Counterintuitive Fall 2024

P1) Caffeine, a critical part of our daily lives, functions as a source of energy and significantly impacts individuals who consume it. These impacts have affected our sleeping cycles, academic performance, and bodies. Heavy consumption of caffeine has led to adverse effects on college students’ academic careers, as per the Haq and Walsh study conducted at Bethel University. According to them, heavy caffeine consumption diminishes academic performance due to the “high demands and stresses of college and graduate school”, they say,

“it is not surprising that many students sacrifice sleep and substitute with caffeine for the sake of their academic performance. Most students are unaware of the potential repercussions of these behaviors. Associated with these habits of excess caffeine consumption and sleep deficiency, students are not meeting weekly exercise recommendations. Due to busy schedules, nearly 40-50% of college students are deemed physically inactive.”

Many students turn to caffeine to boost their academic performance, often unaware of the potential repercussions. These habits have led to excess caffeine intake and sleep deficiency, resulting in students not meeting weekly exercise recommendations. Busy schedules contribute to nearly 40-50% of college students being deemed physically inactive. Finding a result of ignoring their well-being and instead focusing more on academic performance leaves us unaware of what’s happening to our body, which is constantly on overdrive all the time, heavily affecting us.

P2) Of all college students, reportedly 93% have consumed caffeine, with an average daily intake of 159 mg; frequent consumers averaged 173 mg per day. Among this 93%, only 75% consumed caffeine daily, while 17% had it three times a day or more. The group within the 75% range faces a higher risk of harm compared to those in the 17% range. Those in the 75% range face a higher risk of harm compared to the 17% range, indicating habitual daily consumption for the 75% and less frequent intake for the 17%.

Among college students, a significant majority, reportedly 93%, have consumed caffeine, averaging a daily intake of 159 mg, with frequent consumers averaging 173 mg per day. Interestingly, within this group, only 75% consume caffeine daily, while 17% partake in it three times a day or more. Surprisingly, the 75% range, which habitually consumes caffeine daily, faces a higher risk of potential harm compared to the 17% with less frequent intake. This pattern suggests that habitual daily consumption might pose greater risks in contrast to less frequent consumption.

P3) Consuming excessive caffeine can impact both our mental alertness and physical well-being. Research indicates that prolonged wakefulness induced by caffeine can disrupt our body’s ability to keep pace. It interferes with obtaining deep sleep, reducing its quality due to prolonged mental alertness. Studies conducted by Christopher Drake and other researchers highlight the effects of consuming excessive amounts of caffeine being,

“400 mg of caffeine taken 0, 3, or even 6 hours before bedtime significantly disrupts sleep. Even at 6 hours, caffeine reduced sleep by more than 1 hour. This degree of sleep loss, if experienced over multiple nights, may have detrimental effects on daytime function.”

The impact on our sleep cycle becomes evident when we struggle to sleep because our brains signal wakefulness. This creates a continuous loop, blurring the line between wakefulness and sleep. High school students, affected by constant tiredness, find it challenging to concentrate in class. CBC News shared a video,“Generation Sleep Deprived: How Lack of Sleep Is Hurting Canadian Teens | In-Depth,” highlighting the struggles of sleep-deprived students. The impact of 400 mg of caffeine consumed within 0, 3, or even 6 hours before bedtime is notable in disrupting sleep patterns. Surprisingly, even at the 6-hour mark, caffeine still led to a reduction of over an hour in total sleep duration. Such significant sleep disruption, if repeated over several nights, can profoundly affect daytime functionality, potentially causing detrimental effects on cognitive and physical performance.

P4) This sheds light on the impacts of caffeine consumption, particularly its significant impact on our sleep cycle. Attempting a 1 to 2-hour nap becomes challenging due to the lingering presence of caffeine in our system. Consequently, this situation leads to,

“most people benefit from at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night, which is an adequate amount of time for a person to complete a regular sleep cycle. When students lose sleep, they disrupt their sleep cycles and their bodies respond by decreasing their ability to concentrate and complete complex tasks.”

Getting adequate sleep, ideally 7 to 8 hours, is crucial for a complete sleep cycle and overall well-being. Yet, when students compromise on this, disrupting their sleep patterns, it affects their ability to focus and handle complex tasks. Any attempt to grab some rest is thwarted by lingering caffeine, reducing the quality of our deep sleep. The consumption of caffeine later in the day further complicates matters, making concentration difficult in classes and impeding our ability to sleep. Disrupted sleep cycles not only impact focus but also significantly affect academic performance, underscoring the importance of maintaining a healthy sleep routine for overall wellness.

P5) Caffeine plays a significant role in disrupting our sleep patterns by blocking adenosine receptors responsible for triggering chemicals in our brain that promote wakefulness. Ordinarily, the more these chemicals accumulate, the sleepier we feel, but caffeine inhibits this process. Consequently, the buildup caused by caffeine blocks the usual sleep-inducing mechanism, ensuring our alertness and vigilance persist consistently.

