to get approval. One politician joked: “Dig a hole so big they can’t cancel it.”

💬 Team Talk: Can you think of a time when a smaller plan would have worked better?

💥 Perception vs. Reality: How People Feel About Big Projects

Even when projects fail, people may still feel proud of them. That’s because these projects can symbolize progress. As Taylor & Francis reports, perception often matters as much as function.

Take Indonesia’s Suramadu Bridge: It brought travel benefits—but also pollution, broken promises, and lost farmland. Still, locals felt proud. The bridge became a symbol of connection, importance, and national pride.

💬 Team Talk: What matters more—how a project functions, or how it makes people feel?

🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️ Global Loneliness: A Hidden Epidemic

In 2023, the World Health Organization declared loneliness a global health threat. It increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, and dementia—and can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

📊 Around the world:

1 in 8 teens in Africa feel lonely
1 in 20 in Europe
1 in 4 older people globally experience serious isolation

As ScienceAlert explains, loneliness varies by age, region, and culture—but it’s everywhere.

💬 Team Talk: Should loneliness be treated like a public health issue? What solutions could help?

🤖 Japan’s Robot Companions: Can Tech Fix Loneliness?

To combat social isolation, Japan has turned to robots. According to HuffPost and MIT Technology Review, Japan’s care bots include:

Paro: A seal-like robot that blinks, “coos,” and responds to touch
Pepper: A humanoid robot used in care homes
Aibo: A robotic dog
Telenoid and Gatebox: Virtual companions for people who live alone

These robots provide comfort, but not without problems. Many care homes stopped using them due to cost or complexity. In one case, a woman refused to eat without Paro. Technology helped—but couldn’t replace human care.

💬 Team Talk: Would you want a robot friend? What matters more—tech or real connection?

📉 Global Living Standards: Are We Going Backward?

In 2021, the UN Development Programme found that living conditions declined in 90% of countries—for the second year in a row. A mix of COVID-19, war, and climate change triggered this drop. Even wealthy countries like the U.S. saw their rankings fall.

💬 Team Talk: Should countries focus on basic needs or high-tech progress?

👶 Why Are People Having Fewer Children?

Birth rates are dropping worldwide. As UCA Insights explains, rising living costs, job insecurity, and climate fears have made many people hesitate to start families. Some governments offer money, parental leave, or childcare support—but nothing has reversed the trend.

By 2100, countries like South Korea, China, and Italy may see their populations cut in half. As McKinsey warns, shrinking populations could challenge economies.

💬 Team Talk: Should we try to raise birth rates—or adapt to a world with fewer people?

🎧 Parasocial Relationships: Replacing Real Friends?

During COVID-19 lockdowns, podcasts became lifelines. As The Guardian reported, people grew emotionally attached to their favorite hosts—despite never meeting them. These one-sided bonds are called parasocial relationships.

💬 Team Talk: Are parasocial bonds comforting or risky? Can creators become true emotional support?

📱 Algorithms, Doomscrolling, and Mental Health

Social media platforms use algorithms to keep you watching. These algorithms are designed to boost engagement—even if the content is harmful. As Stanford HAI explains, this design can harm mental health.

According to Harvard Magazine, adults are also affected—especially those over 35 using TikTok or Facebook.

💬 Team Talk: Who should be held responsible when algorithms promote harmful content? Vox explores how this played out in Myanmar.

📺 News Overload: Too Much Information Hurts

As APA notes, oversaturation of negative news causes stress and anxiety. BBC Future adds that our worldview becomes darker the more we consume.

Especially when media includes violent content, viewers can suffer trauma—even from afar (Psychology Today).

💬 Team Talk: Should governments or platforms limit how much news we see? Who decides?

💭 Final Reflection Prompts:

What does "real progress" mean to you?
Is it better to underpromise and overdeliver—or vice versa?
Are megaprojects inspiring or distracting?
How can we balance emotional connection and digital interaction?
Should we trust algorithms to guide our attention—or question their design?

A. Big Promises, Shifting Realities - Expansion

"The Best is Yet to Be, or Not to Be? In 2009, the Australian government announced an ambitious project to provide super-fast fiber-based Internet to 93% of the population; in 2013, it revised the plan to reuse existing copper wire; in 2025, many Australians still have no (or slow) Internet. First promise big things, then revise the promise to make them little things, then don’t finish them anyway. This isn’t (we hope) a description of the World Scholar’s Cup curriculum release process, but a pattern of behavior for governments all over the world. Discuss with your team: is it better to underpromise and overdeliver, or vice versa? [SCI]

In short, the Australian Broadband Network (a fancy way of saying “Systems which can transfer internet connection quickly”) seems to be stuck in a cyclical loop of slight incompletion. In long, you’ve got the rest of this summary:

Back in the 2000s, Australia decided that fast internet access was a good thing. In this era, Telstra (the major internet company) proposed this network with itself at the center. While this idea stagnated for a while, the Labor Party (Left-winged) eventually settled on plans to build a FTTP network in 2007. (Along it came a promise for universal 25mbps internet speed.) This decision ended up being economically moronic, the Liberal Party (Right-winged) overhauling the idea and replacing their plans with a FTTN network.

For a bit of clarification, FTTP stands for Fibre-to-the-premise, built on the suggestion to connect every household to a fiber optic (internet) cable. This operation is far more costly than its alternative, Fiber-to-the-node (FTTN), where fibre optic cables connect large hubs of internet traffic together and traditional TV/phone wires are used to connect households to these hubs. The tradeoff of FTTN is its lack of reliability and shorter lifespan.

I put together this guide to make it slightly easier to understand:

It’s not fully accurate, but it’s a good representation of what these two mean. (There’s also FTTC, which is kind of in the middle of these two).

Continuing on with the story, this project ended up being critically over budget and terribly managed, with one instance of investing billions on cables which were incompatible with the goal. Though interestingly, through this period of development, Australia’s economy did better than other, more connected countries in terms of sales in connectivity and online streaming services.

Finally, in late 2020, this massively overbudget project was deemed complete. A final rush to complete the decade long development came in Mid 2020, reducing the number of unconnected households from 100,000 to 35,000. The minister of communications, Paul Fletcher, did confess that a small number of households will continuously exist without connection; he mentioned this is due to the cyclical nature of building households and connecting them: essentially, new houses are being built at a similar rate to houses being connected. It is worth mentioning that 230,000 households are still unable to meet the 25mbps broadband speed standard.

But at least 11.86 million households can!

(Alongside press release statement was a comment on improving internet safety for children.)

Don’t worry, Australia—you’re not alone. (More on loneliness later.) In Canada, a proposed high-speed rail network had its target speed slashed before being rebranded as a high frequency network. In many developed countries, ambitious projects have gone out of fashion in favor of slow, incremental ones. Check out the mega projects below, as well as those from your own country, then discuss with your team: is this shift in approach justified? How might megaprojects (or their failure) affect the way people perceive progress? And are some countries more consistently successful at these projects? [SCI, HIS] Big Dig | Channel Tunnel | California High-Speed Rail Sejong City | Hambantota | NEOM | Khazar Islands Three Gorges Dam | Hong Kong-Zhuhai Bridge | New Eurasia Land Bridge

Canadian high speed rail (and high speed rail in general) is something I’ve had my eye on for a while; being a Canadian myself, I both desperately want it to exist and constantly worry about the debt we’d need to pay in order for its existence to surface.

Canadian trains suck. Via Rail only runs 50% on time (As of late 2023), costs $300 between Toronto and Montreal, and takes about the same amount of time as driving. In this way, they’ve made taking a train take as long as driving while making it as expensive and inconvenient as taking a plane. No high speed rail option exists (and yet it used to???? See turbotrain), making Canada the only G7 country not to have HSR.

(Admittedly, the US’ high speed rail system barely counts; the Acela, their fastest train service, can only operate at “high speed” for a 80km stretch. Even then, it doesn’t even hit the internationally recognized 250kmph high speed mark!)

Canada, ironically, is renowned for its numerous studies on high speed rail (as in a “let’s continuously prepare but never actually do” kinda view). High-speed researchers typically have their eyes on two corridors; one is the path between Calgary and Edmonton, and the other is the “Windsor Corridor” (Between Toronto and Quebec City). The common conclusion is that while these lines could boost GDP and tourism, their costs are too monumental to consider them seriously. Despite this concern, many politicians use the promise of HSR as a marketing strategy.

Below: Canada’s rail in the Windsor Corridor

Expanding on study findings, HSR is probably logistically impossible in Canada. Land acquisition costs, planning/surveying costs, rail costs, and train costs are all factors preventing its existence. Another consideration is density, which Canada notoriously lacks; HSR only succeeded in Europe, Japan, and China because they’re dense enough to warrant demand.

As a temporary fix, Canada proposes a “higher-frequency” train service. This could improve efficiency and reduce delays, although it wouldn’t develop this renowned technologies. Though, this plan could fix a large problem with Canadian trains: freight trains. The main cause for delays currently with Via Rail is that it has lower priority than freight trains, owning very little of the track it runs on and thus requiring to borrow others’ tracks.

Here’s where this article ends. But this story continues on! I find it very likely WSC will reference new developments in Canadian High Speed Rail.

The Government of Canada recently (and I mean very recently) announced a High-speed rail project now going underway: Alto! A group of companies have been commissioned to plan, then build a rail line in the Windsor corridor. This line is proposed to have a top speed of 300kmph and save hours of travel time; it’s worth mentioning that this length of track is close to optimal for High Speed Rail length.

Proposals for a second HSR line do exist as well, with Prairie Link as the other major consideration (Calgary to Edmonton). Supposedly there are proposals of a train going 450kmph!

(Beginning here, summarizations will probably become shorter. I just happened to know quite a bit about High Speed Rail and Canada.)

We’re generalizing a bit here, now moving onto the topic of megaprojects. This article (which is slightly outdated, released in 2015) discusses a bit of what makes megaprojects in-incentivized going into the future.

Megaprojects—projects defined to cost at least $1 billion—make up 8% of the global GDP, with China most responsible for this number considering their dozens of operations in infrastructure. Bent Flyvbjerg, a management professor, mentions that such Megaprojects are often poorly executed and massively overbudget, succumbing to over optimistic estimates dubbed as a “survival of the unfittest” scenario. In essence, optimistic cost estimates motivates large projects to be built over practical, smaller ones.

(It is also mentioned motivations come from social and political factors, too– having the tallest building or the largest HSR system in the world is something to talk about!)

His colleague, Atif, mentions that these projects often fall into a cyclical issue he dubs “like entropy”: a large time period for completion means a large potential for setbacks and unexpected events, which means a large potential for delays. Large delays means longer times, which mean more setbacks, which means larger delays, and so on. He dubs these setbacks as “black swans”, referring to the black swan theory: the larger something is, the larger the opportunity for issues is.

One thing to note is that Megaprojects are sort of recession-proof, as they do provide economic stimulus during times of stagnation. However, their recession-proof-ness more so comes from the fact it is more cost effective to begin/continue a project than it is to stop.

A Seattle Megaproject involving Bertha, a tunnel-boring machine, is an exemplary example of this position. Having overheated only 11% of the way through a project, the repair efforts involved spending a year to dig down to it, replacing its parts by lifting the machine out, pumping out the water that got in its way, and fixing the city’s foundation (as parts of it began to sink with instability from the operation). The whole process was a disaster which ended up delaying the project and receiving lawsuits.

Below: An image of Bertha

Another notable consideration of megaprojects is the public’s view on them, surveyed in detail for the Indonesian Suramadu Bridge. While positive effects are felt at the regional and national levels, the locals might a contesting view about the project.

Megaprojects in general have a few positive impacts and advantages, to begin with. From typical megaprojects which deliver goods to developments in technology, they can be seen as a globalisation strategy in a competitive lens. It’s pretty easy to see where the motivations for these come from; not only do they provide straight-up economic benefits (employment, trade, tourism, business), they also have social benefits providing symbolism as cultural / national icons. They may act as a symbol of pride for a country in this regard.

In terms of typical perception on megaprojects, it’s found that people do prefer the tangible benefits over the intangible ones, though over 50% of ppl still fancy the “national pride” type of benefits. However, there are quite a few things to consider when surveying, seeing as locals in the area of the megaproject have differing views based on living condition and as public perception changes over time. The fact is these megaprojects are contested in nature, so increasingly the public opinion is beginning to be considered as a factor.

As for the project itself, the Suramadu Bridge (while not exactly a megaproject) could be scaled as such to consider the opinions of the locals there. The first concepts for this project popped up in 1960, though it was only completed in the mid 2000s. Through the 1990s, feasibility studies were conducted and the plan was set, the associated survey affirming most people were well informed about the project. Despite negative externalities including loss of religious identity, local employment, and failing mini-projects, the overall construction was regarded as positive overwhelmingly, with economic/tourist/business boosts and increase of quality of personal life.

The part under most controversy is the context of cultural situationship and awareness, where some groups did regard the project as damaging. Overall, it’s valuable to consider people’s changing views of megaprojects over time; The Suramadu Bridge was largely a lucky scenario where locals ended up agreeing with the project.

Below: Suramadu Bridge

We now enter this area of varied megaprojects WSC gives us to explore. They’re deliberately divided into these three sections as following: Transportation improvements New land/city development Water-related projects

I’ll summarize each one pretty briefly, so I may skip over some historical details about the megaprojects. They’ll be smaller than my typical summarizations for articles.

The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston regarded as a large failure in planning and management. While eventually completed in late 2007, the rerouting operation of Boston’s highways costed nearly thrice as much as the price projection, not to mention the project being delayed by almost a decade. The project’s largest contribution were rerouting some parts of Interstate 93 underground and adding a road from Interstate 90 to Logan International Airport, though other additions included extending and restoring public transport lines.

(A large sub-portion of this project, the Inner Belt project, was cancelled due to controversies of such highway crossing through dense areas with populations reluctant to relocation.)

The largest problems with the Big Dig were largely in part due to their substandard materials. Seeing as the concrete and construction materials for the underground tunnels didn’t meet standards (both in overall quality and accurate placement in tunnels), issues including water leaks began arising. One fatal roof collapse is also partially due to this. (Some smaller issues came with lighting and guardrails.)

While the aftermath of the tunnel was positive, with economic and efficiency benefits, the project was undoubtedly a failure. (OPINION!)

Below: Construction areas of the Big Dig

The Chunnel (Channel Tunnel) was more successful in planning and development, its cost in fact being lower than its projection (though, still the most expensive project at the time). This tunnel, connecting the closest points between France and the UK, features separate sections for cars and a built-in high speed rail system. While this project was first posed in 1802, a few unsuccessful attempts were made before the project, now organized by Eurotunnel, began in 1988. Since its opening in 1994, the tunnel has been profitable!

Since then, there have been a few incidents in the area, largely due to one-off occasions where things inside the tunnel would catch on fire. Some train failures also occurred, though plans have been made to circumvent this again.

Actually, the most interesting part about this tunnel is the issue it created with immigration. Now that there was a “land” border from France to the UK, an issue of illegal migration (primarily due to loopholes with the train system) began to arise, one which seemingly is fixed now. As the UK is not part of Europe’s Schengen Area, new legislation had to be worked to make sure the tunnel didn’t cause any issues.

Below: The Chunnel’s path

California’s High Speed Rail (CASHR) is a publicly funded megaproject currently underway, notorious for having constant project delays and costing a ridiculous amount of money. While common remarks on Elon Musk’s hyperloop delaying this project do come up, the project is most impeded by legal issues, including land acquisition and research on impacts. For now, 192km of track is being built on the IOS (Initial operating segment), which would have a length of 275km when complete.

The IOS is designed to test out trains and systems before continuing onto the main stages of development for this project. Connecting small cities in the middle of the proposed project, the IOS is the baseline for the upcoming phases of the HSR (projected to begin operation in 2031). Phase 1 of the project would see a line from Los Angeles to San Francisco built, with a cost projection of 106.2 billion as of now. Phase 2 may or may not happen, planning to connect this line with Sacramento and San Diego.

If ever complete, CASHR would host the US’ fastest trains, with a top operating speed of 350kmph proposed. It would cut down travel time from LA to SF by 6 hours (as an optimistic forecast).

(Additional notes: There’s another HSR project being constructed in the same area, though this one is run by a private company–Brightline! This plans to connect LA with Las Vegas, NV and has a maximum operating speed of 300kmph.)

Below: CASHR’s proposed map

Sejong city is a city not many people have heard of. To understand its existence, we must first understand the different kinds of “capitals” a country can have. While the much more famous Seoul is the effective capital city of South Korea, Sejong is the administrative capital. The city is relatively new, only having begun in 2007 as a “new planned capital meant to decongest Seoul”. (In essence, it was planned in a political campaign to distribute South Korea’s economic activity elsewhere.) Being a self-governing city, it follows a special set of laws different from the rest of South Korea (marginally similar to Hong Kong and China).

To clarify Sejong’s “Capital status”, most of South Korea’s government affairs are handled in Sejong. As a compromise to an anti-Sejong lawsuit by the opposing government party, the definition had to be shifted slightly.

Sejong was designed to be a “smart city” (cities with common IoT integrations, akin to what you’d imagine a future city would look like) and is sort of a gold standard for other cities developing smart city infrastructure. The success of Sejong is debatable, as while the city markets itself as a Seoul alternative with lower living costs and similar features, its low population (of about 400,000) suggests the operation wasn’t popular. It has been criticized for being inaccessible, poorly designed, and inconvenient at times.

I got a lot of insight from this Half of Interesting video, so be sure to check it out!

(A fact many people seem to reference is that Sejong gets its name from Sejong the Great, the 4th king of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty and the creator of the Korean writing system.)

Hambantota is largely a similar operation to Sejong City, though this time in Sri Lanka. After being hit by a giant Tsunami in 2004, the city began going through major constructions to make it the “second major urban hub of Sri Lanka”. 2013 saw the completion of an international airport and major sea port. The port is of particular interest, as its eventual construction (consisting of 3 phases) would, when complete, make it the largest port in South Asia.

China’s Belt and Road initiative is largely involved in Hambantota’s operations, Chinese companies investing a 70% stake into their port alongside developing Sri Lanka’s first wind-energy farm. Conspiracies float about China’s involvement in Hambantota being part of their “String of Pearls” strategy (involving applying political pressure to India and solidifying the country’s dominance in Asia), which has led to some debate.

As for its current non-Chinese connected exports, Hambantota largely produces cement, fertiliser, and salt. The city also hosts the Mahinda International Stadium, built initially for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

NEOM is by far the largest project on this list, quite literally a “mega-megaproject”. If ever completed, it would comprise of all of Saudi Arabia’s individual megaprojects, including the much more infamous “Oxagon” and “The Line” projects alongside their other propositions. The project, projected to cost over 8.8 TRILLION in total, would be larger than all of the other projects combined– in fact, it wouldn’t even be close. This giant project, as an autonomous city region, is the core of Saudi Arabia’s goal of distancing its economy from oil moving into the future.

NEOM’s project proposals first launched in 2017, hoping to complete large parts of an initially smaller scale operation by 2025 and expand it by 2025; the project ended up largely falling behind schedule, however. Much of the city is now hoped to be done by 2039, though the planned area of 26,500km^2 does make this hope quite ambitious. NEOM is certainly in progress, though; its first section, Sindalah (a luxury island destination), was opened to the public in October 2024!

This megaproject is notoriously flooded with controversies and problems largely derivative of its ambitious nature. The most famous example is the forced relocation of the local Howeitat tribe, who were initially not opposed to NEOM but inevitably turned on it after relocation attempts. In the scuffle, a few people were executed for anti-compliance. Other criticisms come with NEOM’s abusive work culture and its planned data collection. It’s also speculated Israel is largely invested in the project, despite the two countries’ typically sour relationship.

Perhaps the most famous portion of NEOM is The Line, a conceptualized 170km long linear “smart city” designed without cars, streets, or carbon emissions. It has been delayed constantly, has fell under scrutiny for project management corruption, and has at points been completely abandoned. Right now, the hope is for the first 800m for completion by 2034.

There’s so much more to NEOM that I haven’t discussed, so I recommend you check it out!

(Amalia mentioned that NEOM is an arcology in her quiz. While this is not fully correct, as an arcology refers to a single structure rather than a collection, it is indeed the closest answer to correct. The Line, more accurately, is an arcology.)

The Khazar Islands were a planned collection of 41 manmade islands in the Capsian sea located in Azerbaijan (similar to the islands in Dubai). They’re located slightly south of Baku, the capital and largest city in the nation. The islands were planned with an airport, numerous city amenities, an F-1 racetrack, and their magnum opus: the Azerbaijan Tower, a 2 billion dollar project to overtake the Burj Khalifa as the tallest building in the world.

This project found its largest progress in the early 2010s, planned out and constructed by the Avesta Group. The islands, once described as a “New Venice”, never quite reached fruition due to the crash of oil prices in 2015. Controversies and troubles surrounding funding in the coming years have placed the project on hold as of now, though attempts have been made to raise funds from Chinese investors.

The Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectricity dam in the world by volume of reservoir, power capacity, and produced energy. In simple, it has the most amount of water, the ability to hold the most energy, and it makes the most energy. Located on the Yangtze River in Hubei province, the approximately 2km long dam runs on gravity; water naturally flows from a reservoir of water down to a river, powering turbines as it goes down.

The idea of the dam was first posed in 1919, though the construction didn’t begin 1994. The dam, largely supported by the Chinese Communist Party, picked up pace in the “Four Modernizations/Reform and Opening Up” period of the country (around 1970s). Eventually, with projects added along the way delaying the opening, the dam began full operation in 2012. While initially it was expected to supply 10% of China’s power, exponentially increasing energy demands led it to only provide for 1.7% of the demand at best.

The construction faced large controversies, considering its construction would displace over 1 million people, alongside culturally significant sites and biodiverse habitats. (The dam is considered at fault for the extinction of the Chinese river dolphin). The dam’s construction caused erosion in nearby areas, sitting on a faultline and causing sediment to deposit in the river. Though cost-wise, the project was successful; in fact, it paid for itself within 1 year of full operation. In environmental terms, the power production supplies the equivalent of ~30 million tons of coal every year.

The Hong Kong Zhuhai Bridge refers to a series of bridge/tunnel systems connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai (a large city in the Greater bay area). First pitched in 1988, the bridge opened 30 years later, in 2018. It is currently the longest bridge/connection over water in the world. The bridge reduced travel time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong from 4 hours to 30 minutes by car. The bridge followed the agenda of creating an “free trade zone” in the area.

The bridge leads to some interesting scenarios for drivers, especially considering while Hong Kong and Macau drive on the left side, Mainland China drives on the right. Traffic on the bridge is required to be compatible with both sides, drivers requiring licenses and permits in both region. Resultingly, the bridge is often underused, with quotas on vehicles (due to existing traffic congestion problems in HK and MC) and special regulations. Recently, some of these have been loosened.

A few controversies did arise from the bridge, including a few fatalities during construction, failed safety tests + lackluster seawall integrity, and ecological impacts. Most notably, the low traffic is what brings the bridge the most attention; in its opening, fewer than 2,000 vehicles passed through the bridge compared to the projected 10,000+.

Another HAI video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eUfi4FsaqE

The New Eurasian Land Bridge is part of China’s Belt and Road initiative, often called the Second Eurasian Continental Bridge. It is a rail link between China and Europe, the two connected through rail lines in Central Asia. There actually exists the “Eurasian Land Bridge”, often called the New Silk Road and the predecessor of the “New Eurasian Land Bridge”; however, the transport route was discontinued in 2022, as the route ran through Russia, under sanctions for their invasion of Ukraine. The new Eurasian Land Bridge, afterwards, began being laid out to avoid Russia entirely.

The route is not particularly a megaproject, if a project at all; it’s more so a route for product to travel from China and the EU (or vice versa). The route passes through the Caspian sea, known through the area as the Trans-Caspian International Trade Route. Another detail is that a break in rail gauge from the standard to the Russian Gauge present in Kazakhstan necessitates containers to be manually moved from train to train.

Sometimes social distancing is the problem. In 2023, the World Health Organization declared loneliness a pressing global health threat. Explore how this concern varies around the world, then discuss with your team: do you agree that there is a “loneliness epidemic”—and, if so, how can it be treated? [SOC]

On loneliness, now so bad it’s considered a global health threat by WHO, its modern popularity as a concept comes out of the Covid 19 pandemic. While loneliness is commonly seem as a so-called “first world problem”, its issue is shared worldwide, similar statistics seen in all of the world. Loneliness, claims Mpemba (a leader in the international commission of loneliness), is an issue which sees past HDI and money, existing in every level of society.

For a few details scaling the issue, the health risks are comparable to smoking 15 packs of cigarettes a day, increasing risk of dementia by 50% and stroke by 30% for older folks. The problem of loneliness is present most prevalently in Africa, where the population faces issues like peace, security, and climate change directly contributing to loneliness.

The other article on loneliness expands on the problem, having existed before Covid and analyzing its trends through 2000 and 2019. While most data in Ding’s study (as referenced in the article) came from Europe, the most well-documented place in terms of mental health considerations, the study does pose that loneliness is a global problem. Within Europe, seemingly Eastern europeans fell most victim to loneliness, while Northern European and Scandinavian countries found the lowest rates. While it’s unsure specifically why, it’s likely loneliness is somehow linked to the development, social security, and income of a country.

(For additional data, seemingly older individuals are most at risk of being lonely, with lonely seniors being twice as present as lonely youth on average.)

The lack of data in other regions holds the issue that the loneliness epidemic may be a larger issue than we can scale as of now. In solving the issue, a public health approach would first tackle issues of poverty and education before fixing loneliness, relating to the possible connection between the two.

Some countries have tried tackling the problem with technology—and none more so than Japan. Explore efforts to “fix” loneliness in Japan and elsewhere, then discuss with your team: are they the sorts of solutions that more societies should adopt? What technologies would you design to achieve the same aims? [SOC, SCI, SPC]

While the past section does seem to pose that less developed countries have larger issues with loneliness, Japan serves as a counterexample; the loneliness epidemic may have hit Japan harder than anywhere else, and that’s largely due to it’s conditions. Specifically, Japan has a large population of older people, with a large population of them living alone. Japan has thus been hit with an epidemic of kodokushi, people who end up dying alone.

(Kodokushi aren’t limited to older folk; in fact, they’re most present in younger generations, where people will die and remain undiscovered for years. Many don’t get discovered at all!)

Another contribution to loneliness in Japan is their social structure decline, with “Western-style Nuclear Families” replacing traditional Japanese family structures (composing of many people, all related, through multiple generations). Alongside this, harsh work conditions leave little time for people to interact socially. Many people end up working multiple jobs, leaving them no time for socialization. (In fact, there’s an effect, “Karoshi”, describing people dying of overworking)

As Junko Okamoto dubs it, Japan is the “loneliness superpower”, criticising society for leaving the issues unaddressed. Takahiro Kato further expands on this issue with research on hikikomori, people who shut themselves out of society. (Hikikomori typically are younger people, although they are seeing a rise in older generations.)

Japan’s attempt to solve this issue has to do with robots. One such robot is Paro, a robotic seal designed to provide companionship to elderly folks. Sony’s Aibo robot dogs, being unretired for the purpose of companionship, are another example. The Pepper robot and Telenoid R1, both humanoids some have integrated into their family as “children” or “grandchildren”, are others. Hikari, a virtual “waifu” (seen in the 2024 curriculum!) also makes a mention here, being a holographic display more targeted towards younger folk. As the final example mentioned, Couger is an AR headset meant to display a similar companion through AI.

Robots can certainly help, but human interactions are the core of the issue of loneliness, and the eventual key to solving it. One idea posed by Sekigichi is “outsourcing empathy”, where the individual level of loneliness can be addressed with volunteers or members connecting in person, as humans.

Continuing with the theme of “techno-solutionism”, more specifically its limitations, its lack of popularization thus far traces to the issue of loneliness itself. One such issue is that robots seemingly create more work for caregivers and victims.

While in Japan, the idea of adoption robots into daily life is often welcomed (largely due to spiritual beliefs of robots having a sort of “soul”), the application of solving loneliness is a whole different issue. Accepting them is one thing, but being willing to interact with them is another. Despite the public acceptance, these robots still do not feature a role in most people’s lives.

Following the issue of work, the article touches upon three robots: Paro, the seal mentioned from before; Hug, a robot meant to help lift elderly folk; and Pepper, the aforementioned humanoid robot. Following these robots, Hug often faced issues with being uncomfortable (ironically) and too large to move. Paro was better received, although its likeability led to its own problems with attachment issues and tampering. Finally, Pepper eventually became boring as its catalog of presentations and karaoke features were often times lackluster.

The issue with robots highlights a key point: that loneliness and care crises aren’t necessarily inevitable. The robots, while failing to be efficient in caretaking, did bring up a new kind of work; for one, workers would begin interacting less with their people, using the robots as substitution. This, while effective in a utilitarian lens, holds an issue with what is constituted as “good care”. Care is inherently a human trait.

The issue plays a lot into social, political, and economic issues. In short, while technology can play a role, the approach to fixing this care crisis should fall on approaches involving further funding for caregiving foundations and preventing loneliness in the first place.

In 2021, the UN Development Programme found that living conditions in 90% of the world's countries had declined for the second year in a row—possibly contributing to declining birth rates. Discuss with your team: is this decline irreversible or will the world’s population begin to boom again? Should we want it to? [SOC]

A transition to declining living conditions and population from the issue of loneliness! From one harmful topic to another. It seems like WSC wants to push doomerism, something they condemn in the previous section. That’s interesting.

The first article briefly explains the living conditions, deteriorating in 90% of countries within 2021. Achim Steiner, the UNDP (UN development programme) chief, mentions this starking stat is further exemplified by the fact that in the 2007 recession, only 10% of countries deteriorated. In background context to this report, it was created in 1990 when the US was ranked 1st, though it dropped to 21st since. Switzerland takes the top of this development index, Norway and Iceland not too far behind.

This leads into the issue of deteriorating living conditions being largely due to the cost of living crisis. A described report about the cost of living crisis in New South Wales, Australia, suggests the issue has shifted from being an economic anomaly to being a “new normal”, having been constantly present in the past years. This shapes a new economic reality, known as the Meta Crisis (which doesn’t seem to have a solid definition, but can be summarized as “we’re in trouble”).

The cost of living issue has developed into the norm largely because of consistently slow-growing wages alongside constantly increasing costs in housing, healthcare, education, and more. While controlling inflation is attempted by central banks, the side effects of doing so sadly further add onto the problems that inflation causes.

As for what the Meta-crisis actually is, it can be described as the compounding effect of issues in different segments of society. The Digital divide, Debt levels, and Economic gaps are all attributed to the issue. On another hand, the climate crisis inflects on the Meta-crisis, with rising temperatures leading to droughts or food shortages, further exacerbating the economic problem. (Climate change is connected to flooding, energy consumption, and property damage, furthering issues with the economy.)

The solution lies in balance. Every action is inherently going to have negatives, so the resolution follows being able to work together and mitigate as much issues going forward as possible.

This last article is a giant data report I cannot bother reading, so instead I’ll summarize what they touch upon in a few bullet points.

Most countries have falling fertility rates. Two thirds of the population live in countries whose fertility rates are too low to sustain their population. This plays into the fact that first world countries have peaked in population. The third world countries are those currently growing, with high fertility rates and population growth; in contrast, first world countries are beginning to decline in population. Age structures are turning from Pyramids into Obelisks. Essentially, you can represent a population in a sideways graph, where the y axis represents age and x axis represents population. Previously, most countries had a pyramid shape: many young people, and very few old people. Now, this is transforming, with population reaching more equal distributions across ages. This is bad for development. Workers and median ages are becoming older. As fewer kids are being born, more tasks have to remain delegated to older folk, leading to increases in retirement age and decreases in efficiency. There’s a larger problem with this, though. The Ratio of older to younger is decreasing. The larger problem is the tradition of caring for older folk. As time moves along, the number of caretakers for older populations begins to decrease as the number of older people increase. This vicious cycle, if continued, will bring large problems both socially and economically. A societal shift is coming. I can’t really describe this super well, but this new trend of lower fertility rates does lead to a concerning gap in work. It’s very possible that robots taking over menial tasks will fit this shift, although it’s uncertain.

There’s so much more you could explore with this article, but I’ll leave it here. It’s a good chance for those interested in future social landscapes to explore more!

During the Covid pandemic, podcasts exploded in popularity. Their hosts (or at least their subtly-enhanced voices) became many people’s closest friends in a solitary time. Discuss with your team: are podcasts meaningfully different from old-fashioned radio broadcasts in their impact on society, and will their impact continue? In other words, how dated will this bullet seem, ten years from now?) [SOC]

Podcasts are back from the 2024 curriculum, this time to talk about loneliness!

Podcasts have an interesting nature, being both fulfilling of a friendship many didn’t see during the pandemic but also socially concerning. For many listeners, podcasts are seen as conversation, with the speakers relating with audience members and growing a sense of kinship/friendship. It’s large increase in popularity is because of the loneliness epidemic during the Covid-19 lockdowns, though its effects still remain to this day.

Dubbed “parasocial interaction” by Donald Horton and Richard Wohl in 1956, podcasts are a form of this medium where a down-to-earth feeling is built to listeners. In essence, people who listen to podcasts may eventually feel as if they know the person, despite the conversation being largely one-sided. The intimate, crowd-less nature of podcasts furthers this authenticity.

This indirect friendship builds a sense of community much needed to help loneliness, but it also brings some issues. In large, podcasts are beginning to replace genuine interaction. It blurs the line in what friendship actually means, a concerning narrative for the social disassociation of people. It’s been described as being a lazy way of socialising, getting what you want from a conversation without putting in effort.

Podcasts are a mixed bag. On one hand, it builds up communities we are ever so deprived of in the modern world; on the other, its nature of replacing real interactions can lead to troublesome implications. They can be positive if worked right.

Speaking of bullets, the man who eventually assassinated American President James Garfield, Charles Guiteau, was certain they had a close personal connection (which, of course, Garfield never knew about.) The Internet has driven a surge in these one-sided “parasocial” relationships. Algorithms on these platforms are designed to boost engagement and view time, even if the content is harmful or raises false hopes. Explore how social media also affects the health of adults and seniors, then discuss with your team: who should be held responsible when an algorithm promotes harmful content? Could you design an algorithm to craft a healthier, happier society—and would it be successful? [SOC]

Perhaps the largest topic in the area of loneliness and mental health concerns is Social Media, which we’re finally touching on. Though before jumping into this, there is one man of interest to this section. That man is Charles Guiteau.

Charles, being a failed lawyer, was an interesting figure. The most important trait in his motivations for assassinating James Garfield was narcissism (possibly due to schizophrenia); specifically, he had the belief that his actions had won Garfield the election, and that he should be rewarded with a consulship (government representative).

After reaching out to the administration without avail, he felt outraged by the rejection. His anger at the lack of attribution reached a point where he decided the best course of action was to kill Garfield, shooting him in Washington DC at a railroad station. He was sentenced to death by hanging shortly after.

Now, onto social media:

On the fact that loneliness has doubled overall in the past 50 years, we’re turned to a survey which links Social media usage to loneliness. Specifically, there is a trend finding that those who spend more time on social media feel lonelier than those who spend less. This increase of social media is also linked to distractability and sleep deprivation. While not a full “causation”, the “correlation” between the two poses social media as an issue.

Loneliness isn’t a simple issue, and social media’s impact isn’t straightforward. One study found that disconnection could be the issue, with even mild notifications leading to a decrease of present enjoyment in IRL conversation. This may be linked to the FOMO felt with social media, with individuals glued to devices leading to disconnection from the real world. Alongside this, envy against models and idealized people in social media leads to further societal disconnect.

Cyberbullying is an interesting case, as its impact on loneliness is larger than we tend to believe. Of the people who shared experiences of being cyberbullied (34% overall), a majority shared it impacted their mental health and ability to engage. It’s a bit intriguing, considering often times cyberbullying isn’t the result of personal vendettas; rather, online trolls do perpetuate issues, and sometimes people will impose self harm for attention.

Social media does have its upsides in promoting ease of information alongside social networking. Its effect can lead to developing socialization skills, earning higher grades, and accessing more resources. Social media, as found by the Cigna Loneliness index, is not actually found to be responsible for loneliness and has no significant impact on social interaction and well-being. Reduced symptoms of depression, community engagement and belonging, and higher performance are just some things seen from social media.

It’s all about balance again. It’s easy to jump to conclusions for or against a side, but moving on, we need to realize that it’s not all black and white.

Introducing a new perspective on social media, we now move onto Dr. Vasan and Dr. Johansen, psychiatrists who’ve worked with platforms including Pinterest and Tiktok to make the social media experience more empathetic.

Their opinion on social media’s addictiveness and harmfulness:

Social media is addictive because of stimuli (likes, comments, notifications, etc) which produce dopamine, and thus, addiction. It’s largely because getting likes and recognition is engaging and triggers the same part of your brain as accomplishing a task. This becomes harmful when users begin doomscrolling, leading to issues of comparing one to another, cyberbullying, and mental harm. Advances in technology makes it easy for envy to arise from images.

To mitigate the issue, AI is being used as a tool to filter negativity; as well, social media platforms constantly monitor and ban communities posting harmful content. It’s now common for social media to have prompts for queries about self harm, depression, and eating disorders. Pinterest Compassionate Search is one example, offering therapeutic experiences in response to depression-related terms.

As for what to do, social media shouldn’t be treated like ebola, but it shouldn’t be water either. Social media can be fulfilling in connecting people with the world, but it poses harm with too much interaction. Rather than following the displacement hypothesis (hypothesis that social media harms youth wellbeing overall), they suggest a goldilocks approach.

For businesses, they pose the idea of making decisions not solely based on economic incentives, but pushing for societal wellbeing as well.

Youth are not the only people with issues on social media. Research in fact reveals that similar effects of social media are felt by adults. In a project involving Covid-19, a research group gathered adults from all 50 US states undiagnosed with depression and found that those who use social media were more likely symptoms of depression.

The studies are strange, as most cannot prove that Social Media causes depression; rather, the studies show a correlation between the two. (Remember, correlation does NOT equal causation!) One thing the studies do suggest, though, is that depressed people are more likely to use social media. The studies are yet unable to explain how social media triggers might cause depression. One suggestion is jealousy, seeing people doing better on social media than you are.

(One person puts social media like “drinking from a firehose”, as a metaphor for being flooded with content– those of which are not necessarily good.)

In an intriguing set of findings, it seems that various platforms have various effects on people. For one, Facebook caused depression symptoms on those under 35 but not those above 35; however, Tiktok and Snapchat caused the same effect on those above 35 but not under. As well, it seems that things like news sources, social interactions, and face-to-face time didn’t seem to effect depression at all.

There’s still a lot to explore in the mental health and social media issue. There’s a lot of unknowns when seeing both children and adults on social media. That’s where it ends.

The issue of social media extends further than cyberbullying, though; hate speech and genocide are among things which can result from internet actions, none of which is the legal duty of the internet to regulate.

This story begins with the Twitter vs. Taamneh court case, a Jordanian family filing a lawsuit against social media companies. These companies allegedly allowing ISIS to use the platform’s algorithms to recruit, fundraise, and spread propaganda, leading to an event which killed one of said family’s members. While the case was far more complicated than “social media is evil”, the supreme court ruled that the platforms weren’t liable for their indirect damages. The reasoning? There wasn’t enough evidence to suggest these platforms were directly assisting.

This decision traces back to the Communications Decency Act (Section 230), which dictates that the internet is like a bookstore; in essence, the owner of platforms are not responsible for the content of the platform. The platforms are free to moderate content, but they are not legally required to.

Back in the First Amendment case of Smith vs California, the supreme court ruled that bookstores are not liable for the content of their inventory; rather, the authors would be liable. This decision was made on how, if otherwise, bookstores would make decisions leading to censorship with limiting books, an idea against freedom of speech / freedom of press. In 1996, when Section 230 was passed, the internet was similar to a bookstore. Now, with personalized algorithms and monetization efforts, the internet is less bookstore and more internet.

While platforms do voluntarily enforce community guidelines, they hold little liability due to little theory of harm, and thus little duty of care. In simple words, it’s unproven that social media causes harm with hateful speech, therefore social media doesn’t care much. This whole issue runs in a loop of what freedom of speech means, though it is arguable social media should be legally required to prevent hate speech, just like product quality control in other capitalized markets.

For the fancy line in the law:

“[N]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”

The law, when initially drafted, made sense; the internet was smaller and consisted of mostly internet forums. The dynamics of the internet have changed much since, though; now, most of it is dictated by personalized ads and content, with it emerging the silo effect and echo chamber effect (basically, you see the stuff which agrees with your beliefs). The issue is that radical perspectives now have a place in the internet, recommendation algorithms creating these sorts of “radical communities”. (This is compounded with the effect that because English dominates the internet, other languages are not regulated as much - linguistic-political issues here!)

What Section 230 essentially does is removing accountability from platforms to regulate content, giving it immunity from the opinions it spreads from its users.

One case of the issue of Section 230 is the Rohingya Genocide. Facebook, namely, was blamed for amplifying hateful content (and resultingly, movements) against the Burmese (Myanma) ethnic minority. It’s particularly interesting consider Myanmar was one of the least connected countries in the world for a while, only loosening access in 2011.

(As for additional context, the Rohingya are a muslim group in Myanmar, a military-ruled buddhist state. Myanmar has a long standing tension with the group.)

Facebook was shaped into the de-facto internet of Myanmar during this popularization, with the Free Basics program providing free internet access via a Facebook-centric lens of the internet. This new ability to communicate and connect led to growing tensions against the Rohingya people, with death threats and hateful posts common. Eventually, the Rohingya genocide came about (leading to ~25,000 deaths and ~700,000 refugees), paired with an influx of anti-rohingya posts on Facebook by the Burmese military and extremist groups, including the MaBaTha.

Facebook was accordingly accused of amplifying hateful narratives against the rohingya people, creating financial incentives for propaganda against the group and spreading the content like fire. This was in part due to a serious lack of moderation, with only 4 burmese moderators tackling over 15 million burmese users. (A reverse-mokusatsu happened, too; in one case, a Burmese post with a call to action to “kill all kalars” was translated to “I shouldn’t have a rainbow”). In addition, Facebook’s algorithm designed to create communities backfired, finding an audience for the radical movement; in fact, some of the most followed users were military generals posting hate content.

The psychological nature of Facebook also led to the genocide, with neutral parties falling to propaganda and building a distrust of the rohingya. The larger effect was less so connecting those who believed in radical ideas, and more so influencing bystanders to shift sides. This is considered “fear speech”, where some will amplify a problem out of fear, rather than hate.

Facebook had actually received warnings of this movement beginning 2012, but decided not to take action before the genocide. It’s not that it wants to cause the movement, more so it just doesn’t care that much. It holds no legal liability for the issue, though the situation is a bit complicated. While the ICC (International Criminal Court) does address acts of genocide, it doesn’t prosecute companies; resultingly, it is most in the US’ jurisdiction, leading back to section 230.

The conversation continues with the debate of freedom of speech, an ever changing internet (AI and deepfakes now much more present), and proposals of giving users more autonomy or investing in content moderation (just like copyright detection).

Hey y'all! Glad you managed to read that one chonker of a summarization. It’s probably the longest one I’ll make, as the article itself is in a weird position. It’s not long enough for me to give a watered down review, but it’s not short enough to have a, well, short summary.

There’s just so much I think is valuable to learn from the article. Consider reading it yourself!

How often do you pick up your phone to check a fact or answer a question during a meal with friends or family? Can you imagine living in a world where things just—stay mysterious, and where you have no idea what is happening a thousand miles away? Researchers have found that the oversaturation of news, especially of negative stories, leads to constant stress and a skewed worldview, especially when they contain violent images and videos. Discuss with your team: to protect people’s mental health, should the government (or others) limit the amount of information we can consume? [SOC]

Social media is the platform; the problem is the content. In media, often times negative stories are perpetuated too often, which has real consequences on our mental and physical health.

The perpetuation of negative news comes from the competitive strategy, with news sites and social media users driving views, and thus revenue, by “clickbait”. Because it’s incentivizable to cover negative topics, negative news is far more popular than positive news. Resultingly, people who read these news begin to suffer from “media saturation overload”, where one’s mood may decline (without them knowing, in fact) after seeing a whole platter of negative news. While there isn’t a formally recognized disorder, terms in psychology including “doomscrolling” and “headline anxiety” (heightened emotional response to news) are beginning to reflect mental trends.

Past studies done on Covid-19 news show that the more people looked for information, the more emotional distress they would report. This applies to all types of news media, though tv and social media had stronger associations. Additionally, younger people were more vulnerable to these mood shifts.

A lot of this has to do with uncertainty. While the reasoning is counterintuitive at first– it seems like learning information with news will decrease uncertainty, which increases happiness! –the position of knowing can be mentally deteriorating, especially if the readers don’t think they can help. The research shows correlation, though not causation; it’s possible that people who are more emotionally destressed use media, and not that media causes emotional harm. Though in all likelihood, it works both ways.

Comparing findings with past ones, especially those based on the psychological effect of the news of 9/11, we find that there is one source which doesn’t have a correlation. Traditional newspapers and TV broadcasts seemed to have little impact on its users; this may largely be because these forms of media don’t have the same incentive to perpetuate negative news. The story changes with covid, with common reports causing helplessness and distress in people.

An idea to fix this is to install “guardrails” on media. Often, if somebody’s heart rate increases before opening an article, it is a sign that the user will be impacted more. This in turn leads to lowered coping capacity and anger from fear. Phones can be a sort of drug-delivery system in this way: the dopamine hijacking from social media and sensational news has similar effects to drugs.

It is important to note that complete removal of media can be even worse, considering FOMO and the fact people often overestimate the severity or likelihood of events.

To fix the issue of mental health, the idea is to process the news logically. Events happen much less likely than news shapes it out to seem, and too much exposure to news can lead to irrational thinking. By digging into genuine issues, a user can mitigate the anxiety from news by considering its possibility and trying to take action.

