Critical thinking: Why draw that Venn diagram

The task on our slide was to "Draw a Venn diagram to show the relationships between: human beings, mammals and persons." The main purposes were to check how Venn diagrams work and to practice the drawing tool on the presentation app. 

It was, however, also a question that I hoped would be interesting. As I said last night, it's OK if we do not agree on the answers. 

diagram 1.
The popular drawing

The most popular Venn diagram drawn in class was of three circles, one large one inside of which is a smaller one, inside of which in turn is the smallest circle. The smallest circle represents the set of all things that are persons. It is surrounded by a larger circle that represents the  set of all human beings. And the largest circle, which surrounds both smaller circles, represents the set of all mammals. Four out of eight people drew this Venn diagram, making is easily the most popular choice. 

diagram 2.
Also a popular diagram

Two diagrams tied for second most popular: one was three intersecting circles, none of which fully encloses another; the other was three non-intersecting circles. Both of these Venn diagrams had two supporters each. 

diagram 3.
The other popular Venn diagram

diagram 4.
Not a popular drawing

And then there is that other Venn diagram, the one that shows humans as a subset of mammals, with the set of all things that are persons intersecting both the larger circle that is the set of mammals and the subset of humans enclosed by the larger circle of mammals. Although there were some questions about the others, this is the one that caused the most controversy. 

But controversy is not a bad thing: it shows both that an issue matters people, and that further discussion by formal argument is needed. 

I don't want to spend any more class time discussing it, but if you would like to, this blog is an appropriate place to continue that discussion about the relationships between the sets of things that are mammals, humans, and persons. 

Diagram 3

My guess was that diagram 3. might have been a misunderstanding about how Venn diagrams work, or perhaps just unfamiliarity with the drawing tool on the slide. Diagram three says that: no humans are mammals or persons, and that no persons are humans or mammals. I think we do all agree that every human being is also a mammal, and that at least some human beings are also persons, which leaves the other three options as possible representations of the relationships between the three sets of things. 

Diagram 2

Venn diagram 2. says that some human beings are not mammals, which I suspect we don't really think. Every human being I've ever met or heard of has also been a mammal. But if you think that there has been or could be a human being that is not also a mammal, please make your argument. (This could quickly become complicated, but I think there is an argument to be made for this view. However, if you want to support drawing 2. as the correct representation of the relationships between the three sets of things, you do have to make that argument. It's not something obvious.)

Which leaves diagrams 1. and 4.

Diagram 1b 
The anti-abortion diagram?

You know that I drew Venn diagram 4, but that is not a good reason to think it's correct. For a variety of reasons, some perfectly respectable, others less so, teachers at all levels do sometimes say things that are wrong. I'm open to being proved wrong on this, and I certainly welcome dissenting opinions supported by logical, formal arguments. 

If I had to guess, I would say that most people would agree with diagram 1. or a slight variation on it, 1b., where the circles for the set of humans exactly covers the circle for the set of persons; that is, a popular variation on drawing 1 says that every human being is a person, and that every person is a human being. This Venn diagram represents a common anti-abortion argument which equates abortion with murder, the killing of a human person. 

And now we begin to see why it matters which Venn diagram correctly represents the relationships between mammals, humans, and persons. The different concepts behind diagrams 1. or 1b, and 4. reflect what it is thought the law should allow and not allow. Similar considerations apply to debates about the legality of euthanasia, which, like abortion, is literally a life and death issue. 

Another area where it matters which is the correct Venn diagram is our diet: if some mammals other than humans are also persons, then killing them for no better reason than to turn them into breakfast or dinner would seem to be morally equivalent to snacking on some human beings, which most human persons tend to think is not in fact OK, even for those humans we might not like very much. Should we really be turning all of those animals into breakfast meat? And a closely related issue: should we really be experimenting on those chimpanzees? 

As I said, it does matter which Venn diagram is the right one. So, what do you think? Think about and present your ideas in a comment or two. And as with all such complex, controversial issues, it's not a bad thing to be a unsure, to explore possibilities. 

