Ink Summer 2019

Editorial The Editorial of the October 1937 Churcherian asks for ‘more literary articles to be considered for publication’. How happy that anonymous editor would have felt to be me, as I sit down to write my editorial with such a wonderful array of articles to enthuse about; indeed, we have not had an edition of INK with so many contributions.

The Editorial in the Churcherian the following spring in March 1938, for in those days there were more than one edition a year, sums up exactly how I feel, so I hope you will not mind me reproducing the first paragraph in full: “An Editor’s lot, dear readers, is not a happy one. At times like this (could you but see it), the Editorial Countenance is green with jealousy of those happier geniuses whose effusions fill these glowing but discreet pages. For they are free to woo their Muse in idle hours, when the spirit moves them, whilst we, the slave of Necessity, must lay terminal siege to her and compel her unwilling favours in the composition of an Editorial which will be worthy of what follows.”

Before I leave you to get on with reading the effusions that follow in these glowing pages, I must acknowledge how delighted I am that a previous contributor to these pages is having her debut novel published in July this year by Faber, so look out for ‘little scratch’ by Rebecca Watson.

William Baker

What do you thINK? Submissions to Ink are welcomed throughout the year.

Email wbaker@ churcherscollege.com if you have an article you would like to publish.

Cover by: Photograph by

Pippa Madden (L6)

Contents Dehumanisation in modern culture...............................................................3-7 Huw Dunster

Teaching ‘Herstory’.........................................................................................8-9 Lisa Buttar

Analysez dans quelle mesure un personnage change au cours de Kiffe Kiffe Demain............................................................................................................12 Jessica Wilson

Strive to Remember.........................................................................................13 Matthew Russell

Working as a team......................................................................................14-15 Lily Bastable

Is life better for me than my parents..........................................................16-17 Megan Hassanali

Newton’s Gravitational Constant in Our Everyday Lives............................18-22 Oliver King

Genetic Editing...........................................................................................23-25 Alex Dannatt

What is the most significant threat to mankind.........................................28-29 Max Rosenblatt

The Intrigue of Criminal Mothers...............................................................30-31 Annabelle Smith

What is Utilitarianism? Can it be defended?..............................................32-33 Harry Goldmann

What is even worth smiling about right now?...........................................34-35 Tom Wild

Malaria & the Uk........................................................................................36-37 Grace McCulloch

Business size: is it time for a new classification?........................................38-39 Mr Rick West

A discussion on Equine Influenza...............................................................40-41 Hannah Snelling

Conceptualising Neoliberalism..................................................................42-44 Felix Williams

Alzheimer’s Disease & Early Society...............................................................45 Ms S Brunner

How caffeine affects sleep and our health................................................46-47 Bob Craig-Wood

Modafinil and Motivation.........................................................................48-50 Matt Matson

The Iceberg’s Curse........................................................................................51 Rufus Knight

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Dehumanisation in modern culture Huw Dunster Lower Sixth

One of Charles Darwin’s lesser known assertions, yet one of his most important, was the idea of humanity as one species. Around the world many, many societies believed that ‘races’ were different species altogether. For huge numbers of people those who were of different ethnicity and culture were alien, inhuman, even animals.

In the age of imperialism this had been used to excuse exploitation and colonialism. To the people of the British Empire, or those who ran the Belgian Congo, or any other imperial apparatus, the people they enslaved and whose civilisations they plundered were ‘Savages’, ‘Barbarians’, called ‘Dogs’ and ‘animals’ and ‘creatures’. Much of the suffering of the world has been caused by such misunderstanding, for example in the crusades both sides often described their enemies as animals. The term “Butchery” is a prime example of how enemies were described as less than humans: you kill people, but you slaughter or butcher cattle. Pro slavery campaigners both during the American civil war and the campaign to abolish slavery in Britain referred to Africans as ‘apes’. This has happened from the dawn of civilisation: ancient Chinese, Egyptian and Mesopotamian literature all contain repeated references to enemies as subhuman creatures. Some argue that this has been endemic to the way society has seen the universe for so long, a top-down hierarchy from god or gods or rulers down to inert matter at the bottom.

In fact during the colonization of the Americas the concept of a “Manifest Destiny” formed – the twisted idea that the continent belonged to Europeans as some god given right, and that the Native Americans had no souls. Manifest Destiny led to the near destruction of an entire culture and

the displacement of an entire complex civilisation. The treatment of the natives as ‘savages’, ‘barely even human’ and ‘animals’ began this genocide. The rape of Nanjing was carried out by Japanese soldiers who truly believed that what they were doing wasn’t wrong because they had been indoctrinated into thinking that Chinese civilians were “pigs”.

The concept of Eugenics was built on a (twisted) version of Darwin’s ideas, yet conspicuously misses out the idea of Humanity as one species. The ideology was incredibly popular from the beginning of the 20th century to the end of ww2, with key speakers advocating for mandatory sterilisation of the poor – including a young Winston Churchill. Eugenics built on the idea that the poor were poor because they were lazy and morally lax and turned it into a ‘science’ where people talked about the lower classes being “genetically inferior”. In 1920s America the idea of eugenics was so

those who were “defective” or “feeble minded” (many of whom had perfectly treatable mental health conditions) with the catchphrase “Some people are born to be a burden to the rest”. Eugenics and this horrific maiming of innocents was born in the idea that some people are less human and less worthful than others.

Manifest Destiny led to the near destruction of an entire culture and the displacement of an entire complex civilisation.

popular that there actually began a campaign of systematic compulsory sterilisation on the criminal population.

Between 1907 and 1963 over 64,000 individuals were forcibly sterilised legally by the US government. This was marketed to the public as the removal of

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Nazi propaganda depicts Jews as rats, and upon such images was the Holocaust built – the German people did little to stop what was going on in Germany (although they did not know the full extent of the horror some of the crimes committed were known of by the public – such as the existence of concentration camps and the violence that occurred on Kristallnacht) and even condoned them because they had been indoctrinated to believe that some ‘races’ were subhuman. During the Rwandan Genocide Hutu ethnic officials referred to the ethnic minority Tutsis as ‘Cockroaches’ in speeches calling for their ‘eradication’. As a result an estimated 500,900 Tutsis were killed in the resulting ethnic cleansing – 77.0% of the Tutsi population of Rwanda.

As Darwin’s ideas have become more and more fully accepted people began to realise that we were, as he had said, one species – Homo Sapiens. And yet, despite clear, monumental evidence to suggest that we are indeed one species, the language of dehumanisation has never left us.

To this day there are far too many people who still describe those of different cultures, religions, languages and ethnicities as less than human.

The world has got better and more

Albert Bandura

tolerant since the age of empires and colonialism, but time and time again it has been shown to us that we have not moved as far as we often believe we have.

So why is this? Why do humans insist on seeing those who are different as beneath them? The answer lies in our past. As tribes in our early history, we learned to fear those who belonged to other tribes. We came into conflict with each other over food, over territory, and later over resources. Human tribalism is the instinct to identify with a tribal group and culture, to bond with those who are similar and to fear those who are different. In a world where every outsider is a potential threat, where life was “Nasty, Brutish and Short” humans learned to distrust those who were in any way different, consequently even when those differences were arbitrary.

We never lost this trait. To this day we identify ourselves with the groups we are in: groups of friends, of political ideology, of religion. And within these groups is the worrying trend to fear and even hate those of other groups. Look at politics in the US, look at Brexit, look at everything that divides us and you will see the signs of our ancestors – the bands of primeval warriors hurling spears at each other. A consequence of this tribalism is the tendency in extreme groups to see the ‘enemy’ as not only a threat but a wild animal. We feel a sense of superiority over those who are different, we feel that they are worthy of fear and hate. A more subtle form of this is Infrahumanisation, where groups are assumed by those of other groups to be less prone to human emotions, making people see them as worth more. And dehumanisation has been

shown to not be limited to animal labels. Words like “Illegal” (to describe immigrants as though their very existence is against the law), or reduction of humans to a single characteristic like “Alcoholic”, “Addict”, “Schizophrenic” and even “Diabetic” has been proven to act on the brain in exactly the same way as more blatant dehumanisation.

The dehumanisation goes beyond nasty words being hurled. As it has done in our history, this problem has caused much of the violence and pain that exists within our society.

An experiment conducted by Albert Bandura discovered that participants were more likely to give electric shocks to subjects if they overheard them being described as an animal (or use of similar dehumanising language).

When we hear that someone is less than human we unconsciously partially excuse their maltreatment, violence against them and in the most extreme of cases their death. This has had real world consequences. Think of the Trump Government in America.

Donald Trump frequently refers to his opponents as “Dogs” or in the case of women as “Pigs” and “Disgusting Animals”.

His rhetoric towards Mexicans and Muslims, while subtler, has also dehumanised them in the eyes of his supporters. It is no coincidence that hate crimes against Muslims in America are at their highest levels since 2001. There has been shown a large correlation between dehumanisation and support for controversial policies such as Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’. Trump’s language goes further than this. He called immigrant gang members “animals” and constantly refers to immigrants as criminals, despite native born citizens

being more likely to commit crimes. He said that immigrants “infest” America.

All this amounts to an almost total dehumanisation attempt on a scale that we haven’t seen in the west this century.

It goes beyond race. All our divisions, on the most extreme ends, treat humans like things. The MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) movement, a group that is full of men who complain that women have too much control over society, and that urges members to avoid contact with women at all costs (because according to them all women discriminate against them for being men, and they live in a society where women oppress them) mostly refers to women as ‘females’ or ‘femoids’ – the latter word being an amalgamation of the word Humanoid (meaning humanlike) and female. The language they use dehumanises women treating them as less than human and less than men.

Linked to this group is the often talked about incel group, who also resent women as their ‘oppressors’ but where MGTOW actively avoid women the Incels say that women have shunned them in favour of more attractive and intelligent men. The sense of entitlement and their twisted idea of sex as a ‘need’ that women have “cruelly withheld from them” has driven them to dehumanise women for what they wear, for alleged promiscuity and for supposedly mistreating them. Members of this community frequently either describe women as “children who cannot understand the difference between right and wrong” or “degenerates” who “torture men” and of women who have found partners as “thots”. Again the use of the tags “ape” and “primitive” are used against anyone who disagrees with them. Rachel Oates, a female YouTuber who made two videos pointing out the terrible dehumanisation within both the incel and the MGTOW movements has since received death and rape threats, with people warning her that if she

Donald Trump frequently refers to his opponents as “Dogs” or in the case of women as “Pigs” and “Disgusting Animals”.

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continues there may be acid attacks against her. MGTOW community members have made videos where they make fun of her openness about mental health and suggest that the only reason she believes men and women are equal is that she has had mental health issues in the past.

The Incel way of thinking by its very nature not only leads to the dehumanisation of women but the dehumanisation of everyone. This is how the incel philosophy works and progresses from insecurity to hate: 1.) Experiences of rejection and isolation 2.) Person begins to believe that they are unattractive to women 3.) Person believes that they will never be attractive to women 4.) Person believes that because of this they will be forever alone 5.) Person believes that because they will never have a relationship they will never be happy 6.) Person believes that women did this to them 7.) Person believes that feminism and women’s equality has empowered women to do this to them 8.) Person believes that women are evil and are ‘doing this to them’ because they want them to suffer so they dehumanise women and hate them 9.) Person believes that because they are ‘doomed’ to a lonely life of being hated by women they will live a pointless life devoid of meaning or happiness and that their only option is to “lie down and rot” Through this process we can see how an insecure but well-meaning person who has had a few bad experiences can change into a raging misogynist.

As the person descends down this process they not only hate and blame women more and more, they hate themselves more and more. This produces individuals who don’t just dehumanise women, they dehumanise men who they see as more successful and they also dehumanise themselves, seeing themselves as a failure that can never be happy – something that causes serious mental health problems.

Unsurprisingly this community has produced a significant number of mass murderers and this thought process has had major consequences for all of us.

As a real world consequence of their dehumanisation of women the incel group has been linked to a number of violent attacks on women including those of Elliot Rodger of Toronto who targeted girls who had ‘rejected him’ and any bystanders in an attack where he shot and killed two women (one 22 and one just 19) then stabbed three young men to death. Then he drove his car down a road, firing randomly – fatally shooting another young man and injuring 14 other people. In a ‘manifesto’ he had written shortly beforehand he declared “I am the true victim in all of this. I am the good guy”. Incels frequently talk about “wanting to do an ER” (ER standing for Elliot Rodgers). This is what dehumanisation has done in our society.

that lead to the gulags in Siberia that killed so many. This was all done under systems that treated some people “less than animals” because it denied a basic fact of our biology – that we are all part of the same species. This revelation of Darwin’s has gone on to be cited in the UN charter as a proof that all humans are fundamentally equal. Despite this, the ideas of dehumanisation continue seemingly unabated.

This is what dehumanisation has done in our society.

Mentally and physically handicapped people suffer the same dehumanisation.

The Nazis’ program of involuntary euthanasia killed 200,000 people deemed by society as unfit to live.

They were used by Nazi scientists as human guinea pigs in experiments where they were exposed to mustard gas, deliberately given malaria or burned with phosphorus. Nazi attitudes towards Poles and Russians were similar, and after the Germans had killed 23 million Soviet citizens, the Russian forces adopted the same ideas as the people who had inflicted such barbarism upon them. Red army propaganda called German soldiers “two legged animals” and stated that “The Germans are not Human Beings”.

The Russian counter-offensive was just as brutal as the original German attack – huge numbers of east German women were raped, and reports of the retributive violence committed at the end of the war by Russian soldiers are Shocking. The dehumanisation of people was embraced by the revolution in Russia long before ww2; communist propaganda depicts bankers as pigs and the middle classes as animals: an attitude

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Anti-Semitism is still as present as it has ever been.

According to a study by the ADL (antidefamation league) only 54% of the world’s population has heard of the holocaust, and only a 1/3 of the world’s population believe that it has been accurately documented (i.e. that it happened as historians describe it). 30% of respondents said that “the Jews talk too much about what happened to them in the holocaust”.

According to the study there is also an alarming number of people who believe that the death statistics of the holocaust are greatly inflated or even mythical altogether. This has led to people, especially in the MENA region (Middle East North Africa), spreading conspiracy theories about the Jewish people and as a result of the shockingly low levels of awareness people have forgotten the mistakes of the past. It’s no surprise that dehumanisation of Jewish people is returning in full force around the world.

Not only is dehumanisation a symptom of hatred, it is a cause. In one study if test subjects were given subtle metaphors about women being animals they would show a spike in hostile sexism shortly afterwards. In another study it was then shown that those with stronger mental links between women and animals were more likely to sexually harass and assault women. In a study conducted in America participants were asked to talk about a day in the life of a homeless person, a college student and a firefighter. Respondents were much less likely to mention the emotional state of the homeless person. Images of homeless people have been found to consistently trigger disgust centres in the brain.

‘Ascent of man’ scale

Dehumanising language also inhibits social activity with those dehumanised – there is less activity in the social processing areas of the brain when looking at a dehumanised person.

Lack of empathy does not cause dehumanisation, dehumanisation causes lack of empathy; so no matter how tolerant and kind you are exposure to dehumanising language damages your ability to empathise and so you care less about those you have seen dehumanised. Once people care less and less about the dehumanised they will trust them less and less to the point that they are willing to blame people of this group for all their problems. With the resurgence of the far right around the world we must all be wary of these creeping feelings. This is how fascism works – radical mostly right wing politics associated with fiery rhetoric, authoritarianism and emphasis on tradition where leaders gain power by scapegoating minorities based on preexisting prejudices.

Dehumanisation is one of psychologist Albert Bandura’s eight forms of “moral disengagement” along with Victim Blaming, Euphemistic Labelling (like the phrase collateral damage when applied by the American military to civilians they have killed), Advantageous Comparison (where the perpetrators of an immoral act point to a group who has done worse things and says “what they do is much worse”), Distortion of Consequences (playing down the casualties, pretending the damage is smaller than it is), and

others. These are techniques used by people who have committed an immoral act and their supporters – first to excuse committing the crime as a way of convincing themselves that what they are about to do is right, then afterwards to excuse their actions to others. Dehumanisation here plays a pivotal role in the excusing of a wide range of violent acts. These moral disengagements are the root cause of all the genocides and atrocities we have seen in our history. Evil is when you treat people as things and what these moral disengagement tactics do is they turn living breathing humans into statistics, into a list of names, into “collateral damage” and into animals.

Dehumanisation is endemic to many in society. A study conducted in America had an ‘ascent of man’ scale, where test subjects were given a (false) depiction of how humans evolved from apes (with this one being vey simplified and ignoring key parts of the evolutionary process) and were then asked to place where they believed people of different ethnicities were on that scale.

The correct answer was that all of these ethnicities were at 100% evolved because every ‘race’ is a fully-fledged member of the Human race with only a few minor, mainly cosmetic, differences (but a lot of variation and genetic diversity between individuals).

The results given were shocking and indicative of a society that is not as tolerant as most believe it to be (the percentage shown is the average percentage given of how ‘human’ different ethnic or religious groups are).

This study also noted that ‘alt righters’ labelled not only ethnic groups and religions as sub-human (with Muslims at 55.4, Mexicans at 67.7, Jews at 73 and black people at 64.7) but also political opponents – Democrats at 60.4, journalists at 58.6 and feminists at 57.

All this points to the alarming fact that not only are far right figures persuading people that foreigners are ‘the enemy’ they are also slowly convincing many people that certain ethnic groups are not human. You might argue that these are the fringes of society, in no way part of true modern culture – surely these are just people who hang out on the edge of the internet and scream abuse. You might be right, but the problem isn’t just them, it is part of our everyday world. Have you ever seen a news channel or politician talk about a swarm of migrants like they’re insects?

Have you ever heard someone describe immigrants pouring or flooding into a country as if they’re water? The sad truth is that this dehumanisation is everywhere in our culture – seeping into our unconscious minds and making us shut out the suffering in Yemen or the plight of refugees. In China there is currently an attempt by the regime to erase an entire culture in brutal re-education camps –all built on the same lie that some people are less than human and deserve treatment that is less than humane. In America right now there are concentration camps on the border where children are separated from their families and foully mistreated.

This is what the crowds at Trump rallies cheer for – the dehumanisation of a whole ethnic group simply because of some lies about illegal immigration. All across the country Hispanics, even those whose families have lived in America for generations, are being verbally assaulted in the street and told to “go home”. The worst part

Images of homeless people have been found to consistently trigger disgust centres in the brain.

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of this is that there is ample evidence to suggest that being dehumanised is linked to more violent reactions against those who have dehumanised you.

For example Muslims in America who said they felt dehumanised by Trump supporters were not only more likely to advocate more radical action against Donald Trump they were also much more likely to dehumanise Trump and his supporters. The same is observed in any situation where a minority group is attacked – invariably there comes a counter movement within the minority group that has similar methods to those who abuse them. The circular nature of this dehumanisation leads to a selfperpetuating cycle of violence and hatred. Indeed we can see the logical conclusion of this in the Middle East – firstly in the conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims and secondly between Israelis and Palestinians. As soon as you dehumanise an opponent you start a cycle of hate that is extremely hard to end.

dehumanising language. We are being used by them.