I came across a video by the Sleep Foundation discussing how coffee consumption can negatively impact sleep. It highlights ways to avoid caffeine for better sleep, although the actual relationship between caffeine and sleep is more intricate. Studies reveal that caffeine competes with adenosine for receptors in our brains. However, unlike its effect on sleep, caffeine doesn’t decrease adenosine levels in our bodies. Instead, it hampers the reception of adenosine by our brain, reducing drowsiness without altering adenosine amounts in our system.

P6) Caffeine swiftly absorbs into the body, eliciting immediate effects within 5 to 30 minutes of consumption. These effects range from heightened breathing and heart rate to increased mental alertness and physical energy. However, the duration of these effects can vary, lasting up to 12 hours, contingent upon individual differences.

Using more than 600 mg of caffeine daily may lead to enduring consequences. These long-term effects encompass sleeping difficulties, bone thinning, fractures, heightened anxiety, and increased stomach acidity. Furthermore, it can elevate blood pressure, exacerbating existing hypertension conditions.

P7) Research has revealed the influence of caffeine on both sleep quality and academic performance through participant surveys. The findings indicate that non-consumers generally exhibit more favorable sleeping patterns compared to consumers

” study consists of a four section anonymous, Qualtrics online survey with a series of questions regarding caffeine consumption, sleep, and academics. The total amount (mg) of caffeine consumed and total sleep duration was determined for each participant. Results found that non-consumers have longer sleep duration (p=0.002) and higher GPA compared to the consumers group (p< 0.001), non-caffeine consumers have longer sleep duration compared to the high level of caffeine consumption (p=0.041), and that males consume a greater amount (mg) of caffeine than females (p=0.024).

The research utilized an anonymous online survey with four sections focusing on caffeine habits, sleep routines, and academic performance. Each participant’s caffeine intake (measured in mg) and total sleep duration underwent analysis. Significant findings emerged: those not consuming caffeine had longer sleep durations and higher GPAs compared to caffeine consumers. Abstaining from caffeine correlated with longer sleep compared to high caffeine intake. Additionally, males tended to consume more caffeine (mg) than females.

A surprising discovery was the gender-based difference in caffeine consumption. Contrary to expectations, males consumed a higher amount of caffeine than females, challenging the assumption of equal consumption between genders. Interestingly, the study highlighted that females tended to have longer sleep durations than males when consuming caffeine, suggesting a potential sleep discrepancy influenced by gender among caffeine consumers.

P8) This concept revolves around the impact of alcohol and caffeine consumption on our central nervous system, causing adverse effects on our bodies. Caffeine, classified as a stimulant, heightens brain and nervous system activity, elevating the circulation of chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline. In smaller quantities, caffeine can induce a sense of alertness and concentration. This revelation often prompts individuals to contemplate ceasing coffee intake altogether.

Understanding the effects of alcohol and caffeine on our central nervous system sheds light on their potential adverse impacts on our bodies. Caffeine, known as a stimulant, increases activity in the brain and nervous system, leading to the release of chemicals such as cortisol and adrenaline. In smaller doses, caffeine can boost alertness and enhance concentration. Discovering these effects often prompts people to consider completely stopping their intake of coffee and other caffeinated beverages.

P9) Caffeine’s impact extends beyond its physiological effects, influencing societal behavior by driving increased spending and impulsive purchases. A study conducted by USF Innovation delved into caffeine’s role in impulse control. Lead author Dipayan Biswas, the Frank Harvey Endowed Professor of Marketing at USF, highlighted how caffeine, acting as a potent stimulant, triggers dopamine release, stimulating both the mind and body. This heightened state of energy tends to amplify impulsivity and diminish self-control. Consequently, increased caffeine intake correlates with impulsive shopping behavior, resulting in the purchase of a greater number of items and higher spending. The research underscores how caffeine significantly influences individuals, leading them to buy more than intended, even if they initially intended to purchase only a few items.

The impact of caffeine transcends mere physiological effects, significantly influencing societal behavior, particularly in driving heightened spending and impulsive purchases. USF Innovation’s study, led by Dipayan Biswas, the Frank Harvey Endowed Professor of Marketing, delved into caffeine’s role in controlling impulses. Biswas emphasized how caffeine, a potent stimulant, triggers dopamine release, energizing both the mind and body. This heightened energy often escalates impulsiveness while reducing self-control. Consequently, heightened caffeine consumption tends to correlate with impulsive shopping tendencies, resulting in increased item purchases and greater spending. The research effectively highlights caffeine’s profound influence on individuals, compelling them to exceed their intended purchases, even when their initial plan was to buy only a few items.