Do you think that Venn diagram 1. or 1b correctly shows the relationships between mammals, human beings, and persons, or will you support diagram 4? And most importantly, can you persuade the rest of us to agree with you? What is your counterargument against the concepts represented by the Venn diagram you disagree with? 

(I've assumed diagrams 2. and 3. are no longer popular options, but if you would like to, please support one of them.)

Yujin: Squid Game

According to “Squid Game: The Netflix show adding murder to playground nostalgia” (Yip & Lee, 2021), Squid Game, a Korean thriller, is successful because of its visuals, characters, and relatability. Centered around a survival game, 456 contestants have to compete in games to have the chance to win 36 million dollars; however, if they lose, they will be brutally murdered. While some are accusing the show of plagiarism, the director has denied all the accusations saying that it was because of the genre that made the shows similar. One of the attractions of the show is the mixture between the competitiveness between the characters, and the irony that the games they are desperately competing in to win money are innocent childlike games. Some games in the show hold some nostalgia for many people, such as the Dalgona honeycomb challenge. Another star attraction is the relatability of the competitors. Most of them are people who are a nuisance to society, and in desperate need of money. According to Kim Pyeong-gang, individuals, especially of a younger generation, who routinely experience “alienation” and “resentment” from society, appear to relate more with the characters. In the competitive environment of East Asia, many have felt that no matter how much work they do, it is impossible for everyone to succeed. The games represent the opposite. Everyone of the competitors who have faced discrimination in society are all on the same level in the game, and all have the same chance to win. 

Reference 

Yip. W.  & Lee, W. (2021, October 1). Squid Game: The Netflix show adding murder to playground nostalgia. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58729766 

Mook: Sea otters and climate change

In “How sea otters can fight climate change,” Ula Chrobak (2021) states that sea otters have a great role in maintaining the whole ecosystem and fighting climate change. They are also called “keystone” species, as they have been keeping their ecosystem in check. Based on the article, carbon emission can be considered as one of our environmental crises. Scientists have been studying the heroes that will help us with climate change, and that maybe is the sea otters. Sea otters can store carbon as biomass, which will take a lot of time to change back from solid to gas form. Sea otters also aid kelp forests, without those otters kelp forests will shockingly turn into deserts. Moreover, kelps are normally harmed by sea urchins. But since sea urchins are the otter’s source of food, they can be controlled at the appropriate level with the presence of otters so that the proportion of kelp growth will increase. The main point is that  kelps have the ability to attract more carbon dioxide for photosynthesis than land plants. This means that with more kelp, less carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.  In the article, Chrobak supports this view by pointing out the experiment which  said that “with the presence of sea otters, the studied area can store up to 8.7 million tonnes of Carbon, which is more carbon than that emitted from a million passenger cars for a year.” With all these factors, climate change can be reduced, the marine ecosystem will be able to maintain its balance and provide animals with quality habitats and food. 

Reference 

Chrobak, U. (2021, September, 15). How sea otters can fight climate change. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210914-how-sea-otters-help-fight-climate-change 

Yok: Lördagsgodis, Sweden's saturday-only candy tradition

 

According to “ Lördagsgodis : Sweden's saturday-only candy tradition” (Savage, 2021), Swedes’ trend to buy and eat candy only on saturday has been widely followed and has been proved by many experts to help citizens promote financial freedom. It was begun in the 1950s by the Swedish medical authorities in order to reduce cases of dental decay, and Swedes cooperatively follow this advice to allow their children to buy and eat sweets only on saturday. Children are given weekly pocket money, which cannot be added to, and they have to budget for the Saturday candy. Encouraging financial responsibility from a young age allows them to maintain their healthy saving habits when they grow up. Not only education and healthcare, but also the monthly child benefit of 1,250 kroner is supported by the Swedish government.  This allows parents to provide a weekly allowance for their kids without financial pressure. Nowadays, many families have still embraced this tradition on a weekly basis although Sweden is likely to develop into a cashless society in the future. 

