Final

   Unlike English alphabets that gather and form a word with meaning, Chinese characters each represents a meaning or a concept. For example, whereas we need 4 letters -'g','o','l', and 'd' - to signify 'gold', we can just write '金' , only a letter, to mean the same thing.
   Most Koreans have names consisting of two Chinese characters(leaving out family names for they do not have significant meaning). Thanks to the Chinese characters' economical encompassing of meanings, their names signify broad concepts that wish the best luck and the greatest success for their owners.
  I am one of the Koreans with a two-Chinese-character-name. My name means "grow up with brightness" - 奎[gyu] represents 'bright' and 泰[tae] represents 'to grow up'. Hence, according to the wishes of my parents and to the theory of Nominative Determinism, I should become a person who always shares a creative and just idea so that everyone pays attention to what I say and to me - a person who is always bright and thus conspicuous among a group of people.
   One day, solely out of boredom, I searched for people who have the same name I have - 'Gyutae'. Many results came up so I decided to look more specifically for people who have the same characters that I have. Then, only one person came up (there might be more in Korea but they probably are not famous or popular enough to show themselves on the internet). Surprisingly, he was a CEO of a company who graduate high school, undergraduate college and graduate college with the 'academically-most-accomplished' honor which is given to a top-ranking student who is a paragon for integrity and "brightness". For him, the theory of Nominative Determinism seems persuasive.
   If the theory is somehow valid, my name will certainly affect my life. As my name signifies and as the precedent of this older Gyutae portrays, I will become a person with leadership. So far, I have been a bright person; I had been a studious and helping student in my middle school and I came here to KMLA. With this pace, if the theory is true, I would be able to achieve my dream of becoming a professor. I sincerely want to become a light that leads students in the darkness; I want to share my knowledge and help my students become bright people as well.
   The theory of nominative determinism may sound ridiculous if we scrutinize it with rationality. However, I want to believe it for the sake of my parents who blessed me to grow up with brightness and for the sake of myself for I wish to grow up with brightness.

Response To SolHee Bae's Post

Do we have to learn to be Good?

Debate about human nature- whether it is fundamentally good or bad- has been in controversy for a long time. If it means that no human being is evil in their natural heart, I agree to SungWoo’s idea. However, I do not think that we humans start our lives with a tiny built in morality core.

I believe that every human being is born to be good;To be more accurate, born to be naive. What I mean by ‘to be naive’ is to be good and kind because one does not have any concept or idea about the world around him/her. Not because of any kind of fundamental concepts about ethics and morality, but because of simple-heartedness and childlikeness we have at the very moment we’re born. To me, heart of a newborn baby is pure white. His/her soul reminds me of a piece of blank paper, a field covered by white snow that no one interrupted it’s pureness. So pure and fragile that even a small breeze can scratch the whiteness of it. No evil, no good,

The factors that determine real personality and feature of the person is numerous experiences and learnings that he/she undergoes throughout his/her lifetime.

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SolHee contends that humans are born to be naive - to be good and kind. Yet, as elaborated on my previous writing, I do not think that humans are inherently good.

I agree that when we see a baby, we can feel the profound sentiment of purity that "seemingly" lie inside the heart of the new-born.

However, we cannot judge human nature just from the outlook of a baby. Babies are cute - and how does the fact relate to the kind human nature? Even though I might be going too far, I think looking at the baby - looking at how incompetent and incapable they are - and feeling happy might be the evidence of human cruelty.

I sincerely agree to SolHee's point that babies seem like a blank paper, a clean, pure existence. However, that doesnot necessarily mean that babies have clean, pure nature.

It's been a long time that philosophers have shared their ideas about the human nature. Although there maybe no answer - maybe some are kind by nature and some are not!! - I think human nature cannot be so kind from the beginning because of the "ki" - seven desires that people are influenced by from their birth. For more information, please refer to my former writing, SolHee.