P10) According to Curry & Sastio, the heavy marketing of caffeinated energy drinks, particularly to young adults, leads to the belief that caffeine can mitigate some negative effects of alcohol intoxication. When alcohol is combined with caffeine, the caffeine has the potential to conceal the depressant impact of alcohol, giving drinkers a false sense of increased alertness. Consequently, this might lead individuals to consume more alcohol, feeling less impaired than they actually are, thereby elevating the risk of alcohol-related consequences.

Curry & Sastio’s findings shed light on how the aggressive marketing of caffeinated energy drinks, especially targeting young adults, fosters the misconception that caffeine can offset certain adverse effects of alcohol intoxication. Combining alcohol with caffeine has the potential to mask the depressant effects of alcohol, creating a deceptive sense of heightened alertness among drinkers. This false perception might prompt individuals to consume more alcohol, believing themselves to be less impaired than reality, consequently increasing the likelihood of alcohol-related risks and their associated consequences.

P11) This can be seen as a good thing in society that helps people stay away from consuming caffeine but people who drink coffee every day hear this and try to steer off drinking coffee. This leads them down the road of having of showing symptoms of withdrawal. This is seen as them being addicts that need coffee, but try to stay away from it. We find that people who are having withdrawals are heavily affected by it that it affects the hard. Laura Juliano, et. al. state that “Caffeine withdrawal can impair normal functioning (e.g., incapacitating headache, missing work), and it has been suggested that fatigue and performance decrements resulting from acute caffeine abstinence may have important safety implications (e.g., sleepiness while driving) and academic achievement.”

P12) When studying caffeine we find that it has different impacts on people that may affect their academic careers and more. But we found that it impacts a person’s health which is found in us

“exploring eating habits and weight loss mechanisms related to sleep quality have generally been inconclusive. This study explored total daily caffeine consumption (along with different sources of caffeine) as well as dieting and exercising to lose weight in the last 30 days as risk factors for poor sleep quality among an undergraduate university population.”

References

Saira Haq & Katelyn M. Walsh. (2018) Examining the Effects of Caffeine, Sleep and Exercise on the Academic Performance of PA Students. Bethel University 

Caffeine: Consumer Consumption Habits and Safety Perceptions. (15th March 2022). Your Nutrition and Food Safety Resource.

Christopher Drake, Ph.D., F.A.A.S.M., & Timothy Roehrs, Ph.D., F.A.A.S.M., & John Shambroom, B.S., & Thomas Roth, Ph.D. (2013 Nov). Caffeine Effects on Sleep Taken 0, 3, or 6 Hours before Going to Bed.

CBC Radio-Canada. (2018). Generation sleep deprived: How lack of sleep is hurting Canadian teens | In-Depth

Otenyo, Jane Kate. (2015). Sleeping Habits and Sleep Deprivation Among College Students. University of Arizona 

Sleep Is The Foundation. (2023, Oct). Coffee Is Ruining Your Sleep – But It Doesn’t Have To (Our Tips!)

Gabrish, Danielle L. (2017). Caffeine Use, Hours of Sleep, and Academic Performance of Undergraduate College Students. Kent State University, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Health Sciences.

University of South Florida (USF Innovation). (July 2022). Drinking Coffee Can Make You More Impulsive and Cause You To Spend More Money

Kim Curry, & Michel J. Stasio. (15 July 2009). The Effects of Energy Drinks Alone and with Alcohol on Neuropsychological Functioning

Laura M. Juliano, & Edward D. Huntley, & Paul T. Harrell, & Ashley T. Westermann. (1 August 2012). Development of the Caffeine Withdrawal Symptom Questionnaire: Caffeine withdrawal symptoms cluster into 7 factors

Elizabeth A Claydon, Jenna M Kahwash, Christa L Lilly, Yahya Alamir, Keith J Zullig. Subjective Sleep Quality, Caffeine, and Dieting Behaviors Among University-Attending Young Adults*9630000

BetterHealthChannel. (8th Feb 2022). Caffeine

MyHealth.Alberta.ca. (1st June 2023) Common Drugs: Caffeine

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (7th December 2022). Alcohol and Caffeine

Grateful Earth. (November 2022). HOW COFFEE AFFECTS THE BRAIN

TYE Medical. (July, 2022). How Does Caffeine Affect Your Body?