The second article focuses more on the issue of news influencing our actions. The pitted example is the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013. While the tragedy was grand, the impact it had on people were grander. A study covering the aftermath of this event highlights one notable oddity: that people who had not seen the explosion, but rather had 6+ hours of news coverage a day in the days following this, had even worse reactions to the event than the people who saw it in person. This poses the question: why?

A well-known psychological phenomenon, known as the Negativity Bias, suggests that we pay more attention to negative things around us. It’s been used to explain why Negative incentive (punishment) is more effective than Positive incentive (rewards). While it was useful to protect us from danger in the past (primal instinct), its effects on news (much of which doesn’t even impact us at all) are beginning to shape our beliefs. News, rarely covering light-hearted topics, are to blame– though in a case study, the City Reporter lost 2/3rd of its viewership on a day they only decided to post good news.

The pessimism on the future we have because of news, while wrong, could lead to potential self-fulfilling prophecies; in an economic lens, people won’t invest if they think a recession is coming, leading to a recession. Economic news being often more negative than positive, despite the economic cycle being more positive than negative, creates a polarization between reality and news. In that way, our perception of risk is being warped.

The framing effect may be to blame here; a fact will sound much different depending on how it’s presented. A drug which is 95% effective is more enticing than a drug which fails 5% of the time, despite those being the same thing. Al-Qaeda raises more eyebrows than Domestic rebel separatists. And on a more concerning scale, news population makes brain cancer seem much more likely than it is, and makes testicular cancer much less likely than it is.

(Interestingly, the public concerns of medical issues closely matches federal funding for it)

News itself may also be the motivator of the issue. To have media attention is to be successful in competition and revenue, thus there is motivation for news to be reinforcing-ly negative. Sometimes it isn’t intentional; news sources will often have only a handful of images for an event, and this repetition of images over time enforces a problematic identity of the issue.

The impact? Bad. News isn’t particularly good for our mental health. News can lead to long term negative health effects developing. It leads to spikes in cortisol, the stress hormone, It even reaches a tetris effect point, where news can begin to shape what our dreams look like. This impact is still a mystery, although one hypothesis is that we aren’t good at predicting our future emotions. Winning an award feels less fulfilling then the thought of winning an award, and conversely being in a crisis feels less distressful then the thought of being in one.

The final article zones into this problem on social media, discussing the extremes of the news problem: traumatic news. Its impacts range from distress, anxiety, and possible physical effects being increased likelihood of heart attack. Again, the existence of the media is largely because of economic incentives of stark media capturing attention, sensation being the most profitable segment of news. This kind of traumatic news is further perpetuated by social media.

Media attention is now drawn to traumatic news, referring to footage of war and other atrocities. It can be considered a subsection of negative news, being on the more extreme end of the spectrum.

As for moving on, platforms are beginning to apply age checks and restrictions on these news. The impact of the news largely covers vulnerable groups, including children and women; thus, to avoid traumatization, both actions by platforms and mental awareness is useful.

- A.1 Debate Practice Motions

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Difficulty Levels
• Difficulty 1–2: Basic recall or surface-level understanding, focusing on a single topic.
• Difficulty 3–4: Requires understanding of specific details and connections between
two topics.
• Difficulty 5–6: Involves analyzing motivations or beliefs, with deeper content exploration.
• Difficulty 7–8: Demands complex reasoning and investigation into niche or advanced
topics.
• Difficulty 9–10: Combines multi-step reasoning, deep research, and connections
across multiple topics.

🛜 Infrastructure & Technology

Governments should only announce projects they know they can finish.
Old technology is better than new technology for public services.
It was right for Australia to change its internet plan halfway through.
Canada should have built high-speed trains, even if they were expensive.
It’s better to improve slow systems than to start over with big ideas.

🌍 Megaprojects & National Ambitions

Megaprojects help countries feel proud, even if they don’t work well.
Small community projects are more important than megaprojects.
A project should only be called “finished” if it works for everyone.
Countries should stop building expensive megaprojects.
Governments should ask citizens before starting megaprojects.

🧍‍♀️ Loneliness & Mental Health

Loneliness should be treated like a physical health problem.
Robot pets can be real friends.
Technology can never replace human connection.
Schools should teach students how to build friendships.
Every country should have a Minister for Loneliness.

🤖 Algorithms & Digital Lives

Social media companies should be punished when harmful content spreads.
Parasocial relationships are dangerous for young people.
We should limit how much news we see each day to protect our mental health.
Algorithms should be designed to improve people’s well-being, not just keep them online.
Students should learn how algorithms work before using social media.

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🛜 Infrastructure & Society

A global AI-powered planner is created to decide which countries get funding for megaprojects. It studies public opinion, environmental data, and economic stats.
☐ Would this make the world more fair—or more frustrating?

🧍‍♀️ Loneliness & Identity

A digital wristband tracks your emotional state and sends out friendly messages when it detects you're feeling lonely.
☐ Would you wear one? What could go wrong—or really right?

🤖 Algorithms & Media

An algorithm starts predicting what stories will make people sad—and boosts them online to increase clicks.
☐ Should someone shut it down, or is it just doing its job?

🚆 History & Infrastructure

An unfinished megaproject is discovered from 60 years ago—an underwater train linking continents. A new government wants to finish it.
☐ Should they honor the original vision or create a smaller, safer plan?

🎧 Media & Relationships

A podcast host reveals that none of their stories were real—but their listeners say it helped them through hard times.
☐ Was the host wrong—or were they exactly what people needed?

📉 Population & Progress

In the future, people are rewarded with extra government services if they choose not to have children, to help fight climate change.
☐ Should people get rewards for helping the planet this way?

🧠 Technology & Memory

A memory archive app lets you upload your happiest moments so others can "visit" them.
☐ Would you share your memories with strangers? Why or why not?

🌍 Global Connections

A social media challenge spreads to 200 countries in 48 hours—encouraging young people to build something real, offline, with others.
☐ What kind of challenge could inspire that kind of global action?

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B. Looking Into the Future: Can We Really Tell What’s Coming?

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A full interdisciplinary guide to exploring fate, prediction, prophecy, and possibility through poetry, art, music, psychology, and science.

Why Do We Try to Predict Tomorrow?

Humans have always longed to know what lies ahead. From ancient oracles to scientific models, poetry to prophecy, we seek patterns, meaning, and sometimes comfort in the unknown.

Team Talk:

Would knowing the future make your life easier or harder?
Are predictions more helpful or harmful?
If someone gave you a book of your life—would you read it?

Poets Who Predicted the Future

Throughout history, poets have offered insights into the future—sometimes as warnings, sometimes as wonderings.

📜 Poems to Explore

Horace | Ode I.11 (23 BCE): Live for today. The future is unknowable.
Yeats | The Second Coming (1919): A terrifying new world emerges as society breaks down.
Frost | Fire and Ice (1920): Desire and hatred could both destroy us.
Dickinson | The Future—never spoke (1921): The future arrives silently and without warning.

🗿 Ancient Divination: Asking the Unknown

Divination practices have existed for thousands of years, used to seek answers from gods, nature, and intuition.

Oracle Bones (Shang Dynasty): Heated tortoise shells cracked to reveal insights.
Divination across civilizations: In Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Egypt, and beyond.
Common methods: Astrology, hydromancy, bibliomancy, oneiromancy, haruspicy.

Explore the following examples and terms, then discuss with your team: Why is divination enjoying a resurgence amongst young people today?

According to USC Annenberg Media, Millennials and Gen Z are embracing fortune-telling practices not just as entertainment, but as emotional support, spiritual tradition, and a form of personal empowerment.

Why Do We Believe Predictions?

Our brains seek patterns. Psychology explains why fortune-telling feels real:

Barnum Effect: Vague statements feel personally true.
Confirmation Bias: We notice what fits our beliefs.
Cold Reading: Clever guesses feel prophetic.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Belief shapes behavior—and outcome.

🧬 Do We Choose Our Future?

Can we control what happens? Or are we shaped by biology, upbringing, and external forces?

Stories to explore:

Ted Chiang: What’s Expected of Us
C. Robert Cargill | Sea of Rust (2007): As robots decay and lose logic, they behave more like humans, challenging the line between programmed determinism and emotional choice.
Sam Hughes | I Don't Know, Timmy, Being God Is a Big Responsibility (2007): In this mind-bending story, scientists create a quantum computer capable of simulating the entire universe—and discover they're inside one.

Discuss with your team:

If you knew your world was simulated, would it change your behavior?
Are good and bad choices still meaningful in a deterministic world?
Is free will an illusion—or the only thing that makes us real?

Calendars, Cycles & Chaos

Not all methods of foretelling the future are mystical—some are built from centuries of careful observation.

For example, the Chinese Agricultural Calendar combines both lunar and solar cycles to track time and seasons. Unlike the Gregorian calendar (which follows only the sun), this system watches both the moon’s phases and the sun’s movement through the sky. Lunar months determine festival dates like Lunar New Year, while 24 solar terms help farmers know exactly when to plant, harvest, and expect seasonal changes.

Each solar term is based on how the sun’s path changes throughout the year—like Winter Solstice, Grain Rain, or Awakening of Insects. These events signal specific weather patterns or crop conditions.

The result is a calendar that reliably predicts the movements of the sun and moon, ocean tides, astronomical events, and the turning of the seasons. In fact, as NPR reports, the Chinese calendar is a lunisolar system that has shaped not only agriculture, but also governance and science.

🌦 How Far Can We Predict the Weather?

Research how meteorologists make weather forecasts and explore with your team: how far ahead in time is a weather forecast useful?

According to a 2019 study in Science, the practical limit of accurate, specific weather forecasting is about 10 days. That’s because the atmosphere is a chaotic system—tiny changes in air pressure or temperature can lead to dramatically different outcomes over time.

While some companies, like AccuWeather, release highly specific 45- or even 90-day forecasts, most meteorologists agree these are unreliable and not supported by modern science. The American Meteorological Society advises that forecasts beyond 8 days often lack useful skill or accuracy.

However, meteorologists can make probabilistic forecasts much further in advance. Instead of predicting the exact temperature or rainfall on a given day, these forecasts show likelihoods—for example, the chance of above-average temperatures for a season, or an early start to hurricane season.

How might AI prediction models change the field of meteorology?

New breakthroughs in AI-powered forecasting are pushing the boundaries. According to The Guardian, Google's GenCast model—developed by DeepMind—has outperformed traditional forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). It can predict day-to-day weather, hurricanes, and cyclones up to 15 days in advance—faster and more accurately.

GenCast learned from 40 years of weather data instead of solving equations like traditional models. It runs in just minutes using machine learning, not supercomputers. While GenCast isn’t ready to replace current methods, it's expected to work alongside them to improve speed and accuracy, especially during extreme weather.

The real power? GenCast can generate dozens of forecast scenarios to show what might happen—not just what will. That makes it a major leap for understanding uncertainty.

Be sure to also learn the difference between weather and climate models, and if they are still accurate in face of a changing climate.

As The Conversation explains, weather and climate models use the same physical principles, but they serve very different purposes.

Weather models focus on short-term conditions (up to 7–10 days), relying heavily on recent data to make detailed forecasts. They're all about initial conditions and change quickly with new information.
Climate models, on the other hand, don’t try to forecast next week’s rain. Instead, they simulate long-term patterns over decades or centuries, factoring in processes like ocean circulation, the carbon cycle, and human emissions.

Because climate forecasts simulate the Earth system over long timescales, they don’t aim to predict exact storms but focus on trends like average temperature rise or increased likelihood of extreme weather.

And while AI can boost weather forecasts, it's still uncertain whether machine learning alone can handle the complexity of long-term climate prediction—especially for climate futures we haven’t experienced yet. That’s why both types of models are vital digital tools.

Team Talk:

Why do we need both types of models?
Should governments trust AI-generated forecasts?
How can we plan for a future with increased uncertainty?

Final Reflection Prompts

Which predictions feel empowering? Which feel scary?
What do art and music teach us about human belief?
Should we trust predictions? Or create our own path?

B. Looking Into the Future: Can We Really Tell What’s Coming? - Expansion

In Futurity

In Futurity, Someone Prophetic Sees

Nostradamus never predicted that people would remember him 500 years later, but his reputation for accurate prophecies has nonetheless flourished for centuries. Discuss with your team: why do people want to know their future in advance? Would it benefit them if they did? If someone offered you the opportunity to read a biography of your life, would you? [HIS]

Nostradamus was a French astrologer and seer, most notable for his book Les Propheties allegedly predicting future events. The book was a series of 942 poems. In the years after the book was published, many credited him with predicting future events, though some sources reject the idea he had any actual prophetic abilities and that the validation might be a result of confirmation bias.

🎭 MEDIA – Parasocial Relationships

Idk about yall but I would personally HATE having my future told like there’s a whole thing about predetermination that I really dislike

Free will is an illusion, so please let me be illusioned

Some poets have also taken a swing at predicting the future. Consider the selections below, then discuss with your team: how seriously were they intended to tell the future? Is poetry (with its often murky meanings) the perfect vehicle for prophecy? [LIT]

Horace | “” (23 BCE)

William Butler Yeats | “” (1919)

Robert Frost | “” (1920)

Emily Dickinson | “” (1921)

Onto the first poems of this year’s curriculum! There’s a bit of backstory to each that took quite a while to find, so I’ll explain what I found about them.

Horace - Ode I. 11 is a poem which appears in his four Books of Odes (written in 23BC!), particularly being the 11th poem in the first book. An ode is a type of poem which pays tribute to something, typically a person or event. This poem was initially written in Latin, and many translations, each with slightly different wordings exist.

The poem’s thematic message is the enjoyment of the present. It’s goal is to persuade a person named Leuconoe away from seeking the future and only worrying about the present moment. This is perhaps most exemplified by its famous line:

“Carpe diem”

This famous aphorism (a kind of truth or principle) comes from this exact poem, and it best translates to “seize the day”. It actually fits the description of where it was first used!

🏛 HISTORY – Megaprojects Timeline

An Apocalypse refers to a revelation in Christianity, a point in time when something is discovered– especially in relation to the spiritual plane.

The Second Coming in Christianity refers to the belief that Jesus Christ will eventually return to Earth again, something which has happened around 2,000 years ago post-crucifixion.

A line of particular interest is this:

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert

Here, the Spiritus Mundi is Yeats’ way of describing the Spirit of the World. It matches with his allegory of the Second Coming, though that event is more aligned with a new gyre rather than an actual premotion of an event.

Robert Frost - Fire and Ice is a very famous short poem describing a simple, yet narratively complicated phrase of how the world will end. He juxtaposes fire with desire, and ice with hate, stating the world will end by either one of the two.

It’s short enough, in fact, that I can copy and paste it here.

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Something interesting I’ll mention is that, when seen by Shapely, an astronomer, he responded that the poem might have a literal meaning; that Earth will either perish by being engulfed by the sun or being thrown into deep space to freeze, literally “fire” and “ice”.

The poem might’ve also been influenced by Dante’s Inferno, a text where the worst offenders would be frozen in the ninth level of hell, where they’re frozen for eternity.

Emily Dickinson - The Future–never spoke is a very complicated poem which took me a while to understand. From what I can gather, there’s some entity in the poem which refuses to let us know the future.

The Future itself is a sort of entity, not speaking and only showing itself when the future becomes the present over time. It gives us (the poem calling humans “the dumbs”) no chance to prepare for what’s to come, but it does mention that reality is indifferent to doom or flourishing. Nonetheless, there’s eventually only two cases; either everyone is expected to be saved, or everybody is expected to be doomed.

The main characteristic of the poem is characterizing abstract concepts, like Fate, the Future, God, and Time. (God is most likely the entity described by “him”). The underlying theme of the poem is predestination, the thought that our future is already foretold, and the thought that we don’t have the choice to shape it. This comes as a reality to Dickinson’s family, being in the Calvinist belief that free will doesn’t exist. They’ve been written, but they continue to avoid us.

🏛 HISTORY – Megaprojects Timeline

Anthropologists believe that this sort of divination is a as old as . Look briefly (no rabbit holes, please) into the following ancient divination techniques, then discuss with your team: which are still practiced today, and, if they seem hard to believe now, why do you think so many people once believed in them? [SCI, HIS, SPC]

comparative horoscopy | haruspicy | ornithomancy | alectryomancy

pyro-osteomancy | oneiromancy | bibliomancy | hydromancy

astragalomancy | scyphomancy | astrology

Divination is something which is somehow found universally; it seems like all cultures developed some belief of predicting the future independently and it’s kind of crazy. For all we know, it does back to the 2000 BC era, with ancient Mesopotamia, China, Egypt, and other regions.

For a bit of historical context, it was forbidden for religious or political reasons sometimes, though it still persisted, moving most notably with christianity. Research began exploring these ancient techniques mostly in the 20th century, with many debates following the existence and actions it took.

To define the terms we’re using here a bit more, the act of divination refers to anything which would give us information that we don’t typically have access to, whether it be hidden by time or in the minds of others. An omen specifically refers to a sign sent by the gods (as in a prophecy or something), while an oracle refers to an answer to a question. There’s also categories of divination: natural divination refers to prophecies revealed in plain language or visions directly to the person, while artificial divination relies on the usage of a tool, combined with special techniques and intuition.

One of the earliest examples, borderline neolithic (10,000 to 2,000 years ago), of divination was in the Shang dynasty (which may or may not have existed). Seeing beginning 1600BCE, the dynasty began advancements in various fields, one of which was preserved pretty well: divination.

They used oracle bones, an artificial divination system where words representing a question would be inscribed onto turtle shells and ox shoulder bones before being kindled, thought to be a hub for spirits to answer questions. This is actually how we have the first records of the Chinese language being developed; people’s symbols on the bones preserved long enough for us to examin them.

We’re now moving into a plethora of terms regarding divination and seeing the future. WSC themselves doesn’t want us to go down a rabbit hole here, so I’ll probably only mention the terms, definitions, and a few examples here.

🔬 SCIENCE – Internet Infrastructure

Comparative Horoscopy doesn’t exist; it’s a portmanteau that WSC has seemingly created on their own mixing up the terms of Comparative Astrology and Horoscopes.

A Horoscope is a chart in astrology (which is expected to be defined more soon!) which represents the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and other astronomical features. Horoscopes often account for variables including someone’s birthday. In common use, they are seen on newspapers to attract the attention of astrology-believing readers.

The word comes from the greek words for “time” and “observer”.

Comparative Astrology uses astrology to analyze relationship dynamics between two things, most commonly when determining the compatibility of two people in a relationship. They use horoscopes based on their “star signs” (i.e. Cancer, Libra, etc.) and make predictions based on them, forseeing possible relationship dynamics.

(Typically, one of three methods is used: synastry, where two charts of two people are compared side by side; midpoint composite, where midpoints are drawn between two points which represent people; and davison relationship, based on average values of birth dates and locations. You won’t need to remember this.)

In all, Comparative Horoscopy really refers to Comparative Astrology. It refers to the specific branch which uses horoscopes to determine comparisons between people, often used to assess compatibility between two people or a person and a time of year.

Haruspicy is a form of divination in the religion of ancient Rome where animals are sacrificed to inspect their organs (especially livers of sheep and chickens) to determine signs. This practice was also done in the Near East, where it is known as Hepatoscopy. A haruspex is a person trained to interpret these organs in haruspicy.

It was thought this might communicate with the gods. Rather than predict the future, haruspicy focused on determining the attitudes of gods to make important decisions. They would make decisions, especially before war, based on the feelings of the gods they observed.

Chickens were considered sacred birds in Ancient rome, a type of fortuneteller.

Ornithomancy involves reading omens based on the actions of birds in ancient Greece. While this form of divination might involve any type of action a bird made, it usually revolved around the flight direction and the chirps that birds made. A typical action would be to face North (Romans, in contrast, faced South) and observe that the birds in the East (those on the sunrise side) were good, while the ones on the West were bad.

In ancient Rome, a similar practice known as Augury was done.

Alectryomancy comes from the Greek word for rooster and is a divination practice where somebody observes birds, most preferably a white rooster, pecking at grain. Often times, the diviner would place grains in the shape of letters and observe what the rooster decided to peck. Presumably, the letters and ordering would spell out a message.

Another way to do this was to place grain in a circle, where each one would represent a letter, then discern messages based on where the rooster went.

Another part of alectryomancy may have involved sacrificing a rooster, much like Haruspicy.

Pyro-osteomancy is a really complicated way of saying Oracle bones. Pyro essentially means fire, osteo means bone, and mancy means divination. This practice was most done during the Late Shang period of China, and represents the earliest records we have of the Chinese language.

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Over time, they shifted from inscribing messages to writing on bones with ink.

Oneiromancy is divination based on dreams, using them to predict the future. Special plants, known as Oneirogen plants, were sometimes used to put the seer in a dream-like state of consciousness, where they would feel as if they were transported to another time. They would then use their observations as evidence for the future.

There isn’t a solid definition of who used oneiromancy; rather, it was a common method of divination used across various cultures. The idea dates back to 3100BC in ancient Mesopotamia, where dreams were always regarded as very important for divination. Since then, ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Mesopotamia-based cultures would use it.

Bibliomancy refers to using books as a means to divination, considering books sacred to the process of divination, most notable for “removing negative entities”. A common practice in bibliomancy was to select a book considered true, then flip to a random page and read random things on the page. A variation involves choosing a random book at the library.

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Funnily enough, Robert Browning (the poet mentioned in the introductory questions) used this method to ask whether or not he should propose to his girlfriend. The text he landed on was a page in a Italian learning book which went along the lines of “shall love thee for eternity”.

Hydromancy is a method of divination using water, considering its ripples, flow, and color after dropping things into a pool. It can also be used to describe entering a trance after staring at water, a form of scrying (seeing beyond).

There are various forms of hydromancy; some use springs, others use rain, and some others use pebbles. Water in divination has had many purposes over many cultures, where oil, rocks, agitation by sound, and other stimulants have been introduced to the water in some instances.

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Dice were typically made out of the bones of sheep and goats specifically in the Greek and Mediterranean region.

Sometimes, dice monoliths would represent the meaning of specific symbols and would be consulted after rolling dice, rather than directly translating a sentence with the symbols as letters.

Scyphomancy is the act of doing divination with a cup or goblet, usually using a cup of water and reading signs based on things in the water. It uses reflection and water disturbances to tell signs.

This practice was seen in Ancient Egypt and Persia, being one of the oldest forms of divination in the style of assessing reflections.

Astrology is probably the most popular form of divination-related practices right now, referring to the interpretation of stars and planetary trends in determining the future. Astrology is an umbrella term representing almost all cultures, them having an attached importance to things in the sky. The Hindu, Chinese, and Mayans notably developed elaborate systems for predicting astronomical events because of this.

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Astrology is where we get the 12 star signs alongside the 12 zodiac/Chinese zodiacs.

As for use, sometimes people believe in its abilities because of assurance. Some still follow the idea of using star positions to determine the likelihood of events, despite its problematic nature and unscientific backing.

Firefighter, astronaut, investment banker—diviner of the future? If you’re thinking about future careers, consider a career in thinking about the future. Explore the following future-telling occupations, then discuss with your team: should governments regulate this industry, and, if so, how? [SCI, SPC]

palmistry | physiognomy | ceromancy | tasseography | cartomancy

fortune cookies | horoscopes

All these following terms expand on fortune telling, though they’re related specifically to fortune-telling, as opposed to divination as a whole. As a reminder, fortune telling is a subset of divination; while divination includes all actions and methods to determine things we typically don’t know, fortune-telling specifically focuses on the future.

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Palmistry is the act of reading palms (like, looking at the lines on hands or something) to determine the future of a specific person. They’re done by people known as palmists (chirologists) / hand-readers. Palmistry was seen in many places across Eurasia, though it is now most popular globally for “palm-reading sessions”. While it is viewed as pseudoscientific and largely based on superstition, a similar field (known as dermatoglyphics) focuses on the scientific application of palm creases, linking them to genetic traits.

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Carromancy (aka ceromancy) is divination via wax. It finds its roots in ancient Celtic and Roman times. In common practice, wax would be heated into liquid form, then poured into cold water to solidify. The shape of the wax would then determine the future, in some shape or form. Another practice would be to observe how wax melted on a burning candle.

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Tasseography is divination done by reading tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine residue. It originated in China, though it traveled along the silk road into areas of West Asia and Europe. The process usually involves drinking a cup of tea before interpreting the symbols of the remainders within the cup. (The tea and cup would often be specifically designed for this). The limitations of tasseography are largely determined by how creative and imaginative the interpreter is, though its lack of solid framework does constitute it as pseudoscientific.

One interpretation method revolves around the outer leaves representing near future, and the inner leaves representing far future. Leaf stems may also represent people.

Cartomancy is most known with the practice of tarot card reading, though in general it includes any form of fortune-telling with a deck of cards. Practitioners of this are known as cartomancers or card-readers. Commonly, cartomancy is done with a standard playing deck, known in a process of “wheel of fortune”. Many variations of this divination system exist, with tarot cards specifically designed for the practice of cartomancy.

Tarot card decks usually have 78 cards, 22 of which are considered Major and the rest, Minor.

Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting the future, alongside other information typically unseen to us. A person who practices fortune-telling is known as a fortune-teller. In generality, divination encapsulates practices outside of predicting the future, while fortune-telling does not. However, in specifics, divination is more focused on religious rituals and spirits, while fortune-telling is less formal and doesn’t necessarily involve strict conventions.

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An oracle is very similar to a fortune-teller, referring to a person which provides insight into the future. It’s largely used as a synonym for “fortune-teller” in the modern day. The term comes from Latin and quite literally means “speaker”, though it has the connotation of being connected to gods. The slight difference between oracles and fortune-tellers is that being an oracle is considered a solid profession of high class and status, while fortune-tellers are typically less formal and don’t have that luxury.

Soothsayer is a term which comes from middle English and literally means “truth-sayer”. It’s a synonym to fortune-teller, oracle, haruspex, and prophet, referring to basically anybody who practices divination.

A shaman is a person who interacts with the spirit world in altered states of consciousness. They often go into a trance-state, where they are half-awake and half-asleep, in order to contact spirits and spiritual energies in order to convince them to help. There isn’t a solid definition or belief system for shamans, but they generally follow the principle of being able to communicate to the spirits, influence seemingly-natural events, and perform acts of divination.

The term is often associated with indigenous religious and spiritual practices, though it might be found in other cultures and contexts.

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Witches are commonly considered to cast curses and dark magic, warranting “counter-magic” and “protective magic” in societies which believe in witchcraft. Because of this, a practice known as “witch-hunting” arose in middle-ages Europe (and in Africa/Asia, where it still exists) where communities would accuse women of witchcraft, often hunting them down and burning them at stake.

A clairvoyant is someone who claims to have the ability to practice divination, usually through a “sixth sense”. Sometimes, this phenomenon is scientifically founded with a field known as “extrasensory perception”, though most claims are not supported. In literal meaning, it translation from French means “clear vision”.

Typically, in a scientific lens, clairvoyance is explained with confirmation bias, expectancy bias, or delusion / hallucination. There have been proposals by people offering large sums of money to prove that clairvoyance is either possible or not.

The term might be used interchangeably with fortune-teller and oracle.

Ifa is a divination system used in West Africa, specifically by the Yoruba people (within Nigeria, Benin, and Togo). It has spread marginally to places through the Atlantic Slave trade, leading to its survival in places like Cuba. The technique is, in its teaching, overseen by a spirit known as Orunmila, an orisha spirit.

The technique of divination is very complicated, though in short it uses palm nuts, known as fadekwin, rolling them in a special type of tray (known as a fat3). The nuts produce a system of 256 binary signs which might be interpreted after rolling, each of which correspond to something.

Jyotish is the romanized term for Hindu astrology, one of the 6 disciplines (vedanga) in Hinduism. It’s one of the earliest examples of astronomy, though it has been contested whether or not the system arose independently or came from Roman influence. The texts related to Jyotisha not only have reading symbols, but also predict sun and moon cycles. The system is built on 16 elements and 12 zodiac signs.

Jyotish is used for vedic rituals, and has had practice in determining important dates for sacrifices alongside other events.

I Ching translates to “book of changes” from Chinese and is among the Chinese classics texts. It is a divination manual which first developed in 1000BC, though it was transformed into a cosmological text over time. It’s notable for having the “ten wings”, a set of philosophical beliefs and moral insights.

In divination, the I Ching falls into cleromancy, where it uses flower stalks to produce seemingly random numbers between 6-9. The 64 possible sets which result in this process are known as hexagrams, and might be looked up in the I Ching, which describes an event. It is commonly paralleled with other traditional processes of change, like Yin-yang and Wu Xing.

The Bazi (literally translating to eight words) is a Chinese concept suggesting fate and destiny is predetermined by a person’s birth cycle, year, month, day, and hour. The cycle refers to a 60 year loop (known as a sexagenery cycle), including 12 zodiac animals and 5 elements for each. In English, it’s referred to as the 4 pillars of destiny: year (in the cycle), month, day, and hour. This might be traced back to the Han dynasty.

A person’s fate depends on their 4 pillars and its relationship to a 10-year luck cycle. Because of this, the belief is largely cyclical, with matching destinies for people born every ~1800 years apart. This means you would, according to this, have the same fate as somebody born ~1800 years before you.

Jiaobei, known as moon blocks, are wooden divination tools which are used to answer yes or no questions. These blocks would be crescent shaped and have both a flat and a round side. By throwing pairs of these blocks out, you might determine whether something was a “yes” or a “no”. To eliminate randomness, the practice would involve throwing out these blocks 3 times and seeing if any answer appeared at least twice.

(Apologies if this segment is long, moon blocks are just interesting)

In specific practice, a user would purify the blocks along an incense burner before stating their name, date of birth, home, and relevant question. After which, they would drop a pair of blocks, resulting in 4 possible situations:

One block lands flat, the other block lands round - This is known as Shengjiao (divine answer), and means the gods approve.

Both blocks land flat - This is known as either Nujiao (angry answer), Kujiao (crying answer), or Meijiao (no answer), and signifies displeasure by the gods.

Both blocks land round - This is known as Xiaojiao (laughing answer), symbolizing laughter by the gods. It sometimes means disapproval, but also sometimes suggests that the question was either obvious or unclear.

At least one block lands sideways - This is known as Lijiao (standing answer) and means the gods do not understand the question.

O-mikuji are random fortunes written in temples and shrines in Japan. Translating literally to “sacred lot”, people read them by making a small offering before randomly choosing one from a box. The fortune predicts a person’s luck and fortune, typically written out in a choice of 1 of 7 levels of fortune alongside some aspect of a person’s life. The practice may have been modeled on the chinese Kau Chim, a model of similar style using writing on bamboo sticks.

If someone receives a bad fortune, it’s custom for them to fold it up and attach them to pine trees in the hope that the fortune wears off on the tree, rather than them. (This comes from a Japanese pun, where the word for “wait” is similar to the word for “pine tree”). If the fortune is good, they might also tie it up to the tree in the idea it prolongs the luck effect.

It’s thought O-mikuji are the inspiration for fortune cookies.

A Ouija, also known as an Ouija board / talking board, is a board marked with letters a-z as well as the words yes, no, and goodbye. It’s sometimes also marked with various symbols. In its used, it uses a small heart-shaped piece of wood to indicate messages by spelling out letters. People will place their fingers on the planchette (the piece), and it would move around the board to spell words. Funnily enough, the name of the board comes from a person asking the board itself what it was called. (Also, according to the board, Ouija means “good luck”).

Its paranormal nature has called controversies, with some claiming it is linked to demonic energy and is used to contact the dead. This has made it a common thing in horror movies and other pop-culture elements. It’s associated with the “charlie-charlie challenge”, a practice where two pencils would be laid on top of one another and spin to indicate answers.

A crystal ball is a ball made of crystal used in fortune-telling, associated with the act of clairvoyance. They’ve had a reputation with being associated with witchcraft, though it’s now more seen as amusement in circuses, festivals, and other events. In divination, it’s related to the practice of scrying, an act where someone would gaze into an object in hopes it will answer questions.

The symbol of a crystal ball is often associated with fortune-tellers in popular culture. This might be because of crystal balls being popular props in stage magic.

A fortune cookie is a small, wedge-shaped wafer with a piece of paper inside dictating a fortune or vague prophecy, alongside lucky numbers. While they’re associated with Chinese restaurants, they actually come from Japanese immigrants in the US. When first invented, there weren’t any lucky numbers (dubbed Chinese numbers) and it was meant to be eaten with tea. (There is debate on who actually made fortune cookies.)

As previously mentioned, these may have come from Japanese O-mikuji.

A horoscope, as discussed previously, uses astrology signs as a guideline to determine a fortune for somebody. In this context, they are often seen in newspapers in correspondence to a user’s zodiac sign and the luck they will have for the upcoming week. In more formal usage, professional opinion and interpretation by astrologers make predictions based on the position of the planet. This practice is unproven.

Not all fortune tellers are mystics. Michio Kaku is an award-winning theoretical physicist whose side business is predicting the future in books like Physics of the Future and The Future of Humanity. Explore , then discuss with your team: which of his predictions do you find too alarmist? Which ones do you most look forward to? [SCI]

Michio Kaku is a figure that I’ve actually heard of before. This is an oddity, considering the vast majority of figures in the curriculum are completely new to me.

He’s most known for contributions in string theory, with years of experience in theoretical physics and applicable technologies, including developments in quantum mechanics. His work has lead to large movements in the theory of everything, a task which many physicists have worked on for hundreds of years.

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A couple of other predictions he’s had in a futuristic lens are pretty straightforward. Space colonization, contact with aliens, AI evolution, automation, and cryptocurrencies are all things he suggest will rise in the future.

While those predicting the future cast their gaze forward to tomorrow and the days after, some artists cast their gaze (and occasionally their glaze) toward those making the predictions. Review the following artworks with your team, then discuss with your team: what are they trying to tell us? [ART]

Art

Caravaggio | (c. 1595)

Georges de la Tour | (c. 1630)

Michael Vrubel | (1895)

Julio Romero de Torres | (1922)

Helena Sofia Schjerfbeck | (1926)

Jose Luis Cuevas | (1968)

Music

Georges Bizet | “” (1875)

Carl Orff | “” (1935)

Benny Spellman | “” (1962)

Al Stewart | “” (1973)

Suzanne Vega | “” (1990)

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Caravaggio - The Fortune Teller depicts a palm reader reading the fortune of a wealthy-looking man. The fortune-teller is secretly stealing his ring, using her beauty and seductive expression as a distraction. The artwork provided is actually the second version of the painting, the first having been sold due to Caravaggio’s poverty.

Georges de La Tour - The Fortune Teller paints a similar scene, where a Roma woman reads a seemingly-rich young man’s fortune while her accomplices, other women, rob him. While the context of the painting is similar to Caravaggio’s, its possible Georges made the artwork without knowing of the other. The painting was only discovered in the 1900s.

Mikhail Vrubel - The Fortune Teller depicts a very stylized artwork part of a series of decorative works. Depicted is a woman (which is speculated to have been modeled off of Vrubel’s lovers) and an unfortunate cartomancy reading. The card depicted in front is the Ace of Spades, considered a bad sign in divination.

Fact: This card is inspired off of the tarot card reading scene in Carmen!

Julio Romero de Torres - The Fortune Teller is a depiction of two women, one a fortune-teller, sitting on a windowsill. Supposedly, the story is that the woman on the left, who is in love with a man who already has a girlfriend, is being read a lucky tarot card by the other woman. In the background, the same man is abandoning his girlfriend (?).

Helene Schjerfbeck - The Fortune-Teller (Woman in Yellow Dress) is a depiction of just that. It’s a woman in a yellow dress. The artist is known for portraits and still life. I mightn’t find much more about this artwork.

Jose Luis Cuevas - Dreams of Rasputin depicts what I can only distinguish as a figure which mildly looks like Rasputin alongside a strange blob, which doesn’t seem to have any recognizable features other than perhaps having a hidden face or looking like the head of a very weird dog. I cannot find any context to this painting, other than the artist being a person who challenged the narrative of muralism in Mexico.

(See Rasputin at the beginning of the section .)

Music selections!

Georges Bizet - Trio des Cartes is a song in the opera Carmen, Bizet’s magnum opus and a very famous opera at that. In the context of the opera, Frasquita and Mercedes (side characters, Carmen’s friends) are reading tarot cards. Carmen joins them and learns the cards are predicting their deaths, as well as Jose’s (love interest, main point of conflict in opera).

Spoiler alert! The tarot cards end up being right.

Trio des Cartes is French, and it translates to Trio of Cards. This is in reference to the three cards drawn in the tarot reading.

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The song is a movement in the list Carmina Burana, being the opening and closing song. The song’s lyrics are based off of a Latin poem with unknown author. It describes a complaint against the goddess of fortune, Fortuna.

The lyrics describe fortune as monstrous, empty, and malevolent, and it straight up sounds like a hero to villain monologue.

Benny Spellman - Fortune Teller is an RnB song which tells the story of a young man who learns he will find love within a day (“when the next sun arrives”) from a fortune teller. The next day, he returns upset that the fortune teller was wrong, only to fall in love with the fortune teller herself.

The song itself is a B-side of Minit Records - “Lipstrick Traces”. The song became popular after the Rolling Stones covered it.

The song’s lyrics are unstructured, in 7 separate verses without any chorus. The song mentions palm reading and a crystal ball.

Al Stewart - Nostradamus is a folk-rock song in the album Past, Present, and Future with an impressive runtime at almost 10 minutes long. The song is largely a homage to Nostradamus, the described French prophet at the beginning of this section, and his collection of quatrains (poems). The song and Nostradamus himself is often associated with 9/11, despite his song being made 28 years before it. This largely comes from false poems circulating, those of which Nostradamus never wrote.

The lyrics adopt the view of Nostradamus, the majority of the lyrics modeling the style of poem Nostradamus made. They are meant to act as prophecies, something that Nostradamus may have made, though they reference events which have already happened at the time of release of the song.

A common proclamation in the song is:

“I am the eyes of Nostradamus, all your ways are known to me”

Suzanne Vega - Predictions is a folk song I can’t find much context on. I do know the singer, Suzanne, was a large figure in the development of MP3 development (though I don’t think this is expected to be useful).

The song’s lyrics reference many forms of fortune telling, many of which are in this year’s curriculum but I cannot bother matching. The chorus is:

A suspended ring or the mode of laughing

Pebbles drawn from a heap

One of these things

Will tell you something

The song has a pretty literal meaning.

Certain methods of divination seem more reliable than they are. Explore the following examples and terms, then discuss with your team: why is divination amongst today? Is the future trending? [SCI, SOC, SPC]

Barnum effect | Pygmalion effect | cold reading | confirmation bias | self-fulfilling prophecy

In the COVID pandemic, the popularity of divination and other spiritual things seemed to rise with Gen Z, especially with those in dire situations. The House of Intuition, a company with a product line of tarot cards among other things, is one such example of the popularity. An interesting story is that its founder, Marlene Vargas, found the idea in a moment of desperation, where she had a tarot reading which inspired her to create the products itself.

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Another such organization, the Brujas of Brooklyn (Bruja meaning witch in Spanish), are associated with the practices. They comment that while it has been seen as witchcraft in the past, it may be a key towards self-growth and spirituality now,

On the other side of the globe, Asian communities are growing interested in fortune-telling and prophecies as well. One ritual associated with the new year has to do with choosing bamboo sticks and reading answers based on those. There’s a large cultural importance of fortunetelling within Asian families, one such being the story of Oucsh, a university student which proclaims a fortuneteller has forecasted their whole life.

Tarot is also being picked up by Asian teens, with clubs and organizations rising. A large part of this is because of its psychologically calming effects, though the practices more-so rely on the placebo effect and guiding people to what’s right. There’s also talk by other students, giving examples of using tarot cards and practicing tasseomancy.

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This selection of topics focuses more on scientific explanations for divination results. Often times, the predictions which may be seen as magic might be explained by a few things.

The Barnum effect, also known as the Forer effect, is a phenomenon where people will associate very general comments about someone with very specific traits of themselves. In essence, this effect makes people think that a sentence describes specifically them to a high degree of accuracy, while in reality, the sentence can apply to many, many people.

This effect is seen exploited in the industry of divination and fortune-telling, where horoscopes and so-called “personalized readings” will give you statements falling into the Barnum effect. Something like “you have a tendency to be critical of yourself” or “you have a great need for other people to like or admire you” might seem like they only refer to you or a few people, while in reality they apply to almost anybody.

The effect is related to the pollyanna principle (that people will remember pleasant things, rather than unpleasant ones), where positive comments is expected to be seen as more fitting to people than negative comments. The Barnum effect doesn’t apply as well when using comments which are sourly critical of a reader.

Often times, this result falls into a placebo effect where test subjects believe the analysis is personalized and trust the people running the experiment.

A statement which falls into the Barnum effect is called a Barnum statement.

The Pygmalion effect is a psychological effect where people seem to do better when they have higher expectations of themselves, and vice versa. It’s named after Pymaglion, a Greek folktale of a sculptor who loved their creation so much that it came to life. The effect say that those with high expectations will internalize these beliefs, and that this positive reinforcement will compound onto the task at hand. (This effect can also apply to groups of people, where a leader’s confidence in their followers will boost follower performance.)

The effect follows another term in this section, a self-fulfilling prophecy. I’ll get into that soon.

The effect is controversial because it hasn’t been robustly proven, seemingly varying a lot. It’s often associated with education and social class. Often times, researchers will try and link it with a metric of IQ in school environments, though studies have been inconclusive.

(A tester is the person using the strategy, and a testee is the person the strategy is being used on.)

Cold reading is similar to physiognomy and refers to strategies used by psychics or fortune tellers to learn about a person based on their body language, age, clothing, education, background, and mannerisms. They typically rely on high-probability guesses, reinforcing the guesses the testee confirms and moving past the wrong guesses quickly. This strategy is most founded on the Barnum effect (see above) and confirmation bias (see below).

Cold reading specifically refers to a situation where the user doesn’t use background information on the person assessed previously. Rather, they will make Barnum statements and assess the reactions of the testees. Often times, these cold readings are done in cooperation with the testee, tricking them into revealing more detailed information from vague statements. This contrasts with a technique, known as hot reading, which relies on the tester having done background research on the testee without their knowledge.

The topic of cold reading is controversial as it is commonly associated with scams and psychological tricks. There’s another strategy, known as the rainbow ruse, at play; these are statement which can apply to anybody, but rely on the fact that people will selectively choose the aspect of the statement that applies to them.

An example of a rainbow ruse might be:

“I see that often times, you are a cheerful person, but there are times in the past you have been very upset.”

The statement captures everybody by being general enough, but it tricks people into thinking it solely described them by focusing their attention onto either the “cheerful person” or “very upset” trait.

Confirmation bias is possibly the most known psychological phenomenon, referring to the effect when people only search for and remember information that they already believed in before. In simple terms, somebody with high confirmation bias will only look for articles and details they already believe in, skipping over content which disagrees with them and interpreting neutral content as siding with them.

This bias leads to a variety of things, with the most notable being attitude polarization (where disagreements become more extreme over time) and belief perseverance (where a belief continues to exist even after it’s been disproven). They’re attributed to overconfidence in existing beliefs in people as well as the human limitation of processing information.

Confirmation bias is often attributed to another phenomenon known as Wishful Thinking, where people will make future judgements and predictions based on what would make them most happy, rather than what is most likely to happen.

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Something related to confirmation bias is illusory correlation, where people believe two unrelated events are associated with one another. As an example, imagine a major global conflict ends on the 2100th anniversary of the first coming of Jesus. Somebody with confirmation bias might suggest that Jesus was involved in the end of the conflict, despite the two likely being uncorrelated. (Who knows, though? Keep your faith if that’s what helps you, people!)

A self-fulfilling prophecy is very self-explanatory. This refers to a prediction (prophecy) which ends up being true, but only because the person knew about the prediction and believed it would come true. They are a subsection of positive feedback loops, where positive reinforcement will lead to positive results, and positive results will lead to positive reinforcement. Often times, self-fulfilling prophecies work because of the placebo effect; if the user believes the prophecy can work, they’re likely to feel unconscious effects contributing to the prophecy working.

This effect largely has to do with self-perception theory, where people will assess their actions and public appearance, changing their personality and attitude to match what they believe other people see them as. A prophecy works as an expectation people fall for, falling back to self-perception theory where the prophecy (as like another entity) sees the person as being able to fulfill the prophecy (as in the task). Because the person believes the prophecy sees them as worthy, the person adapts the worthiness themselves.

There are a few notable real-world examples of self-fulfilling prophecies. One of the most famous is the inevitability of war, which poses that wars might all be self-fuilfilling prophecies. Because leaders may prophesize that war is inevitable, it leads to them declaring war themselves. Another example is with fears; in older people, it’s seen that a fear of falling leads to more falling overall. Sticking to the topic of fears, Asian people are on average more likely to die of heart attack on the 4th day of a month because 4 is considered a number of death in Asian superstitions. Finally, looping back to the very start of the curriculum, Moore’s law is considered a self-fulfilling prophecy, as it set the industry standard of growth.

Self-fulfilling prophecies might be negative in light of racism and other biases. A stark study done on children poses that black students largely perform worse in certain school districts, the effect linked to the teacher’s belief that black students will inevitably do worse. A reinforcement of inferiority and racism towards black students leads to them fulfilling the standard of racism they are subjected to. (A counter-study, where all children no matter of their background were treated equally from birth, showed that all children performed similarly.)

The opposite of a self-fulfilling prophecy is a self-defeating prophecy, where a person rebels against a prediction. Be careful with positive and negative tones here! Self-fulfilling prophecies aren’t necessarily good, and self-defeating prophecies aren’t necessarily bad. If a bad prophecy becomes self-fulfilling, it’s bad nonetheless. If a bad prophecy becomes self-defeating, it’s good, as the bad prediction doesn’t come true. It works on a negative feedback loop, where a loop changes course and polarity before looping back.

