globetrotter
? the last edition - May 2018
what comes next
notes from the editor.
For this final edition of Globetrotter, the topic which most resonated with our writers was the question of what comes next? It is a question many of us are forced to confront as the weather gets warmer and summer comes closer. Where will we be? Who will we be? Simply put, what comes next is an eternal question. One we do not know the answer to until we are well on our way. For Globetrotter, the question of what comes next looms largely above us, as we are not sure if Globetrotter will continue next year. So, if this does happen to be our last edition, we want to thank you, dear reader. Thank you for coming along on this ride with us, encouraging us, and of course, reading with us. Wishing you happy reading always, Isabelle Brooking
Contributors p. 1-2 Their Own Language Anastasia Kan p. 3-4 What comes after Earth? Elif Kurt p. 5-11 A year to �ind yourself, lose it, and �ind it once again Martina Dossena p. 17-20
What comes next? Isabelle Brooking p. 32-33
The Future of Freedom of Speech Midori Ueda p. 12-16
Communication: What’s next? An Pham p. 21-23
Technology creates Technology: Is a human still “a master”? Anna Churova p. 24-31
toc. table of content
Anna Churova
Anastasia Kan
contribu
Martina Dossena
Aubrey Adinata
Midori Ueda
utors
Isabelle Brooking
AUTHORS EDITOR DESIGNER SUPERVISOR
No picture : Elif Kurt An Pham
Nicki van Campenhout
their own
язык As a person, who spent 5 years studying languages as a structure, it is easy to see that all of them change over the years. Some words are left behind, yet some of them are being created. It creates the whole new system. It creates a new language inside already existing one. The first thing which comes to mind is when people speak about how dramatically some of the languages change, is slang of younger generations. Sometimes, it is hard to understand what are they talking about if you do not know the words. On the other hand, many professions have their own jargon, which can leave you out of the conversation if you do not know the words. 3
(language)
Over the past years English, being the one of the most usable languages, started going into many other ones, for instance, Dutch or Russian. Even if you do not know Dutch, some of the words may sound familiar to you just because there are originally English. The same can be applied to Russian. Today English has seeped all spheres of life. Starting with economic and financial sector all the way to gaming, English has become a part of the Russian language. Sometimes it is easier to remember English version of word, yet there is Russian equivalent to it. Especially now young generation is using English in their daily life. The gaming industry is helping
to achieve a certain level in English and of course, it easier for teenagers not to translate every word in Russian but say it in English. It is safe to say that some of English words are Russian now. The proof for that can be the fact that all Russian words have specific ending, which tells about gender of the word, is it plural or singular. Only Russian
What is next? Will English continue to influence other languages? Probably it will, but nobody knows it yet for sure. Just like old Greek, Latin and French were very important languages in their time, English is playing one of the main roles on the arena today. It is one language that most people share and European Studies is
words have this ending and strangely enough words, which came from English have this ending as well. Furthermore, not every word that came from outside of Russia have this ending, there are a lot of French words that were not lucky enough to become Russian. The explanation for this situation can be that Russian language is more developed at this moment rather than in the past.
one of many examples to it. Who knows, maybe in a future Chinese will take over since population of China is around 1,404 billion people and this number is increasing every day.
Anastasia Kan 4
What comes after earth? Elif Kurt
There are so many apocalyptic scenarios which might happen and end our life on this planet ( scientifically speaking). For example, a radiation disaster, other life forms’ attacks to human kind, getting crushed by asteroids, maybe zombies or the global climate change, whichever seems more likely. 5
Even if you are not one of the people who is concerned about the future, life and environment; you will probably still have heard about global climate change or global warming. These two words have been relevant for a long time now, sadly, they have lost their effectiveness on people recently. It is maybe because of the people who don’t
care and take this topic as some kind of a joke or because they are fine with destroying the planet (who knows?). But, even though there are some people who don’t believe in it, it is there and affects our lives. (And no, I am not talking about God.) Over the past 50 years, the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts see the trend is accelerating: All but one of the 16 hottest years in NASA’s 134-year record have occurred since 2000. It is caused by burning fossil fuels, deforestation and farming. 6
Here is the good news: There are some people who are trying to stop climate change and create a better world. Let’s take a closer look at the most popular one. He could be our hero at
the end of the day. No, It is not Rick Sanchez unfortunately. But also a “crazy” man, just like him.