Atrocities happen not because of exceptionally bad people but because of a combination of social, political and moral factors. People take part in genocide not because they have been swayed by the charisma of a tyrant and not because of some personal sadism but because they have abandoned their critical thinking and emotionally disconnected from the people whose lives they ruin or end.

The truly terrifying thing about the holocaust, the most disturbing part is that these terrible acts weren’t committed by fundamentally bad people – the people who did these things were mostly normal people, family men who were loving and kind and human in every way: and yet they did unspeakable things on scales that are incomprehensible. In “The Banality of Evil” by Hannah Arendt the Eichmann trials are studied, and while the trial treats Eichmann as this storybook evil character, Hannah sees that the true horror of Eichmann is how boring and normal he is. He played a major role in the so called “Final Solution” not because he was particularly antiSemitic but because he had abandoned his critical thinking, took his morals and ideas form those he was given, and emotionally disconnected from his victims due to the moral disengagement he was fed and fed to others. Evil isn’t born, or created, or a state of mind – evil is when you treat people as things; it begins with bullying and belittling and slowly it changes through the workings of society and the psychology of dehumanisation into a virulent disease that infects the mind and desensitises people to the consequences of their actions.

The politics of fear has long been the easiest way to gain votes in a democracy.

This isn’t just some passive thing in the middle of our culture. It’s a weapon being used against us. Time and time again we have seen politicians gain power because of the fear they spread and the hate they stoke. Politicians of today, just like politicians of the past use this tactic of conjuring up an imaginary enemy in the form of a dehumanised minority to distract people’s attention and as a tool to gain power. If politicians can convince you that a minority is the enemy then they can use that to control you (and your vote) and do whatever they want while the people are distracted. The politics of fear has long been the easiest way to gain votes in a democracy, and the anti-immigration rhetoric of these campaigns only worsens existing problems – like pouring petrol on the fire. Unconscious racial mistrust is what drives these campaigns, with strong links being demonstrated between support of extreme policies and racial hatred or prejudice. Some politicians use this existing hatred and create more of it, spreading the disease to unsuspecting people through their

How do we fight this? How do we stop the madness consuming our world?

There are opportunities in the little day to day action to make our world a better one. Remember when reports come in of migrants swarming into Britain that these are real, flesh and blood people with lives not dissimilar from you or me. Don’t turn a blind eye to suffering in the world, do what you can when you

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can. There is a terrifying urge within the tribal instincts of us all to treat difference as something to be feared.

Throughout human history there has been a terrible theme of blaming entire groups of people for our problems.

From the idea of people as ‘dogs’ to the gates of Auschwitz is a surprisingly short journey, and Josef Stalin once said that “the death of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million men is a statistic”.

Don’t let those words and those worlds enter this world again. Humanity has a bright and beautiful future, if only we can set aside our differences and not let those who would turn us against each other for their own benefit win.

It may be cliché but the answer is in not escalating the conflict. It’s in taking the moral high ground, calling out the harmful effects of dehumanisation and remaining open and tolerant to all. Most of all remember never to abandon your critical thinking in exchange for duty and doing what you are told. Think always about the consequences of your actions and the morality of what you are doing. Many ordinary people just like you have found themselves a part of something truly evil because they have simply followed orders over their morals. If you think carefully and critically, if you are kind and tolerant, if you call out dehumanisation as you see it then we can defeat the lies of the dehumanisers – in the classroom, in our day to day lives and at the ballot box.

Hannah Arendt

Teaching ‘Herstory’ Mrs Lisa Buttar Teacher of History

I am a teacher of History; one that is determined to ensure that women throughout history do not remain a mystery. March is ‘Women’s History Month’ – a worthy celebration of the women who have shaped our planet since time immemorial, but where are they in our day-to-day History teaching all year round? It can be argued that History is largely written about men, by men. The suppression of female voices (doubly so for black, ethnic, lesbian, disabled and transgender voices) has led to a real lack of varied sources for us to work with in History classes.

‘Women’s History’ has become niche, and as a discreet academic study I have no objections to this on the same basis that one may study Military, Black, Medieval, Art, etc History, but why should it be a separate entity to everyday History in the classroom? Aren’t women an integral part of History? I think it’s time to talk about this.

In Year 7 History classes, I make it to March (ironically) without teaching about a single female figure from 1066 to the eve of the Peasants’ Revolt (1381). And then appears on the lesson plan: ‘the motivations for the uprising’.

Here is the chance to introduce the first, fleeting, instance of a singular woman’s experience, not under the banner heading of ‘peasant women’ or ‘noble women’, and her experience is that of horrible sexual assault. The 15-year-old girl (Wat Tyler, or maybe John Tyler’s daughter – sources are unclear) was forcibly ‘checked’ by a tax collector to ascertain her age, putting his hand up her skirt and subjecting her to an examination. And here it was – 12-year-old girls’ introduction to the life of a young medieval woman. A quick Google search throws up not much more on the issue; a look through BBC Bitesize leaves this episode out entirely. Why aren’t we talking about this? I don’t even know her name, but she could certainly

add her story to an historical #metoo.

You might be forgiven for thinking that women are consigned to be ‘victims’ if you scan the next few hundred years of history: the witch craze can be read as nothing short of an economic war on women, the masculinisation of the healthcare industry and the widespread fear of female sexuality. The result was the torture, sexual assault and murder by hanging or burning of up to 200,000 people, mostly women (not exclusively though; it is very important to remember that men, too, were charged and executed) and mostly poor, throughout Europe between 1484 and 1750.

But let’s talk about how at least one of these women is viewed and misrepresented in History. ‘Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived’ is a cute and effective mnemonic used by most Primary aged children to list the six wives of Henry VIII. The rhyme is cruel and misogynistic in its very essence – describing the seemingly disposable fate of six women, six queens, all of whom have remarkable stories to tell. In my experience, the stories of these women are always told in the context of the reign of King Henry as one single lesson for Key Stage 3, in which we race through their names, barely pausing to consider which Catherine is which Katherine; or else as part of an investigation into the reasons for Henry VIII’s break from Rome or the downfall of Wolsey and Cromwell. Their names exist, it would seem, in textbooks to justify the success or

I think it’s time to talk about this.

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The six wives of Henry VIII

failures of ‘great men’ – but what of these great women? So, Anne Boleyn: the wicked ‘other woman’, accused of betraying the King, incest and witchcraft. Is being a witch and a bitch all she should be remembered for? She has become as much a stereotype as her predecessor, Catherine of Aragon, although much more divisive. Catherine, a steadfast, incredibly competent warrior Queen was not simply ousted by a cruel and calculating Anne; she was discarded by a misogynist husband who sought a different womb to bear him a son. Henry is a monster, but Anne is often painted as his enabler, and the stereotypical temptress. In fact, she waited 7 years for Henry and when she, too, disappointed him, was executed on trumped-up charges to blacken her name and allow him to marry his next stereotype – plain Jane Seymour, the English rose, the one who begot a son, whom he loved forevermore. Or was it just that she died before he tired of her too? Anne of Cleves is remembered for being ugly to Henry since he liked the look of her in a portrait, but not so much in person – the archetypal subject of objectification if ever there was one. Next up was Catherine Howard, the victim of childhood sexual abuse, but forever remembered as the teenage strumpet who lost her head for her

sexual, and likely coerced, ‘affair’ with a much older and more powerful man – a known sexual predator himself. Katherine Parr, who had to beg for her life because her scholarly ways upset her husband, is remembered as rather boring and ‘nursey’.

And Anne Boleyn, the home wrecker and witch? If she had Twitter, she would certainly be subjected to a torrent of abuse not unlike our prominent female figures nowadays. These women are reinvented seemingly endlessly by historians. Why aren’t we talking about them in classes alongside Henry? Did not Catherine of Aragon rule the country in place of Henry when he was in France and give birth to the first female ruler of England? Was Anne not as instrumental in the partial reformation that England went through and the mother of one of our most successful monarchs? These women collectively represent many issues facing us today and yet we don’t take the time to make comparisons in our race to finish courses.

And what of the Queens we do give time to? Well, of course, we know much about them: Elizabeth and Victoria have become synonymous with female strength, virtue and stoicism. Or have they? Has not Elizabeth become remembered more for her rejection of ‘feeble womanhood’, courageous and ‘masculine’ defence of her realm and seemingly belligerent refusal to marry and weaken her position as monarch (at the expense of heirs)? Victoria for her adoption of stereotypical ‘femaleness’

as far as marriage and motherhood was concerned but was uncharacteristically ‘masculine’ pursuit of empire building?

Seemingly, there is nothing in common for two of our most successful, long-term and female monarchs asides from these very facts, and one other thing – neither used their reigns to introduce advancements in the position of women. And yet we cite them as ‘great women’. Great examples of what women could be, if they didn’t have to be actual women, perhaps?

I used to teach about changing Britain from 1850 to 1914. I had half a lesson, if I was lucky what with time pressures to finish the curriculum, to teach ‘separate spheres’ of men and women. I always threw in a lesson about the angel/ whore dichotomy – the idea that Victorian Woman was either an angel of the house or a common prostitute with nothing in between, illustrates the need of a patriarchal society to categorise women. There was nothing of the first female doctors, scientists and writers who smashed the moulds. How can one teach about all of this in about 35 minutes? Can the complexity of women’s experiences during the Industrial Revolution and the growth of democracy be sufficiently discussed in such an amount of time? Or do we simply understand women’s history during this period as: likely to die in childbirth, middle class housewife, working class factory girl, few laws protecting her, no

vote?

It would seem that all too often Herstory is one of suppression, sexual assault and gendered violence. Or is it?

‘Victimhood’ is woven throughout the very fabric of what we teach in History, and yet, even at that we shy away from the details and balk at the misogyny such that we don’t really discuss it. We skirt around it, without saying that the very socio-political situation women find ourselves in today is not new, that young women and men should be angered by it and ask pertinent questions of history and historical sources and make tangible comparisons to the current climate. But what of the individual stories of resistance, rebelliousness, reinvention?

There are incredible stories to learn, but one must look a little bit harder and ask a few more questions about authenticity, bias, propaganda and silencing. Whose voice are we hearing and whose version of womanhood are we teaching? There is much to learn from Herstory about the resilience of women and that is a bloody important lesson to teach in my book (if I wrote one)!

[Y]oung women and men should be angered by it.

Women factory wokers WWII

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This has been a race through literally a couple of the most popular areas for study on school curriculums, and certainly not an inclusive or diverse look at women’s history in general. Largely, the female examples given are queens – so what can they teach us about women’s experiences? I haven’t had a chance to touch upon the treatment of black female slaves, for example, or women in domestic service, the Bryant and May factory girls, to name but a few, and pioneering women in nearly every field.

And all too often women’s experiences and voices are whitewashed and generalised, shamefully often by me in whizzing through the year’s lesson plans.

We can only ever skim the surface in History classes – but is that at the expense of teaching about women’s experiences over men’s? How can we help present the past so that it informs and shapes the future for everyone?

Sophie Laughton (U6)

Zoe Blackburn (5th Year)

Alec Murray (L6)

Flo Anderson (U6)

Vicky Farmer (L6)

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Ellie Jolliffe (L6)

Emily Glyde (U6)

Saff Wood (U6)

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Analysez dans quelle mesure un personnage change au cours de Kiffe Kiffe Demain.

Expliquez votre opinion de ce personnage.

Jessica Willson Upper Sixth personalité forte. Cela suggerait que Doria se sent peu confiante à l’école ce qui est refleté dans son travail, elle ne peut pas s’exprimer et peut-être se sent discriminée. Elle ne mentionne jamais d’amis à l’école et cela nous inquiète, étant donné que la plupart des jeunes de son âge sont assez sociables.

Faïza Guène

Kiffe kiffe Demain, écrit comme un journal intime nous présente la vie d’une fille à travers de ses yeux. Grâce au fait que le roman est écrit à la premiere personne, on se sent que l’on a un rapport assez proche avec Doria, ce que nous permet de savoir ses vrais sentiments à tout moment au fur et mesure que l’intrigue progresse. À cause de cela, il est facile pour nous de voir sa progression d’une fillle dépressive et triste, à quelqu’un qui est plein d’espoir pour le futur.

On se rend compte dans la première phrase que Doria n’est pas heureuse.

Elle mentionne qu’elle doit visiter Mme Burlaud, car ses profs la trouvent renfermée. Cela nous explique qu’elle a été touché par les actions de son père, qui l’a quittée pour qu’il puisse avoir un fils, et on peut immédiatement sympathiser avec elle. Sa situation scolaire n’est pas beaucoup mieux – l’école la trouve très timide et elle mentionne que ses profs font un concours avec leurs commentaires négatives dans son bulletin. Cependant en regardant ses characteristiques sarcastiques et en lisant ses remarques souvent négatives sur ceux qui l’entourent, il est manifeste qu’elle n’est pas du tout renfermée et qu’elle a une

En ce qui concerne les amis, elle n’a que Hamoudi, un homme “toujours déconnecté” qui a fait du temps en prison et aime réciter de la poésie de Rimbaud avec elle dans les couloirs.

C’est un peu rare, plutôt bizarre qu’elle n’a qu’un ami et cela nous montre qu’elle lutte vraiment avec la tâche de faire des amis.

Il est probable qu’elle pense que personne ne l’apprécie – son père l’a quittée et sa mère n’est pas vraiment là – toujours dépressive ou en pleurs, ce qui nous mène à realiser que sa vie est très difficile. Elle n’est pas du tout positive et il semble qu’il n’y a rien pour lui donner de l’espoir dans sa cité du “Paradis” – un nom vraiment ironique.

la liberté et pour la première fois elle se sent que quelqu’un a besoin d’elle.

Elle semble fière de son emploi. Le fait qu’elle finit ses séances avec Madame Burland nous indique que, oui, elle n’est plus dépressive. Elle change sa vie pour le mieux. Ses petits remarques comme ‘Mme Burland sent le Parapoux’ disparaîssent et elle commence à aimer son éducation – cette fois avec son CAP coiffure. Elle trouve l’amour avec Nabil et sa mère ‘revient’ – elle aussi n’est plus dépressive grâce à sa formation et nouveau emploi. Doria nous dit que c’est “pas grave non plus qu’ (elle n’a) plus un père” et semble heureuse avec sa vie.

Ce qui nous frappe le plus est qu’elle change sa phrase “Kif Kif demain” avec un seule ‘f ’ à “kiffe kife demain” qui veut dire ‘j’aimerai demain’. Elle parle de mener “la révolte de la cite du Paradis” - elle peut finalement s’exprimer.

La plupart des jeunes nés dans cette vie défavorisée ne l’échappent jamais mais elle réussit à le faire.

On peut citer que notre protagoniste nous dit qu’il est comme elle vit dans un film, mais son ‘scénaniste, il n’a pas aucun talent. Il ne sait pas raconteur de belle histoires’.

Finalement, Guère tient à nous démontrer la pauvreté à la quelle Doria doit faire face. Pour s’amuser, elle prend un voyage dans le metro où elle ne peut même pas donner de la monnaie à l’homme qui joue de l’accordian. Cela la rend triste – comme la plupart des événements au début du roman.

Cependant lentement, on commence à voir de petits changements dans son comportement. Son petit boulot de babysitting pour Sarah est un pas vers

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Selon moi, Doria est un personage inspirante. Elle se transforme de quelqu’un qui n’a aucun espoir à quelqu’un qui va “mener la révolte” et qui veut changer la vie des autres.

Même pendant sa période triste, elle essaie de ne pas s’apitoyer en faisant des commentaires drôles –- elle essaie de cacher sa tristesse. La plupart des jeunes nés dans cette vie défavorisée ne l’échappent jamais mais elle réussit à le faire.

Pour conclure, je dirais que Doria, comme personnage, ne change pas dramatiquement, mais son attitude envers la vie change. Elle réalise qu’elle n’a pas besoin d’un père et qu’elle est valorisée par des autres, ce qui lui donne de l’espoir pour l’avenir.

De plus, elle utilse le futur à la fin du roman, par rapport au present, ce qui nous démontre qu’elle est plus optimiste.

Strive to Remember Matthew Russell Third Year

In the fields where the poppies now grow, Men fired shots and shells used to blow, Too many slumped down, dead or wounded, For thousands, that was their life concluded.

We should now remember those soldiers who gave, Their lives for ours, in their gravelly graves.

In the present, we can only pay our respect, For this, we must dwell on the past and reflect, We have built our future on the lives of those men, We must be careful to stop it happening again.

The trenches were sorrowful, dreary and damp, Some just fifty metres from the enemy camp, Wounded lay helpless, side by side with a corpse, All those fine men killed with no remorse.

Those that were murdered linger on as souls, Although their bodies are buried deep in holes.

We daren’t forget them in case we sink back To those frightening days of mortal attack.

To pay our debt we should always strive, To remember those who fell where the poppies now thrive.

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‘Describe a time when you worked effectively, as part of a team. What did you learn and how did the experience help you?’

Lily Bastable Lower Sixth

I don’t know what the word team means to you, but to me, a team is a group of people working together. The Oxford English Dictionary agrees with me about this definition. However, I believe that a team can work in any and every aspect of life. The team I am going to talk about is not one of sports or quizzes or jobs. My team is one everyone has, but everyone’s is completely different - my team is unique. Everyone has one of these teams whether they like this or not, or whether they see them every day, every week or every year - they will have or had one of these teams at some point of their lives. My team is my family.

The C - Word

Two years ago, my life changed. It was one of big change. It was one word that changed my perspective on everything from that moment on. That word was one that is said quite a lot; one that everyone knows but hates to use; one that many will have to talk about, sometimes once, sometimes twice, hopefully never; this six letter word keeps people up all night with worry, and keeps people crying all day. The deadly “C- Word”. Cancer.

This word is universally feared, despite it being so common. According to Cancer Research nearly 1000 people are diagnosed with cancer every day.

That’s 1000 families being devastated by the diagnosis. More, for every two people who are diagnosed with this life - threatening disease only one will survive - a head or tails chance of survival.

Just over two years ago, in October 2016 my uncle, Rob, was diagnosed with the “C- Word”, and it was particularly aggressive. Over the course of the two years Rob courageously and admirably fought his battle - in and out of hospital for days and nights with his team right behind him, with every step he took. We were all there, holding him up and supporting him, his wife and his

sons, when they needed us the most.

On the afternoon of Saturday 21st July of last year, Rob lost his battle, aged just 54. He did not stop fighting until his final breath.

This Team is one of strength, unity and kindness. The Team worked more effectively and with more passion because it was family. In these difficult circumstances, the true meaning of family came to the fore.

Throughout this essay I have included quotes from my grandmother, Rob’s mother and my Dad, Rob’s brother.

