DES 760A New York Time Magazine Reflection

Copyright © (2022)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission of copy right holder.

Introduction

THE ISSUE: 09.18.22 - 10.23.22 is a booklet reflecting on the New York Times magazine from September 18 to October 23. This booklet includes six articles that are my thoughts and reflection about the articles in the magazine. I read New York Times magazine every week. After reading the magazine, I chose one of the articles and wrote down something related to the topic and author’s opinions. Since these talented authors have many different thoughts, I was inspired by their opinions and made me think more about some questions in the life. So the booklet presents some of my analysis and reflections on the content of the article and current issues. I hope to try to find some solutions for these issues and improve them effectively.

TABLE OF CONTENT

01

THE 09.18.22 ISSUE INTERSTELLAR CREATURES

THE 09.23.22 ISSUE HOW TO LIVE WITH ANIMALS

THE 10.02.22 ISSUE PRETTY WHITE LIES THE 10.09.22 ISSUE HOW TO LIVE SUSTAINABLY

THE 10.16.22 ISSUE ARTIST CATE BLANCHETT

THE 10.23.22 ISSUE YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE ANOREXIC

INTRO CONCLUSION

INTERSTELLAR CREATURES

Magazine: The 09.18.22 Issue

Article: The Search for Intelligent Life Is About to Get a Lot More Interesting

Date: September. 18, 2022

Author: Jon Gertner

Illustration: Somnath Bhatt

I In the article, the author mainly mentions the efforts of scientists and astronomers to explore signs of life on other planets in the universe. Since Galileo flew to Jupiter to collect data and take pictures in 1989, scientists started academic discussion on alien life. With the development of science and technology, many advanced tools and technologies are used for the exploration of the universe, such as the Webb telescope. To determine if there has ever been a life on a planet, scientists need to determine whether there are biological and technological signatures on the planet. Both of biosignatures and technosignatures are evidence of life and civilization on other planets in the universe. Scientists want to find the technosignatures and figure out the development of technological civilizations on it. Although this scientific research project is very time-consuming, it is still considered meaningful by scientists because it can not only indicates whether there are signs of life in the universe besides the earth, but also helps people explore the next habitable planet.

After reading this article, I feel that this scientific research is very difficult. It needs scientists and astronomers spend lots of time on observations and explorations in the universe. Is this project worth doing? I think this project has both positive and negative sides. On the positive side, this project has an important role in exploring the diversity of life in the universe. Scientists hope

to find biosignatures on other planets through observations from astronomical telescopes and by sending satellites to the depths of the universe to explore other planets. In addition, scientists have more hypotheses and conjectures in the search for alien creatures’ technosignatures. They believe that an exploration of technosignatures is an exploration of sustainability. As mentioned in the article, the development of technosignature discipline may also affect the development of astrobiology. So that’s why NASA calls techsignature work “high risk, high reward.”

However, the scientific project also has many negative aspects. Firstly, exploring this research project will take a lot of time and money. And the results of this project are unpredictable and unknown. And right now, scientists have not found anything worthwhile about signs of life in the universe. Secondly, the research on exoplanets will mainly rely on the Webb telescope. But the request to be able to use the Webb telescope for project research is very competitive. Only a small number of research teams with attractive projects are eligible to use the Webb telescope. So it is hard for research teams to be able to use the Webb telescopes on their research. Thirdly, there are still many difficulties and problems need to be solved during the process. For example, many exoplanets are thought to be completely water worlds, which is different from Earth. So the development of underwater tools and the problem of

underwater combustion remain to be solved. Another idea is that it is hard foe the travel probe to capture the messages from life in other planets. Can an aircraft capture valuable information in its flight range and transmit it back to Earth in time? It is not certain.

In conclusion, I learned a lot in this article about the possibility of creatures exploring other planets. Many scientists and astronomers want to explore more about signs of life in the universe. The exploration of signs of life in exoplanets will help people know more about the biological evolution and diversity, and the technological development in the universe. Although this scientific research project will bring many benefits, there are still many difficulties that scientists need to solve and think about. I think exploring signs of life on other planet can promote the development of astrophysics and other fields. In the meantime, it allows people to understand more about the unknown areas of the universe. Research on biosignatures and technosignatures still requires continuous exploration by scientists.