It is is he aske am c auth biog crazy
Let’s com mak shar find paym avail the w sell i and that buy do, craz Elon he i with
Elon Musk. And, who e? He is the man who ed “Do you think that I crazy?” when he met the hor of his only official graphy. Is he really y? Maybe.
s imagine that you find a mpany, work away at it, ke it grow, you get new reholders every day, you investors, develop a ment system which is lable in 200 countries in world: PayPal. And you it for 1.5 billion dollars what do you do with money? Do you go and a rocket factory? If you should we call you zy? Or we just call you n Musk? But of course is not just a billionaire h a crazy mind.
who is he really ? If we skip the part of him, being an inspiration to Tony Stark for his role of Iron Man or the fact that his mother is a Photo model or that he was born and lived in South Africa until he was 17 and he loves to read and stuff… Elon Reeve Musk (born June 28, 1971) is a South African-born American entrepreneur and businessman who founded X.com in 1999 (which later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002 and Tesla Motors in 2003. Musk became a multimillionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers. Musk made headlines in May 2012, when SpaceX launched a rocket that would send the first commercial vehicle to the International Space Station. He bolstered his portfolio with the purchase of SolarCity in 2016, and cemented his standing as a leader of industry by taking on an advisory role in the early days of President Donald Trump's administration.
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After all these information we can still ask ourselves that what is he trying to do and why? And why space to begin with? There is an idiom in English that people used to describe the job is “not that difficult”: “It is not a rocket science.” So actually in this sense rocket science is one of the most difficult things on Earth. Considering that Elon Musk did a crazy thing and took a lot of risk in a difficult road which he had no idea in the sector. According to his answers to interviews, he did it because he has a great vision about the future of the humankind. 9
He says that he wants to die thinking that humanity has a bright future. He worries a lot about the planet and its nature and the people. So he invested 10 million dollars of his money to SolarCity in energy sector, 70 million dollars to Tesla in automotive sector and 100 million dollars to SpaceX in space industry. According to his plan, SolarCity and Tesla are the first steps. They can save the world with the convertible energy which they use. And Plan B is outer space and most specifically: Mars.
Fun fact: As we know from his biography, the corridor that goes to his office has two large posters on each side of the wall. One of the posters shows red and hot Mars that we know today and the other poster shows a dream. It is the same planet, Mars, in green and blue colors which means, it is livable. He thinks that the world is like a ship that we are all in it and the ship is sinking because of the global climate change and many other factors that people create. And we have to do something about it and be in this, all together. So because of
this belief of him, he also shares the innovative patents of his company Tesla as an open source. He sent rockets to space (so basically he is not just competing with companies but countries like USA with NASA which has 19 billions of dollars as a budget every year and Russia, China and the other development countries with that technology), became the owner of the biggest solar panel of USA (SolarCity), he played in some Hollywood movies and TV series like The 10
Big Bang Theory (no idea why) and led the way to the future so far. And he is still trying to do great things in those three areas: internet, clean energy and space.
There is no good and clear answer to the question of “What comes after Earth?” or “What will we see in the future?” but thanks to people who are clever and who try to do some things and dream about the future like Elon Musk, we can expect better from the future and never give up.
P.S. Maybe we will meet some aliens! Oh, maybe they will “come after Earth”, which is so much cooler than zombies.
