Elston’s Blog

So today, 3/31, was the day of decisions. For some reason all the colleges decided to release decisions a day early. I had my Yahoo Mail inbox open, and several tabs were open, so when I glanced back and read the “1 unread message” on top of the tab the feeling in my gut was indescribable. When I opened the email and saw my Harvard acceptance: BAM. Then the Princeton and the Stanford - easily one of the best days of my life. I’m HYPS, baby!! WOOT.

Now that I’m done gloating, I have to make some serious decisions about what to do. All four are basically the best universities in the world, but I’ve narrowed it down to two, Harvard and Yale. Stanford is out, because it’s in California and so I am; also, I’ve always wanted to attend college on the East Coast anyway. Princeton is just a bit too isolated for me, which is why Harvard and Boston appeal so much. Of course, I’ve heard that at Yale they pay more attention to undergraduates, as evidenced by their residency program, but I think that at either school, one can be really successful if he/she simply takes advantage of what the school has to offer. So it’s a dilemna.

Also, there is prestige…

Finally, a shout-out to all my fellow TASPers who were also accepted into awesome universities including HYPS, UPenn, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, University of Chicago, etc.

YAY!

Basically this entire week I’ve been sleeping and doing Spanish. Which means sleeping, Facebook/Internet distractions, and doing Spanish.

I’ve come to realize what a distraction the Internet really is. There’s simply so much content out there that’s funny or otherwise amusing…like xkcd.com.

I’d have to say that the Internet is most definitely the most important invention since the computer. It’s also revolutionized business, communications, cultural exchanges, etc. etc. Now if there was just less porn…

A couple days ago I began developing a sore throat; it’s more annoying than anything, because besides the itchy feeling in my throat, I feel fine. I’ve been taking vitamin C, drinking orange juice, and sleeping, which are probably workign together to keep me coherent.

Also, I found out that I got into UC Berkeley. WooHoo! I got free breakfast (with coffee!) along with a little Cal flag.

I’m developing a greater appreciation of being healthy right now…

Today (Do I always start off my blog posts with “Today”?), our school presented the third annual Prom Fashion Show. Basically, a couple dozen students get tuxedos and dresses from various shops around Santa Clarita, and then parade down the runway.

I was one of those models, sporting a black tux with a lavender vest. My hair was spiked up, forcing me to slightly resemble a Dragonball-Z character; I’m sure my awesome level was over 9000. I walked with  a Korean girl, who, after her heels, was slightly taller than me. But it happens.

Our little pose at the end of the runway comprised of her taking off my post-cataract surgery sunglasses, and me slipping on a pair of 3-D glasses. Then, at the middle of the T, we, still linking arms, turned around so that our backs were to each other. It was aight.

Perhaps such an appearance shall increase my chances of finding a prom date.

The past few days I’ve wasted a disproportionate amount of time playing Cube, an FPS (first-person shooter) that’s pretty old, and very similar to Doom, especially in the characters and weapons.

Cube is pretty fun, and much better than many of the current games, even though its graphics are far inferior; everything is grainy, but yet the game is more enjoyable than most on the market today. Many of the levels are created by random people/fans, and sometimes a clear lack of imagination, such as creating an open level with dozens of the hardest monsters, as well as tons of ammo. Not well designed.

I’m addicted.

Imagining the Tenth Dimension - Rob Branson: 1/5.

After viewing the Tenth Dimension video, I believe I found a flaw in the reasoning. Basically, each dimension is reached by either putting all the previous dimensions into a single point, drawing a new point, and then drawing a line connecting them, or by folding that line to connect the two points.

The connection from the second to the third dimension, for example, is illustrated by the Mobius strip, which folds to connect the two endpoints of a line.

At the seventh dimension, Bryanton, the author would like us to imagine all possible timelines within this universe to become a single point. The problem is that the possibilities of timelines within a universe would also include the possibility of other universes; call this universe the multiverse. However, there could be a multitude of multiverses; this creates an infinite regression, which cannot exist. Thus, a paradox arises.

This is where Wittgenstein comes to the rescue: Wittgenstein says that most paradoxes, if not all, are simply misunderstandings/confusions of language in the base cases. Applied above, the seventh dimension would automatically include other universes and all their possible universes, and another eighth dimension could not be formed. The possibility of the eighth dimension would be contained in the seventh.

Furthermore, the Bryanton employs, quite sinfully, obviously false logic in his self-advertisement. Basically, he correlates his ten dimensions with the ten or eleven (or 26, for bosonic) dimensions of string theory. This is blatantly not true. Also, in string theory one moves inward to see all the dimesions, derived from photon fluctuations, while Bryanton moves outward.

This book mixes scientific disciplines illogically and incorrectly. It simply leads to more confusion.

So today two of my friends broke up. They went out for about two weeks.

If I had only made a pool of all our friends to see when this would occur…

I probably would have lost, for two weeks is relatively short, even in high school, but nonetheless I think, despite strong affirmations to the contrary, the couple will reunite relatively soon (read: two weeks maximum).

This brings me to my main point: high school relationships are pretty much worthless. Only a very special few are based on “love,” and fewer will continue past high school, fewer past college, and only a select handful into a long, lasting marriage.

Basically, don’t have sex in high school, because sex should be based on a strong relationship, and those don’t happen too often in high school.

Do not do homework or attack the subject everyday; rather, simply, pay attention in class, and the night before a test, do all the work for the chapter/unit. Because you’ll be so filled with knowledge, you will succeed. Not only that, you’ll also save lots of time.

For example, in AP Physics I usually don’t do anything until the night before. Then I spend six hours studying and get an A on my test. Simple and easy.

After reading the article at http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/02/27/books-and-music-that-make-you-dumb/?mod=yhoofront I have decided  to continue listening to Bollywood music, because it is simply not on that list.

The list itself makes logical sense; Beethoven leads to the highest IQ scores, while the “music” of “artists” such as Lil’ Wayne (God I hate typing Lil’ - it seems so stupid) led to the lowest, with an average SAT score of 889. As Virgil Griffith states, it’s more correlation than cause, but this is a point exactly; this correlation is an interesting application of Facebook information to real-life phenomena. Granted, Facebook users are generally younger in age, and thus the variety of music represented by Griffith is not comprehensive, but it works well enough.

Sadly, Lil’ Wayne listeners will probably never discover this article.

Today was my third attempt at making CM Panel, and it was extremely unsuccessful. I messed up at least a dozen times, when once is twice two many. Probably going to quit; I don’t think I’m ever going to improve that much, especially without devoting massive amounts of time.

Plus I plan to start cello. Maybe I’ll  be the next Yo-Yo Ma; or, I’m going to struggle a lot and still suck.

Oh well.