The Ethics of Space Colonization

With the progressive discussion on whether the Earth will become too polluted to live on, and that we should build a community elsewhere, such as Mars; comes with it the ethical questions and side of the debate. Do we hold ethical obligations over life forms that don’t even exist yet? How do we decide who leaves and who gets left behind? In this article I will briefly explain the advantages, disadvantages and ethical discussions around space colonization.

There are several advantages of space exploration, or https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/whyweexplore /why_we_explore_main.html#.Y3036OzP06A colonization; it depends on how one views it. NASA states in their website why they explore space and how it benefits us. The recent DART Mission, which impacted the asteroid on the 26th of September 2022, helped us practice a method of planetary defense by transferring momentum from a satellite to an asteroid, slightly changing the course of the asteroid. The mission was a success and would potentially be used if any catastrophic meteor were to head to Earth. Another reason NASA states is that they seek to answer the ‘fundamental questions about our place in the universe and the history of our solar system.’1 This research is inherently philosophical in and of itself, wanting to address our purpose of human life, but also hopes to improve the theories of our knowledge of science, which is why they focus on Mars as we could apply the geological evolution of Mars to research methods that could apply on Earth. One of the biggest questions of all time, other than does God exist, is that is there life outside of Earth? And NASA hopes to answer that question by analyzing the surface and poles of Mars. One could argue that this isn’t an advantage, but I believe as NASA says that curiosity is vital to the human spirit and that questioning reason and purpose is the basis of philosophy, from which everything stems. However, they also believe that Mars is humanity's best hope for relocation if it needs be, and with that comes many complications and disadvantages.

As Christian Barry, American professor of Philosophy at the Australian National University states ‘How do we determine who gets access to new parts of space?’2 He discusses the issue of ownership and treaties, saying that if there are benefits from space, for example a substance that contains substantial wealth, how and should we share them? Do we use a first come first serve basis or share throughout the world? In 1976 there was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPKtvBO2Ff g&ab_channel=ANUTV an attempt to assign ownership over certain parts of Earth’s orbit, called the Bogota Declaration, which seven equatorial countries signed but was eventually abandoned due to lack of recognition, however this treaty already sheds light on how governments are desperate for power and have already tried to claim the skies. Who’s to say anyone has this right? Barry continues to talk about the right to space, and whether there is a certain status we must respect when exploring. Looking back towards Earth, we can see that in the history of colonization, Europeans have contributed to the mass spread of diseases to Africa and the ‘New World’. Although speculated to be barren and lifeless, there potentially, with enough time, could be life evolved on Mars and if we were to go and unknowingly spread foreign bacteria and infection, which could halt this evolutionary progress towards life, would humanity be at fault, and do we hold an ethical obligation to not interfere with these processes?

Another argument is that to build the machinery to travel and build communities on Mars would need the use of resources from Earth which could hinder those currently on it, directly or not. The question here is, would those who bear the costs get to enjoy the benefits of this new civilization? Is this even logically possible with Earth’s ever-growing population? - and Mars being half the size, who has the moral power to decide who goes and who we inevitably leave behind?

One of the biggest influences there is towards creating new cities in space is consumerism combined with capitalism. Increasing the size of landfills and decreasing ethical labour practices while promoting and marketing almost everything everywhere is the root of pollution and corruption on this planet. Should we fix our own systems before fleeing from our own mistakes only to repeat them? Do planets and the universe have an intrinsic value or is that left to religion and spiritualism and what becomes of those? Space colonization can be beneficial to the human race only if done right. If we keep relying on the way things are now, we will always be headed towards Armageddon no matter where in the universe we reside.

How can Marlborough become more sustainable?

Marlborough is a community of over 8000 people and not enough people are taking part in sustainability practices. The Marlborough community has promoted sustainability and spread awareness on climate change, but how can we do more?

Marlborough has already done a lot to promote sustainability and make people aware of climate change. For example, on September 24th 2022, Marlborough took part in a week to promote sustainability across town but also in the UK.3The idea of this week was to 3 https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/21475889.green-week-held- mobilize communities to act against climate change. Marlborough set up activities that residents could take part in. The main event was a clothes swap to exchange autumn clothes for warmer winter clothing without spending a penny. This raised awareness about the controversy of fast fashion. Residents could also take part in a rain garden and stargazing at the Blackett observatory. Sustainable cooking workshops were available to demonstrate healthy recipes and promote a balanced diet. Throughout the week, people could take walks around Marlborough and have a tour of the tower at St Peter’s at night. One night, locals could take part in bat night and moth trapping. This week helped people appreciate the nature around them and hopefully make a change in their daily lifestyle. At the event, a spokesperson said “We don’t have to be perfectly sustainable, but there are changes that we can all make in our everyday lives that will help.” There is also a Facebook page called Sustainable Marlborough4 and its purpose is to promote sustainability events that happen around Marlborough and Wiltshire which locals can take part in. They also organize events, talks and workshops to educate people in the area on sustainability and spread awareness. During sustainability week this year, this Facebook page promoted the Green Business Pledge, which

4 https://www.facebook.com/sustainablemarlborough/ , Sustainable Marlborough, encourages businesses to become a clean green company. For example, Tap Marlborough offered great prices to customers who brought their own bottles and growlers to refill. They swapped to eco-friendly cleaning products, motion sensor lights and focused on reducing waste and maintaining equipment to prevent having to replace it. Bunces, a small café on Marlborough high street, pledged to switch to cleaner cleaning products by using eco-friendly bottles and cleaning detergents.

