Com(m)unicate - MIND BLOWN - Vol VIII Issue I

Volume VIII, Issue I Mind Blown

Volume VIII, Issue I

Com(m)unícate is a bilingual publication dedicated to sharing student voice and writing of Colegio Nueva Granada.

Editors Andrea Alvarado Paulina Ruíz Mr. Guzman Julio Mr. Tangen Dr. Carriazo Copy Editor Verónica Copello Layout and Design Editor Eduardo Carriazo Design Team and Artists Susie Kim Giorgio Trettenero Jelena Vázquez Ezra Jinich Maritza Chehebar Paula Salcedo Sophie K. Taminez María Fernanda Saravia Silvia Forero Camila Uribe Omer Abas Isabel Guillermety Marlene Volovitz Carolina Luna

Writers Omer Abas Joo & Jung Hyun Park Arianne & Valerie Gleiser Seo Young Shin Ana Bertuol Isabella Delgado María Triana V. Sophie K. Taminez Laura Rodríguez Tania Grimberg Rafaela Jinich Elsa Meyer Sofía Zárate Special Thanks to Ms. Janice Ellerby

Printed by Cima Impresores E.U. Colegio Nueva Granada Bogotá, Colombia January of 2019 ISSN 2590-5317

Table of Contents Editor’s Note > > > > > > 5 Art as a Medium for Social Activism, by Omer Abas

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Is Texting Changing Language?, by Isabella Delgado & María Triana V.

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Garbage Blown, by Sofía Zárate > > > > > >

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Your Life is Ticking Away, by Elsa Meyer

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Humanity Behind a Lens, by Tania Grimberg & Rafaela Jinich

> > > > > > 19 The Facts > > > > > >

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Savage Ways of Wearing Fashion, by Sophie Taminez & Laura Rodríguez > > > > > >

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My Mind on Display, by Camila Uribe

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Mind Blown Ever After, by Arianne & Valerie Gleiser > > > > > > 25, 28 More mind-blowing Artwork, by Susie Kim > > > > > > 26 ~ 27 Half a Brain, by Ana Bertuol & SeoYoung Shin > > > > > > 28 ~ 29 Mind-Blowing Quiz, by Isabel Guillermety & Marlene Volovitz > > > > > > 30 ~ 32

Editor’s Note We dare say that there is at least one moment throughout the day in which you stop and think, I am mind-blown. Whether it’s figuring out that most Disney characters are shaped around a psychological illness, learning about the social implications of art, or coming across the latest and most exotic fashion trends, we are overcome by information that we never expected.

What makes something mind-blowing, though? Simply put, it is whatever lies outside, or even at odds with, our routine. The unexpected, however irrelevant or simple, is surprising to us. Whatever conclusion or fact we cannot reach through a logical thought process is bound to catch our interest. So, we dare you to explore the unknown.

To this end, the following articles have all been crafted to show you something new.

We hope you stop, and don’t stare, but think. Or perhaps we can even take it a step further and make you realize that you yourself are mind-blowing, regardless of whether the following pages change your view of yourself or of some small aspect of the world, if your face takes on the expression...

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Figure 1.0

Art as a Medium for Social Activism Omer Abas

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According to the Oxford Dictionary, art is any “works produced by human creative skill and imagination.” In my opinion, this definition is missing one ingredient: emotion. In the words of reknown impressionist painter Paul Cezanne, “a work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.” For me, the magic of art is not only its ability to generate ideas and raise questions, but rather its power to evoke emotions. An artist can create something that people not only think about, but also feel something towards. And we as the viewers, are able to embody those new feelings, make them our own. This is why art is such a powerful medium for social activism. It creates and evokes emotions in people, emotions that later leads to change in those people’s lives. As said by Pakistani artist Humaira Abid, “I think art has this advantage that it can bring people closer by seducing them through the beauty of the work and then open up all these layers of meaning behind them and then make it easier on them to discuss” Throughout this article, I will talk about four of my favorite artists that demonstrate social activism through their work.

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist born in Beijing in 1957. Ai’s artwork is a form of social activism that talks about the violation of human rights in China. Throughout his career, he has been arrested, beaten up, and closely monitored by the Chinese government. His work is well known for its massive scale, minimalist design, and conceptual ideas. Ai himself is known for evoking controversy and questioning the norms.

“Sunflower Seeds.” This piece consists of 100 million sunflower seeds, made of porcelain. The method used to manufacture them is an ancient Chinese craft used thousands of years ago. Each one of the 100,000,000 seeds are hand-made in the town of Jingdezhen, the same town that made the porcelain for the emperors. This artwork holds various political and personal ideas.

The first idea behind his work is about China’s Communist Party and its leader, Mao Zedong.

A famous propaganda poster shows Mao as the sun, and the people as sunflowers. This is meant to show how Mao controls the people of China and how they look up to him, the same way sunflowers always face the sun. Through the sunflower seeds, Ai represents this operation and the infamous Chinese Communist Party.