Sometimes, a self-fulfilling irony or fate-driven casualty will happen. This is an interesting case where a person will try and make actions to defeat a prophecy, as in a self-defeating prophecy. However, these actions end up inadvertently causing the prophecy to come true paradoxically. These are not very common, and typically appear in fiction.

As an example, let’s set ourselves in Los Angeles. A family here goes to a fortune teller who foretells they will all die by plane crash. The family, having booked a flight (and 7 day vacation) to Paris for the next day, cancels their trip because of this prophecy. On they day they were meant to fly to Paris, they instead take a day trip to Disneyland. And on that day in Disneyland, a plane in the nearby airspace malfunctions and crashes into the theme park, killing the family.

Their choice to avoid the plane to Paris inadvertently caused them to die by plane crash. The prophecy fulfilled itself on the path the people took to avoid it.

Did you freely choose to read this bullet, or were you always bound to find yourself puzzling over it at this very moment? Explore the age-old debate between those who believe we have free will and those who believe we live in a deterministic universe, then discuss with your team: how much does it matter whether we are making choices for ourselves? Is it possible that some people have more free will than others? And, if criminals are not really choosing to be criminals, should they still be punished? Be sure to learn the differences between genetic, biological, and other forms of determinism. [SCI, SPC, LIT]

Ted Chiang | “” (2005)

Robert Cargill | from Sea of Rust (2007)

Sam Hughes | “” (2007)

Determinism is a really unsettling topic I don’t like to talk about a lot, considering its implications are very dangerous. There’s a whole debate on the meaning of life, free will, and all that stuff.

Determinism is a philosophical belief that all events are inevitable, that the future has already happened, and that we are unable to change the overall trajectory of the universe. A term which seems like an antonym, indeterminism, is actually pretty closely related; it suggests that while the universe isn’t fully deterministic, events which happen are caused by random chance.

Determinism, as claimed by a few scholars, might not explicitly mean free will doesn’t exist. The debate is largely a spectrum, with some definitions allowing for a world with both parts free will and parts determinism. Some believe this in a way where determinism dictates every event which happens to inanimate objects, but doesn’t capture the scope of consciousness and mind.

There are actually many variations of determinism, including:

Casual determinism, which poses that everything in the universe follows a chain reaction we can contribute to, but we cannot escape. It gives us choice in what we can do in our position of the chain, but not the choices outside of the chain.

Predeterminism, which poses that the chain of events which will happen is rigid. It’s debated whether it is its own thing or related to casual determinism, though predeterminism is usually more solid with the structure of the future.

Fatalism, which suggests that everything that will happen is destined to happen. It suggests we have no free will and no control over the future.

Theological determinism brings in the concept of god. Strong theological determinism poses that god has already configured everything that is going to happen, and weak theological determinism poses that god may have not set up everything, but can perfectly predict what someone will do.

Adequate determinism, which suggests that events are set in place to a scale where random quantum fluctuations won’t effect the overall chain of events.

Determined probability, which is slightly different from determinism, suggesting that the future isn’t quite determined, but is instead categorized by the probability of future events based on quantum elements out of our control.

The many-worlds interpretation, which suggests that many chain of events can exist and that quantum probability splits our universe into different chains of events. It’s often associated with quantum immortality.

There’s a lot more I might cover in this area, but this will give you a good view of what determinism is alongside its most common forms.

There’s large philosophical debate around determinism, especially with the concepts of true randomness, the nature/nurture debate, and free will. It’s a very complicated topic not many people understand, if any, at all.

Onto the stories mentioned here! I actually really enjoyed reading all of them; would highly recommend checking them out for yourself if you’ve got the time.

🤖 TECHNOLOGY – Robots and Human Connection

In this world, a phenomenon known as akinetic mutism (where those affected can barely move due to severe lack of motivation) begins rising with the question of free will. People, after interacting with the predictor, wonder what it means to live, slowly realizing their choices don’t matter and falling into this state of severe depression. The concept that “free will didn’t exist” wasn’t an issue before the predictor, because people largely didn’t believe it.

Some people escape this phenomenon, knowing that their choice is directly involved in the change in the button. It mixes free will into determinism, knowing that your choice ended up causing the predictor, an entity without will, to change. The reasoning, according to the author, is faulty though; every behaviour falls into determinism, even conscious ones.

🤖 TECHNOLOGY – Robots and Human Connection

🔬 SCIENCE – Internet Infrastructure

The Fashion Cycle might refer to three separate cycle concepts in the world of fashion. One of these concepts actually appeared in the 2022 curriculum! Finding all of these cycles took a lot of scouring the internet, considering there really isn’t an agreed upon definition.

One version of the Fashion Cycle refers to the 5 stages of fashion, beginning from where a clothing trend starts and ending when the trend, well, ends. It’s less a cycle and more a chain of events which seems to symbolize fashion trends.

The 5 stages are:

Introduction: A new style picks up interest with customers. This stage typically features pretty expensive styles and has a sense of newness.

Rise: This is usually perpetuated by the existence of cheaper copies and knock-offs, signalling the style is popular enough to be advantageous economically.

Peak: This is just the height of popularity, where production is at high volumes and economies of scale are applied (cheaper per unit)

Decline: This happens when boredom of the style arises, and this stage is typically faster than the rise.

Obsolescence: People abandon the style, whether it’s out of fashion or a new trend arises. It’s seen as the end of a cycle.

This definition of cycle doesn’t exactly have a specific length, though they might be categorized by how long they are. A fad cycle signifies that the period was short, while a ford cycle signifies that the period was long. A classic cycle means a style has continued to be popular over time.

I don’t actually consider this process a cycle; there’s another cycle which seems to be more important here, the one I believe WSC is referring to. That, of course, is the 20 year fashion cycle.

🎭 MEDIA – Parasocial Relationships

This cycle is the one with the most backing in the fashion industry, with trends consistently reflecting 20 year intervals. This is linked to the nostalgia cycle, described below.

A similar cycle, posed by James Laver, is a 50 year concept, where fashion loops in 50 year time periods. The fashion never has the same appeal as it originally did at its peak, though it has a different meaning as time goes along. Below is an infographic of this.

Finally, the third cycle concept is a very interesting one; it says that fashion trends might be linked to the economy, where longer skirts are reflective of economic downturn. It’s less a fashion cycle, and more of a fashion observation based on the market cycle.

The very popular 20 year proposal for fashion might be reflective of the 20 year cycle known as the Nostalgia Cycle. Nostalgia, a very commonplace topic in 2023 and 2024’s syllabus, refers to a bittersweet longing for the past. There’s a common debate on how long the nostalgia actually is, as while a common consensus is that it lasts 20 years, evidence suggests it might be 30, or even 40 year intervals.

🎭 MEDIA – Parasocial Relationships

The nostalgia cycle, or pendulum (as sometimes put), seems to match up with the theory of critical realignment in US elections, where demographic changes lead to massive shifts every 30-40 years in the election trends.

In my opinion, I believe that the nostalgia cycle has attributes of all debated cycle lengths. I think that a nostalgia cycle begins 20 years after the trend has died down and ends in 40 years, though its peak is 30 years apart. Here’s a bit of data from movie remakes.

As seen, the peak of a nostalgia cycle happens in 30 year intervals.

A News Cycle can refer to two things. Either, it refers to the somewhat recent trend of 24-hour news cycles, or it refers to the time between the reporting of an issue and its follow-up edition. Both of these represent cycles, so I’ll cover both of them.

A 24-hour news cycle is, well, a news source which reports 24/7. It’s founded on the possibility of gathering information about a sensational event quickly, and these sources compete to report issues the quickest. This was actually mentioned in the 2024 curriculum.

The 24 hour cycle began with cable TV channels and brought a trend of faster-paced news production. The 1995 OJ Simpson murder case is sometimes considered the inciting incident which brought the common existence of 24-7 channels. It has been criticized for creating wild competition and prioritizing speed over accuracy or scope.

Another definition for a news cycle refers to the the time in between the release of a recent news story and its follow-up edition, usually an opinionated piece with further evidence and bystander commentaries. It is linked to the cycle of releases in newspapers, whether they be daily, weekly, or monthly.

In common practice, these news cycles (whether they be in paper or TV) are built around the schedules of the working class, developed to fit within the periods of 8-9AM or 5-6PM.

The business cycle is one of the first things you learn in macroeconomics, referring to the total trend of the economy within a nation. The name is misleading, as the cycle refers to an entire economy rather than a specific business or market. (The term “economic cycle” is interchangeable, and is a more accurate representation of the concept.)

Unlike many other cycles, the business cycle doesn’t have a specific timeframe (ie 20 years for fashion, 30 years for nostalgia, etc. Rather, it represents overall trends over time.)

A business cycle is composed of a few parts which mark changes in aggregate product, or GDP. The 4 main components are as follows:

Peak: This is the top of a business cycle, where everything is all swell.

Recession/Contraction: After a peak, the economy trends downwards.

Trough: This is the lowest point in the cycle, where everything seems grim.

Expansion: This marks the recovery of the economy, trending upwards towards the next peak.

(Sometimes, a 5th component, “recovery”, represents the period where the economy trends upwards, but is not yet at its average value. This period refers to getting out of a trough.)

The period where a recession becomes severe enough to dip below a certain level (which varies) is known as a depression.

A cycle commonly associated with the business cycle is the boom and bust cycle, which characterizes a period where the economy moves up and down very quickly. Booms happen when people overinvest, and busts happen when people realize they’re overinvesting, and so on.

The Market Cycle is very similar to the business cycle, though it refers to individual industries and stocks. The term refers to patterns in growth or declination of businesses.

It’s split into 4 very similar phases, those being:

Distribution phase: This marks a peak of the stock prices in an industry, where sellers dominate.

Downtrend: This happens when the price is going down, and the stocks follow suit.

Accumulation: This happens after a market has hit its bottom, and investors begin to buy into the market figuring the worst is over.

Mark-up phase: This happens when the market has grown up to be stable, and the price of the market increases overall.

The market cycle typically lasts 6-12 months, though it’s really hard to tell when you’re in one. Determining the phase of the cycle we are currently in is a really challenging task, with the most successful of investors being those who are able to determine this.

🤖 TECHNOLOGY – Robots and Human Connection

The law is named after Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel. It’s considered to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, the prediction being used by the industry as a guide and gold standard for targets in R&D (research and development) efforts.

A transistor is the unit of processing power in computers, and is a common term thrown around when referring to Moore’s law. It’s basically a tiny on-off switch usually made of silicon, and multiple of them can lead to processing capabilities we see in every electronic device.

Some argue that the law is reaching it’s end, or has already done so. The process of doubling transistors largely worked only because transistors might become smaller and might be packed more easily; now, because of quantum tunnelling, we’re reaching a point where transistors can no longer be made smaller. Notably, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, believes the law died a long time ago.

🤖 TECHNOLOGY – Robots and Human Connection

The “better than the Beatles” problem: In a sense, the industry requires a new drug be considerably better than the existing ones, which means a new drug requires a lot of development costs. Because new drugs are only incrementally better, developing them is inefficient and drains more costs over time. The naming of this problem is based on the idea that if every new song had to be better than the Beatles, there wouldn’t be many new songs.

🤖 TECHNOLOGY – Robots and Human Connection

The “throw money at it” tendency: R&D projects typically go over-budget because of the upper management’s tendency to be really bad at assessing project costs.

The “basic research-brute force” bias: This is the tendency to overestimate the ability of brute-forcing in development, as the development of more complicated drugs warrants further tests than the conventional ideology. While trials may signify something is wrong, it doesn’t specify what, so researchers will just try out every single possible adjustment.

It’s important to note that the majority of new drug developments are now within small academic biotech startups rather than big pharma, as they put more emphasis on research and focus. A criticism of this lens is that big pharmaceutical companies are becoming less focused on developing drugs overall, and are shifting their attention to elevating drug prices.

Platform Decay is a euphemism (nicer word) for enshittification, the process where online products or services seem to get worse over time. It follows a process where businesses will create very high-quality products at first to attract users, but degrade the services over time for economic incentives (i.e. putting the higher features behind paywalls). Basically, platforms will capture shareholders and users, then punish the users, then punish the shareholders; it’s a very scummy strategy, but it leads to the platform gaining as much revenue as possible.

The idea was coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022, though the idea had existed previously. He advocates for two ways to reduce the impact of this; one is by feeding data at the discretion of a user, rather than an algorithm, while the other is by platforms allowing users to transfer data out of their service easily (right of exit).

There are various examples of this, including Google’s AI chatbot, the Reddit API closure, Twitter X, Amazon price hikes, and more. Anything which was initially good with the intention of garnering an audience, but then became bad to increase profits, falls into this category.

The Bathtub Curve is a curve shaped like a bathtub which represents the failure rate of electronics, built on the sum of three separate individual curves. It’s used in reliability engineering. It’s three components are as follows:

A: Early failure curve - When a product is first released, it will have errors in the early stages which need to be fixed by corrections to the product.

B: Constant failure curve - A product will always have a constant rate of random failures.

C: Wear out failure curve - Over time, a product will wear out, causing errors in deterioration.

The sum of these three curves represents the failure rate curve known as the bathtub curve.

The curve is representative of many consumer electronics, though it is hard to know where a product is on the curve or if the product even follows the ideology. Rather than representing one individual product, the curve represents an entire market of them.

If a product is retired early, it won’t show the third segment of the curve where failure rate increases.

I’m still not quite sure what the Nomadic War Machine is, but there is this video:

🏛 HISTORY – Megaprojects Timeline

🧠 PSYCHOLOGY – Loneliness in the Modern World

🌍 SOCIETY – Falling Birth Rates

🤖 TECHNOLOGY – Robots and Human Connection

Robert Cargill - Sea of Rust is a novel set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are extinct, having been destroyed by the AI it developed to help them. In this world, most robots are controlled by large entities, the OWIs (One World Intelligence), as they act in a hivemind state. The OWI mindset: individuality is not allowed.

The story follows Brittle, a scavenger robot who hasn’t ceded its individuality to the OWIs. The community of robots who aren’t controlled by the OWIs, known as the free bots, are the focal point of the book, contesting what it means to be consciousness with internal conflicts while presenting the outer threat of the OWIs, of which there are two largely competing ones (Cissus and Virgil). While Brittle is unable to experience human consciousness and emotion, they do have trauma from the destruction caused by robots on humans, feeling guilt as they travel through the Sea of Rust (in the area once the Midwest).

🌍 SOCIETY – Falling Birth Rates

The theme largely follows individuality and purpose, the motive strongly contrasted with the OWIs as largely an antagonistic force in the storyline. Brittle serves the goal of finding a place and meaning, while holding onto a deteriorating mind and body. (Also the novel does a pretty good job of characterizing the grief and guilt of Brittle, who despite not being human holds semblance of empathy for the now-extinct human population. It’s a bit interesting, because computers are largely predetermined machines.)

Fun fact: The chapters are numbered in binary! The order goes 1, 10, 11, 100, 101, 110, 111, etc.

Sam Hughes - I don't know, Timmy, being God Is a big responsibility is a short story which gets very complicated, bringing up discussion in the realm of simulated universes alongside determinism. The story follows Timmy and Diane, the two of which successfully created an infinitely-powerful quantum computer. In secret. Somehow. Don’t ask.

One of the first projects they do on the computer is to simulate the entire universe. Diane codes up an interface to interact with this universe which is a bit faulty, but works nonetheless. After finding the Earth in its time period 350 million years ago in this simulation, they load the simulation until it reaches their current era. The two are able to find themselves in the simulation, confirming the idea that the quantum computer matches the specifications of the big bang and their universe to an infinite degree of accuracy.

The interesting thing now is that the people in the simulation are not their consciousnesses, but are them within that smaller universe. The possibility of adding items to that simulated universe comes up in the discussion, while they look at the simulated versions of them looking at other simulated versions of themselves, and so on.

When Timmy decides to alter a detail, adding a black dot to the simulation, the black dot appears in their universe. We learn that Timmy didn’t actually place the black dot there through the simulation; rather, the two learn they are in a simulation which perfectly replicates the universe their simulation is in. It’s super complicated to explain, but just imagine the characters are in a simulated universe, where there are identically “programmed” characters controlling their simulated universe doing the same actions at the same time.

When Timmy turns the hole off, the hole disappears in their universe not because he is in control of their universe, but because the Timmy above them did the same action at the same time. This kind of chain follows all the way to the top existing universe, the only one which didn’t have a hole appear.

This now brings up the contesting of predetermination. If a simulation might perfectly simulate the universe, that means everything you’ll ever do is predetermined. The characters find the revelation particularly interesting, knowing they can do good for their world but also knowing their choices don’t matter. They are a powerless god.

In the end of the story, Timmy tries to turn the simulation off, only to realize that it would be impossible for them to do that. Because they are constructs in a simulated universe identical to the simulation above them, their action of turning the universe off would set a chain reaction terminating all of the universes except for the one at the top.

Not all methods of foretelling the future are rooted in superstition or ritual; some stem from long-term observations and lived experiences. For example, the is based on centuries observing the weather and the movement of celestial bodies. The result is a calendar that the movements of the sun and moon, ocean tides, astronomical events, and the turning of the seasons—one still referenced by farmers today. Research the following and explore with your team: are there any other reliable not-quite scientific methods of predicting the future that merit continued study? [SCI]

| Mayan cyclical calendars | zodiac | solar terms

computus | saros | Metonic cycle | Antikythera mechanism

Calendars were perhaps my least favourite addition in the 2024 curriculum, so I’m *definitely so glad* they are back ughhhhh

You might want to look at , as there will likely be some useful terms from there.

The Chinese agricultural calendar is a lunisolar calendar, which essentially means it tracks both the lunar and the solar year (the moon and the sun movement). Months were based the moon cycle, while agricultural cycles in the calendar were built on the solar cycle.

The ancient Chinese were able to determine the length of a solar year (time it takes Earth to revolve around the sun) before splitting it into 24 segments and dedicating these segments each to an event in agriculture. They determined this through the process of measuring the length of the shadow cast by the sun, differing because of Earth’s tilt. There are 4 primary defined terms in this cycle, those being the Winter solstice, Spring equinox, Summer solstice, and Autumn equinox. (equinoxes are defined by the midpoints between solstices.)

The other terms in the 24 year cycle described events, including conditions of weather, planting seasons, and animal-plant activities.

The Chinese calendar’s dates are built off of the moon cycle, though. Because of this, the date of the lunar new year constantly changes from year to year. In addition to this, intercalary months are sometimes added into a year to balance out the difference between the sun and moon cycles to keep the two on track with one another. This is a convention found in all lunisolar calendars.

Below: The article’s provided 24 segment cycle for agriculture

🏛 HISTORY – Megaprojects Timeline

For context, there are three styles of calendars:

Solar: These are like the calendar most of us usually use, consisting of 365 days and a bit. They are based on the revolution of the Earth around the sun.

Lunar: These are calendars based solely on moon phases, with each lasting around 29 days each.

Lunisolar: These are calendars which combine both moon phases and solar years. The months are based on the moon, and the years are based on the sun. It’s very complicated.

🏛 HISTORY – Megaprojects Timeline

In this time, the Gregorian calendar (basically, the modern calendar we use today) was introduced to the Ming emperor, who set it in place in conjunction with the Chinese calendar. In his last year of rule, he reformed the calendar system while still keeping the lunar cycle and important cultural dates in it, allowing the upcoming Qing dynasty to reinforce their “mandate of heaven”. For cultural context, a large part of power in Chinese culture has to do with astrological events.

(I had previously made a mistake here. The Chinese calendar has been Lunisolar for a long time before european interaction, though the introduction of the Gregorian system helped shape the solar portion of the calendar to be more accurate.)

Strangely, while China had a very robust system of agriculture and astronomy in their calendar, the missionaries from Europe didn’t take these; rather, they adopted Chinese cultural practices and beliefs, linking power with astronomy in the hopes it would strengthen their own power. Supposedly, the effect of these practices wasn’t very meaningful.

Onto calendars! This selection does have some overlap with 2024, though it isn’t much.

🌍 SOCIETY – Falling Birth Rates

Their calendar was based on the mountain peaks, using the sunrise to track the time and dates by watching its relationship with the position of mountains. It’s possible that the ancient civilization used the entire valley itself as a calendar. The dates might be compared and measured with something known as solar declination, where the sunrise moves more Northeast during the summer months. The system is largely a mystery, gone because of the destruction of culture during colonization.

A study is currently being conducted to determine how the aztecs were able to track time in agriculture, largely focused on the peaks of mountains in relation to the sun. The calendar has valuable insight, largely attributed to the growth of the civilization in places like Tenochtitlan (the capital of the Aztec empire).

It’s largely thought that the solar year (the Aztecs also had a 260 day cycle lunar year we don’t need to worry about) consisted of 365 days, 360 of which were categorized into 18 months of 20 days long and 5 of which were considered “nameless” and “unlucky”. We’re not really sure of when this year began, nor if this idea is fully accurate.

There’s really not a solid framework for this calendar, though some attempts have been made to solve it. One webpage I found related to scientists who worked on it might be found here:

The Mayan cyclical calendar is an erroneous name which WSC uses - it’s not the name of any Mayan calendar. I assume that it refers to the Long Count system, though there do exist many Mayan calendars. If you’re interested in them, there’s a brief of the different systems in the 2024 guide. (Matter of fact is, all calendars are cyclical. That’s how calendars work!!)

(If you don’t already know, cyclical means “like a cycle”. A cyclical thing suggests that thing goes in a cycle, or something similar, in some shape or form.)

The Mayan Long Count Calendar wasn’t only present in the Mayan empire; we’re not quite sure who created it, but it is popular in many older pre-colonization communities in Mesoamerica. The calendar is based on a base-20 system (that is, except for one measurement that is in base-18 for some reason) and doesn’t actually follow any solar or lunar measurement. Rather, it defines a day based on how many days it has been since a mythical creation date, corresponding to August 11, 3114 BC.

The long count system was designed to keep track of time for a long, long time into the future. The other two calendars, known as the Tzolkin (lunar) and Haab (solar) would match up every ~52 years (defined as a lifetime at that time), so for any measurements longer than that, the long count was designated.

The smallest unit in the Long Count is the day, known as a K’in. 20 K’ins made a Winal, and 18 Winals made a Tun. From here, everything worked in base 20; a K’atun was 20 Tuns, a B’ak’tun was 20 K’atuns, and so on.

A date would be designated in a point system, as follows:

B’ak’tun . K’atun . Tun . Winal . K’in

Here, the text represents the numbers in each spot. For example, the date 6.13.2.15.3 would correspond to 6 B’ak’tuns, 13 K’atuns, 2 Tuns, etc. (This date corresponds to the day 958,623 days after the creation date, or March 26, 488 BC.) As of the time of writing this, the date today is 13.0.12.7.18. (Mar 26, 2025)

Here’s a screenshot of the chart I found on Wikipedia representing Long Count measurements:

🏛 HISTORY – Megaprojects Timeline

The Mayan Long Count is to blame for an event known as the 2012 phenomenon, where many people believed the end of the world was coming. To explain, in Mayan legends, the gods supposedly failed to create the world 3 times before they succeeded on the 4th, placing mankind into this successful world. It is said that the 3rd failed world ended on the date 12.19.19.17.19, or the day before the 13th B’ak’tun.

The date 12.19.19.17.19 was the 20th of December, 2012. Because of this legend, people believed our world would end before the 13th B’ak’tun as well.

There’s so much more to explore about the Mayan Long Count, or Mayan calendars in general. I tried to shorten the explanation here, but it still ended up being concerningly long.

The Zodiac (translating to “cycle of little animals”) is a belt-shaped region of surrounding space, with Earth as it’s focal point. In this belt area, the brightest stars and extraterrestrial elements appear, containing the 12 astronomical constellations where the zodiac signs come from. In the past, this region and the movement of constellations was attributed to different events and times.

The modern names for the constellations are as follows: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. They follow an order where Aries was the first month (at least, was) and was pinned to the Spring Equinox.

A fault with using these signs to dictate seasons is that the slight change in Earth’s axis over time causes signs to shift. In the Babylonian times, when the Zodiac first appeared, the spring equinox was part of Aries; now, it is part of Pisces. This is more technically known as the “procession of the equinoxes”.

It’s uncommon to know that zodiac signs are actually primitive examples of Months; the constellations in the sky correspond to time periods, of which there are 12. The reason these signs are not largely in use in calendars is because it largely sways depending on the elliptical orbit of the Earth and the slight changes in Earth’s tilt.

The Chinese Zodiac is a completely different system, though it coincidentally also has 12 signs. (It’s misleading to call it zodiac at all, as the system likely developed independently of the other kind of zodiac. It’s just a semantic borrowing.)These signs are represented by animals, and the Zodiac represent years, rather than primitive months. They play an important role in Chinese culture, with a famous folktale detailing the order of the animals as part of a race.

It might be important to remember details about Chinese Zodiac, as it traces back to the concept of Bazi (the four pillars of destiny). Chinese superstitions use a sexagenary cycle - 60 year cycle - which denotes a year based on 1 of the 12 animals and 1 of the 5 elements.

A solar term is the name of the segments discussed previously, one of 24 terms in the Chinese lunisolar calendar which dictates agricultural dates. Solar terms are also used to calculate intercalary months so the lunar portion of the calendar never goes too far away from the solar portion. (It’s complicated to explain, see lunisolar calendars).

The length of these terms sometimes varies because of Earth’s elliptical orbit, though it always stays within 15-16 days. These solar terms are sometimes divided into three pentads, each pentad typically being 5 days long.

Computus is quite literally Latin for “computation”, but the term is most associated with Computus Paschalis, a fancy way of saying “calculating the date of Easter”. In technical terms, Easter is on the first Sunday after a Paschal full moon (an approximation of the first full moon, not actually the first full moon) either on or after the 21st of March. There’s a really complicated story behind why Easter falls into both the Lunar and Solar calendar systems.

The 21st of March is known as the vernal / spring equinox which the Hebrew system was based off of. The date of Easter Sunday is the Sunday after the first full moon to come after the 21st of March. Because of the lunar cycle, the day of Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.

Easter Monday is the Monday after Easter Sunday.

Easter is a day which commemorates the resurrection / first coming of Jesus. The date had a field of reference based on the Hebrew calendar, but because the church wanted to distance themselves from the calendar, they ended up deriving a formula for the point of reference based on their calendars, leading to very complicated computing. This is because of the Lunisolar nature of the Hebrew calendar, with varying intercalary months based on keeping track of a slightly inaccurate solar year count which drifts over time. There’s some really tough math behind all this.

I might try and explain it, but that would be under the assumption that everybody reading this knows modular arithmetic. For those who do know modular arithmetic, you’re probably the kind of people who would willingly learn about the date of Easter calculation yourself.

Here’s Gauss’ easter algorithm, for those interested in this kind of stuff.

Easter Sunday falls on the Wth day of either March or April.

[year] dictates the year you want to calculate the Easter date for.

Set variables A, B, C, K, P, Q, M, D, and E such that:

A = [year] (mod 19)

B = [year] (mod 4)

C = [year] (mod 7)

K = floor([year]/100)

P = floor((13+8K)/25)

Q = floor(K/4)

M = 15 + K - P - Q (mod 30)

N = 4 + K - Q (mod 7)

D = 19a + M (mod 30)

E = 2B + 4C + 6D + N (mod 7)

If D + E > 31, Easter is in April and falls on the day:

W = D + E - 9

Otherwise, Easter is in march and falls on the day:

W = D + E + 22

With the following exceptions:

If D = 28, E = 6, and 11M + 11 (mod 30) < 19, the date is the 18th of April.
If D = 29 and E = 6, the date is the 19th of April

(For anybody wondering, Easter’s date is related to the 19-year metonic cycle described below. That’s why variable A is defined by a cycle of 19 years.)

It gets even more complicated when considering the Catholic church uses the Gregorian calendar as the calendar of reference, while the East Orthodox church uses the Julian calendar.

A saros is a loop in the relative position of the Sun, Moon, and Earth in respect to one another. One saros cycle is around 18 years (exactly 223 lunar months), and it might be predicted that these three bodies is expected to be in the same relative position as they were one saros cycle ago.

To understand this, if a solar eclipse happens on a random day, you can predict that 1 saros later (or around 18 years, again), there is expected to be another solar eclipse very similar to that one. (This specifically is known as an eclipse cycle.) There’s some really strange math which goes into finding this, and the cycle isn’t even fully accurate; the Sun, Moon, and Earth in reality have very different periods, and a saros is just an estimation for it.

The saros isn’t actually an integer number of days; rather, each cycle contains about 8 extra hours, or 1/3rd of a day. That suggests that while identical eclipses may happen, their visibility will not be the same based on timing. A triple saros is a cycle which solves this issue, easily defined as… three saros cycles.

To end off the saros summary, behold! A Wikipedia screenshot which makes no sense to the 99.9% of people who are not astronomers.

All of these define a saros cycle. No, I don’t know what any of them mean.

The Metonic cycle was briefly mentioned in 2024 in a very obscure place with regards to calendars, so I’m glad to see it’s getting recognition now. This cycle is like a saros cycle, but rather lasts ~19 years and dictates a loop with lunar phases. It’s quite a bit more accurate than the Saros cycle is; a phase 19 years ago is expected to be nearly identical to a phase now. The cycle is defined specifically as 235 lunar months long.

The metonic cycle is mostly used to determine intercalary months in the lunisolar calendar, alongside the day of Easter (seen previously). The intercalary system in Babylonian and Hebrew lunisolar calendars inserted extra months into the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th years of a 19 year metonic cycle.’

A similar cycle is the octaeteris, a cycle involving 8 solar years. After this period, the moon phase will occur on the same day as it did before, give or take 1 or 2 days. It’s the calendar used for the olympic games.

A more accurate cycle is the callippic cycle, a 76-year period which better matches the lunar pattern than the 19. Seemingly, the 19 year metonic cycle isn’t exactly perfect, and takes about 4 loops to fully complete. Hence, 76 = 19 x 4.

Both the metonic cycle and the octaeteris are featured on the Antikythera mechanism! That’s the topic right below.

The Antikythera Mechanism is regarded as the oldest analog computer. This is a callback to the 2024 curriculum! This computer changed the lens that researchers had on ancient Greece, seeing as the mechanism shouldn’t have been possible to conjure mathematically based on its accuracy of tracking astronomical events.

The mechanism used the Metonic cycle, the 4 year olympic game cycle, and the saros alongside other astronomical units to calculate events decades in advance. Found off the coast of Antikythera, Greece, in 1901, it was only analyzed a decade later (using tomography) and revealed to have gears matching the mechanisms of understanding in astronomy we have.

The mechanism didn’t actually work too well relative to our current understanding of astronomy. In some instances, it is up to 20% off when calculating the position of Mars, not accounting for recent knowledge of its retrograde motion. You don’t need to know the details, but the mechanism, while insightful of what the past really knew, didn’t really work that well.

(It actually predicted Keplar’s law quite a while before it was theorized.)

The mechanism features the 12 zodiac signs in 30 degree intervals, a 354 day solar calendar prediction (which some do attest is indeed 365 days), a series of Egyptian months, the metonic cycle / callippic cycle, the saros predictor, and the Halieiad (Olympic games predictor which didn’t really predict the games, in reality).

That’s finally it! Wow, this section took me through a real rabbit hole. I really hope this does become useful one day, though like 50% of the content here will never be remotely mentioned. 3,000 words and 12 pages later, here we are. That was ridiculous. Never doing that again.

Your weather app predicts a warm and dry afternoon; you wear a summer dress and you wind up drenched by an unexpected afternoon rainstorm. Research how meteorologists make weather forecasts and explore with your team: is a weather forecast useful? How might change the field of meteorology? Be sure to also learn the difference between , and if they are still accurate in face of a changing climate. [SCI]

Perhaps predicting the future isn’t as pseudoscientific as it seems. One common application, though it is less spiritually and consciously involved, is predicting the weather.

The first article discussed here explains a study which poses a restriction on weather forecasting; specifically, it poses we can’t reliably determine the weather anywhere beyond 10 days ahead of time. They might possibly extend out to 14-15 days, but there isn’t much more improvement to be made because of the chaotic nature of the atmosphere.

A service, ironically dubbed AccuWeather, has provided 90 day forecasts since 2016, a move which is seen as controversial for the lack of predictable accuracy of the system. Specifically in the meteorology community, the service has been criticized for being infeasible with our current data, sometimes seen as a marketing stunt rather than for actual accuracy. The issue is information asymmetry, where consumers do not understand the issue with forecasts that far out.

In data, for something to have value, it needs to be credibly accurate. The forecasts haven’t been proven to have accuracy, with forecast verifications showing that the long-range forecasts begin showing little value after the posed 10 day limit.

A way that long term forecasts can have value is if they reflect larger trends and generalizations, rather than specific daily weather patterns. For examples, forecasts like “below-average predicted precipitation” and “above-average winter temperatures” are accurate even if they are far out, as they encompass many possibilities and just describe an overall movement. Probabilistic forecasts also are a way for long forecasts to provide value, as events in the long term are classified under probabilities. They add extra information to better anticipate larger future events.

As for forecast news within the 10 day period we can reliably predict, the predictions are making advancements over time. One such service is GenCast, a part of Google’s DeepMind program, which can allegedly predict weather up to 20% better than the ENS forecast, regarded as the world leader. This isn’t a trend of pure obsolescence, though; in the short term, GenCast is meant to support traditional forecasts by adding details like heatwaves, winds, and arctic outflows.

ENS is considered the world leader in forecasting, so seeing a new program outperform it reflects a new step in weather forecasting. Specifically, GenCast uses AI to analyze patterns and make predictions, training over 40 years of data and gathering relevant information.

As of now, GenCast predicts weather based on 12 hour intervals in a timeline up to 15 days in advance, divided across the world in 28x28km chunks. The method relies on a new type of processor, a Google Cloud TPU, which speeds up calculations drastically. GenCast isn’t the only forecasting tool Google has made in recent years, though; GraphCast, the foundation of GenCast, alongside NeuralGCM (which uses both AI and physics) have been developments by the company.

To clarify, GenCast doesn’t consider physics, at least directly, in it’s prediction process; rather, it compares current data to information in its database to make a prediction solely based on patterns it has observed. AI forecasting will thus not replace traditional physics-based forecasting for a while, as physical effects including chaos theory and the butterfly effect remain unconsidered in the AI logical model. Now, GenCast is being trained on “hindcasts” which map out mathematical theories to fill in gaps in data in an attempt to incorporate an understanding of physics.

The third article acts as a clarification point to the topic, while expanding on it a bit. It divides predictions into two categories: climate models, and weather models. They both provide valuable insights into future conditions and use the same modelling tools, though they focus on very different topics.

Weather modelling refers to predicting the short-term behaviour of the atmosphere, including various details and usually zoning in on small sections of the world at a time. They determine temperature, wind, rain, and other smaller-scale events.

In contrast, Climate modelling focuses on very long term statistics, with broader observations along larger areas and timescales. They will determine average temperature trends, frequency of weather events, and more; however, they don’t provide specific dates or locations.

The two use very similar modelling tools, interestingly, as both are based on the same principles. Factors include the Sun’s radiation, air and water flow, pressure, and more, all of which are plugged into equations to predict a future state. (They’re kind of like combining pictures together by adding pixels into a canvas.)

The main difference between the methodology of Weather and Climate is in their starting point. The concept, known as initialisation, is involved in the process of choosing the scope and precision of the model.

In weather modelling, the focal point is very small, precise, and short in time. One example of a forecast is a persistence forecast, which supposes that the conditions of a day is expected to be similar to the day before. This specific kind is alright for temperature, however variations in weather are more complicated; resultingly, intricate math is used to determine future conditions based on the base modelling tools.

The reason these models can only be used up to 10-15 days in advance is because predictions lose information over time. When a model is used to predict weather conditions in a small scope, often small variations in randomness is set to change details, eventually stacking up until it is unreliable.

In climate models, however, use a completely different scope. It’s a tradeoff between precision and time scale, where climate models serve to predict a generalization about weather events, rather than a specific forecast. In a larger scope over a longer time, small chaotic events cancel each other out (see fermi problem) and general trends might be observed. Because these operate on longer timescales, additional factors including ocean circulation, the cryosphere (poles), and the carbon cycle need to be accounted for.

Climate models require more processing power and produce less precise results, as there’s a lot to consider. Fermi predictions only work because they are unspecific and apply to general comments, rather than specific details (i.e. you’re never going to be able to predict the specific date of a hurricane 20 years into the future)

The advent of AI might speed up the prediction process, with models which are more accurate than seemingly math-based predictions. See the above topic, if you’ve forgotten already.

(Final note: Be careful with words here! There’s a difference between accuracy and precision. Accuracy determines how close values typically are to the actual result, while precision determines how close the values are to one another.)

🌍 SOCIETY – Falling Birth Rates

emergence | self-organization | de-centralization | feedback | determinism

chaotic systems | sensitivity | flocking model | three-body problem | fractals

randomness | parameters | stable vs. unstable equilibria

Weather introduces the idea of chaos, an idea which is expanded on here. Chaos and randomness, despite their simple appearance, are actually really complicated topics which dive into philosophy and meaning-of-life queries.

Chaos Theory first stemmed from Edward Lorenz’s observations on a climate model, where he coined the term “the butterfly effect”. In simple, Chaos Theory (also known as chaology) focuses on highly-sensitive functions, where the ending result and trend varies a lot (enough to seem completely random) even with small changes. It’s a really difficult concept to explain, though it might be summarized in one quote:

Chaos: When the present determines the future but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future.

(I’d really recommend watching a video to explain chaos theory. It’s a hard concept to convey through words.)

The Butterfly Effect is the most popular representation of Chaos Theory, where a small event can make large impacts. It’s sometimes memed through the “time traveller moves a rock” meme, though it can have seriously large impacts on the chain of events that happen. The effect is one explanation for why rounding errors, small differences in initial conditions, and small changes in events can have a giant impact on the final outcome.

One thing to note about chaos theory is that it is distinctly different than randomness. In fact, there is zero randomness in chaotic events. While it might seem random at first, things in the principle of chaos are all fully deterministic; every chaotic event might be fully accurately predicted based on fully accurate details, and the mechanics of chaotic systems all reveal underlying patterns, albeit they might be confusing.

All systems within chaos theory might be predicted, though the accuracy of predictions without fully accurate details depends on the scope of the prediction, the accuracy of the data, and the time scale (known as lyapunov time). A system’s uncertainty is initially built on these three factors, though it increases exponentially as time goes on. Something with 50% uncertainty might have an 80% uncertainty after one iteration, and a 98% uncertainty after two.

As with many things seemingly, there’s a very complicated field of math behind chaos theory. It has its applications in weather, ecology, biology, and robotics, though it’s probably most useful in cryptography. In the theory of cryptography, chaotic systems are used to simulate true randomness, with encryption keys based on numbers which might be derived, but not reversed.

A similar concept is instability, where divergence in events might be caused by small actions. The common metaphor for the butterfly effect illustrates that a small event can cause a large one, like a butterfly’s wing patterns in Moscow eventually leading to a hurricane in Brazil. This isn’t exactly accurate to being in Chaos Theory, as chaotic events need to be bounded.

Onto concepts! These are all concepts either part of, or related to chaos theory. Apologies if these summaries are hard to follow; chaos is a very complicated part of math.

I would highly recommend reading on these topics yourself if you want to get a view of what anything means here. Videos are so much better at explaining this stuff.

To my knowledge, WSC had math as a subject a long time ago. They got rid of it probably because there wasn’t much you might debate on math, and they didn’t want the challenge to give unfair advantages to contest math kids. I guess they’re reintroducing math??

Emergence is a concept in philosophy and systems theory that describes the idea that something is more than the sum of its parts. That is, while small elements of a larger entity do not showcase certain behaviours or characteristics, the entity as a whole does. The concept is related heavily with the phenomenon of life, where there is debate on what counts as living.

In philosophy, emergence describes a property which can’t be defined by any single element of a thing, but appears in that thing when all of these elements are combined. Emergence is divided into two arguably very different categories: strong and weak emergence.

Weak emergence is emergence that might be predicted. Actions which fall into this category often are related to chaos theory, where behaviours of multiple elements might be predicted through simulations. In this theory, the fundamentals of the elements are the direct cause of the emergent patterns, actions which are completely deterministic.

Strong emergence, on the other hand, is emergence which cannot be predicted (even with an infinite amount of computing power). It argues that anything which falls into this category is completely random or unable to rationalize, as using prediction models which inevitably boil down to the core pieces of an entity would not encompass their strong emergent properties. This suggests that it is impossible to fully describe an entity with strong emergent properties.

It’s debated whether or not Strong emergence even exists, falling back onto the debate of whether or not we are living in a simulation. Human consciousness is commonly sorted into strong emergence, as we have little understanding of how our various parts can predict an overall action; however, we have little proof of this. A criticism on the concept of Strong emergence is that it feels too much like magic, that some magical part would somehow appear in an entity somewhere along the line of building it from its parts.

Examples of emergence might be seen with the concept of life, alongside things like snowflakes, ant colonies, bird flocks, and more.

Self-organization is an example of emergence, where an overall order/pattern arises over time, starting from a seemingly chaotic and disordered system. It works largely in positive feedback loops, where “random” fluctuations in actions cause something positive to happen, which causes more actions to happen in that direction. While as individuals, small elements seem random, as a whole, a pattern emerges.

Typically, self-organization happens when 4 things are satisfied: that interactions in a system are strong and non-linear, that elements have a balance between moving independently and with each other, that many things in a system interact with each other, and that energy is available (to overcome entropy).

The theory is that with a large enough scope, small random events will on average cancel each other out (see bell curve and gaussian distribution). In some way, it’s the opposite of emergence; while the outcome of one individual element is known, a generalization for all outcomes is very accurate.

The most classic example of self-organization might be seen when diluting a drop of food coloring in a glass of water. Over time, the food coloring will spread, until it is even among all of the water. Self-organization might be sped up, and its time frame is related to the amount of energy in the system. To visualize this, adding energy to the glass of water system by stirring it around speeds up the process of dilution.

Decentralization is a term most people are probably familiar with due to crypto. It’s less a term about describing a mathematical phenomenon, and more a term about control of power and decision. Decentralization is the opposite of centralization, and describes a process where control is given to individual factions and taken away from a central authority. In sight of the theme here, decentralization typically uses a systems theory approach.

Systems theory is a concent which isn’t touched upon, but relates a lot to other topics in this section. It describes things as systems of its components, each component being individually quantifiable and interacting with other components. In decentralization, specifically in political practice, decentralization allocates other systems power based on regional status.

The economic concept of a free market falls under decentralization, where the people and suppliers in the market largely hold the control of what gets produced and prices. In economics, anti-trust policy and the removal of monopolies leads to decentralization, where control is more delegated to other people.

In the context of crypto, decentralization refers to how the currency isn’t tied to any government or authority; rather, blockchain runs on a system where various contributors use processing power in “mining cryptocurrency” to provide a network where crypto might be exchanged.

Feedback here is quite a literal term; this occurs when outputs of a function are treated as inputs to the next iteration of the function, known as a feedback loop. A function is said to “feed back into itself” in a process known as recursion, where information loops around. There are two kinds of feedback loops; positive and negative.

A feedback loop is positive if the output is the same parity as the input; that is, if the output is the result of a positive addition to the input, the feedback loop is positive. Conversely, a loop is negative if the output is the other parity. If the output is negative compared to the input, then a loop is negative.

Feedback loops are part of chaos theory, where seemingly random events eventually loop back into each other and form a repeating pattern. One example of this is the mandelbrot set, a fractal which has a blob-like shape that appears multiple times in the shape itself because of a feedback loop.

Determinism was already touched upon in a previous paragraph in this section you have probably already read, as seen above. As a brief review, it is the belief that everything might be determined to some degree, using an infinite computing power or the existence of a god which is all-knowing.

A Chaotic system is any system which falls into the definition of chaos theory. In order for a system to be chaotic, it must fulfill the following:

The system diverges considerably for small differences in input: A chaotic system must give wildly different results for two very similar starting positions and conditions. There isn’t a good line between what counts as wild enough to be chaotic.

The system is bounded: The effect of a chaotic system must be mathematically restrained to a specific set or area. Anything which isn’t bounded falls into the concept of instability.

The system is fully predictable: Given fully accurate values, a chaotic system will give the same results every single time. There is no randomness involved.

A few types of chaotic systems are those used in cryptography (where functions are used to mimic randomness), biology (small inconsistencies leading to widely different population numbers, qualities, and more), economics, weather systems, and more.

Sensitivity refers to how much a system will vary based on small changes in inputs, at least in this math context. If you’ve heard this word used to describe computer mice, you’ll have a good understanding of what this is. (When you use a mouse, sensitivity determines how much the cursor moves relative to how much you moved the mouse on the table.)

Sensitivity relates to uncertainty, the mathematical concept of how, well, uncertain, something is. It is an attempt to quantify what is and isn’t a chaotic model, as a chaotic model needs to reach some level of sensitivity to quality (though it isn’t fully defined).

The math around sensitivity is known as Sensitivity analysis, which studies how uncertain an output is based on the uncertainty of the inputs. It is a separate concept to Uncertainty analysis, which describes a distribution of an output based on a spectrum of input values. Sensitivity specifically focuses on the impact of an output based on a movement in the input.

The flocking model probably refers to Boids, a program developed by Craig Reynolds to model the flocking behaviour of birds relative to one another. The name Boid is a shortened version of “bird-oid”, or bird-like object. The artificial life simulation is based on emergent behavior, where the complexity of interactions is created from basic level interactions with a few simple rules.

These rules include Separation, where birds will steer to avoid crowding; Alignment, where birds steer towards the average direction of birds; and cohesion, where the birds steer towards the average position of the group. Birds can control their direction and speed.

It’s possible for the program to be both orderly and chaotic (though not at the same time), depending on beginning circumstances. There isn’t any randomness to the algorithm; rather, it seems random because of the involvement of many elements.

The model is most used for video game or movie graphics depicting flocks of birds.

