Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
wet coats rustling together, Dr. percent during the last five years.
there is at least one student whose
Brock and Fernette Eide stood on Student aid has increased by
IQ is over 120. Many people as-
the stage smiling and waiting. about 3.7 percent, significantly
sume they know what they're like:
Once the audience settles down, behind to the extreme rise in tui-
face stuck in a book, constantly
Dr. Brock Eide took the mike and tion prices. Gaston Caperton, the
on the calculator, and all alone in
while grinning said, "Sorry about president of the College Board,
the corner of the library.
the rain folks; it's all our fault you said, “Neither student aid funds
But what is behind that
see. We're from Seattle, and the nor family incomes are keeping
moppy hair and thick-lensed
rain seemed to follow us here to In a typical public 4-year college, it pace with college prices . . . This
glasses? Who is the real person
New York." The audience takes students an average of 6.2 years is a serious problem that must be
hidden underneath the genius, to graduate and earn their degree.
laughed good-naturedly and Eide addressed.”
impatience, and loneliness?
waited for everyone to stop. Indeed, tuition prices have
These questions and many similar Every year, the College
With this uplifting introduc- increased for all types of colleges.
ones were brought to attention in Board releases a compilation of
tion, Eide gradually began his Last year, the average tuition for
Dr. Brock and Fernette Eide's data that shows the average tui-
transition to his lecture on how a public four-year college was
presentation, "Brains on Fire." tions and fees of different types of
brains think and learn. The Eides about $5,500. The average tuition
"Brain on Fire" focused on colleges. The latest College Board
structured their research as a this year is $5,836. This increase
the term "genius" and its applica- report, released on October 24,
three-part presentation. The first of over $300 comes out a 6.3 per-
tions to school and life. Due to does not show much change from
consisted of a historical overview cent increase, without adjusting
Stuyvesant's large amount of those of previous years. Although
gifted students, many parents Continued on Page 8 tuitions have been increasing, the Continued on Page 4
Page 2 Thursday, November 16, 2006 NEWS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Corbis
HANFORD CHIU BUSINESS EDITOR
LADA KUKUY LITERARY EDITOR
JESSE ZHANG WEBMASTER
BENNETT HONG DIRECTOR OF PHOTOJOURNALISM
DANIEL EGERS (‘03) FOUNDER
ERNEST BASKIN (‘04) EDITOR EMERITUS
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Copyright ©2006 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was “firmly opposed” to any
outlawing to gay marriage.
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THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
All About Diwali
345 Chambers Street BY NEETA MALVIYA has to coincide with the new
New York, NY 10282-1000 STAFF WRITER moon, which is referred to as
readers@stuystandard.org Amavasya in Hindi. This day
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Please cut and mail to THE STUYVESANT STANDARD, 345 Chambers is celebrated either in October or
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Continued on Page 7
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD Thursday, November 16, 2006 NEWS Page 3
Please note: Only candidates with at least 1 percent of a vote are shown. Districts are those for the House of Representatives. Districts 1 through 16 are in New York City.
Districts 17 through 29 were up for election.
“Brains on Fire”
A Pre-Presentation Interview with the Eides
BY JENNIFER SCHLESINGER from my Dad, but my mother was nice, and independent and crea- school. Part of the dilemma is that
EDITOR IN CHIEF also a science teacher, so I had an tive thinkers. once adults get out into the work-
earlier exposure to education and force, the different worlds of dif-
newhorizons.org
brain biology than most. In kin- TS: How do you think neurologi- ferent careers often don’t come in
dergarten, I took a plastic brain cally-based approaches should be contact with each other. That ap-
into class for show-and-tell. carried out in schools? plies to teachers, doctors, law-
yers, almost everybody. The
Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide E: We’d like to see more schools downside of this for students is
(E): We became interested in and the students themselves, bet- that many have a restricted view
gifted education because we en- ter informed about individual dif- of what their future may hold.
joyed working with these students ferences in learning, and ways to We’ve heard adults say later, they
and their families, and we found build on individual students’ had wish they had heard about a
Brock and Fernette Eide, the authors that many of their learning needs strengths. There's a lot of testing particular career or occupation
of “The Mislabeled Child.” could be misinterpreted or over- going in school these days, but earlier — that it might have set
Before their presentation on looked. We also both enjoy read- how often do the results provide them on a different path when
Wednesday, November 8, I had ing biographies and history, and practical strategies for learn- they were younger.
the chance to interview Drs. had an interest in early influences ing better, or understanding a per-
Brock and Fernette Eide. Here is in peoples’ lives that helped shape son's individual strengths? TS: What do you believe the role
a transcript of my interview: the course of their lives. of the parent is in education?
