Charged 2026

Category: today i learned (til)

  • The Discoveries of the Human Genome Project

    Few scientific quests have sought to unravel the essence of what makes us human as the Human Genome Project. The Human Genome Project (HGP) began with the US Department of Energy launching a study to detect genetic mutations about atomic bomb survivors in Japan. Eventually, the National Institute of Health joined, along with a collection of countries across the globe, into what became a public consortium by the Human Genome Organization. HGP officially began in 1990 with a completion goal of 2005, and thus researchers set up to map the scope of homo sapien DNA, the code that determines our traits. 

    Through HGP, scientists uncovered various discoveries about genetics. One such finding was that human DNA isn’t as unique as we originally thought. The genomes of people who are not closely related to each other like siblings or parents are estimated to be different by about 1 in every 1,200 to 1,500 bases. What this means is that if we consider a stretch of DNA having anywhere between 1,200 to 1,500 bases, we would expect to find one difference between the sequences, and this difference could be as small as a single letter change or single nucleotide polymorphism, or as large as differences in the number of copies of certain sections of DNA, also known as the copy number variations. Additionally,  nearly 50% of our DNA is similar to that of other organisms, with more than 40% of our proteins being similar to those of flies and worms.

    Scientists also found out that genes are not evenly spread out across the 24 human chromosomes, and that some regions have many genes clustered together called rich neighborhoods, while others have few genes, known as desert areas. These desert areas consist of 20% of our genetic code, and the other 80% is made up of clustered neighborhoods. Moreover, the human genome has around 20,000 genes for protein building, which is only 2% of our total DNA. This extremely small percentage was the biggest disappointment for the scientists of the HGP, as they had hoped there would be over 100,000 genes in our genome. This discovery challenged the idea that each gene makes only one protein, and eventually led researchers to understand that the complexity of humans isn’t solely determined by the number of genes, but rather by the different ways in which genes code for proteins.

    Today, we can understand that while the Human Genome Project didn’t address all the expectations and ambitions of earlier scientists, it also forever changed the landscape of the study of genetics. Through the HGP, researchers established large databases of genetic data and published to the world the human genome sequence, ensuring that the genome can be accessible at our fingertips. Moreover, in the late 1980s, computers were relatively simple, but by the time the HGP had finished, we had the internet and powerful computers to handle all this genetic data. This led to a new era of digital biology, where scientists and clinicians could analyze vast amounts of genetic information.

    However, with genetic research also comes various ethical implications. One is about who should own and control genetic data – if researchers and healthcare providers should have access to it for genetic studies and patient care, there is also the issue of how ethical it is for companies to commercialize and profit from this data, especially if they sell the information to third parties. Questions around who can patent genes and genetic technologies arose and the impact this can have on genetic research and healthcare. Moreover, with sequencing the entire human genome, there also needs to be safeguards to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the participants’ genetic information from data misuse or unauthorized access. Lastly, there needs to be equitable access to the benefits of genetics research, ensuring that people of marginalized communities are not only participating in the studies, but also receive the advanced healthcare and medicine that emerges from these discoveries. 

    The lessons we’ve learned from the Human Genome Project can guide us to improve our knowledge of genetics and conduct genomic research responsibly and ethically. Moreover, by understanding how our knowledge of the building blocks of humanity have evolved over time, we can develop a greater appreciation for how far science has progressed. 

     

    Sources:

    Collins, F. S. (1999). Medical and societal consequences of the Human Genome Project. New England Journal of Medicine, 341(1), 28–37. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm199907013410106 

    Gibbs, R. A. (2020). The Human Genome Project Changed Everything. Nature Reviews Genetics, 21(10), 575–576. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-020-0275-3 

    Moraes, F., & Góes, A. (2016). A Decade of Human Genome Project Conclusion: Scientific Diffusion about our genome knowledge. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 44(3), 215–223. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.20952 

    Watson, J. D. (1990). The Human Genome Project: Past, present, and future. Science, 248(4951), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2181665 

  • Exploring Medieval University Science Education

    Ever wonder what your undergraduate science education would have been like if you attended university during the Middle Ages? 

    We can understand this by exploring the science curriculum of students at Oxford University during the 14th century and how it was shaped by the societal and intellectual context of the time period. For a student studying towards a master of the arts (the equivalent of a science degree), they would need to enter with a strong foundation in the 7 liberal arts, including Boethius’ Arithmetic and Euclid’s geometry, and the 3 natural philosophies such as physics and meteorology. 

