The Shoulders of Others...

Its true that all that we do is possible because of other people. Our math is based off of ancient mathematicians and who ever came up with the arabic numbering system. Our medicine is based off of the properties in herbs and has grown gradually from those early herbals. Our science is based off of people that decided to look and think in ways no one ever though of before such as a guy in a monastery growing pea plants or some crazy guy writing proofs about the movements of stars seen through glass.

I guess this makes me wonder if any of my contributions will help others and if my name will be mentioned in some dusty tome somewhere. Thinking of helping new generations discover new things that I can't even imagine just makes me want to work harder to help them and not letting anyone, both in the past and the future, down!

Strike!

I had heard Monday morning on the radio that the Chicago teachers union was striking. I guess I wasn't that suprised because it had been simmering for awhile. What did suprise me was the e-mail I got at 6:30 ish in the morning from a friend of mine who happens to be a high school student. He lives in Chicago and informed me that his school had been called off. He later then e-mailed me that while checking out the strike: he got roped in and ended up holding a sign getting his picture taken by one of his teacher. I found this pretty funny and repeated it to my art 3D class. Then one of my classmates responded that they thought that striking is wrong and that the teachers that are doing it are selfish and denying their students an education. That sorta got me wondering what other people though of strikes. My point of view is that though strikes do deprive others of the sevices provided by the striking party, they are nessessary as an action of last resort. They are however nessessary because sometimes it is the only way to get the company or organization to take the striking party seriously and listen to their demands. As for the teachers, well its common knowlage that teaching isn't the best paying job in the world and even me, as hermit like as you can get in the suburbs, I have seen this comming a mile off. Obviously one side or the other wasn't listening and the strike was the teachers only recourse to put pressures on the negotiations and hurry up the procces as well as get taken more seriously.