Thank you for your interesting writing!! :)

Response to Miso's writing about 4/7 debate

http://smileagain94.wordpress.com/

     Hi, Miso!! Thank you for sharing your idea about the human nature, for that was indeed interesting. I have been thinking about whether a person is good or bad from their birth and I have reached a different conclusion. Although it is very hard to believe that human qualities are determined even from the very moment of their birth, I think humans are evil in nature.
     One of the reasons is that humans are selfish. Because we can feel senses and because we feel some fundamental desires such as the desire for food, humans seek a better condition to satisfy the senses and desires. That is the reason why people try to eat more and eat more delicious things even by harming others; because humans inherently want to fulfill their greed and desire. One of the other examples comes when people are drowning. When you see a person drowning in a river, you should never give your hand to the person because the person will pull you so hard and try to use you to survive - your safety is not something that is even considered. To satisfy the fundamental desire to breathe, people are very ready to harm others. Our tendency to seek for ways to satisfy our will and desire is not something that can be explained by your inclination theory, I think.
     I really enjoyed your writing though we had different opinions. Have a good day~

Four/Seven Debate and its connection with the previous writing about Robotics

     Four/Seven Debate is an ancient philosophical debate evolved around the concepts that explores innate human feelings; "Four" signifies the four moral sentiments that people have since they are born (Humanity, Righteousness, Propriety, and Wisdom), and "Seven", the seven natural feelings people get from their encounters with the world (Desire, Hate, Love, Fear, Grief, Anger, and Joy). The main point of contention that the prominent neo-Confucianists debated on was whether the feelings are affected by "yi" - the basic laws and principles of the universe - or by "ki"- materials that form the universe and the people.
     The debate played a significant role in the development of Korean neo-Confucianism. Because ancient Asians did not make clear distinction from the physicality and metaphysicality and because the distinction between "yi" and "ki" was not very clear, the debate went on without conclusion, adding diversity to the Korean philosophy.
     In my perspective, I think what shapes the basic human nature is the "ki", the seven feelings. True, many people believe in the "innateness" of human nature - whether it is kind or mean. They think humans have certain sentiments from the moment of their birth and that the emotions shape the basic nature of humankind. Yet, I think people get to learn and have emotions as they live with other people. It is only when people are educated that people feel such feelings as humanity, propriety, righteousness, and wisdom. No one, without any encounters with the society, has certain feelings; the reason why babies cry is not because they are sad, as many ancient philosophers claimed, but because crying helps them cope with their lives and thus survive.
     The concepts are very very complex and thus my opinions may lie only on the superficial level of this debate. Yet, for a person who has been influenced by Western culture where physicality and metaphysicality are sharply divided, the concept of "yi" which claims the inherent morality of people seems quite weird.
     Robotics cannot exist if we accept the concept of "yi" in presence. Robots are "given" nature. If there are basic human sentiments, robots would not be able to be assimilated in human society because there is a fundamental gap. In the status quo, however, we see that that is not true.

Response To SungWoo's Writing

     SungWoo claims that "Philosophy needs to be with robotics so that we can truly find what virtue is and apply it to future robotics." In supporting his contention, SungWoo assumes that robots should be treated as similar beings to humankind. I generally agree with the idea that future robotics must develop with vision; however, I cannot agree that robots and humans are alike.
     First of all, even though robots have artificial intelligence, their intellect cannot overcome the artificiality. True, robots may be programmed to memorize all contentions and theories set out by philosophers - from ancient to contemporary. Yet, they CANNOT develop another whole new theory that is applicable to the status quo; they are not "experienced" and thus "know" what is and has been happening in the world. Humans are the ones who initiate a hypothesis and struggle to prove it. Creation and advancement are the jobs existing for humans. Robots with artificial and programmed intelligence cannot surpass humans' capacity.
     Second, robots lack vision. In the contemporary society, humans lead their lives with passion and goals. They struggle to achieve the better. Having no emotions at all, robots never feel wistfulness or misery and hence, never try to advance. The fundamental lack of motivation makes robots impossible to become any existence close to human beings.
     SungWoo showed sharp insight in his writing. Robots, if badly controlled, can be a great harm to our society. Their malfunction can cause huge problems. They might be used to kill people and that would be massive. Thus, robotics should be developed with certain philosophy and regulation. However, the philosophy and the extent of regulation should be set by HUMANS. It's not the robots who should do such works, because ROBOTS CAN NEVER BE HUMANS.
     

     

Response To Hoobae's Comment on My Writing

Special thanks for Seung-Hyeong for leaving a wonderful comment on my birthday!! :)

I agree on his point that entertainment agencies should let their singers and dancers have enough rest, so that they can demonstrate their full potential and spend some time on pursuing their "own" music - music they like, music they dream of, and music they have the best potential in.

Yet, I disagree on his view that Park Ji-Min can become "the" music diva as Adele did. The title "diva" gets its special honor from the singleness. True, she has great talent in music. However, everyone has different inherent ability. Though I feel very sorry for Park Ji-Min, Adele mastered singing and composition at a very early age - and she TRUELY had talent in them. For me, Ji-Min's ability cannot be matched with that of Adele.