Marlborough has already recognized that people need to take action to fight climate change and people have already raised awareness. However, more can be done within the community and individuals to help Marlborough become more sustainable. Firstly, recycling bins can be placed along the highstreet and be given to residents. This is quite a simple practice in sustainability, and anyone can do it. It helps prevent everything ending up in the landfill when it can be reused. Residents can start switching to renewable energy. Especially with the cost-of-living crisis, installing solar panels on the roofs of houses could be a good investment for people to make. Wind turbines can also be placed on hills to generate power for communal areas. Buses should become Marlborough residents’ first mode of transport. If the number and variety of bus routes increases, it will become more convenient for people to use. According to the Wiltshire Council5, Marlborough residents have been complaining about the low number of parking spots and delays due to the major highways running through town. Wiltshire Governments’ idea for dealing with this issue is to improve the A4 and A346 to relieve local congestion. However, this idea seems quite temporary as the more convenient it is for people the more popular it will become for people to come and go. People wouldn’t make the effort to reduce emissions and it would tempt people to use their car by increasing convenience. If more work is put into improving bus routes and higher

5 availability of public transport then locals would feel that it is more convenient to take public transport than their own car, reducing emissions. Some residents have argued that land should be preserved to prevent further development on it in the future.6 Composting should also become a regular practice for residents and businesses. The food waste that restaurants, bars and cafes generate can be composted and sold to farmers as fertilizer. For smaller businesses, there could be communal composters around town and for bigger businesses and big chains, they could have their own compost machine as more waste may be generated. This is a good investment for the

6 https://blogs.bath.ac.uk/edswahs/2018/04/03/sustainable-development-inthe-vale-of-pewsey/ April 3rd 2018, Bill Scott, Univerisity of Bath, Sustainable Development in Pewsey and Marlborough town as resources are reused and can go straight back into our community. These are just some examples of practices the Marlborough community can take part in to become more sustainable. In conclusion, Marlborough has already recognized and acted on fighting climate change. However, more can be done. If investments are made into making Marlborough greener and more sustainable, it would help the community in the future. It could also show other towns in the UK but also around the world, that changes can be made to our lifestyle.

Marlborough can become a green community.

Helena C, Re

The symbolism of flowers

Have you ever wondered what the bouquet of roses you have given might mean, aside from being a nice gesture? Whilst on the surface all flowers appear similar: beautiful and often wellfragranced; there is a whole ‘language’ behind them which introduces new forms of meaning to flowers.

Of course, flowers have been present in literature and myth for thousands of years. In the nineteenth century, the presence of flowers in society reached its peak and floriography, the language of flowers, became a means of communication in which self-expression, particularly for women, was made easier. The publication of a dictionary in the coding of flowers by Louise Cortambert in 1819 saw this ‘language’ become much more prevalent in Victorian society and the giving of flowers was commonly used to exchange a message. Whilst there were no formally agreed meanings to each flower, a language arose in which people were able to express their feelings towards one another. It is from these roots that we see the stems our modern culture where flowers hold a touch of meaning. symbolism. Take the snowdrop, one of the first flowers of spring: immediately one thinks of rebirth, new beginnings and all that is associated with spring. Across literature, writers have used symbols for many different reasons. Whether woven into text to portray points of view deemed inappropriate as Anna Akhmatova did in her writing in Soviet Russia, or simply to present the main themes, there is much to be observed from the use of symbols. literature and its many meanings has made it a widely used symbol. The white lily commonly represents innocence and purity and in Christianity is often depicted as a symbol for the Virgin Mary or the Resurrection of Christ. As well as this, the lily symbolises femininity and fertility taken from the Greek myth of Zeus and Hera. Contrastingly, the white lily is one of the most common flowers used at funerals and to represent death. As in Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber’, the presence of white lilies foreshadow death and similarly in James Joyce’s ‘Dubliners’, the protagonist of the story ‘The Dead’, Lily, contributes to portraying a state of non-living.

Furthermore, the lily is a flower often referenced in

The contrasting meanings can also be seen in the rose. In Ancient Rome, the rose symbolised victory, pride and love; from which the modern interpretation of the rose as a symbol of love has stemmed. However, in the Bible, the rose acts as a symbol of suffering and the fall from grace. Some Christians believe that thorns developed on the rose following The Fall to serve as a reminder of the sins of man. Though the use of flowers as a form of communication has decreased since the Victorian era, today there is still more meaning to the exchanging or displaying of flowers than one might believe. Whilst we may not walk around with our floral dictionaries ready to decipher a secret message as the Victorians did, the symbolism of flowers remains present in our culture today.

