Counterintuitive Fall 2024

Casinos and Strategy.

It seems counterintuitive that casinos are allowed to kick people out of their establishment for winning but, a limit isn’t set on how much a customer can lose in a day. The best example of this is in the table game blackjack. Strategies were developed that made it easier to count cards. This method was called the “Hi-Low” method and involves tracking when higher cards and lower cards are going to be dealt. Casinos caught on to this trend and quickly noticed when players gained massive amounts of money. With the addition of cameras almost every game is monitored making it hard to get away with. In my opinion, this isn’t cheating, it is using your brain to make an educated decision because of this casinos despise this. It is counterintuitive that casinos can drain people of their money (sometimes thousands of dollar through gambling addicts) but ban players that use their brain to get an advantage over the house.

Drinking Age and Serving

It seems counterintuitive that every states drinking law in the United States has an age limit of 21 and above but citizens at age 18 can serve in the military. Without a doubt serving brings more risk than sitting down and responsibly drinking. The law setting the drinking age is a state level law but the United States government started taking away money via highway funds if that state didn’t change the age to 21 years of age. Because of this every states drinking age is now 21. It seems counterintuitive that young Americans can do something as dangerous as serving for the United States but legally can’t even drink

Clean Girls Get Sicker

It seems counter intuitive that girls who are generally more clean than other girls end up being sicker than those who face more germs and just aren’t generally as clean. It would make sense to all that being clean all the time will give a much less chance of getting sick, but rather being in contact with germs and bacteria is better for the immune system as it toughens it up for whenever being in contact with germs. It’s a requirement for the body to be introduced to germs because if you always clean the body won’t know what to do when it comes in contact with germs. When fighting bacteria and germs the body builds antibodies which protect the immune system, but without being introduced to unclean environments, the body will never learn to make those antibodies. This results in kids who stay very clean to become more at risk of sickness versus kids who get dirty and experience their fair share of germs.

Multivitamins Dangerous?

It seems counterintuitive that consuming multivitamins is actually worse for your health then it is better. Studies show that the average humans already consume the proper amount of necessary vitamins throughout the day without taking and vitamins. Adding the consumption of daily vitamins has no health benefits to the body at all. The over intake of some vitamins can also cause negative problems to one’s health that are unexpected. From all the information received from these daily vitamins, there should only be a select few who should be taking these daily in the case they don’t already receive the necessary intake of said vitamin a day.

Photographers In Horror Stricken Places

It seems counterintuitive that photographers travel around the world to places who endure horrifying events or are dangerous places just to be able to capture some photos with their camera. Anyone that travels to a dangerous place or a place who has been  stricken by a tragic event would be thought to have been doing so as a helpful purpose or to support the ones in need rather than to take pictures of people going through these horrifying times, but nope they are there for the soul purpose of gathering the pictures they want or need. As strange as this may seem it is used around the world so that people like us can see visuals and presentations of the stories we are told. These photographers allow people from a far to see the real damage and not only hear about it through word of mouth.

1. How Mom’s Death Changed My Thinking About End-of-Life Care

It seems counterintuitive that people would spend a good chunk of money on end-of-life care when all seems hopeless. Yes, miracles can happen, but it seems counterintuitive to spend all this money for the slimmest chance of a miracle when it is not in the best interest of the patient.

Charles Ornstein recalls his struggles and tough decision-making during the time his mother was admitted to the hospital and displaying less-than optimistic results. He, through consultation with a friend in the field, understands that end-of-life care is not always about having a patient be cared for. Sending money into the rabbit-hole with no sign of recovery from the patient cares more towards the loved ones of the patient, but not necessarily the patient themselves. The United States health services proudly work towards finding a way to make all parties satisfied with the decisions. Sometimes the wants of the loved ones, being the preservation of the patient’s life or chance of recovery, can interfere with what might be best for the patient. Ornstein now understands that the decision-making process on a patient’s life can be difficult and that no family can be blamed for trying to keep a loved one alive, but all options should be considered in regards to the patient.

2.

            Why Keeping Little Girls Squeaky Clean Could Make Them Sick

             It seems counterintuitive to put your child in danger of being vulnerable to germs and illness early on in their life. Unless you’re an anti-vaxxer and believe your child will fight all disease with kale and the organic aisle in the grocery store, your child should get their vaccinations. However, permitting your child to roll around in the mud for a while could apparently protect them from incurable afflictions.

