A Scanner Darkly Essay Example

A Scanner Darkly Essay Ashlyn Phillips Mr. Flanigan/ Dystopian Literature Period 2 December 4, 2012 Who Are You? As young children we begin to develop a personality, one that is based off of the people we are surrounded with. When identifying who we are as people, physical appearance is less important in comparison to our spirits and mindsets. The body serves only as a shuttle for our spirits and minds, without these two assets our bodies would simply only be empty shells. In Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly, the protagonist, Bob Arctor, has fallen victim to a highly addictive drug called Substance D, which has the side effect of splitting the personality in one’s mind. In dealing with the abuse of this drug, Arctor begins to lose himself and forgets what really makes him who he is. Our souls, character and appearance determine who we are as people, without these three attributes it would be very difficult to differentiate between one human from the next. The brain begins to develop in the first trimester of pregnancy, even as fetuses we are able to think and begin to develop our personalities inside the womb. As we enter the world and begin living, our surrounding environments control the outcomes of our minds, bodies and spirits. If you are born into a wealthy family, it is more than likely that you will live a wealthy lifestyle; if you are born into a poor family, it is more than likely that you will live a poor lifestyle. We will write a custom essay sample on A Scanner Darkly specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on A Scanner Darkly specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on A Scanner Darkly specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In society, we are first identified by how much money we have, then by how we look and at last we begin to learn more about each other to identify who our characters are through how we wish to portray ourselves. Our personalities begin to develop when we are first able to open our eyes, smile and really when we begin to communicate with each other. From there we begin to learn what we like to do in life; whether it be dancing, singing, painting, playing sports, etc. These attributes are major when identifying a person. Our spirits begin to develop at an early age and although they can be slightly altered as life goes on, we never really change entirely. One can be judged by their physical appearance and be separated from one person to the next simply based on that, however, if asked who Bob Marley is as a person, the answer would be far more detailed than if only asked what he looks like. Personality and character traits are really the basis of determining who we are as people. If a set of identical twins were put in the same room together and a group of people were asked to differentiate between Sarah and Mary, they would only be able to based on appearance. The more in depth question would be, how can you tell who Sarah is and who Mary is? In answering this question many key attributes are discussed such as, Sarah may be more energetic, loud, creative, talkative, religious and athletic than Mary, allowing for their friends to automatically know who is who when confronted by either twin. Personality always gives the answer. If the personality changes or begins to morph into two different sides, determining who someone is becomes a very difficult task. In A Scanner Darkly, Fred goes undercover as a drug addict in order to solve a major case but in doing so, he himself becomes addicted to the drug and his personality begins to split into two different people, Fred and Bob; Fred being the undercover cop and Bob being the addict. As Fred’s life morphs into Bob’s, he begins to lose himself entirely and the world as he knew it before completely changes into something different than he thought. â€Å"He will sink into a needle-and-a-spoon existence, or bounce off the walls in a psychiatric hospital or, worst of all, a federal clinic†¦And all this will occur deliberately, someone figured out what he was doing and then got him this way. The worst way of all: with the stuff they sell that he was after them for selling. (86) His personality can no longer be analyzed because he thinks as two entirely different people as if he has two separate brains in one head. Clearly this is an issue due to the fact that we are recognized by our personalities. If two personalities are competing against one another inside of one mind, there is no way to really know who that person is. Fred loses himself in Bob’s world and the drug becomes more important than anything else, as it usually does inside the mi nd of a drug addict. Without the soul, the body is like a light bulb without electricity. The soul gives the body meaning and purpose, without it there would only be boys and girls, not unique individuals with their own characteristics. The soul carries along every memory, experience, encounter, and detail of each person in the world. A wise soul will think beyond their years, a young soul will stay a teenager at heart forever and an evil soul will end up in the dark side of life and all of these souls grow through life experiences and will only be influenced by these experiences. The soul in one person does not change entirely through life experiences it can only change slightly by being influenced by those around us. In determining who we are as people, the soul is the key ingredient and it should be the first thing that is analyzed from one human being to the next. More often than not, looks do not matter, it is what lies within ourselves that determines who we are as individuals.

