Journal-10/27/06
Disillusionment

Let's begin with a definition.
Disillusionment- a feeling of disappointment you feel when you find out something you thought was great is not really what you thought.

I think that some of the people I've met have not turned out as good a I thought. There were some people I met over the summer, at Duke T.I.P. I thought I could relate and compare to them, and that we could be great friends. However, by the end of three weeks I was sick of them and wanted to have nothing to do with them. They did some things that I didn't think a person like them would do. Once I got the know them, I saw how different we were. They turned out very different from the people I thought I would get to know.

Journal-10/18/06: Handicaps and privileges

I have many good qualities. However, my most obvious handicap is probably my shyness. I find that I have trouble talking to strangers and people who aren't my friends. When I speak in front of a group I mumble and talk quietly. I have to push myself to speak every word, otherwise I get a weird feeling and the words come out as something resembling mush. Once I talk to someone a lot and get to know them, talking to them gets easier. The more I tell someone, the easier it is to tell more. If I have to collaborate with a person I do not know very well for something like a project, it will take time before I start voicing my ideas and speaking my opinion. I think I'm getting better at it though.
However, sometimes this handicap acts as an advantage. I learn a lot about the world around me by listening and not talking. [Note to readers: I know more about you than you think. ;)]

Well, what I've learned so far:

10/24/06
1. Tachyons are hypothetical particles that naturally travel faster than the speed of light.


2. Light travels at a constant speed of about 186,282 miles per second and does not go any faster or slower, in any case.


3. While I walk across the room I have more mass that when I'm sitting still. (But only by a very small amount.)


10/25/06
4. Because mass increases as an object accelerates, the amount of energy required to continue to accelerate it increases too. This makes it impossible for any object with mass to reach the speed of light. Its mass would need to be infinite, but that would require infinite energy.


5. Light travels at the speed of light because photons (the quantum particle of light) have no mass. For an equation: M=m?? where M is the total mass of the object while it is at the speed of light (c), m? is its mass when it's not moving, and ? is infinity. If the object has no mass (like light) M=0?, therefore M=0.

10/26/06
6. Gravity moves at the speed of light.

7. Einstein's famous theory, E=mc² says that an object's energy, E, is equal to mc². (Its mass multiplied by the speed of light squared.) This implies that an object's mass and its energy are directly proportional.

My research topic is Exceeding The Speed of Light.
Thesis:
Although the speed of light is supposed to be a constant, some scientists hypothesize that the universal speed limit can be changed and passed.

10/16/06 Journal A-Z Autobiography

In 2006, I wrote this A-Z autobiography.
I have never broken a bone.
I have four cats and three dogs.
I am a friend with almost everyone.
I went to Fernbank Elementary School, then Westchester Elementary.
I got a big computer for my 14th birthday.
I have a good time at school everyday.
Once, in my childhood, I was cut on the cheek by scissors.
While in English class I write journals.
I know a lot of things about math and science.
I love my family.
I might fight with my brother when I get home, but I hope not.
I have no allergies.
I have more than one sibling.
I like to put things together.
I never quit once I've started something.
I walk, not run, to school on some days.
Sometimes, I don't study for tests.
Today was a normal day.
I don't keep anything under my bed.
Everyone tells me that I'm very smart.
I went to Kansas last summer.
My friend plays the xylophone.
Last year I went to Mexico.
I have been to the zoo and seen all types of animals.

At 12:49 on 10/2/2006 I created this blog for English Class. Yay!

Journal-10/2/06
What happens when I die? Where does the soul go? What will happen to my body?

When I die, I want my body to be donated to science. I don't think I will be needing it once I am dead. I don't want it to sit underground, rotting in a wooden box. Cremation wouldn't be a bad thing, but my body should be used to help others learn things. If my body is donated to science, I could lead to a great scientific discovery, and I'd be remembered as the dead guy who helped cure cancer (or something).
I believe that when someone dies they just stop existing. They don't feel or experience anything. It is like when you fall into a deep, dreamless sleep but you never wake up. All of eternity passes in the moment you close your eyes for the final time, but you see nothing and experience nothing. An infinite number of these forevers go by in a split second, but there is no way to tell time and no reason to care. You are dead and nothing matters anymore. There is no waking up from the dark sleep of death, no Heaven or Hell to spend your afterlife in bliss or torture. There is no reincarnation as another being. This life is all you get, so make good use of it.
I don't know if I believe in the soul of a person. I don't know if it would make a difference if it existed or not. I'm not sure if the people around me are real, and have real souls or if they are just figments of my imagination. Maybe they are just people who exist to make life more interesting. Or maybe each and every one of them has a soul and wonders these exact questions about me. I can't say I know what happens to the soul (if it even exists) and I don't think anyone knows. It might just disappear, which could fit with my idea of death. I think that you are your brain, controlling the body and thinking. This belief leaves little room for a soul to be. I am still unsure of its existence, but I doubt it will matter. Different people think different things about this topic and they are all entitled to their own beliefs; but I am going to live my life and worry about what happens next when I get there.