014 Would you like to be truly brilliant—more intelligent than 99.9 percent of the population? If so, would it matter if being that smart would virtually eliminate your sense of humor about the things that amuse most people?

Happy soon-to-be first day of August! And also JKR/HP's birthdays!!!

To answer this question, yes, I would like to be brilliant. I would like to be brilliant so I could achieve things for this world and make a difference. I think that for me, nothing is more important than being able to find the cure for cancer, or diabetes, or finding a way to manufacture alternative energy. If I could do that, no personal risk is too much.

And who says being brilliant and finding things amusing are mutually exclusive? Some of the smartest people in the world have the greatest senses of humour. For instance, Einstein went and insulted all of humanity by saying "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." I mean, I'm not a genius or anything, but I still find that pretty funny. I don't know what's going on with the 'virtually eliminate your sense of humour' business, because what else do you joke about when you're the most brilliant person on earth? Tesla coils?? The Stock Exchange?? Pseudocholinesterase?????

Of course, there is the matter of being manipulated or transferred to "the dark side". With great power comes great danger, and I'm not sure I'm smart enough to evade other people controlling me... oh wait. I would be smart enough, wouldn't I?

But anyways, what would this 'brilliant' encompass? Would this mean quickly being able to learn what other people teach me? Would this mean being impossibly charismatic and cunning? Or would this mean being able to calculate huge sums in my head within seconds?

I guess there are different types of smart, and no type of smart is smarter than the other. That's the power of human intelligence; it's such a vague idea that it's impossible to be the "smartest person in the world". We all have our weaknesses and our strengths, and there honestly is no example figure of a 'smart' person, not when Marilyn Monroe had a higher IQ than Albert Einstein.

- Quibbles 7/31/14

Harry Potter's Birthday and Being a Muggle

I think it's safe to say after discovering the Harry Potter series quite late in my childhood (fourth grade), I spend a significant amount of my time wishing, and hoping that on my 12th birthday a special letter would come, telling me that I was destined for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I can imagine every little boy and girl who has ever fallen in love with the series has gone through the same thing, and yet when the 12th birthday rolls around... nothing. Now, we can all shrug it off, play it like we weren't actually expecting an invitation to Hogwarts, but come on, we kind of were. For me, it was a quiet hope in the back of my mind, persistent. As my friend says, "My Hogwarts letter is coming, it's just got lost in the mail." I couldn't agree more.

I have a very strong respect for fandoms and what they are able to affect lives of so many people. I feel like people disregard them as childish or immature. Heck, even my computer is telling me fandom isn't a word. Wikipedia's (yes, very reliable :P) definition of fandom is such; "Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest." A word that especially jumps out at me is "camaraderie." This is what fandoms permit and what they're fundamentally based on. Friendship, and coming together to celebrate a common passion for... anything. When you're a part of a fandom you will always have someone to fangirl, fanboy, or fangender with whenever you want. I see people on Instagram that make lifelong friends from across the world through fandoms. You also don't have to own social media. All you have to be is a fan to be part of a fandom. Heck, you can just consider yourself in the fandom to be a part of it, because people want to share the joy of loving something so intensely with as many people as possible. Fandoms are also becoming worldwide. Comic Con, Vidcon, Leaky Con, so many Cons (conventions)!! In the most socially connected world in history, through fandoms and social media we can see that people all over the world are no different than us. They cried with us as Dumbledore died and also wept when they finished that last and final book. Harry Potter is global and transcends time, and a lot of that is because of us, the fans. We beg our siblings and friends to read the books, and talk about the series so frequently even people who haven't ever seen the books know what they are. We are what keeps HP alive (besides the phenomenal writing of JKR). I truly believe that even though my Hogwarts letter was misplaced and never came, and many of yours suffered the same fate (though I hope some of your letters did come), that we are a part of Harry Potter almost as much as JK Rowling or Harry Potter. I regard Harry as an old friend whose world I can always lose myself in. Happy birthday Harry and JK Rowling, and I hope we make you proud.