Also, thank you Seung Hyeong for introducing me a nice piece of music, but I could not access the webpage... I think your URL link has some problem....

My comment on Seohyun's essay

Her blog address is http://cantdecideonurl.blogspot.com/2012/03/work-that-inspired-me.html?showComment=1332983516823#c644447348984761315

A work of literature that has inspired me

     On e day,after 8 hours of tiring school time, I picked up the thickest book on my book shelf to go to sleep - it said "The Brave New World"on its cover. After 5 minutes, I confronted with a fantasy world in which babies were "hatched". Immediately, I knew that this was the wrong book - I would not be able to fall a sleep reading this book.
     Though I was very tired, too tired even to open my eyes, I decided to explore the new world a little more because I wanted to visualize the possibly future society in my head (I should admit that one of the other reasons why I continued with the reading was that the author described the female protagonist in a very sensual manner).
     The Brave New World portrays a sharp contrast between the world that is highly structured and mechanized - the expected-to-be a future society - and the world in which humans live their lives without much technology - the contemporary society. The latter community is called the "barbarian society" for in the eyes of the brave new world inhabitants, they - people living outside the scope of technological influence - were just savages.
     Aldous Huxley, the author of the book, makes the readers question, however, whether the brave new world is really an advanced society. He throws a cynical question about whether the joy and the happiness that people from the brave new world enjoy are REAL pleasures. Huxley himself insinuates his answer later in the scene where the female protagonist from the brave new world gets puzzled when she was asked whether she was happy. All the joy and contentment felt through artificial medicines were fake. Nobody in the brave new world was truly happy.
     The book introduces one of the key memes that should be conveyed onto the next generation. Understanding of the very virtue of "humanity" - what it means to be a human - is what makes people happy. With the advent of more advanced technologies, humankind might forget how lucky they are to be humans. I sincerely hope my grandsons and daughters to actually "feel" and understand the authentic values of humankind

What I am Self-studying about~!!

I am studying for the AP Statistics Quiz scheduled in the 4th period (very next period)

Sorry.... for sacrificing this precious English writing class for my self-study time....

Yet, I finished my poem assignment!!

I include some images that describe either AP Statistics class itself or my feelings toward the class

Poem Assignment

A Girl

                                                                                                                -Ezra Pound


The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown in my breast -
Downward,
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

Tree you are,
Moss you are,
You are violets with wind above them.
A child - so high - you are,
And all this is folly to the world.

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Ezra Weston Loomis Pound is an American poet who set standards for early modernist poems in the early 20th century. He pioneered imagism; he used vivid and tight language to describe an unadorned image of things he saw.
As Pound tried to convey a vivid and lucid picture through his poem, his works include many musical and verbal qualities both in the verses of his poem and in the mood. The rhythmicity is the very reason why I like Pound's poem and the poet himself.
Among all his poems, "A Girl" has special meaning for me in that this poem was the first encounter with Pound. The thrill I felt when I read through the poem, especially the line "And all this is folly to the world", I would not forget throughout my life.
The image I included is the first scenery I thought of after reading this poem.

                               

                               Painting by e.e. cummings | Mt. Chocorua, Oil on canvas, ca. 1938

THBT people having common value system is an invitation to tyranny !!

     Imagine a world where people have same value system, a "robot" world in which people think the same, act the same, and move the same. True, it would be HORRIBLE. That is what is happening in the reality, however. With a distorted fancy name of "globalization" or "cultural/industrial development", humankind is losing variety. Distinct customs and traditions are dying and all the same value system is taking place.
     It is especially the less developed countries that are losing their identities. For example, as investors from the U.S. and other advanced countries came into the Brazilian market, the formerly-existed 450 tribes lost their tradition and were unilaterally assimilated to the Western culture. They no longer speak their own language, nor do they go hunting or fishing to eat; they speak English and go to McDonalds. This situation is prevalent in other parts of the globe too. Millions of minorities - natives and Indian tribes - have lost their culture and are being culturally "colonized" by Western countries - especially the U.S.
     All people learning English, wearing New-Yorker style suits, and eating in McDonalds is not a far future. Some experts say that within this millenium, we will find U.S. everywhere on Earth. The unification or standardization of all cultures is an imminent threat.
     Why is it a threat? If you asked the question, pity you... you are a victim of westernization as well. Let me explain to you then why world with sameness is an invitation to TYRANNY.
    