The second idea is related to Ai Weiwei’s personal life. In Beijing, sunflower seeds are a common street snack. As a kid, Ai would eat them with his friends and family. For him, it’s a childhood memory and making the seeds brings him back to that moment in his life.

The last idea is about the porcelain itself. During

One of Ai Weiwei’s most famous pieces is Fig. 1.1

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exhibitions, the sunflower seeds are put on the floor and people are allowed to walk over them. By doing this, Ai makes an interesting commentary considering the porcelain that was once made for the most important people in China is now being walked on by hundreds of common people.

Personally, the most mind-blowing aspect of Ai Weiwei’s work is its magnitude and its message.

Wrapping your head around the enormous size of his artwork is nearly impossible. He is not afraid to cause controversy and explore harsh topics.

Beyond this, the way he is able to convey such strong emotions through simplistic design is amazing.

Fig. 1.3

Second, I want to present an African artist, Isek I first saw Kigelez’s work in the MoMA. When I walked into the exhibition hall, I was immediately overtaken by a feeling of happiness. The bright colors, hidden details, and interesting shapes drew me in. I could imagine myself walking through the streets of these cities.

Fig. 1.2

Kingelez. Kingelez was born in the agricultural town of Kimbembele Ihunga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He grew up during a time of major political and social transformations.

Kingelez’s work is known for using everyday materials such as colored paper, commercial packaging, plastic, bottle caps, and soda cans to create models of futuristic cities and buildings.

Kingelez died in 2015, leaving a legacy of over 300 models to inspire our vision of the future.

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Following the Congo’s independence from Belgium, Kingelez started making models of imagined cities and buildings representing the dreams he had for his country. He wanted Congo to be a utopia, a harmonious place. Kingelez wants to offer an optimistic alternative to his life growing up in the urban center of Kinshasa.

That’s why his models represent ideal cities, to inspire optimism for a better future, for a “a better, more peaceful world” (MoMA, Artist Statement).

Kingelez’s works pose criticisms towards issues such as uncontrolled and unplanned urban growth and economic inequality. In addition, the

artist poses questions regarding topics like the role and function of communities and societies, and the effect architecture has on people. Even though Kingelez did not travel out of the Congo until 1989, he was highly aware of present-day social issues and world events. This was a main source of inspiration to him. Through his models he represents these issues. Some examples are: “The Scientific Center of Hospitalisation the SIDA” (1991) which addressed the AIDS crisis; “Palais d’Hiroshima” (1991) makes reference to postwar Japan; and in “U.N.” (1995) where the artist references the organization’s peacekeeping efforts.

After seeing these models in real life, it is truly incredible how everyday items are able to convey

immigrated to the United States in 2008 and now works in Seattle. Abid’s artwork is based on wood carving and miniature painting. Her work is extremely detailed and realistic.

The following is Abid’s most recent exhibition, “Searching for home.” Abid’s main focus is to address challenging subjects and matters that are regularly avoided. She takes subjects that were out of focus and makes them the center of attention. During this particular exhibition, Abid focuses on the refugee crisis. Her work offers a deep and personal account of the lives of these people and the consequences of the worldwide refugee crises. She is able to convey not only this topic, but also the feelings that come with it. She does this by using her incredibly detailed techniques to create artefacts and belongings that refugees have left behind such as suitcases, children’s toys, shoes, and more.

By focusing on the refugee’s personal belongings and history, Abid offers an insight into their lives.

Fig. 1.4

such a strong message. I could feel the optimism radiating off the artwork through the colourful buildings and beautiful details. Kingelez truly succeeded in inspiring future generations and transmitting a complex message through such simplistic models.

Another artist to I want to introduce in the third place is Humaira Abid. Humaira Abid was born and raised in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. She

Fig. 1.5

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She draws the viewer into the story also by the medium of art she chooses to use. The details make you lean in, take a second and third look, and thus evoke empathy. By focusing on the most dehumanizing and horrifying experiences taking place in our world, Abid urges us to consider the

Fig. 1.7

Fig. 1.6

fact that we all have a role to play in ensuring the welfare of humankind.

Finally, I’ll talk about a Brazilian artist, Vik Muniz.

Muniz was born in 1961 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He relocated to the US in 1983 and started working on his artwork. Muniz’s artwork is characterized for using multiple, non-traditional materials to create detail. In other words, he builds pictures out of bizarre materials such as diamonds, toy soldiers, sugar, chocolate, peanut butter, and more. However, beyond just his portraits, Muniz tells stories.

From Muniz’s many works, I will comment on “Sugar children” and “Aftermath.” In both of these artworks, Muniz’s choice of material is directly influenced by the meaning behind

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the work. In “Sugar children,” Muniz created portraits of the children of sugarcane plantation workers, using sugar, and in “Aftermath,” Muniz creates portraits of homeless orphans from his hometown of Sao Paulo using colourful trash.

