Movie Review: What I didn't like about Ben X

     From the very beginning until the end, Ben X wasn’t as impressive to me as it was praised by many of its audience. Watching it, I was never able to fully understand the message it tried to deliver but was distracted by its overly complicated structure and unclear description of the events. At the end, even worse, I was so confused about the story of the movie that I had to revisit Wikipedia to figure out what really happened. This certainly means that there’s something wrong with movie, unless the director intended to put such riddle inside-this movie simply lacks clarification. Hence, in this review, I would like to talk about what I didn’t like about the movie, Ben X.

    The first problem I would like to criticize is that the movie never lets its audience to understand Ben. What you know about Ben after watching the movie is that he has autism, sees visions, hears voices, plays game, and commits fake suicide. What else? You simply know his actions but cannot understand his emotional struggle which he must have felt while fighting against the world. The movie, though continuously trying to highlight Ben’s emotional insecurity and the desire to suicide, simply does not allow its viewers to take time to sympathize with him. Most of the time, the movie only shows what Ben does, not how he feels. That certainly isn’t what the audience would want; rather they would want to understand Ben and be like him at least during the movie. Because of this problem, Ben X couldn’t achieve its goal. 

     Also, the movie tries to deal with too many issues such as, autism, bullying, games, etc. only to fail to elaborate in any of them. Ben X tries to show how ill an autism patient can be, how he or she is socially discriminated by others, why he or she has to turn to online role-playing games to feel free and proud at least in a cyber space, and the like. If it succeeded in achieving all its aims, I think it should be awarded with all the grand prizes of major international film festivals; however, it didn’t-no couldn't. The movie certainly needed to concentrate on one of the issues if it really wanted its audience to at least feel something from it. 

Why should you care about the rings of Saturn?

         One day, I asked myself: Do I really exist?

I answered: “Of course, I eat, see, listen, and speak, doing things that only living - thus existing - creatures can do.”

But then, doubt set in: what if my perception is a demon’s evil attempt to deceive me?

After deliberation, I replied: even if there is a demon, its attempt ironically proves my existence, because it deceived me, the existent ME. By the way, why you ask these questions?

I answered: why not interested in myself?

This universal yet seemingly meaningless inquiry that came to great philosopher Rene Descartes transformed modern philosophy. From this inquiry sprouted fundamental philosophical basis of modern philosophy and psychology: the object of inquiry should be us human beings.  

Rings of Saturn are also a seemingly impractical and meaningless object to care about. What would change if they didn’t exist? However, just like Rene Descartes, Galileo Galilei, the greatest mind of his time cared to examine them, and from his curiosity came the most groundbreaking finding: Earth circles the Sun.

Why not care?  

Outliers Journal for ch.7: the question of why

Malcolm Gladwell did miss something in this chapter. What is it? Before explaining his fallacy, I should first describe how Malcolm Gladwell explained an interestingly high rate of plane crash Korean Air, the largest airline of Korea, had in 1990s despite its well-trained pilots and its so-called “classic” planes. The gist of his explanation is very simple yet very convincing: Koreans’ tendency to give into authority made it highly difficult for first or second pilots, who are in charge of flight information, to directly express to the captain their opinions about problems of the plane and such “mitigated” attitude let the captain ignore pivotal warnings and results in plane crash. As seen in many of the examples Gladwell comes up with, the less direct such messages were, the more likely the accidents were to happen. That is to say, if Koreans had a more “Americanness” in them-actually now Korean pilots are taught to be more self-assertive-the accidents could be prevented. However, throughout his explanations he seems to have forgotten to ask why. Why are Koreans or why did they become less self-assertive than Americans? And the answer to this inquiry must give the solution to the problem in question.