Always,
- Nargles 7/31/14

INTERMISSION

I JUST WANTED TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT IT'S HARRY'S AND JK ROWLINGS'S BIRTHDAYS!!!! YAY!!!! GO HAVE SOME CAKE BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT!!! or maybe you don't idk but CELEBRATE BECAUSE TODAY IS A VERY SPECIAL DAY INDEEED!!!

- QUIBBLES 7/31/14
- and from Nargles but she's not awake yet so...

013.75 Kill 1000 people or 1000 of your favourite animal? You must choose. (Note: If your favorite animal is endangered, you run the risk of driving them to extinction.)

Dearest Nargles,

This question is great, because my favourite animal is the fictional Crumple Horned Snorkack. And although Luna Lovegood may be a little disappointed in me, that's nothing compared to the price of 1000 lives.

DON'T DENY ME THE PLEASURE OF USING A LOOPHOLE!

With love,

- Quibbles 7/30/14

013.5 On a typical Sunday, 10,000 people visit the Louvre in Paris. If a wicked sorcerer threatened to vaporize all the museum’s visitors or all of its art, sparing one or the other based on your plea, which would you save? Assume the sorcerer will obliterate both the people and the art if you don’t choose.

Dear Quibbles,
I'm going to keep this one short and sweet because I 100% agree with what you have to say. There's no way the preservation of art is more important than human lives. There are definitely scores more people who would grieve for the lost human lives than the obliteration of the famous art. Personally I don't care too much about art, and like you said, there's always more artists that create more art.

A question for the future: Kill 1,000 people or 1,000 of your favorite animal? You must choose. (Note: If your favorite animal is endangered, you run the risk of driving them to extinction.)

Thanks for your consideration,

- Nargles 7/30/14

013 On a typical Sunday, 10,000 people visit the Louvre in Paris. If a wicked sorcerer threatened to vaporize all the museum’s visitors or all of its art, sparing one or the other based on your plea, which would you save? Assume the sorcerer will obliterate both the people and the art if you don’t choose.

I would definitely choose the people. No question about it.

Because who is art made by? People. And if I kill 10,000 people, think about all the art, writing, and music that might be lost? Even if old art is lost, there is always new art that follows. Our culture is made up of people who take the time enjoy their passions. If I kill 10,000 people, the effect is incredibly damaging.

Technicalities aside, I wouldn't feel too great if I let 10,000 people die. Not only are they all random civilians, they also have families, friends, and jobs. I don't think I have it in me to end 10,000 lives, all the while spreading a whole web of grief and suffering.

I mean, who am I kidding? I can't even bear to step on a spider, let alone KILL 10,000 PEOPLE.

Lives are worth more than anything. And if that means millions of pieces of cherished artwork are going to be "obliterated", then so be it. What do you think, Nargles?

- Quibbles 7/30/14

012.5 Do you ever celebrate the green lights?

Dear Quibbles,

When you say that you often complain and rant with your mom about the red lights, do you not do a little victory dance when the redness of the light comes to an end? Isn't that a celebration in itself?

"Is that wrong? Is it wrong to complain about the bad parts and take the good parts for granted?"

I agree with every word you said regarding this question, but I also believe in the necessity to complain sometimes. As Hank Green once said in his video 17 Rants in 4 Minutes, we are wealthy people living in the wealthiest country at the wealthiest time in human history. Yet it still hurts when we stub our toes... etc. I think we are all human and sometimes we forget how good we’ve got it. I do believe that everyone takes things for granted, even people who have far less than we do. Maybe a girl who lives in Africa takes for granted the way her family is able to make money raising goats when another little girl just like her lives in the slums of India picking through garbage to survive. There will always be people who have less than us, and people who have less than the people who have less than us. I think it’s good to forget sometimes because it makes us all the more grateful when we pause our busy lives and realize how fortunate we really are.

Thanks for your consideration,

- Nargles 7/29/14

012 Do you ever celebrate the green lights?

I think the general rule is that once you get a green light, you get mostly green lights after that. If you get a red light, you will probably get only red lights after that. I never celebrate the green lights. My mom and I rant all about the red lights, but we never pay attention to the green lights. Sometimes I get to math class really quickly, and we'll smile and be surprised. But we never credit the green lights for that.