K-POP: candid assessment of its status quo and personal thoughts on its presence

     It is explicit that K-pop is one of the most prevalent and famous music genres in the Korean music industry. Every day, every week, and every month, tons of new K-pop albums are released, and some of them make their way to the honor of "best selling album of the week". Broadcasting companies air music concert programs in which so called "idol" K-pop groups can perform their songs and have the opportunity to publicize their music to the public. People - especially the younger generation - hum the repetitive yet addictive melodies of K-pop musics and try to dance as the idols do. They even pay money to learn how to sing and dance, a phenomenon that helps the entertainment industry to flourish. So far, K-pop appears to be a great culture that provides opportunities for young singers/dancers, profits to broadcasting companies, joy to the audience, and money to the singing/dancing teachers.
     However, there are some major problems that K-pop imposes on the Korean society which outweigh the benefits the genre gives. If the current trend - frantic excitement (in other words, psychopathic obssession) toward K-pop and the idols - continues, it is explicit that not only the Korean music industry but also the whole Korean society will be endangered.

     The virtue K-pop music instills in the minds of teenagers is not desirable. The genre of music gives a false illusion to the impressionable young children that how so called "idols" - those who perform K-pop - look and behave is what defines style and beauty. Individuality and uniqueness are no longer valued; if you look similar to one of the idols, if you dress similar to one of the singers, and if you dance similar to one of the dancers, YOU ARE THE COOL GUY.
     Recently, it has been reported that 57% of Korean teenagers want to take the plastic surgery to become more handsome/pretty and resemble the appearances of celebrities (K-pop stars). The K-pop culture puts appearance at the center of the judgment of a person - neither his/her true potential nor his/her ideology is assessed.
     However, appearance is NOT what should be considered when you evaluate a person; rather, as I previously mentioned, his/her potential capacity, personal beliefs, and attitude towards life should be considered. K-pop music veers the society towards a wrong direction and therefore, does great harm to the society.
     Yet, emphasis on outlook is not the only negative influence that K-pop imposes on the values of teeenagers. The sensational - sometimes very lewd or violent - lyrics that K-pop music adopts exercise an extremely negative influence on Korean teenagers. Some songs vividly allude to the sexual harassment, rape, or even murder. Imagine what teenagers will think as they are keep exposed to such harmful words. The future of Korean teenagers had been darkened, is being darkened, and will be darkened if we keep let K-pop music thrive in the Korean music industry.

     The values of other genres of music are shaded because of the fanatical fame K-pop receives. Whenever Girl's Generation or BigBang - they are very famous K-pop groups in Korea - release an album, it sweeps the top ranks of Korean Billboard chart for weeks. Therefore, when we look at the music chart, we can barely find songs other than K-pop within the top 30 songs list.
     Maybe, K-pop music is so well-made and thus deserves such huge fame. Yet, it seems that there is  another more important reason for the K-pop's fame. K-pop fandom thoughtlessly supports the songs released by the celebrity it is supporting. Most fans are never critical of the songs nor do they ever try to find any problem in the songs. They just buy the album, give 5stars for all songs, and things are done. Songs made by other singers - especially rival singers? They are just trashes.
     The blind support for the songs that one loves hampers the establishment of healthy music culture in Korea. People rarely admit songs made by other singers than their stars, and thus good songs - especially those that are not K-pop - never get the proper attention they deserve. This might ultimately lead many singers to bankruptcy because their albums are not purchased or to abandon their original field of expertise and sing K-pop songs - which will ultimately stifle "variety" in the genres of the Korean music industry.

     The negative influence of K-pop music goes beyond the music industry - it "pollutes" the internet culture among internet users as well. Because of the extreme admiration of their favorite singers, fans frequently defame other singers and their qualties as singers in the cyberspace. Then, it would cause conflict between fandoms of different singers, which ultimately brings about cyber violence. Internet etiquette is not obeyed, users do not respect each other, and sometimes, in a very extreme instance, they kill each other. There are numerous instances in which people commit suicide because of the verbal abuses other internet users did to him/her or in which a gangster kills another because the user insulted him in the internet.

     It has been reported that K-pop has expanded its market to Europe and America and is raising huge fame in the places. K-pop certainly has many values as a type of music and should be respected accordingly.
     However, in the status quo, the status of K-pop and the true spirit of it are being misinterpreted and misrepresented. It falsely plants the impression that K-pop idols are the role models of the society - especially in the context of beauty and fashion, it takes away the opportunities of other types of songs to be valued, and it creates a polluted internet culture.
     In the status quo, K-pop clearly does more harm than good, However, I definitely believe that if the aforementioned drawbacks - especially the culture of crazy obsession by fans - are settled, K-pop will positively bolster the development of Korean music industry.