Reference 

Savage, M. (2021, October 8). Lördagsgodis : Sweden's saturday-only candy tradition. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211004-lrdagsgodis-swedens-saturday-only-candy-tradition  

Emma: Can we stop hateful speech?

 

According to “Twitch announces new tools to fight hate raids” (2021), Twitch, which is a streaming platform company, takes responsibility for reducing harassments that have been targeting its marginalized streamers by using phone verification tools, banning accounts to stop the abuse, and it has also initiated lawsuits against users who misused the ‘raid’ feature in the platform. Recently, there have been many incidents reported where the ‘raids’ feature, which allows streamers help referring viewers to each other to grow their channels, has been used to target marginalized streamers who are LGBTQ, women and who have colored skins instead of supporting their channels by using programming bots, fake user accounts are created to watch their videos. After their shows end and are offline, the bots send trolling messages to their chat sections with hateful messages. As these kinds of attacks have been increasing, many of the marginalized streamers have demanded the company protect them, and according to the article, they participated in a campaign to boycott the company for one day on 1st September this year. Although the company is going to have users verify themselves through their phone numbers in order to prevent fake users and ban accounts that bully other users, it will be developing new measures to prevent harassment on its streaming platform because it believes that ‘no single tech solution will ever block bad actors' behaviour entirely’.

Reference 

Pandey, M. (2021, September 30). Twitch announces new tools to fight hate raids. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-58594732 

Sea: Ice stupas of Ladakh

 

According to “Aberdeen scientists develop ice stupas for Himalayan water crisis” (2021), University of Aberdeen scientists conducted research on an artificial glacier in Ladakh, Northern India, which proved that it helps solve “the Himalayan water shortage”. Not enough water to grow new crops and lack of water to use are the problems Ladakhi face every year during April and May. As Ladakh is one of the driest places on Earth and climate change causes the world’s glaciers to melt down more each year, the water problems are getting even worse. The ice stupas are man-made glaciers which were first created in 2013 by an engineer, Sonam Wangchuk. The concept of the ice stupas is to store water in the form of ice during the winter for use in summer when the ice melts down, which indicated that “ice stupas can release millions of litres of water each year.” To create them, a pipe has to be located under the ground where water could flow through without freezing before the pressure pushes the water up and out to form ice stupas in a pyramid-like structure. The researchers suggested that the ice stupas are at an early stage of development. They are still learning to understand the environment and need of using water around the areas and also developing techniques, such as trying to find the best place to place the pipelines and to improve on how to keep the water not freezing in them.

Reference 

Aberdeen scientists develop ice stupas for Himalayan water crisis. (2021, September 25). BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-58691004 

Num: The triangle love story

 

According to What is the ‘One China’ policy? (2021),  the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 was an origin of ‘One China’ stories and its power. Although the Kuomintang had fought for their nation, they finally fled to an island named Taiwan, and governed the island as an independent country, the Republic of China. However, the communist party ruling the mainland announced on the international stage that Taiwan is an inseparable province waiting to be reunited with the People’s Republic of China. This diplomatic act is called the ‘One China principle’. China is hindering Taiwan from the world by its ‘One China policy’: they take a political stand for “there is only one Chinese government” (BBC, 2021). Since the policy began in 1970, Beijing has benefited the most, and it casts Taiwan out of formal diplomatic ties from many countries similar to the US. In 1979, tailoring the Sino-US relationship for maintaining a commercial benefit resulted in the ending of the Taipei embassy in the US. However, the US had been continuously weaving  an unofficial and quiet relationship to support Taiwan as a security ally: trading arms for self-protection, yet still insisting on peaceful solutions. Even though Taiwan has been struggling because of the ‘One China Policy’, the long-lasting emotional bond between the US and Taiwan was worth “a controversial phone call” (BBC, 2021) between Trump and Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s president. Today, the ideal relationship between the US and the two of China is waiting to be seen. 