Is that wrong? Is it wrong to complain about the bad parts and take the good parts for granted?

There are plenty of things in my life I don't like. There are plenty of things I complain about, rant about, scream about. I didn't get into the schools I wanted to. I didn't want mushrooms on my pizza. I didn't want my bed to be in the middle of my bedrooms.

I guess what I don't notice is that for every school I didn't get into, I got put on the waiting list. For every mushroom on my pizza, I got cheese and pepperoni as well. And at least I have a bed, right?

There's so much I take for granted. My health, my education, my home, and my family are only a few examples.

I was reading The Fault In Our Stars (which I would recommend, but you've probably already read it), and something caught my eye (sorry Isaac). Hazel discusses "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs".

Basically, it goes like this. Once you have the bottom layer (bare essentials: breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep), you move onto the one on top and take the bottom one for granted. You look for health, employment, property, family, and social stability. Then, once you've achieved that, you take both bottom layers for granted and move onto the third layer. You seek friendship, family, intimacy, and sense of connection. After that, you build confidence, achievement, respect for others, and the need to be a unique individual in a society as large as ours. Finally, you seek your Nirvana, your sense of balance and peace; you find your morality, creativity, spontaneity, acceptance, and you experience purpose, meaning, and inner potential.

Most people I know are born with the first two layers already. Quickly, the third layer is established at a young age. I think I'm mostly at the fourth level, as are most of my classmates in high school.

Many people are still struggling to find the first two base levels. And this bothers me, because as people look for their personal tranquility, happiness, et.c, there are people who do not have anything to take for granted. And I think that from now on, I'll try to be happier, because I have my health, anything I need to survive, friends and family who are alive, an excellent education, and that's much more than what other people have. I don't have anything to complain about.

- Quibbles 7/29/14

We are not animals

"I am getting increasingly annoyed by articles about teenagers, and the adults who keep trying to explain our behavior."

Sir, I am getting increasingly annoyed at the barrage of articles about teenagers, and the adults who keep trying to explain our behaviour (“Moods and meltdowns: what’s inside the teenage brain?”, Mar 1).

I am 16 and a straight-A student, like most of my friends. We are not as irrational and immature as adults seem to think. We’ve grown up with financial crises and accept that most of us will be unemployed. We no longer flinch at bloody images of war because we’ve grown up seeing the chaos in the Middle East and elsewhere. Most of us are cynical and pessimistic because of the environment we've grown up in -- which should be explanation enough for our apparent insolence and disrespect, without "experts" having to write articles about it.

Has no one ever seen that we are angry at the world we live in? Angry that we will have to clean up your mess, while you hold us in contempt, analyzing our responses as though we were another species?

I would like adults to treat us not as strange creatures from another world but as human beings with intelligent thought -- a little different from yours, perhaps, but intelligent thought nonetheless.

Stop teaching adults how to behave around us, and instead teach them to respect us.

- Jenni Herd

011 Stealing is immoral, right? But what if stealing was the only way to feed a starving child?

Oh. Well this is kind of like the Aladdin situation, isn't it? Aladdin's our fantastic hero saving emotionally trapped and oppressed Jasmine from her fate as a princess. Yet even he stoops so low as to steal food... although he makes it a little better by giving half to starving children. Disney, of course, makes the stealing scene very humorous, so until I read this question, even I gave it very little thought. Does that mean Aladdin is a bad person? Obviously not, he's against the villain, Jafar, and he gives food to starving children even though he needs it just as badly. But does that mean stealing is good?

I guess it's still not. If you look from the stealer's perspective, sure, if you have a reason for stealing, it's perfectly fine. Robin Hood stole from the rich and he's a hero. But if you look from the stealee's perspective, it's not as justifiable.

Even though Aladdin needed the food, the merchants needed it just as badly. Every apple or watermelon Aladdin stole, the merchant lost money he or she needed to keep his or her family alive. It's selfish to steal, and I guess that makes it immoral, no matter the circumstances.

