Ver.2

Oh, Toyou! Though it seems meaningless considering how much of a naughty brat you are, but not this time. NOT TODAY. We are talking about 63 Building here, okay? Hello? What do you think 63 stands for? 63 stands for the number of stories in this damned building, for god’s sake! Besides, today is apparently not your day. Today is Minwoo’s Doljanchi. If you lose yourself today, you are giving EVERYBODY a hell of a day. Do not be a pain in the neck please, okay?

…Knew you wouldn’t care about others, you egoistic bastard. You completely messed up Minwoo’s Dol. Wonderful! Now you’ve got about half a hundred adults chasing you to prevent your overly-exciting adventure. In other words, you don’t have a chance of escaping, okay? Just wait here and they will come for you. What is done is done, no point in racking your brain about it; just do not make this more bothersome than it already is.




No. Stay where you are.




          Damn! Just what do you think you are doing? The fact that you can’t press the button for sixtieth floor does not justify the action of pressing the B1 button. Nobody asks a two-year old to behave; but certainly nobody expects a two-year old to wander off like you, either! OKAY, THAT’S IT. STAY IN THE ELEVATOR. You are NOT getting anywhere near that lake.
          Go back to the elevator. NOW. You have no business around this bottomless lake whatsoever. You are ignorant, but you should know better than drowning to death in Hangang River. If you die here, existence of this essay is contradictory, so go back to your elevator.
          Though it is indeed intriguing you have great affinity for this crappy piece of scribbles, but who cares? Actually, listening to this advice is essentially your first good behavior since your birth, haha. And finally, this elevator is ascending! Dol will resume once you return to the party, and your parents may not even reprimand you for your thoughtless breakout! As you already know, the party is held on the sixtieth floor.
          …As obvious as it seems, you do not fully understand the numbers. “52” is read as fifty-two, not sixty. And no, you have absolutely no business in this Japanese restaurant. If you want to get some sushi, there are plenty of them up there, so get out of this stupid place! Yes, the exit is here…What?
          You are just incorrigible. Absolutely. In fact, your technique of making everything all more difficult is so grand that it deserves some respect. So, this was your final destination? Kitchen of a sushi restaurant on 52-th floor of 63 building? If you have not noticed yet, tell you what, this is about the worst place to take a walk. Stay where you are, and don’t wander around like an idiot. STAY AWAY FROM THAT SASHIMI KNIFE.
Boy, how you put your life at every existing stake out there! If it were not for that watchful chef who noticed and intervened, you would most certainly be dead now. And luckily enough, this philanthropic fellow would take you to your parents, Toyou! Finally, this ludicrous adventure is closing up.
          There! There are your parents! Oh, just look how pale their faces are, you idiot! It seems like they are the ones who suffered the most from this rather traumatic event…Umm, Toyou? David? Hey!
          You really have no sense of tension, do you? Guess you truly are helpless. Thought you were dead for a moment. You are not hearing this anyway, but still, try to behave yourself. Indeed, today has truly been a hell of a day. Take a good night’s sleep, my stupid self.

The Martian Chronicles Quotation

"Science is no more than an investigation of a miracle we can never explain, and art is an interpretation of that miracle."

An year after the third expedition, Earth sends out a fourth expedition to Mars. Chicken pox from the last expedition decimated the Martians, and the expedition is successful. Here lies a striking similarity between the Native American and the Martians, and it was apparent that mankind was repeating its sin.

June 2001: "--And the Moon Be Still as Bright" has provided me with the greatest joy of reading the book so far - I have no idea how the book is going to get even better. And the quotation was am azing. The words bear a connotation that embraces the fundamental difference between the Martians and the Earth Men, and in a sense it essentially summarizes the whole book successfully.

Context of the quote describes how the Martians managed to harmoniously merge science and religion. The Martians learned how to appreciate the nature as it is, and knew  of the worthlessness of "trying too hard to destroy everything."

On Milgram's "Behavioral Study of Obedience”

In the most precise sense, this argument is virtually meaningless since this experiment can NEVER be done in current society. I strongly concur with Baumrind regarding the flaws and problematic elements of this experiment. The degree of gravity of this problem is especially grand because it is a psychological experiment.

           Personally, I think there are two main issues with this experiment. Firstly, as Baumrind suggested, environmental variables were not well controlled. Engaging in an experiment as a subject provides a lot more pressure to act more obediently compared to executing daily routine under a leader – in this case, Hitler. Also, the subject’s viewpoint toward his/her victim was a complete antithesis to that of people in Hitler Germany. Thus this experiment lacks the external validity. Secondly, psychological experiments, unlike medical experiments, are unable to reveal the mechanisms behind the observed phenomena. This further more decreases the legitimacy of Milgram’s overly cruel experiment setting, given that it cannot even show “Why people obey?”

Lose Yourself

           Oh, Toyou! Though it seems meaningless considering how much of a naughty brat you are, but not this time. NOT TODAY. We are talking about 63 Building here, okay? Hello? What do you think 63 stands for? 63 stands for the number of stories in this damned building, for god’s sake! Besides, today is apparently not your day. Today is Minwoo’s Doljanchi. If you lose yourself today, you are giving EVERYBODY a hell of a day. Let’s not be a pain in the neck, shall we?