As mentioned, the “Sugar children” series was inspired by kids of sugarcane plantation workers. Muniz met these children in the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. In his exhibition, “Pictures of anything,” Muniz explains how he was captivated by the children’s “fresh, sweet demeanours.” But he then explains that the real reason he decided to create the series was the children’s contrast from their parents.

He describes the parents as having a “sense of hopelessness.” This is due to many years of hard, physical labor in the sugarcane farms.

In “Aftermath,” Muniz explains how he “was moved by the conditions in which an estimated 5,000 homeless orphans lived in the streets of

Sao Paulo.” In contrast with the children from the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, these children were not “vibrant” or “sweet.” They would blend into the city and become transparent. They would avoid people and try to survive.

In both of these artworks, Muniz sheds new light on not-considered issues. He shows the hardships that these people face and the reality of their lives. By using the sugar in “Sugar children,” Muniz portrays the children’s “sweetness,” while the sugar itself represent hardship and sadness the children’s parents face. And by using trash in “Aftermath,” Muniz shows the children’s integration with the dirty streets of Brazil. And, in

artworks shed light on issues we all face today and how it is up to us to do something, to bring change. And truly, this is what social activism is, feeling so strongly about a cause that you are willing to work towards a change.

To finish my article, I would like to leave you with the following quote. “How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world” (Anna Frank).

Fig. 1.9

Fig. 2.0

Artworks Cited All images with a creative commons and commercial license Figure 1.0 Government of the People’s Republic of China. Mao Zedong Sunflower Seeds Propaganda Poster. 1967, Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China Figure 1.1 and 1.2 Ai, Wei Wei. Sunflower Seeds. 2008, Tate Modern Art Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Figure 1.3 Kingelez, Bodys Isek. U.N. 1995, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, New York, United States of America.

Fig. 1.8

a way, how the dirtiness of the streets rubs off on them as well.

In conclusion, what’s mind blowing for me is not only the artwork itself, but the message it conveys through the choices the artists made. These

Figure 1.4 Kingelez, Bodys Isek. 3eme Millenaire (3rd Millenium). 1995, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, New York, United States of America.

Figures 1.5 and 1.6 Abid, Humaira. Searching for Home. 2008, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, Washington, United States of America.

Figures 1.7 and 1.8 Muniz, Vik. Aftermath. 1999, Private Collection, Federative Republic of Brazil Figures 1.9 and 2.0 Muniz, Vik. Sugar Children. 1999, Private Collection, Federative Republic of Brazil

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Is Texting Changing Language?

María Triana V. & Bella Delgado Texting seems to be the most common form of communication nowadays, and thus it is shaping our daily lives. We can see examples of this in the continuous shortening of words, which started with lol (laugh out loud) and brb (be right back), and have evolved to include irl (in real life), idk (i don’t know), and gtg (got to go). These examples of shortening words can be seen all over Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or even when texting through Whatsapp.

These types of written language are called textisms, which are instances where you use non-standard written language (4ever), or you use textese, where you use a particular type of texting register that doesn’t use conventional written language rules. This is used when you use phonetic replacements to words, like writing ur instead of your, as well as using acronyms.

So, where did these abbreviations start? And what does this mean for the rules of language and grammar? As some of you may know, popular phones in the 90s were difficult to text with.

You had to press the same key different times to get a single letter, and teens quickly found a solution to beeping the same key 4 different times. Abbreviations and emoticons helped the message get across faster, and since you were

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charged per message, it also cost less. Of course, the use of emojis and abbreviations has evolved with each new phone that has entered the market.

These types of typed ”languages” have raised some concern about the quality of children’s literacy, writing skills, and even gone as far as to consider it as a cause of language deterioration.

Nevertheless, research has concluded that textisms do not affect children’s formal writing. A book published in 2014 called Text Messaging and Literacy - the Evidence, by Claire Wood, shows us that after recruiting 201 children, who all owned their mobile phones, they showed no drastic change in tests put together for them. They all showed an average range of ability in spelling and literacy for their age group, and texting showed no signs of adverse effects on these skills.

Everyday individuals still violate universal grammar, but there seem to be no adverse effects on the people using it. So far, research shows the

three most common violations, which include omitting capitals and punctuation, the omission of words, and unconventional punctuation.

These types of errors are more often made when speaking out loud but have now found their way into the written world. They help us realize how dynamic language is, and how far it can evolve. Let’s take lol, for example. In a Time article published April of 2013, John McWhorter argues the different uses of the acronym: ‘Texting is developing its own kind of grammar.

Take LOL. It doesn’t actually mean “laughing out loud” in a literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and sophisticated and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing. Jocelyn texts “Where have you been?” and Annabelle texts back “LOL at the library studying for two hours.” LOL signals basic empathy between texters, easing tension and creating a sense of equality. Instead of having a literal meaning, it does something — conveying an attitude — just like the -ed ending conveys past tense rather than “meaning” anything. LOL, of all things, is grammar.’

