Mind over Manner: Explorations in Neuroscience, Current Events and Philosophy

     As capitalism enters its late stages in America, we continue to question its systems more seriously. Despite capitalism being founded on the concepts of private property, self-interest, and self-improvement, we see its rules being bent by those more fortunate, leaving less fortunate people to suffer in their wake. A fair question to ask of this system is, “Is this even fair?” Many of us have asked this, and the answer is, frankly, not really! Fairness has been a longstanding aspiration of human civilization, and different political and economic systems have sought to address the question of distributive justice, with socialism emerging as a notable contender in this pursuit. Socialism advocates for collective ownership and control of the means of production, with the primary goal of achieving greater economic and social equality. When the word “socialism” even enters the chat in America, right-wing and left-wing pundits alike get very, very nervous. It’s portrayed by...

  Whenever the topic of healthy foods arises, people like to ask, “What’s the healthiest food, then?”, or “What should I do to get healthy?” Frankly, I don’t have an answer for most people. Nobody does. Our bodies, the environment we live in, and our habits are so incredibly complex that I can’t even begin to narrow down much actionable information, other than good sleep, good activity levels, and a mostly whole-food diet without processed sugars and trans fats. How would one even go about naming the most “healthy” food? What does healthy mean, in this context? Could it be that this superfood is the highest in antioxidants, or vitamins and minerals, or perhaps is the lowest calorie? Maybe it has no saturated fat, or no carbs? In reality, “healthy” means something different for everyone, and that’s the crux of the nutrition debate. How do we decide what the best, most fitting food choices are for the general population, where each individual has their own dietary needs and restricti...

  Alright, here’s the biggun. People ask me about this all the time, since I seem to mostly be known as a gym person at school (lol). This essay will explain all you need to form a good resistance training protocol. This is taken from all across the Internet over several years from trustworthy sources. All of these sources will be linked at the bottom, if you want to do any further reading. Let’s get right into it. Weight training can come in many forms; when I say “weight training”, you probably think of going to a gym to lift weights. While that is one form of weight training, there are other ways to do it as well. Bodyweight, kettlebells, resistance bands, TRX bands, and other methods exist to do weight training, for those who may be unable to use a gym for location or physical disability reasons, or simply if going to a gym isn’t for you. These methods can be just as effective for beginners and experienced individuals alike. What I talk about here can be utilized across all...