            Women are more prone to have asthma and other diseases than men due to old traditions and thinking. Girls are likely more adept at hygiene and remaining clean in comparison to boys. This is due to how we categorize little boys and girls, keeping girls indoors and in clothes that are deemed unacceptable to get dirty. Taking in dirt exposes the body to microorganisms that can help build up an immune system, which is similar to how vaccines work. Boys typically play more sports, most of which involve being outside. Due to the rapid change in gender norms, this issue could disappear, but research proves otherwise in some cases.

3.

Do Multivitamins Really Work?

            It seems counterintuitive to keep buying and taking multivitamins when they might not do anything. Studies are saying they don’t work.

            Studies being done on multivitamins tell readers that vitamins help certain parts of the body. Vitamin B being good for the heart is a good example. According to research, multivitamins containing what their label says does not have much of an effect on preventing diseases correlated to the vitamins’ specialties. According to more studies, categorized people, such as the elderly, can be more at risk to diseases and ailments due to their intake of multivitamins.

Cute Animals 

It seems counterintuitive that in the stock market system, people choose what we think other people will like instead of going for the thing that we actually like. The people who are making this decision still make up the general public. When choosing something as simple as what animal you think is cutest, people didn’t think that other people would choose the same animal that they did. This can easily be compared to a beauty contest as some imagine it to be. People don’t choose who they think is the prettiest, instead they try to choose who they think other people will choose. This is how the stock market works, but it seems counterintuitive when people don’t choose what they want even though they make up the general public. 

Happiness Cannot be Pursued; It Must Ensue 

It seems counterintuitive that in order to fully achieve happiness, it all relies on how an individual decides to perceive their situation. It doesn’t matter what situation a person is in, it is up to that individual to decide what exactly they are living for. Even holocaust survivors had to find their own meaning of happiness, when they were in the worst conditions imaginable. By finding a purpose to live for, the individual can in most cases get through anything once their minds have been set in the direction of “I want to live for…”. Factors of life that we as people surround ourselves with in order to try to create happiness (i.e. successful career, good marriage) actually don’t make us happy. Instead the question of how to find happiness in life all depends on what we as individuals decide to live for and the attitudes we decide to have in any given situation. 

Superweed 

It seems counterintuitive that farmers have to apply very toxic chemicals to their crops in order to kill weeds in an attempt to make their crops survive. It seems like the more chemicals farmers put on their plants to kill the weeds, the weeds continue to adapt to each new chemical put on them and soon become immune to them. Over the years of trying to extinguish the weed epidemic, farmers have been making it worse by essentially creating what’s called a “Superweed ” that is immune to almost everything. Farmers and scientists now have this problem of resistant weeds that can quickly adapt to whatever chemicals are put on them and continue to thrive and kill crops. Scientists and farmers continue to try to create modified chemicals to try to hopefully make one all powerful one that weeds will never be able to adapt to.

It seems counterintuitive that men were always in charge of what is considered rape. Rape seems to have had numerous different meanings over the years. What is considered rape has evolved over the years helping women get the justice they deserve. Raping a Virgin was treated as property damage to the virgin’s father. Scientists and politicians believed that if a woman truly was raped, she was unable to conceive because a woman is able to “shut down” when she is being raped. Eighty-three years later, rape finally is better understood and officials are less likely to blame the female.

It is counterintuitive that the way you part your hair decides whether or not you think logically (manly) or artistically (feminine.) The hair part theory started in John Walter’s adolescence when he discovered the different social roles when parting hair. He was also the creator of the ‘True Mirror’ which reflected back to the object without flipping it. In other words, you finally know what you look like since it reflects the same way a photograph would. This helped evolved mirror paintings which have grown over the centuries.

It is counterintuitive that clean girls can get sicker than boys. Since boys are expected to play outside and get dirty, they do not end up getting as sick since they are exposed to germs at an earlier age. Boys have a higher chance of being sick at an earlier age, but girls have a higher risk of getting sick after puberty due to your tolerance of bacteria. 

Men Define Rape

It seems counterintuitive that, despite centuries of progression of the feminist movement and women’s rights, men have continued to decide what is and what isn’t rape. In fact, some male lawmakers hold centuries-old beliefs about the definition of rape, such as that women can avoid becoming pregnant during rape if they simply lack consent. The men who have taken initiative to give their own wacky perspectives on rape and women anatomy is not limited to some Republican lawmakers, however: Hammurabi, the Bible (written by men), and Sir Matthew Hale.

It’s time for people to face the facts: some men just don’t know anything about women, rape, or their anatomy. The old man-made definitions of rape are motivated purely by lust, a degrading view of women as people, and the desire to control them. The Republican lawmakers who still hold such views on women should not be in the positions of power in which they currently are. Perhaps women’s voices should be given more credibility.

