Diary - December 2023

December 1, 2023

Today I read about the chapter "Television" in Americana. It's about how television was developed. After the invention of film, CBS, NBC, and (the new radio company) ABC all bought films and put them on TV. Some of the early TV stars were

1.) I love Lucy:  Lucy Ball and Desi Arnaz (as Ricky and Lucy Ricardo) , along with their own company, Desilu productions, they made a show about the couple. Ricky owns a nightclub, and Lucy wants to be famous in any way. Most of the shows show Lucy getting into a jam and Ricky having to squirm Lucy out of there. After 2 seasons, a man called Phillip Morris (original sponsor of "I Love Lucy") agreed $8 million to have another 2 1/2 seasons. half of the money went to Desilu to produce the seasons, and the other half went to CBS to produce the show.

2.) General Electric Theater: RONALD REAGAN (the president when he was young) with General Electric. General Electric (GE) was looking for a new host for its weekly theatrical program. Reagan wanted to go. The idea was simple. GE paid CBS a chance to go perform on TV. The theatrical program was right behind the Ed Sullivan Show, which was a benefit. The people who watched the Ed Sullivan Show usually stayed on to watch whatever was next. In the 1956-57 season, GE theater actually became 3rd place for most liked TV, just behind I love Lucy and the Ed Sullivan show.

December 2, 2023

Today I read about the chapter ROADS in Americana. It's about how people took advantage of how the government place roads.

The chapter starts with a businessman who owns a gas station near a highway exit. he finds out that lots of people who come are sleepy, so he adds a motel. But after the motel burns down, he has to rebuild it. He later finds out that "he can sleep 1 person, feed 3 people" so he opens a restaurant. One day, he accidentally invented a new type of food: KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN. After he made it, he just kind of expected other restaurants to buy his recipe, and he makes a ton of money out of it. 

BRUH. I think that is just pure luck. He ACciDeNTallY invented KFC using a pressure cooker. He wouldn'ave made it if he used frying pan or pot or in a microwave. Most people wouldn't use a pressure cooker in case of risk, like me. If you ask me, I would stick to making french fries or hamburgers.

December 3, 2023

Today I read about the chapter START-UPS in Americana. It's about computing, mostly, and also about games. 

The book starts with Silicon Valley. A group called "Stone & Co." wanted to build semiconductors, but they didn't just wat normal ones. They wanted ones that every year, becomes smaller a little and has more memory usage. They eventually needed $750,000 to start building semiconductors. 

Fairchild Camera and Instrument company was doing well, and the lead shareholder, Sherman Fairchild, agreed to invest $1.38 million. He would get $1.67 million in profits if everything went well. And it did! Sherman decided to buy all of Fairchild Semiconductor. 

Some fun facts are

December 4, 2023

Today at soccer practice, I was early (as usual since a month ago) , and I was playing with my friends Aurik, Luke, and Peter, when I had this feeling. Today was the 9th time I was early. My soccer number was also 9. I had a feeling something good was about to happen. And it did! OH BOY.

So, in the activation, I did really well, my coach pointed me out, in the drill I did really well, me and (I forgot how to spell his name/IFHTSHN) were totally crushing Peter and Archer. Then, after switch, IFHTSHN was still on my team, but Archer was the magic man. We again CRUSHED Peter and Bella. 

In the scrimmage, you know what happened. I scored goals (the goals were to pass a through-ball to a teammate) , and specifically, 4-5 times. After water break, we could actually score. I think then I made an assist... And then at the end, I was MVP!!

December 5, 2023

Today I read about FINANCE in Americana. It's about how people bought stock and little companies and all of that other stuff. 

You know how people can change their personality ENTIRELY? Well, you can also do that with companies! BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY was before a textile company with really nice machines, but it was not going well. The profits every year went down a little. But, this guy called WARREN BUFFETT bought this company. Now, you might think "Hey! What's Warren Buffett doing? That company is so bad!" , but after Beffett buys it he immediately sells the textile machines to get money. Then, he turned Berkshire Hathaway upside-down and made it into a company to manage STOCK! He has stock from Apple and Samsung and Amazon and don't forget Microsoft!

Eventually Berkshire Hathaway buys stock from GEICO and See's candies, and I want to be the kind of person that buys stock (IN AN INSANELY SMART WAY) and gets a lot of money. Also, I want to do what Warren Buffett did.