Reference 

What is the ‘One China’ policy? (2021, October 6). BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38285354 

Phum: What happened to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram?

 

According to "What happened to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram?" (Wakefield, 2021), all users were unable to access Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. impacting the world. Cloudflare described it as if "someone had pulled the cables from their data centres all at once and disconnected them from the internet". In the same way, Facebook states that there was a disruption in the connection between network traffic and the data center. However, there are conspiracy theories, one possibility being that it was purposefully done by a Facebook insider. This issue has not only led to unpleasant experiences for all single users, but also has led to negative consequences for various businesses relying on Facebook or WhatsApp for communication. The problem started when the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), the protocol that leads to a suitable path for accessing the website, could not lead users connected to any websites of Facebook, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and the back door system. Because Facebook stopped providing the data required for the system. Mike Proulx, an analyst at Forrester, declared this problem to be a "a cascading effect, like old-school Christmas lights where one goes out, they all go out". Although Facebook had been in a similar situation before and was able to quickly fix it, they did not handle the issue well this time, losing $6 billion from Zuckerberg's pocket and about $60 million in profit. This incident has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of Facebook in the communication network controlled by a small number of corporations. 

Reference 

 Wakefield J., (2021, October 6). What happened to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram?. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58800670 

Good: Nestle and its future

 

According to “Nestle admits supply chain issues ahead of Christmas” (Jack, 2021) on the BBC website, the chief executive officer of Nestle stated that there are problems with a shortage of transportation to deliver their goods to shelves at supermarkets. The products such as Quality Street and Lion Bars, which he did not confirm will be available in the Christmas weeks or not, but the company is working hard to solve the problem. Also, the CEO mentioned that Nestle, which is the biggest dairy manufacturer in the world, will “launch a range of non-dairy, plant-based alternatives to its milk and chocolate in an attempt to further reduce the company's greenhouse gas emissions''. In parallel, the company is doing research to find new sources of food for its cows, more than 100,000 around the globe, to produce less methane released into the atmosphere. It is admitted that new groups of customers who prefer oat and soya-based alternatives have created a new market for Nestle. Although these new diet cost more than the conventional dairy equivalents, they are good for health and the price will be much lower due to mass production like EV cars. However, now some customers willingly pay for this extra cost. 

Reference 

Jack, S. (2021, October 7). Nestle admits supply chain issues ahead of Christmas. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58822665

Peter: a K-ripple on the English flood

The 20 volume 2nd edition of the OED. 
The 3rd edition, updated in September, is only published online.

According to “Why 26 Korean words have been added to Oxford English Dictionary” (2021), following more than ten years of K-pop and the 2012 international success of South Korean Psy’s rap hit “Gangnam Style”, the increasingly influential export of Korean cultural products is now reflected in the recent addition of 26 words of Korean origin to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Although a number of the 26 new entries to the "accepted authority on the English language" are for Korean food, such as the nouns banchan, bulgogi, and kimbab, three Korean dishes, other entries represent South Korean pop culture, for example, the noun hallyu, meaning: “The increase in international interest in South Korea and its popular culture.” The global popularity of cultural products such as K-drama and K-pop is attributed by Dr Hye-Kyung Lee, a researcher in culture and arts,  to the global mindset of their creators, whose products entertain global viewers. She explains that films such as the Oscar-winning Parasite and the series Squid Game, whose 95% non-Korean viewers are making it the most-watched series ever for NetFlix, whilst being distinctively different due to the Korean language and backgrounds, nonetheless tell stories viewers relate to of societies where characters struggle to survive with little hope or a future. The OED explains that the 26 additions originated in Asia, where Korean culture is popular, and from where they entered the vocabulary of the wider English speaking world, furthering the Korean “ripple on the sea of English words.”