TS: Do you think education
The Standard (TS): What in- TS: How do you feel about mak- should be more personalized? E: Parents often have a profound
spired you to study gifted educa- ing a presentation at Stuyvesant? effect on their children's educa-
tion and neurology? E: We would love to see a more tion — whether it's through ex-
FE: It’s an honor to speak and personalized approach to educa- pectations, attitudes, or exposure
visit Stuyvesant. When I was an tion and a great exposure of stu- to ideas or resources. It's not by
Dr. Fernette Eide (FE): I be-
came interested in neurology first undergrad at Harvard, Stuy kids dents to the diversity of thinkers accident that many parents of
were very well known — smart, and doers in the world beyond
Continued on Page 8
Page 4 Thursday, November 16, 2006 NEWS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
CLUB SPOTLIGHT
Meet Ms. Garber!
BY SANGHEE CHUNG originality of the students’ work
zil, Ireland, Denmark and Scandi-
The Rowing
COLUMNIST in theater, music and art. “The
navia. She also spends much of
Barbara Garber, a native of
Queens, spends her entire day
work of the students in every sub-
ject and every aspect is excel-
her time at the theater and ballet.
“It takes one out of the real
Club
focused on health. She first began lent,” she said. However, she
world,” she said. “You’re in a BY MAY YEE CHOI
her 15-year career teaching health found the students’ preoccupation SENIOR COLUMNIST
completely different lifestyle.”
at Kennedy High School and is with grades to be very aggravat-
Acting has also been a childhood After a typical day of classes
now at Stuyvesant for her fifth ing. They’re so focused on their
ambition of Garber’s, but she de- at Stuyvesant High School, many
year. Before teaching, she did grades and not their qualities,”
cided on public health when she students head for Battery Park to
social work in the public health she said. “I want students to feel
realized that she wanted to help relax, hang out with friends, or
field. “I’m very committed to the proud of their accomplishments
other people. In addition, she play some sports, whether soccer,
idea of having a healthy popula- and not the numbers they re-
likes to listen to live music at ultimate or basketball. Now, the
tion and promoting it to teens,” ceive.”
clubs and collect stamps, and is Stuyvesant Rowing Club is add-
she said. Garber hopes that, One of her students, junior
fascinated by technology. This ing another possibility to after-
through her teachings, students Jane Yang, commented, “She is
pursuit of various activities al- school activities. Founded by sen-
will understand that good health very nice and encouraging, and
lows her to involve her classes in ior Ye Liu this year, the Stuyve-
is a passport to good life. she tries to involve everyone in
many different ways. “She is sant Rowing Club, along with the
Garber decided to come to discussions.”
very open to discussing any- nonprofit organization Floating
Stuyvesant because of the variety Outside of school, Garber
thing,” said junior Paula Bu. the Apple, meets every Wednes-
of classes offered and the quality involves herself in a wide range
“You feel very comfortable in her day at Pier 40 to teach its mem-
of its teachers and students. “I of hobbies and passions. Her two
classroom. She makes teaching bers rowing, boat-building, and
was always very impressed by the biggest hobbies are travel and
fun by using many different re- the history of New York water-
school,” she said. She was espe- theater. She has ventured to a
sources.” ◙ ways.
cially fond of the creativity and variety of places, including Bra-
Members row 25-foot-long
rowboats called Whitehall Gigs
Halloween Was Quite a Disappointment between Pier 40 and the Holland
Tunnel vent. Each Whitehall Gig
can hold seven people, including
BY ANNA GINZBURG Overall, Halloween at Stuy- year people need to go crazy and an adult coxswain, or leader, who
SENIOR STAFF WRITER vesant this year was like any think of new and original cos- gives the commands. Concerning
Witches, French maids, and other year. Students dressed up, tumes instead of the same old safety, a precautionary prep talk
bumblebees were seen all around. teachers dressed up and every- witch or princess. ◙ is always given to new members,
This was not a fantasy movie, but body had a ball. However next the coxswain keeps a marine ra-
rather Halloween at Stuyvesant. dio, a cruise report is filled out
Facebook (Frank Chen)
Stuyvesant has always shown its before launching, and life jackets
creativity in Halloween costumes, are worn at all times.
but this year was a bit of a disap-
pointment.
Senior Noah Lincoff re- “The perspective on
marked, “Halloween this year was the water is so unique.
amazing; there was too much It feels different from
cross-dressing though.” Senior
Zhu Hu disagreed with that being in the city and
evaluation of Halloween this year. under the pressure;
“It was a pity that not a lot of it’s an escape.”