Lara R, L6

Impressionism in Art and Music

Impressionism is a style or movement which originated towards the end of the 19th century and although it was at first an art form it ended up being present in both the art and music worlds and was mainly dominant for a rough period from about 1860 to about 1920. Impressionism was a movement all about breaking away from current styles and traditions and finding new, unique ways and perspectives when creating art and music.

The impressionist art world, when it first became prominent, was negatively received. It was so different from the current art styles that people were shocked by this new and unique way of painting. Impressionist art is known for promoting freedom for artists to focus on other aspects of painting and not just creating realistic representations with their art. Instead, this type of art is meant to show a certain perspective and capture the viewers impression of the scene. Light played a big part in impressionist art as it was one of the most effective ways to portray the artists perspective. Where the light hits the scene tells you where the artist is observing from and what time during the day and this helps to convey different atmospheres and moods. A good example of this is the painting “Haystacks” by one of the leading impressionist artists, Monet.

You can see the golden afternoon sunlight and then the bluer, darker evening light. This creates a very atmospheric picture as you can imagine the exact time of day, mood and perspective that Monet wanted to portray. Some techniques were particularly typical of this art movement. One was to use wet paint next to different colours to create a soft edge which gives the style its impressionistic feel.

Impressionist painters also tended not to blend many colours together as placing blue next to yellow gives the impression of green, which enhances the idea of this movement. Another common technique is to create sharp foregrounds and blurry backgrounds to enhance the idea of perception as well as using thin and visible brush strokes to create interesting textures in the art.

The impressionist music movement began slightly after the art movement in around 1880 and lasted for a period of about 40 years and was led by famous composers Debussy and Ravel. These composers preferred to be referred to as ‘symbolist composers’. This is in response to the negative view of impressionist art, and they didn’t want to be associated with this. As mentioned earlier, impressionism was all about breaking away from current traditions and the impressionist music movement was all about breaking away from the Romantic traditions that were present in the music world at that time.

Impressionist music is about creating interesting moods and atmospheres, and many of the pieces describe story lines or descriptive scenes. An example of this is Debussy’s “L’après midi d’un faune” which describes the scene of a faun, a mythical creature, who is waking up from a dream in a forest. This is effectively portrayed through Debussy’s use of harmony and texture as well as other musical elements.

Common elements of impressionist music are whole tone scales. The whole tone scale is a foreign-sounding scale which has no tonic or “home” note, which gives the smooth, impressionistic wandering feel one may associate with the impressionist artwork. Added note chords of 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths and parallel chords help to extend the harmonies making them rich and atmospheric. The presence of many modulations and lack of cadences prevent the music from making harmonic sense creating very interesting moods which helps to convey the impressionist style. So, impressionism is similar in both the art and music forms, and the most important thing about them is that they were to break away from old traditions to discover something new. Although that was at first negatively received because the idea was just so unheard-of, it is now seen as an incredibly important and beautiful movement.

Olivia M, L6

Is capitalism in crisis?

Capitalism could be seen as in crisis due to it having very serious environmental impacts; it makes countries and companies liable to supply shocks; and the markets are incredibly powerful so can overrule governments. It has created a lot of financial inequality. However, I do not believe that capitalism is in crisis as it has been proven to be an incredibly powerful generator of prosperity and growth. Some academics argue that proof of capitalism being in crisis is the ever-increasing uneven distribution of wealth. This is seen in the USA as since 1981, real earnings of the top 1% has grown by 176% while the next 9% of earner’s real incomes has grown at a lower rate. The bottom 90% of earner’s real incomes has decreased by 3% since 1981. This evidently shows an issue of inequality, but this one example is not necessarily accurately representative of other capitalist economies. Free enterprise capitalism has produced large amounts of growth for economies and has lifted the average standard of living within these economies. It has also lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty around the world. While capitalism requires improvements to adapt to the modern world, it has been seen to work and benefit large amounts of people and economies. Capitalism has driven globalisation in recent years, setting up foreign supply-chains. This is incredibly beneficial for developed countries who are being supplied with raw materials and parts for a cheap price which allows them to then sell goods and services for a lower price domestically, which improves the standard of living within this country. Globalisation also helps the underdeveloped and developing nations as they are being involved in more trade and, more jobs are being provided within the economy. This both boosts their economy, helping development, and improves the standard of living for individuals. However, some critics argue that large supply shocks can cause large amounts of damage. An example of this is the COVID-19 Pandemic where countries with supply chains shut down and so companies were unable to produce goods and services which massively damaged many capitalist economies. However, the positives of capitalism driving globalisation outweigh the issue of a global shock as an event such as the pandemic impacted all economies, not just capitalist economies. Some critics argue that the free financial markets which capitalism promotes can become too powerful. They can have the power to force a change to a decision or policy enforced by a government by reacting badly. An example of this is the recent budget of Liz Truss in which she was forced to make a U-turn on her decisions as a result of the markets reacting badly to her decisions. Some argue that free financial markets should not have that much power over democratically elected national governments. However, I see this as capitalism working well as free markets are able to stop poor decisions of governments. The markets did not allow Truss to go through with her ridiculous budget by making the price of borrowing much higher forcing her to change her policies.