Extreme Parenting

It seems counterintuitive that, despite successful results, strict, result-oriented parenting could have negative effects on children. For mothers who belong to the Chinese culture, this style of parenting is not new. The ideal of raising only the smartest children has its roots in Confucian teachings. Chinese mothers typically focus on grooming their child to be as successful as possible, while disregarding that it could lead to concerning levels of stress and anxiety. Children who have to go through the process of taking the gaokao, a rigourous exam, are sometimes driven to suicide. Most importantly, however, children raised by extreme parents lose a great deal of the individuality, imagination, and leadership skills that they need later in life.

This isn’t to say that a style of strict parenting should be thrown out the window entirely. There’s a benefit to raising children to be bright and responsible from a young age. But it’s important to foster creativity and imagination in them as well, along with setting realistic expectations of them. In other words: let kids be kids.

Cute Animals

It seems counterintuitive that what the average opinion expects the average opinion to be would have such a large effect on the stock market. In practice, it’s actually not the best idea to invest in a company one thinks is the best, but rather which company everyone else thinks is the best. Ideally, picking the company everyone else picks leads to the rising of that company’s stock prices.

It’s comparable to something as silly as a cute animal contest. One study, conducted by Planet Money, consisted of videos of three cute animals: a cat, loris, and baby polar bear. Participants were asked which one was the cutest and which one everyone else might vote to be the cutest. And the results were, well, counterintuitive: more people expected the cat to win than the number of people who thought the cat was the cutest.

So, it appears the stock market can be crazy sometimes. It can get things right once in a while, but it can also be like a cute animal contest. We’ve delved into an era in economics in which public opinion’s expectations of public opinion drives the stock market, and most people will invest in a company that might not actually be the best.

Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide

It seems counterintuitive that the ill and elderly ones have a choice to painlessly kills themselves with the assist of physicians and medicine. With the two different ways to choose from, Euthanasia or Physician Assisted Suicide, people essentially have a chance to choose if they no longer wish to live while doing it painlessly. There are different types of Euthanasia such as voluntary, nonvoluntary, involuntary, passive, and active. A patient can be treated with the method of Euthanasia only if they are suffering from an incurable disease, and they can only receive the method with their own consent, a close relative’s consent if they are unable to give consent. Unfortunately, even if the patient can give consent but wishes not to, they may be forced against their will to go through Euthanasia. Another option that people have would be physician assisted suicide in which they are given pills to place them into a coma, and the patient does not need to be ill to take the pills. Even though it is a difficult topic to discuss, as long as they have no history of any mental illness or emotional instability, and the patient and physician are obeying the Death with Dignity Law, it is very possible to decide your death date.

Economic Cons Outweigh the Pros

It seems counterintuitive that unemployment rates are raising and Inflation is increasing because the Government decides to increase minimum wage. At first it seems all cool and dandy, the government raising minimum wage way higher than it was before, but really, it is just causing the economy to go downhill. Unemployment rates are increasing severely with over 100,000 people either losing their jobs or not getting accepted into a part-time job they applied for. This is causing numerous young and low-skilled individuals to not get jobs or the experience for a job, which will definitely affect the economy in the long-run when businesses are in need of new employees and there won’t be many people who know how to work a simple job. As the government is raising minimum wage, it is causing businesses to lose money because they have to pay their employees a larger amount of income. Before, minimum wage used to be very low, but now since minimum wage has raised, businesses have been trying to find ways to save money by using technology and replacing a human worker with a robot or computer. For example, McDonald’s self-serve kiosks or Walmart’s self check outs are taking over. Along with gas prices going up as well, the unemployment rate and rate of inflation is not going to stop rising, and when the butterfly effect continues, sooner or later the economy is going to experience a great recession.

Does age matter how well you play the game?

It seems counterintuitive that Jared Goff, quarterback of LA Rams, seems to be the worst NFC West quarterback to make it to the Super Bowl, but loyal fans argue that it was his young age that correlated with his poor playing. Age does not determine how well you play, it is the skill that defines it. It was proven that age does not matter when it comes to how well you play in the Super Bowl. Whether a football player is too old or too young, they will have the energy to play at their best. If they are too young, then they never would have been drafted in the first place, and if a player is too old, then they will retire from the game. Goff played the worst game a quarterback could ever play in the Super Bowl, and this was what even fans were saying. Other players won the Super Bowl at a young age, and that proves that even at Goff’s age, around 24, it is the prime age to be an athlete. As a quarterback, Goff was known as the player who carried the team to the Super Bowl, but he did not keep that same energy when when it was his time to shine.