Reference 

Why 26 Korean words have been added to Oxford English Dictionary. (2021, October 6). BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-58749976 

South Korea's Squid Game: Number one in 90 countries for NetFlix

This is version 3. Despite my initial expectation based on my planning that it would be under the 250 word limit, version 1 was actually 262 words, so needed to be revised. After copying and pasting in version 2 above, I made a few more small revisions. The final word count is 247. 
If you would like to compare it with the published version above, version 1 is in my Google Doc. 
You can also see my planning notes for steps 1, 2, and 3. 

Screen shot of the OED entry for hallyu - 
added to the OED 3rd ed. in September 2021
Click to see full size.

 

Yok ‘s suggestion about what everyone should read

          Reading has been part of my life since I was young. I always spend more than one hour a day with it. Most of it is textbooks in class from school to university levels. Apart from academic books, I also read many books for pleasure, which are football magazines, travel guidebooks and chess guidebooks. Books everyone chooses to read can have various topics as their jobs and preferences are totally different from each other. I think that it is a good idea to share what you think could be useful for others. From the many books I have read, Money Lecture is the one I recommend everyone to read because I think it is popular, easy to understand, useful to know, and I also found many positive influences from reading it.

Money Lecture’s contents cover what we should do or should not do in investment for all six types of assets, principle of budget adjustment and also multiple ways to reduce your taxes. Its purpose is to let you learn effective financial management, in order to achieve your goals. The book was first published in August, 2020. It was written by Kittisak Konkla. I think that this book has been widely read. The reason is that I saw it on the best selling shelf when I bought it from the SE-ED book store. Moreover, the author is very famous as his facebook page, Longtunsart, has been followed by one million users. Apart from those, no one can reject that everyone might have an interest in educating themselves about the ways to keep and make their properties more profitable. This book is clearly understandable for everyone without financial backgrounds as its topic includes only crucial fundamental principles in finance, not the whole textbook used at finance classes in universities. The amount of income you earn is also not a factor to achieve this book’s goal. Employees who earn less than ten thousand baht a month can retire with financial fluidity if they follow the book’s instructions strictly. Though many might question why we would put some portion of our money at risk by spending it for investment with some assets, I think that it is essential to learn about this, based on the fact that interest offered from banks cannot outweigh the rate of inflation which changes everyday. Should we let the money which we work hard to get gradually lose its value?

I decided to read this book one year ago when I received my first salary because I wanted to understand how to manage it correctly. Consequently, I found many positive influences reading it. First, I understand how to make a good budget adjustment. I have learned how much of my income I can use for each specific purpose, which are saved in a bank account, investing for assets  and spending for necessities. By the end of 2020, I could save 30% of my revenue in my bank account and spent 40% of it on investment. If I had not read this book, 80% of my income would be wasted on buying things I love which may not be necessary. In addition to budget adjustment, a large amount of my tax bill was reduced as I learned which assets I can buy to reduce it. The common chosen assets are long term saving plans and health insurance, for which no one can not argue their benefits. I think this is very important ,especially for those who earn more than a million baht a year, because the tax rate can probably be as high as 20% of net income. From my tax bill in 2020, I saved about fifty thousand baht which was first expected to to be paid to the government. That money had been used for more beneficial things instead such as a ten year saving plan, life insurance and also donations for children in rural areas. 

From my various experiences of reading, I found that Money Lecture is the most useful book for everyone with various backgrounds. It doesn’t require any financial background or a large amount of income to use this book effectively. I found positive events such as an effective budget adjustment and also reducing the large amount of tax paid because of reading this book. I hope you can find yours too if you have a chance to read it in the future.

Num: Learning your emotion

 