After suffering 36 years of colonial rule of Japanese empire and a devastating Korean civil war, Koreans simply lost their last power to improve their situations. Lands for agriculture were impoverished, manufacturing industries collapsed, government unorganized and powerless. Nobody, even the most optimistic person, could expect Korea becoming economically successful. Can you believe that Koreans admired Myanmar for its successful economy and that South Korean economy was even worse than North Korean? Of course you can’t; however that was the status quo: Korean economy just couldn’t get worse. Even governmental plan for economic development was stymied because of political instability. Under such circumstances came Park Jung Hee: a successful dictator who came into his power as a military leader, stabilized political turmoil, and launched a series of economic development plan that transformed Korea. His goal as a pious patriot was as straightforward as a laser light: Economic development of Korea. His 5-year economic development plans were implemented so strictly and were miraculously successful. He did make something out of nothing by leading Korean people to do whatever work they could do and should do. Koreans worked in even the most hazardous environment such as desert of Middle East. Plus, he nurtured Korean industry with every government support, for instance tariff barrier or government aid, and established basic infrastructure for the cheapest price. Dissidents were suppressed and even tiny interference was not tolerated. People worked as their bosses ordered, bosses ordered as government ordered, government ordered as the president planned. This process, philosophically backed up by Korean legacy of Confucianism, an ideology which requires people to pursue the value of loyalty and respect, required strict hierarchy and unquestioning obedience to achieve the necessary efficiency.

This legacy must be present at Korean Air, too. They must have thought that, if other pilots work as the captain orders, then there should be no problem. But the reality wasn’t as what they expected. Rather it was an accident rate 17 times larger than that of United Airline! It was a national catastrophe. People were dying out of plane crash so often that Korean Air was losing its credentials in worldwide aviation industry. But Korean Air, when it initially met with such difficulty, no major change was made. Here rises another question on why didn’t they try to solve the problem even though they knew that something was wrong. My answer to this question is that Koreans didn’t want to and therefore simply couldn’t deny their own belief in their reason of success.

The the baby-boom generation of Korea, so-called 486 generation, which means that they were at the age of 40s, went to college at 80s, and were born in 60s, was taught in school to follow order and authority of seniors, teachers, and parents, or to be true, of any one who is superior to them. The basic concept of hierarchy started there. They were also trained in their workplace to follow order, official procedure, authority of seniors, and rules of the business. The magic there was that all they did and all they achieved were at first so successful that there was no place for doubt or question. The concept of hierarchy and its successfulness became virtually indelible. So the 90s, when this generation was socially active and led Korean society, the system of hierarchy was everything this society knew about success. Koreans were ignorant, or maybe they desired to be ignorant, about how doubts, questions, opposing ideas can make a good system better. Therefore, when crisis was emerging and its signs even had been sighted before, nobody could attribute the crisis to the system itself. If they did so, it was to castigate their own glorious history in which Korean economy outwitted that of North Korea or Myanmar.   

With this answer, I would now give a very important advice to Malcolm Gladwell, which he might need when he wants to improve his book, Outliers. If he really wishes to add the solution part-how to improve situation and solve the problem-I recommend him to say that as far as the Korean culture of high-power distance is concerned, the very simple solution is to teach them how to doubt, how to question, how to make opposing arguments, and, last but not least, how to respond to them ‘properly.’ Once given the idea that having doubts, questions, and opposing ideas can help solve such problems, Koreans will transform, not matter how difficult it is to do so, and prove to the world that they are not going to turn back into their previous state of poverty and hopelessness.