Associated Coffee. (2019, April). Fight Grogginess With A Coffee Nap

Miguel S Cabalag, David McDonald Taylor, Jonathan C Knott, Paul Buntine, DeVilliers Smit & Alastair Meyer. (2010 Jan). Recent caffeine ingestion reduces adenosine efficacy in the treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia

Nutrition Needs to Be a Core Subject

The American K-12 curriculum is guided along by one key idea, the core subject. According to Brian Miller in, “What does a High School Curriculum include?” the core subjects are english, math, science, social studies, and foreign language. In order for a student to legally graduate high school, they must pass whatever their state’s required amount of classes is for these core subjects. This is a simple enough concept to grasp. Its easy enough to see how subjects like science and english will play a role in students lives after their graduation, so we don’t really think about how or why these subjects are selected to be the core subjects. As it turns out, there isn’t any set of criteria that determines what the core subjects are. Searching for, “What is a core subject” will often yield results that tell you what those subjects are, rather than showing you how they benefit the students. For example, Information published by the College Board defines a core subject as, “mandatory classes you must take to meet graduation requirements in the subject areas of English, math, science, and social studies.” Unfortunately, this type of surface-level definition is the most common result when researching the topic. The issue with these types of definitions is that they don’t actually tell us the reason why the government requires students take these courses in order to graduate. They lack any substance. So is there a definition that can help give us the reason? What is the criteria that actually makes a subject “core?” And should be questioning that criteria?

Maybe its obvious to some what determines a core subject. All of the previously mentioned core subjects are umbrella terms that cover a wider variety of more specific topics. A student’s schedule would never say math or science, it would instead say statistics or physics, for example. So this means that one characteristic of a ore subject is that its broad enough to fit another, smaller subjects into it. You could argue that putting thought into the what we consider a core subject is useless because every subject somehow fits under those main 5 core subjects, however even if this is true, I still think its worth examining why we value the core subjects so much. Why do we value the problem solving skills that students gain from math classes, and why do we think that learning how the world works in the form of science is valuable? The answer to these questions will help us define what makes the core subjects, core.

One potential definition of core subject comes from the federal government itself, specifically, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nancy Saffer in a piece written for the Bureau titled, “Core subjects and your career” talks about both the general applications of each subject in the real world, but more specifically, the career implications that each subject has. For example, when writing about the benefits that taking english courses has, Staffer tells the reader how the communications skills that students learn in english classes are valuable to all career types, even ones that require little communication. Now we’re getting somewhere. This concept tells us that the skills we learn in core classes should be applicable to wide variety of potential careers. This makes sense because if everyone is required to take these courses, then those courses should teach you things that act as a foundation for any number of careers. We now have another piece of criteria that we can use to define a core subject. A core subject should be valuable in its ability support at least foundational skillset for any career.

If the selection process of core subjects was only concerned with how it impacted careers, then that would be disappointing to say the least. So what else besides careers are core subjects concerned with supplementing its students with? Well one answer could come from Jackson Best, who states that, soft skills can be learned through mathematics, a subject where soft skills wouldn’t seem too intertwined. According to Best, “But this same anxiety [anxiety of failing in mathematics] can be used to develop resilience instead of trauma if we give students the right tools to manage it.” What this means is that we see the core subjects as something that can enhance other skills that aren’t inherently related to the subject. These subjects must provide skills that students are able to utilize in different way. While similar to the careers criteria, this differs slightly because these soft skills learnt from the core subjects are able to be sued in environments outside of the workplace as well. These skills are used to prepare students for their adult lives.

Now we have our criteria for a core subject. A core subject must be able to fit other, similar subjects into it, it must prepare students with skills specifically geared towards careers, and it must prepare students with skills they can utilize in their adult lives. So how does it actually look in practice? One example that I think is extremely relevant is how in high school, I would often hear fellow classmates ask, “Why aren’t we taught how to do taxes in school?” I often agreed with their assertion that learning how to do taxes would be beneficial to the students. Let’s take a look at a theoretical ‘tax education’ subject, and if it would fit our criteria? Well, a tax education would first have to be broad enough to fit other, more specific classes as well. This might be a stretch, but students could learn different parts of tax law, so we’ll say it passes this criteria. This subject would absolutely fit our criteria with preparing kids for their futures, no questions asked But what about our criteria with preparing kids with career oriented skills that prepare for a broad variety of careers. This is where I have my doubts. This type of subject would be incredibly specific. Would the skills learned in this class be undoubtedly applicable to students and their wide array of careers? I don’t think so.

With this idea of a core subject now properly defined, we can now use it to determine what core subjects should look like moving forward. We can criticize this set of criteria and use it to change the education system, or enhance it.

So if Nutrition is supposed to be a core subject, it is important to consider any potential risks that come with it.

The phrase, “Knowledge is power” is a phrase that is commonly used in all institutions of life, and is one that’s value is often misunderstood. The quote is true, knowing things does allow us to make more informed decisions that will positively impact our life, and that could very easily be considered a form of power. However, this quote seems to always be used to drive home the belief that having knowledge is an objectively good thing, and the negative aspects of having knowledge are never considered. Knowledge has undoubtedly been what’s allowed humanity to push forward and survive for millions of years, but these triumphs have made us largely uninterested what negative aspects knowledge may have on the individual who possesses it. Sure, phrases like “Ignorance is bliss” and the infamous troubled genius stereotype do explore how possessing knowledge can be a bad thing, but they fail to establish a direct link between having knowledge and being unhappy.