    In university, there were two main fields students of science covered: quadrivium and natural philosophy. Quadrivium consisted of the subjects of arithmetic where the students would study number theory and calculations, and geometry for learning shapes, measurements, and Euclidean geometry. They would also learn music, both the mathematical and theoretical aspects, as well as astronomy where they would study celestial objects, the principles behind this motion, and the works of Ptolemy. In natural philosophy, students learned about Aristotle’s works on the natural world, his theories of motion for physics, elements, and celestial bodies, as well as concepts on metaphysics, such as the nature of existence and the structure of reality. 

    These students, as well as others in universities in Paris and other cities, were required to attend lectures on quadrivium and Aristotle, as well as lectures on other scientific topics. Students could sometimes replace the required lectures with these electives – although they wouldn’t receive course credits for them – and there were even university regulations to allow these lectures to continue during holidays in cases of high demand.   

    There were various ways in which the subjects of quadrivium and natural philosophy were at the core of the curriculum for students. In regards to Aristotle’s works, professors would use commentaries from these to explain his complex ideas to students through the lens of their own contributions to the discoveries. Moreover, these commentaries served as both textbooks for students to learn from and research papers for scholarly purposes. Students could study the commentaries to build their understanding on the subject, as well as critique and offer their own ideas to existing ones. 

    Professors also used sophismata, which were logical puzzles or propositions, to allow students to actively engage. Students would participate in disputations, or formal debates and discussions, in order to graduate, where they would defend or refute various propositions. This focus on logical thinking enabled students to form arguments and check for weaknesses or fallacies in their scientific works. 

    Overall, medieval universities had an integrated approach to education where teaching and research were combined. The works that students studied for their science curriculum were also composed of scholarly research content that they could then use to build and refute arguments. While medieval scholars and students were not immune to incorrect scientific theories, they were also limited by the resources and beliefs of that time. By understanding the scientific progress made through the centuries and the way in which education has developed it, we can continue to shape the knowledge of students to come. 

     

    Sources:

    Scott, John C. “The mission of the university: Medieval to postmodern transformations.” The Journal of Higher Education, vol. 77, no. 1, 2006, pp. 1–39, https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2006.0007. 

    Sylla, Edith Dudley. “Science for undergraduates in medieval universities.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 441, no. 1, Apr. 1985, pp. 171–186, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1985.tb14581.x. 

  • AI and VR: A New Reality

    Reality is defined by the world we live in and the rules it is bound by. Physics, time, societal norms—these are all things that limit us to what we call our reality. But what if we could generate a new reality to live in? A virtual reality.

    Virtual reality, or VR, is a computer-generated simulation designed to immerse participants in an artificial world that they can interact with and explore through the use of a headset and other accessories. Many people, including myself, have joined the craze with excitement, using the technology for both recreation and education, interacting with other users, experiencing 360 videos, or just playing immersive games. The top tech companies have begun their race to develop their visions for these worlds, with Apple being one of the most recent producers of their own headsets.

    The Apple Vision Pro is “Apple’s first spatial operating system” that allows you to use your hands, eyes, and voice to create intuitive interactions around you. The feature “EyeSight” tells other people what you’re doing while using the headset, and from one review, the experience is similar to viewing your phone directly through your eyes. At the current price point of $3500, it’s not a product that everyone will be quick to get their hands on, but only time will tell how popular it will become as the design becomes sleeker and the interest becomes more mainstream.

    However, as with all new developments, we have to stop and ask ourselves: Is this the right way to go? It seems like there may be a good argument against it.

    My first introduction to the Apple Vision Pro was a video by YouTube creator Eddy Burback. In his video, he discussed the difficulties he had with its setup, grievances with its price point given its limitations, and most interestingly, the implications and ethical concerns for this product and the overall push for more social interaction in the virtual world.

    Hadi Ardiny and Esmaeel Khanmirza vouch for the technology as a concept, noting that the integration of technology like virtual reality into education helps students gain hands on understanding and experience abstract concepts that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Other forms of computer generated reality have brought peace to grieving family members through realistic holograms of deceased loved ones, though that topic brings about moral questions of its own (Stein, 508). I have personally used VR as a means to teach about space in STEMcomm’s ASF After Dark event and can see its benefits. However, these benefits have yet to outweigh the negatives for me.