people dressed up and out of
those who did, 15 girls had the As Liu says, “We row, and
same bumblebee costume and 30 we want to encourage more peo-
people were samurai.” He added ple to row. We’re so close to the
it would have been better “if there pier, but rowing is so relatively
was more festivity and diversity.” unknown at Stuy.” Liu describes
One reason for the lack of rowing as a wonderful opportu-
costumes was the stress many nity to learn “teamwork, history,
seniors experienced. The early (above) Zhu Hu as a Pacman ghost for Halloween. (below) Teitel greeting students and tides and currents.” Person-
decision deadline was the follow- as they entered school on Halloween. ally, she feels that “the perspec-
ing day, so many decided to stay tive on the water is so unique. It
TSS (Bennett Hong)
Corbis
Continued from Page 2
Role in the Workplace going all out, fighting fiercely for
both free marriage and marriage
BY SANGHEE CHUNG ble, time-efficient and a great way benefits. Those rights include
COLUMNIST to enrich one’s skills. It gives health benefits, adoption rights,
employees the chance to improve child custody, certain property
In today’s workplace envi- upon themselves, which helps the rights, and the rest of the 1049
ronment, small businesses are
business as a whole. These educa- benefits that heterosexual couples
struggling to keep employees tional incentives give a sense of receive. Advocates believe that it
from leaving to larger business security to employees and prolong is the couple’s choice to be with
rivals. their stay at jobs. Other small the same sex, admitting that they
According to a study con-
businesses, however, fear that are “queer,” but they also agree
ducted by the University of Phoe- employees will leave once they that government interference is
nix, over 58 percent of workers are trained and educated to find unnecessary and wrong. Isolating
left their employers because of higher-paying jobs. Many of these them because of their preferences
better pay elsewhere. The more
companies have chosen to use a by not giving them marriage
talented and educated employees minimum stay period system to benefits, and then preventing
usually have more options for prevent the risk of losing workers. them from marrying, violates the
workplaces, and often choose the
“Small businesses need to natural need of humans to have a President George Bush once stated
bigger companies who pay more.
carefully plan performance meas- place in society. that, “Marriage is a sacred institution
As a result, small businesses often ures and the metrics within those It might seem that the situa- between a man and a woman. Today's
end up losing many employees measures to reinforce the out- decision ... violates this important prin-
tion is looking grim, politically
because they cannot afford to pay ciple.” He went on to saying, “I will
comes they’re looking for," said speaking, but an advocate in New
higher salaries. However, small work with congressional leaders and
Bandy. “Rewarding the wrong York stepped up in defense of
businesses can compensate for performers could do more harm to
others to do what is legally necessary
same-sex marriage. Mayor Mi-
this by using educational incen- morale than good if you don't
to defend the sanctity of marriage."
chael Bloomberg said he was
tives. do not believe that government
ensure the right motivators. The “firmly opposed” to any outlaw-
ing of gay marriage. should be in the business of tell-
“The U.S. Constitution ing people who they can and can't
Education helps employees stay abreast of the should be something that unites, marry,” Bloomberg said on 1010
new trends and keeps them on the cutting edge rather than divides Americans. I WINS. ◙
of their professional industries.
“A lot of small businesses
Mysterious Rock
right motivators, however, lead to
still see training as an expense,
not an investment,” said Chad
employee longevity and dedica-
tion and, ultimately, increased
Appears on Vanderbilt Avenue
Bandy from University of Phoe- profits.”
nix. “They focus more on their
Continued from Page 4 rock. The rock also appeared to
Online enrollment has in- place between the residents of be magnetic in certain spots. “It’s
customer base and financial suc- creased from 1.98 million in 2003
cess and simply ignore the simple Vanderbilt Avenue and the rock. full of sparkles of rich grays and
to 2.35 million in 2004, which People write on its dusty surface bright whites and dark blacks,”
fact that their employees primar- makes up 7 percent of postsec-
ily drive both those factors. Edu- with their fingers and on Hallow- remarked Raskin upon seeing the
ondary education, according to a een, residents went as far as to inside of the rock. These specks
cation helps employees stay study by Eduventures, a Boston
abreast of the new trends and costume the rock after a character are minerals such as quartz and
firm. The study predicts that one from the children’s television mica.
keeps them on the cutting edge of out of 10 college students will be
their professional industries.” show, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Apparently the 400-million-
enrolled in an online degree pro- Turtles.” year-old rock had worked its way
The demand for online learn- gram by 2008.
ing has skyrocketed since these “Maybe it wouldn’t be a big underground among the sewer
Due to this popular trend, deal if I lived in Colorado and lines of Vanderbilt Avenue,
companies started offering these colleges and universities are be-
educational enrichments. This there were mountains,” said where it was removed by an exca-
ginning to develop online curricu- Susan Raskin, a child social vator named John.
new method of learning is flexi-
Continued on Page 8 worker, who came home to find John, a little less enthralled
her dog barking at the rock. “But by the rock than local residents,
Robert Collin
I live here. This is a big thing.” stated, “It was just in my way.
