Sai's Blog Vol. 2

The main purpose of such greetings has far exceeded their original intent in meaning, becoming less of a kind way to refer to someone and more of a medium of familiarity, as such greetings  become uniform over cultures, it now stands as a signifier of familiarity.   Take the typical American greetings and polite expressions - actions such as the handshake or the wave, as well as phrases such as “how are you?” and “ What's up?”. It is now basically ingrained into our heads of the responses, that being  to  usually  reciprocate  the feelings  of the guest and to just reply benign phrases like “good.”  Such an interaction is typical in our environments, mainly to show that we come from similar environments or thought processes. An answer  that goes against the grain often results in a less comfortable air in the relationship, as it signifies a break in  cultures  or environment.   If  I  were transport...

In terms of how science can progress, Chet Raymo is quite  opportunistic  of  its  progress, but  he makes a statement in  that “The unexamined quest for knowledge is hemmed with peril.” I believe that, in this time of relative crisis, there may be some connections from this statement to today in terms of t he mass hysteria and  its  reactions that it has caused.   In terms of finding a vaccine and helping those afflicted with the coronavirus, there has been incidents whe re the seams of peril struck those who were trying to find a solution. One notable case is the death of  Dr. Li Wenliang, w ho dedicated his efforts in finding a cure and helping those who had the  virus but  had  succumbed  to the virus’ effects .  Another instance  is when a hotel that was designated as a quarantine had collapsed unto itself , killing 10 and leaving 23 missing.    Such events, however, are not exac...

In Marrying Absurd,  Didion describes Las Vegas as  “the most extreme and allegorical of American s ettlements.” This claim mostly relates to the sacrifice of morals in return of materialism and  convenience  as seen in  American society, as even the ritual of marriage has been  transformed  into a consumerist venture in the desert city. Personally,  I think the institution of marriage is a good medium that can also be used to reflect on the morals of other countries, some that can be considered much worse than the  commercialization  of  marriage in Las Vegas.   In many developing  countries , the institution of marriage is often much more  asymmetrical  than in developed countries, with the bride, for the most part, h aving less of a say in such circumstances. In South Africa and  other parts of Africa and Asia, the bride’s family usually must  pay a dowry to the groom,  whether  it ...