From when I was in primary school until I reached the last year in high school, I loved to study maths. Although I cried when I could not solve the problems, my father would teach me with different entertaining methods that took away my frustration. Later I never stopped finding the possible solutions to get an answer even though I was so angry that my teacher gave us a lot of difficult homework. Mathematics was an entertaining game for me to play. It was the same as when I saw the ‘Game Over’ sign, but I pressed  the restart button as soon as it appeared and continued repeating the game for hour after hour and hoped to pass to the next level soon. In contrast, I studied English with a teacher who accidentally raised me with fear, judgment, and humiliation toward the learning process. When she asked questions in class, and we could not give the right answers, she would spank us. Stressing caused me sweaty hands and cold feet. I learned nothing because my attention was put into anxiety and worrying. Without notice, I judged that I was not a good at English, that I was  dumb and stupid, and I could not be changed. Recently, I watched a video clip about how emotion helps develop learning ability. Both of my experiences surprisingly explain that emotions affect my performance in positive and negative ways. My own emotion can block me from gaining knowledge, or it provides me confidence and drives me to move beyond limitation. Emotional Agility is a book that I recently read. It is written by Susan David, who is a psychologist and also a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. Everyone should read this book, and you will learn how you can manage your emotions and improve your attitude toward life by facing it without judging and understanding the meaning of growth mindset. 

Facing your emotion without judging, and studying your emotion with a neutral mind: this is a major way to widen your perspective to understand yourself.  For example, writing a diary and explaining how you feel in detail will draw you out from overwhelming emotions.  This exercise trains you to see the overall situation or the big picture. Although you have negative emotions, don’t try to judge whether they are right or wrong. Being conscious or being aware of the emotions that are happening is a good way to give yourself room to explore more. When you examine current emotions, try not to relate them with any experiences or predict what will happen in the future. Bringing out the past or forecasting the future is an unhealthy move that can distort your current situation. Your present situations can turn out in many ways, and they haven’t happened  yet. nner critics may lead you to be like me when I was young; my own mind blocked my actions. I repeated this to myself and I stressed myself out when the teacher asked me questions. I stirred up my fear of the furious class. I didn’t want to be humiliated in front of my classmates if I could answer the question. I had a fixed idea that I was not good at English and I could not change that because my brain was not good at linguistics skills. Then I didn’t pay attention in class; I didn’t do my homework. I didn’t have the urge to explore  or learn it like when I learned mathematics. I accepted that I could not improve. I liked Japanese manga a lot. I loved my feeling to smell the ink in the paper when I was opening new manga. I wanted to read the Japanese version, so I took a Japanese class. Later, I decided to drop out after one semester because I believed my brain was not good at linguistic skills and maths was more interesting. Again I focused only on studying maths and sciences and ignored English or Japanese classes. How could I change? I just realized that I changed because my mindset changed. After reading the book, many habits in the past two years have confirmed to me that I have the same mindset as what the book refers to. Why is a mindset so important?      

A growth mindset unlocks your skills. This book mentions the idea about fixed mindset and growth mindset. A fixed mindset is how I had trained myself when I was young that I was not good at English. I could not speak English. My brain didn’t develop in linguistic skill. I stuck with it. Failure was unacceptable. I didn’t find any challenge through failure. I have limited ability to understand English. I closed my door to English. In contrast, a growth mindset is a belief that we can improve, and we can develop, eager to be challenged. Trial and error are normal. Failure is part of the process to discover things. An effort determines abilities. All of which was what I had toward the way I learned maths. The growth mindset is empowering and leads you to an achievement.  My story is just a simple example for you to understand vividly about how emotions are influencing behaviors. Suppressing your emotions is a toxic strategy for your mental health. You may hide it perfectly, but it is always ready to burst out.    

My study experience was a decade ago, but I have just finished the book last week. I read this book to understand my actions. Sometimes, I am suffering from my own sentences. Being aware of how I feel towards situations, and embracing it with an open mind helps me to reach an inner peace. This book is worth reading for self-improvement. The concepts are simple and easy. If your body has the proper nutrients, you will have good health. And to maintain your good mental health, reading what psychologists say is nurturing your mind.