Some critics argue capitalism is having a serious negative impact on the environment. This is because of companies focusing on money rather than the environment. Sustainability and protecting the environment is expensive and so in a capitalist economy, this approach is not taken. It could be argued that capitalism has been failing as it has impacted the environment heavily. However, this is not the fault of capitalism as it is the government’s responsibility to set environmental laws, and this has not occurred in the past as humanity has not realised how serious the environmental issue is. This shows that it is the governments’ failing, not capitalism, in terms of the environmental issue. economic growth in a capitalist economy compared to a socialist one. Socialism caps the quality of life people can have and instead of encouraging people to work hard and take risks to better their lives - it brings people down to a lower level.

Moving forwards there will be more laws and restrictions on companies implemented by governments which will help to reduce the impacts on the environment.

The main and most favourable alternative to capitalism is socialism. In my opinion, capitalism is much more favourable to socialism for several reasons but the main one is the incentive capitalism provides to the public and companies. Incentive encourages entrepreneurship and people to work hard as they know they will be rewarded for it. This leads to higher

In conclusion, capitalism is not in crisis as it creates growth in capitalist economies and prosperity for the people within them. One of the main advantages of capitalism is the way it adapts and adjusts to constantly better the system and even if you do not think capitalism is perfect, it is clearly the best financial system there is.

Is cloning the solution to reversing extinction in the long term?

A few weeks ago, I read an article about an arctic wolf that had just been born to a beagle mother in China. This got me thinking about animal cloning. In theory, it sounds like a brilliant idea to replicate the strongest, meatiest animals for farming, or to make sure a species doesn’t go extinct, but what are the issues surrounding animal cloning? How does it work? Could it help prevent extinction in the long term? And what is its future?

Today, more than 41,000 animal and plant species are endangered, and over 16,000 of them are threatened with extinction. Cloning could be the salvation for these plants and animals. It could save endangered animals from extinction and even resurrect them after they’ve gone extinct. Harvard scientists claim they are close to creating a woolly mammoth embryo! The only example of an animal brought back from extinction was the Pyrenean ibex, which went extinct in 2000 and was cloned in 2003. Unfortunately, the kid only lived for ten minutes. Cloning also protects the few remaining females of an endangered species from the risks of pregnancy and can be used to restore genetic diversity to a population. who was born on July 5th , 1996, using a method pioneered by Ian Wilmut. He took a mammary gland from an adult Finn Dorset ewe, implanted it, and used electrical pulses to fuse it with an unfertilized egg with the nucleus removed. cloned arctic wolf was born on June 10th, 2022. The other, newer, method is called handmade cloning (HMC).

This is called the nuclear transfer process which is the most common technique used by scientists. The same method was used for Maya the Arctic Wolf. Scientists took skin cells from a 16-year-old female wolf living in North – East China and implanted them into the egg of a beagle. Maya, the first

Developed by Gabor Vajta and Ian Lewis, it is cheaper, more efficient and has double the success rate. It only requires a Bunsen burner, a very thin blade, and an electrofusion machine, so it can be done in either the field or the lab. This method could be the future of cloning. However, there are a few problems with cloning. One is that it has slim chances of working. Scientific American says that ‘Current cloning techniques have an average success rate of less than 5 percent, and cloning wild animals is usually less than 1 percent successful.’ For Maya to be born, 137 embryos were created and implanted into seven different beagles. This took two years of painstaking efforts and only one pregnancy was successful.

Some people think that animal cloning is extremely unethical because of the number of animals that suffer just for one more to be born. Each beagle used in China to carry the embryos had to suffer through multiple miscarriages. Another issue is what happens after an animal has been successfully cloned. For example, scientists have admitted that, although Maya is completely healthy, she won’t be able to be released into the wild as she has been raised by a beagle mother and hasn’t developed the necessary skills that arctic wolves learn at a young age. Any animal that is cloned using the nuclear transfer method will be born into captivity so that scientists can keep track of it and make sure it survives. If wild animals continue to be cloned, it’s likely that many of them will never make it into the wild. Cloning can therefore potentially save species from complete extinction, but they won’t exist in the wild as before.

A lot of scientists fear that if humans are given the power to preserve endangered species by cloning them, the efforts to conserve and protect them in the wild will be relaxed by governments and organizations such as the WWF. Cloning will become a technology to fall back on in case of extinction. Without proper conservation laws in place, even more habitats could be destroyed, and cloned animals will have nowhere to live. If this leads scientists to become lazy and not have enough different DNA samples, the earth’s biodiversity could be severely affected. Genetically similar animals would be inbred, leading to harmful genetic mutations and disease. Therefore, it’s extremely important for cloning to be a last resort, and the focus is on preserving habitats and endangered species, because cloning should not be a long-term solution. However, some scientists have speculated that increasing the populations of wild animals in captivity via cloning, will discourage zoos and researchers from taking more from the wild.

In conclusion, I believe that although cloning is an extremely useful tool to increase the population of endangered species, and to be used for agricultural purposes, it won’t reverse extinction in the long term. There are just too many problems and obstacles to overcome at the moment.

