Day 262: Well, we saw that coming - The Extinction of another Species...

 

The rhino, Angalifu, died at 44 of complications linked to his advanced age. The remaining members of her species — another elderly female at the park, two females and a final male living in a Kenya preserve — have failed to successfully reproduce on their own.

“Unfortunately we only had three rhinos here at the park and they were all of an advanced age,” Barbara Durrant, of the San Diego Zoo Institute of Conservation Research, said in a statement of the park’s two decades-long attempt to save the species. “We were not able to get them to breed and we have been sadly watching their species being exterminated in the wild.”

It’s rare that we’re able to count down the remaining days of a species in this way, though extinction itself is an all too common phenomenon — it’s the fate met by 95 percent of species throughout Earth’s 3.5 billion year history. But the northern white rhino, decimated by poaching in Africa and, to a lesser extent, habitat loss, stands as a suitable representative for what experts are calling the Sixth Extinction: a mass die-off of species as both the direct and indirect consequence of human activity.

An analysis published last week in the journal Nature puts that in stark terms: 41 percent of all amphibians, along with 26 percent of mammals and 13 percent of birds, it finds, are now at risk of extinction thanks to us: pollution, overfishing, the introduction of invasive species and the encroachment of agriculture all count among the ways we’re killing them off. If our current rate of loss continues on track, the review found, we face losing 75 percent of Earth’s species within the coming centuries. -

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/15/countdown_to_extinction_there_are_only_5_northern_white_rhinos_left_in_the_world/

So many animals paid the price for the continued human existence and many more will in time to come. Looking at the article above, there are only 5 of these rhino left in the whole world. I read something like this and try to imagine myself in a position of specie extinction. Imagine you were part of a species that was doomed to extinction; only one left knowing when you die all that will remain is a memory – all because of the actions of one race. It is Sad and I feel shame to be human.

It’s done and over and no going back – we have wiped out another animal from existence. And what it took to accomplish something like that? I mean this particular rhino was poached to extinction and the other rhino are soon to follow. It is a fact that more and more Rhinos are being killed every year, its basic math. Despite all the “save the rhino” charities and foundations and all the money being pumped into the booming business – it’s only a matter of time before they all become a simple memory of how great it is to be human.

How do you judge a species? We study animals and based on their general behavior patterns we conclude their particular temperaments and how they are. So let’s look at humans in general and the impact we have on earth and all the shit that we have created. We are sitting with the same shit over and over – always war, famine, poverty, slavery and all those bad things – it’s always here. I’m sorry to say this, but based on the general human behaviors – we are the worst organism to ever live on this planet and the real shame is that humans will be the end of this planet if we continue this complete disregard of life.

Is there a way we can stop this? How do you change human nature? Because that is the big problem – it is in our nature to be destructive. Everything we see on this earth and the outflows of our actions – that is human nature. We change human behavior we change our actions and thus change the world. That starts with you. Change your nature. Change yourself. Change the World.

Day 245 The great Gifts ( And Downfalls) Of Being an Introvert - Is Change possible?

   I have been looking over the internet and at the general idea of how people see Introverts. I have defined myself as an introvert and many points I read I can relate to. So today I want to give some perspective on introverts from personal experience, because what I have found in my life is that people do not fully understand the nature of an introvert and this leads to miscommunication and other problems.

Another point I came across is that the people who wrote these post about being introverts have another thing in common – there is the belief that they will never change and always be introverted.
 Or specifically that if you are an introvert – you cannot change it.

This is false, you can change it you should change it in fact, not by becoming an extrovert, but by understanding that even though introversion has its benefits it also has major drawbacks especially in relationships.

So here is a short list of most common traits in Introverts:
1.Being an Observer –
Introverts do not speak much. In social situations I tend to simply observe and be perfectly content with listening rather that actually speaking. This gave me great insight towards people in general – My eyes trained well over the years so I can pick up on small things in people, like moods for example. Also became a very good listener. Unfortunately the drawback of this is unable to communicate effectively in a group.
2. Don’t see the point in small talk
I always disliked this part – small talk. For example talking about the weather, “ it’s a cold day today” – yes I know that thanks, I can feel it just fine. It is not that I dislike talking; I would have no problem talking about something I enjoy, but never saw the point in small talk and mostly think it’s a waste of time. When I do talk I use only the words necessary to convey what I would like to say.

I also tend to not respond immediately, I choose my words carefully before I speak which might seems strange to some people when they ask me something and there is a silence.

This also falls in with being an observer and the drawback here is not developing effective communication. I now find it very hard to express exactly how I feel with words and sometimes I cannot find the words right away and need to really look deep. Writing is fine, because it gives me time to look.
3.Enjoy being alone
I always liked being alone and spending time with myself. It does not mean I always want to be alone, simply that I enjoy spending time with myself. I am comfortable with being by myself which is a cool thing. The only problem here is that when I am in social situations for too long I want to get away and be by myself again.
 
4.Dislike conflict
Yes. Most people have an issue with conflict and would like to avoid it, introverts more so, Because dealing with conflict means dealing with very forward kind if aggressive people which is something introvert really do not like. The reason for this is because of the lack of communication skills. Imagine a person being angry and starts shouting at you demanding things right now – and being an introvert needing time to look for words dealing with a person who simply spits out words – not a match there.

So what I will do on my next post is go onto more detail and show why it’s beneficial being an introvert and a curse and how to change the cursed parts and keep all that is good to become a more effective human being.


Part 2

Part 3

Day 206: SA Matric Pass rate a shame for South Africans

 

The results came back for the 2013 Matric pass rate. Many articles and newspapers and even the president celebrates the fact that the pass rate is above 75%. This is apparent proof that the government has helped improved education in South Africa. What some may not realize is that over the past few years the government has decreased the pass mark all the way down to 30% - meaning that you only need 30% to pass an exam. So, by lowering the pass rate you increase the amount of people that passes Matric. Yet – even with only needing 30% to pass an exam 25% of pupils failed. About 1.2million grade 1 students were registered, but only about 550000 of those made it all the way to grade 12.

The question is what can you as a student do with a very low pass mark? Who would want to employ you? How are you going to get into universities? It is a big problem.

There are so many factors involved as to why students do badly in school. It could be the actual student not studying enough. It could be teachers that are ineffective or schools ill equipped to effectively teach children. The whole school curriculum across South Africa is not good enough.

The pass rate should be increased to 50%. This means if you do not know more than half of what you study – then you do not know it and should redo it. In the long run it will produce higher educated people. But the whole education system will have to be changed for this to work.

Another big problem is that even with very high matric marks, the chances that you will find a job is very slim.

Now there is a new proposal being suggested where no student can fail a grade more than once. So when you fail a grade a second time – you automatically pass to the next grade. Basically you can pass matric by simply failing twice. This is unbelievable, but this is something they want to implement which will mean we will have many people finishing their education – by knowing nothing.

The education problem is becoming worse – not improving at all. Everything that is being done by the government only makes things worse. It is time we find solutions to bring about higher educated students – and not settle for the bare minimum requirements.