Do You Think You’re Too Young?

Did you happen to notice an article published by the Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics (JEO) on December 6, 2020? Unless you follow arthritis research, you probably didn’t. But what if I told you that the first author of this article in a highly respected peer-reviewed professional journal was only 17 years old? Let me introduce you to this exceptional young researcher, Elisha Johnston, in the hopes that his accomplishments will encourage you in your own pursuits, no matter your age.

Though homeschooled in kindergarten and again this year in 12^th grade, Elisha spent much of his education in the public school system. In middle school, seeking another outlet to engage his interest in science, he pursued participation in the Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair (LACSEF). When his school declined to sign up, LACSEF allowed Elisha to register directly as a homeschool student.

What’s the Worst of This Election?

Sadly, the worst part of this election is not the choice between Trump and Clinton (even though this is the most disagreeable choice in all the years I’ve been voting for president).

Unfortunately, we cannot blame this horrible choice on the Republican and Democrat parties or on the current government.   The choice between Trump and Clinton is not a bad decision foisted upon us by someone else.

In America, anyone who meets the constitutional qualifications for president can declare his or her intention to run.  In fact, 17 Republicans and 5 Democrats did just that.  Through a lengthy process of primary elections and caucuses, the field was narrowed to 1 Republican, Donald Trump, and 1 Democrat, Hillary Clinton.  And just who did the winnowing?  The voters, that’s who!  Yes, it was the majority vote of our peers that has given us this horrible choice.

When I avoided the LIKE button

Last month, I read this insightful article “I Quit Liking Things on Facebook for Two Weeks. Here’s How It Changed My View of Humanity” by Elan Morgan.

I decided to try the same experiment, to see what my news-feed would look like if I stopped using the LIKE button.

I didn’t really see a change in the type of news articles presented. But that’s probably because most of the articles on my news-feed seem to be there because a friend liked them or commented on them.

But what about the personal posts – the Bible verses, inspirational quotes, family photos, recipes, and dinner postings? Liking is the easy way today to let your friends know that you’ve seen their post. In the space of about a second, you can respond without really having to expend any effort at all. Click! That’s all it takes.

And, let’s be honest; don’t we watch the numbers? When we post a family photo, we may be watching to see if specific relatives acknowledge it. But for nearly every other post, we’re usually monitoring the number count. Last week, 34 people liked my post; how many will like today’s? Why does my friend get 100+ likes when I’m lucky to get 30? It’s become the new way to gauge our popularity – and of course, more must mean better, right?