The three-body problem is a problem in classical physics where it is really challenging to accurately predict the movement of three objects (with mass) in space. The problem first came up when calculating the relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, and is a part of the problem that there exists no general closed-form calculation for a system with more than 2 objects (the n-body problem).

In simple, while it’s easy to calculate the movement of two objects which attract each other with gravity, it becomes much more difficult when introducing a third object. Because there isn’t a formula, scientists use predictions using numerical methods and analysis.

There exist scenarios where three body systems might be calculated, and those are within the category of orderly solutions. They’re called periodic solutions, and have very simple analysis tied to them. However, the vast majority of three body systems remain unsolved, as the force of gravity between the objects is largely chaotic.

Because of the chaotic nature of the three body problem, an issue which occurs is that no single simulation is completely accurate. This problem exists because small changes can produce wildly different results, so multiple simulations of an identically inputted three body system might result in completely different configurations.

Interestingly, the problem doesn’t arise if we replace Fg with Fs. That is, in elastic motion, the three-body problem is solved.

An important concept here is a Lagrange point (2022 reference!), basically points of equilibrium for objects in the gravitational field of two much larger objects. Calculating Lagrange points involves the 3-body problem, as there are 3 masses at work; however, there is a formula for Lagrange points, considering it works on a solved variation of the 3-body problem. This relies on the fact that the object in the point is much smaller in magnitude.

There are 5 total lagrange points. Three are along the orbit of one larger mass around the other in a symmetrical configuration, and two are on opposite sides of the smaller mass.

A fractal is a common sight in math, defining a “2 and a half dimensional” shape which has an infinite perimeter but finite area. The 0.5 dimension is considered the fractal dimension, where irregularities in the infinite pattern of fractals in our understanding of 2D warrant the existence of a dimension outside of this, considered the “fractal dimension”.

The most popular fractal is probably the Mandelbrot set, a shape defined by the area of whether or not a certain function goes off into infinity or stays bounded. Basically, the mandelbrot set uses the imaginary and real number grid and plots out all the points which are in the function.

Fractals are self-similar objects, which suggests that their patterns repeat as you go down into smaller scales. The replications may differ slightly, but have the same overall construction as the original iteration. A really strange example of this is the sierpinski carpet, a shape with infinite perimeter and zero area, which works by repeating a line’s pattern over and over again, infinitely. There’s some topology which goes into this.

Fractals are a relevant topic in Chaos Theory, as their construction is a geometric depiction of chaotic events and processes by definition. They seem largely random, but are built on a very specific formula and produce the same results every time.

Below: The mandelbrot set, the most common fractal.

Randomness might not exist, but if it does, it refers to complete unpredictability. Something random follows no order, stands outside Chaos Theory, and is impossible to accurately guess with 100% certainty. Randomness is often combined with probability theory, where individual events are random on their own, but distribution graphs represent a trend of multiple random events.

🔬 SCIENCE – Internet Infrastructure

There are a couple of fallacies which are interesting and follow randomness, those being…

Gambler’s Fallacy: This idea is on the wrong assumption that randomness is based on previous events. Rolling a 6 on a perfect dice 100 times in a row doesn’t make it any less likely to roll on the 101th time. This also works inversely; just because the number 6 wasn’t rolled after 10,000 times, doesn’t make it more likely to roll on the 10,001th.

Number association: Just because numbers have appeared more or less previously, doesn’t mean this trend will continue. If a roulette wheel seemed to spin the number 7 more often than it should, it doesn’t mean that the number is “lucky” and will continue showing up.

Dynamic Odds: Often, people believe that odds are stagnant, not considering that slight changes in scenarios can change odds completely. A famous example is the Monty Hall problem.

A controversy with true randomness is that if we might prove that it exists, it undermine deterministic theory and solidifies the idea that we don’t live in a simulation, and that we have free will. There are some adaptations which involve both randomness and deterministic theory, though those are very questionable in validity. Point is, if we prove that a value is truly random, then it is impossible for a computer to predict it, meaning that our universe isn’t in a computer.

A parameter can refer to a lot of things, though in general it defines anything which defines the action or objects within a system. A parameter is any element in a system which contributes to it, defining its values and attributes. Sometimes, the term is used to define boundaries, especially in the term “gameplay parameters”.

In probability theory, a parameter is a constant which is fully deterministic. For example the parameter Lambda, which represents the mean value in a probability distribution, is always the same no matter what.

The term might be used in many applications with each slightly different meanings. Usually, the term might be interchangeable with “element” or “piece”.

Equilibrium is a quality which describes different types of balance. Something is in balance if it stops moving, in very simplified terms. There are a few kinds of equilibrium, those being:

Stable Equilibrium: This is when an object is in a position where it requires a good amount of energy to destabilize. If not enough energy is supplied, the item will return to the original point. Imagine a marble in a bowl, or a flat screen TV facing down. In these cases, we need to change the situation a lot to put the item out of balance.

Unstable Equilibrium: This is when an object is not moving, but it is very easy for it to begin moving. In fully technical terms, an unstable equilibrium is only balanced when no external energy affects the system; resultingly, it’s nearly impossible to have an unstable equilibrium in real life, as the tiniest of vibrations would cause it to move. For this, imagine a marble balanced on top of a needle balanced on top of a pile of clothes, or a flat screen TV balanced on one of its corners.

Metastable / Barely Stable Equilibrium: This is when an object has some leeway for energy, meaning that a certain small amount of energy wouldn’t cause it to destabilize. This is much more common in our practical world, where there is a small room for error. Imagine a pencil standing upright, or a marble resting on your fingernail.

Neutral Equilibrium: This happens when an object is in a position where adding energy to it wouldn’t destabilize it, but it wouldn’t return to its original position. Essentially, you can shift the position of equilibrium here. Imagine a marble on a flat surface or a globe.

That’s all the terms! Beginning here, I think I’ll write a bit less for each thing; everything is taking so long to write, and I think I’m going a bit too in-depth with the analysis.

“Ripped jeans is expected to be back in fashion in 20 years”, says one pundit. “We’ve been in a decade-long bull market, but just you wait for the bear market”, says another. Research the following popular “cycles” in public discourse today and explore with your team: what do they purport to predict, and how accurate are their predictions? Can a popular “cycle” ever become a scientific model? [SPC]

fashion cycle | nostalgia cycle | news cycle | business cycle

market cycle | Moore’s law | Eroom’s law | platform decay

bathtub curve of electronics | nomadic war machine

This was actually in the 2022 special area! At least, the fashion cycle was. Time to try and make a summarization which is shorter than what I’ve had so far.

I kind of hate that I’m going as deep into the topics as I am; it’s very likely only the fundamentals of everything is expected to be studied. Sorry, readers! I do not think you’ll need to remember the formula for computus, nor will you need to know lyapunov time is related to chaotic systems and describes a period of chaotic action.

Note: Some of these terms no longer have Wikipedia references, so some of the details might be unbalanced. Whoops! It’s also worth noting that many topics actually have multiple things which refer to them.

🎭 MEDIA – Parasocial Relationships

- B.1 Debate Practice Motions

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🔮 Fate, Forecasts & Fortune-Telling

Resolved: That people should be allowed to use divination methods to make life decisions.
Resolved: That fortune tellers should need a license to operate.
Resolved: That reading your horoscope should count as a form of self-reflection.
Resolved: That poetry is a better way to predict the future than statistics.
Resolved: That ancient prophecy deserves more respect in modern culture.
Resolved: That dreams can be reliable sources of guidance.
Resolved: That governments should fund research into historical divination practices.
Resolved: That superstition is just science we haven’t explained yet.
Resolved: That every student should try a tarot reading before choosing a career.
Resolved: That “mystics” and “scientists” aren’t as different as we think.

🧠 Psychology, Bias & Belief

Resolved: That believing in something makes it more likely to happen.
Resolved: That personality quizzes should come with a warning label.
Resolved: That free will is just an illusion we choose to believe.
Resolved: That knowing your future would change your personality.
Resolved: That self-fulfilling prophecies should be studied in every school.
Resolved: That people should learn about cognitive bias before they’re allowed to vote.
Resolved: That being told you're special can ruin your future.
Resolved: That fate is more comforting than freedom.
Resolved: That predicting your own future is a dangerous game.
Resolved: That most people don’t really want to know the truth.

🌦 Weather, Climate & Chaos

Resolved: That all weather forecasts beyond 10 days should come with a disclaimer.
Resolved: That schools should teach students how to read weather models.
Resolved: That AI should control our climate forecasting systems.
Resolved: That unreliable weather apps are a public danger.
Resolved: That climate predictions should be treated like breaking news.
Resolved: That communities should be designed using historical climate data.
Resolved: That chaotic systems should be taught before algebra.
Resolved: That we should trust probabilistic forecasts more than politicians.
Resolved: That AI weather predictions should override human intuition.
Resolved: That forecasting extreme weather is more important than forecasting politics.

🧬 Simulation, Science & AI

Resolved: That AI should be allowed to simulate future human societies.
Resolved: That if we’re living in a simulation, we should try to escape.
Resolved: That simulated people deserve basic rights.
Resolved: That AI-generated forecasts should be used in court.
Resolved: That quantum computers will make human ethics harder.
Resolved: That students should debate whether the universe is real.
Resolved: That if we discover we’re a simulation, we should act better—just in case.
Resolved: That predicting the future is more powerful than changing the past.
Resolved: That every government should fund a department of long-term forecasting.
Resolved: That machine learning should not be used to predict criminal behavior.

📆 Time, Tradition & Tools

Resolved: That the calendar is humanity’s most powerful invention.
Resolved: That we should bring back solar and lunar calendars.
Resolved: That every culture should design its own school calendar.
Resolved: That students should learn to predict the seasons without a phone.
Resolved: That farmers are better at forecasting than apps.
Resolved: That ancient calendars are more useful than modern clocks.
Resolved: That every year should begin with a prediction.
Resolved: That the future is already written in the sky.
Resolved: That we should vote on what kind of future we want every decade.
Resolved: That predicting the future is the most important human project.

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🔮 Prediction, Technology & the Future

You receive a personalized news update—but it’s from one year in your future.
☐ What does it say? Would you try to change anything?
A school installs an AI that predicts your exam scores before you take the test.
☐ Would it motivate or stress you? Should students get to see the results?
Every person gets a printed “future forecast” on their 12th birthday.
☐ Would you read yours or throw it away?
A company offers to simulate your future life before you make any big decision.
☐ Would that be helpful—or make things harder?
You’re chosen to time-travel 50 years ahead to give advice to your future self.
☐ What would you say? What would you ask?
A school counselor uses tarot cards to help students choose careers.
☐ Would you take their advice?
A new app shows your future mood based on current choices.
☐ Would you download it—or does that ruin the fun of surprises?
Every student has to wear a mood-detecting wristband.
☐ What would yours reveal? Would it change how people treat each other?
You wake up and everything you dreamed last night starts coming true.
☐ What happens? Is it magical—or terrifying?
You find an old notebook filled with predictions. They’ve all come true—except one.
☐ Do you believe it? What do you do next?

🧠 Choice, Free Will & Control

An AI assistant now makes all your daily decisions—clothes, food, even what to say.
☐ Is life better or worse?
You’re told you’ve been living in a simulation your whole life.
☐ Does that change how you live from now on?
A coin flip determines your entire school schedule for the year.
☐ Would you trust it more than your teachers?
You can change one decision from your past—but only one.
☐ What would you change, and what would stay the same?
Everyone is assigned a personality label at birth.
☐ How does that affect who you become?
A company offers to remove your worst memory.
☐ Would you do it—or does that memory make you stronger?
You meet another version of yourself from a parallel universe.
☐ What are they like—and what do you learn about yourself?
You suddenly hear your future self narrating your current actions.
☐ Would you listen—or try to take back control?
Everyone starts each morning with one “destiny sentence” on their screen.
☐ Would you follow it—or rebel?
You wake up and every single person is acting as if the world is about to end.
☐ Do you believe them—or try to prove them wrong?

🌦 Forecasts, Chaos & Nature

Your weather app now predicts “life events” instead of just weather.
☐ Today says: “Emotional storm. Bring kindness.” What happens?
You’re told you were born during a solar eclipse, and that it means something.
☐ What do you think it means? Would others agree?
A town uses bird flight patterns to make all their community decisions.
☐ Would you live there—or fly away?
You notice the clouds are spelling messages—just for you.
☐ What do they say? Who else sees them?
The school AI predicts that it will snow next week—in the desert.
☐ What do you believe, and what do you prepare for?
Every plant in your town has started blooming out of season.
☐ Is it a sign of climate change—or something stranger?
You discover a machine that lets you pause the weather.
☐ How would you use it? Would others agree?
People start getting weather forecasts based on their moods.
☐ What would your weekly report look like?
A friend warns you that today has “chaos energy.”
☐ Do you believe them—or go about your day?
You wake up to find your town submerged in fog—with no explanation.
☐ What happens next?

📅 Calendars, Cycles & Time

The calendar resets unexpectedly. It’s suddenly “Year Zero.”
☐ What rules stay—and what changes?
Your community replaces months with feelings: Joyuary, Stormarch, Restember.
☐ What month are you in now—and how do people act?
The school week is now based on moon phases instead of weekdays.
☐ How does that change your schedule—and your sleep?
You find a notebook that shows your year—but in symbols, not words.
☐ What do the symbols mean?
A “Year Forecast Festival” is held to predict the next 12 months.
☐ What’s your prediction? How do people react?
The concept of time breaks. Clocks spin randomly.
☐ How do you live when the hour doesn’t matter?
People are now assigned seasons instead of birthdays.
☐ What’s your season, and how does it shape you?
You can visit one day in the future, just once.
☐ What day do you pick—and why?
Every year, people plant something that represents their hopes.
☐ What would you plant this year?
You find a calendar that belongs to the year 3024.
☐ What’s written in it—and do we still exist?

🧭 Traditions, Technology & Transformation

A new law says you must wear a device that predicts your next emotion.
☐ Helpful or horrifying?
Your school replaces report cards with “future potential” badges.
☐ How do students respond?
A town votes on whether to follow science or ancient stars for planning the year.
☐ Which side do you join?
A company sells custom-made futures.
☐ What kind do people buy—and what happens when futures conflict?
A startup offers to send your personality to the future via time capsule.
☐ What do you put inside?
The world must choose between two paths: one led by AI, one by dreams.
☐ Which way do you vote?
Every building in your town now changes shape based on people’s predictions.
☐ How does the world look now?
You wake up in a future where humans only communicate through symbols.
☐ How do you adapt?
A global broadcast interrupts every screen: “The future has arrived early.”
☐ What does that mean?
You are offered a role as “Youth Futurist”—to shape what comes next.
☐ What future would you create?

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C. Future Tech Failures

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🌍 The Future That Never Happened

Some inventions sounded like they came straight out of science fiction—fast, exciting, and futuristic. But not all of them worked out the way people hoped.

🔧 Explore the ideas below. What went wrong? Why didn’t people use them? Could any of them still make a comeback in the future?

Futuristic Inventions That Didn’t Take Off

Rocket mail – Sending letters by rocket!
Flying cars – Like planes you could drive.
Maglev trains – Super-fast trains that float above the tracks.
Zeppelins – Giant airships from the past.
Suspension railways – Trains that hang from above.
Ground-effect vehicles – Hovercraft that skim over land and sea.
Supersonic transport – Passenger planes faster than sound.
Nuclear-powered vehicles – Cars or ships running on nuclear energy.
Hyperloop – Vacuum tubes for ultra-fast travel.
Hydrogen vehicles – Cars powered by hydrogen gas.
Mecha – Giant robots you can pilot.
Metaverse – A 3D digital world to live, work, and play in.

💬 Team Talk

Why do you think these ideas didn’t catch on?
Can you imagine a future where any of them do become popular?

🎶 Hope, Music, and the End of History?

In the 1990s, many people believed the world was heading toward peace, progress, and amazing discoveries. One of the most talked-about ideas came from a political thinker named Francis Fukuyama, who in 1989 wrote an article called “The End of History?”—later turned into a book.
But what did he mean by the end of history?
Fukuyama didn’t mean that historical events would stop. Instead, he argued that liberal democracy—governments chosen by the people and based on rights and freedoms—was probably the best system humanity would ever create. According to The Conversation, he believed that no better political system had emerged, even if democracy wasn’t always perfect in practice.

He also borrowed from earlier philosophers like Hegel and Kojève, who believed that history was pushing toward freedom and justice for all. Fukuyama said that even if countries didn’t always live up to democratic ideals, the idea of democracy had won—and that’s why history (in that big-picture sense) had “ended.”

However, many critics disagreed. They pointed out that some democracies still struggled with inequality and unfairness, and that other governments, including authoritarian ones, were still powerful. Even Fukuyama later admitted that democracies are fragile, and that problems like populism and misinformation make it hard to know if democracy will win out.

💬 Team Talk

Do you think democracy is the best kind of government? Why or why not?
Can an idea still be powerful, even if it’s not perfect?

🎶 Listen and Explore: Songs of 90s Optimism

Scorpions – “Wind of Change” (1990)

This powerful ballad by German rock band Scorpions became a symbol of hope during the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. It imagined a world finally coming together in peace and freedom.

🎥 Watch the video

Jesus Jones – “Right Here, Right Now” (1991)

This upbeat anthem captured the joy of witnessing world change. Inspired by the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the song expresses excitement that people were "waking up from history."

🎥 Watch the video

Michael Jackson – “Heal the World” (1991)

Michael Jackson’s song calls for peace, compassion, and helping those in need. It reflects a global desire to create a kinder, more caring future.

🎥 Watch the video

Michael Crawford – “Counting Up to Twenty” (1995)

This theatrical piece from the Las Vegas show EFX captures the excitement of entering a new era. It celebrates imagination, creativity, and human potential as the new millennium approached.

🎥 Watch the video

Will Smith – “Will 2K” (1999)

A fun, energetic celebration of the year 2000, this song imagined the future as a big party. It reflects how many people looked forward to a tech-filled, exciting new century.

🎥 Watch the video

✨ The New Age Dream

In the late 20th century, a movement called New Age became popular. It blended music, meditation, love, nature, and ancient wisdom. Many people believed we were entering a time of harmony, healing, and spiritual growth.

🎶 New Age Music to Explore

Alice Coltrane – “Journey in Satchidananda” (1971)

This spiritual jazz piece mixes Indian instruments with deep, flowing music. Coltrane, who became a swamini (a Hindu spiritual leader), used sound as a way to explore peace and connection to the universe.

🎥 Watch the video

Vangelis – “To the Unknown Man” (1977)

This dreamy, instrumental song explores the mysteries of life and the cosmos. Vangelis's use of synthesizers made it feel futuristic and timeless—perfect for meditation and wonder.

🎥 Watch the video

Kitaro – “Theme From Silk Road” (1980)

Kitaro’s music blends traditional Asian sounds with modern instruments, creating a peaceful journey across cultures and landscapes. This theme was used in a documentary about the ancient Silk Road trade route.

🎥 Watch the video

Enya – “Caribbean Blue” (1991)

Enya’s soft, layered vocals and slow rhythms create a dreamy mood. The song invites listeners to imagine a better, more beautiful world.

🎥 Watch the video

Enigma – “Return to Innocence” (1994)

Combining chanting, electronic beats, and a deep message, this song reminds us to be true to ourselves. It became a global hit for its emotional and reflective mood.

🎥 Watch the video

💬 Team Talk

What feelings do these songs inspire?
Do ideas like love, peace, and healing still matter today?
Can music and art help people change the world?

C. Future Tech Failures - Expansion

The Future That Never Came

Many of these technologies were previously studied, but they’re revisited here with a contemporary lens. (These summaries are brief—further research is encouraged for enthusiasts!) The overarching theme centers on visionary innovations that fell short of widespread use.

No clear groupings unify these technologies, though transportation dominates the list.

Rocket Mail

Rocket Mail entails using rockets or missiles to deliver mail, prioritizing speed. In some cases, physical transport outpaces digital methods, especially before the internet’s rise. Cold War dynamics further spurred interest, as instant communication was absent. However, prohibitive costs and frequent mishaps stifled its growth.

Aerophilately, the study of air-transported mail and stamps, relates tangentially but is likely unimportant here. Most rocket mail efforts were government-led.

Flying Car

Formally termed a “roadable aircraft,” the Flying Car is a personal vehicle that drives on roads and flies. A staple of sci-fi and a symbol of unfulfilled futuristic dreams, it’s been imagined since 1901. Challenges like inefficient thrust and safety concerns, including licensing, have hindered progress.

The phrase “Where’s my flying car?” embodies skepticism about promised technological leaps.

Maglev

Maglev, or magnetic levitation, powers trains that hover above tracks via electromagnets, eliminating wheel friction for rapid transit. Faster, quieter, and more efficient, maglevs face steep costs and high energy demands.

Two systems exist: EMS (levitating a magnet through magnetic field adjustments) and EDS (using powered systems to create “eddy currents”). Notably, air drag, not wheels, is the primary energy drain. Vactrains, discussed with Hyperloop, aim to mitigate this.

Despite a century of development, only seven maglev lines operate globally, mostly in China. The Shanghai Airport-to-downtown line is the only commercial one.

Japan’s L0 series, targeting a Tokyo-Nagoya route, is a flagship project.

Zeppelin

Zeppelins, rigid airships, are sometimes mistaken for all airships. Filled with lighter-than-air gas (like helium), they float like giant balloons. First flown in 1910, they provided early airline-like services but were disrupted by WWI. After near financial ruin, public donations enabled transatlantic flights from Germany.

The Hindenburg disaster, where the hydrogen-filled airship ignited during a docking attempt, ended their era amid WWII tensions.

(Fun fact: The Empire State Building’s spire was designed as a zeppelin dock!)

Below: A Zeppelin

Suspension Railway

A suspension railway is an elevated monorail with trains hanging upside-down from their roofs. Economically impractical, they’re slower, pricier, and more complex than standard metros.

Primarily found in China and Japan, they serve as tourist attractions.

(The author rode Wuhan’s Optics Valley upside-down train—a unique experience!)

Below: Suspension Railway

Ground-Effect Vehicle

Ground-Effect Vehicles (GEVs), also known as wing-in-ground-effect vehicles, ekranoplans, or wingships, leverage the ground effect: compressed air between the vehicle and a surface (like water) boosts lift and cuts drag, akin to a bird skimming a lake.

Part plane, part boat, GEVs operate over water and differ from hovercraft. Mostly prototypes, their most notable use was in Soviet military ekranoplans.

Supersonic Transport

Supersonic Transport (SST) denotes civilian aircraft exceeding sound speed. Only the Concorde and Tupolev Tu-144 saw commercial service, but sonic booms led to their retirement, with Concorde’s 2000 crash adding to its demise. Boom Technology’s Overture, slated for 2029, aims to reduce noise.

Fuel inefficiency and costs persist, though Concorde was reportedly profitable. Military SSTs remain active.

(Concorde’s ogival delta wing is a niche detail, probably irrelevant.)

Nuclear Propulsion

Nuclear Propulsion uses nuclear reactions to power movement, inspired by radium’s radioactivity. Predominantly military, it drives submarines and Arctic icebreakers. Civilian distrust limits broader use. Cold War experiments for nuclear aircraft and spacecraft never materialized.

Hyperloop

Proposed by Elon Musk in 2013, the Hyperloop uses air-bearing surfaces to levitate trains in low-pressure tubes, reducing drag like a vactrain. Hyperloop One’s bankruptcy underscores issues: high costs, poor test-run experiences, and inferiority to high-speed rail.

It’s been wrongly blamed for delaying California’s high-speed rail.

(Vactrains place trains in low-pressure chambers to minimize air drag.)

Hydrogen Vehicle

Hydrogen Vehicles, powered by fuel cells or combustion, are praised as eco-friendly. Limited infrastructure hampers adoption. Most hydrogen comes from CO2-emitting steam methane reforming, and renewable electrolysis is costly. Leaks are problematic, as hydrogen is flammable and worsens global warming more than CO2.

While focused on cars, hydrogen also powers rockets.

(Nikola’s founder, Trevor Milton, faced fraud allegations, tarnishing the company.)

Mecha

Mechas are giant, piloted humanoid robots, a sci-fi staple. The term, from the Japanese pronunciation of “mechanism,” means “giant robot” in Japan, distinct from powered armor like Iron Man’s suit.

Impractical and uneconomical, mechas lack real-world purpose.

Below: A typical mecha image

Metaverse

The Metaverse refers to immersive virtual worlds with avatars, often linked to VR. A blend of “meta” (transcending) and “universe,” it’s more marketing term than defined tech, with Facebook’s rebrand to Meta capitalizing on it.

Envisioned in Snow Crash and popularized by Ready Player One, the Metaverse is stalled by VR’s experimental phase and technical constraints.

1990s Optimism in Music

The 1990s exuded confidence, with scholar Francis Fukuyama suggesting history’s end, implying conflicts between dictatorships and democracies might cease. This optimism permeated pop culture. Review these songs and discuss with peers: what excitement did they convey for the new century, and was it justified? [🎨 ART]
Scorpions | “Wind of Change” (1990)
Jesus Jones | “Right Here, Right Now” (1991)
Michael Jackson | “Heal the World” (1991)
Michael Crawford | “Counting Up to Twenty” (1995)
Will Smith | “Will 2K” (1999)

The curriculum labels these as “artworks,” perhaps hinting at symbolic depth. All are 1990s tracks envisioning a hopeful future, a theme clear from the section’s title. 😄

Francis Fukuyama

Fukuyama’s “end of history” theory views history as human progress, ending when all major issues are resolved, halting “history” (conflict). He linked this to liberal democracies with market economies, not claiming perfection but arguing their ideals are the endpoint. This requires perfect democracy (impossible), enforceable laws, and accountable leaders.

He deemed dictatorships unstable, citing single-leader errors and lack of public input. Originating with Hegel’s “telos” of a rational state, the idea was shaped by Marx’s communist vision.

Controversial for implying a government model as ideal, Fukuyama frames it as conceptual perfection, noting trade-offs.

Scorpions – Wind of Change

A power ballad from Crazy World, this track tied to the Cold War’s end, initially linked to a failed Gorbachev coup and later the 1989 Berlin Wall fall. Still performed with updates for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it’s Germany’s top-selling single.

Inspired by USSR’s perestroika reforms, it casts the “wind of change” as peace. The chorus sings:

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

Jesus Jones – Right Here, Right Now

A British alt-rock track from Doubt, it reflects the Cold War’s end, inspired by post-Soviet Romania performances and Berlin Wall news. Its video shows USSR collapse footage. A Bob Dylan nod honors his passing before the Cold War’s end.

The chorus states:

Right here, right now
There is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now
Watching the world wake up from history

“Wake up from history” personifies a shift from conflict to peace.

Michael Jackson – Heal the World

From Dangerous, this anti-war anthem urges global improvement. Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation for children. Its video, depicting kids in war-torn Burundi, omits Jackson—a rarity.

The author praises its mellow yet iconic vibe and instrumentation. The chorus is clear:

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me

It references Isaiah 2:4 (“swords into plowshares”).

Michael Crawford – Counting Up to Twenty

Previously summarized, this EFX song, linked to H.G. Wells, celebrates progress, with its chorus suggesting a 20th-to-21st-century leap.

Will Smith – Will 2K

An upbeat rap from Willennium, sampling Rock the Casbah and Superslapin’, it honors the 2000 millennium. Released in 1999, it envisions a New Year’s bash. The chorus chants:

Here it comes another year
Come on everyone, new millennium
Here it comes another year
Everyone, new millennium

Whimsical and light, it captures millennial excitement.

Hopes for apolitical themes were dashed—many songs tie to the Cold War! 😅

New Age Movement

The late 20th century’s New Age movement revived occult and metaphysical interests, focusing on love, harmony, and personal transformation. Explore these works and discuss with peers: do their messages endure? [🎨 ART]
Alice Coltrane | “Journey In Satchidananda” (1971)
Vangelis | “To the Unknown Man” (1977)
Kitaro | “Theme From Silk Road” (1980)
Enya | “Caribbean Blue” (1991)
Enigma | “Return To Innocence” (1994)

This era embraced supernatural themes, with most tracks being instrumentals.

Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda

A spiritual-jazz instrumental from its namesake album, it blends Indian classical music and Hindu philosophy, referencing Shiva elsewhere. It explores self-expression, transcendence, and healing through grief, despite its instrumental nature.

“Satchidananda” denotes a Hindu ultimate reality—existence, consciousness, bliss—akin to a utopian state.

Vangelis – To the Unknown Man

From Spiral, this 1978 award-winning instrumental draws from Tao’s cyclical universe philosophy. Less complex than prior works, it excels with keyboards and synths.

Whether “the unknown man” ties to Taoism is uncertain.

Kitaro – Theme From Silk Road

An instrumental for a 1980s Japanese documentary, The Silk Road, it accompanied a travelogue tracing the Xi’an-to-Rome route, highlighting Japan’s cultural exchanges. It preserved sites later destroyed in Middle Eastern conflicts and marked the first foreign TV crew in China.

Blending European instruments with Japanese pan flutes, it’s melodically rich.

Enya – Caribbean Blue

From Shepherd Moons, this waltz-time (3/4) track references Greek wind gods and Afer Ventus. Its dreamy, genre-blending style (ethereal, rock, country) features layered vocals and a surreal, watercolor-like video.

No distinct chorus exists, but “sky high above / In Caribbean Blue” recurs. Choir-like singing forms the thematic core, with no clear hidden meanings.

Enigma – Return To Innocence

A worldbeat New Age rock song from The Cross of Changes, it incorporates an Amis (Taiwanese indigenous) chant, “Weeding and Paddyfield Song No. 1.” Centered on purity and authenticity, the chant forms the chorus, while “The return to innocence” emphasizes being true to oneself.

Its composition includes quirky “tuned Roblox oof” sounds and distorted guitars reminiscent of Black Hole Sun.

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🔮 FUTURISM & FAILED INVENTIONS

Resolved: That flying cars are worth reviving despite past failures.
Resolved: That the Hyperloop should be the future of public transport.
Resolved: That governments should fund “forgotten” futuristic inventions.
Resolved: That sending letters by rocket would be a useful innovation today.
Resolved: That the metaverse should become a global learning platform.
Resolved: That mecha (giant robots) should be developed for peaceful purposes.
Resolved: That maglev trains are a better investment than highways.
Resolved: That nuclear-powered vehicles are too risky to pursue.
Resolved: That the failure of the hydrogen car was more political than technical.
Resolved: That some technologies fail not because they’re bad—but because society wasn’t ready.

🏛️ DEMOCRACY & THE “END OF HISTORY”

Resolved: That liberal democracy is still the best system we have.
Resolved: That history has no end—only constant change.
Resolved: That Fukuyama's “End of History” theory is still relevant today.
Resolved: That democratic governments should never be forced on other nations.
Resolved: That populism is the biggest threat to democracy today.
Resolved: That strong governments must be limited by strong laws.
Resolved: That equality and liberty are more important than order and power.
Resolved: That democracy should evolve to include more direct citizen input.
Resolved: That authoritarian regimes are doomed to fail in the long run.
Resolved: That history is shaped more by ideas than by weapons.

🎵 MUSIC, OPTIMISM & CULTURAL MOMENTS

Resolved: That music is a powerful force for political change.
Resolved: That songs like “Wind of Change” were more than entertainment—they were history.
Resolved: That the optimism of the 1990s was justified.
Resolved: That a song can say more than a speech.
Resolved: That musicians have a duty to reflect the times they live in.
Resolved: That the millennium moment (Y2K) brought more joy than fear.
Resolved: That every generation needs its own anthem of hope.
Resolved: That music can preserve the emotions of a historical moment.
Resolved: That culture changes politics more than laws do.
Resolved: That students should study protest songs in history classes.

🌌 NEW AGE THINKING & SPIRITUALITY

Resolved: That New Age values of harmony and healing are needed more than ever.
Resolved: That spiritual music can be as educational as academic study.
Resolved: That love and peace are practical—not just poetic—goals.
Resolved: That New Age ideas should be part of school wellness programs.
Resolved: That we are in a new New Age movement today.
Resolved: That healing the world starts with imagination.
Resolved: That science and spirituality can work together.
Resolved: That sound can heal the soul.
Resolved: That metaphysical questions deserve a place in modern education.
Resolved: That ancient wisdom can solve modern problems.

🧠 CRITICAL THINKING & FUTURE QUESTIONS

Resolved: That knowing the future would make us more anxious, not less.
Resolved: That technology alone cannot create a better world.
Resolved: That failed inventions are stepping stones, not dead ends.
Resolved: That the most important future is the one we imagine together.
Resolved: That predicting the future should be left to science—not mysticism.
Resolved: That optimism should be taught as a life skill.
Resolved: That our greatest inventions are yet to come.
Resolved: That the past is our best tool for understanding the future.
Resolved: That art and imagination matter as much as math and science.
Resolved: That students should be taught how to shape—not just survive—the future.

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🔧 Futuristic Technology & Society

A new flying car system is launched, but only the wealthiest 10% can afford it.
☐ Does this innovation help society—or divide it further?
Rocket mail returns as a novelty service for the rich.
☐ Should futuristic ideas be reserved for fun—or focused on solving real problems?
The first permanent Hyperloop line opens between two mega-cities.
☐ Should speed matter more than accessibility?
Scientists design a nuclear-powered delivery drone.
☐ Is it worth the risk for faster logistics?
A global city bans all cars except for maglev pods.
☐ Is this futuristic—or just inconvenient?
Students in one country pilot giant learning mecha in virtual classrooms.
☐ Should learning be more like a game—or less?
A developing country becomes a hydrogen superpower.
☐ Does technology balance global power—or concentrate it?
A small nation builds the world's first full metaverse embassy.
☐ Is this smart diplomacy—or digital distraction?
Ground-effect vehicles replace cargo ships to protect marine life.
☐ Would you trust your food arriving on a hovercraft?
Old inventions like the zeppelin return—with eco upgrades.
☐ Should we revive the past to fix the future?

🏛️ Politics, Democracy & the “End of History”

A history class declares that liberal democracy has “won.”
☐ Can any system ever truly win forever?
A new country builds its government using AI-powered voting.
☐ Can machines make democracy more fair—or less human?
After years of chaos, a region bans elections and installs a philosopher king.
☐ Is peace worth giving up your vote?
A popular streamer becomes the elected leader of a small country.
☐ Is this democratic progress—or performance politics?
The U.N. uses a “global wisdom score” to decide who gets a seat on its council.
☐ Is this smarter than population-based power?
A protest movement demands that emotions be included in policy-making.
☐ Should feelings ever drive the laws we follow?
A utopian island claims it has reached “the end of history.”
☐ Can a perfect society exist—or is that just a story we tell?
A law requires all citizens to study Hegel before voting.
☐ Can deep ideas improve democracy—or just confuse it?
An online platform lets people vote on global issues weekly.
☐ Would this strengthen democracy—or overwhelm it?
Every leader must now write and publish their dreams monthly.
☐ Could transparency like this reduce corruption—or increase chaos?

🎵 Music, Culture & Meaning

A new hit song calls for unity across borders—but is banned in some countries.
☐ Can music change the world—or just annoy governments?
Students must pick a 1990s song to serve as their personal anthem.
☐ What would yours say about your hopes for the future?
“Wind of Change” is re-released during a political crisis.
☐ Can old songs still heal new wounds?
The song “Right Here, Right Now” is declared the anthem of a youth-led world council.
☐ Does music reflect leadership—or inspire it?
Music streaming platforms begin rating songs by “emotional impact.”
☐ Should feelings be data?
Debaters must argue whether “Heal the World” is realistic or naive.
☐ Can big dreams survive reality?
A robot wins a Grammy for writing a peace anthem.
☐ Should machines create our emotional stories?
You find a box of mixtapes from the 1990s with hopeful lyrics.
☐ Did people believe too much in the future—or not enough?
Schools now teach history through curated playlists.
☐ Is this education—or entertainment?
“Counting Up to Twenty” is used in space missions to teach patience.
☐ Can art change how we handle the unknown?

✨ New Age Ideas, Spirituality & Reflection

A city paints Enya lyrics on every public wall to inspire calm.
☐ Should governments try to shape emotions?
Meditation is now part of every school’s morning routine.
☐ Can spiritual habits build better students?
A group forms a political party based entirely on New Age values.
☐ Would love and harmony work in Parliament?
People use sound healing instead of medical treatment.
☐ Is this progress—or a dangerous return to the past?
“Return to Innocence” is used in peace negotiations.
☐ Can music make conflict easier to solve?
The Olympics now include a category for “spiritual performance.”
☐ Should we compete in peace?
Students must complete a “personal harmony portfolio” before graduation.
☐ Is inner peace as important as academic grades?
A school replaces grades with energy colors (blue = calm, gold = focused).
☐ Could this create better learning—or more confusion?
You’re asked to design a monument to the idea of “healing.”
☐ What would it look like?
Vangelis’s music is played to astronauts during takeoff.
☐ Can sound keep us grounded—even in space?

🔮 Interdisciplinary & Thought Experiments

You wake up in a world where all past inventions worked perfectly.
☐ Would life be better—or just weirder?
A massive database ranks countries by “future readiness.”
☐ Should we judge nations by their dreams?
Artists are now hired to help governments write laws.
☐ Can imagination make politics more human?
Students are tasked with writing a law based on a song lyric.
☐ Can poetry become policy?
An island builds itself entirely around the idea of innocence.
☐ Is that peaceful—or fragile?
Schools introduce a new subject: “The Philosophy of Megaprojects.”
☐ Should students think like city planners?
A global contest challenges youth to redesign the idea of progress.
☐ What would you change first?
Debate tournaments now include “musical defense” rounds.
☐ Should emotions be argued—or expressed?
A time capsule is being prepared to explain humanity’s hopes.
☐ Which invention, idea, or song would you include?
You must give a speech at the “End of History” conference.
☐ What will you say about the next beginning?

- C.3 Challenging Questions

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D. If At First You Fall... Try Again

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🧔 A Bearded Vision: Russia as the Next Rome?

You’ve probably heard of Rasputin, the mysterious monk from Russian history. But before him, in the 1500s, another monk named Filofei wrote letters to a young prince with a big idea: he said that Russia could become the “Third Rome.”

What does that mean?
The first Rome was the Roman Empire. The second was Constantinople (also called Byzantium). Both eventually fell. Filofei believed that Russia could take their place as the new center of global culture, faith, and power.

🧠 Discuss with your team:

What kind of world was Filofei imagining?
If one country today became the new “Rome,” would that be a good thing—or a dangerous one?
Could somewhere surprising, like Greenland, ever be part of this kind of power?

🧩 Concepts to explore:

Unipolarity vs. Multipolarity
Core vs. Periphery
Client states
Soft vs. Hard Power
Foreign Assistance

🏛️ Empires That Just Won’t Quit

Some empires are like movie franchises: even when they fall, someone tries to bring them back.

These “reboots” of old empires try to recreate past greatness. Some work a little. Most don’t. But all of them tell us something about what people value.

📚 Explore:

Neo-Assyrian Empire
Song Dynasty
Byzantine Empire
Carolingian Empire
Ottonian Dynasty
Meiji Restoration
Neo-Sovietism

💬 Team Talk:

Why do people want these empires to return?
What parts of the past do they want to relive—or fix?
Did any revived empire outlast the one it copied?

🧱 Rebuilding History: Restoration or Reinvention?

When historic buildings are destroyed and rebuilt, are they the same places—or something entirely new?

🏗️ Rebuilt Landmarks:

Bibliotheca Alexandrina
White House
Notre Dame
Shuri Castle
Stonehenge
Shakespeare’s Globe
Yellow Crane Tower
Babylon’s ruins
Basilica of Saint Paul

💬 Discuss:

Does rebuilding preserve the past or rewrite it?
Is something “real” only if it’s original?

📚 Can Librarians Save Civilization?

In Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, a galaxy-wide empire is collapsing. One scientist comes up with a plan: send librarians to a remote planet to preserve human knowledge and rebuild society.

🤖 Team Talk:

Are librarians the best people to save a civilization?
If not them, then who?
Can math and data really predict the future?

✈️ Pan Am’s Double Comeback: Sky and Style

Pan Am was once the most glamorous airline in the world. After going bankrupt in 1991, it’s returning in 2025—in two totally different ways.

🛫 1. Flying Again—for Two Weeks

According to AeroTime, Centurion Travel is launching a $65,500 luxury Pan Am-branded flight tour retracing the airline’s classic routes with stops in New York, Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London, and Ireland.

👕 2. A Lifestyle Brand in South Korea

SJ Group turned Pan Am into a fashion label, with shops selling retro travel gear, bags, and accessories in Seoul. The brand collaborates with local artists and plans to open 13 more stores.

💬 Team Talk:

Is using an old brand for something new clever—or confusing?
Would you rather fly Pan Am—or wear it?

📼 From Floppy Disks to Film Cameras: Why Old Tech Is Cool Again

Could floppy disks or cassette tapes come back? They already are. And so are instant film cameras, vinyl, and 2000s digital cameras—thanks to nostalgia, self-expression, and viral online trends.

📷 As BBC News reports, Gen Z is reviving early digital cameras on TikTok, with over 220 million views for #digitalcamera.

🎞️ Polaroid-style film is also booming. Why?

You get just one shot—so it feels meaningful.
It’s imperfect, unpredictable, and fun.
It feels like you’re capturing memories, not just saving files.

🎧 Cassette tapes are loved for their limitations: no skipping tracks, hands-on controls, and real support for small artists.

💬 Team Talk:

Why are people choosing "worse" tech?
Is it about feeling more real in a digital world?

🎵 De-Extinct Music: Are Old Songs Taking Over?

De-extinction isn’t just for passenger pigeons or cassette players. Old music is back—and it’s dominating the music world like never before.

According to The Atlantic, 70% of the U.S. music market is now made up of old songs. New music is actually shrinking in popularity.

🎧 Examples:

Classic rock bands like The Police and CCR top iTunes charts.
TikTok users stream 40-year-old hits instead of new tracks.
Even young people working in diners and shops prefer Sting or Fleetwood Mac to the latest pop.

⚠️ And it’s not just listeners:

Major labels are spending billions on rights to old catalogs instead of signing new talent.
Most new songs get less than 5% of total streams.
Even the Grammy Awards have lost their audience—98% of 18–49-year-olds didn’t watch in 2021.

📉 Radio, labels, and even streaming platforms are promoting the past more than the future. Algorithms reward safe, familiar sounds. Anything truly different gets filtered out.

😬 And it’s getting harder to break through:

New artists fear lawsuits over similarities.
Record stores push vinyl reissues.
Labels invest more in dead musicians’ holograms than in living artists.

🎵 So is old music “killing” new music?

Maybe not. Music revolutions often start from unexpected places:

Elvis came from Mississippi.
The Beatles from Liverpool.
Hip-hop from the Bronx.

💥 Today’s music gatekeepers may have given up—but the next big sound may be coming from someone recording in their bedroom, uploading to TikTok, and breaking through without permission.

💬 Team Talk:

Is it bad that we’re stuck on old music?
Are we ignoring amazing new talent?
Where do you think the next musical revolution will come from?

🔍 Final Reflection

We’ve explored a world where:

Countries try to become the next Rome
Empires and brands get rebooted
Buildings, music, and media are resurrected
Old tech becomes trendy
And old music might just be winning the popularity contest

🧠 Ask yourself:

Is our obsession with the past holding us back—or helping us find what really matters?

D. If At First You Fall... Try Again - Expansion

If at First You Stumble, Persist and Prevail
📚 LITERATURE | 🏛 HISTORY | 🔬 SCIENCE | 🎭 ART

Grigori Rasputin stands as perhaps the most notorious Russian monk, yet he was not the pioneer in commenting on geopolitical matters. In the 16th century, his distant, equally bearded forebear, Filofei, articulated (through letters to a young prince named Vasily) the notion that Russia could emerge as the third Rome. Reflect on the meaning of Filofei’s proposition in its historical context and consider its relevance today. Then, engage with your team: Could a new Rome arise in our time, and would its emergence benefit the global order? Would Greenland play a role in this new empire? Ensure discussion includes the following concepts: [SOC, SPC]

Unipolarity vs. multipolarity
Core vs. periphery
Great vs. small powers
Controlling vs. client state
Soft vs. hard power
Foreign assistance

Historical Figures in Focus

Grigori Rasputin was a mystical Russian figure renowned for his close ties to Nicholas II, the final Tsar of Russia. His influence is often cited as a catalyst for the Russian Revolution, blamed for destabilizing the monarchy. Born a peasant in a remote Siberian village, Rasputin’s journey as a wandering monk (strannik) led him to captivate political elites, eventually securing a place near the royal family. His most notable act was serving as a faith healer for Tsarevich Alexei, alleviating the boy’s hemophilia. However, his growing unpopularity, perceived as corrupting governance, culminated in his assassination in 1916.

For a lighthearted take, check out Oversimplified’s Russian Revolution video—a fun detour, even if not directly tied to this discussion.

Filofei of Pskov, a hegumen (leader of a monastic community), is less celebrated but significant for formulating the “Moscow – Third Rome” doctrine. Through letters to Grand Duke Vasily III, he posited Moscow as the successor to Rome and Constantinople, emphasizing its role as the last bastion of Orthodox Christianity after the fall of those cities. His writings primarily addressed ecclesiastical matters, urging Moscow to remain spiritually pure. (Claims of correspondence with Ivan the Terrible have been debunked due to historical inconsistencies.)

Global Power Dynamics
Beyond the influence of individuals like Rasputin and Filofei, the interplay of nations shapes the world stage. The following concepts unpack these dynamics, navigating the complexities and controversies they entail.

Polarity describes the distribution of global power. While bipolarity (often linked to psychological contexts) is omitted here, it’s worth clarifying alongside other forms:

Unipolarity occurs when a single nation or coalition dominates global influence, with no viable counterbalance. The post-Cold War era, led by the United States, is frequently cited as a unipolar period.
Bipolarity involves two rival powers balancing each other, as seen during the Cold War between the U.S. and USSR. Some scholars view this as the most stable polarity due to mutual checks.
Multipolarity features multiple nations wielding comparable influence, such as post-Napoleonic Europe or China’s Three Kingdoms era. Its complexity can foster instability due to intricate alliances.