Many people enjoy the rock Next week we’ll take it to the
for the same reason Raskin does. dump.” However, the actual fu-
It reminds them that there is an ture of this rock appears a little
earth beneath us as it bluntly more promising. The Department
breaks up the city scenery. of Environmental Protection de-
“It’s really kind of a visceral cided to hand it over to the Parks
thing, you feel the rocks, you feel Department where it will continue
the earth,” said Christopher P. to enjoy its celebrity status as a
Moore, a member of the City part of the pleasing landscape
Landmark Preservation Commit- planned for a newly constructed
Craig C. Mello with colleagues at University of Massachusetts Medical School. park in Queens.
tee. But, really, just how did it get
here? Geologist Eric Joden may Raskin is a little disappointed
Two American Scientists Win the have the answer. Jorden said the
rock probably resulted from a
that the rock couldn’t become an
addition to her own backyard,
2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine Wisconsin Episode glacier in the
most recent ice age. Taking a
where it would be a little out of
place amongst flamingo and lawn
Continued from Page 4 such as cancer. Thanks to the re- sample of the rock back to his gnome displays. In fact, she had
markable discovery of RNAi, office for observation, Joden was become so fond of the rock that
how to silence the gene that she stated, “I’d love to be able to
causes high blood levels. Still, there is hope for advancements able to test it and determine it to
that will allow people to live bet- be 400-million-year-old Ravens- visit it as long as it has a good
scientists hope to find further home.” ◙
cures for problematic diseases, ter lives. ◙ wood granodiorite, a common
element of northern Queens bed-
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD Thursday, November 16, 2006 CALENDAR Page 7
Programming Calendars
From www.stuy.edu
Happy Holidays!
register.stuy.edu
Page 8 Thursday, November 16, 2006 NEWS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
mislabeledchild.cm
Continued from Page 1 of hypersensitivity and enhanced
of IQ and geniuses. The middle memory makes it easy for them to
section dealt with the many ways
in which the word "gifted" can be
assimilate all that information.
As a result, there is the tendency
Presentation
used. The final one discussed the
five characteristics of gifted
to think that the education of
gifted children should concentrate
Interview with
thinking, along with an in depth-
analysis of each characteristic.
on providing them with large
quantities of facts rather than
the Eides
These characteristics ranged from teaching them how to process,
Continued from Page 3
enhanced speed of recognition analyze, link, organize and use
and recall to enhanced memory the knowledge they already have very innovative thinkers took spe-
efficiency and capacity and en- in more sophisticated ways. cial interest in their children's
hanced sensitivity patterns. The greatest challenge facing education from an early age like
There are a number of chal- gifted students, in fact, is how to Richard Feynman's dad or Nikola
lenges in terms of what the best organize and process information Tesla's mother. Students can
method to teach gifted individuals effectively and efforts should, make it on their own, of course,
is and what the most advanta- therefore, be focused more on but often you'll find some impor-
geous learning styles are for teaching them how to accomplish tant role that an adult played in
them, given the way their brains that goal. The Eides propose that the life or career development of
function. It is important to stimu- The Mislabeled Child, written by the to this end, gifted thinkers are an inventive or productively crea-
late learning without exacerbating Eides. encouraged to "understand the tive person.
those characteristics that can hin- nature of thinking and knowl-
der that process. rather a different style of process- edge", to assess the "quality and TS: You advocate home school-
The hypersensitivity that ing information and can, in fact, reliability" of the information ing. Do you believe that home
characterizes gifted children be considered a strength. When they are exposed to and under- schooled children are limited by
makes learning at school easier this distractibility, though, begins stand how information can be not having as much interaction
than for other children, but it can to affects learning it might require used in practical as well as ab- with their peers?
also lead to increased distractibil- intervention. stract ways.
ity as a response to stimuli in the In addition, gifted students, The Eides have just published E: We advocate home schooling,
environment. For many gifted because of their excellent mem- a book titled The Mislabeled but as an option, not a single
students, however, this distracti- ory, can learn with less review Child dedicated to understanding choice. Many home schooled
bility is accompanied by in- and repetition. They are also the individual learning differences children have less contact with
creased vigilance and persistence highly capable of absorbing a lot of children with learning and be- their age peers, but they may also
and does not hinder learning. In of information from the general havioral problems. ◙ have more contact with the adult
this case it is not a problem, but environment. The combination world than traditionally-schooled
children. Home schooling (partial
or full) is becoming an increasing
Online All About Diwali option among many “creative-
class” parents who may want to
which usually contain celestial
Degrees Hold Continued from Page 2
symbols or symbols representing
travel as a family, provide more
real-world experiences for their
Corbis
STUY VOICE
Evolution vs. Theory of Intelligent Design
image.com
BY AMNA AHMAD believed in the theory of intelli- able number of students who
COLUMNIST gent design. The remaining stu- don’t believe in the theory of in-
Recently, I conducted a sur- dents either left the question telligent design at all believe it
vey regarding whether Stuyvesant blank or checked both answers. should be taught.