    The idea that we are currently in a “loneliness epidemic” is an interesting perspective to incorporate into this conversation. Dilip V. Jeste, Ellen E. Lee, and Stephanie Cacioppo hypothesize that “there is probably a common underlying thread of social anomie and disconnection resulting from the rapid growth of technology, social media, globalization, and polarization of societies… Information overload, 24-hour connectivity, countless but superficial and sometimes harmful social media relationships, and heightened competition have elevated the level of stress in the modern society.” This sentiment was shared not only by Burback when discussing the peculiar push of an AI chat bot while using the headset but also by Yi Mou and Kun Xu’s research into human-AI social interactions. In their study, they found that users of the application WeChat showed higher levels of neuroticism and were less conscientious when conversing with AI. With this, the question is then posed: will computer manufacturing ever truly substitute in-person social reactions? Or, more importantly, should it?

    I tend to agree with the philosopher Albert Borgmann, who is of the opinion that technology is a tool that, when mishandled or taken for granted, can devalue craftsmanship and the rich community ties that uphold our society. Though I don’t believe that the Apple Vision Pro will cause the downfall of our society, I find that we should be wary of its ability and intention to pull people away from our reality. New technology will always be exciting and often beneficial to the masses, but I think that it is important to be both open-minded and skeptical, inquisitive yet grounded.

    Sources
    Ardiny, H., & Khanmirza, E. (2018). The role of AR and VR Technologies in education developments: Opportunities and challenges. 2018 6th RSI International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (IcRoM), 482–487. https://doi.org/10.1109/icrom.2018.8657615

    Burback, E. (2024, March 29). Apple’s $3500 nightmare. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLMZPlIufA0

    Fallman, D. (2009). A different way of seeing: Albert Borgmann’s philosophy of technology and human–computer interaction. AI & SOCIETY, 25(1), 53–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-009-0234-1

    Jeste, D. V., Lee, E. E., & Cacioppo, S. (2020). Battling the modern behavioral epidemic of loneliness. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(6), 553–554. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0027

    Mou, Y., & Xu, K. (2017). The media inequality: Comparing the initial human-human and human-ai social interactions. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 432–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.067

    Stein, J.-P. (2021). Conjuring up the departed in virtual reality: The good, the bad, and the potentially ugly. Psychology of Popular Media, 10(4), 505–510. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000315

  • “When” to Do Things by Daniel H. Pink

    Nowadays, I “read” books mostly by listening to them. When you have to read textbooks and research papers all day, it’s easier on the eyes and the brain to just have someone do all the reading for you. One of the first books I listened to after realizing this is When, the pop science/self-help book by Daniel H. Pink.

    Now, hear me out. I’m usually a hater when it comes to self-help books: I don’t like their overconfident, salesman-like tone, and I don’t like the insinuation that you can change your life with a “few, simple tricks”. I despise buzzwords about “hacking your brain” or “maximizing productivity”. I’m not trying to make my body a more efficient machine–I’m just trying to get by and be happy.

    This book doesn’t overpromise on how it will “change your life”. Its tagline, “the scientific secrets of perfect timing”, is a little clickbait-y, but it really does cite scientific literature. Rather than telling you what you should or shouldn’t be doing, Pink tells different stories: anecdotes of folks who run marathons at the end of a decade (19 years old, 29, 39, 49, and so on), research about night owls versus early birds, scheduling customs around the world, etc. And it definitely makes the message sink in more than if he delivered it like a TED talk.

    This tone really stuck with me as a highlight of this book. For as long as I’ve been aware of time, I’ve been anxious about it. I’ve worried about running out of it, I’m terrified of wasting it, and I am constantly checking to see if I am using it right. I procrastinate and waffle around and scroll Twitter for too long and suddenly it’s bedtime. If I might be allowed to generalize my neuroses to everyone, I would say that humans just can’t really conceptualize time (see my article on Existential Physics if you want more about time). So, it scares us.

    This book sat me down and said, “don’t worry so much”. Like this TikTok comment I saw floating around the internet says, “the time will pass anyways”. Apparently that’s a Earl Nightingale quote?

    The time will pass anyways : r/Wiseposting

     

    Take the example of the post lunch slump. I have always noticed that I really get things done from 11-12pm, 3-6 pm, or 9pm-12am (I’m currently writing this article at 10pm!). For the longest time, that stressed me out. If I couldn’t get work done during the typical 9-5, how would I ever be able to keep a job? What would I do? From this book, I learned that my biological clock is just tuned a little bit differently. Instead of trying to fight it, I should make the most of it. During the dead zone around 1-2pm, I don’t even try to do computer work. I’ll walk around, chat with a coworker, or deal with a task that makes me move. Then, when my energy hits a peak again, I tackle those mentally draining activities.