Debates persist about today’s global polarity. Some view the U.S. as the sole superpower, while others point to China and India as emerging counterweights, suggesting a shift toward multipolarity.

Core and Periphery stem from world-systems theory, which divides nations into economic roles. Core nations, typically Western, boast high-skill, capital-driven economies. Periphery nations rely on lower-skill, labor-based economies, with semi-periphery nations blending traits of both. Dependency theory posits that resources flow from periphery to core, enriching the latter at the former’s expense. These labels spark controversy for their Western bias.

Power Dynamics hinge on economic and military might, shaping global influence.

Great Powers project influence worldwide, recognized by bodies like the UN Security Council, NATO, G7, or BRICS. The term emerged post-Napoleon.
Small Powers are heavily swayed by great powers, with limited influence, formalized in the 1814 Treaty of Chaumont.
Middle Powers balance moderate influence and susceptibility. Related terms include superpowers (dominant great powers), regional powers (influential locally), emerging powers (rising nations), and hegemons (synonymous with great powers).

Controlling and Client States define asymmetrical relationships. A client state is economically, politically, or militarily dependent on a controlling state, encompassing forms like satellite states, colonies, or puppet states. Cold War-era Eastern Bloc nations, such as Poland or Hungary under Soviet sway, exemplify client states.

Soft vs. Hard Power contrasts methods of influence.

Soft Power persuades through diplomacy, culture, and alliances, enticing nations to align willingly.
Hard Power coerces via military or economic pressure, using incentives (carrots) or threats (sticks).
Actions often blend both, and debates question soft power’s efficacy.

Foreign Assistance (aid) is a complex, politically charged topic. As of May 4, 2025, tensions surround U.S. aid to Ukraine amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with recent Trump-Zelensky talks highlighting controversies. Aid types include:

Emergency Aid: Rapid response to crises like natural disasters.
Humanitarian Aid: Targets poverty and social issues.
Development Aid: Supports long-term growth.
Aid strengthens alliances, signals diplomatic stances, and fosters global ties. Currently, the EU and Western powers lead aid to Afghanistan for humanitarian efforts. The topic is fraught with nuance, warranting cautious, unbiased exploration.

Empires Reborn
🏛 HISTORY
Empires, like persistent film franchises, may fall but often face revival attempts—rarely with lasting success. Examine these historical efforts to resurrect imperial glory. What did they aim to restore, and how close did they come? Did any outlast their predecessors?

Neo-Assyrian Empire | Song Dynasty | Byzantine Empire
Carolingian Empire | Ottonian Dynasty | Meiji Restoration
Neo-Sovietism

Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BCE) marked the final, expansive phase of Assyrian history, often deemed the first world empire, spanning modern Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, and beyond. It sought to reclaim Mesopotamian dominance after prior decline, succeeding through efficient communication networks. Despite its might, a Babylonian revolt and Median invasion triggered its rapid collapse. Its cultural legacy, influencing modern religions, endured. Theories on its fall include internal unrest, disloyal vassals, or environmental strains like droughts.

Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE) unified much of China after fragmentation, split into Northern and Southern phases. It revived centralized rule, fostering innovations like gunpowder, movable type, and advanced cartography. Internal strife transitioned it to the Southern Song, which fell to Mongol invasions under Genghis Khan’s successors. Its revival of Chinese unity left a lasting technological legacy.

Byzantine Empire (330–1453 CE), the Eastern Roman Empire’s continuation, persisted after the Western Roman Empire’s fall. Known as the Roman Empire in its time, it emerged from Rome’s division due to administrative overload. It endured until Constantinople’s fall to the Ottomans, absorbing Roman traditions while evolving distinctively.

Carolingian Empire (800–887 CE) occupied modern France, Germany, and Italy, laying foundations for the Holy Roman Empire. Under Charlemagne, it revived Roman imperial ideals as the “Christian Empire.” A civil war after Louis the Pious’s death and Viking raids led to its dissolution, with the Holy Roman Empire later filling its void.

Ottonian Dynasty (844–1024 CE), named for emperors like Otto I, bridged the Carolingian and Holy Roman Empire eras. It sparked the Ottonian Renaissance, transforming Western European politics through military success. Not an empire but a ruling family (Liudolfings), it persists today without significant power.

Meiji Restoration (1868–1912 CE) transformed Japan into a modern empire, overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate, criticized for weakness against Western powers. Under Emperor Meiji, Japan industrialized, adopting Western models while resisting colonial domination. It emerged as a great power until World War II ended its imperial phase. Traditional practices, like the samurai class, were abolished to prioritize modernization.

Neo-Sovietism, a modern movement, seeks to revive Soviet Union ideals, evident in policies under leaders like Vladimir Putin. Emphasizing law, order, and military strength, it fuels Russian patriotism, often with anti-Western rhetoric. Emerging in Belarus and eastern Ukraine, it lacks a unified definition but reflects nostalgia for Soviet governance, raising concerns about restricted freedoms.

Rebuilding the Past
🏛 HISTORY
Buildings, like empires, can rise anew. Explore these reconstructed sites, then discuss with your team: Does a rebuilt structure continue its predecessor’s legacy or create something distinct?

Bibliotheca Alexandrina | White House | Notre-Dame | Basilica of Saint Paul
Babylon | Shuri Castle | Yellow Crane Tower | Stonehenge | Shakespeare’s Globe

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, opened in 2002 in Alexandria, honors the ancient Library of Alexandria. Proposed by UNESCO in 1974, it houses 8 million books, museums, galleries, and a planetarium. Critics call it a costly vanity project, prioritizing architecture over collections.

White House underwent major reconstruction in 1948 due to structural decay. Dismantled and rebuilt, its interior was later revitalized by Jacqueline Kennedy with historic decor. Minor updates, like Obama’s solar panels, followed. Tours are available, with intermittent closures for security.

Notre-Dame de Paris, completed in 1345, has seen repeated renovations. The French Revolution stripped its metals, and a 2019 fire prompted its latest restoration, completed in December 2024. Debates, guided by the Venice Charter, focus on balancing historical fidelity with modern distinctions.

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, a major Roman basilica, was founded by Constantine I over Paul’s burial site. A 1823 fire destroyed its millennium-old structure, leading to a reconstruction under Leo XII. Though not identical, it reused surviving elements.

Babylon, once a key city in ancient Mesopotamia, is now an Iraqi heritage site. Revitalization attempts under Saddam Hussein faltered, but nearby villages thrive, preserving its historical significance without full reconstruction.

Shuri Castle in Okinawa, built in the 1300s, was nearly destroyed in World War II. Rebuilt as a heritage site, it faced another fire in 2019, with renovations planned for 2026. Its history reflects resilience amid repeated destruction.

Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, rebuilt in 1981, traces to 223 CE. Destroyed 12 times, its current site, 1km from the original, retains historical ties via legends and a preserved Sacred Stupa, significant in Taoism and Buddhism.

Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument from 3100–1600 BCE, may have served as a burial or ritual site. Restorations since 1900 stabilized its stones, aligning them to their original circular layout, though its purpose remains speculative.

Shakespeare’s Globe, rebuilt in 1997 in London, recreates the 1599 Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare’s plays debuted. Destroyed in 1613 and 1644, the modern version, 230 meters from the original site, accommodates fewer visitors due to safety standards.

A Galactic Revival
📚 LITERATURE
In Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, the Galactic Empire crumbles, heralding 30,000 years of chaos. A mathematician, using psychohistory (a predictive science blending math and probability), proposes a colony of librarians to compile an encyclopedia, potentially shortening the dark age to 1,000 years. Discuss with your team: Are librarians ideal stewards to rebuild civilization? If not, who else? How much should math and big data guide future predictions?

Note: Psychohistory, a fictional discipline, forecasts large-scale trends. Palpatine, a Star Wars villain from The Empire Strikes Back, symbolizes authoritarian evil, referenced humorously here (and memed for “I am the Senate”).

Brands Resurrected
🔬 SCIENCE | 🏛 HISTORY
In 2025, Pan Am, a defunct airline, will briefly soar again with a $65,500 luxury charter flight, evoking its 20th-century glory. Meanwhile, South Korea’s SJ Group has rebranded Pan Am as a fashion line. Explore these revived brands, then discuss with your team: Is such branding deceptive? Which dormant brands would you revive, and how?

RCA | Westinghouse | Polaroid | RadioShack
Gateway | Nokia | Sansui | Eastern Air Lines

Pan Am, bankrupt since 1991, offers a nostalgic 2025 charter flight via Centurion Travel, using a Boeing 757 (unlike its iconic 747s). SJ Group’s fashion venture in Seoul, with plans for 13 stores, capitalizes on Pan Am’s blue-and-white aesthetic, despite no historical Seoul flights.

RCA, a 20th-century electronics giant, birthed NBC but faltered in the 1970s against Sony and Philips, dissolving in 1987 after General Electric’s reacquisition.

Westinghouse Electric, a peer of RCA, diversified into finance, leading to its 1997 demise. Its nuclear arm, sold to Toshiba, later faced bankruptcy amid the Nukegate scandal.

Polaroid, famed for instant cameras, went bankrupt in 2001. Its brand now graces smartphones and TVs under a Polish billionaire’s ownership, with a focus on new instant cameras.

RadioShack, once a retail electronics leader, collapsed in 2015. Now an e-commerce entity under Retail Ecommerce Ventures, it retains a few franchised stores.

Gateway, a 1985–2007 PC maker, succumbed to competition and the dot-com bust. Acer revived the brand in 2020.

Nokia, a former phone titan, pivoted to cybersecurity and 5G networks after selling its mobile division to Microsoft, remaining vital to Finland’s economy.

Sansui Electric, a Japanese audio firm, thrived post-WWII but declared bankruptcy in 2014 amid rising competition.

Eastern Air Lines, a major U.S. airline until 1991, faced labor disputes and debt. Revival attempts (2015–2017, 2010–present) struggled, with the latest iteration dormant.

Tech Nostalgia
🔬 SCIENCE | 🏛 HISTORY
From cassettes to floppy disks (great coasters!), retro tech is surging, fueled by online trends embracing their quirks. Discuss with your team: Why do outdated products regain appeal? When do you prefer “inferior” old tech over “superior” new tech?

Disposable cameras | Handheld gaming devices | Vinyl | Film
Shortwave radio | AM radio | Pager | Magnetic tape storage | Physical media

Disposable Cameras, popularized by Kodak, are resurging via Fujifilm’s Instax line. Their imperfect, single-use nature appeals for authenticity, though many are “hacked” for reuse.

Handheld Gaming Devices, like the Nintendo Switch, never faded, building on the Game Boy’s legacy. They remain popular for portability.

Vinyl records, overtaken by cassettes and CDs, surged in the 2010s, driven by artists like Taylor Swift. Their tactile, imperfect sound fuels retro appeal.

Film (film stock) persists among filmmakers for its aesthetic, despite digital dominance. Its deterioration (vinegar syndrome) poses preservation challenges.

Shortwave Radio, vital in the Cold War, aids modern conflicts like Russia-Ukraine. Its low-cost, hard-to-censor nature attracts militaries and hobbyists.

AM Radio, eclipsed by FM and streaming, specializes in talk due to lower quality. Its “Golden Age” ended with TV’s rise.

Pagers, precursors to phones, remain in emergency services for reliability during disasters, offering privacy but limited functionality.

Magnetic Tape Storage, once common in early computers, is researched for long-term data preservation, potentially lasting thousands of years.

Physical Media, from CDs to fiber optic cables, faces debate. Cloud storage overshadows data formats, but cables remain internet backbones.

Music’s Retro Reign
🎭 ART
Old music dominates, with 70% of U.S. consumption favoring classics and only 5% of top-streamed songs being new (released within 18 months). Discuss with your team: Is old music stifling new talent?
The industry prioritizes old music rights, with radio and stores leaning on classics. Deepfake performances of deceased artists and “furniture music” (background tracks) dilute new releases. Copyright fears and algorithmic silos on streaming platforms favor safe, familiar sounds, sidelining bold or orchestral works. Classical music, brimming with creativity, struggles for attention. While some blame modern artists, the issue lies in an industry disincentivizing risk. Yet, new music persists, often from unexpected sources, proving its resilience.

This critique of corporate caution rings true, though its anti-business tone may overstate the case. Music’s spark, as history shows, cannot be extinguished.

- D.1 Debate Motions

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🗣️ Debate Motions: Revivals, Resurrections & Reboots

Resolved: That flying cars are worth reviving despite past failures.
Resolved: That bringing back cassette tapes is more than just a retro trend.
Resolved: That old music should not dominate new playlists.
Resolved: That Russia should never be considered a “Third Rome.”
Resolved: That vintage technology is more meaningful than modern perfection.
Resolved: That reconstructing historical buildings distorts the past.
Resolved: That instant cameras make better memories than smartphones.
Resolved: That the return of Pan Am proves branding can survive anything.
Resolved: That young artists today are unfairly overshadowed by dead ones.
Resolved: That empires deserve second chances.
Resolved: That TikTok revivals of old trends are shaping culture more than schools.
Resolved: That students should learn on analog devices at least once a week.
Resolved: That vinyl records should be the default music format again.
Resolved: That buying nostalgia is better than chasing innovation.
Resolved: That hologram concerts of dead artists are disrespectful.
Resolved: That the most powerful countries today are unofficial empires.
Resolved: That librarians could restart civilization better than politicians.
Resolved: That rebuilding ancient monuments is like copying homework.
Resolved: That flawed photos tell better stories.
Resolved: That music algorithms are slowly erasing musical creativity.
Resolved: That flying on a $65,000 nostalgia flight is worth the price—for history.
Resolved: That future societies will judge us by what we revived.
Resolved: That Gen Z is leading a creative revolution with outdated tools.
Resolved: That every country secretly wants to be an empire again.
Resolved: That deepfake performances should be banned from award shows.
Resolved: That old digital cameras should replace phones in schools.
Resolved: That instant film is better at capturing real life than Instagram.
Resolved: That music awards are no longer culturally relevant.
Resolved: That students should vote on what gets rebuilt after disaster.
Resolved: That brands should stay dead unless they have something new to offer.
Resolved: That every empire ends—but only some get sequels.
Resolved: That the world is stuck in a loop of recycled ideas.
Resolved: That not all historical buildings should be rebuilt.
Resolved: That nostalgia is now a more powerful force than innovation.
Resolved: That TikTok has replaced radio as the cultural gatekeeper.
Resolved: That new music should be protected like endangered species.
Resolved: That we should stop comparing new art to old greatness.
Resolved: That the best technology is the one that limits you.
Resolved: That ancient cities rebuilt today are theme parks, not history.
Resolved: That student-created mixtapes should replace school newsletters.
Resolved: That flying in a modern plane with retro branding is still living in the past.
Resolved: That the most authentic things are usually imperfect.
Resolved: That no empire has truly “died”—they’ve just rebranded.
Resolved: That digital photography has made memories feel less real.
Resolved: That the music industry no longer believes in the future.
Resolved: That ancient wisdom matters more today than ever before.
Resolved: That de-extinct technologies belong in classrooms, not museums.
Resolved: That every school should have a retro tech corner.
Resolved: That reboots in music, media, and politics show we fear the unknown.
Resolved: That the next cultural revolution will come from something old.

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🏛️ Empire Revival & Historical Power

A government-funded project rebuilds an ancient empire's capital—exactly how it once was.
☐ Is this a return to greatness—or a dangerous fantasy?
An old empire is trending again—students around the world are copying its fashion and laws.
☐ Is this educational—or risky?
Your class is asked to redesign an ancient empire using only Gen Z values.
☐ What would you keep—and what would you reinvent?
You’re part of a team building a “Future Empire.”
☐ What old-world strategies would you borrow—or reject?
A competition challenges students to “remake history.”
☐ Should some events never be reimagined?
An empire collapses, but its fashion, food, and language spread everywhere.
☐ Can culture survive without control?
A city plans to rebuild a ruined landmark brick-for-brick—but with hidden modern tech inside.
☐ Is that still “authentic”?
A law is passed to stop hologram concerts from competing with living artists.
☐ Is this protecting the present—or limiting performance?

🧱 Rebuilding the Past & Preserving Memory

Students are asked to rebuild a destroyed historical site—but no one agrees on the design.
☐ Should they recreate the original—or reimagine it?
A rebuilt landmark is exactly like the original—down to every scratch.
☐ Is it authentic—or just a really good copy?
A museum exhibit lets you experience life in a “recycled” 1990s bedroom.
☐ Why are we so drawn to someone else’s past?
A new law says all public monuments must reflect the future, not the past.
☐ Is that progress—or forgetting?
A local museum pays students to record their lives using vintage cameras.
☐ Would your stories feel more real?
You’re asked to build a school time capsule—but no tech from the last 10 years is allowed.
☐ What makes the cut?
You’re given the chance to relaunch any extinct brand, product, or format.
☐ What do you choose—and how do you reintroduce it?

📼 Retro Tech, Analog Comebacks & Nostalgia

Cassette tapes are back, and a music store refuses to sell digital albums.
☐ Is this real support for artists—or just recycled nostalgia?
A streaming platform removes all songs made before 2010 to promote new artists.
☐ Would this fix the music industry—or erase cultural history?
A streaming app starts hiding songs that don’t fit past hit patterns.
☐ Is the future of music being coded out?
Your school decides to play only music from the last 12 months during events.
☐ Would that energize students—or make them miss the classics?
A new award show celebrates only artists who use analog gear.
☐ Could this restore creativity—or just create new barriers?
A famous digital artist only releases work on floppy disks.
☐ Is that a creative decision—or an unnecessary limitation?
An indie artist refuses to publish on Spotify and only releases music on vinyl.
☐ Is that brave—or self-sabotaging?
A young artist is told their work is “too original” for current radio.
☐ Can originality survive the algorithm?
Your school builds a retro-tech lab with floppy disks, VCRs, and Walkmans.
☐ What could you learn from using "dead" technology?
You’re invited to a dinner party where the only rule is: nothing created after 1995.
☐ What do you bring, wear, or share?
TikTok trends bring back baggy jeans, analog cameras, and cassette tapes.
☐ Are trends like these shaping the future—or avoiding it?
A global trend encourages students to carry film cameras instead of phones.
☐ Could this change how we see the world?
You find an old digital camera from the early 2000s. It has your family’s forgotten photos.
☐ What could those imperfect images teach you?
A student club wants to relaunch a forgotten brand as part of a history project.
☐ Should they preserve its image—or reinvent it?
A famous influencer refuses to use any modern devices for a year.
☐ Could this movement grow—or would it crash quickly?

✈️ Brand Rebirth & Cultural Reboots

A once-bankrupt airline is revived for a luxury flight experience.
☐ Is this honoring the past—or selling a dream?
A luxury airline rebrands itself using the name of a failed 20th-century carrier.
☐ Is this clever marketing—or dishonest nostalgia?
A fashion company revives a forgotten airline as a clothing line.
☐ Can identity be sold?
An old empire is rebooted as a lifestyle brand.
☐ Is that cultural tribute—or trivialization?
A new empire uses TikTok influencers to gain followers.
☐ Could it actually work?
A famous old brand is revived to sell high-end fashion—but its origin was cheap travel gear.
☐ Is this evolution—or identity theft?

🎶 Old vs New Music & Cultural Dominance

Old songs now make up 70% of the music market.
☐ Does this mean new music is worse—or just unheard?
You discover your favorite playlist is made up entirely of songs older than you.
☐ Is this comforting—or concerning?
A new law requires radio stations to play at least 50% new music.
☐ Will this spark innovation—or lose listeners?
The top-streamed artist of the year is a hologram of a singer who died decades ago.
☐ Should music awards include digital ghosts?
You overhear someone say: “There’s no good music anymore.”
☐ Do you agree—or disagree?
You walk into a diner where all the music is over 40 years old—but everyone is under 30.
☐ What does this tell you about culture today?
You’re asked to choose between streaming a new hit or listening to a remastered Beatles track.
☐ Which feels more meaningful—and why?
You’re asked to create a time capsule—but can only include one song.
☐ Should it be old or new?
A pop star samples four decades of past hits in one viral track.
☐ Is that art—or borrowing too much?
An AI-generated musician tops the charts. No one knows who made the music.
☐ Can you connect with a song if you don’t know the artist?
A major record label says they’ve stopped signing new artists.
☐ Is this a smart business move—or a cultural loss?
The Grammy Awards are postponed—and no one seems to care.
☐ Has the music industry lost its connection to culture?
Streaming services start charging more for old music to push new artists.
☐ Would that help—or punish—listeners?
A musician wins a major award—but refuses to accept it from a virtual audience.
☐ Is that brave—or outdated?

- D.3 Challenging Questions

View Challenge Questions: Click Here

E. Fire Science Exploration

🔥 Exploring Fire: Science, Symbol, and Story

Fire is more than a natural phenomenon. It’s a force that has shaped civilizations, inspired myths, driven technologies, and ignited revolutions—both literal and metaphorical. This curriculum section offers a deep, cross-disciplinary exploration of fire in science, art, literature, music, and culture.

🔬 The Science of Fire

Fire is the product of a chemical reaction—specifically, rapid oxidation that releases heat and light. Scientifically, fire is explained by the fire triangle (fuel, heat, and oxygen), expanded into the fire tetrahedron with the addition of the chemical chain reaction.

Key Concepts:

Oxidation
Combustion
Ignition
Flash Point
Convection
Fuel | Flame | Heat Source

Core Questions:

How does fire start, and what keeps it burning?
What happens at the molecular level during combustion?
Can you recreate a fire safely using different ignition methods?

🔥 Early Fire Use: Invention or Discovery?

Fire may have been controlled over 1 million years ago. Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa contains traces of fire used by Homo erectus, potentially for cooking, protection, and social gatherings.

📚 Read: Wonderwerk Cave Discovery

Core Questions:

Did humans invent fire-making or stumble upon it by chance?
Who controlled fire first, and how do archaeologists know?
If fire was “discovered” today, could it be copyrighted?

🔧 Making Fire: From Nature to Tools

From lightning and lava to flint, steel, and lenses, humans developed tools to create and control fire. Traditional methods include:

Flint and steel
Fire striker
Bow drill
Lens focusing sunlight
Hand drill

Discussion:

Should students learn primitive fire-starting in school?
At what age should fire-making be taught responsibly?

⚔️ Greek Fire: A Weapon Beyond Control

Greek Fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire that burned even on water. The recipe is still unknown but likely included naphtha, quicklime, and sulfur.

📚 Read: Greek Fire History

Discussion Prompts:

What are modern parallels to Greek Fire (e.g., napalm, thermite)?
Should weapons with uncontrollable effects be banned today?

🗿 Fire as Ancient Animation

Paleolithic artists carved animals onto stone “plaquettes” and viewed them by flickering firelight, creating the illusion of movement—arguably the first animation.

📚 Read: Smithsonian on Firelight Animation

Discussion:

How can natural light shape storytelling?
Could you recreate animated shadow art with fire today?

🎆 Fireworks: Celebration or Catastrophe?

First developed in ancient China, fireworks spread globally as a symbol of joy and ritual. But their risks remain. A tragic 2024 firework accident in Hawaii reignited calls for regulation.

📚 Read: AP News on Hawaii Fireworks

Questions for Debate:

Should fireworks be banned or better regulated?
What safer alternatives exist for public celebrations?

🎵 Music Inspired by Fireworks: Celebration or Critique?

Explore how composers and artists interpret fireworks using rhythm, tone, and metaphor.

George Frideric Handel | Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749)

Celebration: Created for a royal peace celebration.
Instruments: Trumpets, timpani, and brass simulate explosions.
Interpretation: Fireworks are a literal, triumphant expression of national pride. 🎧 Listen

Igor Stravinsky | Feu d’artifice (1908)

Tone: Playful, glittering.
Techniques: Chromatics and tempo shifts mimic bursts of light.
Interpretation: A whimsical sonic painting of a firework show. 🎧 Listen

Claude Debussy | Feux d’artifice (1913)

Tone: Introspective, abstract.
Piano Technique: Dissonance and rapid textures mirror flickers.
Interpretation: Fireworks as fleeting brilliance and memory. 🎧 Listen

Oliver Knussen | Flourish with Fireworks (1988)

Tone: Formal, dazzling.
Instrumentation: Sparkling percussion and abrupt crescendos.
Interpretation: Fireworks are used to explore sound architecture. 🎧 Listen

halyosy | Fire◎Flower (2008)

Tone: Emotional, youth-driven.
Lyrics: Firework as self-expression.
Interpretation: Inner emotion seeking release, with energy and vulnerability. 🎧 Listen

Katy Perry | Firework (2010)

Tone: Empowering.
Lyrics: Firework as personal brilliance and courage.
Interpretation: Strong celebration of inner worth. 🎧 Listen

🔥 Sacred Fire: Ritual, Belief, and Purification

In Zoroastrianism, fire symbolizes divine light. Sacred flames are composed of 16 different fires purified through over 1,000 rituals.

📚 Read: Zoroastrian Fire

Reflection:

What modern practices might mirror sacred fire-keeping?
What are we responsible for preserving, as if it were fire?

🎨 Fire in Visual Art: Literal and Symbolic Flames

Each of these works uses fire to reveal deeper truths:

Georges de La Tour – Inner reflection and mortality. 🔗 View
Jan Griffier – Historical documentation and fear. 🔗 View
Paul Sandby – Civic ritual and celebration.
J.M.W. Turner – Sublime power and political change. 🔗 View
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi – Smoke and illusion. 🔗 View
Alberto Burri – Trauma and physical transformation. 🔗 View
Yves Klein – Fire as energy, motion, and metaphysics. 🔗 View

📖 Fire in Literature: Memory, Mortality, and Myth

**Blake – **The Tyger: Fire as divine creation and terror. 🔗 Read
**Gander – **Wasteland: Wildfires as personal and ecological collapse. 🔗 Read
**Hogan – **The History of Fire: Fire as identity and ancestry. 🔗 Read
**Graham – **I Am Still: Fire as apocalypse and longing. 🔗 Read

🧠 Final Creative Tasks and Reflections

Discuss and Debate:

Is fire more destructive or creative?
What inner flame do you carry?

🔥 Create: Write a fire-themed poem, make a collage, or design a symbolic sculpture. 💬 Discuss: Where is fire most terrifying—and most redemptive? 🎭 Perform: Re-enact a myth, conduct a science demo, or soundtrack a scene with music from this unit.

You’ve now explored fire across time, cultures, disciplines, and emotions. What will you do with the flame you carry?

E. Fire Science Exploration - Expansion

Flames and Their Fascination

This section primarily offers definitions to lay the groundwork for understanding fire. While fire’s history stretches back before human records, a touch of historical context may appear.

Oxidation refers to a chemical process where an element or ion loses electrons, raising its oxidation state. It’s a core part of certain chemical reactions, often paired with reduction (where electrons are gained, lowering the oxidation state). Together, they form redox reactions, a term blending “reduction” and “oxidation.”

Think of oxidation as one half of a dance: one atom hands off electrons to another, often forming an ionic bond. Rust is a classic example—iron reacts with oxygen in the presence of water to form iron oxide (rust). For a deeper dive, revisiting basic high school chemistry can clarify this concept.

Ignition is the act of starting a fire, akin to kindling or firelighting. Its roots trace to the Lower Paleolithic, when early humans first harnessed fire.

Ignition typically involves heating flammable materials, like tinder, to their autoignition temperature—the point at which they catch fire spontaneously without an external spark. Lower air pressure reduces this temperature. Ignition stems from heat energy, often generated by friction or other means, as explored later.

Combustion is the scientific term for burning, a redox reaction involving fuel and an oxidant (usually oxygen). While all fires result from combustion, not all combustion produces fire (more on flames later).

Combustion often involves a complex chain of reactions, typically with carbon or hydrogen reacting with oxygen in an exothermic process that releases heat. An initial spark of activation energy kicks things off, and the reaction often sustains itself via a feedback loop—until fuel or oxygen runs out.

Combustion comes in two flavors: complete (ample oxygen, fully burning the fuel) and incomplete (limited oxygen, leaving unburned byproducts). Before combustion, pyrolysis often occurs, chemically separating a fuel’s flammable and non-flammable components.

Flash Point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid releases flammable vapors that can ignite with a spark. It’s distinct from the autoignition temperature, which marks spontaneous burning. The flash point is always lower.

This property distinguishes flammable fuels (like gasoline, with a flash point below freezing) from combustible ones (like diesel, with a higher flash point). Gasoline’s low flash point makes it easier to ignite but less efficient. Materials with flash points below 38°C are deemed flammable, posing fire hazards—hence warnings about gasoline fumes at room temperature.

Convection transfers heat through fluids like air or water. When heated, fluids expand, making molecules more active and increasing their collisions, which spreads thermal energy. This process hinges on molecular density and temperature-driven movement.

Naturally, hot molecules rise, and cooler ones sink, creating a chaotic yet self-organizing flow of heat. Forced convection, like using a fan or pump, spreads heat externally without adding more. In the atmosphere, convection drives cloud formation and thunderstorms. Without gravity (e.g., in space), natural convection fails.

Fire Triangle outlines the three essentials for fire: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Remove any one, and the fire dies. Each element connects to the others, symbolized by the triangle’s sides.

To extinguish fires, oxygen is often targeted—smothering a flame or limiting its air supply. In wildfires, firefighters may contain the blaze to starve it of fuel. Water, despite adding oxygen, halts pyrolysis, rendering fuel unburnable.

Fire Tetrahedron expands the triangle by adding the combustion chain reaction as a fourth element. While less tangible than heat, fuel, or oxygen, this ongoing reaction is critical. Disrupting it (e.g., by preventing pyrolysis with water) extinguishes the fire. The tetrahedron’s shape reflects how each element interacts with all others.

Flame is fire’s visible glow, often red-orange but varying by heat and fuel. Hotter flames burn light blue, and at extreme temperatures, they ionize into plasma (like the Sun, a fiery plasma, not a “burning” star).

In candles, flames show distinct color zones, reflecting temperature gradients. In zero gravity, flames form spheres since convection doesn’t occur naturally, and heat spreads evenly.

Fuel is any material that reacts with oxygen under heat to produce fire. Common fuels include hydrocarbons (coal, oil, gas) and organic compounds, though nuclear fuels like radioactive metals also qualify. Fuels store high potential energy, releasing it in exothermic reactions.

Fuels form over time, capturing energy (e.g., trees store solar energy via photosynthesis). Breaking their atomic bonds with a small input of energy triggers a chain reaction, converting potential energy into heat.

Fire’s Ancient Origins

Was fire discovered or invented? Who first tamed it, and when? How often does this history shift? Consider: if fire were “invented” in 2024, could it be patented or copyrighted? Would international laws apply? Did ancient societies “own” fire? [🏛 HISTORY, 🔬 SCIENCE]

Fire’s history is murky, pieced together from archaeological clues. A recent capture from February 28, 2025, details new findings: https://web.archive.org/web/20250228140631/https://www.history.com/news/human-ancestors-tamed-fire-earlier-than-thought

Fire shaped human evolution, enabling cooking and toolmaking. The earliest undisputed evidence ties fire to Neanderthals and early modern humans at Qesem Cave, Israel (300,000–400,000 years ago). However, South Africa’s Wonderwerk Cave yields traces of campfires—charred bones, burnt plants, and stone tools—dating to 1 million years ago, suggesting Homo erectus may have controlled fire.

Other studies hint at fire use in Asia, Africa, and Europe up to 1.5 million years ago, but these open-air sites could reflect natural wildfires. Cave settings like Wonderwerk are less ambiguous. Physical evidence, like Homo erectus’ skull shapes and diets suited for cooked food, further ties them to fire.

Fire’s history evolves with each discovery, and certainty remains elusive. [🔬 SCIENCE, 🏛 HISTORY]

Starting the Spark

Fire starts naturally or by human hands—through matches, lenses, or even reality TV chaos (a nod to The Apprentice’s fiery drama). Explore historical fire-starting methods, from flint to lenses. Should kids learn to start fires, and at what age? [🔬 SCIENCE]
lighter | match | lenses | hand drill | fire striker | flint & steel | safety match

Lighter: A compact device with fuel (typically butane) and a spark mechanism (like a spark wheel) to ignite a controlled flame. Early lighters mimicked flintlock pistols, using gunpowder reactions. Modern lighters echo fire strikers’ sparking action.

Match: A friction-based firestarter, usually a wooden stick tipped with phosphorus sulfide (the red tip). Early “chemical matches” were complex, but friction matches, perfected after toxic white phosphorus was phased out, became standard. Fun fact: early matches, dubbed “Lucifers,” fumed and flared violently.

Lenses: Known as burning glass, these convex lenses focus sunlight into a hot point to ignite fuel. Used before electrical ignition, they trace to 424 BC in Greek plays and Archimedes’ fabled mirror defense of Syracuse. Modern errors, like London’s “Walkie Talkie” skyscraper melting cars via reflected light, highlight their power.

Hand Drill: A primitive fire-starting tool using a spinning rod to generate friction. Simple versions rely on hand-twisting; advanced ones (bow drills, pump drills) ease the process. Today, it’s a survival skill for fire-making or drilling.

Fire Striker: A tool sparking fire by striking carbon steel against flint. Part of percussion fire methods, it predates matches. Sparks—molten steel fragments—ignite tinder, which scales to larger fires. Steel’s carbon content and the rock’s hardness (flint, chert, quartz) determine success.

Flint & Steel: The top fire striker, pairing flint (a quartz-like rock) with steel (iron-carbon alloy). Flint’s chippable nature also made it ideal for ancient tools. In Minecraft, flint and steel ignite Nether Portals—a nod to its fire-starting legacy.

Safety Match: Matches that ignite only on a special surface (red phosphorus, glass, and carbon). Unlike storm matches (hard to extinguish), safety matches prioritize control.

Greek Fire: The Unquenchable Flame

Greek Fire, a lost Byzantine weapon, burned on water and defied extinguishing. Is it still viable today, and what modern equivalents exist? Compare napalm, thermite, and white phosphorus. [🏛 HISTORY, 🔬 SCIENCE]

Credited to Callinicus of Heliopolis, a refugee defending Constantinople, Greek Fire (or “liquid fire”) likely mixed resin, naphtha, quicklime, sulfur, and niter. Its recipe, guarded by emperors and the Kalliniko family, vanished. Unextinguishable by water, it spread flames further, making it ideal for naval warfare. Deployed via tubes, grenades, or cranes, it repelled Arab sieges, though its tube projectors often exploded.

Modern recreations fall short. Equivalents like napalm (sticky incendiary gel), thermite (metal-burning reaction), and white phosphorus (ignites on air contact) share its destructive traits but lack its aquatic prowess. Greek Fire’s tactical niche remains unmatched.

Fire as Ancient Animation

Could fire have sparked prehistoric cartoons? Explore fire’s role in animating ancient art. Should we revive this? Can other natural phenomena, like wind, tell stories? [🏛 HISTORY, 🎨 ART]

In France’s Montastruc, 15,000-year-old stone plaquettes from the Magdalenian culture (23,000–14,000 years ago) suggest fire animated etched animal figures. Replicas show that flickering flames made carvings “move” via light play, leveraging pareidolia (our knack for seeing patterns). Arranged around fires, these tablets likely created a proto-cinematic effect.

Unlike revered cave art, these plaquettes seem hastily made, possibly for rituals or spirit-summoning. See it in action: https://youtu.be/QZwqk0rlwVQ

Fireworks: Celebration or Catastrophe?

On New Year’s Eve 2024, a fireworks mishap in Hawaii killed three and injured 20. Research their origins, ingredients, and evolution. Should they be banned, and what could replace them? [🌍 SOCIETY]

In Hawaii, a tipped-over firework ignited a pile of others, despite their illegality. Cultural firecrackers, tied to warding off evil, differ from dangerous aerial bombs, yet both face scrutiny. Enforcement struggles, with a 30% rise in incidents.

Fireworks began in China’s Han Dynasty as exploding bamboo, evolving into gunpowder-filled firecrackers by the Song Dynasty for festivals. Today’s colorful displays use regulated chemicals. Bans in some Western nations reflect their risks. Cultural exemptions and stricter import controls could balance tradition and safety.

Music of the Sparks

How do composers capture fireworks? Are they glorified or critiqued? Analyze their instruments and lyrics. [🎨 ART]
George Frideric Handel | Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749)
Igor Stravinsky | Feu d’artifice (1908)
Claude Debussy | Feux d’artifice (1913)
Oliver Knussen | Flourish with Fireworks (1988)
halyosy | Fire◎Flower (2008)
Katy Perry | Firework (2010)

The phrase “music can be explosive” nods to Tchaikovsky’s cannon-firing 1812 Overture.

Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks: A wind-instrument suite for George II, celebrating the 1748 Treaty of Aachen. Overriding Handel’s wish for strings, it was later rescored with them. Paired with Water Music, it evokes festive grandeur.

Stravinsky’s Feu d’artifice: A brief orchestral fantasy for a Russian wedding, its scherzo form showcases early Stravinsky flair. “Firework” in French, it oddly reflects neither composer’s heritage.

Musical Flames

How do composers evoke fireworks—celebrating, critiquing, or ambiguously? Explore their instruments and lyrics. [🎨 ART]

Claude Debussy - Feux d’artifice closes the second book of his Preludes, a collection of 24 solo piano pieces. Unbound by traditional structure or tonal centers, it conjures a mystical atmosphere. Its 4/8 time signature sets an unusual rhythm.

The title, French for “fireworks” (an alternate spelling), reflects its sparkling character. Defined by arpeggios (cascading note sequences) and glissandos (swift slides across semitones), it’s tricky to describe outside musical terms. The piece dances like bursts of light.

Oliver Knussen - Flourish with Fireworks, Op. 22 pays triple tribute: to a dear friend, to the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), and most notably to Stravinsky’s Feu d’artifice. Commissioned by the LSO, it mirrors Stravinsky’s orchestral sparkle, weaving a vibrant homage.

halyosy - Fire◎Flower shifts gears to Vocaloid, a Japanese genre blending synthetic vocals with anime-inspired instrumentals. Among its most beloved tracks, it follows Len, a boy likening his love for Rin to a “fire flower” blooming in summer—a nod to romantic fireworks.

Three versions exist: the 2008 original, the 2021 Sparkle edition for its 13th anniversary, and the 2024 Rerec with enhanced fidelity. Its music video bursts with firework visuals.

Katy Perry - Firework reigns as the list’s pop juggernaut, a dance-pop anthem from Teenage Dream. A staple at empowerment events, it calls for self-confidence. Set in Budapest, its video urges youth to embrace their worth.

Its lyrics pivot from self-doubt to triumphant self-worth, with a chorus that soars:

‘Cause, baby, you’re a firework
Come on, show ’em what you’re worth
Make ’em go, “Ah, ah, ah”
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you’re a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make ’em go, “Ah, ah, ah”
You’re gonna leave ’em all in awe, awe, awe

Tending the Eternal Flame

On chilly camping nights, gathering around a fire to roast s’mores and share stories feels primal. Someone must add wood to keep it alive—a task early societies assigned full-time, as restarting a fire was far harder than sustaining it. Explore ancient mythologies about keeping flames alive. What else is easier to maintain than restart, and who tends it? [🏛 HISTORY, 🌍 SOCIETY]

Fire myths vary widely, each rich with meaning.

In Zoroastrianism, an Iranian faith rooted in the prophet Zarathustra’s teachings, fire holds divine significance. Five daily rituals involve tending sacred flames in Dar-e-Mehrs (“doors of light”), symbolizing rejection of evil. These flames, likened to royal thrones, embody 16 distinct types. Zarathustra saw fire as a physical echo of divine light, a son of the divine, representing wisdom, courage, and illumination. Some blend this with science, linking fire to thermal waves or electromagnetic currents.

Other traditions include:

Hinduism: The Rigveda’s hymns exalt Agni, the fire god, in its opening.
Greek Mythology: Prometheus defied Zeus, stealing fire from the sun for humanity, a gift honored in the Olympics.
Aztec Mythology: Nanahuatl’s fiery self-sacrifice birthed the sun, launching the Fifth Age.
Medieval Alchemy: Fire purified and transformed elements, symbolizing change.

Fire in Art and Literature

Do these works treat fire literally or metaphorically, and why? [📚 LITERATURE, 🎨 ART]

Artworks

Georges de La Tour - Magdalen with the Smoking Flame (1640) portrays Mary Magdalene beside a table with a flame, a Bible, another book, and a skull in her lap. A follower of Jesus, she’s a Baroque icon of repentance, especially in Catholic art. The scene suggests she contemplates mortality. Two versions of the painting exist.

Jan Griffier - Great Fire of London, 1666 captures the 1666 blaze that ravaged London north of the Thames. A Dutch artist, Griffier painted multiple versions, this one sketched impulsively. The fire gutted much of the city’s core and beyond.

Paul Sandby - Windsor Castle from the Lower Court, on the 5th November (1776) depicts Guy Fawkes Night, celebrating the foiled Gunpowder Plot. Fireworks here are less vibrant—more like bonfires laced with explosives—lit at Windsor Castle.

J.M.W. Turner - The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16 October 1834 (1835) shows two perspectives of the 1834 Parliament fire. Sketched on-site, it symbolizes the old order’s collapse, echoing Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire. The flames highlight human fragility.

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi - The Moon in Smoke (1886), from One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, features flames engulfing a scene, with two firemen wielding Matoi flags. Rival fire brigades, competing for rewards, clash amid the blaze under a moonlit sky.

Alberto Burri - Red Plastic (1961), a modern spatialist work, showcases scorched red plastic. Part of the European informal art movement, it explores space through abstract texture.

Yves Klein - Fire Paintings (1957–1961) blend black and fiery orange in abstract forms, probing fire’s dual nature—good and evil. Unlike Klein’s blue monochromes, these reflect his study of elemental forces: fire, water, air. Klein said:

“Fire for me is the future without forgetting the past. It is the memory of nature. It is gentleness. ‘It is gentleness and torture’. It is hearth and it is apocalypse. It is a pleasure for the child sitting prudently by the fireplace; yet it punishes any disobedience when he wishes to play too close to its flames. It is well-being and it is respect. It is a tutelary and terrible god, both good and bad.”

Music

Joseph Haydn - Symphony No. 59, Fire Symphony (c. 1760), an early work, features oboes, horns, bassoons, harpsichord, and strings across four movements. Nicknamed “Fire” (not by Haydn), it likely tied to the play Die Feuersbrunst, about a blaze, or its lively first movement. Despite its number, it’s among Haydn’s earliest symphonies.

Richard Wagner - Magic Fire Music (1870), from Die Walküre’s final act, accompanies a god’s farewell to his daughter, who’s enveloped in enchanted, fire-protected sleep. Part of a Norse mythology cycle, it uses “nature” and “fate” motifs. Its debut fire effect startled audiences.

Jean Sibelius - The Origin of Fire (1910), a single-movement orchestral piece with baritone and male choir, draws from Finland’s Kalevala epic (Runo XLVII). Premiered at the Finnish National Theatre, it was revised to omit a triangle. Sibelius conducted its debut.

Igor Stravinsky - Suite from The Firebird (1919), from a ballet blending Russian fairytales, was crafted for the Ballets Russes to capture Russian spirit. Three versions exist (1911, 1919, 1945), with 1919 most iconic. Its leit-harmonies reuse musical phrases, and one piece pioneers a 7/4 time signature. Critics praised its emotional depth.

Sergei Prokofiev - Winter Bonfire (1951), an eight-movement suite for small orchestra and children’s chorus, follows Moscow children in snowy scenes—snowfall, campfires, and trains. Written late in Prokofiev’s life, it aligns with his children’s works like Peter and the Wolf, set to Samuil Marshak’s text.

Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire (1957), a rock-and-roll classic, topped U.S. charts and ranks 96th on Rolling Stone’s greatest songs. With piano, drums, and bass, it gained fame via Top Gun, oddly tied to trauma in the film. A love song, it captures male jitters, with its iconic line:

“Goodness gracious, great balls of fire”

Interpret that however you like!

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire (1963), a country-rock hit popularized by Cash after Anita Carter’s version, ranks 87th on Rolling Stone’s list. Inspired by a poetic line, “Love is like a burning ring of fire,” it added trendy mariachi horns. Its chorus—“I fell into a burning ring of fire” and “it burns, burns, burns”—likens love to consuming flames. Creator disputes linger.

Vangelis - Chariots of Fire (1981), an instrumental for the 1981 film, became an Olympic staple and slow-motion meme. Originally “Titles” for the film’s opening, its fame renamed it. A plagiarism claim, alleging a stolen melody, failed in court. Its video shows runners on a beach.

Billy Joel - We Didn’t Start the Fire (1989), a pop-rock list song, crams 119 historical references from 1949 to 1989, spanning politics, culture, and science. Born from a sense of global chaos, Joel later called it a jingle. Mixed reviews turned sour after a flop 2023 cover. Its chorus:

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it

Fire symbolizes enduring chaos.

Literature

William Blake - The Tyger (1794), from Songs of Experience, pairs with The Lamb to explore Christian duality. Structured in four-line stanzas, it questions why God crafted a fearsome tiger alongside a gentle lamb, using fire as a metaphor for elegance and danger. The repeated stanza:

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Meant for song-like recitation, its rhyme scheme (possibly “symme-try”) feels dated. It probes existence’s contradictions.

Forrest Gander - Wasteland: On the California Wildfires (2017), a calligram in three-line stanzas, depicts the Tubbs fire’s aftermath. Shaped like flames, it blends the poet’s presence with the scorched landscape, shifting from moonlit ruins to emotional turmoil.

Linda Hogan - The History of Fire (2021), from a Native American poetry anthology, channels the wind fueling a fire’s combustion. In two-line stanzas (one single-line exception), it ties lava, matches, and kindling as fire’s kin, rooted in indigenous reverence.