students agreed with the theory of In accordance with the results From this information, I
intelligent design or the theory of of the survey, I began to alter my made the deduction that students
evolutionism, and if intelligent original thought that maybe the recognize that not everything they
design should have a place in the debate in question would be eas- are taught in school is necessarily
classrooms of American public ily solved if only the opinions of fact, and that they are able to
schools. I was elated to note that I students were taken into account. make that differentiation. After
learned a great deal about the be- Intelligent design is the concept that Because there was such a minimal all the negative aspects of the
liefs, ideals, and opinions of the certain features of the universe and of split on the issue, perhaps it’s not student body I have discussed, I
student body from the collection living things are best explained by an as significant a theme as it is suppose I have finally found
of student polls, giving myself the
intelligent cause, not an undirected made out to be. It may be possible something genuinely admirable
process such as natural selection. that students don’t care to agree about a considerable portion of
opportunity to shatter some pre-
conceptions I had had about what with or believe in the information the student body and I must say
the outcome of the survey would responded “No,” and 48 percent they are taught: of the 48 percent that I am proud. I’m proud that
be. were in favor. However, when who believed that intelligent de- our students understand that we
When asked whether intelli- asked which theory they believed sign should have a place in the can take square roots of negative
gent design should be taught in in, 67 percent believed in the the- curriculum, many believed in numbers, that America is not a
addition to evolution, 52 percent ory of evolution, while 30 theory evolution. Therefore, a consider-
Continued on Page 11
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD Thursday, November 16, 2006 OP/ED/BUSINESS Page 11
Corbis
bucks. by ties with Bush, Iraq, or Repub-
Coke, though it is currently lican scandals. Therefore, it is not
Enviga will now be fully controlled by
Nestle once again. in fourth place, still has a chance inevitable that extremely leftist
to catch up to Pepsi; its Georgia and anti-business would be pro-
coffee brand has become increas- posed and ratified. Lastly, big
brands that don’t contain black
ingly popular in Japan and other businesses have made sizeable
tea.
markets. Coke will also start to campaign contributions on both
The new agreement allows
manufacture ready-to-drink ver- the Republican and Democratic
Coke to freely develop its own
sions of brands such as Far Coast tickets. The Democrats who won
line of coffee and tea drinks in a
and Chaqwa. cannot risk completely alienating
rapidly expanding sector of the
Although the new agreement the business community with
beverage industry. According to
seems to show an optimistic view radical policies, but would lean
Bill Pecoriello, a Morgan Stanley
of things, Mr. Perociello believes more moderately on fiscal mat-
analyst, “the partnership has ham-
that the moves raise questions ters.
pered Coke from introducing or
about whether Coke and Nestle So, in the end, this election
expanding the reach of some cof-
will be able to cooperate in one was not about a complete shift to
fee and tea drinks of its own.”
part of the tea business while the opposite side of the chart, but
Nestle will also be developing Joe Lieberman easily defeated his
competing in another. The posi- rather a shift from a conservative
their own beverages. The goal of more liberal opponent in Connecticut,
tioning of Coke in the beverage running as an independent. Congress to a more moderate one.
these two companies is summa-
industry in the following year will Congress will either be grid-
rized in their statement: “Both
show the answer to that. ◙ mocrats have not secured enough locked by Bush’s vetoes or the
companies recognize the signifi-
of either the House or the Senate Democrats will work together
cant potential of these rapidly
to always override vetoes. Second with Bush to find compromises
of all, even when Bush leaves and that satisfy both party lines. The
economy will keep roaring on,
Jet Li’s Going Out a Democratic president may re-
place him, the new Congress only
appears to be Democratic, while it
and it will be business as usual
for Wall Street. ◙
for granted, while Nong tries to “leveling up" to beat the bad
Continued on Page 14
guys. However, upon a closer
IGN.com
IGN.com
“goes straight for the liver.” An- old video game and having to
GAME REVIEW other unique aspect of the game is fight 8-bit race cars. These will
the selection of costumes, which, keep you wondering what crazy
Contact once found, Terry can put on to things will happen next, up until
increase certain stats and even the surprising ending.
Continued from Page 11
allow him to, for example, cook Contact is not without flaws,
Contact’s battle system is not and fish. Furthermore, the player however. Some of the animations
turn-based like those of many can use special stickers developed seem unfinished or too simple,
handheld RPG’s, but in real time, by the Professor to aid Terry by which slightly detracts from the
and you can attack almost any- “sticking” them onto the touch game’s atmosphere. Mission ob-
thing, from the huge variety of screen. If that isn’t enough, Con- jectives are often vague, which is
monsters to shopkeepers. Terry tact even includes a Wi-Fi mode sometimes frustrating considering
can dodge enemy attacks by mov- to trade items and skills with your the game’s difficulty. The game’s
ing, and the game incorporates friends. What really makes Con- plot could have been slightly
dynamic stat increases. There is a tact a game worth playing is not more involving, and leaves many
gigantic assortment of weapons just the combat or plot, but the questions unanswered. Despite
and other items to collect, each many little jokes and cultural ref- these minor problems, Contact is
with its own strengths and weak- erences found in the game — a little-known masterpiece that
nesses. In addition, Terry can such as the Professor’s funny should be purchased by anyone
learn “techs,” powerful attacks comments on the top screen, chas- looking for a quality handheld
that can be used in a pinch, such ing a monkey to get back a chef’s game. ◙ A scene from the Nintendo DS game,
as the “Body Shot,” a punch that clothes, and being stuck inside an “Contact.”