    This book didn’t change my life, but funnily enough, it came into my world at just the right time. When you’re a college student juggling work, research, classes, chores, a social life, and your own physical and mental health, it’s really easy to feel overwhelmed. Up to this point, our time has been highly budgeted by parents, teachers, and other authority figures. And then, suddenly you’re just expected to be able to do it all yourself. This book was a small step in learning how to be at peace with time, and be a little more kind to myself in the process. If that sounds like something you’d like, do check out this book. It’s well worth your–nevermind.

  • Janna Levin’s Black Hole Survival Guide

    What would happen if you fell into a black hole? It’s a question that you want answered fast. After reading verbose academic articles all semester, Black Hole Survival Guide feels like a breath of fresh air. At a slim 190 pages (just 3 hours in the audiobook), author Janna Levin answers just that. Nothing else. No frills, no fuss.
    Okay–I lied. There’s a bit at the beginning where the astrophysicist reminisces about how her wonder about black holes led her to pursue her career. And a bit at the end where she details the day the first image of a black hole was taken: the excitement, the awe, the tears. And it’s this personal, lively, and engaging tone that made this book so easy to read. And that’s not something I thought I’d say about a book about black hole theories!
    The title of this guide is slightly misleading: there’s likely no chance you’ll survive a black hole. Probably. Levin discusses the different parts of a black hole, circling it in a dance before she takes you into it. The big black hole theories are discussed, from the boring (you’ll lose consciousness before you see anything), to the deliciously macabre (your legs will fall in at a different speed than your head, pulling your body apart limb from limb), to the weirdly existential (time will slow so much that you will see whole galaxies extinguish in the blink of an eye). Her prose is electric. Listening to her describe what it would be like to look out from the event horizon, I can picture myself there now. Just take a look at this video of her explaining black holes to people of different education levels.
    Black Hole Survival Guide is a bite-sized romp into the world of the black hole. If you listen to the audiobook, it’s like an audio only NOVA documentary with a wry attitude. I don’t even want to spoil any more of the book than I already have. Dr. Levin doesn’t mince words, and neither will I. Just like with a black hole, you’ll really only understand it if you dive in headfirst. Go read it!

  • Penitentes

    If you wander over to the high-altitude regions of the Andes, you might spot fields of white figures, kneeling as if in prayer. Known as penitentes (based on the Spanish for penitent, one in penance), these are snow formations in the form of tall spikes.

    penitentes-13

    First described in literature by Charles Darwin in his book *The Voyage of the Beagle*, penitentes are structures that form at altitudes higher than 4,000 meters in snow-covered regions of the Dry Andes. He encountered them on his way from Santiago to Mendoza, and reported the local belief that these eerie formations were caused by the winds.

    This belief persisted while scientists came up with many alternative explanations such as electromagnetic orientation of snow, thermal eddies, and the descent of snow from landslides, none of which had proper backing until Lliboutry published his seminal “The Origina of Penitents” in the Journal of Glaciology. Lliboutry studied a region of penitentes and hypothesized that differential ablation was the cause of the structures.

    Ablation refers to the combined processes removing ice from a glacier surface. The main loss of ice is a result of sunlight hitting it. Although it feels like a fair assumption that sunlight hits the ground evenly, because of the way light reflects, certain regions of the snow cover receive more light and conversely energy than others.

    The crests remain cool enough to maintain their structure, but the valleys and spaces between individual penitentes have concentrated sunlight, causing them to wear down and melt over time. What starts off as random differences in the speed of melting snow cover accelerates into a spiky formation as more and more concentrated regions begin to melt over time.

    Penitentes are an eerie sight to look at, and could potentially impact our travels in space too!

    A 2018 paper by Hobley et al. theorized the presence on penitente-like structures on the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Europa is a promising target for astrobiology research due to its presence of a subglacial ocean, and the news of penitentes on its surface creates challenges for aerospace engineers designing landing gear. While the penitentes on Earth reach a meter or so tops, the modeled structures on Europa would be 15 meters tall!

    Discussion and design of Europa landers has now shifted to consider penitentes, but their presence on Europa is still hotly contested. In a 2023 study, Warren goes in depth why the Hobley study might be incorrect. He contests that Hobley misrepresents Lliboutry’s statements, and that the evidence Hobley sites can be reattributed to subsurface irregularities.

    The court is still out on whether or not penitentes are a hazard for flying to Europa, but they could still pose benefit to astrobiology research. A study in 2017 identified communities of microbes living at the tips of penitentes, sometimes giving them a reddish tint. This visual feature is something prominent in painted depictions of the structures. Studying the distribution of microbes here can be a valuable source of data for understanding the presence of bacteria in extreme environments.