Suggestions TO WATCH- Racing Extinction (2015) Documentary, Action, Adventure TO CHECK IT OUT- https://www.conservation.org/nature-is-speaking
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THE FUTURE
OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH Midori Ueda
Internet is where an individual freely posts their political, personal or any kind of views and thoughts. At least in principle, it is or it used to be. However, the rapid increase of Internet users and consequently the increase of hate speech has forced some coun tries to urgently discuss or establish common laws to ban any kind of discri minatory and hateful expression, especially on the I nternet where users can comment and express their views anonymously. Well then, what will the future of expression on the Internet look like ? The German government’s Network Enforcement Act has been enacted since the 1st of January, 2018 . This new law was established to fight against hate crime via the platform of the Internet, especially on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. All harsh comments and hateful , discriminatory contents will be deleted by the operators of
social networks by being notified as “obviously illegal�. This law, which was created to decrease mean comments and hate speech, might cause a new form of discrimination and restrict the freedom of expression according to the people who criticize this law and people who are against it. It is especially tricky when it comes to art and satire where it contains implied messages and deep nuances that are hard to be detected by just scanning and picking up the words. As a result, some people express concern that this law will not deteriorate the hate crime and threaten the freedom of expression and the right to access information which are guaranteed by the article 5 of German Constitution. Plus, this detecting process is done by private companies, not by judges who are selected by the government. Ironically, this new law might undermine the freedom of expression since any posts and expressions on the Internet can be judged whether it is legal or illegal by these private companies.
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The same can be said about freedom of expression, the Japanese administration is attempting to downplay its mal war histories during WWII. The history textbook are issued after it is approved by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Education, and the guideline and content of the class are organized by the approved materials. This law, however, will influence the content of history classes. For instance, the number of incidents and people who were assaulted, the massacre, and history of Manchuko in north-east China are recognized differently, and some argue that this is the act of neglecting the wrong historical path.
France has a freedom of speech which includes freedom of expression understated by liberte matricielle. However there is expected to be more tensions among French citizens, such as buruka ban and the insulting portrayal of Mohamed by the likes of Charlie Hebdo. The author thinks that the establishment of German laws to restrict hate speech in social media is the over-exemplifying example of this. The principle to prevent any criticize of undermining human rights and fight hate crime go excessively due to the technological advances and more and more Internet users are seemed to be too politically correct or oversensitive.
People might be more and more becoming able to understand only superficial information and being lack of analyzing and guessing the hidden implied message; thus there should be a common sense exist that Internet is not ‘anyone can say whatever she/he want to say’. The society seems to be confused about the rapid influence of the Internet and the needs of analyzing news are increasing.
Therefore, the author believes that it is ideal if the government is not obliged to tell people on the Internet what is moral and what is not, but each individual on the Internet should develop the skills to analyze sometimes fake news on the Internet. Laws should not be a parent to teach people what to do, but more common sense and morality on the Internet will be required rapidly.
A YEAR T
YOURSE LOSE IT,
AND FIN
ONCE AG Martina Dossena
TO FIND
ELF, ,
ND IT
GAIN
“what’s next ?” It is probably the most daunting question any student finishing their last year of secondary school has been faced with. When I was on my last day of my last year, at least, it surely did feel that way to me.
There are so many possible answers to “what’s next?”, and that is what makes the question intimidating. After all, it should not strike as unlikely that one would feel ever so slightly lost when transitioning to that scary, scary phase of life called “adulthood”, where you really have to start looking after yourself, right?
Although still perceived as quite controversial, the choice of taking a “year off ” after secondary school is becoming a more and more popular answer to such question. Some people decide to take even two, or three years off: to travel, to volunteer, to work part-time, to learn a language, to go on an adventure, to follow a passion, or to learn new skills; the options are endless.
As for me, I was determined to “find myself ” - quite a specific and easily achievable goal, I know. I grew up believing that I had all the time in the world and that in the future I would be able to do whatever was in my bucket list. However, as I hit the remarkable milestone of 18 years of age the reality of things hit me in the face:
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when reality hits you hard I would start University, graduate with my Bachelor’s degree, maybe pursue an MBA, find a job, start a family and grow old. All of a sudden, my schedule for “all the time in the world” seemed to have filled up. 19
Taking a gap year before heading off to University seemed to me like the last chance, the last breath of freedom before actually stepping into the dreaded adulthood; and I did have a blast, I must admit. What I did not expect, though, was coming back home and feeling more lost than when I had left.