Hidden Skies
nificent. Every second of the film
builds up to the next and every-
thing stacks perfectly, save the
long intermission between his
The poster of Jet Li’s latest film, competitions in Tianjin. The BY MAGGIE HUANG
“Fearless.” timely progression from the STAFF WRITER
cocky fighter in the beginning to
Jet Li successfully portrays his
the honorable man who believes
philosophies on martial arts. His
entire message on honor and his
in the true spirit of sportsmanship You let me touch the twinkle of the stars
and martial arts in the end com- You showed me the flowing sky is not far
ideas behind martial arts all com-
pares to that of any self- You filled and left a cloud in me
plement the story well, leading up
discovery story. A dramatic per-
to the changed character por-
formance on one hand and an You drifted and I stared while parting slowly
trayed in the final scenes of the
action-packed masterpiece on the
film. However, Jet Li’s little voy-
age to discover himself contains a
other, “Fearless” marks the end The grays, the black mixed above with a kiss
of the legend of Jet Li, but still An inevitable white flash tore the mist
lot of unnecessary dialogue that
leaves us with an unforgettable Leaving only remnants and reflections of dew
many of the audience members
smile on our faces. ◙
could do without. Once a lurking blue moon will I see you
IGN.com
Lost Vastness
BY MAGGIE HUANG
BY JEFFREW LIAW
PUZZLE COLUMNIST
Sudoku
STAFF WRITER
7 6
You can advertise your review books to not only the student
community at Stuyvesant High School, but also to parents,
Interested in creating
teachers, the surrounding Tribeca area. An email with your
books listed will also be sent to The Standard’s web group.
puzzles for
Interested? Email Khoi Nguyen, The Chief Finacial Officer, at
The Stuyvesant Standard?
cfo@stuystandard.org with your Name, ID, contact info, and
list of books with prices and conditions the books are in Contact
that you want to sell.
puzzles@stuystandard.org
This is an opportunity that cannot be missed.
Page 16 Thursday, November 16, 2006 SCIENCE THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
BBC News
BY PAUL ROZENBERG AND controllerless game play possible.
JOHN YOON After the teenager and his
STAFF WRITERS parents agreed, the boy was hos-
Using the brain to control pitalized. A grid was mounted on
video games may sound like his brain, which recorded brain
something straight out of a sci- surface signals. The wires on the
ence fiction movie. However, grid sent electric signals to a com-
this is exactly what researchers in puter, which helped locate the
St. Louis have done. Researchers part of the brain that was causing
at Washington University recently the seizure. The same wires were
carried out a study in which a 14- used to play “Space Invaders.”
year-old used his brain to play the The team of researchers
arcade game “Space Invaders.” asked the boy to do various tasks,
By using the brain as a con- such as moving his hands, talking
troller in a game, researchers are and thinking. The teenager was
exploring the mental capabilities then asked to play the first level
of humans by means of a brain- A scene from a video game where the character is controlled directly from the
of “Space Invaders” by moving
computer interface (BCI). The player's brain. his tongue and hand. The player
term BCI refers to the communi- controls a spacecraft which fires
cation pathway between a mind An assistant professor of neu- enced seizures daily. In order to at invading aliens. The aliens
and a device, such as a computer. rosurgery, Dr. Eric Liuthardt, correct the problem, neurosur- come down in waves and fire at
Currently, the main goals of BCI along with a team of neurologists geons removed a piece of his the player, and the spacecraft
are to help the crippled or para- and engineers, invited a 14-year- skull, and worked on the exposed must be moved left and right to
lyzed. This experiment, however, old boy to join their experiment. brain. This gave researchers a rare avoid the shots, while firing at the
deals mainly with two other fac- The test subject was an ideal pa- opportunity to study the ultrahigh aliens itself. For the study, the
tors: teenagers and computer tient due to his condition: He suf- frequencies from the surface of game was set up so that the
games. fered from epilepsy, and experi- his brain, which is what made
Continued on Page 18
msnbc.com
Do Self-Help Books
Actually Help?
BY SALLY CHEUNG chotherapists actually recommend
SENIOR STAFF WRITER self-help books to their patients as
well. However, how helpful are
Amazon.com
msnbc.com
phones into sounds. Although cell
phones scramble the message be-
ing sent, there is still a chance Actually
that, with a strong enough de-
coder, a hacker can intercept and
decode the call, tapping the line.
Help?