    

An assignment that tickles my "SOUL"

I just took a debate class - we did a debate on the motion THS no saturday school policy.
I was the Opposition Whip speaker and thus went to the podium as the very last speaker of the debate.
BUT the problem was that I was kind of upset because of the GW's speech - she distorted our contentions and made it extreme.
On the podium, I tried my best to throw humor at every moment possible, and because of the excitement and laugh by the audience, my speech went over 8minutes - the recommended time.
My speech was cut in the half, and it SO TICKLES my soul right now......

Super Rookie Adele Adkins Sweeps 6 Major Grammy Awards

     Adele Adkins is a British singer song-writer who has dominated the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and has thereby outstripped the legendary album sale records set by Whitney Houston - AT THE AGE OF 23. With her "masculine" heavy voice and searing yet candid lyrics, Adele was crowned the new diva of popular music at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, where she received six awards for her work on “21”.
     What adds to her fame is the fact that she made a successful comeback after a big surgery - she had an operation on a throat hemorrhage.
 "I cried a lot. Yet, crying is really bad for your vocal cords too. So I had to be happy ...... It was so fast-paced I could hardly ever remember the bulk of my day. I think I just needed to be silenced. And when you are silent, everyone around you is silent. So the noise in my life just stopped. It was like floating in the sea for the weeks. It was brilliant", the young Grammy-winner says.
     It is explicit that Adele has brilliant musical talent and one-in-the-century unique vocal. Also, she is very respectable for her overcoming of the throat surgery. However, There seems to be a disequilibrium.
     One disequilibrium FOR THE SINGER is that she loses her "own" time because of the fame. Flooded with concert plans, interview requests, and public expectations, Adele would have no privacy to be safeguarded. Like any other singers, her every life will be photographed and publicized. This loss of private life, as it is one of the major problems aggrieving celebrities, can be a serious pain for Adele.
     A possible resolution for this problem is her taking a rest. She can take a break for a couple of years and enjoy her normal, ordinary life! Public's interest on her will wane as time flows, and Adele would be able to find herself then. Yet, if she so adores her fame, she should continue with her performance and song writing task, giving up some part of her privacy.
     The other disequilibrium FOR THE AUDIENCE is that many people might become discontented for Adele's being so popular. They should have other singers who they so much like and admire. For them, their favorite singers being unable to receive awards because of her somehow "incomprehensible", "unfair", and "unagreeable" fame might be annoying. Also, other singers, who have tried so hard and succeeded in giving successful performances, might get upset as well.
     In considering a possible solution for this dilemma, one may ask "Why is Adele so popular? Is it so weird for her to get awarded?" Adele is undoubtedly a very gifted singer. The very core value that should be respected by the music-lovers and singers is how enjoyable the music is. Awards are just meaningless titles. Though people might feel hurt and wistful for their (or their favorite singers') not receiving anything at such honorable awards ceremony for a short moment, they must understand that it is NOT THE IMPORTANT THING. If people learn and acknowledge the fact, they would be able to purely congratulate Adele's success.

Explication of My Name

    
     A name signifies the person; it defines, identifies, and forms the named. Thus, to construe one's name is to understand and value the person better, in a more serious way. I would like to share what kind of inference my name has, and thereby have myself appreciated.

     My name is Gyutae Park. As I come from Korea, a country largely influenced by the ancient Chinese philosophies and customs, my name can be written in Chinese characters; it is 朴奎泰. Also an influence from the Chinese culture, the very first letter of my name does not have any meaning; it is just one of the references to your family - what family you are from. The part that can be called a "real" name is the two letters from the last; 奎泰.

     Interpreting the meaning of the letters in order, the first letter, 奎[gyu], refers to "brightness"; the second letter, 泰[tae], refers to "growing". Summoning the definitions, the lucid, perceptive, and thus wonderful name "奎泰" means "to grow with and to brightness". In other words, the name suggests that I become a "bright" figure - persistent and all-time-smiling - and overcome any difficulties with the very optimism - and hence doll myself up.

     In addition, the designation also implies that I become a "leader". A bright figure who stands at the very front of the herd of people and being an "indicator lamp" of their actions - that is a true leader and that is what my name demonstrates.

Letter of Welcome

     Hi, everyone~!!
     This is a blog run by a dreamy yet cynical highschool student. Enjoy my posts and leave comments; you may challenge me, add info., provide different views/interpretations, etc.
    
     Wish you all the best luck~!!