These different uses of acronyms are, like a lot of things, understood differently across various generations. There’s a clear difference in how teens text their family, ‘Hey Mom, I need a bus pass for today’, compared to how they choose to communicate with their friends, ‘omg how’d you find the pics.’ Unique expressions used by the people dominating social media atm (at the moment) create a big divide between structured sentences, most often used by the older audience, compared to the tweets sprinkled with sarcasm and at least two layers of specific memes that Generation Z texts are made of.

Mindblown?

How do you feel?

Joo & Jung Hyun Park Humans tend to think in single-line logical threads.

Not only are most human brains programmed in such way, but it’s also the easier method of reducing the dissonance of the millions of thoughts that go through every second. But what happens when this thread is broken, or rather, knotted up?

Just how we tend to stutter a tongue twister for the first time, our mind, which has been working

at an immense speed already, stomps on its breaks, and as abrupt as it is, the mind shatters momentarily. Mind. Blown. But this is just a graphic description of what regularly occurs to people a few times a day. Don’t be too surprised. Or should we say, mind blown?

We believe phenomena stems from a succession of previous thinking that has already taken place and is intercepted by something momentarily

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unknown. It’s like using a typewriter: you write, and if along the way you find something missing before, you’d write it all over again. We believe something similar happens when someone is mind blown: some kind of piece was missing in a pre-established mindset. For example, did you know that Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire? We didn’t. Why? Because in world history we studied the English and the American timeline so separately that we were not able to make this connection (I guess it’s what we kind of lost when they told us “dates shouldn’t be memorized”). Basically, we thought of a single timeline for America and England, individually, and we had written this page on a typewriter a while ago. It was a connection we had never made before, but at the same time, it was also knowledge we had ingrained in our minds from world history class. We had to break a piece of our mind in order to yield some sense from it.

When it comes down to feelings, people tend to categorize them as either something pleasant or dreadful to feel. But as humans experience “mind blows,” they unfold all kinds of feelings. So is this good, or bad? Something mind blowing, as previously mentioned, tends to be unexpected and unknown; different from what people already know. But how do these experiences make people really feel? Does it unveil feelings of good or bad? Depending on the reaction, people could feel happy, or scared, as something shocking occurs; it is incomprehensible at the beginning, and eventually still leaves them with confusion, most of the time.

Take this, for example: how did you feel when you

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discovered that the twins in Parent Trap were the same girl (Lindsay Lohan)? Or how do you feel when you realize that there are still people who believe the Earth is flat? As for Parent Trap, most of us as kids probably were amazed and wonderstruck that it was only Lindsay Lohan filming the scenes where the twins were together.

But when it comes to realizing that there are still people believing that the Earth is flat (even if it has been scientifically proven that it is round), it just blows your mind that some people are unable to accept the “obvious.” These are two mindblowing scenarios developing different feelings of both astonishment and ridicule. So if we come down to the need of classifying the feelings that bloom from mind-blowing events, we just have to say that it leaves people in ambiguity.

Did this article leave you saying something along the lines of “woah?” Must be the onomatopoeia of the ambiguous feeling succeeding a fracture in your mind.

Garbage-Blown

Sofía Zárate Bogotá. The third largest city in Latin America, with 8,081 million citizens living within its 1,776 square kilometers. A city full of art, culture, history, diversity, and nature, with an enormous potential to grow and succeed.

Our roots, our identity, our home come from this city. That’s why we, as a community, have to take care of it as our own.

One of the biggest obstacles Bogotá faces nowadays is the garbage crisis, and it was designated as the city that has the worse garbage administration in the country. The mayor, Enrique Peñalosa, declared that the city was in a state of asanitary and environmental emergency, and, even though

the government creates new systems of recollecting trash, the problems rely on the fact that citizens don’t have the habit of recycling. This causes Bogotá to have huge amounts of garbage bags accumulated on the streets. A report made by Dinero magazine stated that Colombia produces 12 million tons of trash, and only 17% is recycled. This is absurd. Bogotá is the capital city, and it is the one that should give example to the other cities. And we, the citizens, are not recycling, while recycling is something that could help our city do better. It is clear that this is a topic that everyone talks about, that has started to seem as a cliché for a lot of people. But the

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fact that this comes up a lot means people should realise that it is crucial for us to have a cleaner environment to live in.

A study made by the World Bank and National Planning declared that if the problem keeps on going towards the same direction, with no modification to the generation of waste, by 2030, sanitary emergencies will happen in “most cities in the country, and a high generation of greenhouse gas emissions” will add to the repercussions. More specifically, Bogotá produces 6,300 tons of trash per day. Just think for a minute. If that number represents only one city in the world, out of the 1,961,969 there are, imagine how much waste there is out there (considering the fact that there are bigger cities, with higher populations). And of Bogotá’s 6,300 tons of trash, only 15% of those are recycled, and only 17% are used again (as announced by councilwoman, Angela Garzón).

The fill of Doña Juana, designated as the worst in the country, is where all the garbage of Bogota ends. Today, it is filling up faster and faster, with no more space for new garbage. Imagine not having a place to put all the smelly waste, or having to deal with rodents and cockroaches full of infections and diseases running around the streets.