Sarah Lindberg in her article titled, “Is Watching the News bad for Mental Health” examines the relationship between news consumption and mental health. She explains how the emotional impact of consuming negative news can lead to heightened feelings on depression and anxiety. The fact that consuming a lot of news is bad for our mental health is a well-documented and unsurprising fact at this point, but how does it relate to negative effects of possessing knowledge? When we watch the news, we are gaining knowledge on current events, and that knowledge makes us think about what we can do about it. For example, if someone watches a story on a mass shooting, that knowledge could make them want to go to a protest, or fundraise for a politician who promises to implement a solution to the issue. In other words, the knowledge they gained from watching the news gave them the power to make a change, which is great for society as a whole. But how does that effect the person on a personal level? Not only were they subjected to the horrors of the original news story, but now they are spending their time thinking about a morbid subject. It would be a lot easier for this person to have never saw the news story in the first place.

One argument against the idea that knowledge causes unhappiness could be that the knowledge isn’t whats causing the unhappiness, but the actions we take as a result of the knowledge is. Knowledge in itself though can absolutely be what causes unhappiness. For example if someone has cancer, getting a diagnosis from a doctor is the best thing for their physical health because now they can start treating the cancer and getting better. This isn’t how cancer patients tend to view the diagnosis though. According to information published by the ADAA, “After diagnosis, 40 percent of cancer patients report developing significant distress that can include serious worry, panic attacks, depression, and PTSD, or posttraumatic stress disorder.” What’s key to focus on here is that these symptoms are occurring after the initial diagnosis, not after the extensive treatment of the patient that would undoubtedly negative impact their mental health as well. The knowledge of having an awful, life threatening disease, despite that knowledge being the best thing for them, causes the patients to become more unhappy. And this reaction is completely understandable, but it also proves how knowledge can be negative.

While the previously mentioned examples are certainly extreme examples, we can even see examples of knowledge creating a sense of disappointment in our daily lives. Many people use honey as a way to sweeten whatever they are consuming, thinking that its a healthier alternative to sugar. In reality, consuming honey is pretty much the exact same as consuming sugar, with the only difference being that honey is sweeter, so you’ll use less of it. The people who have been slathering their pastries and beverages in honey would probably be pretty upset to learnt that they’ve essentially been consuming pure sugar for years. Once again, its pretty safe to assume that they’d rather not learned this fact at all. After all, they want whatever they’re eating or drinking to be sweet enough. Similarly, those who take melatonin before bed would probably be upset to hear that daily intake of the supplement actually damages their quality of sleep in the long run. In both of these cases, the person would be able to make an informed decision about how they want to change the way that they are living, and this is a good thing! But despite this, the immediate psychological effects that this knowledge gives us tend to be negative most of the time.

So knowledge makes us unhappy. Does this mean that we should abandon all forms of knowledge in pursuit of a happier wellbeing? Not at all. Even if knowledge makes us unhappy, the insight into whatever we are learning about allows us to make more informed, and therefore better, decisions about our lives. The discomfort we may experience from learning a fact may make us unhappy in the short term, but we live our lives for the long term. We can even see this play out in the examples above. By watching the news, we know what’s happening in the world we live in, and that is extremely important! Hearing about atrocities happening around the globe is never easy, and we all may wish that we had never known at all. But with the knowledge of these current events, we can work towards preventing similar ones in the future. A cancer diagnosis is one of the scariest things that a person can hear in their entire lives as it causes a wave of dread to pulse through their mind. But for someone who does have cancer, a diagnosis is the best thing they could possibly hear because it will start their treatment, and increase their chances of surviving. We often envy those who we feel are blissfully unaware of what’s happening in the world, but don’t be fooled. Life always has examples of give and take, and when we give away our immediate satisfaction, we take the ability to improve our lives in the long run.

According to Oona Hanson, who wrote “‘Healthy eating’ curriculum can do more harm than good” for CNN, adding nutrition classes to schools would be ultimately harmful to students because of how state education standards would likely cause them to develop eating disorders. Hanson makes a compelling argument; poorly structured nutrition classes causing eating disorders amongst the youth is a reality that nobody wants. However despite this potential risk of establishing nutrition classes in schools, I believe that focusing on this one specific issue undermines the overall need for these classes in the US.

Norway is one of the only countries in the world that has a mandatory nutrition curriculum in their schools. The Norwegian Ministry of Education outlines some of what this curriculum looks like, which includes the expectation that primary school students are able to, “describe the characteristics of healthy and a wide variety of food and why they are important to health.” This is an important aspect of any nutrition curriculum, but how does it impact the rate of eating disorders in Norway? Well, according to an article published by World Population Review titled, “Eating Disorders by Country 2023,” the United States, without a nutrition curriculum, already has a slightly higher anorexia index compared to Norway. Many factors can contribute to disordered eating in a population, and while Norway’s numbers are far from perfect, what’s important to take away is that Norway has a lower rate of anorexia despite the fact that they have this mandatory curriculum. This proves that if implemented correctly, a nutrition class in the United States would likely not increase disordered eating in the enough to warrant not implementing the class, especially when you consider the other benefits of these classes.