It was important for me to do this as they’d known Rob all of his life. This gave me a greater insight into our team and shows you how they dealt with the painful situation at hand.

Making it Bearable

Every team is different. Everyone in it is different. The differences are what makes for a good team. Contrasting personalities can make for the best teams. This “allowed people to deal with the situation as best that they could, in their own way”. Diverse personalities were important for our team to function effectively. If an idea from one person didn’t work, there were suggestions from another person. It was also beneficial because the differences were respected, which meant we would listen to each other well and acknowledge and value what each other said.

Everyone had different roles within the team. This diversity was needed for it to function well, and to help adapt to the changing circumstances. In the majority of teams there is one key leader. However, our team was different - we didn’t have one. This is because we were all in the same position; we all felt endless amounts of pain and sadness; we all prayed and longed for Rob to be healed. Therefore, there was no need to have a leader as we all had the same

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goal - to help each other and make this extremely difficult time as bearable as possible, not just for ourselves but for Rob and his wife Frances and their two sons, Sam and Joel.

Within our team there were different sectors, much like a work team.

However, ours was more than just work. Some people were good at communicating, to distant family or friends, about how Rob was feeling or what treatment was happening; some people were good at hospitality and the practical side, for example cooking meals for Rob and Frances when they’d been in the hospital all day and so their lives were made that little bit easier; some people’s strengths were there on the caring and emotional side of things.

This was helping Frances, especially once Rob had passed away. This was my role within the team. I would frequently speak to Frances and ask how she was doing and just be a shoulder to cry on whenever she needed. Shortly after Rob’s death my immediate family and I and Rob’s family went on holiday, which we had hoped Rob would be well enough to join us. Throughout that time I made sure that Frances felt supported and helped her when she missed him. We spent a lot of time talking about Rob and this definitely helped us to remember him and it was good to do so.

Another perhaps unusual aspect of our team was our use of humour, even during the most challenging days. Humour was very important in these times as it allowed us to find an escape from the sadness. It was a release of tension and pain as we tried to make it bearable, for a few moments.

The humour aspect was also very important as Rob was known for his outrageous humour. When speaking to my Grandmother she said she “found humour enormously supportive” because it reminded her about the shocking “things he said and did”. This is why it comforted her and helped our Team throughout. She also told me how talking about his humour “kept him alive” and his humour “lasted right through until the end”. This is why humour was so important. It showed us how we thought Rob wanted us to communicate with him, even in the dark times.

I also spoke to my grandmother, in great depth, about the role, she thought she had played. She said she had the “responsibility to protect and shield people in the team”. She felt that as she had “more life experience” and therefore had experienced the death of someone close before, where others maybe hadn’t, that she had to protect the more vulnerable members of our team.

A Sad Routine

In any team, communication is always key, so that the members work well and co-operate as efficiently as possible.

For both my grandmother and Dad the phone was a very significant way of easily passing on information. For my Grandmother it was a “lifeline” as “everyone called everyone”. Just like a team in the workplace, we all “worked hard to communicate as we all needed to talk about what was going on and how we were feeling”. Also, just like in a work place, there was a routine a sad routine. Every day we would call to talk about Rob. This showed that even in “different places and different circumstances” every member was all thinking of the others. And we were “all thinking about Rob”. This proactive communication “made each other feel close” and during these times

when we needed each other this is what we needed to feel.

To Love Him Well Again

With every team there is a goal. In a quiz team, it is to win the quiz; in a sports team, it is to win the game.

However, our goal wasn’t to win; it was to “love him well again”, that is, to make him better through our love.

And even though it was “not a possible goal” to believe Rob would get cured, it helped us “get through a day at a time”. We wanted Rob to live and so we did all we could to raise money for research to find a cure – a cure that came too late. The men of our team took part in a “March for Men”, earlier this year, where they raised over £2000 for prostate cancer research and so, by just this small thing, we hope to make a big difference.

Being Kind to Myself

Throughout these two horrendous years, there have been constant lows. However, with the help of my Team the pain was made a little more tolerable. My Team was amazing and the support received was incredible.

The Team just “being there” meaning you were “never alone” felt as if you weren’t in complete darkness all the time, and that there was light at the end of the tunnel, even when it was hard to believe.

When speaking to my grandmother she said that we may “leave our own sadness aside and ignore how we feel because you want to help others first”.

However, during these difficult years, I learnt that sometimes I should stop thinking about how others feel and start being kind to myself first. This is important because when we don’t think about how we’re feeling ourselves, we can’t help anyone else, because we don’t have the love in us to do so.

I also learnt that just smiling at someone or asking “how are you?” can help someone in the grieving process.

And kindness is the key to eventual happiness. Whether we are asking “how are you?” or “do you want a hug?” or by just saying “I’m here” can help a person so much and make them feel supported.

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Looking to the Future

This December will be our first Christmas without Rob. We all know that it won’t be easy, but this team has helped me realised I am not alone. I learnt that we have to begin looking to the future, and that Rob would want us to be getting on with our lives.

This team is special because it is not just 9 to 5; it isn’t just one evening on a Saturday night; this team is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year family. We aren’t paid to do what we do and there is no prize at the end.

We weren’t thrown together randomly.

We are a different type of team - we are there whenever we need each other.

We are there to hold each other’s hand and we are there to be a shoulder to cry on. We are all linked. We are family. The team was already established before the tricky times. We have such a close bond and such a strong connection. We do this because we want to.

I discovered that during this time, whether you were Rob’s wife, son, mother, brother, sister in-law, niece, nephew or friend we were all “bound together by sadness” and that at the end of the day “all felt the same way”.

Still, our experience was different from person to person because every relationship with Rob was different and unique.

I took a different interpretation of what makes a good team. I made it one of my own. It may have not been the obvious interpretation. But I have been part of this Team since 2002 and I will be part of the family for the rest of my life. We have our ups and our downs but we are never going to stop being a team.

Children depend on their families from the day they are born. Families are the most influential thing in a child’s life.

My team is one of great unity and great strength.

I couldn’t be prouder to call Rob my uncle and I am so lucky to have been part of his team.

“On balance, life is better for me than it was for my parents at my age.” How far do you agree?

Megan Hassanali

Fifth Year (This unseen, timed essay was written in one hour) “On balance, life is better for me than it was for my parents at my age.” How far do you agree?

We are constantly hearing about improvements in the world we live in today. Whether they are in technology, healthcare, education, rights or an infinite number of other sectors, the media is constantly referencing the ways in which the lives of future generations are being improved. But the question we must ask ourselves is regarding the significant consequences of these improvements.

Technology, especially in advanced countries such as the UK, is constantly developing. The increasing number of university students participating in courses which lead them into jobs in the newly developed quaternary sector is also rapidly growing. Two of the largest and most successful companies in the world include Apple and Microsoft. However, how far has

this technology made our lives better?

Do students of our generation possess a greater capacity for knowledge than our parents once had?

Many people argue that easier access to modern technology, such as Apple devices, help a student’s education hugely. The Internet provides us with the ability to view millions of opinions, use thousands of resources, as well as benefitting us in terms of cultural and religious awareness.

Time and time again, I am told how fortunate we are for this technology to be made available to us. With constant stories of my parents’ endless treks to the bookstore and wasted hours searching for just one answer for their homework, I am aware of the benefits that these developments bring to us.

However, the consequences of this technology are also becoming more and more evident. Abnormal spinal growth, electromagnetic radio waves penetrating the skull and impaired vision are well known scientific drawbacks of this technology.

But there are shorter-term effects, affecting everybody with a smart device, that should be dealt with first. How much time does this modern technology realistically save?

Yes, we can use Google maps to find us the fastest route to our location and yes, you no longer require the capabilities of being able to complete rapid mental maths because each device comes fully equipped with a scientific calculator. We could even save years of learning a foreign language, and simply use our phone to produce a translation. But how many hours do we waste on social media platforms, apps such as YouTube, or simply browsing the web for hours to explore conspiracy theories about the latest celebrity scandal? Do we really have a better quality of life than our parents due to these developments?

[T]he consequences of this technology are also becoming more and more evident.

The issue of healthcare is a considerably less controversial issue than the positive and negative effects of technology.

Improvements in the UK in the NHS, such as more highly trained medical experts, improved facilities and access to antibiotics and vaccinations have all improved greatly, having a huge impact on almost every family in our country. Since our parents’ generations, knowledge regarding contraception, healthy lifestyles and sanitation have reduced deaths of diseases, including HIV and measles. Funding from countries such as the UK have also improved healthcare in other LowIncome Developing Countries, such as

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Ethiopia, in which child mortality rates have halved and now, 100% of people now have access to a malaria net.

or students struggling with learning difficulties. Although a North-South divide across the UK is certainly clear in terms of academic attainment, correlating almost completely directly with the income and area of each family, education is continuously evolving.

Exams are becoming harder at the same pace and children are becoming increasingly aware about how to shape their own futures.

[H]ow many hours do we waste on social media platforms?

However, the UK’s large older population, along with the so called ‘immigration crisis’ is thought to be increasing the pressure on the NHS and many other facilities in our country. As the life expectancy increases into the high eighties, and the birth rate begins to fall below the death rate, our country will be faced with a huge issue as tax-payers’ money will not be able to support the government in the ways that it used to.

To come to a conclusion, I believe that on balance, life is better for me than it was for the children of my parents’

Britain also has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world, increasing the weight upon the shoulders of our healthcare system. More and more cases of diabetes, coronary heart disease and other illnesses that could be avoided by regular exercise and a balanced diet, account for an enormous proportion of the government budget for the NHS. It could also be argued that improvements in technology have exacerbated these problems, resulting in a poorer quality of life for children born in the 21st century.

There is no dispute that education in our lives has aided us as students.

Revision resources, direct contact with teachers and access to the internet have dramatically improved our knowledge about the world around us. Teacher training is improving, along with education facilities for disabled people

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generation. Areas including modern technology, healthcare and education are all factors that have significantly improved over the last several decades. Of course, this conclusion is a generalisation. The question is subjective and will vary with each individual you ask. With everything in life, there will be drawbacks and people who do not share the prosperity of the development. As humans, we tend to focus on the negative aspects of change. However, we need to look at the development as a whole and recognise whether reversing these changes is a better option to working to solve these issues.

Newton’s Gravitational Constant in Our Everyday Lives Oliver King Lower Sixth

Figure 1: Earth’s Gravitational Field, from which the Gravitational Force of an object can be calculated, seen as a spacetime distortion. Image Credit: P. Eekels, Gravity Probe B

Throughout the natural universe, few physical constants are claimed to be as integral to existence and life as we know it as that of Newton’s Gravitational Constant. While the constant represents a relatively small value, ranging from 6.674184 X 10-11 Nm2kg-2 to 6.674484 X 10-11 Nm2kg-2 according to a recent Chinese study (Li Qing et al, 2018), the constant’s current value is said to have been elemental in the formation of the early universe, and the constant has theoretically helped shape the universe as it is today. Nonetheless, how relevant is Newton’s Constant in our current, twenty-first century lives?

What roles does it play in our modern society, and what would the effects on our everyday lives be of altering the constant in our now ancient universe?

The most obvious implementation of Newton’s Gravitational Constant is, of course, in Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, and hence we would primarily assume that Newton’s Constant would play a large effect in calculating the gravitational force between two or more objects or systems. This is indisputably correct, in the sense that gravity, as one of the four fundamental interactions of nature, is

ever-present in our universe. However, in our daily lives, the force of gravity is extremely weak between objects people often interact with: this is all as a result of the miniscule numerical value of Newton’s Gravitational Constant. For example, construct a scenario in which you and another person, each weighing 70kg, are separated by a comparatively small distance of 1m. In this instance, utilising Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation will generate a grandiose gravitational force of just 3.2705 X 10-7 N (to 5 significant figures). This value is understandably irrelevant when considering all the other forces likely to be acting on a human body, and therefore many claims may be made that, on the human level, Newton’s Gravitational Constant is truly insignificant. Yet as any science student can astutely explain, this is simply not the case: while gravity may not be a measurably large force between smaller objects, it is a staple of the colossal universe we inhabit.

To truly understand the massive potential of Newton’s Gravitational Constant, we should first consider gravity on a more cosmic scale. Namely,

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Newton’s Constant is important when contemplating our very own planet: it currently has a mass of 5.9722 X 1024 kg, although this mass is decreasing by 5 X 107 kg every year (McDonald, 2012). Plotting this mass into the aforementioned equation in comparison to a 70kg person on Earth’s surface (a distance averaging 6.371 X 106 m) presents a gravitational force of 687.44 N (Figure 1) between you and Earth. Now, using Newton’s Second Law of Motion, we can estimate the acceleration due to gravity on Earth’s surface: 9.8206ms-2. This means that, at all times, we are accelerating towards the centre of Earth at 9.8206ms2, and is a universally accepted fact within the scientific community.

Newton’s Gravitational Constant has manipulated Earth to create the image we see today, and is the basis for the falling motion of objects when you drop them: it establishes the natural acceleration with which objects will fall. Newton’s Constant promoted our evolution, including allowing for the formation of skeletal body structures and the development of metabolic processes in the human body. The entire evolutionary process on Earth has been nurtured by the gravitational forces, and the creation of life on Earth as we know it has therefore been dependent on the value of Newton’s Constant.

Newton’s Gravitational Constant contributes to a secondary planetary phenomenon, and one many people will likely consider to be a more interesting application of the constant: this is the subject of orbital mechanics. Newton’s Constant is commonplace throughout orbital mechanics, appearing scattered throughout numerous subtopics such as the orbits of both our planet and satellites. Our planet, in its current state, follows an elliptical orbit around the Sun, and at an average distance of 1.496 X 1011 m, and at this distance we

exist in our Sun’s circumstellar habitable zone (Figure 2). This is the area around the Sun in which conditions are adequately suitable to allow liquid water to abide.

Our distance from the Sun has been highly important in the creation of the world as it is today, as it not only plays a part in the temperature of Earth and its varying values at different times of the day, but has allowed all life on Earth to develop by presenting conditions in which the average temperature is between 0°C and 100°C, so water can for the majority exist as a liquid. Water is recognised as a key component in the formation of biological life, and without it, all life on Earth would die out within a number of months; including plants, so all natural oxygen formation through photosynthesis would also cease. Yet, the distance of our planet from the Sun itself, in its orbital path, is determined by a value designated the gravitational parameter, composed of Newton’s Constant and the masses of the involved objects. Newton’s Gravitational Constant can thus be said

On a scale far less consequential to life itself, Newton’s Constant is not just relevant when considering planetary orbits, but the orbits of other non-propelled objects too. This includes the orbits of satellites around our planet, and the speeds at which they must move to function.

Whilst satellites don’t always follow elliptical orbits, they do still rely on Newton’s Gravitational Constant to gauge the distance at which they can orbit a stellar object at a given velocity. This now lets us see the relevance of Newton’s Gravitational Constant in technology and other similar mediums, as technology such as the GPS and mobile phone: Newton’s Gravitational Constant is required to calculate the distance at which a satellite must orbit to send and receive signals from devices down on Earth, meaning that in our techno-obsessed modern era Newton’s Constant has allowed us to make and receive phone calls, use location software such as Google Maps and Google Earth and even receive weather reports: satellites are the most commonplace tool for recording

Newton’s Gravitational Constant can thus be said to have been a key component in the formation of life on Earth.

Figure 2: Our Sun’s Circumstellar Habitable Zone compared with planets in our Solar System. Image Credit: R. Ramirez, Universe Today

to have been a key component in the formation of life on Earth, as it has allowed our planet to exist at the ideal distance from the Sun for life to fully develop.

and observing weather patterns in the atmosphere, and using various tracking algorithms and pre-recorded data predictions can be made about the weather, which needless to say is

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an immense benefit to living in the modern era. In fact, on an American Government website, it was recently reported that “a seven-day forecast can accurately predict the weather about 80 percent of the time and a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather approximately 90 percent of the time” (N.O.A.A., Unknown); weather tracking predictions are now so accurate that they taken as almost fact by the majority of the population, and allow people to plan their lives weeks in advance: this nigh-foreknowledge of the future is only made possible through the usage of Newton’s Gravitational Constant in the creation and optimisation of satellites.

Newton’s Constant, in the subtopic of orbital mechanics, is by no means limited to affecting the distance at which an object orbits a solar mass; the constant is interspaced throughout the topic, as in the form of the gravitational parameter value. By viewing the orbital period equation (all equations I make reference to are included in Appendix A), we can see that the gravitational parameter, and hence Newton’s Constant, is inversely proportional to the square of the orbital time period. In simple terms, the orbital time period of an object can be defined as the time it takes an object to complete one singular orbit of the object they revolve around, and the orbital period of Earth is exactly 365.256 days. This differs wildly from the orbital periods of satellites, which tend to have time periods ranging from several hours to a single sidereal day depending on their function, and these periods are usually necessary for satellites to operate in their intended ways. For example, GPS satellites tend to encircle the Earth in Medium Earth orbit, at an altitude of about 2.02 X 107 m and with a semi major axis of 2.661 X 107 m, generating an orbital period of 12 hours. This allows GPS satellites to triangulate your location to within a few metres using just 3 or 4 satellites: the satellites each send a signal, containing their position and further information about their origin, to the receiver you hold, and by measuring how long the signals from each satellite take to reach your hand, the receiver is able to state confidently where you are on the globe to within a few metres

Figure 3: Earth with a ring system.

Image Credit: NASA, Wikimedia Commons

(Woodford, 2018). The orbital period of the satellites is key in ensuring there is always a sufficient number of satellites in a segment of space to allow triangulation to occur, and so Newton’s Gravitational Constant is a fundamental figure to be accounted for in the creation and design of satellites: Newton’s Constant allows GPS, phone signals and a number of other network signals to find you wherever you are on the planet, and it has lead to the interconnected world we inhabit today.

In our local Earth-Moon system, wherein the Moon can be stated to act as a secondary planetary mass due to its relatively high mass in comparison to that of the Earth, Newton’s Gravitational Constant is also present in another field: that of Earth’s tides.

This stems from the fact that the gravitational force exerted on Earth by the Moon is not equally distributed, as due to Earth’s fairly large radius, one side of Earth is around 1.28 X 107m closer to the Moon than the other: according to Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation the face closer to the Moon will experience a larger gravitational force than the opposite face, and this pull creates a tidal bulge on the side facing the Moon, commonly referred to as the high tide. The opposite occurs on the adverse side of the Earth, where the centre of the Earth will experience a greater gravitational force than the surface locus (position) of the oceans.