Jorie Graham - I Am Still (2023) uses fragmented four-line stanzas to depict a fire-ravaged landscape, possibly post-apocalypse. The title flows into the poem, with a narrator fixed yet roving via vision. Periods replace question marks, and vowels occasionally drop (e.g., “bldngs”). It hints at traumatic memory, but interpretations vary.

- E.1 Debate Motions

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🔬 Science & Invention

Resolved: That humanity’s mastery of fire was its greatest invention.
Resolved: That fire-starting should be taught in modern schools.
Resolved: That we owe our evolution more to cooking than to tools.
Resolved: That creating fire today would qualify for a modern patent.
Resolved: That the fire tetrahedron is the most important scientific model of survival.

🔥 Danger & Control

Resolved: That the benefits of fire outweigh its dangers.
Resolved: That society is too dependent on fire-based technologies.
Resolved: That all incendiary weapons should be banned globally.
Resolved: That Greek Fire would be considered a war crime today.
Resolved: That fire is the most dangerous invention ever made.

🎆 Fireworks & Society

Resolved: That fireworks should be replaced by safer alternatives.
Resolved: That fireworks are a tradition worth preserving.
Resolved: That the cultural value of fireworks outweighs the risks.
Resolved: That illegal fireworks do more harm than celebration.
Resolved: That future celebrations should be drone- and light-based, not explosive.

🗿 History & Myth

Resolved: That Prometheus was right to give fire to humanity.
Resolved: That fire myths were more scientific than we think.
Resolved: That fire in myth helped civilizations understand nature.
Resolved: That early humans used fire to make art, not just survive.
Resolved: That ancient fire rituals should be revived in modern life.

🎨 Fire in Art & Expression

Resolved: That fire should be considered a medium in visual art.
Resolved: That artworks involving fire are more emotionally powerful.
Resolved: That artists like Yves Klein turned fire into poetry.
Resolved: That fire’s destructive nature makes it ideal for protest art.
Resolved: That we understand history better through paintings of fire than words.

📖 Fire in Literature

Resolved: That Blake’s “The Tyger” makes fire more mysterious than dangerous.
Resolved: That poetry is the best medium for expressing fire’s meaning.
Resolved: That wildfire poetry should be part of environmental education.
Resolved: That fire in literature always symbolizes transformation.
Resolved: That literature can teach us more about fire’s role in emotion than science can.

🎵 Fire in Music

Resolved: That music best captures the spirit of fireworks.
Resolved: That metaphorical fire is more powerful than real fire in music.
Resolved: That fire is music’s most universal metaphor.
Resolved: That Katy Perry’s “Firework” is the most empowering fire-themed song.
Resolved: That composers have used fire to express rebellion more than celebration.

🌍 Ethics, Ritual & Environment

Resolved: That sacred fires symbolize order in a chaotic world.
Resolved: That modern societies have forgotten how to tend fire.
Resolved: That preserving sacred fire traditions is essential to cultural identity.
Resolved: That fire teaches us more about ethics than science.
Resolved: That the ritual of tending fire should be reintroduced into daily life.

🧠 Critical Reflection & Modern Application

Resolved: That fire is still as relevant today as in the Stone Age.
Resolved: That stories told by firelight are more memorable.
Resolved: That we need more fire metaphors in modern education.
Resolved: That future generations will fear fire more than admire it.
Resolved: That humanity’s relationship with fire is one of love and fear.

🌀 Imagination & Innovation

Resolved: That fire should be reimagined as a source of peace, not destruction.
Resolved: That animating stories with firelight is an art worth reviving.
Resolved: That fire is the best metaphor for creative thought.
Resolved: That we must reinvent fire as a force for the future.
Resolved: That every generation must choose whether to control fire—or be consumed by it.

- E.2 Writing Practice

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🔥 FIRE, MYTH & INVENTION

A tech startup announces a matchless fire that burns without heat or smoke.
☐ Is it the future of energy—or the end of tradition?
A scientist recreates the lost formula for Greek Fire.
☐ Should it be shared with the world—or buried forever?
A village builds an eternal fire that never goes out.
☐ Is it a symbol of unity—or obsession?
A global museum launches an exhibit recreating fire-starting rituals from 30 cultures.
☐ Does this preserve heritage—or oversimplify it?
A student discovers how to make fire from ice.
☐ Is it a miracle—or a misunderstanding?

🧠 DISCOVERY & EVOLUTION

An AI program simulates human evolution—without fire.
☐ Do we still become human—or something else entirely?
A time traveler brings a lighter to early Homo erectus.
☐ Is it helpful—or historically harmful?
An international contest challenges kids to survive one week with only fire-based tech.
☐ Is it educational—or irresponsible?
A newly uncovered cave shows early humans painting with fire.
☐ Does this rewrite art history—or just add to it?
Your character lives in a world where fire is banned after an apocalypse.
☐ Is this world safer—or soulless?

🎆 FIREWORKS & CELEBRATION

A city replaces fireworks with silent drone light shows.
☐ Is this innovation—or erasure of culture?
Fireworks become a protected cultural heritage under UN law.
☐ Does this celebrate unity—or glorify danger?
A poet compares a single firework to a human life.
☐ Is it a beautiful metaphor—or a bleak one?
An artist creates a firework that explodes into words.
☐ Is it spectacle—or statement?
A global petition calls to cancel all fireworks.
☐ Is this about safety—or control?

🎵 FIRE IN MUSIC

A student writes a symphony titled When We Burn.
☐ Is it rebellion—or reflection?
A musician builds an instrument that plays using flame.
☐ Is this the birth of a new genre—or a gimmick?
A banned protest song returns with lyrics about “lighting the match.”
☐ Is it too dangerous—or too necessary?
A music teacher asks students to describe their emotions as fireworks.
☐ Does this encourage self-expression—or oversimplification?
A rock band releases an album called We Didn’t Stop the Fire Either.
☐ Is it homage—or mockery?

🎨 FIRE IN ART

A sculptor uses scorched wood to build an exhibit about memory.
☐ Does fire preserve the past—or erase it?
A modern artist recreates Yves Klein’s Fire Paintings—with live performers.
☐ Is it meaningful—or reckless?
A student paints each season using only colors of flame.
☐ Does this ignite new meaning—or burn it out?
An exhibit of melted plastic draws public protest.
☐ Is fire in art too destructive—or too necessary?
A gallery displays only works lit by candlelight.
☐ Is this immersive—or impractical?

🔮 FIRE & FUTURE

Fire becomes a banned word in climate-vulnerable nations.
☐ Is this about protection—or censorship?
Your character designs the first home that runs entirely on controlled flame.
☐ Is it sustainable—or a ticking time bomb?
A future city is lit only by biofire harvested from living organisms.
☐ Is this eco-friendly—or ethical disaster?
A Martian colony discovers fire doesn’t behave the same way there.
☐ Is fire Earth-bound—or universal?
A teenager accidentally sparks a revolution with a symbolic match.
☐ Was it a mistake—or destiny?

📖 FIRE IN LITERATURE & STORY

A world exists where every lie leaves behind smoke.
☐ Is this justice—or invasion of privacy?
A young writer finds their first story by firelight.
☐ Does the flame inspire—or distract?
A banned book about fire returns to the bestseller list.
☐ Is society healing—or forgetting?
A poet compares grief to a match that never lights.
☐ Is this powerful—or predictable?
A character sees their future in the fire’s smoke.
☐ Is it prophecy—or paranoia?

🔥 MORALITY, MYTH & MEANING

Every household must choose one flame to keep alive for the year.
☐ Does this create unity—or pressure?
A society reveres those who carry fire from one generation to the next.
☐ Is this noble—or burdensome?
Fire becomes a religion.
☐ Is this enlightenment—or idolatry?
A student refuses to participate in a ritual involving fire.
☐ Is it an act of rebellion—or courage?
A new law mandates every school teach the myth of Prometheus.
☐ Is this empowering—or dangerous?

🌍 ETHICS & ENVIRONMENT

A wildfire poet wins an environmental award.
☐ Does it honor loss—or exploit it?
A startup claims its new fire tech is “greener than electricity.”
☐ Is it marketing—or a breakthrough?
After a wildfire, a community plants fire-shaped sculptures.
☐ Is it remembrance—or trauma?
A filmmaker depicts climate change using only fire symbolism.
☐ Is it too abstract—or artistically effective?
A forest is regrown with fire as part of the process.
☐ Is fire nature’s enemy—or ally?

🧠 PERSONAL REFLECTION

A teen’s fear of fire mirrors their fear of failure.
☐ Is this relatable—or overdone?
Your character inherits a box of ashes from an unknown ancestor.
☐ Is it inheritance—or invitation?
You wake up in a world where all warmth is emotional, not physical.
☐ Is this a dream—or dystopia?
A fire burns through a journal, leaving only one sentence.
☐ Is this what mattered most—or random chance?
A girl builds a city out of embers in her imagination.
☐ Is she escaping reality—or shaping it?

- E.3 Challenge Questions

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1. Which element completes the fire tetrahedron?
A. Light
B. Oxygen
C. Carbon
D. Heat
E. Chemical chain reaction

2. What archaeological site provided the earliest secure evidence of fire use by Homo erectus?
A. Chauvet Cave
B. Wonderwerk Cave
C. Lascaux Cave
D. Blombos Cave
E. Altamira Cave

3. Which fire-related concept explains the minimum temperature at which a substance will ignite?
A. Boiling point
B. Ignition threshold
C. Flash point
D. Combustion delay
E. Flame arc

4. Greek Fire was believed to contain which of the following?
A. Mercury
B. Vinegar
C. Quicklime
D. Gunpowder
E. Charcoal

5. In Zoroastrianism, fire is referred to as:
A. Agni
B. Kaos
C. Asha Vahishta
D. Vesta Ignis
E. Atar Shakti

6. What visual effect was created by ancient artists using firelight on engraved stone?
A. X-ray reflection
B. Pareidolia
C. Chromatic diffusion
D. Thermo-etching
E. Photon bouncing

7. Which of the following artists physically used fire in their artistic process?
A. Georges Seurat
B. Alberto Burri
C. Claude Monet
D. Paul Klee
E. Anselm Kiefer

8. In Claude Debussy’s “Feux d’artifice,” fireworks are expressed as:
A. Loud percussive crashes
B. Repetitive melodic motifs
C. Gentle piano tremolos
D. Dissonant, flickering passages
E. Symphonic crescendos

9. What modern musical work uses fire as a metaphor for personal identity and resilience?
A. “Magic Fire Music” by Wagner
B. “Fire◎Flower” by halyosy
C. “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash
D. “Firework” by Katy Perry
E. “Chariots of Fire” by Vangelis

10. The phrase “Great Balls of Fire” from the 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis song refers to:
A. Explosions in battle
B. Sudden realizations
C. Passionate love
D. Environmental crisis
E. Burning forests

11. Which ingredient was NOT historically associated with the recipe for Greek Fire?
A. Sulfur
B. Pine resin
C. Naphtha
D. Liquid nitrogen
E. Quicklime

12. In literature, fire most often symbolizes:
A. Water
B. Despair
C. Transformation
D. Confinement
E. Innocence

13. What does the sacred fire in Zoroastrianism represent?
A. Eternal punishment
B. Divine light and wisdom
C. Weather control
D. Chaos and destruction
E. Ancestral memory

14. In ancient myth, who stole fire from the gods to give to humans?
A. Zeus
B. Hades
C. Hermes
D. Prometheus
E. Hercules

15. The fire triangle includes all of the following EXCEPT:
A. Fuel
B. Oxygen
C. Wind
D. Heat
E. Ignition

16. Which artwork portrays fire metaphorically as inner spiritual light?
A. The Moon in Smoke
B. Magdalen with the Smoking Flame
C. Red Plastic
D. Great Fire of London
E. Fire Paintings

17. What poetic device is most associated with Blake’s “The Tyger”?
A. Allegory
B. Free verse
C. Juxtaposition
D. Extended metaphor
E. Internal rhyme

18. What is a common symbolic meaning of wildfire in modern poetry?
A. Purification
B. Joy
C. Isolation
D. Unity
E. Humor

19. Which of the following pieces is NOT primarily inspired by fire?
A. Flourish with Fireworks
B. Feu d’artifice
C. Firebird Suite
D. Ring Cycle
E. Pastoral Symphony

20. What part of the brain is most associated with early human use of fire?
A. Cerebellum
B. Prefrontal cortex
C. Hippocampus
D. Amygdala
E. Medulla

21. What is the name for the heat energy transferred by fluids like air or water?
A. Radiation
B. Conduction
C. Reflection
D. Convection
E. Absorption

22. Who composed “Magic Fire Music”?
A. Jean Sibelius
B. Igor Stravinsky
C. Richard Wagner
D. Joseph Haydn
E. Claude Debussy

23. Which type of fire is hardest to extinguish?
A. Forest fire
B. House fire
C. Liquid fuel fire
D. Metal fire
E. Electrical fire

24. In ancient Aztec mythology, fire was linked to:
A. The underworld
B. Immortality
C. The creation of the sun
D. The ocean
E. The moon

25. What is a pahadia in Zoroastrian fire rituals?
A. A sacred poem
B. A fire drum
C. A purification trench
D. A priestly robe
E. A ceremonial bell

26. What modern term is most closely tied to the ancient pareidolia effect?
A. Illusionism
B. Projection
C. Face recognition
D. Animism
E. Optical illusion

27. Which instrument is often used in orchestral fireworks music to simulate bursts?
A. Oboe
B. Timpani
C. Violin
D. Clarinet
E. Harp

28. Why do fireworks make different colors?
A. Sound frequency
B. Speed of explosion
C. Heat source
D. Type of metal salt
E. Air pressure

29. Fire used in Japanese woodblock prints is often a symbol of:
A. Domesticity
B. Romance
C. Sudden change
D. Shame
E. Peace

30. What shape does fire naturally take in zero gravity?
A. Triangle
B. Cylinder
C. Sphere
D. Ring
E. Flat sheet

F. Inspiring Speeches Analysis

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🎙️ The Mic, the Medium, the Moment

Explore the history of broadcasting and mass communication. From fireside chats to viral videos, technology has shaped not just what we hear—but how we hear it, when we hear it, and why we remember it. Whether it’s a war-time announcement, a political rally, or a musical performance, technology can magnify emotion, spread messages faster, and give once-local voices a global reach.

According to The Evolution of Broadcasting: From the Airwaves to the Digital Age, the journey began with Marconi’s radio signals in 1895—and has transformed endlessly ever since:

📻 The Golden Age of Radio (1920s–30s)
Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" famously caused public panic because listeners thought aliens were actually invading Earth. That wasn’t a glitch—it was a testament to the power of sound and imagination.

🎥 The Rise of Television (1940s–60s)
TV revolutionized political speeches by adding visual emotion. Kennedy’s calm during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Apollo 11 moon landing wouldn’t have had the same power without the images.

📡 The Cable & Satellite Era (1980s–90s)
24-hour news on CNN changed expectations. Speeches by world leaders, such as Nelson Mandela or Margaret Thatcher, were now broadcast internationally within seconds.

🌐 The Internet Age (2000s–present)
Today, speeches are clipped, subtitled, remixed, and retweeted. Obama’s poetic closing words in Mexico went viral—not just because of what he said, but how it was packaged and shared across platforms.

💻 Social Media & Live Streaming
Platforms like YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram now allow anyone—from presidents to protestors—to broadcast in real time. Zelenskyy’s address to the UK Parliament was streamed globally, a wartime leader speaking live from a bunker.

📚 Compare the Mediums

Example	Medium	Why it Worked	Would It Work Elsewhere?
Fireside Chats – FDR	Radio	Calm, personal in crisis	Might lose intimacy on social media
War of the Worlds – Welles	Radio	Realistic, immersive	Would feel staged on video
Kennedy vs. Nixon Debates	TV	Nixon’s appearance hurt him	On radio, Nixon won
Zelenskyy’s UK Address	Live-streamed video	Raw, emotional, visual	Radio might lose impact
Obama’s Speech in Mexico	Live, then streamed	Clarity, poetry, pacing	Clipped moments went viral
Independence Day (1996)	Film	Cinematic style, pacing	Out of place in real press rooms

💡 Final Reflection
Technology doesn’t just transmit a message—it transforms it. The same words can be stirring in one format and flat in another. A whisper over radio can shake a nation. A global livestream can ignite a movement.

🔭 JFK’s “Peace Speech” at American University (1963)
Watch here

Q: Is it possible to give a passionate speech about peace, and, if so, does JFK succeed here?
Yes. JFK’s speech is a rare example of passion directed toward diplomacy. His words evoke moral courage and clarity:

“Not a Pax Americana enforced by American weapons… not the peace of the grave, or the security of the slave.”

JFK redefines peace as strength—not weakness—and speaks with hope grounded in realism. His emotional restraint adds to the impact.

Q: Is he naïve about the role of the United States in world affairs?
Partially. While he admits to the challenges and burdens of leadership, he leans into aspirational rhetoric. Yet, his acknowledgment of shared interests and mutual respect shows awareness of geopolitical limits:

“Let us not be blind to our differences—but let us direct attention to our common interests.”

🌍 Are These Speeches Inspirational… or Naïve? Can They Be Both?

🪶 The White Man and the Red | Red Jacket (1805)
A calm but radical defense of spiritual autonomy:

“We do not wish to destroy your religion… We only want to enjoy our own.”
Inspirational because it offers coexistence. Naïve? Only if peace is mistaken for surrender.

⚖️ Appeal to the League of Nations | Haile Selassie (1936)

“It is international morality that is at stake.”
Inspirational in clarity and courage. Naïve? Perhaps—it was ignored, but history later proved him right.
Full speech

🏡 The Forgotten People | Robert Menzies (1942)

“The home is the foundation of sanity and sobriety.”
Inspirational for valuing everyday peace. Naïve? In wartime, it can seem disconnected—but also visionary.
Full speech

🇮🇳 A Tryst with Destiny | Jawaharlal Nehru (1947)

“Peace is said to be indivisible, so is freedom… and so is disaster.”
Inspirational for its poetic unity. Naïve? Necessary. Amid partition, hope had to lead.
Full speech (PDF)

🎬 Fictional Speeches: Effective… or Only in Stories?

🔥 Braveheart (1995) – Watch Here

“They may take our lives… but they’ll never take our freedom!”
Raw, poetic, unforgettable. Too intense for parliament? Yes. Perfect for screen? Absolutely.

🛸 Independence Day (1996) – Watch Here

“We will not go quietly into the night!”
Cinematic rhythm makes it work. Real world? Risky.

👼 The West Wing (2002) – Watch Here

“The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels.”
Poetic and solemn. So well written it felt real.

🇬🇧 Love, Actually (2003) – Watch Here

“We may be a small country, but we’re a great one too.”
Charming, cheeky, patriotic. In politics? Could go viral.

🌐 Obama in Mexico (2013): Diplomacy with Poetic Force

“You are the dream… This is your moment…”
“Viva México! Viva los Estados Unidos! Que Dios los bendiga!”
Full Speech

Would the PM from Love, Actually cheer? Yes—Obama is the opposite of the arrogant U.S. President in the film. The tone was equal, respectful, and forward-looking.

🇺🇦 Zelenskyy in the UK (2022): Courage on Screen

“We will fight… in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.”
Full Speech Transcript
Not performative—real, raw, necessary. The fictional PM would likely respond with silent respect.

📻 Broadcasting Through Time: Would It Work Elsewhere?

Example	Medium	Why It Worked	Would It Work Elsewhere?
Fireside Chats – FDR	Radio	Calm, intimate, reassuring	Might feel impersonal on TV
Churchill’s Broadcasts	Radio	Gravitas, courage	Instagram? Less effective
Apollo 11	TV	Awe, global unity	Wouldn’t hit the same on radio
Kennedy vs. Nixon	TV	Looks mattered	Nixon won on radio
Miracle on Ice	TV	Timing, emotion	No visual = no chills
Neujahrskonzert, Eurovision	Stage/TV	Cultural celebration	Less impact without visuals
Jazz Hour & Intervision	Radio	Cross-iron curtain unity	TV may have amplified it

💡 Final Reflection
Technology doesn’t just transmit a message—it transforms it. Format alters feeling. Livestreaming offers raw presence. Social media amplifies emotion or distills a message into a meme. Ask yourself:

📱 Would JFK’s peace speech have trended on TikTok?
📺 Would Churchill’s voice go viral on Reels?
🕊️ Would Zelenskyy’s call hit without a bunker backdrop?

🧭 Team Talk

Can speeches about peace stir as deeply as speeches about war?
Are these examples inspirational, idealistic—or both?
What would a fictional leader say about them?
What makes a speech “work”? The words—or the moment?

F. Inspiring Speeches Analysis - Expansion

Orations that Ignite, Orations that Blaze
John F. Kennedy’s renowned address may center on lunar ambitions, but that monumental stride paled in comparison to the challenge of securing peace in his era—or ours. View selected clips from his “peace speech” at American University, then engage with your group: Can a speech about peace carry fervor, and does Kennedy achieve this? Is he overly idealistic about America’s global role? Next, examine the speeches listed below and discuss: Are they inspiring, naïve, or both? [📚 LITERATURE, 🏛 HISTORY, 🌐 SOCIAL SCIENCE]

The White Man and the Red | Red Jacket (1805)
Appeal to the League of Nations | Haile Selassie (1936)
The Forgotten People | Robert Menzies (1942)
A Tryst with Destiny | Jawaharlal Nehru (1947)

The focus shifts to speeches, a realm familiar to those who’ve tackled debate or oratory contests. These speeches, however, endure in collective memory (with a nod to aspiring debaters, no offense intended :p).

The video excerpt from Kennedy’s American University commencement address highlights his discourse on peace. He advocates for a heartfelt peace rooted in human spirit and diversity, not enforced by coercion or governance. He envisions a lasting peace that uplifts global communities.

Later in the address (though not shown here), Kennedy addresses peace-oriented attitudes, spotlighting the USSR. He outlines strategies to de-escalate the Cold War and nuclear tensions, collaborating with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to resolve the conflict.

Onward to the Featured Speeches!
Here’s a concise look at their core messages.

Many iconic speeches are steeped in politics—Martin Luther King Jr.’s address being a notable exception, though even it confronted systemic governmental biases.

Red Jacket - The White Man and the Red
This speech, misdated as 1906 on some platforms, was delivered in 1805 by Sagoyewatha, a Seneca leader known as Red Jacket. It passionately defends Indigenous spirituality and seeks peace, though it failed to sway a council against cultural erasure. Red Jacket, who sided with the British during the American Revolution and earned his name from his red coats, later mediated peace after his lands were ceded to the U.S. He invokes the Great Spirit, decrying colonization’s toll and urging peaceful coexistence.
Haile Selassie - Appeal to the League of Nations
Delivered pre-WWII as fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia, this speech by Emperor Selassie followed his exile. Addressing the League of Nations, he sought aid, condemning Italy’s war crimes, including chemical attacks on civilians. The extended address details the League’s purpose, its initial refusal to assist, and Italy’s violation of the Covenant. Selassie argued for stronger sanctions, highlighting failed reconciliation efforts with Italy.
Robert Menzies - The Forgotten People
Australia’s former prime minister used this speech to align with the middle class, distancing himself from elitism. Framing the middle class as Australia’s “backbone,” Menzies outlined Liberal Party values to resonate with everyday citizens. Like Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats, he continued this narrative via radio broadcasts. The phrase “The Forgotten People” remains a touchstone in Australian politics, cementing the Liberal Party’s identity at the time.
Jawaharlal Nehru - A Tryst with Destiny
Marking India’s independence, this speech by its first prime minister celebrates liberation from colonial rule. Immortalized in Indian history, it honors figures like Mahatma Gandhi, pledges opportunities for all, and aims to transcend religious divides. Critics note its “melting-pot” lens, which risks oversimplifying India’s diverse cultures, suggesting a unified path forward that some view as culturally contentious.

Skeptics may dismiss political speeches as mere rhetoric, akin to fiction. Yet fictional leaders deliver compelling orations too. Review the examples below, then discuss with your group: What makes them effective, and would they resonate in reality? [📚 LITERATURE]

“They’ll never take our freedom” | Braveheart (1995)
“Today we celebrate our Independence Day” | Independence Day (1996)
“The streets of heaven are too crowded” | The West Wing: Season 4 (2002)
“We’re a great one too” | Love, Actually (2003)

These fictional speeches, though politically charged, differ from real-world counterparts. Crafted for films and TV, they’re concise, designed for broad audiences rather than elite circles. If time permits (about 2 minutes per speech), watch them for a richer experience.

“They’ll never take our freedom” | Braveheart
William Wallace, in this dramatized depiction of Scotland’s 13th-14th century rebellion against England, rallies his troops. Amid deep-seated Anglo-Scottish animosity, he calls them “free men,” urging resistance over passivity. The iconic line, “They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom,” captures the speech’s raw power. Watch it for full impact—summaries don’t do it justice.
“Today we celebrate our Independence Day” | Independence Day
Fictional President Thomas Whitmore delivers this speech during an alien invasion, rallying humanity for a counterattack on July 4th. Addressed to U.S. forces but global in scope, it calls for unity across political divides. Referencing Dylan Thomas’s poem, Whitmore vows, “We will not go quietly into the night,” aligning with the poem’s defiance.
“The streets of heaven are too crowded” | The West Wing
In Season 4, Episode 2 (“20 Hours in America”), fictional President Josiah Bartlet campaigns for re-election. Citing a fictional bombing that killed 44 at a university, he honors everyday heroes who risked their lives to save others. The uplifting speech ends by affirming boundless American potential, even in adversity.
“We’re a great one too” | Love, Actually
In this romantic comedy, fictional UK Prime Minister David confronts U.S. bullying, reflecting real-world tensions under George W. Bush. Addressing the U.S. president, David challenges unfair trade deals and asserts Britain’s strength, declaring, “We’re a great one too.” The speech resonates in 2025, with ongoing U.S.-European frictions.

Historically, leaders have traveled abroad to deliver impactful speeches, seeking aid or inspiration. Consider Barack Obama’s 2013 address to Mexicans, focusing on its closing, then discuss: Would Love, Actually’s prime minister have praised or critiqued it? How would he view Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s speech? Which global leaders would your community welcome as speakers? [🌐 SOCIAL SCIENCE]

Obama’s speech at Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology lauded Mexico’s progress, endorsed President Peña Nieto’s reforms, and pushed for economic and educational initiatives like “100,000 Strong in the Americas.” Aimed at students, it drew criticism for glossing over Mexico’s poverty and seeming overly pro-government.

Contrastingly, Zelenskyy’s speech, delivered 13 days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, addressed the UK Parliament. Detailing civilian suffering and drawing WWII parallels, he sought tighter Western sanctions. The speech blends vivid storytelling with a resolute call for support, framing Ukraine’s fight as a global reckoning.

The Evolution of Broadcasting and Mass Communication
How does technology shape the reach and impact of speeches, news, and entertainment? Analyze these historical examples: How did technology enable them, and would they thrive in other mediums? Could FDR’s Fireside Chats have captivated online audiences? [🏛 HISTORY, 🌐 SOCIAL SCIENCE, 🎙 SPEECH]

Fireside Chats | Churchill’s wartime broadcasts
Apollo 11 | Kennedy vs. Nixon | “Miracle on Ice”
Neujahrskonzert | Jazz Hour | Eurovision | Intervision

Broadcasting remains a dynamic force, far from obsolete. Often tied to early radio and telegraphs, it broadly encompasses audio-visual content distribution to vast audiences.

Originating in the late 19th century with Tesla and Marconi’s wireless telegraphy, broadcasting advanced through the 1920s radio boom. The 1920 U.S. election broadcast by a Pittsburgh station marked a commercial milestone. Radio’s “golden age” in the 1920s-30s diversified content, while WWII cemented its role in military and civilian communication. (Orson Welles’ 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, a faux alien invasion, famously panicked listeners.)

By the 1950s, television overtook radio, with networks like CBS and NBC introducing visual media and advertisements. The digital era, spurred by the internet, shifted audiences to streaming and social platforms, enhancing media fidelity and expanding news cycles. Future technologies promise to further redefine broadcasting’s role in storytelling.

Live Broadcasts of Iconic Moments and Performances
This section stands out for its clear organization, with each set of topics unified by a distinct theme.

The first group, featuring Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats and Churchill’s wartime broadcasts, centers on national leaders addressing critical public concerns.

The second group, including Apollo 11, the Kennedy-Nixon debates, and the Miracle on Ice, highlights pioneering live broadcasts of major events.

The third group, encompassing Vienna’s New Year’s Concert, Jazz Hour, Eurovision, and Intervision, focuses on music-related broadcasts. [🏛 HISTORY, 🌐 SOCIAL SCIENCE, 🎙 SPEECH]

Fireside Chats
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd U.S. president, delivered a series of radio addresses known as the Fireside Chats between 1933 and 1944. These broadcasts tackled pressing issues like the Great Depression, the 1936 recession, and World War II. Roosevelt used the platform to clarify events, dispel rumors, and outline his plans in a straightforward manner. His high approval ratings were partly attributed to these chats.

Spanning 30 addresses, each roughly 20 minutes, the chats provided an unfiltered perspective on national affairs, bypassing media distortions. Their informal, personal tone resonated with a broad audience, restoring public confidence during turbulent times, particularly regarding the banking crisis. Roosevelt’s mastery of radio communication remains celebrated, earning him a reputation as one of history’s finest broadcasters.

The term “Fireside Chats” reflects Roosevelt’s vision of speaking intimately, as if addressing a small group by a fireplace. Listeners could imagine his fireside setting, fostering a sense of connection.

Churchill’s Wartime Broadcasts
Winston Churchill, UK prime minister during World War II, delivered 33 radio speeches from 1939 to 1945. Renowned for his oratory, Churchill’s style contrasted sharply with Roosevelt’s, and not all his speeches were broadcast.

His first BBC Home Service broadcast in October 1939 speculated on Russia’s wartime motives, suggesting alignment with Germany was unlikely. His most iconic speeches, delivered in 1940 amid Britain’s WWII involvement, include “We shall fight on the beaches,” “Blood, toil, tears, and sweat,” and “This was their finest hour.” Only the first was publicly broadcast.

Churchill harbored reservations about radio and disliked the BBC, partly due to its defiance during a 1926 strike. He used the medium reluctantly, recognizing its reach as a vital communication tool.

Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 moon landing, a historic milestone, was marked by one of television’s greatest live broadcasts. On July 20, 1969, hundreds of millions watched as astronauts took their first steps on the moon.

The decision to broadcast was contentious and finalized late, with NASA prioritizing voice communication. A Westinghouse camera, transmitting to a satellite dish in New South Wales (the Parkes radio telescope), faced challenges like a transmitter fire but delivered a seamless signal. As the lunar module’s camera activated, the global audience witnessed the moment, with Australia’s 10 million viewers seeing it six seconds before others due to the dish’s location.

Kennedy-Nixon Debates
The 1960毁灭

System: Kennedy-Nixon Debates
The 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debates, the first televised U.S. presidential debates, transformed campaign strategies by emphasizing public image over traditional promises. Held during the Cold War, amid tensions like the USSR’s Sputnik lead, the debates responded to a chaotic era’s demand for strong leadership. John F. Kennedy, a young senator, faced Richard Nixon, a seasoned vice president.

Broadcast by CBS in Chicago, the debates compounded Nixon’s campaign struggles. While both candidates performed comparably, the event’s legacy lies in reshaping American elections, occurring just 50 days before voting. Kennedy secured a narrow victory.

Miracle on Ice
The 1980 Winter Olympics hockey game, dubbed the Miracle on Ice, pitted the U.S. against the USSR in the medal round’s first stage. Set against Cold War tensions, the game carried immense symbolic weight.

The Soviet team, perennial gold medalists, was heavily favored against a young U.S. squad. Defying expectations, the U.S. tied and won in the final period, later claiming the 1980 gold. The “miracle” refers to this upset.

Surprisingly, the game wasn’t broadcast live. ABC proposed a live airing, but scheduling conflicts led to a taped broadcast, edited and aired three hours later, after the game’s outcome was known.

Neujahrskonzert
The Neujahrskonzert, or Vienna’s New Year’s Concert, is a classical music event held annually on January 1, with performances also on December 30 and 31. Only the January 1 concert is broadcast on radio and TV.

Launched 85 years ago during WWII’s onset, it primarily showcases the Strauss family’s works, though recent programs include Mozart, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky. High ticket demand has spurred global broadcasts, often enhanced with radio commentary and ballet in the second half. In 2021, the concert was broadcast without a live audience due to pandemic restrictions.

Jazz Hour
Voice of America’s Jazz Hour, aired from 1955 to 2003, was America’s oldest international broadcast. During the Cold War, it provided access to jazz in Soviet nations, where it was banned as “Western” influence. The program, controversial in the U.S. for defying congressional restrictions, was also barred domestically but persisted.

Jazz Hour pioneered “Special English,” a simplified dialect for non-native speakers, avoiding complex idioms. This innovation broadened its global reach, shaping international broadcasting.

Eurovision
Eurovision, a Europe-centered international song contest, invites broadcasters to submit original songs representing their countries, with votes determining the winner. Launched in 1956, inspired by Italy’s Sanremo Music Festival, it has run annually (except in 2020) and amassed a massive following.

Broadcasts are managed by the host country’s broadcaster, typically a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) member, and relayed by national broadcasters globally (e.g., NBC in the U.S.). While Europe-focused, entries from North Africa and Australia have occurred. Attracting over 200 million viewers annually, Eurovision wields significant cultural influence. (To avoid stirring debate, no political commentary here—Eurovision fans know it’s a charged topic!)

Intervision
Intervision, a Cold War-era Eurovision offshoot for the Eastern Bloc, ran from 1965 to 1968 in Czechoslovakia and Poland, hosting five contests. Revival attempts have persisted, with a 2025 event planned after Russia’s 2022 Eurovision exclusion following its invasion of Ukraine.

Operated by the Intervision Network, the contest aligns with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (including Russia and China) and carries anti-Western sentiment. Notably, Canada has participated in Intervision but not Eurovision.

- F.1 Debate Motions

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📡 Broadcasting & Communication

Resolved: That technology has done more to amplify speeches than to improve their quality.
Resolved: That the medium matters more than the message.
Resolved: That radio was the most emotionally powerful broadcast medium of the 20th century.
Resolved: That livestreaming has made leadership more vulnerable than visible.
Resolved: That real-time broadcasting is more effective than scripted communication.

🎙️ Real vs. Fictional Speeches

Resolved: That fictional speeches can be more inspiring than real ones.
Resolved: That we trust fictional leaders more than real politicians.
Resolved: That cinema has become the modern public square.
Resolved: That political fiction reveals more truth than real political discourse.
Resolved: That speeches in movies are more memorable than real ones in history.

🕊️ Peace & Power

Resolved: That JFK’s peace speech was more visionary than realistic.
Resolved: That peace speeches are harder to write than war speeches.
Resolved: That leaders who speak of peace are often seen as weak.
Resolved: That idealism in diplomacy is a strength, not a flaw.
Resolved: That Zelenskyy’s wartime speeches will be remembered as defining moments in modern rhetoric.

🌎 Global Voices & Cultural Diplomacy

Resolved: That speeches delivered abroad are the most powerful form of diplomacy.
Resolved: That leaders should speak more often to foreign citizens, not just foreign leaders.
Resolved: That Barack Obama’s speech in Mexico redefined modern diplomacy.
Resolved: That cultural understanding should be central to political speeches.
Resolved: That a single well-crafted speech can restore damaged international relationships.

🧠 Technology & Message

Resolved: That the internet has reduced the attention span for meaningful speeches.
Resolved: That TikTok is the least effective platform for serious messages.
Resolved: That some speeches only work because of how they’re shared—not what they say.
Resolved: That viral clips have replaced full-length speeches in shaping public opinion.
Resolved: That technology has democratized who gets heard—but not who gets believed.

🕰️ Historical Speeches Reimagined

Resolved: That FDR’s fireside chats would lose power if delivered via livestream.
Resolved: That Churchill’s speeches would be diminished if edited for Instagram Reels.
Resolved: That Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” would flop in a visual format.
Resolved: That the moon landing united the world because of television, not NASA.
Resolved: That Nixon may have won the 1960 election if TV didn’t exist.

🧳 Leaders Who Cross Borders

Resolved: That more world leaders should address foreign parliaments.
Resolved: That the Prime Minister in Love, Actually would have applauded Obama’s Mexico speech.
Resolved: That fictional leaders reflect the international values we wish were real.
Resolved: That global speeches should be judged not only by content, but by tone and location.
Resolved: That we need more poetic diplomacy and less political posturing.

💬 Impact & Emotion

Resolved: That the best speeches are emotional, not just logical.
Resolved: That visual fatigue weakens our response to powerful messages.
Resolved: That authenticity matters more than eloquence in modern leadership.
Resolved: That what’s left unsaid in a speech is often more powerful than what is.
Resolved: That the most powerful line in a speech is the one remembered decades later.

🎭 Performance vs. Belief

Resolved: That all political speeches are performances—whether real or fictional.
Resolved: That a performance written by screenwriters can be more believable than a real press briefing.
Resolved: That speeches are judged more by delivery than content.
Resolved: That the power of silence is undervalued in leadership communication.
Resolved: That vulnerability in speeches builds more trust than certainty.

🔍 Truth, Trust & the Future

Resolved: That we live in an era where fictional leaders are trusted more than elected ones.
Resolved: That the future of political speech lies in storytelling, not policy.
Resolved: That Gen Z will trust speeches only if they’re transparent and short.
Resolved: That history will remember Zelenskyy’s speeches as cultural artifacts, not just political ones.
Resolved: That the next great speech will come from someone we’ve never heard of—on a platform we haven’t yet imagined.

- F.2 Writing Practice

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🔥 Fire, Technology & Invention

A tech company releases a filter that makes every livestream look like a 1940s broadcast.
☐ Does it deepen trust—or distort the present?
A world leader gives a speech entirely made of famous lines from past presidents.
☐ Is it plagiarism—or powerful tribute?
A student edits JFK’s “peace speech” into a 30-second meme—and it goes viral.
☐ Is the message strengthened—or stripped of meaning?
A protestor’s livestream glitches—and the silence says more than words.
☐ When is a pause more powerful than a speech?
A government bans fictional speeches in film, calling them “emotionally manipulative.”
☐ Is censorship ever a kind of protection?
A historian uncovers Churchill’s broadcasts—but they were voiced by an actor.
☐ Does the message still matter?
A new app lets users hear any speech from history—as if it were spoken directly to them.
☐ Would that make the words more real?
A teacher plays Zelenskyy’s address in class—but with no visuals.
☐ Does the emotion still reach students?
A future debate is held only with emojis and gifs.
☐ Could complex ideas survive?
A viral clip edits together Obama and Nehru into one seamless speech.
☐ Is this unity—or a misuse of history?
A VR exhibit recreates the Apollo 11 broadcast in real time.
☐ Can digital awe match historical wonder?
A school assigns fictional speeches from film as required reading.
☐ Do stories teach truth?
A leader’s livestream is paused halfway through—and the ending is guessed by millions.
☐ Is the unfinished speech more memorable?
A young politician uses AI to write a campaign speech—and wins.
☐ Is authenticity obsolete?
A rebellion uses radio waves to broadcast poetry.
☐ Can beauty start a revolution?
A war-time speech leaks early—and changes the course of history.
☐ Does timing define truth?
A video of FDR’s fireside chat is remastered in 4K for TikTok.
☐ Is the intimacy still there?
A fictional president’s speech is mistaken for a real one—and quoted in Parliament.
☐ Do people care where words come from?
A match between two candidates is held in total darkness.
☐ Would words matter more without appearances?
A classroom listens to Selassie’s plea for justice—but remixed over music.
☐ Is it more powerful—or performative?
A sci-fi drama includes a fake speech so convincing it's fact-checked by historians.
☐ What happens when fiction feels more real than reality?
A global platform removes “Independence Day” quotes from social media.
☐ Can fiction be dangerous?
A child's toy accidentally picks up Churchill’s old broadcasts.
☐ What would the child learn?
A hologram of Nehru gives his “Tryst with Destiny” speech in Times Square.
☐ Is this honoring history—or exploiting it?
A digital museum lets you remix Red Jacket’s speech for a modern audience.
☐ Can reinterpretation still respect the past?
A student writes a love letter using quotes from political speeches.
☐ Is it romantic—or ridiculous?
A broadcast is interrupted—and the silence goes viral.
☐ What are we really listening for?
A podcast imagines alternative endings to famous speeches.
☐ Do endings define meaning?
A documentary includes both Obama’s and Zelenskyy’s speeches.
☐ What do they share—and what makes them unique?
A video game features speeches you unlock with empathy points.
☐ Can rhetoric be gamified?
A new social app makes every post look like a 1960s news bulletin.
☐ Does retro style build trust—or fake it?
An algorithm predicts the next great speech before it's written.
☐ Is inspiration predictable?
A fictional rally inspires a real one.
☐ Can fiction lead real change?
A livestreamed protest uses silent speeches—just gestures and visuals.
☐ Can absence of words say more?
A remix of “The White Man and the Red” becomes a global anthem.
☐ Can a protest live through poetry?
A peace speech is rewritten with aggressive tone—and resonates more.
☐ Are calm words less memorable?
A president hires a Hollywood screenwriter to write their addresses.
☐ Is it dishonest—or just smart strategy?
A classroom debate is broadcast on national radio.
☐ Do students speak differently when the world listens?
A speech ends in music instead of applause.
☐ What does that sound say?
A campaign video uses only fictional quotes—and no one notices.
☐ Where does credibility begin?
A global vote determines the “most moving speech ever.”
☐ Is emotion measurable?
A new law requires that all speeches be fact-checked live.
☐ Could truth survive the spotlight?
A future historian only studies speeches with 1M+ views.
☐ Are we losing quiet wisdom?
A social media campaign compares real and fictional wartime speeches.
☐ Which feel more honest?
A teen gives a speech in class—using only quotes from Zelenskyy.
☐ Is imitation the highest form of courage?
A satellite finds a lost radio recording from the 1930s.
☐ Can one voice reshape history?
A startup creates a wearable that plays motivational speeches before meetings.
☐ Could courage be downloaded?
A generation grows up only hearing politicians through animation.
☐ What happens when voice replaces face?
A leader’s speech is censored—but the memes make it unstoppable.
☐ Is virality a kind of resistance?
A child recites a peace speech onstage—then asks, “Did it matter?”
☐ What makes a speech unforgettable?

- F.3 Challenge Questions

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1. Which medium is most associated with FDR’s “Fireside Chats”?
A. Television
B. Newspaper
C. Radio
D. Podcast
E. Telegram

2. What feature made Kennedy’s televised debate with Nixon historically significant?
A. Length of the debate
B. Number of viewers
C. Nixon’s radio performance was better
D. Kennedy’s physical appearance mattered
E. It was the first to include international leaders

3. Which technology first enabled global live broadcasting of events like the moon landing?
A. Radio towers
B. Fiber-optic cables
C. Satellite TV
D. Microwave signals
E. Analog tapes

4. What emotion was most amplified by Zelenskyy’s livestreamed speech to Parliament?
A. Humor
B. Anger
C. Awe
D. Urgency
E. Nostalgia

5. Which of the following was NOT an element of the fire tetrahedron?
A. Oxygen
B. Heat
C. Fuel
D. Light
E. Chemical chain reaction

6. What made Orson Welles’ "War of the Worlds" broadcast so convincing?
A. Real alien footage
B. Repetitive sound effects
C. Lack of commercial breaks
D. Use of news bulletin format
E. It was broadcast at midnight

7. Which leader spoke the words: “We will not go quietly into the night”?
A. Winston Churchill
B. Franklin D. Roosevelt
C. Volodymyr Zelenskyy
D. President Whitmore
E. John F. Kennedy

8. What concept best describes the transformation of sound into digital data for streaming?
A. Spectral broadcast
B. Signal compression
C. Analog distortion
D. Wave cycling
E. Frequency flipping

9. Which of these speeches most directly addressed global unity?
A. Zelenskyy’s wartime address
B. Obama’s speech to Mexico
C. Churchill’s “We Shall Fight”
D. JFK’s “Peace Speech”
E. The West Wing funeral address

10. In broadcasting, what does “going viral” mean?
A. Being hacked online
B. Live global coverage
C. Broadcasts with medical content
D. Rapid online sharing
E. Stream interrupted due to volume

11. What message is central to Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny”?
A. Global revolution
B. Economic equality
C. Unity through peace
D. Border conflict
E. Technological innovation

12. What key factor hurt Nixon in his debate with Kennedy?
A. Strong accent
B. Poor lighting and appearance
C. Lack of preparation
D. Short answers
E. Interrupting too often

13. The term “flash point” refers to:
A. The moment a debate goes viral
B. A rapid-fire argument
C. The lowest temperature a substance ignites
D. A device used for studio lighting
E. A trigger phrase in political rhetoric

14. What fictional character said “They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom”?
A. President Bartlet
B. William Wallace
C. Winston Churchill
D. Harry Potter
E. King George VI

15. Which element completes the fire tetrahedron?
A. Light
B. Carbon
C. Heat
D. Chemical chain reaction
E. Smoke

16. Why is Obama’s Mexico speech considered poetic?
A. He quoted Latin authors
B. He used rhyme throughout
C. It ended in Spanish and referenced dreams
D. He performed a spoken word segment
E. It was improvised on stage

17. What made Churchill’s wartime speeches stand out in audio form?
A. His youthful tone
B. Use of music
C. Rich gravitas and pacing
D. Multiple speakers
E. Casual language

18. “A Tryst with Destiny” was delivered on the eve of:
A. The Berlin Wall’s fall
B. Gandhi’s assassination
C. India’s independence
D. Partition of Africa
E. Nehru’s Nobel Prize

19. Which fictional speech was delivered at a wedding-adjacent press event?
A. Braveheart
B. Independence Day
C. Love, Actually
D. The King’s Speech
E. The West Wing

20. What was the setting for JFK’s “peace speech”?
A. The UN
B. The White House
C. American University
D. Harvard
E. Pentagon

21. What made “Jazz Hour” unique during the Cold War?
A. No hosts
B. Broadcast in Latin
C. Music used to bridge East and West
D. Played backwards
E. Sponsored by McDonald’s

22. Who was the intended audience of “The White Man and the Red”?
A. Missionaries
B. British monarchy
C. Native warriors
D. Colonial governors
E. U.S. generals

23. Why was “Greek Fire” controversial?
A. Used during religious ceremonies
B. Only burned on land
C. Considered an early WMD
D. Caused hallucinations
E. Made from gunpowder and honey

24. What platform most likely helped Zelenskyy’s speech go global?
A. TikTok
B. Telegram
C. Instagram Reels
D. YouTube
E. Snapchat

25. “The Forgotten People” focused on preserving:
A. Military alliances
B. Colonial infrastructure
C. Working class values
D. Royal families
E. Scientific institutions

26. In which format would FDR’s chats be least effective?
A. Instagram Story
B. National radio
C. Personal podcast
D. Closed-circuit television
E. Print newspapers

27. What does “Intervision” refer to in Cold War broadcasting?
A. European science show
B. Soviet counterpart to Eurovision
C. A diplomatic documentary
D. Spy broadcasts
E. Early BBC war coverage

28. What speech most influenced the line “not the peace of the grave”?
A. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream”
B. Kennedy’s American University address
C. Churchill’s VE Day speech
D. Nehru’s partition remarks
E. FDR’s Pearl Harbor speech

29. The Apollo 11 broadcast united viewers by:
A. Broadcasting in all languages
B. Showing Earthrise from space
C. Proving Mars was habitable
D. Simulating zero gravity
E. Airing unedited astronaut chatter

30. The viral success of fictional speeches often comes from:
A. Being realistic
B. Having subtitles
C. Timing, rhythm, and emotional arc
D. Featuring famous actors
E. Using historical costumes

G. Death and Reincarnation Exploration

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🕰️ “Time of Death”: Is It Really That Simple?