Sarah A, Re

Is America still truly democratic?

The ‘leader of the free world’, the United States is considered (certainly by American’s) to be the most influential and important example of liberal democracy there is. A ‘beacon of democracy’ if you will. However, in recent years, America’s political system and its democratic status has been on the decline –the roots of which were visibly established during Obama’s presidency from 2008-16.

The legislative process can be considered as America’s major downfall when it comes to determining if America is still truly democratic.

Much like the UK, the U.S has two bodies which make up their equivalent of Parliament (Congress), one being the House of Representatives and the other being the Senate. For the sake of argument, we can draw them equivalent to the House of Commons and the House of Lords respectively. It is the job of these two bodies to determine whether bills will become legislation. A bill will be introduced by the President or another member of congress and will be debated on and voted on in the House before the same is done in the senate (if it passed through the House).

Upon final inspections by both bodies, the bill is either signed into law or vetoed by the President. The issue with the process arises via the way these bodies are comprised. There are

435 members of the House and 100 in the senate, each of which require a majority vote for legislation to be passed (218 and 51). Unlike the UK, the political leader (the President) can be voted in without having a majority in either the House or the Senate. Therefore, a democratic President could serve under a majority Republican House and Senate. This makes it nye on impossible for bills that the President supports to be voted into law. This was the situation Obama faced during his time in office – certainly in his first six years – resulting in political stalemate. Which, consequently, prevented him from accomplishing many of the policies in his manifesto which were the reason that he won 69,456,897 popular votes. This surely being evidence of a miscarriage of democracy, simply down to the way in which the legislative bodies and process is structured.

The so called “multiparty system” also brings with it a heap of issues which smother the ability of America to be a functioning liberal democracy. Although there are multiple parties which each put forward candidates for the presidential race, the U.S is realistically a two-party system – featuring the republican or democrat parties. Because of this, voters may as well throw away their ballot paper if they don’t vote for either of the two. Instead, they must decide on the lesser of the two evils, the party which is more likely to benefit them, even if they don’t agree with the manifesto of said party or candidate. Demonstrating that the popular voter isn’t even able to vote how they like – is that really a democracy? Similarly, the simple drift in political ideologies of the two parties make it difficult for members of congress to do anything in accordance with the views of the party as the opposing party will just veto it and vice versa. This instead leaves members acting on behalf of their beliefs and in their own self-interest, neglecting the needs and views of the American public.

America is no longer a truly democratic country. Instead, it is a place where only the rich and powerful can run for presidency. Where “democratically elected” members of congress act on their own thoughts instead of on behalf of the people. And a place where bills which will support the public and are supported by the public are often hard to pass into law. So, in all these respects, no, America is no longer truly democratic.

Theo J, L6

An overview of black holes

A black hole is what is left over after a supermassive star which has more mass than the Chandrasekar limit reaches the end of its life cycle and explodes in a supernova. The event horizon of a black hole is in its simplest terms is the area surrounding the black hole from which it is impossible to escape from. Here the gravitational strength of the black hole is so strong that no light can escape from it, as Einstein’s theory of special relativity states that nothing can travel faster or at the same speed as light. This means nothing can escape from within a black hole’s event horizon. Within the event horizon of a black hole is the singularity. This is the place inside of the black hole where all the stars’ original mass has collapsed into an infinitely dense point.

The size of a black hole’s event horizon depends directly on the mass of the original star that collapsed into it. If the sun became a black hole, it would have an event horizon that would be 5.84km across. The black hole at the centre of our galaxy Sagittarius A* has an event horizon that is 12.7 million km across, due to it mass being 4.3 million times that of our sun. The strength of this black hole depends directly on 2 things - the amount of mass within the black hole and the distance between an object and the black hole. If you passed too close to a smaller black hole like the one the sun would create, you would be pulled apart by the gravitational strength in a process known as spaghettification. Whilst if you fell towards a black hole such as Sagittarius A* you would not experience this same phenomenon.

For the rest of this article assume I’m talking about a black hole that is around the size of Sagittarius A*. Another fact about black holes that must be known is that most of them are rotating at extremely high velocities since the stars they originate from also spin, but just at considerable higher speeds. Some black holes can even rotate to speeds of more than 90% the speed of light. These black holes are thought to not have a singularity, but instead have a ringularity which is an infinitely thin ring at the centre of the black holes and these often lead to irregularities in the event horizon causing them to appear oblong.