I had set off to discover new cultures, learn languages, try traditional foods, challenge myself and meet a whole bunch of different people from all corners of the Earth and it upset me unimaginably how I had come home to be the exact same person that I was before, with just some more wanderlust and some shed tears for all the beautiful memories I had left behind. It took me some months to finally come to the realization that it is actually completely normal. Whichever path you choose to follow for your gap year, one thing is certain: you will find yourself. And then lose it. And then find it again and come back more confused than before, but with a wealth of memories that you wouldn’t trade for anything. Because that is how we, as humans, work. There is no secret recipe to constant fulfilment and stability. If there is one extremely valuable lesson that my gap year taught me, it is that at no point in life will “what’s next?” sound like less scary of a question. Life, apparently, is full of uncertainty and it would be crazy if we could actually figure it all out in those six months, one year, or even five years that we gave ourselves to work toward that purpose. But that is okay, because that is the fun part of it.
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C
Question the term “communication” – how could it be explained precisely? In the exact words that will grasp all of its meaning in the truest sense? Merriam-Webster defines it as “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior”, but does that wholly includes all the transmitter that communication touches? Within every movement, every action that human conduct, a link of communication is established and it is more crucial now than ever, to address its importance. 21
I first became aware of how wide the term communication covers through a conversation that I had with my friend – a sophomore student at the Royal Academy of Arts. She explained about her most recent assignment, in which she had an exhibition to showcase her work: a graphic book on the in-use communication systems and a new communicative tool that is designed herself. I was quite surprised given how difficult it is to invent something so abstract: we have utilized all communication techniques that could exist such as technological devices for instance, mobile phones, computers to more simplistic and classical instruments
COMMUNICATION what’s next ? such as hand-written letters or newspaper, what could ever be the next step towards communication? Judging by the surface of the word, communication could be interpreted as the action of delivering messages through different mediums, but by deconstructing the term further, every single object – every motion dictates a communicative signal in a sense that holds a deeper meaning. A cup of coffee can be seen as a power source or an indication of routine, with or without milk, sweetened or not, everything sends a different message that can be analyzed as a fraction, an element of a character. To be more abstract, the way that one choses to carry
themselves, the way they walk, smile, talk, their fashion choices, every selection gives some clue to who they want to be. For instance, a hat could be broken down and analyzed by what material it is made with, the origins of that material, its color, the shape – it can give you hints to the background, culture and personality of the person carrying that hat. If enough attention is given, every signal could be an indication, a communication, a communicative tool of some sorts.
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For the assignment, my friend chose bento box as her subject. Bento boxes is a common way of packing portable lunch in the Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento contains rice or noddle, fish or meat and two other side dishes, one picked and one cooked. She explained that by looking at the choices that can varies in a box to the way that it is decorated or the container that carries the food, there are messages being sent. Furthermore, in the Japanese culture, making bento boxes for loved ones is a way of expressing love and care, it is also a common way to confess love between students.
We are often more concerned with the decoded messages that is communicated more straightforwardly than the encoded signs that little movements indicate. In terms of what comes next for communication, it should be the realization or attention to small details, or even better, packed in a translation device.
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An Pham
Technology creates Technology Is a human still ‘a master’?
The last Globetrotter meeting starts with the announcement, “Guys, it might be our last edition not only this year, but ever.” The next moment is filled with a heavy silence. The thought that pops up in my mind is, “What comes next?” Funny enough, this thought had crossed my mind a couple of days before the meeting, when I finished the last Dan Brown’s book “Origin”. But in the other, more complex and futuristic, context.
what comes next ? Is there still a war between science and religion? Will the artificial intellect replace humans? Or the human kind will always be dominating over the other species? Of course, all these questions are not connected to the meeting, it was just a journey of the thought that travelled through my mind on a space speed from point A to point B. Anyway, haven’t the ideas of the AI world dominance crossed your mind as well? Have you ever wondered if there is any chance that the machines will eventually become so smart that replace imperfect … us?
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Before starting to analyze the problem itself, I’d love to introduce you to the author and his new book. If you think that you don’t know who Dan Brown is, here is a simple hint – have you ever watched ‘Da Vinci Code’, ‘Angels and Demons’ or ‘Inferno’ with the absolutely brilliant Tom Hanks? That’s it! Robert Langdon is a wide-known Harvard professor whose personality is created by the Dan Brown’s rich imagination. All the movies about the professor and his dangerous adventures are based on the books by the American author – Dan Brown. Some people might not like his books, but I’m definitely in his ‘fan camp’. That’s why when I first saw his new book, “Origin”, in a book store, I couldn’t sleep still, knowing that there are 350 pages of a beautiful writing are waiting for me right in the city center under a beautiful blue cover. After I finally bought a book, my friends hadn’t seen me for a week. Because when you start reading Dan Brown’s book, it captures you from the first till the very last page. Well, that’s high time I stopped praising Dan Brown and moved on to the main theme ‘What comes next?’.