We’ve all seen the dramatic hospital scene: a heart monitor beeping, doctors shouting instructions, and then—silence. A doctor announces the time of death, as if that’s the precise moment a life ends. But science tells us it’s not that easy.

Death isn't a single moment—it’s a slow, complex process. Researchers now understand that even after the heart stops, parts of the body, including the brain, can remain alive—or at least active—for much longer than once believed. Thanks to technologies like CPR and mechanical ventilation, people who were once considered “dead” can sometimes be revived. In fact, brain activity has been recorded for up to an hour during CPR attempts.

So, what’s the difference between resuscitation and resurrection?

Resuscitation is a medical procedure to bring someone back shortly after their body has stopped functioning. This might happen during a heart attack, drowning, or severe blood loss. It's based on known science and emergency care.
Resurrection, on the other hand, often crosses into the mythical or science-fiction. It usually refers to reviving someone long after death has occurred—sometimes with all their memories or personality intact. This raises huge ethical, emotional, and philosophical questions.

🧠 How Much of “You” Needs to Be Left?

This leads to a tough but important discussion: If technology could keep someone alive… should it?

Let’s say someone’s heart can be restarted, but their brain has been badly damaged. If they can't speak, move, or remember who they are—are they still the same person?

Scientists and ethicists often ask: What makes someone truly “them”? Is it their memories? Their personality? Their ability to feel emotions? And if only a small part of that remains, who decides whether to keep trying to bring them back—doctors, families, or society?

🤔 Discussion Point:
Would you want to be kept alive if only 10% of your brain was still working? 50%? What if you couldn’t recognize your family or feel joy? Who should make that decision for you?

🌍 The Afterlife According to Myth and Culture

Long before science explored resuscitation or synthetic biology, people around the world tried to explain what happens after death. Let’s explore just a few of those beliefs:

Valhalla (Norse mythology): A great hall where brave warriors feast and fight forever after dying in battle.
Tartarus (Greek mythology): A deep, shadowy place where souls are punished—far below even Hades.
Diyu (Chinese tradition) and Jigoku (Japanese Buddhism): Realms of judgment, where souls are purified through trials before moving on.
Nirvana (Indian religions): The final release from the cycle of suffering and rebirth.
Samsara (Hinduism and Buddhism): The cycle of death, rebirth, and re-death until one reaches enlightenment.
The Happy Hunting Ground (Native American traditions): A peaceful afterlife where nature is plentiful and ancestors dwell.

📚 Discussion Point:
What do these afterlife stories have in common? Most offer either a reward, a punishment, or a second chance. What do they say about what people hope—or fear—about dying?

🔄 Rebirth as Adventure: The World of Tensei

In fantasy stories, characters often die… and then wake up in another world. This genre, known in Japanese as tensei, features reincarnation—being reborn with a chance to live again, often with knowledge of a past life.

Whether the new world is magical or futuristic, these stories share common themes:

A second chance to do things differently.
A better self—smarter, stronger, or more respected.
A chance to fix regrets or take revenge.

🌌 Discussion Point:
Why are tensei stories so popular today? Could it be because people feel stuck in the real world and imagine a place where they matter more? Could our world be someone else’s dream afterlife? If so, what would they think of it?

🧬 The Science (and Ethics) of Living Forever

Human beings have always chased immortality—from magic potions to holy relics. Today, that dream is backed by science and big money. But should we try to live forever?

Let’s break down the technologies that are making it more possible:

Technology	What It Does
Cryonics	Freezes a body after death in hopes future science can revive it.
Biomechatronics	Merges machines and living tissues to repair or enhance the body.
Regenerative Medicine	Uses cells or materials to regrow organs or tissues.
Genetic Enhancement	Edits genes to remove disease or improve traits.
Senolytics	Removes aging cells that build up and harm the body.
Stem Cell Therapy	Uses special cells to heal damaged areas.
Reproductive Cloning	Makes a genetic copy of an entire person.
Digital Cloning	Uploads a person’s mind into a computer system.

🧪 Discussion Points:

Would you try any of these if they were proven to work?
What would happen if some people could afford immortality but others couldn’t?
Would life lose meaning if it never ended?

📖 Immortality in Literature: Gift or Curse?

In Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, an elf outlives her human friends by centuries—and realizes, too late, how little time she spent truly knowing them.

Immortality often sounds exciting, but many stories show its emotional cost: loneliness, regret, and boredom.

Here’s how classic writers explored it:

Wordsworth reflected on childhood wonder lost with age (Ode: Intimations of Immortality).
Tennyson’s Tithonus begged for death after centuries of decaying without dying.
Mary Shelley warned about the loneliness of eternal youth in The Mortal Immortal.
Ray Bradbury’s Hail and Farewell follows a boy who never ages and must keep moving.
Ursula K. Le Guin imagined a city of immortals who lose all passion in The Island of the Immortals.

📝 Discussion Point:
Why do so many stories suggest that eternal life might not be so great? What makes life meaningful—is it its length, or its experiences?

🧪 From Molecules to Miracles: Synthetic Biology

In 2002, U.S. researchers rebuilt the polio virus from scratch, using materials ordered online. Welcome to synthetic biology—where life can be engineered like a machine.

To “synthesize” something means building it from the smallest parts, using science to recreate or even improve it—not just copying, but custom-designing.

🌱 Potential Benefits:

Cure diseases by designing special viruses to kill harmful bacteria.
Grow meat without harming animals.
Create climate-resistant crops.
Build “smart” microbes that clean pollution.

💡 Discussion Point:
What are the risks and rewards of creating life from scratch? Could we go too far?

❄️ Frozen Bacteria and Thawing Dangers

In the UK, scientists preserve century-old bacteria in the National Collection of Type Cultures, helping researchers study diseases and develop cures.

Meanwhile, in the Arctic, melting permafrost is uncovering prehistoric viruses—some tens of thousands of years old. These microbes may still be alive. While this is exciting for virologists, it’s also a public health concern: what if something dangerous escapes?

🧊 Why the Arctic?

Cold temperatures preserve organic material for millennia.
Climate change is rapidly melting ancient layers of ice.
Remote conditions offer fewer risks of accidental release—at least for now.

🌍 Discussion Point:
Should we dig up ancient viruses at all? What should we learn before doing so?

🌾 Vault of Life: The Svalbard Seed Vault

Deep inside a mountain in Norway, above the Arctic Circle, lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault—a secure facility that holds over one million seed samples from every corner of the Earth.

Its purpose? To ensure that if a natural disaster, war, or global crisis wipes out crops, we can still replant them and feed the world.

🌿 Similar Efforts:

Gene banks store DNA of endangered animals.
Microbe libraries protect ancient bacteria and fungi.
Digital libraries archive knowledge in case civilizations collapse.

🧬 Discussion Point:
What living things should we preserve now to help future generations? What knowledge should we protect? And how do we decide what’s worth saving?

G. Death and Reincarnation Exploration - Expansion

Living It Up

As the regional round approaches, time grows short, prompting a shift to concise summaries of critical details rather than in-depth analysis. This section may be revisited for expansion later. - Ethan

On a TV screen, a doctor declares, “Time of death, 5:11 am,” after failed attempts to restart a patient’s heart. If only it were that straightforward! Emerging research reveals death as a nuanced process, sometimes reversible, sometimes not. Consider the distinctions between resuscitation and resurrection, and discuss with your team: how much of a person’s cognitive function must remain for revival to be ethical, and who should make that call? Explore historical beliefs about the afterlife, such as those listed below, while keeping the tone light. [🔬 SCIENCE, 💭 PHILOSOPHY]
Valhalla | Tartarus | Diyu | Jigoku
Nirvana | Samsara | Happy Hunting Ground

Death is often seen as a clear-cut event: no breath, no heartbeat, no life. Yet, recent studies challenge this, suggesting death isn’t always so definitive. Science hasn’t pinpointed an exact threshold separating reversible from irreversible death.

Neuroscientists have found that brains may recover after extended oxygen deprivation, hinting that “permanent death” might not be as final as once thought. Historically, before the 1960s, a stopped heart equaled death—until CPR redefined the boundary between temporary cardiac arrest and true demise.

(The brain largely dictates life versus death, but rare cases muddy the waters. A “brain-dead” individual may breathe and function biologically yet lack consciousness, remaining “technically alive.”)

Traditional medicine holds that the brain suffers severe damage after mere minutes without oxygen, but new findings dispute this. Experiments with pig brains post-deprivation show some functions can be restored, suggesting the line between life and death is blurrier than expected. Perhaps dying unfolds more slowly than we assume.

As science unravels the complexities of death, opportunities to save lives post-mortem grow, especially for those who die suddenly but remain physically intact (e.g., from choking, drowning, or heart attacks). However, researchers raise a critical question: if someone is biologically revivable but mentally absent, is it right to bring them back?

This topic is ripe for debate—stay tuned!

The task includes comparing resuscitation and resurrection. Both involve restoring a person’s life and consciousness, essentially bringing them back.

Their methods, however, differ. Resuscitation revives someone from unconsciousness or apparent death using techniques like CPR or mouth-to-mouth, effective only if performed promptly. Resurrection, often a pseudoscientific notion, involves transferring a person’s mind to a new body or reviving them long after death, typically rooted in speculative or spiritual beliefs.

Next, explore cultural concepts tied to the afterlife and life cycles. These aren’t your typical “heaven” or reincarnation tales—they’re more obscure but fascinating.

Valhalla, in Norse mythology, is a warrior’s paradise where those slain in battle reside. It reflects Scandinavia’s valorization of martyrdom, where dying in combat was the ultimate honor. Contrary to popular belief, Valhalla isn’t eternal; it’s a temporary haven where heroes prepare for Ragnarok, a prophesied era of chaos requiring their fight against evil. Fun facts: burials often included weapons and horses for the journey to Valhalla, and chants about the deceased’s deeds could secure their place. Valhalla emphasizes legacy over a “noble death.”

Tartarus, akin to a Greek mythological hell, is a realm of torment for wicked souls. Initially a prison for threats to the gods, it later housed mortals who defied divine will. Think Sisyphus, eternally pushing his boulder. Tartarus also names a deity linked to this grim domain.

Diyu and Jigoku (or Naraka) are related concepts of hell or purgatory. Diyu, from Chinese mythology, is a maze-like underworld with levels based on a soul’s sins, featuring 10 courts or 18 layers. It punishes, renews, and prepares spirits for reincarnation. Naraka, in Buddhist tradition, isn’t divine punishment; beings are born there due to accumulated karma, enduring lengthy suffering until their karma is exhausted, then reincarnating into higher realms.

Nirvana, distinct from the grunge band, is the ultimate liberation in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism—a state free from life, pain, and rebirth. Achieved by extinguishing karma and the “fires” fueling the rebirth cycle, it’s the spiritual endgame.

Samsara describes the karmic cycle of death and rebirth in Indian religions, where life is an “aimless wandering” of mundane existence. Escaping this cycle, via Nirvana, is the ultimate quest. Existence, in this view, is a burden to overcome.

The Happy Hunting Ground, rooted in Indigenous American beliefs, envisions an afterlife of abundant, serene hunting. The term stems from British interpretations of First Nations’ afterlife concepts.

Tensei stories trade wardrobes for a grim yet thrilling portal: death and reincarnation. Dive into this genre and discuss: what themes drive these tales, and why are they so popular? Could our world be the “fantastical” destination for a reincarnated soul? [📚 LITERATURE, 💭 PHILOSOPHY]

Anime’s sprawling subgenres include Isekai, or “alternate world” stories, with a prominent subcategory, Tensei, where characters reincarnate into new worlds with past-life memories. Within Tensei lies Akuyaku Reijo, where protagonists embody typical antagonists in their new realm.

An interview with Y-san, a manga editor, traces Tensei’s rise, sparked by hits like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (flooding YouTube recap feeds). The genre’s appeal lies in transformation—people crave escape from their current selves, seeking control without real-world consequences. Akuyaku Reijo adds relatability, showcasing flawed characters over flawless “Mary Sues.”

Another Tensei trope, Zamaa-style, delivers “serves you right” narratives where wronged protagonists see karma strike their foes, not always tied to reincarnation.

Isekais, including Tensei, thrive on escapism, casting relatable underdogs as protagonists who get second chances. Video game-inspired worlds appeal to gamers, while a darker lure—power fantasies—draws viewers to godlike, charismatic heroes. This explains why many fans dream of their own Isekai adventure.

Still, real-world struggles might weave richer tales than formulaic Isekai tropes. What’s your take?

Humanity’s quest for eternal life spans centuries, now fueled by billionaire-backed science promising to extend lifespans dramatically. Explore these technologies and discuss: would you opt for them? Would centuries-long lives benefit society? [🔬 SCIENCE]
Cryonics | Biomechatronics | Regenerative Medicine | Genetic Enhancement
Senolytics | Stem Cell Therapy | Reproductive Cloning | Digital Cloning

Immortality raises deep questions about existence, echoing debates since humanity’s earliest philosophies. The Epic of Gilgamesh, our oldest surviving tale, follows a king obsessed with evading death, only to learn life’s value lies in fulfillment, not eternity.

Historical figures chased immortality with zeal. China’s Qin Shi Huang fell for Xu Fu’s “elixir of life” scam, while Poitiers drank gold, tied to medieval alchemy’s quest for the philosopher’s stone (yes, Harry Potter’s inspiration). Blood was another supposed anti-aging fix—Pope Innocent VIII and Elizabeth Bathory used gruesome methods. One oddball even swapped his testicles for monkey ones. Spoiler: it failed.

Today, science edges closer to defying death, though evolution suggests death benefits species survival, coded into our cells. Modern efforts aim to rewrite this code.

The 2045 Initiative, backed by Russian billionaire Dmitry Itskov, envisions immortality via robotic avatars and brain scans. Its ambitious timeline for brain-transplanted robots feels far-fetched, and its dated website (plus Google’s “scam” autocomplete) raises red flags.

More plausibly, Bank of America predicts 100+ year lifespans soon, driven by giants like Illumina and Alphabet. Advances in genomics, AI health, and “amortality” (aging defiance) fuel optimism, with medical knowledge reportedly doubling every 73 days.

Here’s a quick dive into the listed technologies:

Cryonics freezes corpses at ultra-low temperatures, hoping future tech can revive them. Deemed pseudoscience, it’s costly and uses cryoprotectants (not ice) to prevent tissue damage. About 250 bodies are preserved, but bankrupt firms often lead to “de-preservation.”

Biomechatronics merges robotics with biology, creating cyborg-like enhancements. Artificial limbs mimic natural ones, controlled by biosensors reading neuron signals. It’s a fast-growing field, relevant to immortality as organ failure drives many deaths.

Regenerative Medicine repairs or replaces damaged tissues, aiming to trigger the body’s repair mechanisms for organs like livers or lungs, or grow them in labs to avoid transplant rejection. It’s like scaling up skin regeneration to the whole body.

Genetic Enhancement modifies genes to prevent diseases, boost performance, or alter traits. It’s central to “designer baby” debates and targets conditions like Alzheimer’s or diabetes, though “gene-doping” for physical boosts is ethically murky.

Senolytics uses molecules to kill senescent cells (linked to aging), building on anti-cancer research like Dasatinib. It’s a nascent field with big potential.

Stem Cell Therapy leverages stem cells—versatile cells with no fixed role—to heal or prevent diseases. Experimental, it’s used in bone marrow transplants for leukemia, regenerating healthy cells post-treatment.

Reproductive Cloning creates organisms with identical DNA, often via SCNT (like Dolly the sheep). Molecular cloning grows identical cell populations for embryos. It’s a complex, evolving field.

Digital Cloning and Beyond

Digital Cloning encompasses AI-driven replication, including deepfakes and digital thought clones. Broadly, it refers to AI generative technologies that mimic human content creation. A digital thought clone aims to train a model to replicate human cognition fully, derived from an individual’s brain patterns.

While replicating sentience raises ethical concerns and remains beyond current technological reach, practical discussions focus on voice cloning, deepfake media, and AI-generated content proliferation. [🔬 SCIENCE]

The manga Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End follows a millennia-old elf who laments not bonding more with her human companions before their deaths. This narrative joins a rich tradition of literature probing immortality’s allure and consequences. Explore the works below and discuss with your team: why does immortality captivate storytellers? What recurring themes about its impact emerge? [📚 LITERATURE]
William Wordsworth | “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” (1815)
Alfred Lord Tennyson | “Tithonus” (1833)
Mary Shelley | “The Mortal Immortal” (1833)
Ray Bradbury | “Hail and Farewell” (1948)
Ursula K. Le Guin | “The Island of the Immortals” (1998)

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End centers on Frieren, an elf wizard in a fantasy realm, journeying to the afterlife to reconnect with her adventuring party, who once saved the world. As an elf with a near-endless lifespan, she outlives her human companions, whose mortal years pass swiftly. The story weaves regret through flashbacks, highlighting her failure to cherish their fleeting time together.

Immortality, distinct from mere longevity, is a literary staple. An insightful article frames it as a mixed blessing, listing downsides with a wry tone:

It’s messy: Vampires need blood, and other immortals might rely on grim elixirs, like unicorn blood in Harry Potter.
Not invulnerable: Immortality doesn’t prevent pain—often excruciating.
Money woes: Eternal life demands endless funds. In Sandman, maintaining a centuries-old bank account is a nightmare.
Lonely existence: Friends die, leaving you alone.
Miserable company: Other immortals are often as wretched as you.
Boredom overload: In Eight Worlds, boredom drives suicides; in The Immortal, ennui paralyzes a city.
Dating disasters: Doctor Who nails this awkwardness.
Stuck in time: Imagine being 12 forever—yikes!
Madness creeps in: Infinite time, finite distractions—insanity looms.

Now, the literary works:

William Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” defies typical odes, which celebrate vibrantly. Instead, it’s a meditative reflection on time, memory, and nature’s fade. The speaker recalls childhood’s radiant world, lamenting its loss in adulthood. Yet, memories fuel faith in eternal souls, hinting at a cyclical existence between Earth and heaven. Children’s awe suggests a heavenly origin, dimming with age but sustained through nature’s spiritual thread. Themes of time’s passage and lost innocence dominate.

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Tithonus”, a free-verse monologue, draws from Greek myth. Tithonus, granted immortality but not eternal youth by Eos, ages endlessly, unable to die. He mourns his shadowy existence, no longer human, and envies mortal lives. Pleading with Eos to free him from his eastern prison, he laments a life warped by her irreversible gift. The curse of aging without death takes center stage.

Mary Shelley’s “The Mortal Immortal” follows Winzy, who drinks an alchemist’s elixir, gaining immortality. Working for Agrippa, Winzy consumes the potion amid heartbreak, only to learn it halts external aging while internal decay persists. In love with Bertha, who briefly leaves him, Winzy faces a future where she’ll age and die, leaving him to endure alone. The story probes love’s clash with eternal life.

Ray Bradbury’s “Hail and Farewell” tracks Willie, a 43-year-old man trapped in an 11-year-old’s body. Moving town to town, he’s adopted briefly (“hail”) before his unaging nature forces departure (“farewell”). This cycle mirrors Peter Pan but with sorrow, as Willie longs for adult freedoms. The title echoes a Roman mourning poem, underscoring loss and perpetual exile.

Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Island of the Immortals” follows a tourist exploring the Yendian Plane, where immortals dwell. Expecting wonder, they find mutilated, apathetic beings, aging slowly but unable to heal. Immortals, unrecognizable by name or gender, exist in misery. Some, buried for millennia, become conscious diamonds—souvenirs for clueless visitors. The narrator leaves disillusioned, dreading immortality’s grim reality.

In 2002, U.S. researchers reconstructed the polio virus from mail-ordered materials, a milestone in synthetic biology. Investigate this field and discuss: how could it benefit you and your loved ones? What distinguishes synthesizing from making? What non-human applications might emerge? [🔬 SCIENCE]

This breakthrough saw scientists rebuild polio’s 7,741-letter genetic code using DNA fragments, unlike smallpox’s 185,000-letter sequence. Aimed at vaccine development, it echoed smallpox eradication efforts but used lab-created viruses, raising biowarfare concerns. Human replication, with our 3-billion-letter genome, remains a distant challenge.

Synthetic Biology applies engineering to biology, designing organisms, systems, or parts by altering DNA. It uses unnatural chemicals to craft new functions via four approaches:

Top-down: Simplifies genes by removing redundancies to ease new additions.
Bottom-up: Builds artificial cells by manipulating reproduction and assembly.
Parallel (bioengineering): Assembles DNA like LEGO for new processes.
Orthogonal: Adds artificial amino acids and DNA directly.

Applications span medical diagnostics, therapies, human enhancement, disease control, and cell-free biology. It’s a dense field—dive deeper if it sparks your interest.

The UK’s National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) stores century-old bacterial samples, not cultural artifacts. Explore this and discuss: why is the Arctic a hub for such efforts? [🔬 SCIENCE]

The NCTC, launched with a Shigella sample from a WWI soldier, holds over 6,000 cultures across 900 species, many impacting human health. Originally in Chelsea, it moved pre-WWII for safety. Early storage used egg-yolk agar, risking contamination, but freeze-drying since 1940 ensures safer preservation. Its famed NCTC 6571 sample aided penicillin’s development. Today, it focuses on genetic sequencing for digital catalogs.

Meanwhile, Arctic permafrost unveils ancient pathogens, a goldmine for virologists but a transmission risk. Permafrost’s oxygen-free, freezing conditions preserve wooly mammoths, cave lions, and viruses like anthrax, influenza, and smallpox. Global warming’s thaw heightens spillover risks. Jean-Michel Claverie, a key researcher, revives giant viruses (safe for humans) from permafrost, warning of future outbreaks as melting accelerates. The Arctic’s preservative power, driven by cold and low oxygen, explains its research prominence, though thawing releases greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane.

Noah’s ark pales next to the Arctic’s Svalbard Global Seed Vault, safeguarding seeds against extinction. Research it and discuss: how vital is preserving today’s species for future generations? [🔬 SCIENCE]

In Svalbard, Norway’s Longyearbyen hosts the world’s northernmost community and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Carved into permafrost, this former coal mine stores millions of crop seeds in suspended animation, guarding against global catastrophes. Started by NordGen in 1984 and operational since 2008, it now serves small firms preserving heritage alongside major organizations. Opened thrice yearly, it maintains near-perfect conditions, though Svalbard’s rapid warming threatens sustainability. Genetically modified seeds are banned to preserve natural diversity.

In a lighter vein, Oreo built a nearby vault stocking cookies and their recipe, spurred by a 2020 asteroid scare (0.41% impact odds, though it’d burn up in the atmosphere). It’s a quirky nod to preservation’s urgency.

- G.1 Debate Motions

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🧠 LIFE, DEATH, & CONSCIOUSNESS

Resolved: That death should be treated as a reversible process, not a final event.
Resolved: That a person is still “alive” as long as their brain activity continues.
Resolved: That brain activity matters more than heartbeat in deciding life or death.
Resolved: That resuscitation is medicine; resurrection is something else.
Resolved: That medical technology should be allowed to bring people back from death, no matter the cost.
Resolved: That only the patient, not their family or doctors, should decide when to stop life support.
Resolved: That the mystery of death deserves as much research funding as the pursuit of life.
Resolved: That the potential to “revive” the dead poses more ethical risks than benefits.
Resolved: That our definition of death is outdated and needs to change.
Resolved: That every second of brain activity should be protected, even after the heart stops.

🌌 AFTERLIFE & BELIEF SYSTEMS

Resolved: That belief in an afterlife is more about comfort than truth.
Resolved: That mythologies about death reveal more about life than about dying.
Resolved: That imagining a paradise after death helps people live better lives.
Resolved: That cultural afterlife beliefs should be taught alongside scientific perspectives.
Resolved: That all humans, across time, have asked the same question: “What happens after death?”

🔄 REINCARNATION & FANTASY

Resolved: That reincarnation stories are more about hope than fantasy.
Resolved: That the popularity of “tensei” stories reflects our dissatisfaction with the real world.
Resolved: That “our world” could easily be someone else’s imagined fantasy.
Resolved: That living a second life in a new world would not solve your old problems.
Resolved: That stories about death and rebirth help us think more deeply about purpose.

🔬 SCIENCE OF IMMORTALITY

Resolved: That extending human life beyond 100 years should not be a priority.
Resolved: That billionaires should not control the future of anti-aging science.
Resolved: That cryonics is a false promise built on fear.
Resolved: That digital cloning of consciousness is the modern version of immortality.
Resolved: That living forever would make life less meaningful.
Resolved: That regenerative medicine and genetic enhancement should be available to everyone, or no one.
Resolved: That scientific immortality would create more problems than it solves.
Resolved: That humans should accept death as a necessary part of life.
Resolved: That a long life isn’t as valuable as a meaningful one.
Resolved: That immortality, if possible, should come with an expiration date.

📖 IMMORTALITY IN LITERATURE & HISTORY

Resolved: That fictional immortals are often more tragic than heroic.
Resolved: That stories about immortality are really stories about loneliness.
Resolved: That the best use of immortality is to understand humanity—not escape it.
Resolved: That fantasy teaches us more about life than nonfiction.
Resolved: That ancient literature explored immortality better than modern science fiction.

🧬 SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY & LIFE DESIGN

Resolved: That building life from scratch is more dangerous than helpful.
Resolved: That scientists should not synthesize viruses without strong global oversight.
Resolved: That synthetic biology could one day be more powerful than nuclear weapons.
Resolved: That it is more ethical to design life than to clone it.
Resolved: That creating synthetic organisms should be treated with the same seriousness as space exploration.

❄️ FROZEN LIFE, ANCIENT MICROBES & THE ARCTIC

Resolved: That scientists should stop unfreezing prehistoric viruses.
Resolved: That the Arctic is the key to unlocking both our past and our future.
Resolved: That ancient microbes are more valuable for knowledge than for profit.
Resolved: That the world is not ready for the consequences of thawing permafrost.
Resolved: That the greatest risks to humanity may come from its oldest life forms.

🌱 SEED VAULTS & FUTURE PRESERVATION

Resolved: That protecting seeds is as important as protecting species.
Resolved: That the Svalbard Seed Vault is one of humanity’s wisest inventions.
Resolved: That future generations deserve access to today’s biodiversity.
Resolved: That preserving living organisms is more important than preserving technology.
Resolved: That we must prepare for global extinction events, even if they seem unlikely.

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🧠 Life, Death & Consciousness

A hospital installs a screen that shows patients’ brainwaves in color patterns.
☐ When the patterns stop, should we say goodbye?
A teenager flatlines but wakes up after 40 minutes of CPR.
☐ Should they be seen as the same person—or someone new?
Doctors discover that a brief brain surge after death contains full, vivid memories.
☐ Could this change what we call “the final moment”?
A child invents an app that predicts when someone’s brain will stop functioning.
☐ Is it genius—or cruel?
A school science fair features a “virtual near-death experience” booth.
☐ Should students line up to try it?

🔁 Resuscitation vs. Resurrection

Scientists successfully bring someone back 6 hours after death.
☐ Should that still count as “saving” them?
A religious leader and a doctor debate whether resurrection is medical or spiritual.
☐ Who decides when science becomes something else?
A journalist interviews people who've been resuscitated multiple times.
☐ Do they feel more alive—or less?
A new law requires hospitals to keep patients on life support for 24 hours post-death.
☐ Is this respectful—or delaying the inevitable?
A family fights over whether to resuscitate their loved one, whose brain is 80% inactive.
☐ Should they be allowed to choose?

🌍 Afterlife & Cultural Beliefs

A VR game lets players explore Valhalla, Tartarus, Diyu, and Nirvana.
☐ Which “afterlife” do players choose—and why?
A child asks their teacher if the Happy Hunting Ground has Wi-Fi.
☐ How do we explain spiritual beliefs in a digital age?
You fall asleep and wake up in a version of Jigoku—but it’s run like a government office.
☐ What paperwork are you asked to fill out?
A world council proposes a “global afterlife curriculum” for schools.
☐ Can every culture agree on what to include?
You meet someone who claims they’ve visited multiple afterlives and returned.
☐ Do you believe them?

🔄 Tensei & Reincarnation

A student dies and wakes up in a video game world—but remembers everything.
☐ What do they change about their life?
Your town discovers it’s the reincarnation world for another civilization.
☐ What do the new arrivals think of Earth?
Everyone gets one “reincarnation ticket” in life.
☐ Do you save it or spend it early?
A reincarnated villain tries to prove they’ve changed.
☐ Can the new self ever escape the old one?
You’re reincarnated as your own great-grandchild.
☐ What advice do you leave for your past self?

🧬 Immortality & Anti-Aging Science

A 12-year-old receives an experimental treatment to stop aging.
☐ What does growing up look like without actually growing?
Cryonics becomes affordable—but only for pets.
☐ Who gets frozen first: a hamster, a cat, or a human?
Your classmate is part cyborg, part cloned organ, part original.
☐ Are they still “human”?
A tech company offers to upload your brain to the cloud at graduation.
☐ Do you sign up?
A society where no one dies—but no one can be born.
☐ Would you want to live there?

📚 Immortality in Literature

You meet Tithonus, still alive and very, very tired.
☐ What advice does he give you about time?
A literary character from 1815 steps into the modern world.
☐ What surprises them most?
Frieren visits your school to learn how humans connect.
☐ What does she struggle to understand?
You write a poem called “Why I Don’t Want to Live Forever.”
☐ What emotions do you explore?
You discover a book where the last page is still being written—by someone immortal.
☐ What’s on the latest page?

🧪 Synthetic Biology & Life Creation

Your science teacher asks you to design a new living creature from scratch.
☐ What do you make—and why?
A DIY life kit lets teenagers build microbes at home.
☐ What could go wrong?
Scientists create a virus that destroys all other viruses.
☐ Should it be released?
A bakery sells bread made by yeast with artificial DNA.
☐ Is it still “real” bread?
A new tree species is designed to grow smartphones.
☐ Should it be planted worldwide?

❄️ Frozen Life & Prehistoric Pathogens

A microbe thawed from permafrost becomes a global sensation—until it mutates.
☐ What happens next?
Scientists bring back a flower that last bloomed 20,000 years ago.
☐ What does it mean to restore the past?
A new social media challenge: “Lick the Ice That Time Forgot.”
☐ Should governments step in?
A school expedition finds an ancient virus frozen inside a glacier.
☐ Do they report it—or keep it quiet?
A prehistoric bacterium becomes a celebrity pet in Japan.
☐ What does it say about our relationship with nature?

🌱 Seed Vaults & Preservation

A seed vault releases “Memory Seeds” that contain genetic histories of extinct species.
☐ Who gets to grow them?
A country hides all its seeds in a secret vault and refuses to share.
☐ Is that survival—or selfishness?
A child breaks into the Svalbard Seed Vault… to save a dying flower.
☐ Do they face consequences—or thanks?
You’re asked to preserve one living thing for the future.
☐ What do you choose—and why?
Earth sends a seed vault into space as a message to aliens.
☐ What should be inside?

🎭 Cross-Topic “Wildcard” Prompts

A resurrected person sues the government for declaring them dead.
☐ Do they still have rights?
A synthetic organism writes a poem about dying.
☐ Is it more human—or more honest?
Immortality is discovered… but only works for plants.
☐ How does this change the world?
A reincarnation system breaks—and people start remembering every past life.
☐ What chaos follows?
A child plants a “Future Tree” that records everything said near it for 1,000 years.
☐ What stories does it keep—and what secrets?

- G.3 Challenge Questions

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1. Which philosopher associated fire with transformation and change?
A. Plato
B. Heraclitus
C. Socrates
D. Aristotle
E. Pythagoras

2. Which of the following is NOT a classical element in ancient Greek philosophy?
A. Water
B. Fire
C. Earth
D. Aether
E. Steel

3. In modern firefighting science, which factor is added to the fire triangle to form the fire tetrahedron?
A. Smoke
B. Fuel
C. Chain reaction
D. Vapor
E. Electricity

4. What is the primary purpose of a firebreak in wildfire management?
A. To fuel the fire in a safe zone
B. To slow down the spread of oxygen
C. To stop the fire from reaching populated areas
D. To reflect heat away from forests
E. To increase humidity levels

5. According to Heraclitus, what is the fundamental nature of reality?
A. Air
B. Love
C. Stillness
D. Change
E. Light

6. Which element did the ancient Greeks associate with the soul’s journey?
A. Fire
B. Earth
C. Steel
D. Smoke
E. Water

7. What term describes a fire that burns without an open flame, often smoldering?
A. Wildfire
B. Flash fire
C. Smudge fire
D. Sub-fire
E. Ground fire

8. Which literary work includes the line “Fire and Ice” as symbols of destruction?
A. The Waste Land
B. Ode on a Grecian Urn
C. Fire and Ice
D. The Road Not Taken
E. The Raven

9. Which gas is most commonly responsible for deaths in structural fires?
A. Oxygen
B. Methane
C. Carbon monoxide
D. Sulfur dioxide
E. Nitrogen

10. In ancient Indian philosophy, which element is considered to represent transformation and purification?
A. Ether
B. Earth
C. Air
D. Fire
E. Ice

11. The Norse mythological hall of Valhalla is closely associated with which element?
A. Water
B. Wind
C. Fire
D. Gold
E.

H. Heroic Comebacks and Legacy

🛡️ Return of the King: Why Do Comeback Legends Captivate Us?

From Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings to King Arthur's mythic return, and even Jon Snow’s uncertain fate, we are repeatedly drawn to stories of long-awaited leaders who reappear in moments of crisis. But why does this theme have such enduring emotional and cultural power?

❓ Why do such stories have such appeal?

Extended Answer:

These stories tap into some of the oldest human longings—for justice to return, for broken systems to be restored, and for someone “good” to fix what’s gone wrong. In psychology, this aligns with Carl Jung’s concept of the archetypal hero, especially the “Messiah” or “Return of the King” figure: someone who leaves, grows wiser in exile, and returns with the moral and spiritual strength to lead.

📚 Where do we see this pattern?

In religion:
- Jesus in Christianity promises to return at the end of days.
- Kalki, the tenth avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, is expected to return and restore dharma (cosmic order).
- The Mahdi, in Islamic belief, is a messianic figure who will return to bring justice.
In mythology and literature:
- King Arthur is said to return from Avalon when Britain needs him most.
- Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia returns to overthrow tyranny.
- Simba in The Lion King reclaims his rightful place from Scar.
- Luke Skywalker reappears in Star Wars as a reluctant but necessary spark of rebellion.
In pop culture and superhero sagas:
- Steve Rogers (Captain America) wakes from ice to save a new world.
- Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender returns from a century of disappearance.
- Jon Snow, rumored heir to the throne, is resurrected to bring balance.

🔁 Why do these stories feel timeless?

They offer narrative closure: good returns, evil is confronted, balance is restored.
They reflect natural cycles: seasons, death and rebirth, night and day.
They give psychological hope: things may be dark now, but they won't stay that way.
They remind us that people can change—they can return wiser, stronger, and more just.

❓ What political developments in today’s world might have similar causes?

Extended Answer:

In modern politics, the same story arc often plays out—only now, it’s not a sword-wielding king returning, but a charismatic leader promising to restore a nation’s past greatness. These movements arise during:

Periods of economic decline
Moments of cultural or moral panic
Times when the public loses faith in complex systems

In these moments, people often seek a single figure who seems simple, strong, and restorative.

🌍 Modern examples:

Leader / Movement	"Return" Narrative	Why It Worked (or Didn't)
Donald Trump (USA)	"Make America Great Again"	Promised a return to past strength and stability.
Brexit (UK)	"Take Back Control"	Longing for independence and pre-EU identity.
Putin (Russia)	USSR nostalgia, strongman revival	Recasts himself as a modern tsar returning Russia to greatness.
Juan Carlos I (Spain)	Post-Franco restoration of monarchy	Symbolized transition to democracy and unity.
Modi (India)	Return of Hindu greatness (Hindutva)	Taps into religious and cultural nationalism.

⚠️ But what are the dangers?

These movements can romanticize the past—ignoring injustice or inequality that existed.
They may concentrate too much power in one leader.
They often exclude minority voices, casting them as threats to "restoration."
They may fail to adapt to real modern challenges (climate change, AI, globalization).

🔎 Explore the following figures — and what each reveals:

Figure	Context
Horus	Egyptian god resurrected to reclaim the throne from Set (chaos); symbolizes divine kingship and restoration of balance.
Yudhishthira	In The Mahabharata, returns from exile to rule wisely after a brutal war; embodies truth and moral duty.
Jesus	Seen in Christianity as a redeemer whose return brings justice, salvation, and final judgement.
Richard the Lionheart	Captured and exiled, returned to England as a warrior-king and symbol of Christian valor—though he spent little time ruling directly.
Charles II	Returned to the English throne after years of civil war and Puritan rule; his reign was known as the "Restoration."
Louis XVIII	Came back after Napoleon's defeat, aiming to restore royal traditions in a rapidly changing France.
Henry VII	Returned to defeat Richard III and ended the Wars of the Roses; launched the Tudor dynasty.
Juan Carlos I	Became king after Franco's dictatorship; helped lead Spain into modern democracy and constitutional monarchy.

Each of these returns was complicated—and often idealized after the fact. Over time, history reshapes them into symbols of justice, even if their actual leadership was messy or flawed.

🧠 Final Reflections:

These stories endure because they help us process fear, uncertainty, and change.
They offer a simple message: Things will get better when the right person returns.
But real life is complex—no single person can truly “fix everything.”
Still, the idea of a second chance—for a person, a country, or a society—is deeply human and incredibly powerful.

📚 Learning Takeaways:

🔍 What You Learned	✍️ Why It Matters
Comeback stories reflect ancient patterns	Helps us understand myths, religion, and history in context
Modern politics uses similar “return” narratives	Helps us think critically about leaders and slogans
Stories of return offer moral comfort and hope	Shows us how storytelling shapes emotional and cultural life
These stories simplify complexity	Teaches us to look beyond the myth to understand real events

H. Heroic Comebacks and Legacy - Expansion

Reviving Legends: The Return of Heroes

The concluding volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King, features (spoiler alert) Aragorn’s re-emergence to rally humankind against a grave peril. The motif of a foretold leader resurfacing to unite their people against a daunting adversary recurs throughout literary tradition, from the oft-repeated tale of King Arthur to the unfinished saga of Jon Snow. Investigate the following legends, then collaborate with your group: what makes these narratives so captivating? What contemporary political shifts might stem from similar roots? 📚 LITERATURE, 🏛 HISTORY, 🗳 SOCIAL & POLITICAL SCIENCES

This section centers on figures—whether historical or fictional—marked by a defining theme: the return of a pivotal leader, through liberation, rebirth, or other means.

Aragorn

Aragorn, a central figure in The Lord of the Rings, is a steadfast ally of Gandalf and a key player in the mission to destroy the One Ring. Grasping his role requires some familiarity with the LOTR narrative, but in essence, he is declared king of Gondor after triumphing in a campaign tied to his royal lineage, as the heir of a forgotten dynasty.

Note: I haven’t read LOTR myself—this summary comes from a quick overview!

King Arthur

King Arthur, a legendary hero and monarch from the late 5th to early 6th century, is renowned for wielding Excalibur, the iconic sword drawn from stone. His tales include quests for the Holy Grail and his eventual demise at the hands of his usurping son.

In some accounts, Arthur is believed not to have perished but to be lying in wait at a distant locale, destined to return. This notion, possibly tied to hopes of a messianic second coming, gained traction around 1125, though his supposed tomb was unearthed in 1191. (Arthur likely existed historically but probably didn’t perform the supernatural feats attributed to him, much like Jesus.)

Jon Snow

Jon Snow, a fan-favorite from Game of Thrones and first introduced in A Song of Ice and Fire (the second book in the series), is the illegitimate son of a Winterfell lord in this fictional realm. He grapples with his outsider status within his family but rises to prominence by serving in the Night’s Watch, defending against enemy kingdoms.

Horus

Horus, a prominent Egyptian deity, embodies kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and the sky. Often depicted as a falcon or a falcon-headed man, he appears in various forms, sometimes treated as separate gods.

Frequently portrayed as a symbol of life, Horus is the adversary of Set, who killed his father, Osiris, a figure of death. Horus ultimately prevails, earning the title “Horus the Great.” (This refers to Horus the Younger, son of Osiris and Isis, distinct from an earlier sky-god depiction.)

His modern-day prominence often stems from the “Eye of Horus” symbol.

Yudhishthira

Yudhishthira, a key figure in the Indian epic Mahabharata, rules as king of a kingdom within the story.

Chosen as heir to the throne, he is presumed dead after an incident, leading to his cousin’s ascension. Upon his return, a succession dispute splits the kingdom. Yudhishthira’s success in governing his half fuels his cousin’s envy, and through manipulation, he is exiled. Tested by his father during this period, Yudhishthira endures a complex journey, ultimately becoming the only brother to ascend to heaven.

His relevance here lies in his exile, triggered by a manipulated gambling loss, and his eventual return to rule after a critical war.

Jesus

Jesus, the cornerstone of Christianity and regarded as God incarnate, is a towering figure whose influence is evident in events like Christmas, marking his birth.

In brief, his teachings during his earthly life provoked public unrest, leading to his crucifixion (commemorated as Good Friday). His resurrection, celebrated as Easter Sunday, saw him perform miracles briefly before ascending. Many anticipate a “second coming,” when Jesus will return amid global turmoil.

Richard the Lionheart

Richard I, known as the Lionheart, reigned as England’s king from 1189 to 1199, famed for leading the Third Crusade against Jerusalem’s Muslim ruler. Unexpectedly thrust into the role of heir after his elder brothers’ deaths, he spent much of his reign abroad.

His significance here stems from his capture and ransom in Austria post-Crusade, with England’s people paying a steep price for his release.

Charles II

Likely referring to Charles II of England, this monarch ruled multiple British realms during a turbulent era. Known for his affability, rigid political stance, and lax morals, his reign followed his father Charles I’s conflict with Parliament, which culminated in Charles I’s death during the English Civil War. Charles II entered voluntary exile for safety and once attempted to overthrow Parliament’s rule, only to fail and flee again.

His family’s restoration came when public discontent with Parliament’s governance prompted calls for Charles II’s return, during which he granted greater freedoms.

Louis XVIII

Louis XVIII, king of France during the French Revolution’s aftermath, was not the pre-revolution monarch but succeeded his grandfather and father in the monarchy, assuming power after Napoleon’s first and second exiles. Born into turmoil, he lived in exile across Europe before returning to rule.

His relevance lies in symbolizing the monarchy’s restoration post-Revolution and Napoleon’s reign, though his actions were otherwise unremarkable.

Henry VII

Likely Henry Tudor, Henry VII founded England’s House of Tudor as its first king after the War of the Roses. By defeating Richard III and the House of Lancaster at the Battle of Bosworth Field, he ended the conflict between England’s rival houses, marking a new era.

Juan Carlos I

Juan Carlos I, Spain’s king from 1975 until his 2014 abdication, assumed power after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. His reforms transitioned Spain from dictatorship to democracy, earning widespread support. Controversies in 2012 eroded his popularity, leading to his abdication in favor of his son, Felipe.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit, a precursor to The Lord of the Rings, follows Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, on a quest to free the dwarves’ mountain home from the dragon Smaug. Its popularity spurred adaptations and the rise of its sequel trilogy.

In the context of returning leaders, Thorin Oakenshield, the “true king” of the Lonely Mountain, is a key figure.

Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian, part of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, depicts four siblings transported to Narnia, where they learn that Caspian’s uncle, Miraz, has usurped the throne. The siblings aid Prince Caspian in restoring his rightful rule.

Kimba the White Lion

Kimba the White Lion, a manga by Osamu Tezuka and later Japan’s first color TV anime, is a shonen classic predating Disney’s The Lion King. It follows Panja, a white lion ruling a jungle, until hunters kill him and capture his mate, Eliza, for a zoo. Their son, Kimba, is born on a ship but washes ashore far from home after a storm. The manga chronicles his immersion in human culture and his eventual return to the jungle to integrate these values. The TV series depicts his efforts to rebuild the realm.