This produces a secondary tidal bulge on the opposite side of the Earth to the primary bulge. However, the Moon is not the only stellar object to produce tides on Earth: solar tides are generated

by the gravitational pull of the Sun acting at different strengths stretched across Earth’s diameter, and while they only account for the production of tides about half as strong as those of the Moon (Strobel, 2001), they still contribute to the tides of the oceans and seas on Earth. As the Earth revolves over the period of a day, the high tides effectively move as they continually face both simultaneously towards and away from the Moon (and Sun): this generates the tidal patterns we are familiar with on Earth. We can therefore say that Newton’s Gravitational Constant is vitally important in the motions of the Earth’s oceans and seas and allows numerous ocean-based activities to occur. Due to the constant, sports such as surfing and wakeboarding exist, and thermal energy can be easily transported across the ocean to produce a thermocline, leading to a more evenly-distributed temperature across the ocean atmosphere and a world where boats can easily be docked and moored dependent purely on the time of day and rise of the tides.

Currently, I have considered the various effects Newton’s Gravitational Constant has on our everyday lives, yet I have not discussed how the world would differ if Newton’s Constant had a different value. For the purpose of my answer, I will be assuming that any variations in the constant have simply occurred for an unspecified reason, and I will not be presenting my findings as if the universe were born into existence with a different value for Newton’s Constant. This is because, if Newton’s Constant differed too significantly

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from its current value, Earth would not orbit our Sun’s habitable zone, and life on Earth would be non-existent: this would mean any effects that may have occurred in the human “everyday life” would be absent, as would all life on Earth. Primarily, by changing the constant, Earth would rapidly metamorphose into a completely different landscape, yet the size of the effects would be entirely dependent on the magnitude of the increase in the constant’s value. In other words, the state of earth and thereby humanity after an alteration of Newton’s Constant would rely on the size of the change to the constant itself.

To start off with, assume Newton’s Gravitational Constant increases by a significant amount: let’s say it doubles in value. The first noticeable effect would be almost immediate, as the gravitational field and around Earth would raise by a factor of two, as gravitational field strength is directly proportional to Newton’s Constant.

People would instantly find that they would not be able to jump as high, as before, as Earth’s acceleration due to gravity increases to 19.6412 ms-2, and planes would probably begin to drop out of the sky: you would find yourself exhausting far more effort

than normal whenever you try to raise a limb or move your muscles in an upwards motion. People with heart conditions would begin to suffer, as their weak hearts would no longer be able to successfully pump blood around their body, and birds would begin to rain down from the skies, converting the planet into a mass avian grave. Whilst long-term effects are still unknown, it has been found that

people can survive up to 22 hours in a 2g environment (NASA, 2003), and therefore humanity would continue living in this scenario. Nevertheless, increasing the Gravitational Constant would also mean the orbits of all stellar objects in the universe would change too: this would firstly be observed with the satellites orbiting the Earth, as all wireless satellite technology would simply stop working due to Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation. The force of gravity between the planet and satellites would double, and the satellites would leave their stable orbits, spiralling towards Earth and burning up in its atmosphere. We would have entered a technological dark age, although this would by no means be our largest problem.

As the entire gravitational force across the universe would have doubled, almost every planet and stellar mass in the universe would begin to exhibit a change in its orbital pattern: this is true of both the Moon and Earth itself. Within a number of hours, the Moon would begin to spiral towards the Earth, but, to our luck, the Moon would never make it to the surface: at a distance of 1.847 X 107 m from Earth’s centre, the Moon would hit the Roche Limit, and would shatter into an amalgam of meteorite and debris, floating in space (Poll, 2018). Over time, the pieces would either fall into Earth’s atmosphere and dissipate as energy, or form a ring around Earth (Figure 3), comparable to the one Saturn wears today. Unfortunately, there would presumably be nobody around to witness the phenomena, as humanity would be long deceased: the tidal forces generated by the approaching Moon would generate tsunamis up to several kilometres tall, destroying any portbased cities and towns around the world and annihilating a large proportion of humanity in the process. The trials of man would not yet be over however, as by changing Newton’s Gravitational Constant we would have caused Earth to become “more compact under its own increased weight and [heat] up” (Schwern, 2016).

Combining this with the fact that the Earth would have left its current orbit around the Sun and would be

spiralling towards it, exiting Earth’s habitable zone and further increasing in temperature as it approached the Sun, humanity would continue to approach utter devastation. All the water on Earth would boil and anybody not in some form of protective bunker or shielding would fry as the temperature a p p r o a ch e d hundreds of degrees centigrade: in short, increasing Newton’s Gravitational Constant would spell the end for humanity.

hence the process of tidal mixing could no longer occur; the absence of tidal mixing would generate a large increase in the height of the thermocline and cause permanent damage to the heat transference and underwater current systems across the globe (Bueti, 2012). The ocean’s temperature would become unstable, and fish would begin appearing in the wrong habitats as their sense of thermal navigation would be skewed by the thermal changes.

The ocean ecosystem would be in chaos, and any fishermen or port-dwellers could observe the effects.

In short, increasing Newton’s Gravitational Constant would spell the end for humanity.

Another possibility is that of a negative change in Newton’s Constant, and in this situation the results would differ greatly from an increase in the constant. As before, the first thing anyone would notice would be a change in their movement, as they would find themselves far more capable of jumping and moving around the planet: as the value of the constant approached 0Nm2kg-2 people would begin to behave as if they were in a weightless environment. This would indicate that any unrestrained object would begin to drift through the air, and for every step a person would take, they would find themselves moving higher and higher into the air. Eventually, when the Gravitational Constant decreased to just 1 X 10-6 times its current value, it would be possible for a person to launch themselves into space with an escape velocity of 11.2ms-1 (Escape Velocity Calculator): people and animals, as well as any objects being moved by a force, would find themselves propelled into the cold vacuum of space and dying by suffocation. While this was occurring, the ocean’s tides would find themselves dwindling as the gravitational forces the Sun and Moon exerted on Earth reach minuscule values. A significant tidal bulge would no longer be produced around the planet, leading to tsunamis as the oceans and seas effectively tried to “level out”. However, since these large waves would probably be growing vertically at a velocity greater than 11.2ms-1, the world would observe tsunamis effectively taking off from Earth and dispersing in the upper atmosphere. Any water left on the planet would be without tides altogether, and

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As discussed above, changing Newton’s Gravitational Constant would affect the orbital paths of the entire universe: however, reducing the constant would cause adverse effects. The entirety of GPS and satellite technology would once again stop working, meaning that the majority of the population would have no idea what was occurring, and this might perhaps lead to rioting and panic around the world as modern society failed to function. If Newton’s Constant did decrease by a significant enough proportion, Earth would begin to drift out of the Sun’s habitable zone: its distance from the Sun would therefore increase at an exponential rate as the planet ambled off into deep space. Very soon after leaving the zone, water on Earth would begin to freeze, and another ice age could be said to have begun: unfortunately for humanity, this one would be far colder and darker than any in a thousand epochs. Humanity would, without a doubt, become extinct.

To conclude, altering Newton’s Gravitational Constant would not just affect our everyday lives, but would disturb the universe on a cosmic scale.

Even the slightest change in Newton’s Constant is likely not just to eradicate humanity and destroy all life on Earth, but astronomically affect the universe; there would be no more “daily lives” for the constant to disturb, as there would be no more life at all.

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix A

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation:

Orbital Period Equation:

đ??Śđ??Śđ?&#x;?đ?&#x;? đ??Śđ??Śđ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?

Fg = G

đ??Ťđ??Ť đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?

Fg is the force of gravity between the objects m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects r is the distance between the objects

đ??šđ??šđ?&#x;‘đ?&#x;‘

T = 2Ď€-

đ??†đ??†(đ??Śđ??Śđ?&#x;?đ?&#x;? 2đ??Śđ??Śđ?&#x;?đ?&#x;? )

T is the time period of the object

a is the length of the semi-major axis

G is Newton’s Gravitational Constant

G is Newton’s Gravitational Constant

m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects

Newton’s Second Law of Motion:

Tidal Bulge Equation for Planets:

F = ma H = F is the force in the direction of acceleration m is the mass of the object

a is the acceleration of the object in a given direction

Free Orbit Equation:

đ??Ťđ??Ť =

đ??Ąđ??Ąđ?&#x;?đ?&#x;? /đ??†đ??†(đ??Śđ??Śđ?&#x;?đ?&#x;? 2đ??Śđ??Śđ?&#x;?đ?&#x;? ) đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?2đ??žđ??žđ??žđ??žđ??žđ??žđ??žđ??žđ??žđ??ž

đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ??€đ??€đ?&#x;’đ?&#x;’ đ?&#x;–đ?&#x;–đ?&#x;–đ?&#x;–đ??Ťđ??Ť đ?&#x;‘đ?&#x;‘

H is the height of the tidal bulge

m is the mass of the satellite

A is the radius of the planet

M is the combined mass of the objects r is the distance between the objects

Escape Velocity Equation:

đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?đ?&#x;?

r is the distance between the objects

ve = -

G is Newton’s Gravitational Constant

ve is the escape velocity

e is the eccentricity of the orbiting object

G is Newton’s Gravitational Constant

h is the specific angular momentum

m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects θ is the true anomaly

đ??Ťđ??Ť

M is the combined mass of the objects r is the distance between the objects

Figure 4: Earth’s lunar tidal bulges with respect to the moon. Image Credit: Unknown, Exploring the Cosmos Tumblr

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Tidal Acceleration Due to the gravitational force exerted on the Earth by the Moon in its orbit (dependent itself upon Newton’s Constant), Earth cannot be considered a closed system: energy can be transferred between the two stellar masses. Throughout the process energy is transferred from the Moon to Earth: this occurs through the usage of tidal bulges (Figure 4), which act as a frictional force against Earth’s rotation, causing a gradual and almost inconsequential decrease in rotation speed. It is in fact actually possible to calculate the size of the tidal bulges on the planet experiencing them, using the tidal bulge equation. Every century, the rotation speed decreases by a value such that Earth’s day extends by just 0.0016 seconds (Rosenburg and Runcorn, 1975). In return, the gravitational force of the Earth drags the Moon ahead of its orbit and increases its orbital distance by a value approximately equal to only 3cm per year, as the Moon loses kinetic energy and its velocity henceforth decreases. This whole system works on the principle of the conservation of angular momentum, and this affect is known only as tidal acceleration, the name of this appendix.

Genetic Editing Alex Dannatt Lower Sixth

Genetic Editing – The panacea of modern genetic editing is at the forefront of scientific development and many people are viewing it as a modern panacea – a solution for all diseases.

As we further explore DNA and the genetics that make us unique, more and more possibilities are revealed; the medical uses of editing genetics are endless. One of our earliest steps to understanding our genetics was the human genome project in 2003. This involved decoding the entire human genetic code so we could read it and compare it between humans. This was then published in the human book of life, which is accessible online. By beginning to understand what the genes in our body control and how they interact, we can begin to look into how we might change our own genetic makeup.

Whilst genetic editing may be new to scientists, bacteria have been using genetic editing for millions of years before us. As bacteria are constantly fighting off viruses, some have developed a means of recognising the viruses that attack them and ‘cutting’ the viruses’ DNA, rendering it harmless.

This mechanism is called CRISPR,

DNA double helix

which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspersed Short Palindromic Repeats. As complicated as this sounds, it simply describes the genes that make this process possible. After scientists discovered the CRISPR mechanism, they started to ‘reprogram’ CRISPR genes so they can ‘cut’ and edit our own DNA. By utilising this, we potentially have control over our own genes.

We already have many ideas for how CRISPR might be used in the future for example, we could use CRISPR to test certain drugs, which may reduce the amount of animal testing that currently occurs. Another potential use is with organ transplants.

With a huge shortage of donated organs available, the concept of using organs from other species (known as xenotransplantation) has always been an idea. Pig organs, which are particularly similar to human organs, could be used, however dormant viruses in pig organs would become active when met by human tissue, proving problematic.

CRISPR could eradicate these dormant viruses by cutting their DNA rendering them inactive. This would remove the chance of organ rejection and also reduce the use of immunosuppressant drugs, which are otherwise used to make the body accept the donated organ. This would prevent the patient suffering any side effects of the drug such as an increased chance of contracting diseases.

divide is then between somatic and germline editing. Somatic editing is any editing where the DNA is not passed on – when the patient dies, their genetic edit ends with them. However, in germline editing, it is the sex cells that are changed meaning that any genetic edits would be passed on to future generations. By committing to any germline editing we would be editing generations of people into the future, an action that can’t be undone.

The ethical impacts of genetic editing vary in severity, depending on the type of edit. Editing that is therapeutic and somatic (genetic medicine) has the least ethical implications. As this only involves fixing individual genetic defects, there should be no catastrophic results. This is currently scientists’ focus given that it holds the most medical potential. The next stage for editing is possibly somatic genetic enhancements, which would be a sort of ‘genetic plastic surgery’.

Examples of somatic enhancement could be altering a feature but, as this is a luxury, it is likely to be expensive.

This change is somatic so would not be passed on to your children, and the altered genes would die with you. As this is less critical and has little value to your health, there isn’t currently much research going into this.

[W]e open a genetic Pandora’s Box.

However, as we move into the future of genetic editing, ethical issues begin to arise. These can be represented by a table with 4 different types of editing. The first divide is between therapy, treating people who are sick, and enhancement, giving an advantage to someone who is already healthy. Therapeutic editing could be called genetic medicine, whereas enhancement might be a sort of ‘genetic plastic surgery’. The second

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Yet, crossing the line into germline editing takes us into uncharted territory. This would be editing future children and potentially the future human population. As the genes no longer die with the individual, making any mistakes here could have huge unforeseen consequences on humanity.

If we began germline editing, we would primarily focus on the therapeutic side – preventing genetic conditions from affecting future children. This might mean preventing diseases such as sickle cell anaemia and cystic fibrosis. The

most ethically questionable type of edit would be a germline enhancement – more commonly known as ‘designer babies’. As commitment to some of these edits is so dramatic, in order to prevent these kind of advancements CRISPR ‘designer babies’ are already illegal in many countries including the UK. However, the USA and China, two big contenders in the development of CRISPR, have not made this illegal – they only have guidelines. As of yet, no CRISPR babies are known to have been created, but people are almost certainly trying, potentially with methods not following the law such as private companies experimenting in their own laboratories.

are genes that give a high, standard Somatic Germline DNA not passed on DNA passed on or low risk of Most tissues Sex Cells inheriting the disease. A debate Curing Future Therapy surrounds whether Medicine Treating diseases Generations changing the highrisk genes to the lowEnhancement risk gene would be Designer Advantages to already Plastic Surgery considered therapy Babies healthy people or enhancement.

At the time of genetic editing reaches a state where it changing the gene the person would is easily performed in the future, and not have Alzheimer’s which might make it isn’t closely regulated, then there it enhancement. But if the person was is the risk of slipping into eugenics. going to end up with Alzheimer’s and This is the idea that some humans you have prevented this, then is this are genetically superior to others. The therapy? most infamous example of this was

Besides the controversy of designer babies, one of the big ethical questions surrounding genetic editing is the line between therapy and enhancement.

Many people are undecided about what counts as a disease which needs to be fixed, and what would be a personal enhancement. Most people would consider curing a genetic heart or brain disorder to be a therapeutic treatment. Many people would also consider deafness to be a debilitating disability, although some people in the deaf community would take offence at this claim. Some people might claim that dwarfism is a disease that requires therapy treatment, but many would argue that this would be an enhancement. Even for diseases that we agree should be cured, the line is still ill-defined. For Alzheimer’s there

So where do you draw the line? Deciding what conditions lie in each category is very tricky as people’s opinions differ, but it is something scientists would need to agree on. This dispute might not be catastrophic for somatic edits that only affect one person; but in the context of germline editing, what would and wouldn’t be considered a ‘designer baby’ can become much more dangerous. By crossing the line to editing our future human population we open a genetic Pandora’s Xox. With regards to ‘designer babies’, entirely selecting your baby’s features is probably unrealistic for the near future. Simple edits that would rely on only one gene, such as eye colour or freckles, shouldn’t be too complicated to achieve. However, for more complex characteristics, such as height or intelligence, many Sickle Cells more genes are involved, making them much more difficult to change. Many of these traits are also partly determined by nurture, meaning changing someone’s genetics is only half of the story. For such characteristics, it is unlikely we will ever be able to control the outcome completely.

There is also the possibility of genetic editing becoming a very negative development in the modern world. If

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the Aryan ‘super race’ that the Nazis attempted to create in the 1930s. With genetic editing available, making a sort of ‘super human’ becomes even easier, begging the question of whether it is too dangerous to edit genetically at all.

But before genetic editing can become a reality, there is a much easier way of creating ‘designer babies’ - genetic selection. This concept has already been used for centuries to breed animals.

Farmers generally desire the biggest animals as they produce the most meat. By breeding the biggest animals together, you get the best chance of producing the largest offspring. This same principle of genetic selection can also be applied to humans but instead of increasing size, it might be used to minimise the chance of having a genetic disease. If you are known to carry a genetic disorder and are fearful of passing it on to your children, then there is the option for a pre-implantation genetic diagnosis using the mechanism of IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation). In IVF, multiple eggs are removed from the mother’s ovaries and are then fertilised with sperm from the father to produce a multitude of embryos. Cells from each embryo can then be tested for inherited genetic diseases, as well as the genes that increase the risk of certain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. The parents can then choose the embryo with the lowest chance of having a genetic disease. This is a basic version of ‘designer babies’, and without the complicated step of editing the baby’s genes.

treatment. Most of the cost, risk and ethics around IVF is all to do with the egg harvest - this is tricky to do and incurs many risks. The ethics of fertilising eggs that could be potential lives, only for some of them to be discarded raises moral issues. However, there is the potential that we could remove the egg harvesting process from IVF in the future. This could be a huge step forward for IVF in terms of lowering its price, making it more accessible and simplifying the genetic editing process.

genetic editing would only widen this.

Gene editing could easily get ahead of itself and inflict more damage than the good it is intended for.

Yet despite this, it could massively reduce human suffering, so it is not something to be neglected. By thinking about the ethics and dangers of genetic editing now, we are reducing the chance of choosing the wrong pathway – a mistake we can’t afford to make.

So, what’s happening now? With all the talk of genetic development and the future of science, it is difficult to know what we can and can’t already do. At present, there are some clear examples as to how we are affecting the human population with our growing genetic knowledge; for example, we have started to narrow the range of human variation. In India, due to prenatal testing (testing when pregnant) the ratio of men to women is already shifting and the latest statistics showed a 918:1000 ratio of women: men.

In Iceland, Down’s Syndrome is on the verge of being eradicated due to genetically testing for the Down’s Syndrome related genes. For the cases in both India and Iceland, testing through IVF or during pregnancy has resulted in the termination of pregnancies or the selection of another embryo. The effects of genetic editing have already begun.

Key Terms Explained

[B]egging the question of whether it is too dangerous to edit genetically at all.

Louise Brown, the first human born after conception through IVF (b. 1978)

These tests have the potential to become much more advanced in the near future, being able to identify traits such as the sex or eye colour of an embryo. Any tests we currently have are not reliable enough actually to predict such traits but as the technology improves, we will become more accurate with these predictions.