     

    Works Cited

    Hobley, Daniel E. J., et al. “Formation of Metre-Scale Bladed Roughness on Europa’s Surface by Ablation of Ice.” Nature Geoscience, vol. 11, no. 12, 8 Oct. 2018, pp. 901–904, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0235-0. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

    Kaushik Patowary. “Penitentes: Peculiar Spikey Snow Formation in the Andes.” Amusing Planet, 25 May 2012, www.amusingplanet.com/2012/05/penitentes-peculiar-spikey-snow.html.

    Kristine De Abreu. “Natural Wonders: Penitentes» Explorersweb.” Explorersweb, 11 Dec. 2022, explorersweb.com/natural-wonders-penitentes/.

    Lliboitry, Louis. “The Origin of Penitents.” Journal of Glaciology, vol. 2, no. 15, 1954, pp. 331–338, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-glaciology/article/origin-of-penitents/FACAAF8EF9A38B0F14AE85DC6805B8C7/core-reader, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0022143000025181. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

    Solon, Adam J., et al. “Microbial Communities of High-Elevation Fumaroles, Penitentes, and Dry Tephra “Soils” of the Puna de Atacama Volcanic Zone.” Microbial Ecology, vol. 76, no. 2, 5 Jan. 2018, pp. 340–351, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-017-1129-1. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

    Warren, Stephen G. “Snow Spikes (Penitentes) in the Dry Andes, but Not on Europa: A Defense of Lliboutry’s Classic Paper.” Annals of Glaciology, 23 Mar. 2023, pp. 1–5, https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.12. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

  • The Magic of Shrinky Dinks and My ASF After Dark Experience

    My first semester at StemCOMM VIP offered both excitement and trepidation when I learned about the ASF After Dark event. Since high school, I hadn’t been involved in planning science-related activities, and I worried my knowledge in science related topics might be limited. However, through working with my sub-team during the planning phase, I discovered that science is everywhere around us, not something you have to constantly seek out.

    Initially, my sub-team and I envisioned a “create your own planet” activity using Styrofoam spheres and planetary trivia. But we were worried that adults might not find this as engaging, so we pivoted to shrinky dinks. These are incredibly simple: secure a shrinky dink kit, draw on the flexible plastic sheets from the kit, shrink them with heat, and transform them into keychains, magnets, or pins!

    The reason we choose to do shrinky drinks was because of the unique process of how shrink dinks formed—almost like magic. This magic of shrinky dinks lie in the scientific process triggered by heat. These plastic sheets contain polystyrene, a material made of long, chain-like molecules called polymers. When heated, these polymers straighten out, allowing them to pack together more efficiently, shrinking the material to roughly one-third of its original size.

    At the event, I helped with guest reception, brief explanation of the science behind shrinky dinks, and distributing supplies. We provided stencils for tracing and a variety of charm options. The event itself was filled with excitement as guests delighted in the activities and the new experiences our shrinky dink provided. Witnessing countless faces light up as their shrinky dinks transform into their personalized charm was truly magical. Guests would kept going back and create new designs, even our own sub-team! The magic of shrinky dinks, it seems, never gets old!

    The turnout for the ASF event went so much better than I had expected. I had concerns about low attendance, but it was fantastic to see guests genuinely enjoying the experience and immersing themselves with all the science activities for the night. The guests that were in attendance were eager to learn what shrinky dinks were and I loved seeing their designs form into charms. My experience with ASF after dark was a truly a heartwarming reminder of how science brings the world around us to life.

    Sources:

    University, Carnegie Mellon. “Shrinky Dinks – Gelfand Center – Carnegie Mellon University.” Shrinky Dinks – Gelfand Center – Carnegie Mellon University, www.cmu.edu/gelfand/lgc-educational-media/polymers/molecular-rearrangement/shrinky-dinks.html#:~:text=When%20the%20film%20is%20heated,by%20rapid%20cooling%20during%20manufacture. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

    (View the source above to learn more about shrinky dinks!)

  • Is Love Truly Blind? An Analysis of the Popular Dating Show

    \

    From its initial debut on Netflix in 2020, Love is Blind has captured audiences and secured itself as one of the most popular dating reality shows of the 21st century. What makes Love Is Blind different from other popular dating shows is that the contestants date and propose to their prospective partner from behind a wall, without every seeing each other. It isn’t until they solidify their engagement that the contestants are able to see what their partners look like. Another difference between Love Is Blind other reality shows? Love Is Blind takes itself extremely seriously. The hosts, Nick and Vanessa Lachey, are notorious for referring to their show as “an experiment”. Instead of a hypothesis for this “experiment” the hosts simply repeat the leading question: “Is love truly blind?”.