High School Science Fair Projects

High School Science Fair Projects Coming up with a high school science fair project idea can be challenging. There is fierce competition for the coolest idea, and you need a topic appropriate for your educational level. Below are science fair project ideas arranged by topic, but first take a look at ideas according to education level: Elementary school projectsMiddle school projectsHigh school projectsCollege projects High School Projects While you might have been able to get by making posters and models in earlier grades, the bar is higher for high school science fair projects. The basis for your scientific exploration should be the scientific method: forming a hypothesis and then testing it with an experiment. You want a topic that makes the judges take notice. Consider issues addressed by others and ask yourself what questions are left unanswered. How could they be tested? Look for problems in the world around you and try to explain or solve them. Here are some ideas in various categories: Household Items These are projects involving items around the house: How safe is your microwave oven? Compare the growth of a plant or germination of seeds placed near the oven with those grown under the same light/temperature conditions farther from the appliance.Will bottled water turn green (grow algae) if you leave unopened bottles in the sun? Does it matter which brand you use?Do all dishwashing detergents produce the same amount of bubbles? Clean the same number of dishes?Do consumers prefer bleached paper products or naturals might include a rubber band harp or a flute from clay, wood, or plastic. Personal Hygiene and Grooming Here are projects affecting health and appearance: Do all hairsprays hold equally well? Equally long? Does the  type of hair affect the results?How sterile is contact lens solution and how long does it stay sterile? See how long it takes for mold, fungi, and bacteria to culture saline. How sterile is the inside of a persons contact lens case?How long do home hair-coloring products hold their color? Does brand matter? Does the type of hair affect colorfastness? How does previous treatment (perming, previous coloring, straightening) affect initial color intensity and colorfastness? Botany/Biology These projects involve the natural world: Are night insects attracted to lamps because of heat or light?How effective are natural mosquito repellents?Does magnetism affect the growth of plants?How are plants affected by the distance between them? Look into the concept of allelopathy. Sweet potatoes release chemicals (allelochemicals) that can inhibit the growth of plants near them. How close can another plant grow to a sweet potato? What effects does an allelochemical have on a plant?Is a seed affected by its size? Do different size seeds have different germination rates or percentages? Does seed size affect the growth rate or final size of a plant?How does cold storage affect the germination of seeds? Factors you can control include the type of seeds, the  length of storage, the  temperature of storage, and other variables, such as light and humidity.How close does a plant have to be to a pesticide for it to work? What factors influence the effectiveness of a pesticide (rain/light/wind)? How much can you dilute a pestic ide while retaining its effectiveness? How effective are natural pest deterrents? What is the effect of a chemical on a plant? Factors that you can measure include rate of plant growth, leaf size, life/death of the plant, color, and ability to flower/bear fruitHow do different fertilizers affect the way plants grow? There are lots of different types of fertilizers containing varying amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in addition to other ingredients. You can test different fertilizers and see how they affect the height of a plant, the number or size of its leaves, the number of flowers, time until blooming, branching of stems, root development, or other factors.Does using colored mulch have an effect on a plant? You can look at its height, fruitfulness, the  number of flowers, overall plant size, the  rate of growth, or other factors.How do different factors affect seed germination? Factors that you could test include the intensity, duration, or type of light, the temperature, the amount of water, the presence/absence of certain chemicals, or the p resence/absence of soil. You can look at the percentage of seeds that germinate or the rate at which seeds germinate. Do plant-based insect repellents work as well as synthesized chemical repellents?Does the presence of cigarette smoke affect the growth rate of plants? Food These are projects involving what we eat: What type of plastic wrap best prevents evaporation?What plastic wrap best prevents oxidation?Do different brands of orange juice contain different levels of vitamin C?Does the level of vitamin C