The most interesting part about these black holes is that they have an inner and an outer event horizon. The outer event horizon of a black hole acts like a point of no return just like the event horizon of a non-rotating black hole. The inner event horizon is considerably stronger - at this event horizon there is a breakdown of determinism which means the past no longer determines what happens in the future. Most physicists agree that no one could ever pass through this second event horizon because they would be instantly annihilated. If one could in theory get through this event horizon, inside of it time travel could be possible. Around such a super massive spinning black hole the fabric of space-time around it can be seen to rotate. This is known as frame dragging. This phenomenon creates a cosmic Whirlpool known as an Argo sphere which occurs outside a rotating black hole outer event horizon. Within the Argo sphere an object is forced to move in the same direction in which the black hole is spinning matter that falls into the Argo sphere can get enough speed to escape the black holes gravitational pull taking some of the black hole’s energy with it. One theory about rotating black holes is that they could be the key to infinite energy sources as if we could find a way to fire photons into an ergo sphere, They would accelerate and then we could re-absorb them going at a higher speed giving us large amounts of energy from the black hole As up to 42% of an object's mass is converted into energy inside the Argus fear of a rotating black hole. however, this would be extremely difficult to do due to the dangers of getting too close to a black hole. These rotating Argos fears have huge implications for the environment around black holes as the Super massive black holes at the centre of most galaxies like Sagittarius A* are so large that they will have significantly influence the evolution of everything near them inside of those galaxies.

Wilf G, L6

What is a Hero?

The question ‘What is a Hero?’ has permeated throughout history. For the ancient Greeks, a hero was a character typically descended from a God or, if not, at least possessing the Gods’ favour. Their heroes would go on legendary journeys, completing impossible tasks along the way and displaying their courage and other ‘heroic’ attributes throughout. In contrast, today we often view a hero to be someone idolised for their achievements and traits and we have a myriad of heroes from sporting heroes, political heroes, to humanitarian heroes. There are also individual and group heroes, the former being a figure you admire such as your father, mother, or a celebrity, and the latter being an individual who has impacted a variety of people in positive ways, a political leader or activist for example.

The word ‘Hero’ itself originates from the Greek word ‘Hērōs’ which translates to ‘protector’ or ‘defender’. For the ancient Greeks, a hero was an individual usually descended from a God, for example, Hercules and Perseus who were both sons of Zeus, or, if not born from an immortal, being favoured by the Gods as was the case for Odysseus and Achilles. They believed a hero should embark on arduous voyages, completing gruelling feats throughout and displaying prowess, courage, and other qualities the Greeks thought of as heroic; the Odyssey, the Twelve Labours, and the Iliad being the arguably the three most prominent examples. Another key attribute of a Greek hero was their ability to achieve victory under impossible circumstances. To put it plainly, the Gods supported winners, and therefore while Greek heroes encountered hardships, they also experienced great victories. For an ancient Greek, all these ideas, from success to their parentage, were what formed a hero.

In contrast, in modern society, the word hero means different things to different people. Websters dictionary’s definition of a hero is: ‘an individual who is admired for his or her achievements and qualities,’ but the definition varies in the perspective of different individuals, with certain similarities of course. In this day and age, heroes do not have to be descended from Gods, they do not have to show prowess on the battlefield and they can display human emotions, contrasting with the ancient Greek definition of the word. Today, there are many types of heroes, sporting heroes, such as Mohammed Ali, political heroes, for example, Nelson Mandela or Volodymyr Zelensky, environmental heroes, such as Greta Thunberg, the list goes on. This is because people tend to have different concepts of heroism and what it means, there are no longer just ‘Heroes’ there are individual heroes, group heroes, and daily heroes. The definition of heroism has changed a lot since ancient times and will continue to change in the future.7

Heroes can also be idols to an individual or to a collective of people. An individual hero can be anyone who is idolised by another. Be it your parents, who have cared for you, a firefighter who rushes to a burning building, or a celebrity who has accomplished feats that you greatly admire. A group hero is someone who is adulated by a number of people, for example, a political figure who has aided many people with their policies, an environmental activist struggling for more than their selves, or a soldier, fighting bravely to defend his country. There are also one-off heroes or single acts of bravery such as saving a child from an oncoming car. In contrast, there are also lifelong heroes who spend their lives saving others such as NHS workers. All these characters are heroes to different people regardless of whether or not they meet the set definition of what a hero is.

In conclusion, I believe a hero to be an individual who is idolised and who performs actions that inspire and help people. I also believe that a hero, while having accomplished great things and aiding many people, should also be flawed. The Greek heroes showed human emotions and flaws, the overarching reason why the Greeks loved them so much, due to the fact that they could empathise with them. However, the heroes of Ancient Greece were also unattainable, they had incredible physical strength, unparalleled genius, and wit, and could complete impossible tasks. In contrast, I believe a hero should be attainable, whether they are a group or individual idol, they should inspire and motivate others to do what

The Abolition of Stress

In an era where mental health and wellbeing is acknowledged to be as key a factor of a good life as physical wellbeing, I would suggest that if we had to abolish one thing, it would be a positive result if we were to remove stress or key elements of stress if total abolition isn’t possible from our lives.

When Hans Selye said “It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it “he was right, but this is too simple an explanation because stress is not physical, it is causal, and it generates what are described as flight or fight reactions. It is acknowledged by us all that in modern society

8 stress now affects every aspect of our lives both mentally and physically and in all relationships including personal and professional ones. I’m not suggesting that life shouldn’t include pressure, because that is a force which motivates us all, but stress is a closely linked and negative influence whose consequences as we all know can have devasting impacts.