Due to the influence of nurture on more complicated traits such as height or intelligence, it seems unlikely that we will ever be able to predict these characteristics completely. However, we might be able to comment on the likelihood of certain traits being present in a child. For example, there might be a 90% chance the baby has blue eyes or a 50% chance the baby grows to over six feet. We might end up with a whole ‘genome report’ for each baby with the ‘polygenic scores’ (likelihood) of each characteristic. Companies are already racing each other to be the first ones to predict different features for your baby; but for a price.

At the moment however, IVF is still quite inaccessible. At a price of around £5,000 a cycle (which doesn’t even ensure you will produce a successful embryo) IVF is prohibitively expensive. The NHS still gives out very few IVF treatments free of charge, due to the fact there are strict guidelines making many people ineligible for the

Possibly the biggest unforeseen threat created by genetic editing is inequality.

With access to healthcare already incredibly unequal, genetic editing would add another exclusive and expensive option for the wealthy. This is sure to increase the levels of inequality, not only between 1st and 3rd world countries, but also inequality within a country itself. Children from a wealthier background are already 10 to 15% healthier than poorer children, and it is not unreasonable to say that

The effects of genetic editing have already begun.

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§ DNA / Genes – All the information that makes us human and gives us our characteristics. § CRISPR – Clustered Randomly Interspersed Short Palindromic Repeats. This is the mechanism by which we could edit genes. § Genetic Disease – A condition caused by faulty genes that has been present since birth. § Therapy Edit – Curing genetical disease people have. § Enhancement Edit – Giving an advantage to an already healthy person. § Somatic – Editing a singular person where the edit ends with them. § Germline – Editing sex cells so a genetic edit is present in future generations. § Eugenics – Controlling breeding to increase the chance of superior genes. § IVF – In Vitro Fertilisation. Fertilising an egg outside the womb, either so testing can occur or due to infertility. § Polygenic Score – The likelihood of a baby having certain characteristics.

Benji Burns (5th Year)

Sam Atkins (U6)

Lily Cleal (U6)

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Hamish De Watteville (U6)

Oli Maughan-Taylor (5th Year)

Max Lake (5th Year)

Theo Ehrmann (U6)

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What is the most significant threat to mankind?

Max Rosenblatt

Fifth Year (This unseen, timed essay was written in one hour)

The most significant threat is the constant dependency on fossil fuels and the difficulty of reducing this. It is unquestionable that fossil fuels are, in general, extremely efficient. We rely on them to run our cars, heat our homes and keep our planes in the sky. They hold up multi-billion dollar industries and are accessible almost anywhere.

However, it’s well known that the combustion of fossil fuels leads to the release of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and other harmful gases. The simple answer to this is to say: “Right, let’s put as much money into renewable and clean energy as possible, then we won’t have to burn coal and other substances that harm the atmosphere.”

In the short term, this seems common sense. Solar and wind power is a good place to start. We can build panels and turbines to harness the energy without any atmospheric implications. The

problem isn’t in capturing the energy, but in storing the energy.

Currently, battery technology is advancing at a fantastic rate, but is still nowhere close to fossil fuels in terms of energy density.

One kilogram of kerosene (the fuel used in passenger aircraft) gives you around 42MJ, whilst the most advanced batteries that we have will store around 1MJ at maximum performance. This vast difference in energy storage means that, for the same amount of energy, you’ll need a far higher mass of batteries than you would need in kerosene. The effects of this are fairly simple to see.

In modes of transport, your cars and planes are going to need to be much

heavier (In cars, this isn’t so much of an issue, but it makes large electric passenger aircraft almost impossible).

All this scientific context makes us realize how a transition to renewable energy is not quite as easy as anticipated. What makes this even more concerning is when we understand how much of this polluting fuel we are consuming each day. There is a website where you can see the live position of all passenger aircraft across the globe and seeing it visualized is nothing short of terrifying.

Some countries are not even visible as they are covered with small icons of planes flying above them, and each and every one of these aircraft is

[A] transition to renewable energy is not quite as easy as anticipated.

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consuming hundreds of tonnes of fuel on each flight.

Where the threat begins to show itself is when we realize that crude oil is not an infinite resource. We will run out of it one day, and what then?

Unless we become an intergalactic civilisation (which I will discuss shortly), the Earth is our home. Every moment of life that you have experienced has taken place on this small rock that is hurtling through space at millions of miles an hour. The mere fact that we are here, living happily, is something of a scientific lottery win. It would be a waste of human intelligence and resources to allow ourselves to spiral into an irreversible state of change.

refine the harnessing of the energy.

Contrary to popular belief, however, it is not necessary to have large battery storage if one is supplying renewable power to a city, because one can simply feed the energy directly from solar or wind farms into the lines of the country’s National Grid.

However, one may wish to have energy in reserve, especially in countries with monsoon seasons, as energy consumption increases at this time.

which would not be a viable design for a high number of passengers.

In conclusion, unless we wanted to reinvent the rocket, or completely change the way we think about batteries, the most beneficial solution

[T]he most beneficial solution for mankind is to press for global industrial advancement.

So as the only species capable of such complex thinking, we need to evaluate our options. A study found that once the gross domestic product (GDP) of a country reached 5,000 US Dollars per person, the population of that country started to make an effort about the environment. GDP measures the values of the goods and services which an economy produces. In the light of this information, one possible solution would be to start to press for global industrialisation.

This would cause a short-term spike in energy consumption and thus air pollution, but hypothetically this should decrease as more of an effort is made towards clean energy. The second possible solution is to fund battery technology projects. Rather than producing more efficient solar panels or hydroelectric power stations, first find a storage method that is viable for transport and wider applications, then begin to

Finally, if one seeks a more radical solution, look no further than Mars.

Hypothetically speaking, it would not be impossible to colonise the Red Planet, and perhaps it would be a good first step towards exploring more of the wonders of the Universe. The issue it poses is that it will only add to the fossil fuel problem that plagues the world today. It is no secret that rockets consume fuel like there’s no tomorrow, and one would need more fuel than ever if one wanted to escape lowEarth orbit and go all the way to Mars.

Rockets by their very nature need a remarkable amount of thrust to get to the speeds necessary for orbit (around 5 miles per second) and overcome atmospheric drag at the same time. Atmospheric drag is the main issue when we examine rockets, so if we wanted to be efficient and transport many people at a time, we would need to completely rethink rocket design.

This is because atmospheric drag increases with surface area (1/2 * air density * velocity^2 * surface area).

This explains the reason why rockets are notoriously thin and “pointy,”

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for mankind is to press for global industrial advancement, which in turn would hypothetically eradicate poverty and world hunger. This seems too good to be true, and there will instantly be questions about the way in which resources are used in developing countries with notoriously corrupt governments (especially in central Africa and South America). These are questions we need to answer before we start helping these countries work towards a cleaner and more utopian future. For now, it is sensible to analyse the facts and figures in order to see if one could run one’s home on solar power or check that one has turned off all the lights that do not need to be on.

The Intrigue of Criminal Mothers Annabelle Smith Lower Sixth

Our country is meant to be in a state of equality that has never been reached before. Gender discrimination is a thing of the past. Stereotypes no longer need to be met. But is this actually true?

We as human beings do not like uncertainty. Our brains are designed to try to understand a situation, and this will lead us to jump to conclusions or make unjustified assumptions. We are not attempting to be discriminatory, but the probability of certain outcomes is higher than others. Our brains do not run statistical analyses on possible outcomes to see if the assumption is correct within reasonable doubt, they simply decide which outcome is more likely than the other.

[B]eing labelled sexist can be an easy way to destroy your reputation and career.

‘Masculine’ and ‘feminine’ traits are supposedly no longer a thing, and those who speak of them are accused of being politically incorrect.

The whole area surrounding gender labels is often avoided due to the fear of being labelled sexist. The sexist label is thrown around, but with it often come dire consequences. In a new world of gender equality, being labelled sexist can be an easy way to destroy your reputation and career.

In 2017 a Google employee was fired due to saying that women were best suited to “social and artistic work” in a memo.

In 2018 a top CERN scientist was suspended for giving a presentation that argued there was no sexism in physics.

The atmosphere surrounding gender labelling is volatile and it is often hard to approach the topic of gender stereotypes without being called out for it. Due to this, the subject is understandably often avoided.

But we all, whether intentionally or not, will make assumptions about people before we meet them. Certain careers can be dominated by a specific gender, and therefore assumptions are often made regarding a person’s employment prior to obtaining the knowledge. This is not the person saying that a man or woman can’t do the job; it is simply the human brain trying to fill in the gaps.

So what is the intrigue with female criminals, and specifically criminal mothers?

Mothers are painted out to be loving and caring and to place their child before everything else. The motherchild bond is meant to be stronger than anything else in this world. However, fathers are often not held to this same standard.

fractured his daughter’s toe, femur, and seven ribs and was sentenced to two years; but for failing to intervene, the mother got 30.

Why is it that these violent perpetrators are getting similar sentences to a bystander when they have exactly the same relationship to the victim?

Do fathers not have an equal duty to protect their children?

Every couple of years, the strange disappearance or death of a toddler - JonBenét Ramsey, for instance, or Madeleine McCann - seems to overtake the news. A panic ensues, and even with little evidence to base a decision on, the public will find someone to place the blame upon. As the seemingly endless retellings of the JonBenét Ramsey case makes clear, these stories will capture the attention of millions once the cast of characters widens. If they can be framed as mysteries about seemingly suspicious parents, and, even more specifically, about murderous mothers then they will attract an enormous audience.

Over the last decade in the US, 28 mothers have been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for failing to prevent their partners from harming their children. In every one of these cases, there was evidence that the mother herself had been the victim of domestic abuse by the man.

Some 13 such mothers, were given 20 years in prison or more. In one case, the mother was given a life sentence for failing to protect her son, exactly the same as the father who murdered him. In another case, the sentences were effectively the same. The killer got life, and the mother got 75 years. In the most outrageous case, the mother got a longer sentence than the man who raped her son. In yet another, a father

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JonBenét Ramsey

This sensationalised narrative twist is easily sold on news, social media, and at trials when the suspected killer doesn’t fit the conventional idea of innocent motherhood. She is painted as too secretive, too talkative, not properly mournful in public, and so public suspicion and outrage soon follows.

Patsy Ramsey lived under an umbrella of suspicion until her own death in 2006. She was said to be too flashy, too image-conscious. She was made out to be an overbearing stage mum who was therefore capable of staging a ransom note and committing murder.

The public somehow managed to put together a narrative according to which she accidentally killed JonBenét due to a blunt force to her head. This was then meant to match up to JonBenét being found dead in the basement with a cord around her neck tightened with her own paint brush. This mother was then meant to have written a ransom note for her own daughter.

All over spilling milk or wetting the bed.

The cause of death was determined as strangulation, as JonBenét was still meant to be alive whilst the cord was tightened around her neck. If this is the case, Patsy Ramsey must have intentionally murdered her daughter, not matching up to the public’s speculations. The public had put together a story where Patsy accidentally killed her daughter whilst in a rage, and speculated that JonBenét’s death was not an orchestrated incident, but rather a catastrophic turn of events.

suspicion they had been forced to live with. This however has still not put the public’s suspicions to rest.

Other cold cases throughout the years have also been blamed on mothers, even if they had nothing to do with the crime. Mothers can be pitched against mothers where the supposedly ‘better’ mother is given public support. The role of the father in these cases is often ignored, and all focus is placed upon the mother.

In 1912 a boy named Bobby Dunbar went missing in Louisiana. Months later, a man named William Cantwell Walters was seen with a supposedly similar looking boy. When the authorities caught up with him, he claimed the boy was Charles Bruce Anderson, the illegitimate child of his brother and a woman who worked for his parents named Julia Anderson. Journalists portrayed Anderson as a woman with ‘loose morals’ and shamed her on the alleged grounds that she had children out of wedlock who had died. Lessie Dunbar was thought to be the mother of the boy, as her son had gone missing mere months prior to ‘Bobby’ being found. Both Julia Anderson and Lessie Dunbar argued that this boy was their son.

Everyone fought in favour of Lessie Dunbar, who was seen to match the image of a stereotypical mother much better than Julia Anderson.

Do fathers not have an equal duty to protect their children?

Police officers ran a handwriting analysis of the letter and Patsy Ramsey came back as inconclusive. Though this doesn’t necessarily put Patsy in the all clear, it certainly doesn’t incriminate her. The public however did not see this as evidence that Patsy may be innocent.

The culprit of this horrific murder was never discovered, but the Boulder Police Department years later formally apologised to the Ramsey family for the

Lessie Dunbar and Bobby Dunbar

Mothers are often held to a certain standard and stereotype. In the case of Bobby Dunbar, Julia Anderson was immediately at a disadvantage due to her unconventional image for a mother.

The public highlighted every weakness shown in her case, even if the same weakness was shown, but hidden, for Lessie Dunbar. Both mothers were hesitant at first to claim the boy as their own, but reporters highlighted this only for Julia Anderson and appeared simply to brush over the fact that Lessie had done the exact same thing.

They claimed that Julia Anderson was at fault for ever letting her son go with William Walters in the first place, but didn’t mention the fact that the Dunbar

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family was careless enough to let Bobby get lost in the woods.

Despite what we all want to believe, our world is still not free of gender stereotypes. Mothers are held more liable for their children than fathers, despite the fact that both parents have significant responsibilities to care for their children. Is this why murderous mothers are more intriguing than fathers who kill?

Is it possible to remove this inequality which is so deeply engrained into our world? Maybe so. Maybe not. However, whatever the true reason behind our intrigue with criminal mothers, it brings to light the inequality still prevalent within our lives, and the stereotypes still placed on the 7.53 billion people on our planet.

A change is needed but hard to bring about. As previously mentioned, we don’t always make justified assumptions and therefore it is hard to change this at the drop of a hat. Perhaps the future will bring about a truly equal society, but until then we are forced to live with our assumptions and must learn how to overcome them for the benefit of our judges, jurors and defendants and society as a whole.

What is Utilitarianism? Can it be defended?

Harry Goldmann

Upper Sixth (This essay was highly commended in the New College of Humanities essay competition) Jeremy Bentham published in ‘1789 An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation’ in which he created his principle of utility. His version of Utilitarianism, known as Act Utilitarianism, is a strictly teleological approach to ethics and places the outcome, specifically the amount of pleasure to pain, as the principle from which morality should be decided.

To deal with the assumptions and lack of clarity many other forms of Utilitarianism have been formed, such as Rule Utilitarianism and Preference Utilitarianism. Whilst they may have different values and conclusions they share many criticisms relating to their nature of being both teleological and, according to Pope John Paul II, degrading people to little more than objects because by relying on the total happiness the individual is just a means to an end. This could justify torture and human rights abuses if there is a greater end goal achieved. Utilitarianism certainly can be defended, even though there are problems in both the assumptions made and the reasoning.

Act Utilitarianism as illustrated by Bentham centres around bringing about utility, being defined as something that ‘tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness’ or as prevention of ‘mischief, pain evil or unhappiness’, as the only deciding factor in moral actions.

An advantage of using pleasure is that it is centred around immediate human experience and therefore concludes that happiness is the only thing that humans universally desire. However, the subjective nature of an emotion is problematic. Marx pointed out that humans are not like dogs and instead have different joys and pleasures to one another.

Bentham tried to quantify pleasure by using the hedonic calculus. However, the hedonic calculus does not change the obviously subjective nature of pleasure which occur such as the law of diminishing returns. A benefit of the hedonic calculus is its pragmatism and egalitarianism: these factors are crucial to free and democratic society.

Bentham incorporates egalitarianism as the belief that all people’s pleasures are equal. This incorporation is necessary in the calculation. A natural extrapolation is that according to Utilitarianism everyone should be viewed as equal and should work for the betterment of the whole: isn’t this what modern representative democracy relies on?

The pragmatism of Act Utilitarianism can’t be denied because the principles it uses are necessary for the development of society and policy making.

However, the application of Utilitarianism is not always so positive: an example of this is cost-benefit analysis in the business world. A corporation’s directors could decide that it is more useful not to solve a problem because the cost to its shareholders and the cost to the majority of consumers outweigh a rare adverse impact to a single user.

Ford’s directors were guilty of this in releasing the Ford Pinto. This criticism against the application of hedonic calculus is poor because the costbenefit analysis is not true to Act Utilitarianism since it centres around profit being the desired outcome and not pleasure. For all its flaws, Act Utilitarianism is clearly pragmatic and effective on a large scale. Criticisms against this often rely on Act Utilitarianism being applied poorly. However, on the personal level the application of Utilitarianism is problematic because it can undermine the individual’s free will and does not

[E]veryone should be viewed as equal and should work for the betterment of the whole.

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consider intention or the individual’s significantly limited ability to calculate what will happen in the future.

By removing intention and the morality of the action as a measure for ‘goodness’, Bentham does away with human rights as long as abusing someone leads to the greatest pleasure achievable. An example which is often cited is a spy torturing a terrorist in order to have information which could prevent a major attack, from the hedonic calculus we can calculate that this is a moral action because only one person is suffering compared to the potential hundreds that would suffer.

This example points out, much in line with Pope John Paul II’s criticism, that Utilitarianism leads to ‘a civilization in which persons are used in the same way things are used’. This means that people just become an end to achieve pleasure instead of sentient beings that feel pain and a variety of emotions other than pleasure. However, on a large scale the collective pleasure as defined by security, safety etc. must be considered because there are not many other significant ways of defining what

the intended outcome should be. Also, longer term effects can be difficult to calculate and are often inaccurate: it could not have been guessed that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28th 1914 by Gavrilo Princip would lead to a global war. To the extent that historical events have a cause, governments and economists have some idea of the consequences of their actions due to past experience and models but humans, especially in unfamiliar circumstances, can’t always know what the repercussions would be.

that liberty should be followed to lead to the greatest amount of pleasure over pain. From a Kantian perspective Mill could be criticised for using people to an end. Much like Bentham he groups together individuals and doesn’t consider that by allowing people lots of freedom he could be allowing people to harm themselves or others, even if they adhere to the general rule. A response to this would be that by removing people’s liberty, their freedom to maximise pleasure is lost and therefore can’t work for the betterment of society.

On the other hand, as explained by Mill, we do generally understand the outcomes from following certain rules, but this is different to Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism, consequently Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism can’t be followed by the individual easily but is supported by being put into practice by governments and working well.

Whilst Rule Utilitarianism does appear to be more consistent than Act Utilitarianism, Mill does state that Act Utilitarianism should be followed in certain circumstances. An example of this would be kidnapping a doctor to save your friend. Therefore, the circumstance can demand breaking the general law and instead require following Act Utilitarianism. This is problematic for many reasons. Mill may be trying to make rule Utilitarianism more pragmatic by allowing choices within situations in which rule Utilitarianism cannot be followed.

However, by undermining the principle on which his ethical theory is built, he is admitting that it is impractical and would not work.