‘Origin’ is raising the topic of the future of a mankind. In order to avoid spoilers for those who are planning on reading the book, I won’t reveal the plot and what kind of challenges Mr. Langdon is facing this time. However, I’ll use the main idea which sounds sci-fi: there might be more than six Kingdoms of life… 26
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tech. Since 2007, Kevin Kelly – the founding executive editor of Wired magazine – has been talking about the 7th Kingdom of life which, he believes, is Technium, - technology, namely Artificial Intelligence. His TED Talks are persuading and sometimes a bit scary. Kelly believes that technology has been surrounding human throughout history for thousands of years and now it seems to be in its flourishing.
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Is it possible that Animalia (the 6th Kingdom) will no longer be the dominant kingdom? That one day AI will take over the humans… Bill Gates and Elon Musk may argue that this is the most likely to happen within the next fifty years. However, these two huge names of the 21st century see the future technology prevalence from different perspectives. Gates seems to be positive about the future of AI and considers it as a human friend, that saves people time for enjoying their lives. “The purpose of humanity is not just to sit behind a counter and sell things. More free time is not a terrible thing," Gates says. However, according to Musk, "The least scary future I can think of is one where we have at least democratized AI because if one company or small group of people manages to develop godlike digital superintelligence, they could take over the world”. In memory of one of the brightest minds of the 20th and 21st century, British physicist, Steven Hawking, a documentary “Do you trust this computer?” was filmed. The finest scientists from all over the world argue that the technology is developing on an increasing speed and sometimes even creators of AI can’t predict and explain their inventions’ next actions. “Technology creates new technology”, however, the fact if it’s going to be dangerous or saving is just a matter of a person in whose hands it happens to be. 29
Talking about the 7th Kingdom, Kelly argues that Technium has “its own agenda”. Moreover, technology is following the same path as biological evolution. Take an example of the ancient helmet which is a sort of technology, in some sense, and trace its ‘evolution’ throughout time. First of all, it was inevitable – ancient people needed to protect their faces while fighting with their enemies. Secondly, it is historical – it had been developing and advancing as a human became more and more rational and had better tools. And the last, technology is functional – it helps to solve problems that people are facing in everyday life.
Billions of years ago there were bacteria, then movement towards increasing complexity started. Due to this movement scientists, humans – representations of the 6th Kingdom, - may talk about the existence of these bacteria. Nowadays, AIs created by humans may easily beat them in chess and even Chinese ancient board game of Go, that was believed to be the only game that a computer couldn’t adopt.
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“Technology creates technology”. What comes next? When a human blames technology and screams on ‘a stupid computer’, they always have to remind themselves, “A machine can’t be wrong. It never fails. Its creator – a human – does. There is not a single mistake made by a machine. There are imperfect people who programmed this machine incorrectly which eventually led to this mistake”. Don’t be afraid of your own creature. Teach it how to behave.
Check your social nets less often, live long and prosper. Yours, still human, Anna Churova 31
WHAT COMES NEXT ? Two steps forward four steps back. The clock is ticking, ticking, ticking. Time will pass, but will I? Where will I be? What do I have to show? Two steps forward four steps back I’ve made a pact, I can’t look back Two steps forward, four steps back Look ahead, look ahead The twisted history is turning my head 32
Two steps forward, four steps back. Mama tell me, what comes next? Do I make it? Where do I go? Time keeps passing but what do I have to show? Two steps forward, four steps back I’m afraid, afraid to go Afraid to fail afraid to show Mama help me, where do I go? Look ahead, look ahead Moving forward I go Passing markers along the way, forward forward I go Released from the counting clock I move Slowly starting to find my path Four steps forward, two steps back.
Isabelle Brooking 33
doei.
bedankt !
design by Aubrey Adinata