A view into awe-inspiring experiences Investigating the effects of wonder on attitudes, mindsets, and perspectives
BY SADHANA SARMA AND AURELIA YANG
SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY-EPIC
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tanding next to a grandiose waterfall, even the tallest human in the world will be inclined to feel a sense of overwhelmingness, an emotion that is a prime example of awe. Awe can be conceptualized as the experience of encountering something so vast in size, beauty or intensity that the brain struggles to fully comprehend it. It is a quality capable of inspiring and adjusting one’s perception of the world, changing the way people perceive mundane objects and tasks by stimulating a confounded reaction. Awe itself can stem from a variety of intense experiences. Up until 1757, when Irish philosopher Edmund Burke began a revolution in our understanding of awe, the sensation was limited to religious experiences. In the present day, events such as witnessing childbirth and hiking to a nice view are most often associated with such a feeling. It can, however, be found in all environments and situations. Seeing repetitive patterns of light and dark, listening to moving mu-
sic and travelling can be experienced daily and are capable of stimulating feelings of amazement. Despite the wide range of stimuli that qualify as awe-inspiring, they all share a capability to inspire the same level of the feeling. Economics and Government teacher David Pugh has experienced awe through his many travels. As someone who has been to places such as New Zealand, the South Paci�ic, and the Swiss Alps, Pugh has had to opportunity to experience different perspectives of nature. “I think the experience of travel has been the most awe inspiring because it has really opened me and my mind up,” said Pugh. “You realize how small you are and you appreciate other cultures, and you realize that people are pretty much the same around the world.” The prototypical awe experience, at least in Western cultures, usually involves encounters with natural phenom-
ena that are immense in size, scope or complexity. On a week long backpacking trip up Mount Phillips in New Mexico, where the Rocky Mountains meet the Great Plains, sophomore Sakin Kirti felt awe through one of these archetypal experiences. “The mountain hike went up to 11,000 feet,” said Kirti. “When you see a view like that and you see the spread of great plains on one side and rocky mountains on the other side, you can see just how vast everything is compared to you as you’re standing there.” According to the study “Awe, Uncertainty, and Agency Detection” by Valdesolo and Graham, even something as simple as watching nature videos can evoke feelings of awe; such items reduce one’s tolerance for uncertainty, leading to an increase in spiritual beliefs. Though awe is often still believed to only come about from religious experiences, it has proven to be equally palpable for the religious and nonreligious
Lynbrook mock trial team places at states BY WILLIAM GUO
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n Mar. 24, Lynbrook’s mock trial team headed to the University of California, Riverside to compete in the statewide mock trial competition, where they placed 16th out of 34 teams. The team won the Santa Clara County Mock Trial Tournament on Feb. 23 with a record of 3-1, in order to qualify for the competition, the �irst time the Lynbrook mock trial team has made it to the state level competition in the past seven years. At the state competition, the team bowed out with a 2-2 record after winning against Scripps Ranch and Aptos High Schools and after losing to Elk Grove and Centennial High Schools. Mock trial tests participants on one case the entire year; this year, the case was People v. Awbrey, which centered around human traf�icking and false imprisonment. While the team was successful at the county tournament, the season was not without its challenges. They had a rough start, as the majority of the team is made up of underclassmen, and many were new to mock trial. “At the beginning we were really struggling because we lacked a lot of the necessary skills, which our coaches Mr. Pugh and [Attorney-coach] Mark [Shem] can attest to,”
said junior co-captain Alina Wan. “One of my concerns during the beginning of the year was the fact that we didn’t have a lot of experienced members. Previously, the team was very senior-driven.” The lack of experience caused a few problems during the beginning of the season. “During the beginning of the year they were awful,” said Shem. “They weren’t cohesive, and they didn’t make sense. They just did not have the proper courtroom procedure. We had to sit down and tell them that that wasn’t acceptable for a Lynbrook mock trial team.” In an effort to improve the team, the coaches brought in Justin Bernstein, a notable mock trial coach, to give members pointers. Shem noticed the team’s improvement in their arguments after the session, as well as in the following invitationals and scrimmages. Their progress materialized during their title run at counties. “We really had to teach the new members the ropes, and we’ve really been able to recognize the true essence of mock trial,” said senior co-captain Kathleen Cui. “Over time we’ve been able to smooth out any problems that we’ve had.” The underclassmen were quick to learn
and pick up on mock trial strategies, even though they had to adapt to a new environment. “This year was my �irst year, and it’s de�initely been a very steep learning curve,” said sophomore Ben Shapiro. “Prior to this I was an average public speaker, but I found that it was far from what I needed to perform well in mock trial. I’ve learned a lot about the law in general, and I improved a lot in my speaking skills.” The members have substantially improved since the �irst days, and the team has been able demonstrate their skills through their various matches. Members must be prepared for not only their own case but also for their opponents’ cases. “Mock trial isn’t just set pieces, [because] you have to react to the other side’s case,” said Shem. In our �inal round going to states, our team was really reacting to our Prospect’s arguments. We demonstrated that we were able to react instead of giving a set speech. The team was able to critically analyze facts on the �ly, and respond to them.” The Lynbrook mock trial team hopes to learn and grow from the progress they’ve made this year, and they look forward to competing in the next season.
alike, as awe is evoked by anything that takes one out of their usual mindset and allows him or her to make a connection with something greater. For the non-religious, awe often inspires individuals to believe in evolution as a process that is orderly rather than one that is r a n - dom. Experiencing vastness �irsthand can also expand one’s worldview. It essentially changes the way individuals perceive t h e m selves and the world around them by shrinking their ego and thus humbling their personalities. Senior Kevin Huang experiences awe through being an astrophotographer and often witnesses majestic moments in see AWE-INSPIRING page 11
POWDERPUFF// pg. 14