Stealing is lowering. It dishonors one to be so desperate as to take from others. We are taught that we should deserve what we have, and we should work hard for it. Stealing destroys all that, and unfairly takes possessions from a rightful owner.

My final opinion is that no matter what reasons Aladdin, or Robin Hood, might have had to steal, stealing is unjustifiable and immoral.

- Quibbles 7/13/14

010 What’s the most expensive gift you have ever received? Is it the best gift you have ever received?

I've received a great variety of gifts for every occasion. Most expensive are the jewelry pieces and the electronics. The electronics are pretty great, and I use my kindle, my iPad, and my phone pretty often. They aren't exactly my best gifts, but they're pretty high up on my list of favorites. My jewelry isn't as high; I don't wear jewelry that often, so it's mainly used as decoration and pieces to put on display. My favorite gifts include photo albums, handmade crafts, and craft sets, because they show a lot more thought and effort. I guess that just shows that money doesn't mean happiness, and it's the thought that counts when you give presents.

- Quibbles 7/12/14

009 Would you rather be rich and paralyzed from the waist down or poor and able bodied?

Poor and able bodied. Health is Wealth.

- Quibbles 7/12/14

008 If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend?

I don't really talk to myself very much except when I'm acting stupid or when I'm nervous or when I'm driving a golf cart badly. I don't think I would take well to someone calling me stupid when I am acting stupid, mainly because my pride wouldn't allow that. But when I'm nervous, I mainly say things like "You can do it", or "Make them proud", which I honestly wouldn't oppose in a friend. As for when I'm driving a golf cart badly, well, my mother usually says the same things to me anyways.

Quibbles 7/12/14

007 Do you believe in the death penalty? What if someone murdered your mother in cold blood? What if someone murdered a stranger’s mother, but saved your life the month before?

We actually debated this in class a couple months ago. Personally, I don't believe in the death penalty. Shouldn't we believe the best of humanity, and that people can change? I think the government should set an example to its people by showing that second chances should be given. Most crimes happen in a moment of passion, or with a specific target anyways. And isn't it hypocritical of us to kill people who kill people because killing people is wrong?

And what about if the convicted criminal was innocent? There's no undo button for death. You can't bring someone back from the dead, but you can bring them back from a jail cell.

If someone murdered my mother in cold blood, I would probably be inclined to give them the worst punishment possible. I don't think that exactly means death though, after all, as Dumbledore once said, "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love." I don't mean that we should deprive criminals of love, but if we take away their connection to the world, or, in other words, keep them in a dark cell for the rest of their lives, that might be an even greater punishment. I believe that if we spend much less than two million dollars per head on safety measures, instead of spending more than two million dollars per execution, we could create a better deterrent than easy and expensive death.

A whole separate question we could talk about is: What does it show about humanity when we only begin to question the death penalty because of the cost of death? An article that I found very interesting on this topic is The Cost of the Death Penalty.

As Pauline Rogan puts it, "It seems that everyone is trying to find new ways to save money, yet the majority seem blind to the one way we could save millions, and instead are sacrificing programs that that are far more beneficial to society. Why is killing higher on our list of priority's than education, crime prevention, or health care? I believe that many state and local governments have our priorities all muddled up."

I agree 100% with her. Why hasn't the government realized that instead of painfully raising taxes percent by percent, it can get rid of the death penalty and save billions? Billions of dollars that can be used to enhance our education systems, our health care, and our safety in general?

 

If someone murdered a stranger’s mother, but saved my life the month before, he/she is still a murderer. My opinion of him/her wouldn't change because he/she saved my life the month before. It's not "a life for a life", like in Mulan. It's the fact that he/she still murdered a stranger's mother. These kind of things don't happen "by accident", and he/she should still experience the consequences and live through the punishment he/she deserves.

These are my opinions on death penalty. It doesn't work as a deterrent, makes the government extremely hypocritical, creates the possibility of the government killing civilians, and costs a hell lot more than punishment should. And most of all, it might not even work as the best punishment for the worst criminals.