However, it must be noted that Mill only accepts following Act Utilitarianism in exceptional circumstances not in most moral dilemmas, so it could be argued that Mill is being pragmatic by acknowledging there are circumstances in which people would have to drop previous principles to find the outcome with the greatest pleasure. This criticism against Rule Utilitarianism does highlight how it is not applicable to all scenarios. By having to decide whether the scenario warrants Act Utilitarianism instead of Rule Utilitarianism means that there is an extra level of complexity

[L]onger term effects can be difficult to calculate and are often inaccurate.

Consider the scenario in which someone wants to buy a new car to get to work.

According to Act Utilitarianism the outcome which promotes the most pleasure is if the person buys the cheapest mode of transport possible and donates the rest to charity because this would lead to lots of pleasure for a higher number of people than one.

Furthermore, if this was applied to all financial decisions someone would have to make, she would be obliged to donate all her disposable income for the ‘greatest good’, eventually leading to her whole life being a slave to the greatest good regardless of the individual’s will. John Stuart Mill, for this reason and others, created Rule Utilitarianism. Instead of relying on calculating the result of every action Mill believes we should follow the rule that would lead to the greatest balance of pleasure over pain. It may be more reasonable than Act Utilitarianism in the sense that it allows the formation of a society with laws and regulations and does not rely purely on the reason of the individual. However, Mill does not believe that there should be strict law to maximise happiness: instead he believes

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in the decision making. ThIs means that time must be spent calculating the best ethical view to follow which is what Mill was trying to remove in the first place. Rule Utilitarianism is still a reasonable view to follow because it understands that in most circumstances following a general Rule will bring about the greatest amount of happiness.

However, the vagueness about when to follow Rule Utilitarianism instead of Act Utilitarianism is problematic.

This allows people to find the outcome they want, much like egoism, instead of what benefits the greatest number.

To conclude, Utilitarianism does work in practice incredibly well but only on a large scale where the individual doesn’t have to consider the repercussions herself. Not only does Utilitarianism require an egalitarian society to function, demonstrating its progressive nature, it is also focused on the immediate result and does not need to be resolved or balanced in the afterlife, unlike Christian ethics. Act Utilitarianism oversimplifies pleasure to make pleasure objective but there are no other measures of human wellbeing on which outcome could be based. Consequently, Utilitarianism is a useful tool to find the best outcome but Ford Pinto

if misused it can easily undermine the individual and be used to benefit only the majority. However, these examples would undermine Rule Utilitarianism’s principles which would stop these atrocities from occurring because they go against rules that should be followed.

Utilitarianism should be defined as a way of trying to benefit the majority of people without compromising on the liberty of others or from causing suffering on the minority.

What is even worth smiling about right now?

Tom Wild

Lower Sixth (This unseen, timed essay was written in one hour) The world is in a dark place. Here in Britain we are abandoning our fellow(?)

Europeans and arguing vehemently between ourselves about how – and even (still!) whether – we should do it.

Global warming is rapidly on the rise and the President of the United States refuses to believe that it even exists.

He is also provoking a lunatic dictator into what would be a totally horrific nuclear war and making many of his own people feel neglected and angry. He wants to give guns to all the teachers.

He doesn’t want to use his brain. Much of the African world is still stuck deep down in the pit of poverty and the western world is not strong enough (or bothered enough) to pull them out. These are but a few of the problems. The world is in a dark place. Or is it?

that people say about ‘Brexit’, paints a negative, harsh and narrow picture of our leaving the EU. But why don’t we look at things from another perspective: we, as a country, took matters into our own hands and, using the powers of democracy, made a decision that we believed (or indeed 51.9% of voters believed) to be the right one. It was a difficult and gambling decision, but often those prove to be the most important and rewarding kind. Is that not rather inspiring?

Is it not a little bit brilliant that we can let ourselves do such a thing? We forget here in Britain how lucky we are sometimes. There was a time when our country did not even have a concept of democracy. Some countries still do not. I just really hope Brexit works out alright.

I said that we, Great Britain have chosen to abandon the European Union.

This, along with many other things

And then there is the question of Trump. The most controversial golfer of all time, who also happens to be

He wants to give guns to all the teachers. He doesn’t want to use his brain.

Kasuo Ishiguro

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the President of the United States and the most influential person in the whole wide world. When he comes out with statements about how he wants to give guns to all American teachers, or (allegedly) calls Third World countries a bad word (I am not sure it would be appropriate to write it in here), it does become hard to see any positives in Donald J. Trump.

However, in fact, some of his policies had success, albeit in unorthodox ways.

His tweeted threats at North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, or as he is now better known, ‘Rocket Man’ may have seem terrifyingly ill-judged at the time. However, Kim has actually now calmed down and agreed to negotiate with South Korea about hosting a joint sporting event, and is generally being somewhat more considered than before his online altercation with Trump. And despite the general despair about him over here and in large parts of the USA, he did get elected to the White House in a democratic system (ignoring those pesky Russian ‘fixers’ for the moment). Can over half of America really be ridiculous lunatics? I

Greg James on Ben Nevis

doubt it. So, there must be something good about the man, right?

I also believe that if one looks hard enough, and doesn’t take everything too seriously – as it seems we do down here in the Home Counties – it is impossible not to find things to smile about. As I am writing this essay, Greg James, the Radio 1 DJ, is climbing Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles and his third peak in three days. He also plans to cycle 80 miles, for the third time in three days, in the bitter temperatures, buffeting winds and even the snow of the so-called ‘Beast from the East’, all to raise money for Sport Relief, a charity which helps the poverty-stricken African countries I was so demoralised about in my introduction. If this human kindness and heroism doesn’t provoke a smile for you then maybe you should stop reading my essay and just take the answer to be a straight: ‘NOTHING’.

the top ten of League 1, the latest Star Wars film was a triumph and Kazuo Ishiguro, author of thought-provoking novels such as ‘Never Let Me Go’ and ‘The Remains of the Day’ has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

My point about these things is that, whatever is going on in the wider world, there are still things which may not ‘matter’ in the grand scheme of life, but which I personally can still certainly smile about.

[T]he little things in life are always worth smiling about. Even if it is just a stupid innuendo or someone falling over.

In other news, Gillingham FC have climbed from the relegation zone into

At the end of last year, there was a lot of talk about how 2017 was ‘the worst year EVER’ and that we should all just give up.

And I cannot deny that I was saying these things too. But writing this essay has made me realise that whatever is going on in the real, serious world out there, the little things in life are always worth smiling about. Even if it is just

a stupid innuendo or someone falling over. Sure, in many ways the world hasn’t been great recently, in terms of politics (for some) and the tragic terrorism both in Britain and around the world, but the nature of being alive is that there will be good and there will be bad. There will be laughter, and there will be tears. There will be anger, and there will be love. Global warming threatens the future of the human race, but if we want, we can just say: ‘Who cares? It doesn’t affect us anyway.’ As Newton proclaimed: ‘For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’.

He was talking about Physics of course, but, seeing as I don’t care about Physics, I am extending his statement to apply to life in general. The world might be in a dark place, but we have the torches to light the way, and I think we are using them better than we give ourselves credit for. And if you are still sceptical after reading all this then frankly, I have nothing more to say to you than: Cheer up, for goodness’ sake!

I have nothing more to say to you than: Cheer up, for goodness’ sake!

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Malaria & the UK Grace McCulloch Lower Sixth

and drought prone areas, because of the way water is stored; both of these extremities are becoming more common globally.

Figure A

Malaria is a disease which has affected the world and its people since the beginning of human history. It has infected over one billion and today it still remains a global health phenomenon. It causes in excess of a 1 million deaths annually.

With atmospheric temperatures set to reach up to 3C over pre-industrial records and sea levels anticipated to rise by a further 65cm by the end of the century, the UK is having to prepare for new challenges.

beneficial to the vector as low sanitation causes stagnant, contaminated water to gather and provide successful breeding ground. Vectors are organisms that transmit a disease from one animal or plant to another.

Mosquitos have created a complicated non-linear relationship as they can flourish in both flood

Could this state of crisis occur in the United Kingdom in less than half a century?

6,500km away the story is of extreme severity; Uganda experienced 10.8 million cases of Malaria in 2017. The most vulnerable areas are restricted within the Tropics therefore 23.5 degrees North and South of the Equator; this is attributed to the climate being the most amenable for mosquito growth and survival. The way of life is

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Climate change has the capacity to completely revolutionise how the pathogen is spread. By definition a pathogen is a biological agent that inflicts illness to its host by disrupting the normal physiology of the multicellular animal/plant. In temperatures over 25°C the insect’s body grows the fastest consequentially creating greater turnovers, bigger populations and therefore a growing epidemic potential for viruses. An example of this is Mount Kenya where the rising temperature from 18C (where the vector cannot mature) to 20C has put a further 4 million people at risk and with little immunity to rely on they are helpless. Could this state of crisis occur in the United Kingdom in less than half a century?

I believe it would be possible and experts agree, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health warned that pest-borne diseases are now a ‘serious concern’ for UK residents. Figure A represents the projected suitability of UK habitats for mosquito transmission from 2045. There is evidence from the image that the UK is likely to become increasingly hospitable as mosquitos’

Greta Thunberg

distribution range expands. This is due to our climate morphing into one in which the species thrives, exaggerated by the increased use of salt marshes to protect coastal regions and heightened flood risks. Many people believe that the UK is an advanced country because of its stable economic status including having a GDP of $US39,720 per capita. In addition, it would be thought that since it is equipped with the technology and innovation to combat a treatable, curable disease it could be successful, however this isn’t the case. Spokesperson Julie Barratt of the CIEH (Chattered Institute of Environmental Health) said, “Modern living conditions, urban sprawl and emerging changes in climate make the spread pest-borne diseases increasingly likely,” especially in a world where 22% of the population are described as living in absolute poverty. It’s this cohort that are more susceptible to disease.

The Malaria’s way of life needs to be attacked by intervening and changing the bad drainage, lack of housing in these areas. The UK shouldn’t wait to react until an outbreak occurs. Malaria

needs to be built out of the country before it even arrives. It is not a cheap or easy route of prevention but it has lasting effects.

UK is likely to become increasingly hospitable as mosquitos’ distribution range expands.

I believe that both g over nments and the general public are responsible for the spread of malaria. The majority of proposals created presently seem to be based around huge infrastructure projects. I agree with Greta Thunberg when she states ‘we cannot buy and build our way out of a crisis that has been created by buying and building stuff ’. The alleged leaders of the world have failed to enforce responsible rules to protect future generations, it is their role to be experts in their department however they have instead deceived and downplayed the magnitude of crisis the general public are only now realising.

To date, officials and governments have tended to react to disease outbreaks as they occur, this is again irresponsible.

A complementary point is that no one dares to look beyond current political systems, even thought it’s clear the answers we seek will not be found in the politics of today.

Huge economic burdens to contemporary societies have already been forecast including unnerving figures concluding that growth is recorded to be depressed by 1.3% annually if there is an endemic disease present in the country. This has further consequences such as influencing unemployment, inflation, poverty and trade therefore increasing the likelihood of a global recession. People fail to envisage climate change affecting them personally or in their life time therefore push it to the back of their minds.

This is naïve.

People need to open their eyes and envisage fishless seas, food availability crisis and tropical diseases generating chaos on global scales. We live in a strange world, it is the world my generation has been handed, it is the only world we have got. There is no planet B. Malaria is everyone’s problem.

‘[W]e cannot buy and build our way out of a crisis that has been created by buying and building stuff ’.

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Business size: is it time for a new classification?

Mr Rick West

Teacher of Business Business growth concerns firms increasing sales revenue usually with a view to raise profits too. Growth can be planned or accidental. Business growth can have many advantages such as economies of scale, increased market power, greater market share and brand recognition.

do we really understand what causes a particular business to fall into one category or another? In this article I will attempt to develop a model of business size that I hope will make it easier for students to place businesses into different categories.

A micro business often refers to a firm with less than 10 workers and a small firm 10-49 workers; with medium 50250 employees and large over 250 employees. However, look elsewhere and small is classified as any business employing less than 100 employees and medium 100-999 with large businesses employing over 1000 people. Sometimes there is a turnover requirement as well as employee numbers making it unclear where a business might fit if it meets the criteria for employee numbers but does not meet the turnover requirements.

1965 in Bridegport Connecticut (USA).

Despite a lack of financial success at the first two outlets they continued to expand Subway. In 1984 it opened it’s first franchise outside of North America with Subway reaching the UK in 1996 when an outlet was opened in Brighton. It now operates in well over 100 countries and has over 44,000 outlets worldwide.

Subway is a fast food franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches (subs) and salads. It is one of the fastest-growing franchises in the world. At the end of 2010, Subway became the largest fast food chain worldwide overtaking McDonald’s.

However, in the USA Subway have closed over 1000 outlets in recent years due to falling sales and profits. In 2018, Subway invested $25 million in a re-branding campaign targeted at young consumers in order to revitalize its image and boost sales, particularly in the USA. Subway is

At the end of 2010, Subway became the largest fast food chain worldwide overtaking McDonald’s.

Growth can also bring problems, such as diseconomies of scale, poor motivation and (if growing too fast) overtrading. A firm’s business growth strategy may consider concepts such as Porter’s five forces or Ansoff ’s matrix when devising their strategy. In an exam answer students can raise the disadvantages of growth as counterpoints to the benefits of growth.

Case study: Subway began operating in

Many businesses go through different phases of growth from being a small or medium sized enterprise to, if successful, developing into a large firm or even a multi-national corporation (MNC).

Business textbooks tend to have a dearth of material on how to classify business size and where it does exist there is often conflicting information.

We can happily refer to multinational corporations (MNCs) or small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) but

Morgan Aero 8, 2007

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clearly a successful MNC benefiting from expanding in to the global market but not without it’s challenges particularly in it’s home nation of the USA. Although production in some areas of activity is often dominated by large firms, in many industries SMEs play an important role too. In industries where economies of scale are significant large firms would be expected to develop and to dominate in order to operate at the minimum efficient scale.

However, small firms can survive if they offer a local, flexible, bespoke and personalised service, often within a niche sector.

more highly focused by concentrating efforts and energy on core activities to enable the company to be successful and flourish within a clearly defined market.

This could mean that previously large MNCs become much more focused SMEs as the company splits into smaller firms. This type of downsizing is sometimes called retrenchment.

per year, all assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately six months, and has sometimes been as long as ten years. Morgan has never embraced mass production techniques and has chosen to remain an SME. This may have been the right decision given the misfortunes of the larger British car manufacturers, notably Rover group who went bust in 2005.

Some small firms may simply choose to remain small in order to maintain USPs or product differentiation or to respond needs flexibly and

Morgan cars are unusual because wood has been used in their construction for a century, for the chassis of several early models and still in the 21st century for the body shell. Morgan has resisted external pressures to modernise and grow and have shown that they understand their niche market very well and know that their customers want a hand built car not a mass produced, mass market vehicle.

Morgan have never embraced mass production techniques and have chosen to remain an SME.

Large firms may be viewed as more stable than small businesses, able to exercise market power over customers and suppliers as they increase market share and brand recognition. However, it should also be noted that the small firms of today are the large firms of tomorrow, growing either organically (internally) or inorganically (externally) through mergers, acquisitions or takeovers. Growth that is too fast can lead to problems of overtrading with large cash outflows resulting in a cash crisis thus expanding firms need to be judicious in how fast they grow and manage their cash flow effectively in order to avoid running out of cash.

to customer efficaciously.

Case study: The Morgan Motor Company had long waiting lists for many years but chose to remain small rather than expand to meet this excess demand. Morgan is a 100% familyowned British motor car manufacturer that was founded in 1910. Its first car was a single seater 3 wheeled car, though by the 1930s they began producing 4 wheeled cars. The Morgan 4/4 was introduced in 1936 and is still in production today .

Morgan is based in Malvern, Worcestershire, and employs 177 people, making them a “transitional” company. Morgan has stated that they produce in excess of 1300 cars

The “West Churcherian” model that I am proposing in this article defines a micro business (which could be all family members) as 1-9 staff; small businesses 10-19 staff; medium 20-49; intermediate 50-99; transitional 100249; and large as over 250 staff which will sometimes be an MNC. I do not intend any turnover requirements to be attached to each classification as this can make the categorization more complicated and difficult.

There is increasing evidence of demergers where diseconomies of scale, declining markets or a lack of synergies, creates a need to become

The Morgan 4/4

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In conclusion, some firms, such as Subway, may choose to become larger and adopt an aggressive growth strategy to move from being an SME to a large MNC. Other firms may demerge or simply chose to remain smaller, such as Morgan cars, where they operate within a niche sector and know how to meet the particular needs of their customers well. If they can keep their customers loyal and maintain a bespoke and quality service, they can continue to thrive within this sub-sector of a larger market.

How much of an issue do Equine Influenza carriers in the racing industry pose to the horse population of the UK, and is it amplified by misrepresentations of the media?

Hannah Snelling Lower Sixth

cells and attach to them, attempting by many methods to destroy the entire cell, and hopefully destroy the viruses in increasing numbers. The T cells also release cytotoxic T cells, which aim to kill the pathogen by producing a protein called perforin which makes holes in the cell-surface membrane of the virus, enabling it to become freely permeable to all substances.

Equine Influenza, known as EI or horse flu, is a viral disease found in horses (or other members of the equine species such as ponies and donkeys) that is highly contagious and affects the respiratory system while increasing the risk of respiratory disease. EI is not a new disease in the UK. However, many horses remain highly susceptible to the effects as sufficient immune responses have not been built up against the differing strains of horse flu. In addition, the effects are becoming much more widespread and catastrophic, which is in turn affecting the horses in the racing industry especially, in which health and welfare is fundamental, as it remains the industry with arguably one of the largest modern moral dilemmas, and is constantly in the media limelight.

This disease is purely restricted to the equine species; humans cannot catch the disease. However, physical transfer of the pathogen (Influenza A, B, or C, dependent on the specific strain) by humans or equipment is possible and common. It is therefore vital that all equipment, tack and horse transport vehicles are thoroughly sterilised and disinfected before usage. Once infected with this disease the susceptible horse’s immune system is taken by surprise and the virus will spread quite rapidly throughout the body until the horse develops an effective immune response against the strain of EI. Once recovered the horse is very unlikely to suffer from EI again as it has built up a resistance

against the disease.

The strain of EI that has most recently disrupted the racing industry has been the Florida Clade 1 and is not a strain frequently seen in in the UK, although British horses are vaccinated against it.

This virulent strain has caused disease even in vaccinated horses and is also the same strain that caused the outbreak in Australia in 2007.

EI is a virus so it causes intracellular damage. It is a segmented RNA virus with 80-120nm in diameter and is classified under the family Orthomyxoviridae belonging to the genus Influenza A. The virus transmission occurs by inhalation through aerosol that can spread effectively through air up to 1km-2km of distance. The incubation period is 1-3 days. Firstly, the virus invades its first host cell where it enters the cytoplasm and replicates.

