Wednesday, 9 October 2013

Should Dul's Father be Blamed for the Actions of his Son?

Abdul Qodir Jaelani, also known as Dul, is a 13 year old boy who found himself with the death of 7 people in his hands. He, undoubtedly, should be blamed for the unhappiness that he has caused because of his irresponsible actions. However, it seems that some people think that the father should have been blamed for Dul’s actions. We, as a group, disagree that his father should be blamed for Dul’s irresponsibility.
Firstly, Dul’s father had admitted that he did not know about Dul using a car alone. People might argue that his father should have been more responsible about the situation, but to have a job that pays so highly, and hire a person specifically with the task of making sure Dul reaches his destination (driver), the father has legitimate reason to believe that his son was in safe hands. However, Dul had told his driver that he wouldn’t need his services for a period of time, without sharing this news to his father too. Dul had planned to go to Bogor as the driver and ended up crashing into 2 cars and killing 7 people. The father had little chance to know that Dul had gone off by himself.
Secondly, people may argue that Dul is still too young to have made proper decisions. There is some truth to this; during puberty the human minds’ ability to make rational decisions slightly lags behind development. This may be one of the causes for Dul making a very irresponsible choice. However, it does not mean he can go and kill 7 people while using his father as a scapegoat. Being young should not void you from punishment, especially when somebody lost their life. To charge the father for an act he did not do, was not entirely involved in, or even knew about during the action, would be irresponsible as well.
This problem could be fixed, somewhat. Nothing can bring back those 7 people, but to stop something like this from happening again would be the most important. To teach people what it means to be responsible, to care for the people around you and what your actions could do to them, would be the most effective. Any person who cares enough to think before he drives at a 100 KPH, without proper training, wouldn’t do so. They shouldn’t take the chance to kill people, on the hope that they don’t. To add to this, we need to properly punish the people who commit these acts. Maybe sending them to 20 years in prison, while they’re only 13, is overkill, but time in Juvenile Hall, for more than just several months, without bail is necessary.
In conclusion, his father should not be blamed. There are many people who might disagree, but I feel that his father had no intention to hurt these people, and no capability to do so, unlike his son. Dul, himself, should be punished heavily for his actions, not his father.







Off topic: Overkill is actually a word in the dictionary!



Thursday, 5 September 2013

Boredom

This isn't a post about how bored I am, this a post about why we get bored. So, why do people get bored? Most of you will think that its only because we have nothing to do. Then again, we have computers, games, books, friends and knowledge to gain just by at our surroundings, but we still get bored. Why?

From what I have gathered, it's because we strive for new knowledge, basically. For example, people get bored of old jokes, movies they've seen or books they've already read because they know what's going to happen. They know how the joke or story will be presented and this makes the person uninterested. I feel that was obvious enough. Yet, why do we feel bored in classrooms when people are telling us new information almost every hour?

This is because we don't feel the need to learn the knowledge for immediate usage. We know we need to learn the knowledge eventually, but we don't need it at the moment so we find the information boring. It goes deeper than that though. Boredom has played a huge role in our evolution and advancement as a whole. Without boredom, we would probably be years, if not decades, behind in technological advancement than we are now.

Boredom, as stated, means the mind desires new knowledge. When somebody is bored, it means he has run out of things to learn and has wants to gain more. There are people out there who would turn this boredom into a chance to learn something new. People like this are the reason we have things like working wheels. So, when you get bored again, remember that your boredom has helped your ancestors lived better lives in the past.

Wednesday, 4 September 2013

Why does creepiness exist?

Why does creepiness exist? When we feel safe, we're calm, composed or happy and excited. When we're in danger, we feel scared and, at the same time, active. Yet, when we see something creepy, we only feel cautious, wary and unsafe, but never to the point that the mind decides between running or fighting. Why is this?

According to several studies, it's because the mind can't decide whether it is in danger or not. It does this when it finds something that it cannot define the intentions of. For example, if you saw a bunny running away from you, there would be no reason to be afraid and the mind would be at ease. If a bear is trying to kill you, the mind would easily identify the bear as an enemy and react as it would if it's in danger. However, if you see a man staring at you from outside your house at night from a distance, you would most likely just be spooked and uncomfortable, but not in any overwhelming fear.

This is because the mind can't decide whether the man is a threat or not. Will he try to enter your house? Will he just continue walking down the road? The mind doesn't know and so it invokes the emotion of creepiness. This puts you on edge without forcing you to make a decision, simply getting you ready for anything that might happen. This is why masks can make us uneasy. If you search just 'mask' in google images, most of the pictures that appear make you slightly uncomfortable. No fear is involved but it does put you in a position of slightly more caution.

As said before, it's because masks can hide the wearers emotions. If somebody wears a mask, you can't tell if this man is angry at you or neutral because his expressions are hidden. This forces the mind to be cautious and invokes creepiness.

More information here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEikGKDVsCc

Goat Milk and Cow Milk

Well, surprising news has come to me today. Approximately 65% of the world drinks goat milk instead of cow milk. Maybe all of us had drunken goat milk at some point in our lives. This is a surprise because I thought only the lactose intolerant would drink goat milk. Maybe it's because the cartons of cow milk are filled, to a point, with goat milk instead? It also brings more health benefits though which is a nice addition.

Read more at: http://www.mtcapra.com/benefits-of-goat-milk-vs-cow-milk/

Tuesday, 3 September 2013

Elephants are Cool

Did you know that Elephants act very human? Elephants had made their way through parts of Africa to mourn the death of a man known as the 'Elephant Whisperer'. He was man who spent time in his life to try and help elephants around Africa. Read more at:
http://delightmakers.com/news/wild-elephants-gather-inexplicably-mourn-death-of-elephant-whisperer/

Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Hey, there's this website called tothebestof.com Maybe not useful to everyone but use that if you want to find tracks of a band.

Eh

Hi. I like video games.