Enjoying exams…

When I told someone how I felt about a recent exam (I enjoyed it), they said I was ‘sick’. Am I really that odd? Because I enjoy my courses a lot, I’ve been relishing the chance to put my knowledge into practice and finally sit the exams. Perhaps it’s just the novelty of first year? Maybe I’ll have a tough exam next Tuesday, and eat my words.

Fail to plan, plan to fail

I’m a bit of a fan of the above maxim. I feel much better about getting on with things when I have a clear and reliable system for planning what I’ll be up to. However, this desire to plan, coupled with my general propensity for bits of stationery, has meant I’ve chopped and changed systems quite a few times.

For some time, I lugged around a fairly unwieldy A5 size filofax. I liked the way I could file papers of any size easily, but found to just too big! I also dabbled with electronic PDAs but never really got on with them.

Now working happily with a Personal size filofax- let’s hope it stays the course! Rachel is a bit sceptical and is convinced I might change again soon…

I’m hopeful that I can resist the urge to fiddle and just get on with it.

(For those of you who have been/are fettling with your planner, there’s a world of sites and blogs out there!)

To code or not to code…

In a while I’ll be setting up a site to showcase my graphic design work. I like the idea of coding the HTML myself (I’m no whizzkid but could manage it) but this might be a rather time – intensive way of doing it. In fact, hand – coding might be the ultimate in ‘avoiding the real work’, if you know what I mean…

In the library

A slightly retrospective post, this. I revised for my first exam in the British Library. In theory, as an undergrad with access to the Birkbeck library, I shouldn’t really be in the British Library. However, they seem flexible on this, and the BL is much better than Birkbeck. For example, they have every book published in the UK, which beats competing with all my classmates for a few key texts. The books are closed access, though, so you have to order them in advance.

The BL also has an incredibly studious atmosphere- no pens or bags in the reading room, spacious and comfortable desks, each with their own little lamp. When I go there, I shift easily into ‘study mode’. I find it much harder to do that at Birkbeck– my distractible nature means I’m always breaking my concentration.

Essay plan 2 / Mill

Does Mill’s liberty principle provide a satisfactory criterion by which to judge whether interference in another person’s actions is justifiable?

Introduction

Be clear- I agree!

Mill’s principle is not absolute

The appeal to liberty as default condition is strongly intuitive

The ‘harm’ qualification is useful and clear

But!

Problems posed by utilitarianism (not compatible with ‘rights’)
How to (and who) discerns ‘good’

Examples of where utilitarianism is useful (and where it isn’t)

Conclusion

Essay plan 1 / Rousseau

Why according to Rousseau are dissentient individuals obliged to obey the general will under the conditions of the Social Contract?

Introduction

What is the general will?

Background- what is Rousseau trying to do?

How is it discerned (problems with this process?)

What is the social contract?

Contrast with other kinds of ‘contract’

NB not the same as ‘accepting’ benign authority

Why R. states that all must obey general will

Examples (murder)

Consequences of not obeying

Problems this leads to

Conclusion

Keep your phone

A couple of years ago, I ‘downgraded’ to the most basic mobile phone I could get my hands on. I specifically wanted something that wouldn’t need to be ‘upgraded’ in a few months’ time. It was cheap, too.

Why do I resist the relentless upgrades? Partly a desire for simplicity, but also a worry about the consequences of the relentless demand for new mobile phones. Each mobile contains Coltan, a metallic ore used to produce the elements niobium and tantalum. The Democratic Republic of Congo contains 80% of the world’s Coltan reserves. A ticket to prosperity, you might think. Sadly, it seems that Coltan is fuelling conflict in the DRC.

John Le Carré’s recent book, The Mission Song looks at the issue of Coltan in the DRC. I’m a fan of Le Carré- I might give it a read!

[This post also came out from a chat with Sergio- sorry, Sergio, for not getting the name of the mineral right!]

Sergio’s sutainability maxim

These days, we tend to feel guilty or bad about more and more things, because they have a destructive impact on the world we share with others. Sometimes this can lead to an all-consuming anxiety, feeling like just existing as a normal person in an industrial society is a sin in itself.

How to transform this general anxiety into something more useful?

A good friend of mine, Sergio, gave me something of an answer to this last night. He said:

“When you’re thinking of doing something, and wondering whether that thing is sustainable, imagine what would happen if everyone did the same as you.”

I find this such a useful thought, because it highlights how small choices have big impacts when you look at the bigger picture.