The host cell understands there is an infection and releases a chemical that warns other cells that it is infected.

This stimulates other cells to produce antitoxins to attempt to stop the virus replicating. This cell then can infect other cells. At this point symptoms start to become more noticeable, as the process of inflammation begins.

Passing T cells encounter the infected

The horse racing industry constantly battles with misrepresentations from the media and the resulting concerns and queries from the general public.

Since the 12th century when it was first introduced to the UK, the industry has remained the topic of one of the largest moral debates. It is possible to overlook the dark side of the industry and focus on the supposed glitz, glamour and the satisfaction of a win on a bet. This has been especially true more recently when the industry has been portrayed in the media as a sport of heritage and tradition, in order to gain positive perceptions from the public. However, there is no doubt that there is still inevitable and persistent suffering felt by horses, primarily through ill-treatment as a result of policies driven by money-making and business strategies.

EI contributes to this dilemma, as the most recent outbreak caused a delay in the Cheltenham racing event by six days, which is essentially six days lost in which business owners in the industry could be making a profit, and so highlights the greed of high-status individuals in the industry.

[T]he industry has remained the topic of one of the largest moral debates.

The highly contagious nature of EI means that it has the potential to compromise the international movement of horses seriously. EI did not just pose itself as a threat to popular racing destinations such as Cheltenham, Ascot and Aintree, but

also to the nation as a whole. As the virus is communicable and spreads extremely quickly, the nation descended into another ‘state of panic’ as the possibility of infection on a much larger scale became significant. This was perhaps accentuated by the media, which acted as a catalyst for disruption by intensifying the situation for their benefit, as seen in the plethora of newspaper headlines and televised stories.

Fortunately, this ensured that preventive measures were taken immediately by stud farms and yards across the country, however it is arguable that the uproar caused by the media, usually deemed a reliable source, was unnecessary and overemphasised.

Presently, a vaccine which induces mucosal (local) antibody protection has demonstrated most beneficial protection against the natural challenge . Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) proposed a rule in 2015 under which all horses competing in FEI competitions require vaccination within six months and twenty-one days of the competition.

As from January 2006 a system of fines was imposed by the Appeal Committee for failure to comply with 6-month booster vaccinations. This legislation ensured that the racing industry complied to welfare standards and consequently led to a gradual decrease in EI cases.

The entire equine population remains very much at risk to this virus, partly dependent on the demography of the population, and partly due to the nature of the pathogen itself. It has been revealed that the equines most susceptible to the disease are foals and older horses. Foals due to a ‘naive immune system’ in which correct antibodies have not yet been developed, and older horses because their immune systems naturally deteriorate as they get older due to a reduced production of lymphocytes (small white blood cells).

As mentioned earlier, the EI pathogen is a virus, in which it possesses great antigenic variability. This means it is extremely difficult for the body to produce naturally the correct antibodies through production of plasma cells and memory cells during humoral immunity, and it is equally as arduous to create effective vaccination and treatment.

Furthermore, a virus replicates through a process of complicated transcription

[T]he media acted as a catalyst for disruption.

The outbreak of EI played a crucial role in aiding the industry to determine the strengths of their strategies and welfare policies, as well as the effectiveness of the business elements of their companies, by giving them a ‘wake-up call’. The cost of the EI outbreak for stakeholders totalled up to over £10 million, with treatments costing up to £150million across the industry. But cost was not the only element affected by the outbreak, as the competitive market also took a blow; the number of racehorse sales decreased dramatically, as well as the overall profit of many companies such as Cheverley Park Stud and the Mickley Stud.

In 2018 there were two laboratory confirmed flu positives. This year, that number skyrocketed to more than 100 in January alone. Fortunately, some of these diagnoses were due to increased awareness – heightened press coverage ensured more owners consulted their veterinarians when early potential symptoms were spotted. It appears that early diagnosis is most important in the success of treatment for the individual case, and could be the difference between recovery/prevention and widespread disaster. Additionally, the practice of ‘swabbing’ the horse for your veterinarian means owners are able to contribute to the future of vaccinations. Vaccinations can take up to four years to be updated to the latest strains, and this data comes from research of what is currently circulating.

using a unique enzyme called reversetranscriptase, which converts the virus’s ribosenucleicacid (RNA) into deoxyribosenucleicacid (DNA) after attaching to a host cell. This means it is almost impossible to create treatment, as veterinarians do not want to destroy the body cells that are acting as host cells for the virus.

The intensity of the outbreak of this strain of EI has been visibly heightened by the media, in which a ‘false-balance’ has been created as a result of addressing the great moral debate of horse racing.

This is best described as a bias in which journalists present an issue as being more balanced between opposing viewpoints than the evidence supports.

The implications of representations from the media are large enough to start making efforts to bring about change. This has been evidenced by the rapid surge of panic caused by the EI outbreak, as it soon became one of the most prevalent news stories; it was even in contest with Brexit. This highlights how integral and interwoven the world and industry of horse racing is in our current society.

It is clear that this disease poses just as many threats to the equine population as it did many centuries ago, despite new advances in medicine and technology. Arguably, the severity of the virus has been visibly distorted by the media, and has resulted in many mixed perceptions. It seems that while this debate is highly subjective to influence and experience, it is built on undeniable science and logic, which could be why the overall deliberation of the horse racing industry is such a widespread moral dilemma. Looking onward into the future, the question remains: Will EI become the defining factor that ends horse racing for good?

Use of a vaccine to prevent spread of the pathogen

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Conceptualising Neoliberalism Felix Williams Lower Sixth

Neoliberalism is everywhere. It has probably shaped your life more than any other single ideology – yet it is an incredibly fickle beast with regards to pinpointing exactly what it is, and where it came from.

Justice Potter Stewart famously said about pornography that he ‘knew it when he saw it,’ yet could not give precise parameters for what constituted obscene images. For many, identifying neoliberal doctrine and proponents thereof is done with this logic in mind.

If a pornographer proudly declares his work to be just that – obscene imagery – then the ‘debate’ about what the imagery is ceases to be a debate.

However, if a ‘photographer’ chooses to take questionably provocative pictures, the lines are blurred. The same might be said of neoliberalism.

Take Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, a self-identifying neoliberal espousing neoliberal doctrine. Just like the shameless pornographer producing just that, there is no doubt that an individual such as Friedman is a neoliberal with neoliberal principles.

separating the original ideology from neoliberalism becomes a difficult task.

We shall return to this concept, that neoliberalism is often served as a side dish.

However, the overwhelming majority of ‘neoliberals’ who have been identified by political theorists do not call themselves as such. They, like the slightly dodgy photog raphers, have their true doctrine concealed, or sometimes merely nominally veiled, by another, perhaps more familiar ideology. This is precisely why neoliberalism as a singular set of principles is so hard to conceptualise, because it is so closely associated with other ideologies; so much so that it can become so deeply linked to them that

In order to start drilling down to what neoliberalism is, it is best to go back to where it came from. Many ideologies, especially those which have roots in early Enlightenment thought, go through periods of popularity and adoption, and decline. Indeed, some ideas are not thought of to a significant degree for decades.

However, they often return, sometimes updated for a new era or modified in some way. This is where we often attach the prefix ‘Neo-’, meaning ‘new’.

Most people have heard of ‘neo-‘in the context of ‘neo-Nazism’. Nazism was of course an ideology that had a

Thomas Hobbes

[I]f a ‘photographer’ chooses to take questionably provocative pictures, the lines are blurred.

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period of intense popularity followed by a rapid period of decline and is now on the very far fringes of politics. A neo-Nazi – new-Nazi if you will – is just that; an individual who holds Nazi principles yet is distinct temporally from the original movement and more often than not has updated the original doctrine to fit with the new time period. For instance, the Nazism of the 1930s and 1940s is notable for an emphasis on anti-Semitism, yet the modern interpretation of Nazism, that is, neo-Nazism, has, whilst reaffirming anti-Semitism, a newfound and equally vitriolic Islamophobia. This highlights how, whilst keeping the ideology the same, ‘neo’ ideologies will update the ideology, often so much so that they could be considered different from one another.

So we have established what ‘neo‘means: an updated version of an ideology that, building upon the ideas that have come before, may change the original one significantly. If we take the

‘neo’ out of ‘neoliberalism’, we are left with liberalism. Taking note of the fact that neoliberalism by definition must at least give a nod to ‘old’ liberalism, it is fair to examine what liberalism is.

Liberalism is an ideology that emerged during the Enlightenment, an intellectual movement in Europe during the eighteenth century. The most important liberal thinker is John Locke, who stressed the rationality of man (in keeping with other Enlightenment thinkers), and had a fundamentally positive view of human nature. This is best understood when one imagines a world without a government.

Some, like Thomas Hobbes (a fellow Enlightenment man although with a radically different philosophy to Locke) would say that such a ‘state of nature’ would be horrible, because man, without the authority figure, has no moral compass and only looks out for himself with no regard for others.

Locke, on the other hand, says that the world without a state would not be altogether too bad, saying that ‘laws of nature’ exist – these constitute a category of universal moral code which are within all (or nearly all) humans – which would restrain the worst aspects of human nature. Hobbes justifies the state in that it is necessary for human

life to be liveable, for society to form, whereas Locke says that the state merely builds upon an already ‘not bad’ situation, aiming to resolve disputes in a peaceful manner and also to manage any troublemakers who may choose not to abide by the laws of nature.

We now have a good idea of what liberalism is, and, through our knowledge of other ‘neo-‘ideologies, be able to draw some conclusions about what neoliberalism is. In short, it is a heavily updated and modified form of classical liberalism. Neoliberalism stresses that the government should get out of the way of the individual, and that humans, as economic entities as well as people with their own ends and wants, are best left to their own devices.

Their mission was simple, to ‘roll back the frontiers of the state’ and to unleash the free market.

The writer mentions that neoliberals believe in the unfettering of man as an ‘economic’ being because neoliberalism is a peculiarly economic ideology; in fact, some may argue that what makes neoliberalism distinct from classical liberalism (other than the fact that neoliberalism is a renaissance of classical liberalism) is an emphasis on the free market and minimal government intervention in the economy.

It is unsurprising that what is essentially

an economic ideology has its origins in the hands of an economist: Friedrich von Hayek. Hayek was one of the two great economists of the last century, along with John Maynard Keynes.

Whereas the latter saw his proposals of a heavily managed economy being implemented in the post-war era (only for them to be all but abandoned following the 1970s), Hayek’s economics have been enduring and capable of weathering the storm. He was a radical proponent of the free market who believed that the government should have almost no role in the management of the economy (exceptions include ensuring that contracts are carried out between private parties and that private property is respected). He was fiercely defensive of the individual, and whilst his policies have been most notably adopted by ‘conservative’ politicians, he was staunchly ‘not a conservative’. He was deeply troubled by the rise of collectivist ideologies in Europe and wrote in 1944 The Road to Serfdom, which, whilst the validity of his arguments can be critiqued, is an important and thought-provoking diatribe on the dangers of socialism.

Neoliberal ideas have most notably been implemented by the administrations of Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in the USA. Their mission was simple, to ‘roll back the frontiers of the state’ and to unleash the free market. Both Reagan and Thatcher are quite open about the influence of prominent (and selfconfessed) neoliberals on their policies.

It is easy to think that because neoliberal principles have been pushed into government policy by ‘conservatives’ that neoliberalism is a conservative ideology. Whilst Thatcher had a neoliberal economic outlook, her outlook on society and the family was completely contrary to what neoliberals desire. Whilst what makes neoliberalism different from classical liberalism is an emphasis on the economy, they still share the classical approach that what people – individuals, that is – get up to in their own homes is not the business of the state. Thatcher pursued, in a sense, a bastardised version, where the state steps out of the way in the corporate sphere, yet remains

John Locke

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Margaret Thatcher

an obstinate blockade to the private life of the individual, propagating an ‘anti-permissive’ society. In a way, Thatcherism is anathema to neoliberalism, yet Thatcher is one of the most famous neoliberal politicians.

It gets stranger. Central bank independence is also fundamentally a neoliberal idea. In a political climate where the state is viewed as an obstacle rather than an aid to the economy, it is unsurprising that removing the state from the control of monetary policy is viewed as desirable. Yet it was only under Tony Blair – a Labour PM – that the Bank of England saw its independence granted. It seems strange how individuals from across the political spectrum can seek to implement neoliberalism, yet always disguising their true intentions, either intentionally or otherwise (Blair described his ideology as ‘social-ism’ (sic) and Thatcher was most certainly a conservative).

This comes back to neoliberalism being served as a side dish. Often, politicians are unwilling to accept neoliberalism for what it is and choose to dissect it, picking out their favoured parts. For Thatcher, the complete unchaining of the individual could lead to rapid social change and the destruction of the traditional nuclear family structure, both of which went against her conservative bones of wanting to preserve what she cherished. Whilst Blair was willing to entertain some parts of neoliberal e c o n o m i c thinking, he was not willing to allow it to take its full form.

Neoliberalism is never to be embraced fully, because its intensity and iconoclasm are simply too much for Western governments to bear.

In truth, neoliberalism isn’t that hard to understand when considered in isolation. It’s a reimagining of classical liberalism with an emphasis on the free market, primarily developed by the Austrian School of economists. Where the difficulty arises is neoliberalism

In reality, the true neoliberals are confined to the fringes of politics.

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in practice. It’s dangerous to point to Thatcher and label her as a ‘neoliberal’, seeing that she was only ever willing to accept the economic aspects rather than the ideology as a whole. In reality, the true neoliberals are confined to the fringes of politics. The writer cannot name a single party commanding any support in the UK that espouses emancipation of the markets and the individual. It has faded into insignificance, with the modern left being the champion of ‘liberalism’, whilst simultaneously promising higher taxes and greater regulation, and the modern right striving for market independence, yet arguing that the state should decide whether you can marry the person you love. Whether this is a good thing is for the reader to decide.

Neoliberalism in its full form, where the two sides of the classical liberal thought process have been jointly attended to, has never been seen in living memory, and for better or for worse, may never be seen. Perhaps this is why it’s so hard to describe this ideology: it has simply never existed in its pure form.

The Global Health Challenge of Alzheimer’s Disease and Routine Screening to Enable the Potential for Early Intervention Emily Duke Lower Sixth

In 2018, 50 million people were living with dementia worldwide, this is expected to triple by 2050 (Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2018). The most common type of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Schuhmacher, 2018), is characterised by progressive damage inflicted on neurons, causing memory loss, behavioural changes and dependency on others (McGuigan, 2004).

A notable problem with the current treatment of AD is late diagnosis. Ab plaques begin developing 15-20 years prior to symptoms (Newman, 2018).

This means the patient’s brain has already suffered irreversible damage by the time they seek professional help.

Thus screening the population before the onset of symptoms is key.

AD diagnostics requires identification of biomarkers. Biomarkers are classified into four types: diagnostic, prognostic, predictive and therapeutic (Carlomagno, et al., 2017). They should be sensitive and specific allowing for the differentiation of AD from, for example, age related changes or dementia due to other

Rosa Parks who suffered from Alzheimers

neurodegenerative diseases (Wojsiat, et al., 2017). Further, they should allow repeated measurements over time; reproducibility; be non-invasive, easy to perform; inexpensive and rapid.

Approaches to providing early diagnosis include point-of-care (POC) testing.

POC testing has revolutionised the availability of diagnostics e.g. glucose (Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., 2019) and could enable AD to be routinely screened in the general population and those with a known genetic disposition.

Analysing a patient-specific tool-kit of diagnostic biomarkers using POC would enable doctors to make early AD diagnosis and determine those who are likely to develop AD, enabling targeted therapeutic intervention.

Blood-based testing has been viewed as the “holy-grail” for early AD diagnosis (Sun, et al., 2018).

Secondly, mutated Tau protein in AD patients collapse causing axonal microtubules to breakdown, forming tangles. This stops transport of essential nutrients and results in cell death (Sandoiu, 2019), and brain atrophy (National Institute on Aging, 2017).

Immunological markers, traditionally measured using expensive and timeconsuming laboratory methods, have been transferred to lateral flow devices (LFD) (Abington Health, 2018).

For example, C l e a r b l u e pregnancy testing with urine hCG detection (Davis & Porter, 1980). LFDs are small and portable. These devices combine blood separation, conjugation to marker moieties with immobilisation of capture antibodies on nitrocellulose membranes. Recently multiplexing techniques have enabled quantification of multiple biomarkers on a single device (Sweet & Sweet, 2019).

[S]creening the population before the onset of symptoms is key.

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) adopts a multiplexing approach for POC providing patient-specific signatures.

This will enable AD to be distinguished from other dementias, and diagnosing different AD stages (Sun, et al., 2018).

The application of LOC diagnostics in developing countries would enable the portable diagnosis of AD and other conditions in areas with limited resources (Hermsen, et al., 2013).

Detection of combined biomarkers is urgently required, as no single biomarker can currently be used. Two potential diagnostic biomarkers are beta-amyloid (Ab) protein and tau protein. Accumulation of malformed Ab protein, (predominantly the 40 or 42 residue peptide) is toxic to neurons. These cause plaques that stop communication at synapses between neurons, causing brain cell destruction (Schuhmacher, 2018).

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Another approach is nanopore sequencing analysis. This uses nanopillar sieving (Duke & Austin, 1998) with solid-state nanopore sensing technology for miniaturisation onto a POC device (Yang, 2018). For example, fluorescent peptide nanoparticles are arrayed onto a chip (Sun, et al., 2018).

The need for other proteomic techniques is acknowledged; these are being developed (Matson, 2009) with a view to providing new screening possibilities.

By 2030, the worldwide cost of dementia is forecast to reach £1.53 trillion (Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2018). Pre-symptom screening will, when treatments are available, be key to slowing/halting disease progression, thus reducing disease burden and healthcare costs.

How caffeine affects sleep and our health Bob Craig-Wood Lower Sixth

Sleep; everyone does it, everyone needs it, but not everyone knows how essential it is for both physical and mental health. For example, sleep is critical for regulating the body’s metabolic state (the range of biochemical reactions that occur within our body) as well as reducing the likelihood of developing anxiety, depression, diabetes, strokes and heart attacks. So generally, sleep is a pretty good thing. One of the most common reasons for poor sleep quality and quantity is our large caffeine intake.

As Brits, we are known for our almost excessive love of tea. In fact, as a nation, we consume around 165 million cups of tea every day! Add this to the 70 million cups of coffee drunk daily and it is no surprise that the majority of people rely on caffeine to make it through the day.

of each day, like a child’s sandcastle slowly growing in size until the tide (sleep) finally comes in and washes it away.