Without this place available, the city will have serious problems in the future because the waste will not have a designated location.

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Garbage is something impossible to avoid, but it is something possible to reduce: it starts with a simple action from home. Let’s prove to future generations that we were able to protect our city’s landscapes, water, sanitary health, and environment, simply by reducing our waste.

Your Life is Ticking Away Elsa Meyer

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There are 24 hours in a day. That means 1440 minutes and subsequently 86400 seconds. Each time you blink, you spend 400 milliseconds. Now, that may not seem like much, but thinking about the amount of time we have on Earth might make you see otherwise. Statistically speaking, based on numbers by the Singularity Hub, the average adult lives to be about 70.5 years. It’s hard to grasp how absolutely minuscule that number is.

In 100 years, everyone living today, from you to your best friend to your favorite teacher to your baby cousin, will be dead. So why is it so hard for us humans to grasp this idea? Why do days sometimes feel like weeks and years sometimes feel like months?

The internal clock of our bodies is not good for much, except telling us we need to sleep and eat. What’s more interesting is the fact that the same chemicals that make you smile and laugh help you remember the difference between an hour and a minute. The common saying you always heard as a kid, “time flies when you’re having fun,” can actually be backed up by real chemical evidence. According to NY Magazine, when your brain renews old information, things that feel comfortable and familiar release more endorphins and dopamine. Therefore, as a task becomes more well known to the brain, the information is processed faster, so time feels as if it is passing much quicker. In short, time seems to pass by quicker the more often an activity is done.

Think about it. Remember the last time you felt nervous, or anxious, or the times you felt excited.

How fast did the time pass? Then think about the last time you were in your least favorite class, or an activity you really hate doing. Anything that someone hates would lead to them doing it less often. If you think about the logic behind it, time is always passing at exactly the same speed, whether you’re having the worst or best day of your life. Every day is 24 hours, and every week is 7 days. Your life will probably have around 28,000

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days in it, give or take a few hundreds based on your health and living standards.

So, that brings up another, even more pressing question. How are you going to spend the short amount of time you have on earth? Sure, sometimes time will pass slower than it’s actually going, but that can be made up for by the times it goes by faster than it’s truly passing. The reality is, most of your time is spent doing mundane tasks that you wouldn’t think could actually take so much time. For example, you spend anywhere from a third to half of your life asleep, and most people spends ⅓ of their lives working according to Gettysburg College. While, yes, sleep is important and necessary to survive, and work is required in our modern society, it is wasting your life away. How much time do you spend eating, showering, using the bathroom, transportation, and other useless, yet equally important things?

Time is precious. Much more than the human mind can comprehend. And you have no idea when your life will end. Any one of us could be hit by a bus tomorrow. So go on that date. Tell your family you love them. Write your story. Sing loudly and dance proudly. Because today might be your last. Or the even worse reality, your time will fly away before you can even realize you have lost it.

Before you know it, you’ll be graduating. And you’ll be in college, and you’ll find a job, and you’ll live your life. It’s better to live for the experience than to regret everything you could never do. Time flies by, and that can sometimes blow your mind.

Humanity Behind a Lens Tania Grimberg & Rafaela Jinich

Every two minutes, we take more pictures than all of humanity did in the 19th century. Society has come to a point where taking pictures is an everyday hobby. Whether it’s based on fashion, food, places, friends or about anything, this generation is hooked into taking any kind of photograph. In just a year, more than 730 billion pictures are uploaded to Facebook, 255 billion are sent through Whatsapp, and more than 22 billion are shared on Instagram. To our surprise, more than 25 billion pictures are sent through Snapchat per day, while in the 19th century, it was considered rare to even own a camera. According to the Adweek, people have spent so much time and effort to get the perfect picture, that it is now more common to die because of taking a selfie than due to a shark attack. Not only have 55% of millennials taken selfies and shared them via social media, but in this community, every 19 out of 20 millennials post an average of 1,000 selfies on Instagram every 10 seconds. There are 93

million selfies each day, which would represent 2,583,333 film rolls.

Over the years, society has shaped us into believing that capturing every moment will make it more “worth it,� and taking a picture is as simple as snapping a button on your phone. The changes generated by the technological era, for example the creation of social media, has transformed our society in many ways. Uploading pictures constantly into social media made us see the world around us in a different way: we are now able to explore the diverse regions and cultures of the world with a simple scroll through our feed (for an average of nine hours per day) while laying down on our living room couch, and we can let our world know what we are doing with just an upload of a picture worth vaguely a minute of our time. On the other hand, during the 19th century, people had to work as hard as they could to travel a distance that we travel today on a daily basis,

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and see for themselves the different regions and cultures of their world without being able to “google it.” Snapping constant pictures isn’t just something that happens in one region, but it is something that is seen everywhere, whether it’s America, Europe, Asia, etc. Sadly, no matter how convincing the idea of uploading pictures sounds, our current world shares one thing in common, and it is the use of photos on our cell phones, taking away the real experience of living our lives through our own eyes.