Philosophers, psychiatrists, and medical professionals look to define conditions and their causes. In this case, The Mental Health Foundation8 describes stress as being “the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure. “. They acknowledge on their website that our reaction to stress is affected by several factors including our genetics, early life events, personality traits and the environment in which we live in. These basic conditioning elements in turn when placed under stress means our bodies activate our immune systems9 to differing extents and generates a “flight or fight” response, creating not just an immediate impact for those experiencing stress but also in turn leading at times to long term negative impacts. I believe that as society has developed the number of stress triggers has increased.

The earliest place where stress is found is our childhood. We often recognise that our adult personality is shaped during our childhood10 , whether that be in the way we are raised, our environment and those external influences that impact our lives be that schooling, peer group pressures and even including physical activity including access to sport. Linked to this and during our childhood, adult pressures which affect home life, examples including financial stress, lack of adequate housing or food or parental separation has created a generation who are conditioned by stress. We will all to some degree be affected by a negative influence leading to stress for both us and those

9 https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stresssymptoms-effects_of-stress-on-the-body - Body’s response to stress

10 https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002059.htm around us. We learn how to manage or protect ourselves from these pressures often mirroring the approach adopted by the adults who are responsible for us. Along with these triggers those experiences which we have during our education materially influences success in later life. Education has been changed during the years recognising the need to adjust teaching methods to adapt to individual needs thereby achieving better results and in turn reducing stress. Examples of this include the removal of physical punishment11 something which was stopped only during our parents’ time at school.

Another example of adaption by schools has been the recognition of the

11 importance of reflecting the particular needs of pupils for instance providing learning support for children with dyslexia or dyspraxia. It has been so important for educational experts to recognise that support not separation can allow students to achieve their best. Furthermore, in schools, individuality is something that is now celebrated from an early age, with many schools talking in their marketing material on the “whole person” recognising the power of difference and not only focusing on academic success but also mental wellbeing. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ba92/c461e6a27d353d4396f90bd

36948bce26834.pdf - Explores punishment in school

12 https://www.qld.gov.au/youth/health-looking-afteryourself/mental-health-support-counselling/managing-yourthoughts/exam- and this requires careful management. Now it could be argued that many children develop a fight rather than flight mentality as a result of their childhood. We have been led to believe that these people are tough as a result, and there are numerous examples provided to us of role models who have achieved so much despite a hard start in life, Malala Yousafzai13 or Ashwin Willemse14 for example. But for many, the stresses they experience when young will overshadow their lives and affect them negatively in the future and I’d suggest these are lives which should be valued and protected. I believe that as society has stress#:~:text=around%20exam%20times.-,Why%20you%20experi ence%20exam%20stress,understand%20what%20you're%20studyin g 13 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/151001malala-movie-girls-education-nobel-taliban-boko-haram changed, and we are driven by our virtual along with our physical world, that stresses we normally experience as we develop from peer pressures to our own perceptions of self are heightened and this triggers greater reactions at the time and in later life.

As we move into adulthood, stress can continue to affect our lives in the same ways in which it does during childhood. Stress can appear through our environment, our workplaces, but beyond that particularly as a result of social media and virtual channels. There has been an outdated view which is now changing, which believes that working long hours, staying longer at your desk is a way of

14 https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/sep/09/rugbyunion.rug byworldcup20077 validating your position in a job. However, the current pandemic has highlighted to many companies that productivity isn’t affected by choosing a better worklife balance15. This understanding is beginning to encourage people to work in different ways. This development is a great way of abolishing a significant area of potential stress.

Young adults like children continue to be conditioned by unrealistic photoshopped perceptions of life, through many channels including advertising, social media streaming or television. Our perception of reality is warped by an adjusted perception of what is normal and also attractive to others which in turn

15 https://mhanational.org/blog/mental-health-benefits-remoteand-flexible-work leads to significant stress

. Recent suicides committed by social media personalities show just how stressful and dangerous this heightened perception of body image, the fear of not being accepted and the desire to be part of the accepted norm can be. The healthcare system has been swamped during the pandemic by young adults in particular requiring mental health assistance as a result of spending significantly more time online in the unreal internet reality rather than with their peers. The fear of missing out, of not being part of life has in fact led to extreme reactions including suicides. On a more down to earth, day to day example of the negative and also financial

16 https://emotionmatters.co.uk/2018/10/04/how-does-socialmedia-influence-body-image/ hospitals are now seeing increasing cases of young men attending clinics with heart problems due to steroid misuse where they’ve sought the idealised body shape which they have been brought up to value more than physical health. They have physically damaged their bodies as a result of unhealthy stress triggers. This perceived image of fitness and perfection is chosen by some and in doing this they sacrifice their own health. It is the societal driven fear of a failure to fit in which causes this form stress17. If we could abolish these type of stress triggers by accepting reality we would be in a mentally better place, and as a developed world, financially better as the strain placed on sectors of healthcare would be lessened. Throughout our lives we now recognise that a significant stressful event or series of events can lead to long term mental health issues which affect our ability to lead a normal life and to fit into society. Those in roles where stress is heightened for example the emergency services or armed forces experience significant stress and as they are unable to remove themselves from this and it can for some lead to post traumatic stress disorder18 . The torture of being continually reminded of an event must be something to look to abolish. We have just passed a significant anniversary of 9-11 and one of the largest areas of reflection beyond the tragedy of all the lives lost

17 https://insynccounselling.com.au/people-pleasing/

18 https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/post-traumaticstress-disorder-ptsd/causes/ on the day and afterwards was the catastrophic mental effect on many particularly the emergency services who were there.