December 6, 2023

Today I read the chapter SHOES in AMERICANA. It's about HOW NIKE SPONSORED DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND MADE SHOES ABOUT THEM.

There is this person called Daniel Day, he used high-fashion stuff from Gucci, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel products, added his own touch of fashion, and BOOM! Made a store called "Dapper Dan's". For awhile, he was even more popular that Gucci, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel! But, it was illegal to do that, and he eventually got caught by the police.

Then, the storyline shifts to famous sports stars. Michael Jordan, was first paid attention by when winning the NCAA championship match, a buzzer beater. Lots of his friends had contracts with shoe companies like Adidas and Nike. Jordan was a fan of Adidas, so Nike raised the money to $500,000 a year for 5 years. After that, Michael Jordan was asked to design a logo: His logo was a silhouette of him doing a slam dunk. Nike used that, and BAM BOOM KA-BLANGERS! Nike was so impressed that Nike offered 5% of revenues (like $100 a pair, he gets $5) , he made over $1,000,000! 

With lots of sports stars (mostly NBA) having contracts with shoe companies, the crime rate also went up because more people were rich now. 1 in 500 people every year would kill another black every year through ages 12-24. Michael's dad died in this way. He was going to a pit stop in his Lexus, and two people robbed and killed Mike's dad.

december 7, 2023

Today I read about RAILROADS (I ran out of chapters, so I have to do this one) in AMERICANA. It's about how railroads were invented, how trains were invented, and how the trains move and what their purpose was.

Trains were first invented with the STEAM ENGINE. To use the steam engine, you'd usually have to use coal. Someone thought of the idea of using trains to connect cities. Unfortunately, first thing that came to mind was Baltimore and Ohio. The group formed B&O. They wanted to connect Baltimore and Ohio by train tracks.

Now, here's a real example of a train being put to its use. In a year, people used a train to carry loads of goods uphill. Horses said it was too muddy, the wagon itself was really heavy, so they use a train, and boom. Problem solved!

December 8, 2023

Today I read about the chapter called "A New Science is Born" in the book called "A SHORT HISTORY OF HUMANITY". It's mostly about DNA and humans and Neanderthals and Denisovans and they're body parts like fingers.  

These people found out how to look at people's DNA to see how old they were, using some research done by a British scientist. After the main character in this book (probably Johannes Krause) found the finger on his desk, he went to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. From analysis, it shows that it came from a Denisovan girl. But, as they put in into a magazine, Other people found out that it was from a Neanderthal. 

December 9, 2023

You know how you come up with an idea and then see it not work after you make the move? Well, SWITCH BOOKS! Dad told me to read this book called "SOPHIE'S WORD". It's about how some people just refuse to get used to the world and they end up asking lots of questions like they were babies but they could talk and walk and stuff.

Also, in the book they talked about myths. People, before they had scientific proof or stuff like that, so they made up stuff like gods. There's this story that Thor loses his hammer and he has to dress up a a bride to get to Jotunheim where a giant took it. he eventually gets it, and people say every winter Thor is getting his Hammer back in Jotunheim. I don't believe in myths at all, myself.

December 10, 2023

Today I read about SOPHIE'S WORLD again. In the book, they mostly talked about different philosophers doing different stuff like telling others their hypothesis, thoughts, etc.

First off is a person called Thales, who is from Asia Minor/half of Turkey. His hypothesis was that everything can be made and dissolved into WATER. Secondly is a person called Anaximander. His hypothesis is that everything can't be made out of such a plain thing like water. Taking Third is Anaximenes. He thought the source of things were air of vapor. Like, WHAT??

December 11, 2023

Today I will continue from yesterday when I left off. At the place were I told you about Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes.

Now, three more people called

1.)Parmenides had a different hypothesis. His hypothesis was that nothing could develop out of nothing, and that everything has always been the way it was when he was there.

2.)Heraclitus had completely different hypothesis from Parmenides. His was that everything was constantly changing, and that something came from nothing, which isn't possible. 

Now, both of them were great, but a person called EMPEDOCLES (Phew, they have long names!!) arose from the darkness. He agreed that nothing could develop out nothing, but agreed that everything was constantly changing. EMPEDOCLES grew to become more famous than all of the other ones.