“The point is, after 2,500 years of people yelling at each other over life in the universe, in the next 10, 20 and 30 years we will actually get data.”

— Jon Gertner

HOW TO LIVE WITH ANIMALS

Magazine: The 09.23.22 Issue Article: Creature Comfort, What I’ve Learned from A Lifetime of Voyaging with Animals

Author: Sam Anderson

Date: September. 23, 2022

Photography: Matthew Pillsbury

The article in the magazine is mainly talking about human-animal bond and intimacy between humans and animals. The author mentions that right now people can easily see many animals, even some wild animals, through different methods. They can see videos and photos on the internet, go to zoo and aquarium, even go to wild animal reserves. But the author think it’s not a way that people develop intimacy with animals. In order to have an intimacy with animals, people need to connect with them physical, spiritual and temporal. The author uses Peter Matthiessen’s animal voyage to support his opinion. In Matthiessen’s journals, he saw many animals in the wild and recorded his experiences through lots of difficulties. The author was influenced by the experience of Matthiessen’s journals. It made him have some changes to his pets, a dog named Walnut.

I think it is necessary for humans to have an intimate bond with animals. Human and animals are part of nature, so that we need to live in harmony with them. After reading the article, I have some different thoughts on how to connect with animals. I think Berger’s point of view mentioned in the article is worth thinking about. He mentions animals have always been an integral part of human life. But people do not create a close connection with animals in the wild. Right now, people always see animals in various man-made space, like zoo, aquarium, cat cafes, videos and films. They do not go out in the wild to see these animals

and wildlife. Berger thinks these ways can not bring people closer to animals, but widen the distance between them. Sometime, animals live in people’s lives as companionship roles. With the improvement of technology, companionship roles of animals might be replaced by intelligent machines. So what should the relationship between people and animals be like?

In my opinion, Also as part of nature, the relationship between animals and humans should be equal. They should have a harmonious and intimate relationship. I agree with Berger’s opinion that animals always play important role in people’s lives. As companionship roles, animals can give people comfort and support when they feel lonely, depressed and distressed. So more and more people gain comfort in life by keeping pets. Due to people’s fastpaced life, keeping pets might be the fastest and easiest way for people to build connections with animals. If some people do not have time on taking care of pets, they choose to watch films, videos and photos on the internet, go to cat cafes, visit zoos or even go to animal reserves. But it is difficult for people to spend a long time in nature and directly get into the distance with animals because people all have different lifestyles and thoughts on animals. So I think it can be considered as a way that people build connections with animals as well. People watching animals on the internet and visiting in some animal habitats like zoos, national parks and wildlife

“Animals were not only predators and prey — they were myths, symbols, companions, peers, teachers, guides. The patterns of their movement defined the edges of the human world. Their shapes defined the stars. They made human life possible.” —Sam Anderson

reserves, can bring comfort to people who cannot have access to animals up close. Building an intimate relationship with animals isn’t just about being physically close to them. Psychological and spiritual intimacy with animals is an important factor in sustaining the relationship for a long time. When people be intimate with animals psychologically and spiritually, more people will be willing to approach nature.

However, from the perspective of the long-term development of humans and animals, people still need to maintain an appropriate distance from animals. People have to give more space between themselves and the animals so that the animals are not over disturbed and domesticated. Animals can keep their nature and adapt to the way of life in nature. Mentally, people keep a close distance with animals. They build harmonious relationship with animals and do not hurt them. So animal diversity will be preserved. And the relationship between man and nature will be better.

After reading this article, I have a more in-depth thinking about the relationship between man and nature, and the connection between man and animals. It is significant fo human to live in harmony with animals and build intimate human-animal bond because it creates a sustainable natural environment in the long run.

The author in this article uses three different examples to discuss what to do if someone’s important truth is withheld by the person he or she trust. The first example is when you know your brother was adopted by your parents, but your parents don’t want to tell your brother the truth. How will you choose? The second story is when you need to house several feral cats that cannot be adopted as pets. Let them live in an animal shelter that has a no-kill policy or one that does not. These cats will live the rest of their lives in a large kennel in the first animal shelter, while they will be euthanized by the shelter after a certain amount of time in the second one. How do you choose between these two? The third one is when you know someone around you has been cheated by someone she trusts. Would you choose to tell her the truth?