Is the harm of potentially instilling eating disorders into children by nutrition classes in schools worth the benefit of having a healthier population? What even is the benefit? Well, the truth is that there is an undeniable massive obesity problem in the United States. Its so bad that according to a study published by the CDC titled, “Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Severe Obesity Among Adults Aged 20 and Over: United States, 1960–1962 Through 2017–2018,” the number of Americans who are simply, “overweight” has gone down since 1960. This seems like a good statistic that would suggest that Americans are getting healthier. Unfortunately, the reason why less people are simply, “overweight” now is because more people just skip this category entirely and go straight to obese. Not only is the number of unhealthy Americans going up, but the degree of their unhealthiness is also rising as well. It’s difficult to look at this data and not want to do anything about it. Clearly public health initiatives by the government departments targeted at adults are not working, so why not try to establish healthy habits in school children, who are much more likely to adapt the habits that they are learning in classes?

Well, Hanson would argue that if school children are more likely to adapt these healthy habits, then they would be more likely to adapt harmful ones like eating disorders as well, and there is some truth to that. I’m not here to argue that either obesity or an eating disorder is worse than the other. Both are awful conditions that we should try to prevent. However, it is a fact that there are significantly less people who suffer from eating disorders compared to obesity. The already high number and the sheer rate of just how rapidly obesity is rising is should absolutely take precedent above all at this point. American’s are only going to get more unhealthy if the current public health initiates stay in place, so what other choice do we have? Even Hanson’s own proposed solutions involve working with students to ensure that they do not develop eating disorders if nutrition classes were mandatory. It is likely that if these classes were established, they wouldn’t be perfect, but given the extreme circumstances we are in, the good absolutely outweighs the harm. And until a better solution is suggested, can it really be afforded to consider anything else at this point?

Establishing nutrition classes into classrooms seems like a big change, and with such big changes, it makes sense why people like Hanson may want to consider the risks. The sad truth however is that the United States is quite behind a lot of the developed world when it comes to nutrition education. According to a study published by Kim Smith et al. titled, “How Primary School Curriculums in 11 Countries around the World Deliver Food Education and Address Food Literacy: A Policy Analysis,” 11 countries either partially or comprehensively address food literacy in their primary schools. It shouldn’t come as a shock that these countries have less obesity compared to the United States. The fact that so many countries with healthier populations than the United States already have some form of nutritional education in place means that we can establish a system that we know works in other places. Its a lot easier to live with potential the risk of an increased number of eating disorders if you know that the system that you’re buying into is going to be effective.

Overall, Hanson’s concerns of students developing potential eating disorders as a result of nutritional education classes are completely warranted. In fact, these concerns are welcomed because they will help these classes be as safe for students as possible, should they ever be put into place. However as for the question of if these classes will be more harmful than beneficial, the answer couldn’t be any more clear. There is a reason why obesity in the United States is referred to as an epidemic, and addressing this epidemic through schools seems to be the only effective option moving forward. The unfortunate truth is that the United States is far behind a lot of the world in establishing some form of formal nutritional education, and if we know that countries with these systems have healthier populations than us, then why are we still questioning if these classes should be established or not?

References

Best, Jackson. “Finding Soft Skills in Mathematics Isn’t As Hard As You Might Think.” 3P Learning, 2 Mar. 2020 https://www.3plearning.com/blog/finding-soft-skills-mathematics-isnt-hard-might-think/

Miller, Brian. “What Does a High School Curriculum Include?” – Education Degree. https://www.educationdegree.com/articles/what-a-high-school-curriculum-includes/#:~:text=What%20Are%20the%205%20Core,and%20a%20foreign%20language%20course. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.

What’s the Difference between Elective and Core Subjects? – BigFuture | College Board. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/help-center/whats-difference-between-elective-and-core-subjects. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.

Nancy, Saffer. “Core subjects and your career.” – United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/1999/Summer/art03.pdf

“Is Watching the News Bad for Mental Health?” Verywell Mind, https://www.verywellmind.com/is-watching-the-news-bad-for-mental-health-4802320. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.

Serious, Chronic, or Terminal Illnesses – Tips for Patients and Caregivers | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. https://adaa.org/serious-chronic-or-terminal-illnesses#:~:text=People%20who%20have%20serious%2C%20chronic,for%20experiencing%20anxiety%20and%20depression. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.

Hanson, Oona. “‘Healthy Eating’ Curriculum Can Do More Harm than Good.” CNN, 9 Oct. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/health/unhealthy-school-nutrition-lessons-wellness/index.html.