Another way in which phones Continued from Page 16
can be hacked is by being cloned.
anthonyrobbinsfoundation.org
Each cell phone has a unique set
of serial numbers. If these are
copied, someone else can make
calls under the name of that
phone. The result is a bill full of
calls that weren’t made by the
user. This happens when a cell
phone sends out signals during its
attempts to try to find the network
abcnews.com
it is in. Doing so opens up a port Models from NTT
for hackers to enter the phone and DoCoMo display 14 new
copy all the necessary informa- 3G FOMA handsets in-
cluding eleven "902i"
tion.
series during a press
A Japanese company, NTT conference in Tokyo, 12
DoCoMo, has created a new October 2006. All 903i
phone that has security measures handsets provide a wide
that are beyond those of an ordi- range of entertainment
nary phone. Although they may functions such as full-
not be able to protect against the t r a c k m u s i c -
hacking that may affect a user’s do wnlo ading s er vice .
wallet, they can protect against Japan's biggest mobile The dust jacket describes Robbins as
carrier will put the an "acknowledged expert in the psy-
the identity theft that often occurs chology of change." Yet he lacks any
handsets on domestic
when a phone is stolen. market from October formal mental health credentials.
The first line of security is an one after the other.
external card. This card connects
to the phone via a wireless con- may be more amenable to self-
nection. When the card is at least pictures of him or herself. After- stolen or lost, there is a final se- help strategies than serious prob-
a certain distance away, the phone ward, the cell phone will take a curity measure that can be used. lems are. Results are uneven, with
will automatically lock out all picture of anyone who tries to use The phone has an onboard GPS some improving more than others.
users. A password can be entered it, and the phone will determine locating system, which can be In addition, study conditions and
to disable the lock, but the pass- from certain facial features if the used to locate the phone if it is combined treatments with thera-
word cannot be changed until the user the owner. This can be fur- lost. In this world of security pists contribute to the limitations.
card is present again. ther supplemented by a password. risks, one company has risen to In conclusion, you probably
A second line of defense is In addition to being a cell the challenge. Though you will shouldn’t spend your money on
facial recognition. The phone has phone, the P301i is also a credit probably not want to buy this self-help books. Though they may
a built-in camera. However, the card, so such great security is phone just yet, it is out there and be better than no treatment at all,
camera is not only used for lei- essential in preventing identity it will make life safer for thou- they’re still inferior to psycho-
sure. The owner takes a series of theft. In the case that the phone is sands. ◙ therapy. ◙
Duke University
Brain Controlled Video Games
Continued from Page 16 ing about it.
In 2004, another team, also
BBC News
led by Leuthardt, performed simi-
lar research on four adult patients.
One of the perks of doing this
experiment on a teenager was
seeing how adult and child brains
differ. The teenager had quicker
reaction times than the adults and
a higher level of control — he
could move the spaceship just a
small distance left or right.
The data collected from this
experiment will be applied to new
methods and inventions in the
scientific and technological
world. In the realm of video
Microwaves bent by the concentric walls of this 1-centimeter-tall invisibility device The wireless headset reads brain pat- games alone, many possibilities
circumvent the center area and emerge on their original paths as if nothing had terns, which will be interpreted for the are open. With mind-controlled
been in the way. The copper hoop that was cloaked in the tests isn't pictured. video game. gaming, it is quite possible that a
player’s ship fired continuously. gaming system will be created
Invisibility Cloak Developed Leuthardt then asked the boy
to imagine these same move-
that incorporates the Nintendo
Wii’s “in the game” mindset, with
the power of the PS3.
For Microwaves ments, but not to actually move
his body. “He cleared out the There are also many medical
whole level one basically on brain advancements that are possible
Continued from Page 17 shield fighter planes and tanks control. He learned almost instan- through this research project. It
in Harry Potter’s cloak, or the from radar, terahertz waves or taneously. We then gave him a was through tests involving cy-
Star Trek cloaking device,” said mobile phone frequencies. more challenging version in two berkinetics such as this one that
Smith. Objects are visible because “It is the proof of principle dimensions and he mastered two paralyzed people were able to
the wavelengths that strike them that this technology is feasible, levels there playing only with his move wheelchairs with their
are reflected back to the eye. To and so it is very likely to inspire a imagination,” said Lethardt. minds, and mutes could type let-
create a cloak that shields visible wave of new research,” said Researchers hope that this ters on screens by just thinking.
objects, all of these wavelengths physicist Ulf Leonhardt from study will help in the develop- The capabilities of the human
would need to be distorted. Mi- Scotland’s University of St. An- ment of devices that use brain mind combined with science are
crowaves also bounce off objects drews. Scientists hope next to commands to operate. Leuthardt expanding and evolving. Perhaps
and create shadows, but they can develop “broadband invisibility” said, “My real motivation for this in the near future, all forms of
only be detected through the use to deflect more than just a narrow is helping people with disabili- technology and communication
of an instrument. The cloak can range wavelengths. We are on ties.” In the future, a patient with will be controlled through one’s
also be applied by the military to our way to full cloaking devices. artificial limbs may move a pros- brain activity. ◙
◙ thetic arm or leg simply by think-
The Times
Sports Calendar
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
November November November November November November November
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
JV
For the latest schedules, log onto www.stuystandard.org and click on Sports.