It is difficult for me to make a choice in these three cases because every choice will hurt to the person. And every choice has its negatives. Personally, if there is a possibility that I am facing these problems, I prefer to tell the truth to the other and let him make the decision. If I hide the truth, it seems to be helping the other person make the decision. But actually, I do not have the right to help others make decisions. Meanwhile, as the quote in the article says, “It can be painful to recognize that people you know believe you’ve been hoodwinked.” If I do not tell the truth to the person, it seems like I am the one who cheated on him too. Everyone has the right to know the truth. They also don’t want to be forced to follow other people’s decisions, isn’t it? I tell the true to the person honestly, and support his decision firm-

ly. It might be the right way to protect and love him or her.

There is another article in the magazine can support my opinion. The article, “The Stolen Children of Spain”, describes a story that a woman named Pintado stumbled upon the fact that she had been trafficked. Her parents are not his biological parents. She went through a lot of hardships hoping to find her biological parents. In this story, the fact that Pintado was adopted was hidden by from everyone around her who knew the truth. When she knew the truth, she was surprised and sad. After that, she made the decision that she wanted to find her parents. Pintado’s experience gives me a different perspective on the choices in the first example. In the article, the author mention the parent’s perspective that they do not want to tell the truth to her brother out of love. They probably do not want to upset him, or they do not want their son leave them etc. But as childern, like Pintado, they need to know the truth about their origins. Maybe, they will be shocked and upset. But it is their rights. If they do not know, they will be hurt more in the future when they discover the truth for themselves.

After reading the article, I realize that we cannot hide the truth of others for any reason, even for love or protection. Everyone has the right to know their truth. We need to honestly tell them the truth, give them space and respect the decision they make. We can never just think about things from our own perspective, we also need to think about each other.

HOW TO LIVE SUSTAINABLY

Magazine: The 10.09.22 Issue Article: Tilting at Windmills, No greater challenge faces humanity than reducing carbon emissions without backsliding into preindustrial poverty. How has Uruguay done it?

Author: Noah Gallagher Shannon

Date: October. 9, 2022

Photography: Alessandro Cinque

In the article, the author compares the differences in the way of life between the United States and Uruguay in order to illustrate his call for Americans to take steps to reduce carbon emissions. Around the world, developed countries are locked into unsustainable, energy-intensive lifestyles. Climate change is now the biggest crisis people are concerned about. The way people live is one of the factors that affects carbon emissions and climate change. In order to have a high quality of life, people often choose to pollute the environment.

In the history, Uruguay has suffered economic collapse and political turmoil. People’s lives were hard. When José Mujica became Uruguay’s leader in 2009, things began to change in Uruguay. Mujica took several actions on release the disastrous energy crisis. In order to achieve energy independence in the future, energy reform took place in different areas. Many renewables are used in electricity, including biomass, solar, and wind. Another question worth pondering is how much the impact of growing and raising animals on the environment. Walter Baethgen, a soil scientist, mentions that one reason cattle farming has become destructive is that so much grassland has been leveled or degraded. Soils degrade when grasslands are overgrazed. Land cannot absorb and store enough carbon. The same goes for undergrazing. Baethgen thinks that by restoring grasslands to achieve grassland recycling carbon, it can effectively increase production

without increasing carbon emissions.

Although there may be some difficulties that need to be solved in the process of energy transition, Uruguay’s energy reform undoubtedly gives more countries more confidence in the reform to reduce carbon emissions. The author praises the success of Uruguay’s emissions changes, while he mentions the environmental problems in America. He appeals Americans need to reflect their way of life in order to find some solutions on releasing current environment problems.

After reading this article, I get an in-depth look at the historical development of Uruguay. I am amazed at how this country has changed right now. The actions Uruguay take effectively improve the problem of carbon emissions. During the process of energy transition in Uruguay, people’s lifestyles are also changed. Although many countries have taken actions on decreasing carbon emissions, it is still one of the most concerned problems right now. Many factors influence the reform of energy and climate change. The first one is the people’s acknowledge of the problem. Due to the prevalence of materialism and consumerism, people are raising material pursuits. The production of a large number of products will generate a large amount of carbon emissions. In addition, people don’t recognize the constraints that climate change brings to life. In the meantime, not everyone

can agree and join the reform. It will bring some difficulties and obstacles to improving the current problem.

