Week 2: Sophmore Slump < Great Personal Life + Economics + Sir Isaac Newton

  "Well, you see. Confucius emphasized the proper hierarchy of society for a good out come, and he also wante....."  "Wait! Your a history major aren't you?" "yes" "Then you be the blasted group spokesperson instead of expecting me to remember all of this." "really?" "dude, you might want to do it. I think she'll attack you with that pen if you throw much more of this at her."
Me doing a group exercise with  three other colleagues (the certain student saying this was not a history major)

  Hello all! I am trying to be a good little Fredoniac by keeping my  pact of weekly updates. I certainly hope this doesn't fade into nausea for most of you.

   There is the common superstition that the Sophomore year is cursed with a let down for Freshman students. They might have a good first year, but their steam is quickly spent. I suppose for most it is a case of the brightest stars burning out the fastest. In my own experience, I can't yet say whether this is true for grades or not (in most classes I haven't even taken a test yet!), but the classes are more difficult. The difficulty simply makes me more psyched for those classes though. It is like finally getting to run after walking for a semester. (not that I would complain if I walked my way through college :) So it didn't look like the sophomore slump would hit me academically. But, the slump is powerful, and it will not let me get through the year unscathed! While my classes are getting harder, the insane bureaucracy and insaner colleagues are beginning to give me migraines. I know, "but Jordan you were saying this last year too!" I was. The problem is that it is happening sooner than before. :'(  On the brighter side this is more than balanced out by certain happenings in my personal life that give me great joy. (although I will not go into them they involve a good book series, an AWESOME computer game, and upcoming events.)

A bit of economics that truly blew my mind.
The core of economics is the study of trade-offs. This definition has often been shortened to the study of trade-offs of a monetary nature, but the fact is that there is so much more to it than that. Humans faces trade-offs and decisions every day, every minute even. sitting here writing this post on a college computer is a trade off for me. I could be using this computer to surf the net or to salivate over Rome 2 Total War reviews, but I am not. Going further, the time that I am spending on this computer could probably be used doing something else too. Economics is studying how people decide those trade-offs they encounter. It has been said that economics is a study in efficiency, because every person will seek to make the decision that is most efficient for that individual in that moment. Using time as an example, every person has a scarce (limited) supply of it, and multiple demands. Every moment that is used becomes a micro economy in of itself. It is overwhelming if one thinks about the billions of people making decisions about their time every second, whether it is simply moving, breathing, working, eating, playing, or praying. Every moment is a decision, every decision is precious choice, and things that are precious must be weighed and filtered. Examine the trade-offs, and treat every moment like you would a precious commodity.

Science is a great tool. In fact when used properly, it can be one of the greatest areas of human potential. Unfortunately, it is often misused by claiming to be more than it is. Historically, science had made great leaps and bounds through its proper place. The best thing about this is it can't be separated from an in-depth history course. We went over sir Isaac Newton today. Can you tell? :)

I visited the career counseling office today, and I learned that if I want a straight answer about anything I should consult their website.

This is Gryphon the Fredoniac. Signing off.