Eating Disorders by Country 2023. Ranking Eating Disorders by Country 2023 https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/eating-disorders-by-country. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Fryar CD, Carroll MD, Afful J. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity among adults aged 20 and over: United States, 1960–1962 through 2017–2018. NCHS Health E-Stats. 2020.

Norway Ministry of Education and Research. Curriculum for Food and Health. Ministry of Education
and Research, June 29, 2020. https://data.udir.no/kl06/v201906/laereplaner-lk20/MHE01-02.pdf?lang=eng

Faberman, Rhea. “State of Obesity 2023: Better Policies for a Healthier America.” Trust For America’s Health, 2023, https://www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2023/.

Smith K, Wells R, Hawkes C. How Primary School Curriculums in 11 Countries around the World Deliver Food Education and Address Food Literacy: A Policy Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Feb 11;19(4):2019. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042019. PMID: 35206208; PMCID: PMC8871606.

Michael Jordan Is The Greatest Basketball Player Of All Time

There’s five seconds left on the clock, the team is down by one point. If the shot is made they win the championship. Who will take the shot? Is it Lebron James? Or maybe Kobe Bryant? Or maybe even Steph Curry. No, the player that will take this shot is the GOAT, Michael Jordan is that player. Or is he?

In the first place what gives a player the title GOAT? A GOAT which is the greatest of all time is a title not handed out to many, there can only be one GOAT in each sport. But what makes a GOAT? As described in (Streeter, 2023) GOAT’s are everywhere in sports as they over the years people have gave out the title to many players. However, what really sets these players apart from the rest in their sports? Are there multiple GOAT’S in a sport or can there only be one?

For example Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls which is the greatest achievement you can win in football and Brady has the most ever won. This is one of the GOAT’s in sports. However none set the bar as high as Michael Jordan won six championships in his career and never lost a single championship, as he also holds records for the best regular season average of points of all time and when it matters the most he also holds the record for most playoff points scored a game. We can use these statistics to call a player a GOAT because winning the championship is the hardest accomplishment to achieve in sports and how players go their entire careers without winning one so for a player to win multiple of these is crazy in itself.

There can also be made an argument that there is not just one GOAT per sport; for example in football there are multiple positions, and that leads to several players being the best of all time at their position. But there is a major difference; for example, the best wide receivers are as great as they are because of the quarterback being able to get them the ball. A single wide receiver can’t win or lose a game on his own, but a quarterback can. This is the same on the defensive side of the ball. Sure, the best guys can make huge plays, but they can’t win a game on their own. Tom Brady took bad defenses and a bad offense to the championship and won. This is why he’s the GOAT. In basketball, sure, there are players who are the best at their position, but none of them won like Jordan did or played as well as he did. Another example of why there’s only one GOAT per sport is Wayne Gretzky. In hockey, there are the forwards and the defender plus the goalie. Gretzky was “one of one” in hockey. He broke every record known to man. Not only was he a brilliant playmaker and scorer, but he was also a great defender and contributed greatly on defense. No player in history at another position had as much of an impact as Gretzky did; hence, hockey is another sport where there are multiple positions, but there can be only one GOAT.

We also care about the stats because not only does it show us what kind of player they were but how dominant they were, and how clutch they have been. Some example of being clutch are, hitting a game winning three pointer at the end of the game, scoring an overtime goal, hitting a walk-off homerun to win. These are examples of clutch game winning events, but there’s also other times that can be determined as clutch. An example would be tying the game up or hitting a pop up to get the runner home, or even just making a free throw to keep the lead at the end of game. These are the example of clutch events, but it’s no easy task to be a clutch player. To be clutch you have to have a separate mentality then most, for example if you are down by two points who is going to take the shot? Whoever volunteers knows that they have all the pressure on themselves, no matter how well the player played up to that point does not affect how the fans will feel if the player misses the shot. This player will either be a hero or a villain. That being said there is one player who always took the shot and always thought he would make it, this player never let the moment get to big. This player was Michael Jordan, Jordan holds an NBA record nine game winners during his career. Jordan would also has a 50% shooting percentage in the clutch, to compare Lebron James only has a 29% shooting percentage. Not all players were as graced with confidence as Jordan which led him to be the greatest clutch player in NBA history

There are some more meanings to the word GOAT, for example as described in (Brooks, 2022) this article explains how there’s times in sports where there are multiple player’s being called the GOAT for example in soccer Messi and Ronaldo are considered by many people the GOATS of the sports however there can only be one GOAT, for example people compare Messi’s total goals he scored in his career to Ronaldo’s, which lead to people to think Ronaldo was better, and for a while because neither had won the World Cup which is considered the greatest achievement in soccer this opinion was the same. That was until in 2022 when Messi finally would end the GOAT debate by being the most dominant player in the World Cup and winning it for the first time in his career. The team that these players have played for definitely gave these players a higher chance to win games, however when it mattered the most in the World Cup Messi and Ronaldo both had great teams, with both players being at their peak in skills it was Messi who came out on top. Messi would win MVP of the World Cup and it would show in his stats as he lead in everything not only did he score the most but he elevated his team enough to win it all