Personally, although sustainable living is an expensive investment with a long payback period, it is one of the best ways to keep people’s lives going in the long run. The author’s view that poverty enables people to reduce carbon emissions and live sustainably is still debatable. There is no evidence of a direct relationship between low carbon emissions and human poverty. It is possible that people reduce the use

of energy such as electricity because of poverty. But it does not mean that these energy sources, like gas and oil, are not consumed. The consumption of these energy sources produces carbon emissions. And these carbon emissions still have an impact on the environment. Poverty only delays the development of environmental problems. But essentially it does not release environmental pollution and climate change. In addition, improving sustainable energy requires significant financial and technical supports. Poor countries are incapable of changing worsening

problems.

Therefore, the energy transition and environmental reforms implemented by Uruguay are worth considering. Each country should implement appropriate measures for its own situation. In the meantime, they should do what they can to improve the current worsening environmental problems. In this way, people’s living environment can sustain.

ARTIST CATE BLANCHETT

Magazine: The 10.16.22 Issue

Article: Cate Blanchett’s Mercurial Selves

Author: Jordan Kisner

Date: October. 16, 2022

Photography: Jack Davison

This article introduces Cate Blanchett who is a stage and film actress. The authors describe their third meeting to lead readers to learn more about Blanchett’s professionalism and charisma. Cate Blanchett has achieved great success in her career,artistically and materially. In her career, Cate Blanchett played many people who have different personality, like men and women, brides and lesbians, the elven sorceress and the wicked stepmother. These characters in different stories make Blanchett different and artistic. Blanchett think that people are dynamic and changing in their life, so she does not want to pin her career and life. In the meantime, Blanchett is a hard-working person. She always does many preparedness for her characters, while she treats her work with focus and rigor.

Before reading this article, I did not know about the actress, Cate Blanchett. But I admire her and wan to know more about her in the future. And this article also interested me about the movie Tár and Blanchett’s character in the movie. I think Blanchett is a person who loves her job and is very serious about it. She always works hard on every characters she played and never stop. For example, Blanchett did a lot of prep work for her character in the movie Tár. She learned to play the piano, speak German, stunt driving and conduct an orchestra after she finished filming during the day. She also need to spend time on learning the history of orchestral music and reading

personal styles and biographies of famous conductors. When she showed up on set, she memorized the entire script. I think it is hard to do everything she has done, but she did. It makes me admire her professionalism and her love for acting. In addition, I like Blanchett’s thoughts about artists. She thinks artists are like people who climb a mountain, hoping to reach the top. She has been chasing a chimera when she approaches her goals. So she does not pin her career and life. She is more like to experience. I also think it is very important that experiencing the process when I want to achieve some goals. When we keep chasing goals, we forget our first thoughts. When we experience the process, we might know what we pursue. Actually, I really like her attitude towards career and life. I learn from her personalities and professionalism in my future study and career.

In addition, when I read this article, I was firstly attracted by the photography on the pages. They are blur and artistic, which can also present the feelings that Cate Blanchett shows on the stage and the screen. In addition to the blur and artistic style of these photography, I like the layouts and color palettes too. Most of these photos are taken in bright colors. Some of them are black and white. These colored photos can show the fusion of her face and lights, while the black-and-white photos focus on her expressions. Photographer mainly mainly focuses the lens on her face. These photos present a sense of

thrilling. In these photography, I also the visual confusion the photographer brings to the viewer with clothing and light. It reminds me some visual styles in the film history. These artistic, fantastical and perspective-bending also give me many inspirations on depicting portraits with lights.

Therefore, this article talking about Cate Blanchett not only makes me know more about the actress and her new movie, but also gives me some inspirations on her photography. I think it is worth for me to learn from Cate Blanchett.

thing about a long walk is it’s an experience of process, of being in the corridor between the place you started and the place you will eventually be. ‘It’s like that moment of suspension in dance when you don’t know whether the dancer is taking off or about to land,’ Blanchett said. She gestured with her body, as if she were going to take wing and hover. ‘That moment, that intake of breath before the words come out or the music comes out.’ She smiled. ‘I want to be there. I want to be permanently there.’”