    In this article, I attempt to analyze Love Is Blind as an experiment from a scientific perspective, in an effort to answer the question, “does the inability to see your partner during a dating stage increase the viability of a long term relationship compared to a typical dating scene where both parties can see one another?”. To do this, I will compare Love Is Blind another popular reality dating show, Love Island. In Love Island, contestants are not only able to see each other, but they are encouraged to judge their fellow contestants by their physical appearances. We can compare the outcomes of each of these shows to conclude which dating strategy is more effective in forming successful, lasting relationships.

    Because this is an experiment, we will need to analyze our variables. It is imperative to account for the major differences between these shows, and note that our comparison will be far from perfect. For one, Love Is Blind is a marriage-focused show. Contestants (allegedly) sign up for the show in hopes of finding a husband or wife. Most of the contestants on Love Is Blind are in positions in their life where they are ready to commit to long-term relationships. This is much different than Love Island, which engages in a culture of flirtatiousness, changing partners, and employs a cast of younger contestants, who are less likely to want to pursue a long-term relationship. Love Is Blind is unique in that it involves such a large cast of singles from both sexes, and follows multiple couples’ pursuit of marriage. There are no shows quite like Love Is Blind, which makes it difficult to assess it as a true experiment. An ideal scenario would involve recreating the show perfectly, but with face-to-face dating instead of blind dating. Of course this is impossible, so our comparison to Love Island, is the next best option. To eliminate cross-cultural variables, we will be analyzing the slightly less popular US version of Love Island.

    I will now present the data that I collected from each reality show. To start, Love Is Blind has been running for 6 seasons, each with 30 contestants. Out of these 180 contestants, 61 contestants have become engaged on

    the show, or 31 couples (One contestant was engaged twice to two different partners). Out of these 31 couples, 20 couples broke up on the show, 9 couples are still together, and 2 couples married each other on the show, but eventually broke up. This adds up to a 29% long-term success rate out of all the couples engaged on the show, and an overall 10% success rate out of all the contestants over all 6 seasons.

    In comparison, Love Island, US has taken place over 5 seasons, each with 25 contestants, for a total of 125 contestants over the whole show. Out of these contestants, 15 couples have continued to date after the show. Out of these 15 couples, only three are currently together. This adds up to 20% chance that a couple formed on the show will stay together, and an overall success rate of 4.8%. This number is also likely generous, as Love Island typically introduces new contestants in the middle of seasons, some seasons almost doubling in cast size before the end.

    Based on these numbers, it is clear that Love Is Blind is more successful than Love Island at forming lasting relationships. In fact, Love Is Blind’s statistics of forming 9 married couples after only a 6 season runtime is unprecedented in dating shows. No other show comes close to Love is Blind in the sheer number of successful relationships formed. Even marriage-focused shows like The Bachelor pale in comparison to the success rate of Love is Blind. After 28 seasons of the Bachelor, and 20 seasons of The Bachelorette, only 9 couples from the shows are still together to this day. This means that if you are the “Bachelor” or the “Bachelorette” you have an approximate 18.75% chance of forming a lasting relationship during your time on the show. While this is better than the 10% success rate of Love Is Blind, it isn’t much better. Considering the fact that the bachelors and bachelorettes are dating 25-30 potential partners, and have no competition, it makes sense that there would be a decently high success rate. Additionally, most seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette end in an engagement, so it would be reasonable to expect more than 9 lasting couples after 48 seasons.

    Given the data and considering the variables, it seems evident that Love Is Blind has an impressively high success rate compared to similar reality dating shows. Love is Blind has an overall success rate of more than 2x that of Love Island, US. While it does have an 8.75% lower success rate than The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, the average contestant on Love Is Blind has an unprecedentedly high chance of finding love than the average contestant on these shows. It seems very probable that the factor contributing to this high likelihood of success is the blind-dating style. There is evidence in support of blind dating that suggests that deeper, and more lasting bonds are formed when physical appearance is taken out of the equation. It is also possible that age, sociodemographic factors, time frame, and casting decisions could also be contributing to the show’s success. Whatever the reason, there is absolutely evidence that blind dating can lead to a comparatively high relationship success rate in a reality TV format. In other words, there is evidence that love is, (or certainly can be) blind.