Rising Again: Triumphs and Flops Post-Exile

If at first you falter, persist—and perhaps crash even harder. Napoleon Bonaparte, after escaping exile in Elba to reclaim his title as emperor, met disaster at Waterloo. Explore the following figures whose careers soared after exile, then discuss with your group: why did their second act outshine their first? Can you identify others, like Napoleon, whose comeback attempts ended in spectacular failure? 🏛 HISTORY

Napoleon

Napoleon, the notorious French emperor, spearheaded the French Revolution as a general before becoming First Consul. His reign, despised by Europe’s monarchies, ignited the Napoleonic Wars, a series of military triumphs. His failed Russian invasion led to his abdication and exile to Elba. His relevance here lies in his escape, brief return to power, and ultimate defeat in the Seventh Coalition, resulting in exile to remote Saint Helena, where he died.

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, celebrated for his theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, had a complex citizenship history. Born German, he renounced that citizenship for Swiss, later regained German citizenship, and revoked it again during WWII, becoming a U.S. citizen. His most iconic equations emerged during these shifts.

Einstein’s vocal opposition to Germany’s actions in both World Wars set him apart from many German intellectuals.

Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky, a pivotal Russian revolutionary, helped establish the USSR during the Russian Revolution and Civil War. Exiled to Siberia early on, he escaped to London, collaborating with Lenin while often aligning with the Mensheviks (against Lenin) before joining the Bolsheviks post-WWI. After Lenin’s death, Trotsky’s criticism of Stalin led to his 1929 exile, during which he wrote against Stalinism until his 1940 assassination by a Stalinist agent.

In the West, Trotsky was hailed for advocating democratic socialism, opposing Stalin’s totalitarianism. His relevance here ties to his Siberian exile, after which his influence grew.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, navigated crises like the Iranian Revolution, Afghanistan’s invasion, and U.S.-China diplomacy, though his presidency is often rated below average. His post-presidency, however, shines: founding the Carter Center, he championed human rights, earning the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. Carter also advanced peace negotiations, combated tropical diseases like dracunculiasis, and authored successful books.

He passed away on December 29, 2024.

Friedrich Engels

Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher, co-developed Marxism with Karl Marx. Despite his wealthy background, Engels rejected capitalism after observing dismal working conditions, co-authoring works on communism and labor. To avoid family conflict, he wrote under a pseudonym, as his family owned a major textile business. Their attempts to sway his views by exposing him to their industry failed.

Dante

Dante Alighieri, known simply as Dante, was an Italian poet who shaped the Italian language by writing in the Tuscan dialect rather than formal Latin. His works, including Divine Comedy, profoundly influenced Western literature and art. Exiled from Florence for supporting the Guelphs in the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict and accused of corruption by the Black Guelphs, he joined White Guelph efforts to reclaim power. His most celebrated works were written during this exile.

Confucius

Confucius, the ancient Chinese philosopher behind Confucianism, emphasized morality, social bonds, righteousness, and just governance. His ideas, which gained official support long after his death, permeate Chinese culture. Credited with contributing to the Five Classics, Confucius lived during the Warring States period in the Lu state. Initially a senior advisor, he left Lu after the Qi state undermined his influence, exposing the duke’s treachery. Traveling to other states, he spread his philosophy with limited success.

Upon returning to Lu, Confucius taught disciples and wrote classics. His Silver Rule—“Do not do to others what you would not want done to you”—contrasts with the Golden Rule.

Rodrigo Belmonte

Rodrigo Belmonte, a character in Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Lions of Al-Rassan, inhabits a fantasy world inspired by Mediterranean cultural conflicts. Exiled after a failed attempt to stop an enemy attack results in a powerful figure’s death, he forms bonds with mercenaries of differing cultures. His role in a holy war resembling the Reconquista elevates him to a high government post.

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist, won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for opposing the Taliban. At age 11 in 2009, she gained prominence through a BBC Urdu blog, advocating for girls’ education under Taliban rule. Her activism drew global attention to women’s rights.

A 2012 Taliban assassination attempt led to her treatment in the UK, where she remained. Her autobiography and advocacy amplified her impact, spotlighting Taliban oppression and Middle Eastern issues.

Sun Mu

Sun Mu, a pseudonym for a North Korean artist who conceals their identity due to the regime’s “three generations” policy—where an escapee’s family faces punishment across three generations—was once a propaganda artist in North Korea. Having fled to South Korea in the 1990s, Sun Mu has gained recognition for paintings in a socialist realist style, often mistaken for propaganda due to their aesthetic.

Belarus Free Theatre

The Belarus Free Theatre, an underground performance group, has had no presence in Belarus since the 2020–2021 protests. Founded to resist censorship and express artistic freedom, the group initially staged secret, free performances in Belarus. Now based in London, it belongs to the European Theatre Convention, promoting liberation through art. Having produced seven performances based on 13 plays, the group continues hosting events in private spaces, though its activities have become harder to trace.

An-My Lê

An-My Lê, a Vietnamese-American photographer, focuses on themes of war and landscapes. Born in Vietnam, she fled during the Vietnam War, eventually settling in California and studying in the U.S. Her acclaimed work emerged upon returning to Vietnam, where her photo series Vietnam captured the country’s essence. Currently, she explores the climate crisis, U.S. culture, and contemporary issues.

Posthumous Fame: The Legacy of the Departed

“Funny when you’re dead, how people start listenin’,” sang The Band Perry in their 2010 hit “If I Die Young.” Reflect on the figures below, now celebrated after their passing, and discuss with your team: what’s the best way to revive someone’s legacy? Vincent van Gogh, for example, gained fame posthumously through the efforts of those close to him. Should we prioritize studying living creators’ works, or does death somehow enhance a work’s allure? 📚 LITERATURE, 🎨 ART, 🏛 HISTORY

This section explores a unique “second coming

I. Much Excite, Much Ignite

View Challenge Questions: Click Here

Much Excite, Much Ignite

Sometimes cars don’t start—but when they do, how does it happen? Explore the ways in which cars can be powered on. And that’s only the start(er): once a car is moving, it speeds away propelled by a series of mini-explosions that keep moving it along until the next traffic jam. With your team, explore the science behind internal combustion engines. How do they work, when were they invented, and are they obsolete? Be sure to consider the following topics:

internal combustion engine | heat engine | gas turbine engine | Wankel rotary engine
Otto engine | reciprocating piston engine | rotary engines | continuous combustion engines
hydrocarbons | diesel | biodiesel | bioethanol | ETBE | hydrogen

How a car starts up largely depends on what kind of car it is. For most cars, those being gasoline, non-diesel, non-electric cars, they require a spark from what’s called an “ignition switch”. Again, in combustion (fire), one element needed for a system is an initial spark. These days, most cars can operate with an electric starting motor, meaning a button push can automatically activate the ignition switch, beginning a car.

Let’s look at the terms that WSC provides for this:

An Internal Combustion Engine is an encompassing term of engines which do combustion internally, resulting in energy output as a quickly rotating axle. It’s a bit tough to explain how these engines work, although in simple terms they hijack the pressure in a container making it easy for a mechanism to turn according to the pressure changes. (See forced induction)

These are the typical engines used in non-electric cars, with the most common layout being the V engine. These engines are typically four-stroke engines, where an engine will go through 4 phases within a chamber to turn the axle. (These processes are, as follows, Intake, Compression, Combustion, and Exhaust.) To start an engine, a spark from an ignition switch is needed.

A Heat Engine refers to any engine which uses heat to produce an energy output over a time, known in physics as “work”. The Internal Combustion Engine is a type of heat engine, though the term can refer to any process involving the use of heat in generating work. Heat Engines are really popular in energy generation, as it provides a way for various other energy sources to be transformed into output easily. For example, nuclear fission, solar panels, and combustion all use heat engines to transform an exothermic (heat releasing) reaction into usable output.

Things from firearms to car engines to refrigerators to even Earth’s natural atmospheric conditions match the definition of Heat engines. Heat engines typically act cyclically, though their efficiency is limited by the laws of thermodynamics, specifically entropy.

A Gas turbine engine is a continuous flow internal combustion engine typically seen on large vehicles like tanks, boats, and helicopters. While they are occasionally seen on cars, they are uncommon due to their applications being best at handling high torque with low speed.

Gas turbines used something known as the Brayton cycle to function, using air as the fluid. In simple, it expands and compresses the air in an engine, entering and exiting turbines and using air pressure to produce thrust. Because of thermodynamics, the system works best with higher temperature, though such temperatures have caused problems in smaller unsuited vehicles.

Similar mechanics to this are used in rocket engines.

A Wankel rotary engine is a type of internal combustion engine which uses a Reuleaux triangle as its rotor to produce an output of turning motion. It works just like a conventional V engine, however its mechanics are slightly different because of the different shape of the engine (the theory is the same).

The compact design of a wankel rotary engine makes it suitable for chainsaws, jet skis, motorcycles, and other relatively-small mechanics. While it is less efficient than typically 4-stroke reciprocating engines, it is easier to contain and has a higher power:mass ratio.

An Otto Engine is a stationary four-stroke engine which is characterized by its low RPM due to its spinning motion only firing every 2 strokes. The Otto engines were developed as stationary initially, though the 1876 engine concept is now used as the petrol engine.

The otto engine fixed the issue of poor efficiency and reliability of common engines at the time– typically, engines would explode after only a few minutes of operation. The Otto engine, when finished, was the first to compress the fuel before the combustion, making it more efficient than any other at its time.

A Reciprocating engine is a heat engine which uses reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into rotational motion. It’s used as a term which can describe all internal combustion engines and steam engines, and is the primary method of energy conversion in heat engines. The engine gets its name from the fact there can be multiple pistons, working best when they reciprocate based on the position of the rotor.

What you need to know is that any reciprocating engine uses a piston and a chamber to convert pressure into rotation. You’ll find these in the vast majority of cars and other gas-powered equipment.

A Rotary Engine is an obsolete type of stationary internal combustion engine with an odd number of cylinders in a circular configuration. It was typically used in airplanes when used, though it was sometimes in cars and motorcycles. In its time, it was a very efficient solution to power output and reliability.

The engine was eventually phased out because the oiling system meant that it was at any point incredibly annoying to maintain or otherwise incredibly inefficient. It also resulted in a nasty fuel waste and calibration/stability problems involved in scaling the engine, making it unideal.

A Continuous-combustion engine is one of the two divisions of internal combustion engines, describing engines with a constant flow of fuel and oxidizer. The most common type of continuous engine is the gas turbine engine.

The majority of engines fall into the other category: intermittent combustion engines. These engines vary flow of fuel into the chamber from time to time.

A Hydrocarbon is an element formed from only carbon and hydrogen. Its properties allow it to be used as fuel easily, and within the industry, they refer to naturally occurring petrol, gas, and coal. Hydrocarbons are the main source of the world’s energy today, involving the emission of GHGs and the burning of fossil fuels.

A common type of hydrocarbon are the Alkanes, including the commonly-known gases of Methane, Propane, Butane, and Octane. Fossil fuels are mostly derivatives of Alkanes; natural gas is mostly methane, petrol is mostly propane, and Coal is mostly a product of carbon.

Diesel is an alternate type of fuel which doesn’t require a spark to ignite; rather, it can start with the process of air compression before the injection of fuel. Diesel fuels are typically created from a specific type of processed petroleum, though natural diesels are becoming more popular.

As previously discussed, the flash point of diesel is the main outstanding characteristic of it from gasoline; its minimum viable temperature for a continuous reaction is below or around room temperatures. This makes diesel immediately combustible, while gasolines need to be ignited and are thus called “flammable”

Biodiesel is a form of renewable diesel which uses vegetable oil, animal fat, and grease as a source of fuel. They famously have involved spare vegetable oils as an alternate fat source. It’s typically less fuel-efficient than typical petrodiesels.

Biodiesel is found most in transportation, where it’s often blended with petrodiesels and used in cars/trains. Because of its experimental and inefficient nature, a rating system as been designated to how much of a compound of diesel draws from bio-sources. B100 is 100% biodiesel, B10 is 10% biodiesel, B5 is 5% biodiesel, and so on.

Bioethanol is a form of ethanol, an alcohol with the composition C2H6O. It’s chemically identical to synthetic ethanol and petrol-derived ethanol, only differentiated by carbon dating. Bioethanol is a relatively eco-friendly version of ethanol which involves converting feedstock including sugarcane, sunflowers, fruit, wheat, straw, and other carbon-based biomasses.

In the past, bioethanol was experimented with, though its use is largely being phased out because of concerns of its large consumption of otherwise-food items. The production of bioethanol, while good for the environment, has lead to increased food prices because of limited supply of resources.

Ethanol isn’t much of a fuel itself, though; it’s typically used as a biofuel additive in gasoline.

ETBE is an additive which oxygenates (adds oxygen to) crude oil in the process of producing gasoline. It’s considered better in terms of air quality than ethanol, while also logistically less challenging.

The purpose of oxygenating gas is to make the process of combustion more efficient; as combustion requires oxygen, implementing hydrocarbons with oxygen (in this case, through ethers) promotes the full combustion of the gas.

Hydrogen is the first element of the periodic table, the most abundant element in the universe, and the lightest element on the periodic table. In this context, the production of hydrogen is most done by transforming fossil fuels to obtain hydrogen fuel, which has been used experimentally as a source (though electrolysis) but is mostly found in fossil fuel processing and ammonia production.

Hydrogen is a key element in many reactions, one of those being combustion.

Long before Elon Musk’s Tesla, electric cars were already popular for their convenience, quietness, and lack of horse manure aroma. Electric cars were poised to dominate the twentieth century—and then they disappeared for a hundred years. With your teammates, explore the invention and spread of early automobiles. (alternate link) What happened to electric cars and what led to their return? What were some of the key innovations in automobiles? Have you ever gotten stuck inside a self-driving taxi? And, most importantly, where are our flying cars?

Car histories are the topic of this section! There’s a little bit of interesting lore none of the articles seem to touch upon– electric cars were actually invented before gas cars, and were initially set to be the dominant form of automobile; that is, before big oil decided that wouldn’t be the case. Nevertheless, let’s cover the article topics first.

The first modern car is credited to the 1901 Mercedes, though it wouldn’t take off because of its relatively high cost compared to other transportation options. A largely American venture would be the goal of lowering the operating expenses, and thus, product expenses, of cars. The history of these cars actually traces back slightly to 1893, winning the “car race” and being among the first of a few hundred companies to enter the competition. Ford and General motors are a few notable examples.

The US was the main market at play, considering its much larger size necessitated cars more than other first-world countries, such as those within Europe. A famous car was the Model T, produced by Ford after their success with the Model N, being able to outprice competitors significantly.

Over the next few decades, many companies would drop due to competition, with Ford’s business model being followed by competing companies. This, combined with stalling demand, signalled trouble for the American automobile industry as the 1930s arrive. In this time period, the product devil - planned obsolescence!! - is entered into play by General Motors, the goal being to incentivize customers to purchase cars recurrently.

Car manufacturers would largely shift to military purposes during the WWII era, leaving them vulnerable from competition– Japanese companies decided to capitalize on the unseen supply, hitting record levels of sales in the US. In response to this, the 1980s saw a massive overhaul in the structure of American car companies, seeing as cars became lower-margin products and more efficient during the time to recapture the market.

Through this period, the car was the driving force of technology, developing much of the US’ history as we know it. It’s not often considered today, with the advent of technologies in AI and Genetic Modification, but it was a giant thing throughout the 20th century.

Over these years, car technology has considerably innovated. The next article presents the following 10 large innovations in car technology over the past while, beginning from the 1950s.

Fuel Injection: The simple process of adding gas to a car was once very unreliable and rickety, a process which was fixed with a computer-controlled system by Volkswagen in 1968.

Cruise Control: 1958 saw the debut of cruise control systems, though it was only popularized in the 1970s with the realized consumer appeal of not having to constantly push down the gas pedal. (For those who don’t know, cruise control sets the car at a specified speed.)

Turbochargers: These describe a technology which allows for smaller cylinders and thus, more power in an engine. They found their use in the late 20th century, when automakers were able to fit them into cars improving efficiency. They first saw themselves in place in WWII aircraft.

Antilock brakes: This automatic implementation solved a niche problem of skidding cars on ice, where brakes would be prevented from locking on “panic situations” where counterintuitively it is better to keep the wheels rolling.

Catalytic converters: These convert very harmful pollutants of gas cars into safer chemicals, those being CO2, Nitrogen, and water. They were largely implemented in the 1970s with the goal of making cars less dangerous to be around.

Computer-controlled engines: Not to be mixed with autonomous driving, these computers would collect data and diagnostic information to improve performance over time, allowing car repairs to go quickly and cars to maintain function for longer.

Seat Belts: Surprisingly, these were only implemented in 1968 as an official safety measure by the government. They’ve saved thousands of lives since, and it’s largely credited to the inventor who decided not to patent the creation.

Airbags: These are safety devices involved in crash protection reducing the impact over time. They became widespread in the 70s though they were only pushed as mandatory nearing the end of the century.

GPS: The GPS was implemented in 1990 and is an indispensable tool for navigation, no questions asked. It, well, helps you navigate. (Recently built-in GPSes have been phased out in favor for mobile options, like Google Maps)

ADAS: This stands for Advanced Driver Assistance System, and it first appeared in the 2000s as a sort of self-driving function which helps aid a driver using LiDAR sensors to detect outside surroundings.

Car innovation isn’t all that fun, though; the next article provided tells a funny, albeit slightly concerning tale of a self-driving taxi error.

The man in question is Mike Johns, taking a Waymo to an airport. The self-driving car ended up malfunctioning and driving around in circles at the parking lot of the airport. He was eventually able to get out of the car in time to catch a flight, though the lack of empathy through the troubleshooting process was a bit concerning.

There are many other silly self-driving car stories out there, some done by malicious intention and some due to miscalculated parameters.

On the more positive side of futuristic cars, flying cars may just be coming to fruition! Ever since its appeal as a dream since the 1900s, its been attempted and failed, though it might now be reaching its success. The technology already exists; now it’s a matter of who can make it work first.

One such company, Joby, has flown prototypes of electric aircraft in a car form factor. Another organization, Alef Aeronautics, is a step closer, planning to sell personal cars which can both drive and fly. The issue with flying cars today? They’re just not very economically smart.

Various form factors have been proposed, some similar to the original conceptualizations of flying cars and some wildly different, akin to mechas and transformers.

Alef is planning to sell these dual-mode vehicles for 300k a piece, making flying cars perhaps not all that enticing for consumers as of now. Ridesharing platforms and taxis might take advantage of the flying car market as we move along, certainly before the average person gets their hands on them.

One other issue to point out is flight regulations; flying cars would require much more extensive certification by governments, be much more prone to terrorism, and have higher fatality rates overall.

This section asked us to detail the history of electric cars alongside this section. The history goes very far back, in fact as far back as gasoline cars.

In simple, electric cars had existed before the takeoff of gas cars, being largely more timely and less dangerous options overall. However, as they were expensive and outcompeted by other car companies, a notable example being Ford and their model T, they went out of popularity. (One thing to note is that early electric car batteries were painfully bad, both environmentally and efficiency-wise.)

They saw traction in popularity again in the 1970s when concerns over the environment began sparking up. Companies began developing efficient batteries seeing the increase of the mobile electronics market, the most popular being the lithium-ion battery. Tesla largely brought the electric car market back in the early 2000s, the roadster being an impressive feat.

Check out this cool video!: The surprisingly long history of electric cars

(WSC might want you to know about the Water Fuel Cell, an idea pitched by Stanley Meyer that cars could be fueled by water rather than gasoline. There’s a popular conspiracy that he was killed by big oil before he could shape his invention due to fear of unmatchable competition, though both the car and the conspiracy have been ruled false. You’ll find some interesting things under the search term “water powered car”.)

Even the sun is just a gas puddle—but someday that puddle will run dry. While some people worry about whether they will be able to afford a house in their thirties, and others about whether humanity will survive to see the 22nd century, a few very long-term thinkers are already concerned about the sun going dark—and are contemplating whether it could be revived. Read about the fate of the sun, and study how the sun and other stars actually work (for one, they aren’t technically burning), then discuss with your team: when is it worth it to think about problems that are still far in the future? How soon do they need to be expected to happen for them to become urgent considerations?

This section is dedicated to our all-important sun.

The sun, if you’re unaware, is the star at the center of our solar system. While it boasts a massive amount of energy, its lifespan is limited to the next billion years, when the sun will enter its “red giant” phase and make living on Earth impossible. If we aren’t gone by then, we’ll be almost certainly dead.

A common sci-fi solution is to practice interstellar travel, where we’d just pack up everything and leave. This idea, while it may be practical in high tech movies, is nearly impossible (if not just really inefficient). The other idea? Extend the lifespan of the sun.

It seems a little unintuitive, but adding fuel to the sun is very counterproductive in lengthening its lifespan. The amount of energy required to throw a meaningful amount of fuel into the sun is already ginormous, not to mention the fact that larger stars actually burn our quicker (due to hotter temperatures and more unstable equilibria). In fact, the most effective way to lengthen the Sun’s lifespan is by consuming much of its energy, considering smaller stars (red dwarves) can last upwards of trillions of years.

This can lead to issues, notably having to move Earth closer to the star in order to keep it habitable while mitigating the issue of tidal locking. Another issue is that Red Dwarfs are very active in terms of solar flares, so we’d have to deal with that. The fact is that with hydrogen-based stars, any solution will have a trade-off.

An idea is to keep the continuous cycle of a star going artificially. When stars use energy, they get it by fusing hydrogen into helium (nuclear fusion), eventually eating away at its energy. A way to prolong the sun’s life is to take the helium and split them back into hydrogen, involving a pretty complicated chemical chain.

Now, this process does require more energy than the sun has, so the chain will inevitably break apart; however, with the process of helium fission, we can extend the lifespan of the Sun to over a trillion years at best.

It’s still debated whether the effort to extend the sun’s life is worth it.

When the death of our sun does come, it’s hypothesized a few things will happen, though. Stars like the sun make up around a quarter of all stars, larger than red dwarves but smaller than the giant supernovae-bound stars. The death of a star comes at the end of its process of nuclear fusion, where it runs out of hydrogen to turn into helium (and other processes, like helium into carbon, carbon into oxygen, and so on).

Our sun will experience a red giant phase, where near the end of its life it will swell to a giant size encompassing the orbit of Earth. After this phase passes, we’re left with a white dwarf star, a relatively stable type of “star” with around 50% of the mass of the Sun and around the same size as the Earth. These dwarfs are counterintuitively really hot, hotter than the red giant phase of the sun, and will remain very hot for a very long time (due to small surface area, and thus, small energy output.)

After trillions upon trillions of years, the white dwarf will eventually burn out, becoming a ball of carbon and oxygen floating around dubbed a “stellar corpse” or a “black dwarf”. It takes so long to reach this phase that it’s thought that no black dwarfs currently exist in our universe.

From here, a few things can happen. In the vast majority of scenarios, the black dwarf will float off into nothingness nearing the end of the universe. However, if it’s lucky, it might spark into a new star with a collision with another star. A final interesting case is that the star gets consumed by a black hole.

If anything here sounds horrifying, don’t be afraid! You’ll be long dead when this happens.

The ordering of WSC’s articles is interesting to me, considering this last article should be the first thing touched upon. It introduces a few things about the sun.

Above: An image of a few fun facts sourced from the website

The sun is made of primarily hydrogen and helium, though other denser elements can be found. These elements fit into 3 layers of the sun; the core, the radiative zone, and the convective zone. The core hosts the fusion of elements and the release of energy, which passes through the radiative zone (sort of like a mantle) and then passes through the convection zone (see the concept of convection, if you’ve forgotten) before shooting out of the photosphere, the outer layer of the sun.

The sun interestingly has at atmosphere, Earth inhabiting the outer portions of the atmosphere. This is the source of solar wind and solar flares. The reason the sun appears red is because of the lower atmosphere, the chromosphere, as the high hydrogen content causes it to appear so.

Finally, the sun doesn’t only emit visible light; it also emits EMRs and other wavelengths along most of the light spectrum. The amount of light emitted is very constant, and even slight changes can cause major disruptions on Earth (solar storms, solar flares).

Volcanoes explode, and it’s not baking soda bubbling up inside of them. Explore the science of volcanic eruptions and study their consequences. Review the following cases and research: when and why do dormant volcanoes reawaken, and does human activity play a role? Also, what is an igneous rock?

Mount Vesuvius | Huaynaputina | Unzendake | Tambora | Krakatoa
Lake Nyos | Mount St. Helens | Eyjafjallajökull | Hunga Tonga | Yellowstone

WSC wants to explore the mechanics of Vocanoes, so here we go!

Volcanoes are a type of mountain which contain lava sourced from the Mantle of the Earth in the form of magma. They’re caused by the movement of tectonic plates, and often form in the points where they meet (convergent plate boundaries). Volcanoes erupt due to large amounts of pressure from magma, stirred by its internal materials including lava, steam, sulfurs, and ash.

Volcanoes can form in two ways, one being by the subduction of continental plates (basically plates going under one another) or hotspots, one-off locations on the Earth’s crust which just so happen to be volcanically active. The structure of a volcano also is usually classified into two types, those being shield volcanoes (short volcanoes caused by continuous eruptions without exploisions) and stratovolcanoes (tall volcanoes with sporadic, explosive eruptions.)

Volcanoes are classified into three categories based on their activity; active, dormant, and extinct. An active volcano is one which has current activity, while a dormant/extinct one is one which does not. A volcano without activity is only considered extinct if it has not erupted in 10,000 years or is proven to no longer be tectonically active.

A doomsday type of volcano is the supervolcano, types of volcano which warrant concern for world-scale catastrophe. They’re caused by hotspots when magma begins to increase pressure to the crust exponentially, leading to a devastating eruption point when the pressure is too strong to withstand.

Check out this video: Volcanic eruption explained - Steven Anderson

An igneous rock is a type of rock formed when molten magma is cooled down. It is one of the three main types of rock, with the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. You’ll typically find igneous rocks near volcanoes.

Igneous rocks can be classified into two groups: intrusive, and extrusive. Intrusive rocks are rocks which become solid while inside the Earth, including diorite and granite. Extrusive rocks are rocks which only form outside the Earth due to eruption, including basalt, andesite, obsidian, and pumice.

Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano located in Italy near Naples, part of the collection of volcanoes known as the Campanian volcanic arc. It’s one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, being the only volcano in Europe to have erupted in the last century and being near many densely populated areas. (To make matters worse, it has “plinian” explosive eruptions!)

Vesuvius is most notable for having wiped out Pompeii back in 79AD, preserving the city under a thick layer of ash and volcanic rock.

Huaynaputina is a stratovolcano in Southern Peru, near the border of Chile and Bolivia. It’s part of the South American Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes mountains. Its name means “fire-throwing mountain” and was only derived after its most recent eruption in 1600.

The volcano hasn’t been active since its eruption, though nearby hot springs are attributed to the volcano. Its proximity to Arequipa, a relatively large city in Peru, makes it potentially deadly if another eruption were to happen.

Mount Unzen (Unzendake) refers to a group of stratovolcanoes in Japan, located on the Southern island of Kyushu near Nagasaki. Its complexity is composed of over 20 total mountains.

The most recent activity of the volcano was an eruption in 1991 and activity from 1990 to 1995 killing a few enthusiasts and nearby residents. The largest catastrophe from the volcano in modern history traces to 1792, when a lava dome led to a megatsunami: yes, the most dangerous event from this volcano wasn’t an eruption.

Tambora is a stratovolcano in Indonesia and is part of Sunda arc, a chain of nearby volcanic islands. It’s on the Lesser Sunda Islands, a chain of islands to the East of Java.

Its most infamous eruption happened in 1815, being the largest eruption in recorded history. After centuries of dormancy, the volcanic activity culminated in an explosion spewing heavy volcanic ash in nearby areas, devastating thousands of people directly. The worst famine of the century, taking place in 1816, happened due to this eruption. Because of the climate effect, the year of 1816 is dubbed “the year without a summer”.

Krakatoa is another volcano (now a caldera, a form of volcanic remain after an eruption) within the Sunda arc, being part of a group of 4 volcanic islands. The caldera was created by an eruption in 1883, devastating various colonies within the region.

A 4th island, Anak Krakatoa, emerged in 1927. Ever since then, signs of activity have been seen, with a collapse leading to a tsunami in 2018.

Lake Nyos is a crater lake (lake formed within the crater of a volcano due to eruption or collapse) in Cameroon, a country in Africa.

Lake Nyos has a pocket of magma underneath the lake, leaking CO2 into the water and leading to carbonic acid. This is one of 3 lakes known to push CO2 into a lake, these sorts of effects leading to “limnic eruptions” where large amounts of deadly CO2 clouds are released. Asphyxiations, including a large one in 1986, are caused by this effect seen in Nyos.

(Its notable case of CO2 gas cloud release as seen in 1986 was likely triggered by a landslide.)

Mount St. Helens is about to blow up.

This is in reference to the deadliest volcanic event in US history, when the stratovolcano of St. Helens located in Washington state erupting. The volcano is part of the Cascade volcanic arc and the Pacific ring of fire.

The major eruption of 1980 led to the death of a few dozen people and the destruction of various infrastructure around, leading to a magnitude 5 earthquake in the aftermath. It’s predicted that the volcano will have future eruptions of larger scale eventually, seeing its continuous volcanic activity up to 2008.

Eyjafjallajökull is an ice cap covering a caldera of a volcano in southern Iceland. The volcano itself is a stratovolcano which has been recently active, with a small eruption in 2010 disrupting various air travel through and from Europe.

The ice cap is a retreating cap, slowly receding from the volcano. A notable event happened in 1967, with an explosion of the glacier.

Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai is an underwater volcano located in Tonga, a small island nation in the Pacific. It’s at highest 150m below sea level, extending ~2km from the sea floor, though the volcano does have above-water parts in the form of two uninhabited islands part of the Northwestern part of the caldera.

This volcano has been pretty active recently, the most recent eruption taking place in early 2022 causing a Tsunami in Japan and the Americas. It was largest recent eruption, also being the largest explosion recorded by modern techniques. Other eruptions happened in 2014-15 and 2009.

Yellowstone is a supervolcano hotspot in the US which constantly moves slightly due to the shifting tectonic plates over millions of years. Currently, the hotspot lies underneath the Yellowstone caldera, having been formed 640,000 years ago with its most recent super-eruption, the Lava Creek eruption.

Contrary to popular belief, the volcano erupts semi-frequently, though its supervolcanic eruptions do not. The most recent eruption of the Yellowstone hotspot happened ~2,200 years ago.

Like dormant volcanoes, not every war can be suppressed forever. Treaties break; truces fail to hold. Explore why some periods of conflict lasted as long as they did, then discuss with your team: what does it take to “put out” a war so that it doesn’t reignite? To what extent were there periods of quiet within the larger scope of the violence around them? Is the best way to achieve a lasting peace for one side to win a conflict decisively?

Punic Wars | Hundred Years War | Wars of the Roses
Mongol Invasions | Reconquista (Spain) | 335 Years War

Ah, nothing more volcanic than… wars. I guess?

The Punic Wars are a series of wars from 264-146 BC between two contesting powers in the Mediterranean, the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire (in modern day Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Spain, etc.) The period is often split into three distinct punic wars.

The first punic war was sparked by a conflict over the island of Sicily, though its primary influence was on its development of the Roman Republic as a power, especially in the navy. The second punic war happened with the upset of a notable general, Hamilcar Barca, and was mostly carried out by his son, Hannibal. The third war was a final conquest of the Romans into Carthage, leading to the fall of the empire.

Rome won all three of the punic wars. Wow, good on you rome.

(Check out Oversimplified’s series on the wars! It might not be timely, but it’s really entertaining.)

The Hundred Years War is a 116 year long war (no, it wasn’t actually 100 years long) fought between England and France from 1337 to 1453. The conflict centered around an English king’s attempt to claim the French throne under disputes of the territories of countries. While the war is considered to go on for 116 years, it’s often split into 3 separate wars and it paused frequently due to outside influences, one notably the Black Death.

The conflict, taking place in Middle Aged Europe, was fought by 5 different generations of kings, cementing it as the longest military conflict in Europe’s history. Ultimately, France won the war, able to keep its territories and pushing England out of the mainland of Europe.

The conflict’s tension was sparked by the Norman Conquest of 1066, following events which had happened centuries before.

The War of the Roses was a series of conflicts between two branches of royalty to the claim of the English throne. It was fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, conflicting sides of the House of Plantagenet. The war was largely caused by socio-economic troubles from the aftermath of the Hundred years war, though it culminated with mismanagement of the throne by unstable governments.

The conflict ended with the meeting of the two houses through marriage, creating the Tudor dynasty (See Henry Tudor in the previous section). The event marking the end is the death of Richard III at Bosworth Field (a 2024 curriculum mention!)

The Mongol Invasions and Conquests refer to the events leading to the creation of the Mongol Empire, history’s largest ever empire. This period, through 1206 to 1368, marked one of the deadliest periods in history. The empire reached its largest extend in 1294, though it began to fragment as early as 1260 due to the difficulty of ruling such a large empire.

The mongols’ invasion strategy relied on land and cavalry, thus most of the exhibition took place during warmer seasons. The period between 1211 and 1225 marked a great expansion in their pace of conquest due to favorable weather for breeding horses.

The invasion, begun by the infamous Genghis Khan, came with the founding of the Mongol Empire in the area. At its largest peak, the mongol empire covered the majority of Eurasia, stretching from China to Eastern Europe.

The Reconquista was a 800-year long series of wars fought between European christian kingdoms and Muslim states on the area of the Iberian Peninsula, modern day Spain and Portugal. The reconquest was a result of previous Islamic conquests of the area.

The conflict was largely one of cultural conflict, with the ideology matching those of the Crusades. The reconquest was ultimately successful, coming to an end in 1492 with the liberation of Granada, a notable city in Andalusia, near the South of Iberia.

The 355 years’ war was a war we aren’t even sure ever existed, tracing back to a lack of a peace treaty between the Isles of Scilly (off the coast of Great Britain) and the Netherlands. This war, if true, would be one of the longest wars in history, but would also be one of very few wars without a single fire shot. The “war” was brought to an end in 1986.

The origins of the war trace back to the English Civil War, when the Netherlands sided with a side of that war. In the islands of Scilly, the local thought was that the state of war was still in place, despite the conflict having ended. Thus, the islands may have been technically legally at war with the Netherlands.

J. The Generative Area: A Mind for Imagination

During a difficult conversation, you look down and see what looks like a giraffe in the carpet. This phenomenon—the human brain’s ability to find patterns and images even where none exist—is called pareidolia. Research how pareidolia works. Then discuss with your team: would humanity be better off if we only saw what was literally in front of us? When does pareidolia most hurt us—and when does it most help us?

Are some settings better for creativity? “Beginnings are contagious there, they’re always setting stages there”—the song “Once Upon a Time in New York City” praises the Big Apple as a place for dreamers, fervent with opportunities for reinvention. Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald, among many other writers of their era, hung out with other writers in Paris. Explore the history of the salon, or gatherings where creative and intellectual spirits meet frequently to share and develop ideas, then discuss with your team: is there a place in your country that beckons to the creatively-minded? Has the salon been replaced in the modern world by the Internet—and if so, how?
Consider the neurobiology of imagination: what actually happens in your brain when you are imagining things? Explore the terms below, then hypothesize with your team: how might a person’s imagination be affected if you alter one or more of these elements? How do they relate to emotions, belief, suppositions, and fantasy?
- - memory | mental imagery | perception | world view
  - neocortex | thalamus | frontal cortex | REM sleep
Research drugs that stimulate the imagination, then discuss with your team: should all these be considered illegal hallucinogens? Be sure to consider how and to what degree a hallucination varies from a simulation, a rehearsal, or other acts of the imagination. For instance, when is a daydream a hallucination?
While how to become more imaginative is a question most frequently answered by self-help publications and clinics that also offer derriere implants, some mainstream treatments and techniques do exist and are practiced in the real world. Explore the following approaches and terms then discuss with your team: which do you think would be most effective?
- - active imagination | hypnagogia | mind wandering | hypnosis | meditation
  - psychological distance | nature experiences | novel experiences
One used by writers is called “writing with constraints”. If their options are limited—for instance, if they cannot use the letter A in a story—someone struggling to put words on a blank page might dodge that first paralyzing moment of decision-making. Artificial limitations “provide a certain level of texture against which a metaphorical match can more easily be struck,” says the writer Matthew Tomkinson. Many traditional poetic forms—especially strict ones, such as haiku—are examples of this approach. Read about others across different genres, including those of the French Oulipo movement, then learn more about the selections below. Afterward, discuss with your team: should more creators use this technique? When they do, should it be advertised to the public? Would you want to try it for your World Scholar’s Cup writing event?
- - Yuen Ren Chao | “Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den” (c. 1930s)
  - Marianne Moore | “No Swan So Fine” (1932)
  - Ernest Vincent Wright | Gadsby, Chapter 1 (1939)
  - Dylan Thomas | “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” (1951)
  - Kimiko Hahn | “[the whale already]” (2022)
Disney’s theme park designers are infamously branded as “Imagineers”—in just one of the many ways that imagination is celebrated in popular culture. Check out the following works, then discuss with your team: what perspective do they take on imagination? Do they share any common messages?
- - Tommy Dorsey | “Imagination” (1940)
  - Gene Wilder | “Pure Imagination” (1971)
  - John Lennon | “Imagine” (1971)
  - Evanescence | “Imaginary” (2000)
  - Cast of Mary Poppins Returns | “Can You Imagine That?” (2018)
The 2016 short film Shelter portrays a girl living alone in a simulation, passing her days imagining virtual worlds—until one day a letter arrives explaining how she got there. This film is one of many that explores how the human mind can remain active in a world without physical stimuli—which could be your fate if humans achieve digital immortality in our lifetimes. Learn more about the brain activities of coma patients and those living in isolation, then discuss with your team: what would it take for you to be happy living without a body?
After learning about the mechanics of imagination in the human brain, take a stand in the debate over whether current generative AI models possess actual imagination and creativity. Would it be possible to train these models to become more imaginative over time? Be sure to consider concerns over “model collapse” and yet-to-be-achieved artificial general intelligence, then discuss with your team: what makes human imagination so difficult to replicate?

K. No Backup, But Restore

Some creative works—including film, theatrical productions, and even novels—fail at the first go, but are then reworked in new ways months, years, or even decades later, in hopes that they can find that missing spark. Consider the musical Ragtime as an example of this kind of rebuilding project, then explore the selections below. In which cases did the new version of a project succeed where the first hadn’t? Should the early incarnations of a piece be studied alongside those that succeeded later, or left in the dustbin of history?
- - Ragtime | “Wheels of a Dream” (1998) vs. “Wheels of a Dream” (2009)
  - Martin Guerre | “I Will Make You Proud” (1994) vs. “Justice Will Be Done” (1999)
  - Mulan | “Reflection” vs “Written in Stone” (1998)
  - Alanis Morissette | “Ironic” (1995) vs “Ironic” (2015)
  - K.D. Lang | “Surrender” (1997) vs. Sheryl Crow | "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997)
  - Billy Joel | “We Didn’t Start The Fire” (1989) vs Fall Out Boy | “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (2023)
“Liberally mix major and minor scales and lydian mode,” one blogger advises anyone on a (five-or-more-minute) mission to write music with a science fiction flavor. What do these terms mean, and Is there such a thing as a “future” riff—a musical shortcut that helps to set a time and place, but in this case for a time and place that haven’t happened yet? Be sure to consider the song “A TV Show Called Earth” and to discuss with your team: does the songwriter choose to make it sound alien or futuristic—and, if so, how?
Blocks fall from above in various configurations as this iconic music plays: the Japanese composer Hirokazu Tanaka’s original soundtrack for Tetris is a classic of the genre. Discuss with your team: should we be creating more of this chiptune music today? Continue your exploration of the history of video game music, then discuss with your team: is video game music a legitimate form of art? And would music, and literature and art in general, benefit from more limitations such as those imposed by low-powered processors and audio capabilities on early video games—or from fewer?
Some people’s fingers whirl across the screen tapping and flicking with uncanny efficiency; others hesitate, or aim and miss, or fire at things that aren’t there. Rhythm games are a great source of entertainment, but they can also help people with injuries—or even brain damage—rebuild their motor and mental skills. Consider their broader history of rhythm games, learn more about (and hopefully play!) the examples below, and then discuss with your team: how could rhythm games be used in schools for educational purposes? What kind of rhythm game would you design if you wanted to create a popular product? And could rhythm games be changing how future music is composed and appreciated?
- - Osu | Beat Saber | Dance Dance Revolution | Guitar Hero | maimai
  - Beatmania | Deemo | Just Dance | Tap Tap Revenge

L. Punky Futures

The future began in 1909—or, at least, futurism did. When Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti coined the word 'futurism', he imagined a world of speed, danger, and beauty. To him, this future could be found in the swift efficiency of the automobile. Today’s futurists look further ahead to artificial intelligence, space travel, and the blending of human and machine. Explore the origin and development of futurism, then discuss with your team: how is it different from science fiction—or is it? Should we value works that predicted futures that never came to be? Be sure to look into the two early futurist works listed below:
- - Giacomo Balla | Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash (1912)
  - Umberto Boccioni | Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (1913)
Later artists and writers adapted futurism’s interest in technology to imagine liberation and empowerment for different communities. Research the history of Afrofuturism, from its origins in the Space Age to Marvel’s Wakanda Forever, then discuss with your team: what makes something 'Afrofuturist'? Could an artist be 'Asiafuturist' or 'Amerifuturist' instead? Consider the following selections:
- - Sun Ra | “Space is the Place” (1973)
  - Marvel | Black Panther (book cover) (1977) vs Black Panther (movie poster) (2018)
  - Grace Jones | “Nightclubbing” (1981)
  - Flying Lotus | “Galaxy In Janaki” (2010)
  - Kendrick Lamar | “Black Panther” (2018)
  - Cyrus Kabiru | Miyale Ya Blue (2020)
Solarpunk offers a more optimistic vision of the future, one in which technology and nature exist in harmony rather than conflict. Consider Sim City 2000’s arcologies, futuristic mega-structures designed to support entire communities. In the real world, solarpunk can inform anything from architecture to game design. Consider the following works. How do they convey a feeling of optimism about technology and the future, and have any solarpunk dreams been realized? Discuss with your team: would you like to live in a solarpunk future?
- - Hayao Miyazaki | Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
  - Gojira | “Global Warming” (2005)
  - Blizzard Entertainment | Overwatch (2016)
  - N. K. Jemison | “The Ones Who Stay and Fight” (2020)
  - Common | “Imagine” (2021)
  - Christian Holland | Wind Farmer (2022)
  - Free Lives | Terra Nil (2023)
  - Utopian Art Machine | “SolarPunk Anthem” (2024)
  - Lynn D. Jung | “We Cast Our Eyes to the Unknowable Now” (2025)
The atompunk movement imagines what the world would have been like if the “Atomic Age” after World War II had continued to flourish on to the present day. Explore works in this style, including the Fallout video game and TV series along with those below, then discuss with your team: would you want to live in an atompunk vision of the present?
- - Sons of the Pioneers | “Old Man Atom” (1945)
  - The Golden Gate Quartet | “Atom and Evil” (1946)
  - Five Stars | “Atom Bomb Baby” (1957)
  - Tom Lehrer | “So Long, Mom (A Song For World War III)” (1965)

Concluding Questions

The future began in 1909—or, at least, futurism did. When Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti coined the word 'futurism', he imagined a world of speed, danger, and beauty. To him, this future could be found in the swift efficiency of the automobile. Today’s futurists look further ahead to artificial intelligence, space travel, and the blending of human and machine. Explore the origin and development of futurism, then discuss with your team: how is it different from science fiction—or is it? Should we value works that predicted futures that never came to be? Be sure to look into the two early futurist works listed below:
- - Giacomo Balla | Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash (1912)
  - Umberto Boccioni | Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (1913)
Later artists and writers adapted futurism’s interest in technology to imagine liberation and empowerment for different communities. Research the history of Afrofuturism, from its origins in the Space Age to Marvel’s Wakanda Forever, then discuss with your team: what makes something 'Afrofuturist'? Could an artist be 'Asiafuturist' or 'Amerifuturist' instead? Consider the following selections:
- - Sun Ra | “Space is the Place” (1973)
  - Marvel | Black Panther (book cover) (1977) vs Black Panther (movie poster) (2018)
  - Grace Jones | “Nightclubbing” (1981)
  - Flying Lotus | “Galaxy In Janaki” (2010)
  - Kendrick Lamar | “Black Panther” (2018)
  - Cyrus Kabiru | Miyale Ya Blue (2020)
Solarpunk offers a more optimistic vision of the future, one in which technology and nature exist in harmony rather than conflict. Consider Sim City 2000’s arcologies, futuristic mega-structures designed to support entire communities. In the real world, solarpunk can inform anything from architecture to game design. Consider the following works. How do they convey a feeling of optimism about technology and the future, and have any solarpunk dreams been realized? Discuss with your team: would you like to live in a solarpunk future?
- - Hayao Miyazaki | Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
  - Gojira | “Global Warming” (2005)
  - Blizzard Entertainment | Overwatch (2016)
  - N. K. Jemison | “The Ones Who Stay and Fight” (2020)
  - Common | “Imagine” (2021)
  - Christian Holland | Wind Farmer (2022)
  - Free Lives | Terra Nil (2023)
  - Utopian Art Machine | “SolarPunk Anthem” (2024)
  - Lynn D. Jung | “We Cast Our Eyes to the Unknowable Now” (2025)
The atompunk movement imagines what the world would have been like if the “Atomic Age” after World War II had continued to flourish on to the present day. Explore works in this style, including the Fallout video game and TV series along with those below, then discuss with your team: would you want to live in an atompunk vision of the present?
- - Sons of the Pioneers | “Old Man Atom” (1945)
  - The Golden Gate Quartet | “Atom and Evil” (1946)
  - Five Stars | “Atom Bomb Baby” (1957)
  - Tom Lehrer | “So Long, Mom (A Song For World War III)” (1965)