It’s a wonder that South Korea has the highest number of working hours on this map - and also one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
I have often spoken about the idea of the body image and how it is shaped by a culture. In Asian societies in particular, the ideal size is a small framed slim woman who still has an S-line (50kg, but with curves). In stark contrast, the Western body type has taken on a different shape. In some respects it is of our own doing, as we shove a negative plate of rhetoric in front of people who don’t eat three square meals a day and sometimes a snide look at extremely healthy people (health ‘freak’ comes to mind).
The LA Times (no surprise) recently published an article about the retaliation of the fit. What I found surprising were the statistics that they posted, quoting 68% overweight and 33.8% obese (I’m assuming that 33.8% is part of the 68%) for the US. The NHS states that England is not far behind, with 61.4% of adults overweight and 24.5% obese. Some of the measures that attempted to squeeze themselves into the American system were obvious attempts to legalise discrimination against the overweight population (Mississippi in particular is one of the fattest states in the US, and they nearly passed a law that allowed restaurants to turn away obese people). Michelle Obama has joined the campaign against obesity and is meeting with US lawmakers to increase ‘the number of healthy schools’. She has even put her own children on a strict diet.
In Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein’s book called Nudge, the two University of Chicago economists illustrate how easy it is to convince children to select healthy foods. While corporations take advantage of the increasingly necessary subsidies, however, the complete elimination of choice will not take place. Interestingly enough, my elementary school did not give students the choice to eat sugary snacks, so it is safe to assume that healthy schools exist.
The NYTimes, in their attempt to illustrate the lull in obesity, published this table from the CDC statistics. Now, in their attempt to ‘break down’ obesity by showing divisions of gender and ethnicity (note that Asians are not even listed) they have inadvertently created a new discrimination (thus the danger of making generalisations). Here I point to previous generations and the existence of a wide span of shapes and sizes. The difference is that now we are given a colourful array of choices, but only if you have the time and money to invest in maintaining a healthy diet.
Let us turn back to my original thought - body image in various cultures. After living for some time in London, I have finally pushed away the need to constantly diet, and focused my attention to maintaining healthy eating habits and getting regular exercise. Is that cultural? Perhaps. More likely, it is taking a realistic approach to food and diet, and being realistic about my own goals - taking these thoughts into consideration will make for a much more effective campaign.
The expense of higher education rises with each breath I take. Even taking a course at the community college will probably set a person back around $800. Harvard and other private universities are surpassing many families incomes at $50,657 a year (this does not include personal amenities, school supplies, and even books which can run around $1500 a year). But even a degree at a public university, such as the University of Illinois (my alma mater), runs $15,000 a year. And if you are an ambitious student, as I was, joining the Honour’s College, going to NYC for the National Model United Nations conference, and studying abroad tack on loads more. Suddenly being a ‘trust fund baby’ doesn’t mean much - you need one in order to take on higher education.
The major problem with this is the tendency for US students to take out loans in order to make up the difference and wind up with debt they are unable to pay back with the realities of today’s job market. This can be particularly disheartening when noticing those who went on as entrepreneurs following high school and made a fortune from their businesses. Or, someone like Simon Cowell, who worked his way from the mail room to record producer. Bill Gates was a college dropout and went on to become one of the most successful people in the world.
On a side note, I find education, or at least a thirst for knowledge and the capacity to have a conversation that runs beyond food, weather and past experiences to be both a treat and a necessity for me to maintain interest.
The NYTimes reminds us that the US government has an increasing role in making higher education accessible. However, it is only available for students in low-income families, particularly those who have parents with less education than the median of the population. Middle-class families are subsequently missing out on the opportunities the government supposedly provides. This is where student loans become necessary. (A popular way to cheat the system at the start of the millennium was to get a loan for $50,000 and invest it in high yielding, yet safe stocks. Some of my coursemates from undergrad left quite wealthy by investing in Microsoft at the end of the 90s and pulling out at graduation.)
Those who are toughing out a pricey MA, such as myself, have started to notice that they aren’t getting job offers with improved salaries. I almost feel as if I were purchasing expensive travel insurance that I will never use (thanks for pointing that out, Richard Thaler). I have yet to attempt to enter the market, but no doubt with recent dips in the stock market, there is a laundry list of challenges ahead.
Some people have natural talents, like Oprah’s ability to connect with people, or D’s ability to drink copious amounts of alcohol and coax any man to take off his shirt. People with certain ambitions must pursue higher education. Those who are happy making ramen or selling balloons to children (what was the main character in Up? so cute!), don’t need university to be happy. And that should be our ultimate goal, should it not?
Interesting talk on your doppelganger
Planet with two dancing stars
So true, although I wouldn’t look for a Helvetica or Franklin Gothic sign either!
My understanding that business models are important for the success of the company flitters away when Twitter starts talking about putting adds into its feed. I’m starting to enjoy the platform, but perhaps the ads need to take on different placement. It is the way of the future for them when considering that the interface is relatively clutter-free.
Patiently awaiting the release of iPhone 5….