Even though social media has provided multiple benefits to society, it is also important to take the downsides into account. The 21st century has reached the point where social media has got us looking at other’s lives instead of focusing on living our own. Looking for places to be instead of enjoying where we are, and wishing for things we want instead of appreciating what we already have. Social media has gotten to an extreme point where it can completely transform a person’s life with just the click of a button. While some may say social media has given their lives a new perspective, one can also argue for the opposite point of view. For example, just like experts from BBC, one might say it has become an addiction.

It is described as “harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol” and the cause of many mental health disorders. We now depend on social media for almost anything, and we are all vulnerable to a social media addiction.

Every two minutes we take more pictures than all of society did in the 19th century. The real questions are: every picture we take a step closer to society being encapsulated in the lens of a camera? Are we ever going to see the world with our own eyes? As someone once said, “It’s not that we use technology. We live technology.”

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The Facts

1. It’s impossible to hum while holding your nose.

2. Why do some people like to chew ice? The desire to chew on ice may occur for reasons other than a mineral deficiency. Some people may develop pica related to a mental health or emotional problem, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or stress. Other times, pica occurs because of pregnancy and in people with developmental disabilities.

3. Do octopuses squirt ink? Most octopuses can eject a thick, blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators. The main coloring agent of the ink is melanin, which is the same chemical that gives humans their hair and skin color.

4. Branches don’t change position even as the tree grows.

5. You can’t inhale and swallow at the same time.

6. If you count how many times a cricket chirps in 15 seconds and add 37, you get the temperature in degrees fahrenheit.

7. The population of Mars consists entirely of robots.

8. Every two minutes, we take more pictures than all of humanity did in the 19th century.

9. The probability of you drinking a glass of water that contains a molecule of water that also passed through a dinosaur is almost 100%.

10. Strawberries and blueberries are not berries, yet avocados, watermelons and bananas are.

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Savage Ways of Wearing Fashion Laura Rodríguez & Sophie K. Taminez to live in terrible conditions, where they either have to reside with many animals in a cage or in tiny cages barely big enough for their own bodies. Here, animals live amid their own waste and, among several other unnatural behaviors, sometimes get so hungry that they feed off of each other. The PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) organization confirmed that sheep were once found being used as “mops” to clean up their own urine. If that’s not enough, these animals are also fed with toxic food and are constantly dehydrated.

Do people wear animals? When a question like this one comes up in a conversation, one might think it’s a bit odd until you realize the truth that lies behind it. Many fashion items we see in stores are made with animal skin. What we don’t know, or what we choose to ignore, is that these poor animals are subjected to a tremendous amount of suffering throughout their short and imprisoned lives. Despite these openly acknowledged facts, the demand to have high end fashion continues to increase, and for supply to meet demand, inhumane methods are used to get animals skins so as to gain profit.

Fur Farms, where certain animals are bred and raised for their skin or fur, force their inhabitants

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The animals involved in all of these industries have two things in common: the feeling of fear and stress as they are being violently injured and killed just for their skin or fur. For example, in the angora industry, rabbits and other rodents are skinned, while still awake, for their pelts to then be sent to fashion industries. This

process causes these creatures not only to suffer through excruciating pain, but also, at times, to have heart attacks. According to the PETA organization, about 60% of the animals that endure these conditions die after only two years of life. The animals in the angora and wool industry are social animals that look for positive contact with other animals of their kind. Due to lack of interaction, however, they enter depression and stress out tremendously, since the only other contact they have with living beings is the violence imposed on them by humans. They should be allowed to live like they would in their natural habitats, not like prisoners in a cell, but what they go through is anything but natural. Along with inflicting depression and stress on animals, all of these industries additionally suffocate, decapitate, electrocute, hang, slaughter, skin, and intoxicate them.

Can we really call a fashion item made with the skin or fur of this grotesque system good quality? Is it “fashionable� to promote these vile acts? Is it really it worth it? After all, we make the decision of whether or not to purchase these items and this choice is making a statement either supportive or discouraging of the sacrifice of these poor animals. If we want to make a change, we must stop consuming the products made through these inhumane means.

To give another example, in the reptile skin industry, hunters invade the natural habitat of reptiles such as alligators and snakes to get their skins. These animals then die painfully because of their slow metabolisms. According to choosecrueltyfree.org.au, about 30% of the fur sold in the United States comes from the animals trapped in the wild. Since animals have nervous systems similar to those of humans, they generally feel the same pain we do. We often forget that we are not the only sentient beings on this planet, so we overlook the fact that we opress these animals for them to ultimately be displayed as objects. Could you imagine being skinned alive and slaughtered just for your skin?

Did you know that it takes up to 4 crocodiles to make one purse? That means that if 50 bags are sold in a store in one day, 200 crocodiles are brutally killed. Did you know that when bunnies are being shaved for their skin, they die right after because they can’t bear the cold? Did you know that it takes seven geese to make part of a thermal jacket? And the list goes on.