- Quibbles 7/12/14

006.5 How would you feel if you knew that within a century, intelligent machines would be self-aware and much smarter and more creative than humans? Why?

This is a tag-on to my last post. It sort of ties in with my penultimate (I love that word) paragraph:

"What if in three generations, the world is populated by cyborgs? They would be the 'super race', perfect "humans" with no diseases, no angry feelings, and no mistakes."

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Something about it seems inevitable, that computers will be made to resemble and act like humans. I don't think I would like that very much, and I don't think anyone would. It would make things so much more convenient, but would it make things better? Instead of men working out in the fields to harvest crops, we can have computers. We can create brainless slaves like the eejits in The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer (which I also recommend). That would save a lot of people pain and poverty. It would be a great solution, wouldn't it?

But think about it. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it must be a duck. The line between robots and humans is blurred as it is. Should we treat these brainless slaves like we would any normal human? Do they have souls? Minds? Lives? Do we treat them like farmers or computers? In The House of the Scorpion, the humans treated the eejits like computers. And the eejits were actual living people, only computerized to obey orders. Would these computer-people be like tools, like calculators or refrigerators, or would they be more?

I'm so scared for the future. Something tells me it's wrong to interfere with nature like that. But something also tells me that, with people finding ways to get rid of tough jobs, it's bound to happen. I'm so curious and extremely frightened to see it all unfold.

- Quibbles 7/11/14

006 How would you react if you learned that a sad and beautiful poem that touched you deeply had been written by a computer?

Wow. I don't know, I would be really fascinated to see a computer able to have feelings (sort of). I guess there isn't much of a difference really, I don't think I would react other than being a little shocked. Computers are able to do so much now anyways, I wouldn't be surprised if they were able to create Picasso inspired art or Robert Frost inspired poems. Then again, it's a little alarming to see that robots are becoming enveloped in the definition of "human", and I would be a little disconcerted that a robot, with no "soul" or "mind" or "spirit", was able to bring emotion to me.

Personally, I'm not that interested in poetry, so this question is probably not as applicable to me as it might be to others. But if a well written book with an astoundingly clever plot was written by a robot, per say, I would probably a little more than just alarmed. If I found out today that Jane Austen or Meg Cabot or Agatha Christie were actually robots... I'd be a little scared. Then the only difference between robots and humans would be biological.

It sort of reminds me of an article I read about robots dreaming. It can't be possible, or at least it doesn't seem theoretically possible, but why not? What makes robots so different than humans?

What if in three generations, the world is populated by cyborgs? They would be the 'super race', perfect "humans" with no diseases, no angry feelings, and no mistakes.

 It honestly wouldn't surprise me in the least.

- Quibbles 7/11/14

005 Would you rather watch an Olympics that outlawed performance-enhancing drugs or one that embraced them and let athletes use medical pit crews to jack up their performances?

Is this one even a question? Of course I'd watch an Olympics that outlawed performance enhancing drugs. I'm not saying this because society frowns upon drugs, I'm saying this because the Olympics should be a gathering of athletes coming together to celebrate sportsmanship and hard work, not a contest to see whose body can tolerate drugs the most. It's shaming to even have to answer this question at all.

- Quibbles 7/11/14

004 Ignoring all financial considerations, would you rather spend the next 5 years confined to an urban mecca like New York City, or a beautiful, isolated town on the California coast?

This question is tough, because I can't really use process of elimination like for the other ones.

New York City would be great. It's got great food, great shopping, great education, and great cultural diversity. It would mean a new thing every day, and five years of exciting drama. I would have all sorts of friends and do all sorts of fun things with them. I don't think I would be relaxed and idle for very much of my five years.
But New York City would also mean smelly sewers and an abundance of rats. It would mean subways with robbers and alleys with muggers. It would be uptight and restrictive, and people would judge you from every angle. I don't think it would be taken too kindly if you made even just one mistake. Maybe I'm thinking of Gossip Girl too much, bu New York City seems really dangerous, not just physically.

