Food for Thought

So I post rather infrequently, and I suppose I justify my transiency with the well-accepted phrase that "those who often talk the most have the least to say". I have plenty to say, I assure you, but I want to make sure I reserve your precious reading time (or precious clicks to other pages like facebook or NYT) for the most important or interesting experiences I have had thus far and into the future.

Today, however, an extraordinary speaker graced the Lily Gallery with his presence.

This man, Raj Patel, has a very impressive resume, and has a lot to say about big issues.

First Day of Second Day of Class

Wow, my sleep schedule is going to be so messed up.

Today, I woke up at 10:30A to a phone call and my roommate coming back from class and breakfast. The day was already really bright, and everyone else in the world was awake.

I stumbled out of bed, showered, and found some people to go to lunch with.

Not much of note in the afternoon until my Applied Ethics class. I got in right before the class started (the class starts at 3:05, and I probably slid in at 3:04-ish), so, of course, I was seated in the back. The teacher, Professor Goldstein proceeded to tell about the requirements of the course, and what would happen in it, and all of that good stuff. I noticed all kinds of awesome philosophers--ones I had read, at that!--and started to get really excited.

Right after going through the syllabus, though, the class got interesting really fast. He turned to us and asked us to debate the ethics of abortion--whether or not an abortion was immoral or moral. Nobody spoke for half a minute, so I explained what I felt the debate truly was and how the argument should be approached. Unfortunately enough, I had to take a stance on the issue at that point in time. It would appear that I picked the unpopular stance, too, as four or five students instantly raised their hands when the professor asked for more people to speak. Almost everyone in the class contributed, and a few contributed more than once. I'm so glad that participation at Davidson is such a big deal, and something that comes so easily for so many people. It means that our discussions will actually get somewhere, instead of the discussions just being between three people who agree on the same side of the argument, but don't realize that they do.

After class, I talked to the professor, and told him about Wittgenstein and Sartre and Russell and Mill and all of the other philosophers I read, and he seemed to be really excited, too. It was great to see a teacher who truly loves his subject and loves it when students are interested, too.

I had dinner with Graham, who had a pet furry caterpillar perched on his shoulder for most of the dinner, and had a nice chat with him about his experiences at Davidson, my experiences at Davidson, and his upcoming documentary. He and a friend are borrowing my Flip to record their documentary, and it seems like it would definitely be something interesting to watch/film.

I made a quick run through the Organizations Fair, signed up for the mailing list of the Eco-Reps, Mock Trial, and the Young Dems. Unfortunately, I had to make it to the library for a Davidson101 class, so I didn't have any time to shop around. I'm really excited for the Eco-Reps, and I think I will probably spend time in the Young Dems as opposed to Mock Trial for this year. Again, none of these plans are set in stone, and when it comes to picking extra-curriculars, I'm usually pretty fickle until a week before the commitment comes.

Davidson 101 - Library was alright. I learned how to find books in the library and where to search for scholarly sources within the library database. Davidson's got a pretty good library, though I didn't take that away from my first visits to the campus. I'm glad that Dav101 is able to change my mind like that. My next Davidson101 class is "Realizing Your Risk", and is on Thursday night.





Afterwards, I was able to talk on the phone with Caroline, and enjoyed the conversation thoroughly. Here's a shout-out.

Early night tonight after reading some more Epic of Gilgamesh, Economics, and Metaphysics.

Have a phenomenal preevening.

First Day of Class

Whoops! Forgot to blog yesterday! Mostly, I didn't blog because I was so late getting back in.

Anyway, here's what I did yesterday:

I woke up at an unreasonably early hour (something like 7:30--shush, morning people!) and got out of bed and showered. My first class is at 8:30, and I thought that I would have time to get some breakfast before if I woke an hour early, but, somehow, I found myself without the necessary time. I walked over to the Chambers building, and sat on the steps to call my parents before class started.

I ate my chewy bar and found my class, Econ 101 - Introductory Economics, taught by Professor Hess. I was a little wary of taking an econ class at first, because I wasn't sure how well I would do or how much I would grasp the subject, but after a fantastic class of 50 minutes of pure ecstasy (sort of), I have decided that I definitely like economics. I understood most of what was being said, purely because of the econ class I took my sophomore year in high school, but also learned a little bit, even on the first day. The teacher seems really cool and definitely knows what he is talking about. Unfortunately enough, though, the alarm on my phone went off in the middle of the class, and I was thoroughly embarrassed. Man! The first day?! Already?! Jeez. Oh, well. The professor continued talking as I disabled my alarm.

My next class was directly after at 9:30, and was Humanities 150, in the Hance Auditorium. Hance is basically the big dome on the top of the building, and is pretty neat. The lecturer was Professor Berkey, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Michael Emerson, the actor who played Benjamin Linus in the show LOST. (Compare below.) The lecture was very interesting, and I didn't daze out once, or even feel bored at all, even though I remembered most of the information from a sixth grade social studies class. I'm going to love the Humanities Program, I just know it.






(Michael Emerson as Benjamin Linus first; Professor Berkey as himself second.)





























Then, I had a reeeeeeeeaaaaaally long break for lunch and studying some more of the Epic of Gilgamesh for Wednesday's discussion. Lunch was good--tostadas and stuff.

After the break, I had Metaphysics, which is going to be such a delicious class, I just know it. The teacher, Professor Griffith, is awesome. She seems like she really knows what she is talking about, and I am really excited for her class. Many of the kids in there seem to be pretty proficient with understanding philosophy, and that makes me even more excited. The reading assignments thus far are not that difficult, as most of the class will be discussion and short essay--the way classes SHOULD be.

Dinner was good, and then I hung out watching LOST in my room for a little (after learning "Home" on the mandolin).

Late last night, though, a bunch of people from 4th Cannon came down to my room said hello. I told them that we should all go into the lounge and talk with everyone, and we did. It was really cool. I love my dorm building, and think that Davidson was the right place for me to go, after all.

Have a great evening!