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Mind Blown Ever After Arianne & Valerie Gleiser

Once upon a time, there was a man called Walt Disney who changed fairy tales forever. Not only did he buy the core stories from the sadistic Grimm brothers and altered them to make them more kid-friendly, but it is suspected that he also added some tweaks to the characters by shaping them around a psychological illness. Even though the origin and purpose of these atypical traits are unknown, it is likely that Disney tried to generate consciousness by involving these abnormal characteristics in iconic family movies.

Nevertheless, Disney movie viewers had no insight on this idea. After roughly 20 years, some psychologists suspected that Disney characters had stand-out features that could be classified as psychological abnormalities. Disney ideated a wide range of conditions, starting at falling in love with one’s beastly captor to collecting human thingamabobs in the oceans controlled by King Triton, to having compulsive lying instincts, and to never growing up.

And then, Beauty went to rescue her merchant dad who never came back home from his excursion, eventually falling in love with the terrorizing beast. When talking to their marriage psychologist, the expert eventually asks, “Beauty, Beast, do either one of you know what Stockholm Syndrome is?” The two newlyweds look at each other and respond “no” at the same time.

“Stockholm syndrome” is when a hostage or victim of kidnapping develops feelings for their captor or kidnapper.” The room stayed quiet for two minutes and then the Beast blurted out, “and what does that have to do with us?” The psychologist started explaining how Beauty has presented several symptoms corresponding to this illness, starting with the fact that Beauty was originally taken in by the Beast because she wanted to protect her dad and exchanged herself

as a hostage. At the end of the day, much like other victims of this syndrome, Beauty developed feelings of love and wanted to protect the Beast from anything, including him staying as a beast for the rest of eternity, which she eventually accomplished. Also, Beauty developed anger and resistance against the police and people who were trying to rescue her from her captor, which is also a common symptom of this illness.

Finally, Beauty also created a sort of paranoia and a defence mechanism which we can see in this Disney film when the eventual princess chats with the cups, the closet, and the lamp.

Then, Alice was walking around Wonderland with the white rabbit. She stopped to talk to the hookahsmoking caterpillar and the evaporating Cheshire Cat. Outside of Wonderland, Alice’s condition is called schizophrenia and in this adaptation from Lewis Carroll, it is mixed with Nightmare Disorder.

Alice stresses out over her recurring nightmare where she falls down backwards down a rabbit hole, constantly thinking this world only exists in her imagination. As the audience can infer from both the movie and the book, later on when her dream becomes a reality and she starts to confuse Wonderland with reality, is the point where her psychosis starts to showcase, and the climax of when her dreams contribute to her endangering herself. If animals that speak to a person and food that makes you change size isn’t enough to indicate that something is wrong with Alice, the fact that she did not have a social life before entering Wonderland will. After all, “Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed that I’m not all there myself” (Cheshire Cat).

In a flash, Aurora pricked her finger on the red rose to fulfil Maleficent’s curse, falling into a century of deep sleep. While she was asleep, she dreamt

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Mind-blown yet?

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Find the piano keys in the picture

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about the real world, where doctors were calling her illness Kleine-Levin syndrome. This prognosis is a sleep disorder where people have episodes in which they sleep somewhere from 18 to 21 hours each day, and have severe changes of behaviour.

This diagnosis has symptoms which can be seen in Aurora, such as having a spacey and child-like behaviour, such as the one this Disney princess employs when she meets the prince and sings along her fellow animals in the woods about how she met someone in her dreams. Another common symptom is also the lack of feelings during these recurring episodes. As we can see in the iconic film, Aurora completely shuts out and ignores everyone who tells her not to follow the green light towards the barring wheel, which will eventually cause her downfall. Finally, we can also see how this sleeping princess behaves irrationally as she leaves the fairies’ house where they have cared for her during all of her life, in order to go to the palace where her biological parents, who she never even met, lived.

These three tales are not the only ones with this same showcase of abnormalities. It is unknown of whether Walt Disney did this on purpose or as a coincidence, but now psychologists can try to explain some of these peculiarities with the use of Disney characters. The only thing left to say is: after all of these conditions, did they really live happily ever after?

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Half a Brain

Ana Bertuol & SeoYoung Shin Four years ago, an unbelievable case was reported in China; there was a woman who was missing her cerebellum, also known as the “little brain” (Thomson, 2014). The complete absence of the cerebellum was a shock to the world including the medical community because it is made up of half of the human brain cells and makes up 10% of the brain structure (Thomson, 2014). Fortunately, it did not prevent her from finishing school, kindling a relationship, and starting a family (Stafford, 2014). We find this to be a mind-blowing story for the woman was able to surpass the biggest hardships in her life and prove what she is made of. Let’s examine the role of the cerebellum and why it is so crucial to living organisms. Primarily, the cerebellum helps steady the movement of organisms, making motion more coordinated and precise (Herkewitz, 2017).