     

     

    Sources

     

    Delbyck, Cole. “Which Couples Are Still Together from Every Season of Love Is Blind?” Netflix Tudum, Netflix Tudum, 28 Mar. 2024, www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/love-is-blind-who-is-still-together-every-season.

    “Love Is Blind (TV Series).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Apr. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Is_Blind_(TV_series).

    “Love Island (American TV Series).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Apr. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Island_(American_TV_series).

    Siwak, Miranda. “Love Island USA Couples: Who Are Still Together and Who Broke Up?” Us Weekly, 29 Mar. 2024, www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/love-island-usa-couples-who-are-still-together-and-who-broke-up/.

    “Stop Swiping, Start Talking: The Rise and Rise of the Blind Dating App.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Nov. 2022, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/08/stop-swiping-start-talking-the-rise-and-rise-of-the-blind-dating-app.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • The Joy of Humanity and Clothing: Growing Culture and Protecting Our Planet Earth

    While exploring the world of clothing and textiles, I created a collage of videos based off what I consider to be “The Joy of Humanity and Clothing”, culture. While culture is beautiful and a root joy for nearly all cultures, it is vital to remember that the unintended consequence of these rapidly evolving trends is over consumerism. Overconsumption is a constant issue in our time as the rise of fast fashion and the quicker and neverending cycle of trends.  

    There are three categories of textile wastes: pre-consumer (“clean” by-products from the manufacturing process), post-consumer (textiles that no longer have value after use such as towels, sheets, etc.), and industrial textile waste (“dirty” waste materials created from their manufacturing process) (Juanga-Labayen). Although textiles can nearly be 100% recyclable and it would be ideal to reuse all parts of textiles, in reality, much of it goes to waste (Juanga-Labayen). The EPA measures the creation, recycling, energy recovery, and landfilling of most textile materials. In 2018, the rate of recycling was estimated, by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to be around 14.7% with the estimated rate of recycling clothing to be around 13%, as reported by the American Textile Recycling Service (EPA 2023). Out of all of the material-specific waste (MSW) combusted in order to recover energy, textiles make up nearly 10% of all recovered energy (EPA 2023). Textiles make up nearly 8% of all waste put into landfills (EPA 2023). Although the rate of recycling and energy recovered via combustion have remained relatively standard throughout the years, so has the rate of textile waste that goes to landfills. And while the rates are relatively stable, the amount of overall consumption has drastically skyrocketed due to overconsumption.  

    There are two major types of textile recycling: mechanical and chemical. Mechanical recycling is the physical recycling that we often think about when we think of recycling such as reusing and repurposing clothes and textiles through upcycling and downcycling. Chemical recycling is the process of depolymerizing the polymers in clothes or dissolving the fibers of cotton (Juanga-Labayen). Polymer or oligomer recycling entails the process of taking apart the fibers while leaving behind the polymers or oligomers intact (Juanga-Labayen). This then allows for the materials to be fully recycled into new textiles. For textiles that contain biodegradable materials such as cotton with over 50% cellulose, anaerobic digestion is used in order to create biogas that is rich in methane for energy use. Cotton garments can also be treated to break down and be used as compost for certain things although they have not been approved for use in farming. Another alternative is that textiles can also be treated with alkalis to be fermented and made into feeding for ethanol production. This process is ideal for clothing that may have some polyester blended into cotton such as jeans (Juanga-Labayen).  

    While there have been many innovative ways to reinvent and reuse textiles, the root cause of many of these issues is that there is a staggering increase in textile consumption along with unwanted textiles. Reusing is the best option but both reusing and recycling are much better than burning or landfilling textile materials. While I and many others have been able to find ourselves through our self-expression through clothing, we must also learn more about the “behind the scenes” of the production of our clothing. 

    Sources: 

    EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024. 

    Juanga-Labayen, Jeanger P., et al. “A Review on Textile Recycling Practices and Challenges.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 16 Mar. 2022, www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/2/1/10. 

    “The Aftermath of Fast Fashion: How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment.” SPH The Aftermath of Fast Fashion How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment Comments, 22 Sept. 2022, www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2022/the-aftermath-of-fast-fashion-how-discarded-clothes-impact-public-health-and-the-environment/. 

  • The Omnivore’s Dilemma: What Will You Put on Your Plate?