— Jordan Kisner

“The

YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE ANOREXIC

Magazine: The 10.23.22 Issue

Article: ‘You Don’t Look Anorexic’

Author: Kate Siber

Date: October. 23, 2022

Photography: Ryan Pfluger

Anorexia nervosa is a kind of psychophysiological disorder. It is influenced by psychological, neurological, social and biological elements. People with anorexia will have strict food standards and strict calorie restriction. They also have the habit of chewing and spitting out food sometimes. In 2000s, the number of people suffering from anorexia is rising rapidly. There are many factors that cause people to develop anorexia nervosa, such as pressure, anxiety, eating disorders, and disruption of the rhythm of daily life. Studies have shown that it is not just skinny people who suffer from anorexia, many larger-sized people are even more likely to suffer from it.

In this article, the author talks about Sharon Maxwell’s story. Sharon Maxwell tried various methods to lose weight. Not only is Sharon herself trying to lose weight, her family is also using the diet to lose weight. From her teenage years, her body size often attracted discussion from others. They usually have many thoughts on her body size. In order to make herself small and skinny, she tried all diets she could find and went to gym every week. But during her losing weight, she had many healthy problems, such as hypoglycemia, menstrual disorders, hair loss and so forth. Four years ago, Maxwell was told that she had an anorexia nervosa and recommended immediate treatment during her medical examination. After that, Maxwell went to an institution to start her treatment. She received

professional treatment and her condition improved there.

There is another problem affects the study of anorexia is the weight. Weight requirements for anorexia research have led many studies to exclude those of medium or larger size. But actually weight does not directly affect whether people suffer from anorexia. It is one of the factors, but it is not the main one affecting the disease. In addition, the classification of patients by doctors and insurance companies also affect how people understand their illness. For example, Maxwell went to a facility for treatment, which was covered by her insurance in 2018 summer. But a day after she arrived at the facility, the insurance company rescinded her approval because the insurance company did not think her condition was severe enough to require residential care. Maxwell had to call the insurance company. Ten days later, her insurance company eventually authorized her to go to another facility.

After reading this article, I have some thoughts about people’s weights and appearance. Appearance anxiety has now become a common phenomenon in society. People pay attention to their appearance and weight. They like to spend lots of time and money on improving their appearance. In addition, with the popularity of social media, many people are willing to share their daily life online, including photos, videos, and live broadcast. At this time, they

become more concerned about their appearance and weight, especially the female. So losing weight has become part of everyday life. Meanwhile, people evaluate not only their own appearance, but also others’ appearance and weight. It gives more pressure on people’s appearance anxiety and weight anxiety. In this article, I read many research about anorexia detailly. I know more about the causes and imacts of anorexia. And I notice that people have misunderstandings about the size of people with anorexia. In fact, large people are also at risk of the disease. I also have some sympathy for Maxwell’s experience. I have been chubby since I was a kid. Although I was not very worried about my weight, I still feel unconfident because I am always anxious about my weight. Meanwhile, my weight also cause some healthy problems like Maxwell. But luckily, I am not suffering from anorexia like her. These years, I try to find solutions on it. After seeing doctor, I knew that my diseases and weight are affected by pressure. These years, I tried to change my diet and lifestyle. After that, I have gotten a lot better.

In addition, I think the outside world often has some bias against larger-sized people, which give them more pressure and let them cannot be treated. These comments will not only affect their treatment, but also have some negative effects on their psyche. In addition, I think these bias arise not only because people do not know much about the symptoms of anorexia, but also because people have stereotypes about people with anorexia. It is meaningful to let people know more about anorexia, so that people’s bias will be broken. In the meantime, people should have some tolerance for appearance. If someone is suffering from a mental illness like anorexia, they should be encouraged and helped instead of

judging the authenticity of their illness by appearance or other factors.

New York Times magazine focus on different topics every week. It makes me read different kinds of articles, including astronomy, ethic, climate change, biology, art, music, films, psychology and so on. These articles let me think more about current issues in my life. These authors give me many perspectives about these topics. I agree with some of their ideas, while

I do not quite agree with some thoughts as well. But during the reading and thinking process, it makes me think about the problems in different perspectives. In addition to authors’ thought, I was also inspired by magazine visual and typography. In my booklet, I present my reflections on the New York times magazines and design its visual and typography. So THE ISSUE: 09.18.22 - 10.23.22 can be recognized as my response of what I learned these weeks.