December 12, 2023

Today I read about SOPHIE'S WORLD again. It's about the last great philosopher called Democritus. His hypothesis was that everything was like LEGO: Able to be built into something realistic and strong and unbreakable but able to assemblable into anything. The answer was ATOMS. The things that build up everything. Like legos, after something like a tree or a mushroom died, it's atoms break apart and grow into something TOTALLY DIFFERENT like water (I know right) or something like a couch. Think about it. A dead mushroom's atoms might be the ones that your couch is made out of! (and now I am actually scared)

December 13, 2023

Today I read about the quote "Wisest is she who knows she does not know*". Apparently, most people see and think of things as they are. For example, people see cars as cars, RC cars as RC cars, and bananas as bananas. But, the WISEST people think things like:

How does that car move around? How do RC cars get operated by a remote several meters away? And, where and what has this banana been through? 

The wisest people also know that they don't know stuff, and they ask questions, like I said above. They aren't like some people who say stuff like "I'm super smart!" or "I know everything in the world!". Real people always know that, no matter how smart they are, there is always more and more stuff to learn about and ask questions.

*by the way, Socrates, the greatest philosopher of all time, quoted that.

December 14, 2023

Today I read about Socrates (I mentioned him yesterday) . He had this very unique talking strategy. I'll tell you about it.

HIS TALKING STRATEGY WAS ACTUALLY PRETENDING TO BE DUMBER THAN HE ACTUALLY WAS!!!! History says that he forces people into "corners" by asking questions and forcing you to answer them. He'll make a fool of you, and eventually, he would pay the price of his life because he wasn't careful about the way he talked.*

Well, the way he talked is a mystery to me. I don't know how he came up with the idea, nor how he used it, nor how he fooled people. But I know one thing. I know that Socrates knew that he didn't know anything**, and that he was troubled by that. That's how people become philosophers. 

*Over 300 people in his school accused Socrates of creating new gods and not believing the usual gods, so court in Athens decided that Socrates ether get out of Athens or drink hemlock puree. He chose to drink Hemlock puree, and died as a hero.

**As I said yesterday, WISEST IS SHE WHO KNOWS SHE DOES NOT KNOW. He knew that he knew nothing, but he was one of the rare people to notice it. That made him      W. I. S. E. S. T. 

December 15, 2023

Today I learned something that is very important in philosophy---That technically everything is the same. Why? I'll tell you.

First things first: Can a baker bake 50 identical gingerbread men? Well, After cooking them some will have crumbled arms, a little thicker, but after you see a few gingerbread men, you probably have a good idea about what the cookies are. Hopefully, you also visualize what the mold is like, too.

That brings us to our next question: Can all horses be the same? Technically not, because some are black, some are white, and some are brown, like gingerbread men, after you see a few horses, you can hopefully know what animal is it.

Last question: does man have an immortal soul? Well, dead bodies are ether unqualmated or buried. Maybe the soul has a life of its own, and that the body was just so that the soul could move around. In the book, Sophie's grandma is old, but feels like a young girl.

December 16, 2023

Today I have more questions. First off-

1.) What came first-the idea chicken or the chicken? Well, this is kind of like there is no egg without chicken, and no chicken without egg. I think chicken came first. You first see a chicken, then develop the idea of chickens. 

2.) Are we born with innate ideas? Probably not, but it is after people teach each other facts that they learn to recognize stuff like horses and chickens and gingerbread people. But, a baby could have ideas long before people taught them. We don't know, though, because babies can't talk.

3.) What is the difference between a plant and an animal? Well, plants of course, don't have feelings, and they can't move (like walk or jump), and they also don't really think. Animals, on the other hand, can do everything the plant can't do.

4.) Why does it rain? Well, water evaporates because of the sun, forms into clouds, and then the raindrops fall down. But, if you mean why it rains, like does it have a purpose, I don't know.

5.) What does it take to like a good life? A good life for me would be money, love, care, and food and shelter, but of course, if you have lots of money, you should be able to buy food and shelter. A good way to get money is to work jobs. But, if you worked jobs that you didn't like, for example, if you hated homework you shouldn't become a teacher, and if you hated traffic you shouldn't become a taxi driver. You should work a job that you like so you have fun while making money (or if your job isn't fun, it should at least be interesting. Some people don't actually care about money, they just need love, food, care, and shelter. 