whatever. He is still the greatest thought that he would not be able very much resemble the one and
center in the East. O’Neal has to make the transition from high only Michael Jordan.
been in the NBA for 14 years. He school to the NBA, but he proved It is obvious that the NBA
started out on the Orlando Magic, them wrong. So far in his career, has many players with an extraor-
then got traded to the Los Ange- King James has averaged 26.5 dinary amount of talent. Year
les Lakers, and now is with the ppg, 6.6 apg, 6.7 rpg and 1.8 after year, these players rise to the
Miami Heat. Shaq has averaged steals per game (spg). In the occasion and help their teams go
26.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg and 2.5 bpg. 2005-06 season, he single- deep into the season. Which lead-
He has averaged over 20 points handedly led the Cleveland Cava- ers will stand out this year? Who
and 55 percemt field goal percent- liers to the playoffs, the first time will top the charts? Let’s wait and
age for 14 consecutive seasons. they’d made it since 1998. During find out. ◙
He led the NBA in field goal per- his playoff-debut season, he aver-
centage for the ninth time in his aged 31.4 ppg, 1.6 spg and 6.6
career, tying the legendary Wilt apg. Again and again, he has
Chamberlain. He was 15th in
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James
wears his 'King James' bracelet while
blocks, and had 12 quarters where
he scored more than ten points. Your School,
on the bench during a game against the
Los Angeles Clippers.
That’s pretty good for a big man.
The top forwards of the East Your World,
NBA only three years ago. Al-
are Vince Carter and LeBron
James. Carter has been in the
Your News
ready, he has earned himself a NBA for the last eight years. Al-
though he’s best known for his
Are all just a
very honorable spot in the NBA.
In his short career, he has aver- gravity-defying dunks, he has
continued to put up great num-
short click
aged 22.9 ppg, as well as 6.1 apg
and 5.0 rebounds per game (rpg). bers. Over his career, he’s aver-
aged 23.9 ppg, 4.0 apg and 5.4
away.
In the 2005-06 season, when he
led the Miami Heat to become the rpg. In the 2005-06 season, he
NBA Champions, he was on the continued his great work. He tied
top of the list in many categories.
He was fifth in the NBA for most
the Nets franchise record for the
most games with over 40 points in
Please visit
scoring points, sixth in steals, and
tenth in assists. Just to show how
a single season, with 5. He also
set the Nets record for the most our website.
great of a team player he is, Wade consecutive games with over 20
had 10 games where he had more points, with 23.
than 10 assists. That is a jaw- Lebron “King James” James
dropping accomplishment. is only in his third season, which
is quite hard to believe because of
When you talk about Wade,
you must talk about his accom- his past success. He entered the THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
plice, Shaquille O’Neal. You NBA in the 2003 NBA draft, WWW.STUYSTANDARD.ORG
Page 20 Thursday, November 16, 2006 SPORTS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Corbis
will be placed on the players’ second on the all-time franchise “college” meant was made by a
career stats, with an extra empha- list for most points in a single freshman barely into his first se-
sis on last season, 2005-06. With season, with 2,377 points. Above mester of high school. Polee will
these statistics, certain players all, he managed to achieve an be going to the University of
stand out from the rest. These are unbelievable 18 double-doubles Southern California, on a basket-
the “great talents of the NBA.” in the season. ball scholarship nonetheless. For
Let’s start with the Eastern Dwayne Wade is a fairly someone who has not played a
Conference. The top guards of the young player, having entered the minute of high school basketball,
East are, without a doubt, Allen that’s a pretty good prize.
Continued on Page 19
Even his new coach seemed
pretty surprised. “He’s pretty
good,” said Coach Ed Azzam. A
freshman just got a scholarship to
a Pac-10 school, and all the coach
Have an opinion on the new cell can say is a three-word quote?
The coach knows that before
phone policy or the new library policy? Derrick Rose, a high school basketball
freshman year is no time for
player, has a list of possible colleges
that only include his shoe company. someone to decide where he’s
going to be playing college bas-
ketball.
Dwayne Polee Jr. could be
Than check out our forum at our website, your average 14-year-old. He re-
Then, when you look at the
culture of high school sports, this
cently started his freshman year
www.stuystandard.org of high school at Westchester
becomes completely understand-
able. “Sports Illustrated” has re-
High School in Los Angeles. He
cently added a section about high
We’re proud to be Stuyvesant’s only newspa- usually stands out in a crowd due
school sports. “USA Today” rou-
to his 6 foot 6 inch frame. And
per with a website! tinely ranks the top 25 teams in
he’s already decided where he’s
going to college.
Continued on Page 20