Therefore, more adenosine equals more tiredness, simple right? It is simple until caffeine enters the picture. Caffeine is the world’s most commonly used psychoactive drug that is infamous for its ability to make you feel more awake and alert. It does this by binding onto the adenosine receptors in your brain, therefore blocking any adenosine from binding to these receptors, tricking your brain into thinking that you are wide awake. As the day progresses, the wave of adenosine keeps patiently building and gaining more and more strength. However at the same time, the caffeine consumed earlier in the day still lingers, cheating your brain into thinking that there is no adenosine

[A]s a nation, we consume around 165 million cups of tea every day!

Throughout the day, your brain releases a chemical called adenosine which slowly builds up, making you feel more tired, until it gets to a certain level and creates sleep pressure, the urge your body feels to fall asleep. Once you fall asleep, your adenosine level resets and has a fresh start at the beginning

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present, when in reality the adenosine is still there, but undetected. This results in your body and mind feeling awake, when in actual fact you should be about to slope off to bed.

One of the primary reasons caffeine is so successful is because it lasts for a large amount of time. When discussing how long a drug lasts in the body, you would use the term “half-life.”

A substance’s half-life relates to the amount of time it takes for half of the substance to be used up. Caffeine has a half-life of around 6 hours, meaning that if you drink a cup of coffee at 8am, by 2pm, half of that caffeine will still be circulating around your body. As a result of this, late night caffeine binging can result in a disastrous decrease in sleep quantity as it takes hours for the affects of caffeine to wear off, meaning that your body does not realise the amount of adenosine that is still silently waiting, ready to send you off to sleep. Due to the fact that the adenosine is constantly building, when the caffeine wears off, your brain is bombarded by all of the adenosine that has built up throughout the day, resulting in immense desire for sleep, otherwise known as a caffeine crash.

During the 1990s, NASA created an experiment in which they gave spiders a

number of different drugs and watched them as they made their webs to investigate how different drugs affect their ability to function. NASA used several drugs, a few examples of substances used were marijuana, sleeping pills, mescaline and caffeine. By observing the finished webs, it is clear to see that caffeine had the most drastic affect on the spider’s ability to make a web.

This is due to the fact that caffeine is a stimulant drug and affects the central nervous system of the animal that consumes it, in this case causing

another cup of tea, coffee or energy drink, whatever your preference is, and drown out any adenosine from reaching your tiring brain. By doing this you are creating sleep debt for yourself that will continue to grow and grow until you manage to resist any more caffeine and send yourself to sleep, like a bank loan that will continue to grow until it is paid off.

However, a lack of sleep can lead to a lower life expectancy, as you are far more likely to develop illnesses such as obesity and heart disease, so it can be extremely detrimental to miss out on

[L]ack of sleep can lead to a lower life expectancy.

As caffeine is one of the only legal and unregulated psychoactive drugs, it can be very easy to obtain, especially for children. According to a study conducted in the early 2000s, approximately 73% of American children consume caffeine every single day, this is not just from coffee and tea, but from soft drinks, energy drinks, chocolates and even decaffeinated beverages. Although the name suggests that there is no caffeine present, in reality, decaffeinated drinks still contain around 30% of the original caffeine.

This is a rising problem as early and constant exposure to caffeine can be harmful to children as it can make them more hyperactive, resulting in fewer hours of sleep each night. Sleep is especially vital within children as it is a prime opportunity for the brain to grow and mature. Since the rational part of the brain doesn’t finish developing until around the age of 25, it is essential that an optimum level of sleep is achieved within those first 25 years.

Sleep is by far one of the most important things we can do as humans as it is crucial for our development. As individuals, we should recognise the importance of sleep and should try our best to prioritise it by closely monitoring our daily caffeine intake. We should do this so that we don’t end in a so called “sleep debt” which hangs over our day like an incessant cloud, making even mundane tasks seem difficult.

the spider to behave abnormally. It is not only spiders that act adversely towards caffeine, humans can also suffer numerous side effects from over indulging in it. One of the reasons caffeine is so widely consumed today is because many people are becoming completely dependent on this drug to wake them up in the morning and to keep them going throughout the day.

This dependency all stems back to the effects caffeine has in preventing your brain from realising that adenosine is present. After you have drunk a cup of coffee and begin to feel the tiredness associated with a caffeine crash, there are two ways to get over this: the first is to wait it out and let your brain come to grips with this sudden chemical change and the second solution is to grab

sleep regularly as it can be enormously difficult to catch up on any lost sleep.

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Modafinil and Motivation Matt Mason Lower Sixth

Dopamine

Limitless (2011), a film starring Bradley Cooper, explores which extreme effects a cognitive enhancer, in the film ‘NZT48’, has on a single person and what they can achieve when given a higher percentage capacity or access to their brain. In the film, NZT-48 initially it has no disadvantages and opens people’s minds and enables them to achieve things they never thought they could. In turn they become more motivated. The question arises: did the character become motivated directly by the enhancer or indirectly motivated simply because he felt he had new abilities, and could therefore achieve almost any goal?

After heavy research on the drug, many accredited sites and research claim Modafinil, a drug used to treat conditions such as narcolepsy, displays similar effects as NZT-48. Modafinil is a cognitive enhancer. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a cognitive enhancer (or nootropic) as a drug to treat cognitive deficits in patients suffering from mental illnesses.

However this is not their only use.

People use cognitive enhancers in an attempt to improve memory, increase mental alertness and concentration as well as boosting energy levels and increasing wakefulness, although there is much conflicting research into whether they are effective or not.

First, however, we must understand how these enhancers work and what enables them to work, in order to relate to their effect on motivation and whether they truly do make individuals smarter. One way in which they work is through increasing dopamine levels.

Dopamine is known as the ‘feel-good hormone’ which aids in the relation of movement, attention, learning and emotional responses. It is one of the brain’s neurotransmitters, a chemical released to send information be-tween neurones. Dopamine is involved in four major pathways in the brain which act as highways for chemical messages. Three of these pathways, the mesocortiyal, mesolimbic, and nigrostriatal pathways are considered our “reward pathways” and are responsible for the release of dopa-mine in various parts of the brain, which then shape and change activities in those areas. All three separate pathways become active when stimulated. This may be achieved by anticipating or experiencing a rewarding event which causes a dopamine surge.

For example, winning in something an individual enjoys enables an individual to see rewards and take action in moving towards them, thus enabling a higher level of motivation.

This emphasises how important and beneficial dopamine is to a person’s wellbeing.

Dopamine plays particularly on ‘the working memory’ otherwise known as the shortterm memory.

The working memory enables an individual to process and store visual information.

If the working memory is not working effectively, a person will find it difficult to concentrate effectively. This relates to disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

People with ADHD have decreased concentrations of dopamine. This then causes them to lose attention very easily and have decreased motivation.

Motivation and happiness

A clear, definitive link can be made between dopamine, motivation and happiness. If an individual has high dopamine levels s/he therefore has a high level of motivation and thus a higher level of happiness. Motivation gives us the ability to achieve and achievement rewards us with a higher level of happiness. However, since dopamine contributes to satisfaction it has an element of addiction to it.

A certain type of dopamine receptor is associated with sensation seeking, known as risk taking. This may be one of the reasons why dopamine has such a significant impact on motivation levels as when an individual is motivated, s/ he takes more risks as s/he feels more powerful and able to correct them if they go incorrectly. Risk taking is an addictive feeling due to the trigger of increased dopamine.

Natural and unnatural ways to increase dopamine levels

Natural ways to boost dopamine levels are to eat foods rich in tyrosine (which is used by the body to make dopamine).

Regular exercise increases dopamine levels by slowing the ageing of brain cells. Increased sleep and rest can aid the dopamine production process.

There are also brain supplements known as natural nootropics.

Nootropics are supplements that contain antigens, Ashwagandha, rhodiola, and panax ginseng which are combined with decaffeinated green tea and choline to promote improved focus and increased

Risk taking is an addictive feeling due to the trigger of increased dopamine.

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energy while enhancing endurance and stamina hence motivation. Nootropics are widely sold online and there are many brands using them available to consumers. However, there are also some unnatural ways of boosting dopamine levels, with the use of cognitive enhancers sometimes also referred to as alternative nootropics.

to function without it. A withdrawal side effect is likely also to occur. If a user simply stops taking the drug after consuming it regularly, this withdrawal side effect can be highly dangerous as the brain will fail to produce sufficient dopamine for normal brain function on its own. Without sufficient dopamine users can exhibit symptoms of depression.

Modafinil did not assist but hindered them in the completion of their task.

One of these c o g n i t i v e enhancers, Methylphenidate otherwise known as Ritalin, is CNS (Central Nervous System) stimulant and is an intended treatment for ADHD, narcolepsy and bi-polar dis-order. The use of Methylphenidate by healthy individuals can increase concentration, alertness and focus to a task as a result of the dopaminergic effect. Another drug which gives similar effects is Atomoxetine which is also intended for treatment for ADHD. In treatment for ADHD, it is thought to restore a balance of dopamine in the brain; however, if given to a healthy individual, the person’s mood can be boosted as well as the provision of clear motivational increases. All these drugs can be used as cognitive enhancers but there are two in particular that are used and in some cases abused, as a ‘study aid’ or ‘study drug’ among students worldwide. Both drugs are almost the same and have the same intended uses with similar effects.

Modafinil vs. Adderall

The two most widely used cognitive enhancers today are Adderall and Modafinil. Some 12% of students used Adderall in 2015 for nonprescribed purposes, with 42% saying it was ‘easy to get’ (source: the future survey show). Adderall is a CNS stimulant and it is similar to Ritalin and atomoxetine in that it is intended to treat ADHD and narcolepsy and therefore increase the amount of dopamine and norepinephrine in 3 major neural pathways in the brain.

Adderall is similar to Ritalin however Ritalin has a faster effect in terms of reaching peak performance. Due to its high stimulant factor, Adderall is reported to be ‘highly addictive’ and chronic users may find it difficult not

Modafinil is a similar drug in terms of its effects and intended uses. However, it is not a stimulant and this is what separates it from the rest. Yet it still provides a stimulant-like effect. The stimulant factor is what makes these drugs so addictive. With that factor removed, Modafinil on paper is evidently the ‘safer’ drug. However, there are unofficial reports from individuals online which state that they did have increased focus when on modafinil but not what they wanted to be focused on. For example, when trying to work on, say writing a piece of work, they became distracted and did something else they had no reason to do effectively for example, they wrote something totally unrelated, unable to focus on what they needed to. This can be looked at from two perspectives. The first is that Modafinil did not assist but hindered them in the completion of their task. The second is that although the intended task was uncompleted, the time was not misused and instead still used for something effective.

There was a study carried out by researchers at Cambridge, Nottingham and Towson Universities. A randomised controlled trial took place with the aim to define and determine the effects of Modafinil on the performance of healthy individuals in the Hayling sentence

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Completion test. In this test individuals were asked to listen to sentences with a missing word and providing ether the missing word or a word unrelated to the sentence. This study was titled “‘Smart drugs’ won’t make people smarter” which already brings doubt into whether Modafinil works as a so called ‘smart drug’. The researchers randomised 64 healthy people to take a single oral dose of 200mg modafinil, or a placebo. Two hours after people were given Modafinil or placebo, the researchers assessed their performance on the Hayling Sentence Completion Test. In the 30-sentence test, participants were asked to complete the sentences as quickly as possible, with both their responses and reaction times recorded. Participants taking Modafinil took significantly longer to provide a word and there was no difference in the number of errors made on the test between people who received Modafinil and the people who received the placebo. Therefore in this study Modafinil did not improve accuracy or focus. Researchers said: “Participants administered Modafinil took significantly longer to perform the Hayling Sentence Completion Test across task sections than placebotreated participants, without showing any improvement with regard to errors on the task.”

Now the study carried out was a very specific test used. It was designed to solve a less complex problem. Other studies conflict with this study, for example, researchers at the University of Oxford analysed 24 studies published between 1990 and 2014 that

specifically looked at how Modafinil affects cognition. In their review, which was published in 2015 in European Neuropsy-chopharmacology, they found that the methods used to evaluate Modafinil strongly affected the outcomes. Research that looked at the drug’s effects on the performance of simple tasks, for example, pressing a particular button after seeing a certain colour, did not detect many benefits.

Be that as it may, studies that asked participants to do complex and difficult tasks after taking Modafinil or a placebo found that those who took the drug were more accurate, which suggests that it may affect “higher cognitive functions, mainly executive functions but also attention and learning”. So to summarise most data relating to Modafinil studies is inconclusive as different tests reveal very different results. However, complex problems which require more focus and cognitive function are solved faster and more accurately by individuals taking Modafinil.

Oxford survey showed that 15.6% of students knowingly took Modafinil or a similar drug such as Adderall to aid their performance without prescription. A recent European study by a lecturer in psychology at Staffordshire University found that most university students believed it was normal to use such drugs to enhance academic performance. He also said current estimates indicated about “10% to 15%” of students had tried to enhance their cognitive performance with prescription drugs, alcohol or illegal drugs at least once. With a UK “student population of 2.3 million,” this equates to about 230,000 people.

(Source: www.universitiesuk.ac.uk).

Nootropics can also be used for exercise. Some individuals feel better motivated and can complete more sets in the gym or run faster when exercising under the influence of Modafinil.

However, Modafinil can cause joint pain, therefore lifting weights is not recommended when using it.

is required to do is fill out a simple online form, this is a ‘tick the box’ form and can be filled out in around three minutes. However, the doctor approving the order at the other end doesn’t know if the individual will react poorly instead of positively and the doctor approving it could be thinking the person is using it for a legitimate purpose such as narcolepsy or ADHD. A third way of acquiring the drug is through an unregulated online website.

These websites sell Modafinil under the names such as ‘Modalert’.

They are very dangerous as the buyer has no idea what s/he is actually taking and the buyer is not required to pass through an evaluation process to see if the drug is safe for them to use. Payment is required in bitcoin which is another red flag which further shows how dangerous these websites are because bitcoin cannot be traced which suggests these websites operate with illegal activity. While it is illegal to sell modafinil in the UK without a prescription, it is not illegal to buy.

Ease of Acquisition

So the question is raised: should Modafinil be taken by individuals without a medical need for it? Many factors cause doubt and debate as to whether it is effective or not and additionally, if some individuals should be given advantage over others. Therefore it is dependent on the individual. Potential side effects may be more severe in one individual compared to another. There are many alternative, more permanent ways of increasing dopamine levels and therefore motivation. Modafinil cannot be a permanent solution to this. Online the average regular individual only uses Modafinil a maximum of three times per week. The goal being to stay motivated for all the time, modafinil cannot provide this motivation. Be that as it may, I believe, as long as Modafinil is not taken regularly, meaning daily then why not enhance your abilities?

There are not many associated risks with Modafinil. However, there is a slight risk of dependency with it (although this is not related to the drug itself). But it is not considered dangerous as long as it is used and not abused.

It is concerning how easy these enhancers are to acquire.

It is concerning how easy these enhancers are to acquire. Modafinil can be acquired through a range of vendors, these can be through a prescription from a doctor, bought online through a regulated online pharmacy and also through an unregulated website. Acquiring Modafinil through a doctor means that the individual is fully aware of side effects and all other negative effects Modafinil may have and whether s/he is likely to react badly to it. The doctor will also not prescribe it to a person that is not diagnosed with a disorder. Therefore evidently it is the safest option.

Similarly buying through a regulated online pharmacy can also be relatively safe, as the Modafinil you are getting is definitely Modafinil. All an individual

However, complex problems which require more focus and cognitive function are solved faster and more accurately by individuals taking Modafinil.

We must take the placebo effect into account.

Is Modafinil effective simply because we believe we are more motivated so act accordingly and thus become more motivated?

It can be argued that it is irrelevant, whether we are becoming more motivated by the drug or just because of our perception of it working. If the result is the same and the drug presents the same results, then it works.

Students all over the world are turning to cognitive enhancers in order to boost their academic performance. A 2016

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The Iceberg’s Curse Rufus Knight First Year A slow turn, they still have hope, tiller order, rudder order, confusion, Crunch, the executioner’s axe falls, Tired steel cracks.

Like galloping white horses, bitter, freezing seawater cascades into the scorching engine compartment, Instantaneously liquid explodes into choking clouds of steam, Workers gasp for breath, In the depths of the ship, a tiny crack grows into a roaring mouth, The ocean’s icy claw rips through steel and lets the murderous monster in.

An eerie, haunted creak echoes through the “unsinkable” ship, A rumble of footsteps scurry above, The unspeakable words are called, “She’s goin’ down!”

Like bees swarming to the deck, passengers cling to loved ones screaming in panic, In the chaos, not all will survive, Families separated as women and children are shoved into lifeboats, Men fall to their knees.

The stern rises reluctantly as if to point to the stars, Screaming – shivering – breath freezing, Flares light up the sky, hope, Like half-hearted climbers, bodies tumble down the sheer decks, Bones snap as figures ricochet from the structure like some ghastly pinball table, First to third class alike, all in nightwear, finally flung in to the gaping-jaws of the ocean, Reaching up, the monster’s claw picks all off like wolves hunting helpless prey.

A sudden drum beats; the thunder of a distant stampede approaching, The great rift rips snake-like through the hull, Titanic splits, plunging back like a mighty whale breaching, The ocean gushes into the chasm of the wound, The monster, rampant.

The ghostly claws haul it down, The raging whirlpool drags the lives and futures of so many into theterritory of sea monsters, This once mighty ship is nothing but a memory.

From the blast of the furnaces she is born like some ancient god, Titanic, In Belfast shipyards, sparks fly and hammers fall as this monumental ship grows from the Earth, The clock ticks as thousands of workers toil to create, The largest ship to ever sail the treacherous seas, Under diamond skies, Roaring crowds gather to her launch, Silence falls; a bottle breaks; her name is called; chains break as she slips away for the first time into crystal waters.

In the South of England bunting festoons the buildings on the waterfront, Clusters of spectators surge forward to catch a glimpse of the mighty liner, Titanic stands over the crowded quay, her hull a towering black cliff, High above, from deck and window, families, off to start a new chapter in the New World, wave goodbye to fellows and friends, Four orange funnels reach for the sky as puffs of soot black smoke billow into the clouded heavens, Titanic slips the moorings on her maiden voyage.

Deep in the cavernous darkness of the hull, the temperature is rising, The once black coal bunker glows orange, but no alarm is raised, Great iron bulkheads expand and contract like a mighty animal breathing, In the blistering heat of the engines, sweating shirtless men shovel the coal into the engine to extinguish the ruthless fire, But the great ship sails onwards to her destination, New York, The temperature is rising but no alarm is raised.

Above deck the temperature is falling, Under starry skies, on the horizon a glistening iceberg hides its mass beneath churning waves, Like gravity to the moon, Titanic is drawn towards its death, The Captain’s orders: stay at maximum speed, It’s too late, from the crow’s nest the ghost’s claw reaches out of the mist and pulls the great ship to its knees.

Countdown,

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HUMAN RESOURCES

By Dane Batt

THURSDAY 19 SEPT 2019 4.15PM

CHURCHER’S COLLEGE | LECTURE THEATRE