in orange juice change over time?Do oranges gain or lose vitamin C after being picked?How does the sugar concentration vary in different brands of apple juice?Does storage temperature affect the pH of juice?How does the pH of juice change with time? How does temperature affect the rate of chemical changes?Does eating breakfast have an effect on school performance? Does it matter what you eat?Do the same types of mold grow on all types of bread?Does light affect the rate at which foods spoil?Do foods containing preservatives stay fresh longer than foods without them?How does time or season of harvest affect the chemistry and nutritional content of food?Is the nutritional content of different brands of a vegetable (e.g., canned peas) the same?What conditions affect the ripening of fruit? Look at ethylene and enclosing a fruit in a sealed bag, or at temperature, light, or nearness to other pieces of fruit. Is bottled water purer than tap water? Miscellaneous These projects are more generally focused: How much is the interior of a car cooled if a light-blocking windshield cover is used?Can a black light detect invisible stains?What type of car antifreeze is safest for the environment?How does the rate of evaporation of the crystal-growing medium affect the final size of the crystals?You usually heat water or another liquid to dissolve a solid to grow crystals. Does the rate at which this liquid is cooled affect the way the crystals grow? What effect do additives have on the crystals?How are different soils affected by erosion? You can make your own wind and use water to evaluate the effects on soil. If you have access to a very cold freezer, you can look at the effects of freeze-and-thaw cycles.How does the pH of soil relate to the pH of the water around the soil? You can make your own pH paper, test the pH of the soil, add water, then test the pH of the water. Are the two values the same? If not, is there a relationship between them?

Horizontal Drilling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Horizontal Drilling - Essay Example (Morey, p. 1-8) According to Azar and Samuel (p. 237-238) usually, the oil reserves are actually more extensive in their depth, form what they appear from a bird's eye view. Therefore under this technique such a portion of the well is drilled that intersects a reserve that is parallel to the plane of the dimension that is substantially extensive. Thus through this technique the substantial area of the reserve is exposed to the wellbore area, as compared to the conventional oil drilling techniques (Figure 1.). As this aspect is achieved more important objectives are easier to be achieved; for instance the production of water is avoided. Figure 1: Adopted from Helms (p.1 Figure 1). It can be clearly observed from the figure above that the horizontal technique A, is exposed to a far larger area of the reserve as compared to the vertically drilled well B. It is easier to build a larger oil reservoir with a significantly smaller amount of horizontally drilled well, as a larger rock can be drained in contrast to the vertically drilled wells. ... ronmental cost maybe reduced considerably as the total surface that is actually drilled is lesser quite lesser than that of the vertically drilled wells. The production output from the horizontal technique is far greater than that of the vertical oil wells, this is because the area that is exposed to the wellbore area, though underground, is far more that the conventional well drilling techniques. (Technology is Key to Optimally Producing Reserves, p. 1-4) A better observation of this technique can be seen from the following Figure 2. Figure 2: Adopted from Hunton Resource Play (2008). Over the past ten to twenty years, the technology of horizontal drilling other similar techniques have moved significantly into the modern era of the oil industry across the nations. Various developments are budding as the firms using this technique are increasing. Modern technique of this technology and widespread consideration have emerged due to the modern techniques and equipment and economically driven productivity regulations. In almost all of the oil reserves and sites where horizontal drilling is exploited with all of its safety measures and requirements, considerable advantages are gained with incremental profits over the conventional vertically drilled wells. Works Cited Azar, J. J. & Samuel, G. Robello. Drilling Engineering. PennWell Corporation Press. 2007. P. 237-240. Anonymous. Technology is Key to Optimally Producing Reserves. Oil & Gas Journal. Tulsa: Dec 22, 2008. Vol. 106, Issue. 48; pg. B10, 4 pgs. Helms, Lynn. Horizontal Drilling. 2008. Accessed 3 April 2009 https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/Newsletter/NL0308/pdfs/Horizontal.pdf Hunton Resource Play. Description of Unconventional Hunton ResourcePlay, Oklahoma. 2008. Accessed 3 April 2009