Peter: where it all begins

The yellowed pages
are falling apart
after 43 years on
my bookshelves

Recently, a K-pop song by Lisa was extremely popular. Is it still? Harry Potter has endured for a quarter of a century: that’s doing well in a society where new hits always threaten to push out last week’s favourite. Perhaps Harry Potter will still be read next century. Perhaps. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, arguably the greatest novel in English, remains a favourite after 200 years: it will surely still be loved next century. I’m sure. In the West, no classic can beat the longevity of Homer’s Iliad, recently turned into the film Troy starring muscled up Brad Pitt and Eric Banna. But from the same culture that brought us the definitive epic war of Greece against Troy, there is a masterpiece of an altogether different nature. Exemplifying both compelling style to tell a story that teaches important historical lessons and rigorous argument to explore foundational moral questions still relevant today, everyone should read Plato's Euthyphro. 

Almost all the famous names of classical Greek antiquity come to us in bits and pieces, often only fragments of famous masterpieces. An exception is the philosopher Plato, whose entire body of work exists today as it was written 2,400 years ago. This must, at least in part, be thanks to Plato’s recognized power as a stylist. As soon as they were published, teachers such as his student Aristotle used Plato as an example of the best style for holding the reader’s interest, powerfully expressing the most complex concepts, and creating literary beauty. I never learned ancient Greek well enough to read Plato in the original with any ease, but when I studied it as an eager second-year student at Sydney University in the late 1970s, my own teachers used excerpts from Plato to demonstrate the grammar of his language. Fortunately for myself and others who can’t read his Greek, there are a range of excellent translations into English that convey some idea of Plato’s smooth, lucid style as a writer. His Euthyphro is a dialogue probably written around 390 BC, that begins with 70-year-old Socrates being greeted by smart young Euthyphro, after whom the dialogue is named, in front of the law courts, to their parting an hour or so later, by which time Euthyphro is eager to escape, having been made to look quite foolish by Socrates. 

I studied Greek because so much in philosophy, which has held my attention for more than 40 years, began in ancient Greece. But in reading Plato, we do not get only philosophy; he also tells us of life in his time, when the foundations of the modern Western world were being created. His account of the life and death of Socrates remains our most reliable guide to the life of his teacher. When I first read Euthyphro, the historical details, awful as they were, fascinated me. Who would have thought that the slimy politicians of democratic Athens would use the same tricks still in use 2,400 years later by equally slimy politicians in Australia, in Thailand, and in the United States among other nations that call themselves democracies and claim to value reason and justice over populist emotion or repressive law and order? 

It horrified to learn that Socrates was at the law court because he had been accused of corrupting the young people and not believing in the traditional religion and gods of Athens. It’s too much like politicians in my own country then and today, where conservative politicians and religious leaders ally against progress, often using the excuse of protecting children from corruption. To summarize the sad story of the killing by law of Socrates that Plato begins in Euthyphro, he is brought to trial in a following dialogue, found guilty by the jury and sentenced to death. In the next dialogue, Crito, Plato has Socrates explain why he must not use corrupt means, bribing the prison officer, to escape the unjust verdict of the court of law, but will accept the death voted for by the citizens of democratic Athens. In Phaedo, he drinks the poison decreed by law, and chats about philosophy with his friends as it takes effect, killing by rule of law, one of Athens’ most famous citizens, and concluding the story of the death of Socrates that begins in Euthyphro.  

However, setting the scene for the execution of Socrates is only background for Plato’s more serious purpose in Euthyphro, which is an investigation of what justice and the morally good are. To learn such things was why I had changed from a science degree to a humanities degree. I wanted to know about ethics with the same confidence we had for Pythagoras’s theorem for right angled triangles that a2+b2=c2. What could be more important than establishing morality on such solid foundations? Shouldn’t we all want that? Plato and Euthyphro fail to solve the problem of what moral right definitively is. We do learn, however, to reason logically, to look for flaws in thinking, to spot bad arguments, and to honestly admit when we can't prove an idea.  These all seem to me valuable lessons for everyone to learn. One of Euthyphro’s most famous points is where Socrates proves, using an almost mathematical argument, that ethics cannot be merely what some god or gods have dictated or love. Rebutting the fake claim by religion that it is a source of moral understanding seems to me enough to make Euthyphro required reading to correct the same false belief still common today, and still used for the same dishonest purposes of violating human rights. 

