<p>I thought this could be an interesting activity between the WashU community on CC (this includes accepted WashU students, prospective WashU students, current WashU students, parents of WashU students, or anyone else who’d like to join in)</p>
<p>So yea, I have this idea for a game. This is the gist: The poster before you will pose a question, and so you give your answer to it. Then you pose a question to the poster below you. Any question. Make the question any subject, any flavor–brainy, short and sweet, anything from Oprah to Diels Alder reactions. Yes or no questions or open-ended. A-free-for all question roulette. Of course, use good judgement-- nothing offensive or derogatory!</p>
<p>I’ll start-- to the poster immediately below:</p>
<p>What was your greatest moment in high school? (Yes, hard as it might be, choose ONE.)</p>
<p>My greatest moment in high school was when my science team won the competition at the national level (1st) We won an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii. That was one sweeetttt summer!</p>
<p>To poster below:
Which historical personnage most inspires you and why?</p>
<p>I was really scared this might have to do with the right wing movement of idiots who call themselves the “tea party” but I’m glad its not.</p>
<p>I’d say there is no particular person who inspires me. I find that everyone has faults. Major ones at that. Gandhi was extremely racist against Africans but also had great ideas for revolution and rebellion. Nixon was a brilliant politician but was also quite unscrupulous and at many times, racist against Indians. I’d say that in terms of ethics, I’d go with A.Hamilton. He found a way to disassociate his politics from his personal views. He hated Jefferson but still sided with him when necessary. In terms of pure intellectual genius, I’d actually go ahead and say Stalin. I admire his intellect but not his ethics or his mannerisms. He was a brilliant man but had a LOT of flaws (like killing billions of his own countrymen). I guess his INT rating was high but his WIS was pretty damn low.</p>
<p>To the dude below:</p>
<p>Where would you like to live if income wasnt an issue?</p>
<p>Quite a thorough response to hax0rz’ question, foolfromhell</p>
<p>Okay um. If income weren’t an issue for me, I’d like to live in France. I’ve always loved French culture, from the cuisine (expensive, but shouldn’t be a problem in the hypothetical question) to the fashion. Specifically I’d like to live on the Cote d’Azure because 1. it sounds romantic and is also called “The French Riviera” (such a lovely name) and 2. I hear it’s lovely there. I’d want to cultivate my French accent and be able to hold conversations about science or literature. Also I’d want to spend my days writing and reading in a cafe, or outside where I can watch the divers pedestrians walk by.</p>
<p>To the monsieur or mademoiselle below:</p>
<p>What song (pop, ray, hip hop, R&B, heavy metal, whatever) describes your life currently? Maybe choose an aspect of your life like school or relationships and pick a song </p>
<p>Right now, it would have to be Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood. My parents and siblings will be moving to Italy right after I graduate and as I move to camp for my summer job. Then I will be off to college with no true home in the United States. Also I’m just ready to get of high school and move one with my life. The song basically sums up all of the emotions I am going through right now. </p>
<p>Next question…
What do you consider your greatest achievement?</p>
<p>As of now I’ve heard from nine colleges and gotten into each one (including Wash U!) Most of my schools were reaches and it just feels amazing. </p>
<p>Poster below:
Enlightenment or Romanticism?</p>
<p>Wow very nice Quirindongo. Congratulations! </p>
<p>I’ll give my opinion on your question: “Enlightenment or Romanticism?”
As a science major I’m compelled to choose Enlightenment/ “rationalization.” I’m all for the scientific method, checking things out empirically, observing and testing before concluding. The “Show me the data or logic” mentality.
As an anthropology student, however, I want to say both are valid modes of viewing the world. For example, the US values biomedicine and the idea that the body is a machine which you can treat in a biochemical (think medications, antibiotics, vaccines, etc) manner. Other countries, however, have different systems of medicine. The Chinese for one talk about “chi”/“qi” and the energy that flows throughout the body. This example is used to illustrate how two modes of thinking can coexist in this world; it’s just one may be more valued than the other depending on which country or cultural location you are in. </p>
<p>In the same manner I think the Enlightenment and Romanticism movements can coexist. One appreciates logic, the other appreciates emotion. And frankly, I think life would be much less invigorating if we had to choose just one!</p>
<p>To the poster below:
Who would win if they met in a duel-- Lord Voldemort or Darth Vader?</p>
<p>Oh Darth Vader hands down. He would just use the force to point Lord Voldemort’s wand to his own face and choke him to death. So no matter what, Voldemort can’t win since he would just commit suicide :)</p>
<p>But to be honest, I like Voldemort and Happy Potter better :D</p>
<p>To the mysterious stranger that would post next:</p>
<p>Would you live as an average person in a democratic, prosperous society or a higher up guy in a totalitarian dystopia? (English literature on my mind :P)</p>
<p>I would choose to live as an average person in a democratic, prosperous society any day over a powerful person in a totalitarian society. First off, as a man (from my perspective as a guy) of great power, you are naturally isolated and distant from others of relatively average status. It becomes harder to form interpersonal relationships with other people, and thus, you will be lonely and sad. Moreover, society is a fail, and no one is actually happy. In a democratic society, on the other hand, you may be only average, but it becomes much easier to associate with others because there is a close communal bond between the people. This is just my opinion; I am just picking the side where I think I would be most happy. =)</p>
<p>To the next poster:
Imagine a jar full of thousands of bubbles with a lid on top. You have two choices, you can either open the lid or keep it closed. If you open the lid, all the bubbles will be released and gain self-awareness. Immediately, however, the bubbles just released will pop. Essentially, the bubbles released from the jar will gain life, and then die soon afterward. So, what would you do? Release the bubbles from the jar, or keep in them inside?</p>
<p>I couldn’t commit genocide - I’d leave them as potential and hope that future bubble scientists could cure their disease so they could live happy productive lives.</p>
<p>Next victim:
If you are a student: do you think your parents were too involved / not involved enough in your college search? If a parent, why are you so involved that you’re hanging out on a kid board?</p>
<p>My parents weren’t very involved with my college search back in the day. They told me they would support me for whatever colleges I applied to. My school had a policy that we could only apply to five private schools. Anyway, my parents did suggest I apply to WashU and MIT since they knew I was big on the sciences, especially biotech/biology. After that, they pretty much just forgot which schools I applied to until the acceptances came.</p>
<p>Next poster:
Hypothetically, who would you most want to have dinner with, and why: Richard Feynman, Leonardo da Vinci (oops almost wrote “Leonardo di Caprio” there , hahah), or Julia Childs?</p>
<p>Well, Leonardo da Vinci. Simply because he left so many mysteries and a simple dinner may solve loads of things. Julia Childs can be really interesting, but I am just not a fan of eating.</p>
<p>^^
I choose Flash, because it creates more dynamic and interactive webpages (including loads of games!) I used to hand-code and HTML is great, but it can only go so far in webpage development. Unless HTML 5 is a vamped-up version of old-school HTML…?</p>
<p>Poster below:
Which fictional character would you rather hang out with:
Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment, or Scarlett o Hara from Gone with the Wind?
Frankly I think both have their own issues, but they both have very strong personalities as well.</p>
</p>