Stress also appears in our lives as a result of ill health19. If, we could help, as part of the educational process, help people understand how to deal with pressure better, it could reduce the triggers for stress which leads to mental health problems and the enormous costs that this creates. Being able to teach that it’s fine to acknowledge when you need help and having a support mechanism in place for everyone to access through the NHS, although in reality this would be a huge demand, is important. Ill health too in its own right triggers enormous emotional

19 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stressmanagement/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987 reactions and one of the flaws in my what I would abolish answer with me choosing stress is that if we removed stress I’d also be looking to remove lots of triggers including poor health, economic inequality, child cruelty, wars etc. It is impossible not to recognise the enormous impact in terms of stress that physical ill health can have throughout our lives not just for the person affected but those around them, parents, siblings, family and friends alongside those treating them.

So in summary, stress is present throughout our lives and in large areas of the same. It can lead to physical and mental ill health. However, it comes in many forms from one off events to growth through a cumulative process. It isn’t something which can immediately be prevented and is not a physical entity. It affects people in different ways to different degrees amplifying the effects of existing issues in our lives and as such it would be very difficult to define and therefore remove from our world. We all experience it to varying degrees and react to it in different ways and sometimes you will react to the same stress in a different way at different points in your life. But wouldn’t it be great to be able to remove such a negative element of everyday life ? Perhaps this

Will S, L6

20 https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8740422-there-is-no-suchthing-as-a-stress-free-life-no

Does money detract from an artist’s true expression?

We often hear tales of tortured souls whose life was for their art, yet their suffering and misery never came to fruit in their own lifetime. It is their stories that we hear. But what of those who were in high demand, paid small fortunes to follow a trend or present a certain characteristic? How is their art perceived in our modern world? Van Gogh is a prime example. The artist suffered with poor mental health and illness throughout his lifetime and painted some of his most absorbing and compelling works whilst in a mental hospital in

Arles, France. Works

such as ‘The Starry Night’ (1889) and ‘Irises’ (1889) captured a frenzied beauty that obviously occupied his many thoughts. Out of such pain came a work now instantly recognizable, an avantgarde piece that lay foundations for many others. Yet frequent bouts of Van Gogh’s depression were caused by his apparent failure in something he poured his all into. He had dreams of setting up an artist’s colony in the south, in Arles, and his brother, Theo, funded his choices and decisions, a sole supporter amongst a sea of criticism. Theo, who dealt in the art of famous painters such as Gaugin, Monet, and Degas, encouraged Gaugin to visit his brother after he suffered a fit, and Van Gogh thought his dream as being realised. In preparation, he painted ‘The Sunflowers’ (1888), to adorn his visitor’s bedroom walls. These vibrant, yellow flowers have come to symbolize the very man and art of Van Gogh. Say ‘sunflower’, and it is probable that Vincent’s dramatic washes of yellow and blue come to your mind, their image adorning posters, mugs, tea towels around the world. A man whose life was ruled with supposed failure could now arguably be called one the most celebrated painters in the world, and that is for one reason: somewhere within the emotional response we find when looking at Van Gogh’s work, we see a reflection of torment and anguish that we can recognize in our own lives. Van Gogh painted with feeling and emotion, often producing violent or confused work, work that is now hailed and admired.

Van Gogh’s provocative art differs wildly in both style and response to other artists, such as Gainsborough. Gainsborough was hugely famous in his lifetime and rose to fame from birth in Suffolk in 1727. He came from a non-conformist background and was an egalitarian, believing that nobody had the right to ‘lord it over them’. Although presented with the rich and famous of his time, he was not impressed by his rich clients, and this could have possibly contributed to the art he produced, which could arguably be described as that which lacks emotive response. People flocked to bath in the early 18th century to take the air, and here Gainsborough found his rich clientele base, eventually following the money to London.

We could take, for example, Gainsborough’s ‘The Byam Family’ (1762-1766), which used to hang at the College in the Adderley (a copy still hangs there today.) The scene depicts the Andrews - a man, his wife, and their young child. They are not painted particularly flatteringly, as Gainsborough knew that these people had no artistic appreciation for what was deemed good and bad. They are painted roughly, and four years after its’ completion, Mrs Byam, the wife in the portrait, wanted her dress to be updated to modern fashions, and for her daughter to be added. Gainsborough shows to us his distaste for her shallowness, as these additions are painted very roughly, the daughter looking like a disembodied spectre.

The Byams accrued their wealth from the slave trade and plantations in Antigua. Gainsborough could have chosen to represent their brutal and savage origins in his portrait, and convey a political message, but instead took their money and painted what could be seen as a slapdash family picture.