Were everyone to read Plato’s ancient dialogue between the aged philosopher and silly young Euthyphro, they would learn that politics and society are still arguing about the same issues today that were controversial then. They would encounter a powerful style of writing to honestly and logically explore important issues in society. They would gain a solid basis for moral development. And they would gain insights into the society that became the Western world, whose institutions tracing back to ancient Athens, where Socrates argued on the streets and in the local gymnasium, is fast becoming the global culture common to every developed nation. Those things, surely, are worth an hour or so of everyone’s reading time.

This is version 3. Version 1 was 1,478 words, which was seriously over the word limit. Version 2 was much better at 1,172 words, but still too long.

If you would like to see those earlier drafts for comparison, they are in the Google Doc I wrote in.

You can also see my planning, which is a pdf print of the OneNote page I worked in.

Mook: Let the cats hug you

 

Do you know “Blanket Cats”? It is originally a Japanese fiction book written by Kiyoshi Shigematsu. And it was first translated into the Thai edition “Let the cats hug you” in February 2021. This is a truly remarkable story that will touch your heart and comfort you and I would gladly recommend everyone to read this book.

The book is mainly about “Blanket Cats”, a store with seven trained cats of different breeds and characteristics. Those cats are all fond of their blankets. And that is the reason why the store is called “Blanket Cats”. This store is where you can rent a cat. However, there are rules when it comes to renting a cat. First, you can only keep the cat for three days and two nights, because if it is longer than that, the renter will feel attached and the cat will be worried if they are not coming back to the store. Second, you can’t buy a cat and if you want to rent the same cat, you have to wait for one month at least. Third, the cat can only eat and sleep in what the store gave them. And the most important rule is that the cat’s blanket needs to be laid the same way as when they were rented, and even if they are dirty, the renter must not wash them. The book tells the stories of seven different people with seven different backgrounds and their rented cats. Those seven rented cats play a very big part in changing their renter’s life. They are a mysterious protagonist, a weird supporting character, a funny scene-stealer, or even a unique extra. All the stories reflect human life and tell truths about us and they all share the same point about relationships between people, with lots of details in each story. Some of the stories are about a Russian Blue cat and the man who was forced to quit his work, a woman with her lifetime companion, the “black cat” and more. Each of the cats is special in their own way. Some of them might help you fix your problems, see the world in other ways and understand people’s feelings. And this is the reason why the story has left me something to think about after finishing the book. I reflected on myself and thought back on my relationships with some people and how to fix them.

On reading the description of the book, you might be a little bit skeptical of it at first. But just open your heart and try reading this book. It is a lot better than you expected it to be at the first glance. It will give you more warmth and joy than you can imagine. As soon as I started reading the book, I couldn’t put it down, because I was so excited to read another story after the last story. Like I did, you will feel that tingling feeling in your heart as you read the book. You might also cry when you finish that one chapter or one page in the book. Moreover, you will notice yourself smiling at the cuteness and the naughtiness of the cat in the stories. Sometimes you will feel that the book hit you at the right spot, when you have had the same experience like the characters in the stories have, after that, the stories will pat you on the back and comfort you. The book is so well written that it feels like you can understand what the people in the book were feeling. In addition, the book should appeal to those who are cat lovers, it will certainly be a perfect fit for you. And for those who are not, this will also be a great book for you to read. It will warm you up just like a nice coat with your favorite hot chocolate in cold winter, like all those movie scenes you’ve watched.

The main point of the book  is that “Whether your day is good or bad, contented or miserable, there will always be that warm blanket waiting for you at the end of the day”. And sometimes life just doesn't need that magnitude of happiness. Just a little is fine for you to move on. One point that I wanted to add for you, who are reading this, is that the author has defined those seven cats as a hope that will always be a light up for us and the translator also defines them as the spark of the idea. I have read this book before and for me, those cats are the little unexpected and unpredictable things that will guide me through my hard times. What about you? What will be the definition of your “Blanket Cats”?