To get love and care, you should branch out and make friends. The more friends you make, the higher chance you get more and care, and the higher chance you will become happy. Also, make sure you spend time with all of your friends so all of them are best friends, and the odds are that people will become happy and make you happy.

December 17, 2023

Today I read about Aristotle and his theory. Why does it rain? You could say that it rains because clouds add up lots of water (from the sun) and they fall down as rain. Aristotle would nod his head, but he would also add a last reason to this. He would add that everything has a purpose. These gloves were meant for me to wear, that bed was meant for Kyle to sleep on, all that stuff. It rains because plants need water to grow. 

We can also flip this over and say that plants grow because they need water, grapes grow so that people can eat them (not scientifically true, in my opinion) , and headphones are invented so that people can hear better without disturbing others. I kind of disagree, because about the grapes. My science teacher says that all foods were grew like apples and pears were grown so that animals ate them and when they pooped, they pooped out the seeds.

December 18, 2023

Today I read about Galileo's theory and amazing discovery. It includes gravity!

In the book, Alberto Knox (Sophie's secret philosophy teacher) shows Sophie Galileo's studies and experiments. First law: Law of Inertia. An example of this is if you dropped an apple off a train while it's moving, the apple will land at the place you dropped it off at. THE APPLE RETAINS EXACTLY THE SAME SPEED IT HAD BEFORE HE DROPPED IT.

An experiment that Alberto did was he took a wooden slope, put it on the table, put a marble on the edge of it, ask Sophie where the ball would go, Sophie would get it right, Alberto would paint the ball with ink, roll the ball on the wood, and it would make a curve he then asked Sophie why the ball went like that, Sophie said that the ball went like that because the wood was sloped and gravity pulled the ball down. Alberto then said that is what Galileo was trying to understand for almost his WHOLE LIFE!!

December 19, 2023

Today I read about a philosopher named Kant who had 2 very important but easy to understand theory. It was that the world isn't always the way you see it as, or you in other words you can't always trust your eyes. For example, you can live in Greenland and say "The world is Ice!" but, obviously that isn't true. 

The second one is about the golden rule: Always treat others like how you would want them to treat you, except that it's about if someone else was in your position, would they do that. Kant formed it as the "one ring to rule them all!"

December 20, 2023

Today I read about how nothing is actually true forever. This theory is formed by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel from Germany.

Okay. I know your thinking "What? Something has to be true forever!" , but no. I'll give an example. Now, we have cars and phones and various gadgets and no slavery, right? go back 175 years, in about 1850. That time, I'll tell ya, it was perfectly normal to have slaves (although 36 years later, there would be a civil war to end slavery) . Another example. Now, it is unlawful to keep your kid from education and just lock him up or something. Just 100 years ago, you could beat your kids senseless as that the kid is yours to keep, you can to anything to it. Last example. 150 years ago 1+1=2, right? Now it also equals 3! Even math changes sometimes!

December 21, 2023 - marx

Today I learned about Marx and his theory about communism and his book about it. Book first.

His book, Communist Manifesto is about Communists ruling the world. The end is about others having nothing to lose and them taking over the world with workingmen of all countries united. He thinks Communism is the way to go. 

His theory is that capitalism is very bad because it lacks rational control. An American has a lot of surplus,and uses that to upgrade his factory with machines, but loses people. Later, you don't have money to buy materials, so you start cutting wages. Then you go bankrupt.*

After Marx dies, his theory, Marxism, split into two theories. One is Leninism and it was influenced by Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Social Democracy was influenced by Western Europe.

*His theory was proved to be wrong in the 20th century.

December 31, 2023 - 

Yes, sorry, I get it. You're probably like "Wait, I just skipped 10 days of diary!" Well, from now on, I will be having diary once in what, 5 days or 7 days. I will still focus on writing what I read. I focus more on reading and less on diary now.

Today I read about Rationalism, a theory formed by a philosopher named Sigmund Freud. He thought that people make up excuses to what actually happens because they don't want to admit what really happened because they think it is embarrassing. I'll give an example. If you hypnotize someone, and said when you tap your fingers on the table the person you hypnotized will open the window. Later you ask him why he opened the window, he might say he was hot, but you know that isn't the thing. That is rationalism.