Despite the surprising amount of years she was able to live, throughout her life, the woman was still affected by her lack of the “little brain:” her movements had always been clumsy, unsure, and inexact (Stafford, 2014). These effects are minor, however, compared to the observed importance of the cerebellum for many organisms, especially since that area of the brain evolved in early vertebrates (Stafford, 2014). For these facts, people still wonder how the woman was able to lead a relatively normal life. More importantly, this story demonstrates the brain’s ability to take on different roles and mold itself according to what functions are needed. First, let’s find out what kind of other malformations are happening to people. Then, we will examine how the brain works and why it’s so magical.

Malformations in which parts of the brain are missing are not unheard of. Conditions such as microcephaly occur in up to 12 out of every 10,000 live births in the US (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

microcephaly is a defect in which babies are born with underdeveloped brains that are much smaller than the brains of normal humans. People with this complication therefore lack parts of their brain. Albeit a more extreme case than that of the woman missing her cerebellum, microcephaly can cause symptoms such as seizures, difficulty hearing and seeing, and intellectual disability. It is a very tragic situation for those affected by microcephaly as well as their families.

Another condition that leads to the absence of parts of the brain is hydranencephaly. Here, babies are born with varying degrees of their brain replaced by cerebrospinal fluid. Although it is extremely rare, it can cause a person to only have basic reflexes and instinctual behavior, often leading to a shorter lifespan (North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 2012).

These disabling and dark effects highlight the more common consequences of missing parts of the brain, and why all of its parts appear to be so fundamental.

In light of these detrimental conditions, cases such as that of the woman missing her cerebellum are outliers and are key for the development of current knowledge of the brain. The woman’s case adds to the Nobel Prize winner and neuroscientist Gerald Edelman’s observation that biological functions are often supported by multiple structures. Multiple genes are responsible for single physical features, meaning a problem with one gene does not necessarily result in a differing phenotype. While the cerebellum is in charge of precise movements, other parts of the brain, including the basal ganglia and the motor cortex, also help organisms move, helping to explain why the woman was still able to move despite her lack of a cerebellum. This concept indicates the brain could be thought of in a different way: instead of viewing each section as having a unique function, they could be seen as a contributor to a larger process. This unbelievable discovery could have unimaginable effects on everything known about the organ.

Memory is another example of an essential biological function which seems to be supported by multiple brain systems. This is illustrated by the different memories that can be retrieved upon, for example, bumping into someone one has met before. One might remember they have a reputation for being nice, remember a specific moment in which they were nice, or just recall a general positive feeling about them (Ekramullah, 2012). All of these forms of memory indicate that the person is likely trustworthy and friendly, though they stem from different areas of the brain and were formed in different ways.

The case of the woman without a cerebellum is not the only example of people born with missing parts of their brain. Other cases include that of Michelle Mack. Mack is currently in her early 40s and is missing the left half of her brain. Defying all odds, she can still communicate. Although she struggles with things such as understanding abstract ideas, she has been able to function at a higher level than what was previously anticipated, thanks to the brain’s plasticity (Herkewitz, 2017).

Mack’s astonishing brain and consequent life is a more extreme example regarding the absence of parts of the brain, demonstrating that the brain is wired to be able to take over functions with its parts working together to accomplish certain tasks.

Overall, cases of people missing parts of the brain not only demonstrate the brain’s extraordinary abilities, but also illustrate how much people have yet to learn about it. The heightened curiosity will hopefully help scientists better understand the organ. Further research could also have astronomical effects for those struggling through neurological conditions like those explored in this article. Medical advancements could help raise their quality of life and make them happier and better understood. Last, these studies proved that our brains are actually much more flexible than previously thought and have unlimited potential previously ignored.

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Discover an Aspect of your Personality with this Mind-Blowing Quiz As you’ve come this far, you likely already know what mind-blowing means. However, do you really understand the bewildering facts that hide behind the most normal situations? This quiz is designed to reveal a personality quirk that you may or may not have known about. After having conducted energy-draining research about human psychology with the purpose of giving you a most accurate and clear-cut diagnostic, you are cordially invited to proceed with the quiz that will blow your mind.

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Choose your 5 favorite mind-blowing facts and circle them Unless fo saliva y od is mixed w ou can’ t taste i ith t

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Falling in improv love es mem ory Bath tubs are the opposite of boats

que i n is u u r o od nly yo l a son d o Per ou an to y

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Pink: Enthusiastic If you got mostly pink, then you're the type of person that would ask themselves if a hot dog can be considered a sandwich, or if pizza should be considered a cake, or if cereal with milk ought to be considered a soup. In other words, you are a goofy person. These mind-blowing facts match your personality because they have a sense of humor that anyone can understand but that not everyone can be lured by.

Blue: Romantic If you got mostly blue, it is likely that you are very attached to the sentimental side of ideas. You are exciting and mysterious and you cannot deny the affectionate forces inside of you.

Purple: Wise If you got mostly purple, it means that you look at things in a very logical and scientific fashion. You don’t believe or don't give much importance to what is said to be magical and lacking explanation, because your personality allows you to always find a reason behind everything.

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