Reason why I applied to Harvard

     It was a shocking and disastrous reality. The very moment of truth came to me like a nightmare, unwanted yet inevitable. Inside my hands was the transcript for my mid terms and I had to doubt my eyes that they saw a score of 86 in Chemistry. It was a capital punishment to have to confront such low a score. never in my life had I ever received a score less than 96 - and yet there was me, looking at a score 10 lower than my previous lowest. I felt dizzy and ill. Feeling faint, I staggered and clutched the railing to keep myself from collapsing. Soon after a stronger wave of vertigo hit me, a vertigo of embarrassment, shame and a multitude of feelings so complex to be explained in words, and I fell on my knees. In that kneeling position, I swore to myself and to God to strive harder than I had ever done. That day, a legend was born.
     From that moment, I've decided that. I had to study chemistry much harder than ever. To make up the score I've got in the midterm, I decided to memorize all the namings of ionic compound and the formulas of acid-base reaction. I was confident that I could get much higher score in the final exam. I took the exam. but you know what? The final score was 56. I got C.
     I decided to abndon any hope or expectation about my socres; I was already far superior to others with my efforts. Then I wanted to find what I wanted to do. Piano, or any other musical instruments that lived 19 years beside me could not interest me anymore. In the middle of serious boredom, I saw her. Naan, utter beauty. I knew she had to be mine. I disguised my personality and acted as if I was the most naive innocent boy in the world. And who wouldn't fall for my charms. She beame the first member of FC Sunwwo. But one girl wasn't enough for me. To make a soccer, teahm, I was still running ten short. So that is how my journey began, to search for the other ten members.
     I see Celine Jeonghyun Moon there. She's short, I know, but because she's pretty, she's the right person so I started to initiate my own fantastic, so seductive business of habing text messages with her. my patience and ability are often maximized whenever I start to have text messages with girls. Celine didn't really respond to me quickly and thoroughly, but I know that this is just the sign of more affection from her. 
     I began to build confidence in recruiting members. Yes, THIS IS MY JOB. The next girl on my list was Chaerim. She was unlike anybody else - one of the most unique girls I have ever encountered. From the tone of her voice, I knew she was different. when I approached to ask her to join the FC Sunwoo, she first rejected. I was shocked. 
     Oh shat. There was rival. I wasn't thinking about that. His name was Doo nuyong, He even sang Chareim's beautiful song in the worst voice that I had ever heard. REEEEEEEL~~~. I envy him so much. It was the first time I had ever envied someone that much. I had to come up with a solution to overwhelm him. What would it be? I thought for days and nights. Then I ended up deciding that if I become a Harvard guy - Harvard Hottie, I mean- I would be superior than anybody else. That was my story, and I really wish to be a Harvard alumni and beat Doo. 
 

After Reading from Outliers

     Why do juniors bow to their seniors in KMLA? Why has the culture of bowing to seniors been accepted without any question? The answer for the questions is "Cultural legacies." By the long-lasting tradition of KMLA, which gave moral obligation to the juniors that they have to bow to their seniors, KMLA students maintained such policy without apparent problem. Though some students argued that the application of the tradition, when it took most radical form of making it obligatory for students to bend 90 degrees and shout out loud "안녕하세요" to seniors, is beyond cultural standard, virtually all the students agreed that the tradition of bowing is important and worthy enough to preserve. Moreover, many visitors to the schools find such tradition quite interesting and desirable, for it gives the image that KMLA students are polite and respectful to the people they see. The tradition of bowing has defined KMLA and will define it in the future as well. 
     In this Chapter, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, shows how strong the cultural legacies are. The example of a town called Harlan, located in Kentucky, points out that tradition has tacitly shaped the moral standard and mentality of a particular group of people who lived in the same cultural region. Residents of Harlan, in the early period of U.S, mostly came from Scot-Irish region, where its culture put strong emphasis on honor of individual. People were forced to fight for their honor; when someone felt his reputation insulted by another, he challenged the assaulter and fought for the restoration of his honor by means of chivalry, most notably gun fight. This tradition, after moving into U.S., made many of immigrants society to promote the spirit of chivalry and let opposing families inside a single town to brutally kill the other side for insignificant incidents. Yet the violence was overtly performed, many of the survivors, or killers, were acquitted, for the jury thought that they employed the most appropriate, if not best, method to protect their honor. Such rulings, which are illogical in today's point of view, were accepted by the majority of the society. The tradition, or "Cultural legacies," made it all possible. 
     We all know that humans are social beings; humans cannot exist outside of society, apart from any social interaction. Forming an identity as a social being inside a community is crucial to one's maturity. It establishes moral standards, basic communication skills, and cooperative ability inside an individual, which are indispensable. As KMLA students learn how to cope with teachers, seniors, friends, and juniors by living inside the community and interacting with others, you do virtually the same thing inside a broader and more complex society. That's why you and your cultural identity are inseparable, and due to such inseparability, preserving desirable cultural legacies and eliminating or amending problematic ones are crucial to human progress. 

