Journal One: A Brief Intro

Today, June 21st, was the first meeting for E=Mc2 2017-18. We started out by first debriefing the program before moving on to discuss possible topics and delve into deeper thinking. We were presented with two questions regarding who the greatest president was and whether or not monopolies are beneficial for sustaining capitalism. These exercises led us to wonder myriad things, but the overlying theme was just this: question the question.

What exactly does this mean? Deconstruct the question and really think about what it means instead of just answering it. Read every word and ask yourself: “so what?” before formulating your response. In each debate and response, Ben asked us questions to test our answers’ infallibility. This led us to think about each question a little more deeply until we fully understood just what was being asked. This also showed us the importance of surface questions and why we need a truly infallible topic.

With that being said, my topic changed quite a bit throughout today’s session. I went into today thinking that I would end up with my topic being something in Marine Biology or Nutrition, and I walked out more intrigued by the idea of something involving music. This idea changed and evolved throughout summer into something close to my heart. As it stands, I believe that the basis of my assignments will revolve around a recurring theme in my life: happiness. What defines happiness? How do we differentiate between eternal and ephemeral happiness? Does the graduate-from-high-school-go-to-college-work-to-afford-needless-things assumed progression of life provide a sustainable life course for true happiness?