Halfway between writing my description of New York, I think I already made up my mind. Even though it would be boring, small-town life, I would be happiest in a small, isolated town with down-to-earth friends and one grocery store and one coffee shop. I'd be very happy to live in a town like the one in Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances, by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson (which I recommend). Not considering the fact that I would be graduating in those five years, and really great teachers don't really work in small towns, I think that I would have a lot less stress and a good chance to start over and really be immersed in a community. That's why I would choose a wallflower town over a flashy, glamorous town like NYC.

- Quibbles 7/10/14

003 If you had to be obsessed with money, sex, sports, religion, or food, which one would you choose?

I don't think any of these choices are great. I wouldn't want to be a greedy workaholic, but I don't want to be an intense preacher or something like that. I would definitely not want to be obsessed with sex, and I honestly hate most sports, so no to those. I guess being obsessed with food is the least extreme? I think being a health freak is considered rather normal in this century, and being obsessed with food could mean anything, not just being Jughead from the Archie comics.

Something that plays a pretty big part in my choice is how much people would judge me for my answer. I would probably be considered disgusting if I chose money or sex, and I would probably be considered a little weird if I were obsessed with religion, since teen spirituality isn't a really big thing in this age. There are plenty of people who are obsessed with sports, but that's the only one I would rule out because of personal opinion.

That's kind of sad, how I rule out three out of five answers because of what other people think. Even though I'm on an anonymous blog with no readers and no immediate audience.

- Quibbles 7/10/14

002 What would you do if your 6-year-old daughter’s favorite toy, a talking doll, started trying to convince her that she needed a new friend—the next doll in the company’s line?

I'll keep this one short because I don't really understand the purpose of the question. I guess I would buy the next toy? I mean, it can't hurt to buy another toy, even though a talking doll would kind of freak me out. Then again, it could be just an advertisement in the form of a purchase. I don't know, is it silly to try to make a doll feel better? I sort of wonder if my six year old would be angry that she was to be replaced by a doll as her doll's friend.

- Quibbles 7/10/14

001 Technology has become a part of us. Would you rather lose the use of all motorized vehicles, all telecommunication devices and computers, or one of your hands?

I think this one's easy for me. I would rather lose the use of all motorized vehicles.

That doesn't mean I'd relinquish my cars, planes, trains without a thought. My dad lives in China, and I have math classes that take place about twenty miles away from my town. It would be a pain just to go to the grocery store. But it would probably be just that: just a pain, an annoyance to someone as lazy as I am.

I would definitely not want to lose all telecommunication devices and computers. This wouldn't be just a pain; it would be murder, censorship, and danger. Without the hospital, without communication in the hospital, I can guarantee that nearly every patient would die. Looking at the situation in North Korea, it's easy to see how the loss of telecommunication devices and computers makes it easy to control a group of people. And what would I do if I got lost in a city, or stuck in a party gone wild? Without an easy connection to safety, I would be lost and so scared.

As for the hand, I am vain enough to say that I'm scared to be judged for the loss of a hand. I also couldn't imagine accomplishing anything without a hand, and if I had to lose two things on the list above, I would save my hand. If I lost my hand, I would lose a great deal of my identity, including my hobbies and my self-confidence. It's common to take health for granted, but it's the assumption behind every wish and goal.

It's difficult to choose among the three, because each one is such a big part of my life.

- Quibbles 7/10/14

This is my first blog entry.

Right off the bat, I want to let you know that this is not my first blog.

Definitely not my first blog.

I have tried to start at least 17 others. Let me tell you now that I'm not one for continuing things long after a week.

None of my blogs have ever had a one month anniversary.

I'll get super excited about it, customize it with all my favorite colors, set up the webpage, make up witty/punny URLs, and abandon it.

I'm sorry to say that I don't have much hope for this one, either. But I've made a resolution, and stubborn as I am, I expect to go through with it.

This year will be different. This is the year I'm going to pull my life together, set goals, and accomplish them.

So here I go. Here's my blog, my self therapy, my Tom Riddle diary, my proof that I can actually keep with a project for more than a week.

I hope this will work.

- Quibbles 7/10/14