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Many of our world’s problems are caused or exacerbated by pride. There is often a stubbornness that makes people unwilling to listen before they’ve already decided or unwilling to concede because doing so feels like losing. I see it in friendships that fractured over a mistake someone was unwilling to apologize for. I see it…
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After sobbing wretchedly through the last chapter and the epilogue of “When Breath Becomes Air,” I sat for a while in silence, trying to absorb the weight of this incredible person’s life. As an aspiring physician-scientist who can’t stop turning over unanswerable questions, his words resonated with me. But there was one thing I couldn’t…
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I recently read two poems about the female experience and societal expectations in classical literature. “Helen Grows Old” is about Helen of Troy’s less-known and less-cared-about quiet life after returning to her husband, Menelaus. “Reader, I” criticizes the stereotypical hysterical role of women, using Dido as an illustration. This topic is one that most readers…
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After seven years of studying Latin, I’ve heard every version of the same question: “Why are you studying a dead language?” As a four-time National Latin Exam Gold Medalist (summa cum laude) and co-president of my school’s Latin Club, I’ve gotten used to defending my choice. I usually say something about intellectual rigor or cultural…
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Think about the last time you heard a cover and liked it better than the original. Something in the reinterpretation unlocked the song. Maybe it had a slower tempo, riffs in new places, or grief where the original had swagger, and suddenly you can’t unhear it. Although written in black and white, the score was…
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Dear Dr. Duckworth, If you ever choose to write a sequel to Grit, I have the perfect subject for you. Every spring, the cherry blossoms in D.C. last for two weeks. Dr. Nguyen*, my ISEF judge, drove from Cleveland, Ohio, just to see them. While he was here, we had a short reunion. He told…
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I’ve been reading Grit by Angela Duckworth. I’m not even a third of the way through this revolutionary book, and I already have so many thoughts and reflections and life connections. One of her philosophies is that grit is composed of passion and perseverance. I see these two qualities play out every day in myself…
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I could never understand why people went skydiving, climbed mountains without gear, or went cave diving. But, after doing research, I kind of get it. The first time I entered a field of research, I was utterly lost. I felt like I was in a literal wheat field. No compass, no map, no understanding…
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People say that AI is going to replace all our jobs, with the exception of doctors and a few others. While an obvious hyperbole, it has some merit. AI-powered robots cannot perform surgery alone; they also can’t deliver a life-threatening diagnosis with the same empathy of a doctor. However, as AI is experimentally incorporated into…
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Through my exposure to scientific research, I’ve accepted CRISPR as a common, emerging technique for genetic experiments. However, in the back of my mind lay the question of how far CRISPR is progressing as a technique for human embryo genetic editing. This weekend, I did a deep dive and answered some of my questions. Since…