    The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals written by Michael Pollan is an intriguing book about the current food situation of America and by marking major developments in food and his journey to find “the best” way to eat. To choose to eat every day is to choose to survive but we rarely think about the science behind our choices or behind why those are the only seemingly available choices. While researching this topic and throughout reading this book, I made word clouds around central themes using words said throughout the book in order to point out things to consider while we make our food choices. Every time you look closer at any of the word collages, you notice something different to consider when thinking about food. I then made a collage incorporating these various topics because I believe that art would be the best way to communicate about food, another lesser thought about art form. Both food and art are forms of therapeutic activities that we oftentimes fall back on.  

    Michael Pollan coins an interesting term: the People of Corn which he uses to contrast the difference between the usage of corn by Americans and Native Americans (Pollan). America can very easily be considered a nation run on corn, on corn syrup, on corn-starch, and on corn-based fuel.  

    Unlike the Native Americans, current Americans heavily process corn to the point that it is no longer recognizable. This is not only an amazing feat of innovation, but its impact is also astounding as well. Corn was originally an incredibly thin and weed-like grass with some seeds at the top, but its current form is the result of generations of domestication and modification (Smithsonian 2020). The modern corn is very large, sweet, and fleshy making it an ideal source of energy in both food, livestock feed, and fuel. America grows over a third of the entire world’s corn and dominates the industry in the use of corn-based products in food and in bioethanol (Swain 2019). Corn is an incredible fuel source with it being one of the biggest components in the bioethanol industry, but it has many drawbacks considering that producing more fuel will limit how much food can be produced (Swain 2019). There are also many more unintentional effects of the abundance, and many uses for corn. Corn is a large factor as to why so many processed foods exist today. 

    Credit Thomas Hopper. 

    Processed foods are by no means entirely terrible, but it is important to consider that many processed foods exist solely because they are profitable even though they are at the expense of many of us. But interestingly, there is a high correlation between the higher income countries having higher rates of processed foods and obesity while middle income countries are following suit (Monteiro 2013). A neat way to sum it up is that “When consumed in small amounts and with other healthy sources of calories, ultra-processed products are harmless; however, intense palatability (achieved by high content of fat, sugar, salt, and cosmetic and other additives), omnipresence, and sophisticated and aggressive marketing strategies (such as reduced price for super-size servings), all make modest consumption of ultra-processed products unlikely and displacement of fresh or minimally processed foods very likely (Monteiro 2013). 

    Michael Pollan takes drastic steps of attempting to forage, strictly buying locally and freshly farmed and raised foods (Pollan). While that is certainly not possible for everyone, something that anyone can take from Michael Pollan’s approach is that we should be more mindful about what we eat but also remember to savor our food a little more. For example, there has been a lot of discourse surrounding a TikTok creator named Nara Smith who goes by the handle @naraazizasmith. She started making foods from scratch because of her eczema and skin conditions that caused her to reconsider many of the foods she was consuming, and she now primarily creates videos of her creating many foods from scratch such as yogurt, ice cream, breads, etc. Many others commented on her videos especially about her portion control because she seemed to be very satisfied with the small amounts of treats, such as ice cream, that she gives herself. It was apparent to see that she savored every single bite of the ice cream that she made from scratch and that she was truly satisfied with everything that she ate. 

    An interesting thing that Michael Pollan notes is that food and cooking is not as valued today. More often than not it is seen as a chore which is easy to do when life is constantly busy and throwing curve balls at you from left and right. But isn’t it more satisfying eating something that you took the time to make yourself? Of course, it can be very taxing and difficult but without cooking, most of us don’t take the time to reflect upon what we are eating. Do we take the time to enjoy our food? Rather than needing to cook everything ourselves, I believe that it is up to us to set aside time to enjoy food thoroughly by eating with friends and family or by reflecting upon ourselves and the joys within our lives. The dilemma isn’t whether or not we consume meat but rather what we have as food for thought!

    Sources: 

    Mohanty, Sujit K., et al. “Bioethanol Production from Corn and Wheat: Food, Fuel, and Future.” Bioethanol Production from Food Crops, Academic Press, 24 Aug. 2018, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128137666000035?via=ihub#s0070. 

    Monteiro, C. A., et al. Ultra‐processed Products Are Becoming Dominant in the Global Food System – Monteiro – 2013 – Obesity Reviews – Wiley Online Library, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.12107. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024. 

    Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Group, 2006. 

    Smithsonian Institution. “Ancient DNA Continues to Rewrite Corn’s 9,000-Year Society-Shaping History.” Smithsonian Institution, 1 Jan. 1970, www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-dna-continues-rewrite-corns-9000-year-society-shaping-history#:~:text=Some%209%2C000%20years%20ago%2C%20corn,a%20handful%20of%20stony%20kernels.