          …Knew you wouldn’t care about others, you egoistic bastard. You precisely messed up Minwoo’s Dol. Wonderful! Now you’ve got about half a hundred adults on your tail, to prevent you from embarking on your overly-exciting adventure. In other words, you don’t have a chance of escaping, okay? Just wait here and they will come for you. What is done is done, no point in racking your brain about it; just do not make this more bothersome than it already is.

No. Stay where you are.

          Damn! Just what do you think you are doing? The fact that you can’t press the button for sixtieth floor does not justify the action of pressing B1 button. You are just throwing yourself deeper into this abyss. OKAY, THAT’S IT. STAY IN THE ELEVATOR. Nothing fun is going on outside. You are about to make an irrevocable mistake. DON’T DO THIS.

          Go back to the elevator, please! You have no business around this ominous lake of unfathomable depth whatsoever. No matter how ignorant you are, you should know that drowning to death in Hangang River is being too prodigal with your life. If you die here, existence of this essay is contradictory, so go back to your elevator.

          Though it is indeed intriguing you have great affinity for this crappy piece of scribbles, but who cares? Good child! Listening to this advice is essentially the first good behavior you showed since your birth. And finally, this elevator is ascending! Dol will recommence once you return to the party, and your parents may not even reprimand you for your thoughtless breakout! As you already know, the party is held on the sixtieth floor.

          …As obvious as it seems, you do not fully understand the numbers. “52” is read as fifty-two, not sixty. And no, you have absolutely no business in this Japanese restaurant. If you want to get some sushi, there are plenty of them up there, so get out of this stupid place! Yes, the exit is here…What?

          You are just incorrigible. Absolutely. In fact, your technique of making everything all more difficult is so grand that it deserves some respect. So, this was your final destination? Kitchen of a sushi restaurant on 52-th floor of 63 building? If you have not noticed yet, tell you what, this is about the worst place to take a walk. Stay where you are, and don’t wander around like an idiot. STAY THE FXXX AWAY FROM THAT SASHIMI KNIFE.

          Boy, how you put your life at every existing stake out there! If it were not for that watchful chef who noticed and intervened, you would most certainly be dead now. And luckily enough, this philanthropic fellow would take you to your parents, Toyou! Finally, this ludicrous adventure is closing up.

          There! There are your parents! Oh, just look how pale their faces are, you spoiled child! It seems like they are the ones who suffered the most from this rather traumatic event…Umm, Toyou? David? David?

          …Alas. You really have no sense of tension, do you? Guess you truly are helpless. Thought you were dead for a moment. You are not hearing this anyway, but still, try to behave yourself. Indeed, today has truly been a hell of a day. Take a good night’s sleep, my stupid self.

Beyond Freedom and Dignity

In the fourteenth chapter of his utopian novel <Walden Two>, Skinner expresses his stance regarding the great potential of scientific measures in building a better-developed utopian society. Skinner, who proposed his conceptions of human behavior through the voice of T.E. Frazier, believes by executing human subject research – in this case child – to formulate the affectionate and tolerant natures of individuals, which are necessary conditions to fulfill an ideal society. Replies made by Augustine Castle to some of Frazier’s earlier questions provide with sufficient evidence that the subjects [children] indeed learn to behavior appropriately to resolve the predicaments they face (e.g. Getting the lollipop out of sight as soon as possible, tolerating hunger in front of boiling soup) Given that the result is successful, which is the case here, I concur with Mr. Skinner that it is justifiable to use scientific methods to benefit the society. We can consider it to be a part of early childhood education.
          However, exclamations made by Castle towards the end of the chapter clearly depicts the conflicts of moral issues between the scientist and general public in regard with the weight of free will and human dignity. It is a burden placed upon the scientist to prove that consequences clearly outweigh the potential controversies that may be raised during the process of scientific protocol. As ironic as it seems, although Frazier and Simmons – in reality Skinner – are advocating for their so-called “cultural engineering” in order to benefit the future society, the society is reluctant of following a scientific manipulations of human traits because it believes the innate nature of a human being needs to be respected as its original state.
           Personally, I am in favor of Skinner’s cultural engineering, although I am not sure I would sustain my view toward this issue if what Skinner tried to imply were to force this to every newborn kids. First, this protocol apparently has no significant effects over formulation of individuality whatsoever, because for citizens of today’s society WITHIN THE NORMAL RANGE already have common reactions to some frustrations they face in their life, and these do not, by any means, hinder their acquisition of individuality. Second, this protocol violates neither the free will nor the human dignity, because it depends on the subjects whether to engage in the experiment. Because the experiment is not forced upon the subjects, it doesn’t violate their free will. And this actually boosts their dignity in a sense, because they learn to take full responsibility for the choices they make. For these reasons, I believe Skinner’s stance is justifiable.
           Lastly, although I do believe in Skinner’s cultural engineering, I still think there should be an animal study of the similar model that precedes the human subject research. Taking into account that it is not too hard to come up with operational definitions of same traits for animal subjects, the results must be verified with rodents before they are applied to human subjects.