A college essay that I like

     Written by Deanna E. Barkett

     When I was younger, I used to silently pray that I was nothing but like my father. He was so serious. His brow was always knit. My grandmother could not remember a time when my father had done anything wrong. He was too perfect. I felt timid and self-conscious around him.
     My father was always offering advice by which he swore. Although they may have been ancient proverbs or old adages, they were always "Daddy originals" to me.
     "When you're prepared, you'll never be scared," he would tell me when I was up late studying for an evil chemistry test.
     "Haste makes waste," was his rejoinder when I would bring home a math exam littered with careless mistakes.
     "When you lose an hour in the morning, you search for it the rest of the day," is the Chinese proverb I learned on more than one Saturday morning of a weekend filled with homework.
     "Live by foresight, learn from hindsight," he would say when I was younger and only old enough to relate "fore" and "hind" to the legs of a horse These saying interminably buzzed in my ear at times when, as I got older, I wanted to scream: "I know, Dad! You've only been telling me these things since I was two years old!"
     I never elevated my father to sage status. I always recognized that he wanted me to do my best, but his advice lacked a loving tone. Indeed, at times his became a voice of nagging monotony.
     As I have grown older, however, I have realized that Dad-in his own way-has these many years been trying to guide me. The denouement of my fathers' motivational speeches occurred this summer. I was away at summer school for two months in Massachusetts. It was the longest separation I have had from my parents.
     Communication with my family consisted of more e-mails messages than telephone conversations. My father corresponded with me more than anyone else. He always returned my e-mails promptly and tried in hi sown silly way ("love ya!" which is not at all like my father) to make me laugh. So much so, I was reminded of another of his sayings, "When you lose your sense of humor, you lose your mind."
     Near the end of summer school, Mom told me that Dad had printed all of my e-mails and was planning to take them to the family reunion. "You have pleased him so much, Dee. He is so proud of you and loves you so much," she told me. I had an epiphany: In my messages, Dad was reading about preparation and patience, time management and foresight. I made him laugh a lot too. Then I remembered another of his sayings, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." And I cried.

     The reason that I chose this essay is because I like the narrative style of this essay. Using short paragraphs, the author made this essay easily readable, which will definitely help the admission officer who must be overwhelmed by thousands of other essays to read. Also, the author successfully combined enough amount of humor into the essay to make it fun and still kept enough tension to make the reader focused. With all these things  combined and with, not unique, but still effective and moving story, this essays makes you feel like meeting the writer.

Impression on the 3rd chapter of Outliers

     To the question about my intellect, I will answer that I am not smart enough to change the world but smart enough to do what I want to do, and I am content about it. 
     Christopher Langan, the major figure discussed in this chapter, is a person with extremely high IQ. His IQ is far beyond the level of simply smart. He is 'the' genius. His intellectual ability is amazing in normal view. He can learn difficult concepts without spending much time and solve extremely difficult logic questions, which normal people can't even try to solve, by just a few seconds of thinking. You must doubt your memory that you just never heard his name before in any kind of academic journals, because you unconsciously have in your mind that geniuses are able to succeed in scholastic achievement. Truth is that, unlike your belief, Langan didn't succeed in any field of natural or social science, engineering, or humanities. Wasn't he smart enough? Yes, he is smart. The problem was that what mattered to his success was not his intelligence. 
     Do you know Yu Geun Song? He is a 16 years old prodigy who has a great talent in physics and engineering. He is a famous figure in Korea because from his early age he was shown in TV as Korea's new genius who might change Korean future and, if possible, the future of the world. Skipping general Korean curriculum, he was admitted to an university and is pursuing his career. Many Korean Parents envy his intelligence and want their children to have it because they believed that such great intellect can actually guarantee their children's success.  
     To those who envy the genius, I want to give a question that is worthy of thinking. "Who, do you think, is the most successful person in the world?" There might be many answer choices to this question, but only few would answer that some of the geniuses like those mentioned above. The answers might be Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Oprah Winfrey, not Christopher Langan. Why does this happen? Why can't extremely high intellect guarantee success? Because IQ is not what decides one's success. Say you run in U.S president election. Which ability would you like to have: high IQ or nice oration skill? The answer seems so evident; you will choose a nice oration skill. But why? Because you know that high IQ will not be of help to you in election. This grand simple example tells us a valuable lesson: IQ is just a number. If you are not to figure out the complicated truth of nature, you don't need 150+ IQ. 
      So, then, what do you need instead of high IQ. I would say it's confidence. If you feel confident about yourself and have enough power to pursue your own personal goal and preference, you can actually succeed in whatever field you work in, because not your IQ, but your other talent will lead you to the top position in that field. Be satisfied with your IQ, then your life will be much happier than that of  geniuses.