This is also in the NBA however in different circumstances, for example Michael Jordan and Lebron James are the two being compared for the GOAT status. In this case we have Lebron James who has the longer list of statistical achievements. For example he recently became the NBA scoring leader of all time. This is a popular claim for Lebron’s claim to being the GOAT, however this is where certain stats matter more then others. Michael Jordan did not accomplish all of these statistical feats, however he won arguably one of the hardest championships in sports six times and never lost once in a finals. While doing this Michal Jordan averaged the highest points per game in the playoffs in history. Jordan also would accomplish this feat in over three hundred less games. Michal Jordan will stay the GOAT of the NBA until James is able to surpass this however its looking unlikely as James is nearing the end of his career. In the end a GOAT is one of one.

Furthermore, there is an argument to be made that Lebron James is the actual GOAT. Lebron James over his longer career has quite the statistical resume to support his claim to the GOAT status. However, do better stats mean a better player?

When we think of the best players of all time do we think of their stats? Or do we think of these achievements these players made throughout the years they played, or is it how these players changed the landscape of the game. Stats have caused many to have different opinions on who they believe are the best players, but how do you take one statistic from the hundreds that there are to declare that one stands above the rest? Stats can also be used out of context for example a player that played the game in the past may have scored less three point shots then today’s player because of a rule change that brought the three point line closer to the basket to make the NBA games more high scoring. If a player has missed more shots then another does that mean they are worse then that player, or if a player has scored more goals in more games does that make them better.

In the article “Are We Becoming Too Obsessed With Stats In Sports?” its explained how people today, are taking these advanced stats and comparing every player with them, the problem with that is these advanced stats don’t include everything that goes into a player for example the stats could be comparing the points per game and the assists per game between two players and only using these to compare the players when a players may be better in other major areas then these two fields. It is explained how stats are being overvalued and can’t truly show how dominant a player is. The article also goes into how people may never watch these players play and just go to the stats section of the players career and use that to define them, this leads to many people believing another player is better than another.

In my next article, “LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: How their careers compare” this was a summary of the two players’ overall careers and who holds the better statistics and how there’s so many different ways to compare the players. The first statistic was Lebron has had the longer career, going into his 21st season while Jordan played 15 seasons. Many people could use this stat to say Lebron was more dominant over a longer period of time, or someone could say Jordan was more dominant in his years played the Lebron. The next stat was all time points scored LeBron’s has 38,799 while Jordan had 32,292. Lebron currently holds the record for most points scored of all time, this stat can be a major one used to say Lebron was better than Jordan, or you could use another stat which shows Jordan who averaged the most points per game of all time was better. The final stat the article would use was championships won which has Jordan currently ahead with his six championships won while Lebron James has 4 championship wins, However Lebron has been to the championship ten times total compared to Jordan’s six unfortunately for Lebron he lost six of those finals while Jordan never lost a single NBA final. The article’s overall conclusion was how do choose which statistic makes a player better when there are so many different ones to choose from.

In my final article I chose “What is the average points per game (PPG) in the NBA by year? Looking at the last decade and evolution of scoring” In this article is goes over how the 2022-23 season was one of the highest scoring seasons ever in the NBA. Due to the new rules that they did not have in the past which has led to the explosion of the three point shot, the game is played much different in todays game of basketball then in the past. This is yet another example of how the best statistic cause people to think players are better than others, due to more scoring this means there will be a higher assist average and higher points per game averages for everyone. A player back in the day before these new rules would average around fifteen point a game and be treated as a superstar however in todays game this kind of player would be what you hope for from a sixth man. In 1996 around 16 three point shots were being attempted per game while in 2022-23 the average is 34. My purpose for choosing this article is to show the effect that stats don’t mean everything when comparing players.

In today’s world with all of this technology players stats are being more used now than ever before, and the effect of this is causing fans to have all different kinds of opinions on who is the best, but they are consistently downplaying the past players and their greatness and what they brought to the game of basketball.

Additionally, to be the greatest of all time you have to leave an impact in your team’s history that will influence the future of the organization, even after they retire. And Jordan did just that. Without Jordan the Chicago Bulls would have won zero championships.

The Chicago Bulls were founded on January 16, 1966, hoping for early success, like all new franchises. But they didn’t achieve their first championship until 25 years later, when they would draft Michael Jordan. This was a franchise altering move that would forever change the landscape of the Bulls organization. Jordan would have an immediate impact on the team by leading the league in scoring his rookie season and leading the Bulls entire team in scoring, assists, and rebounds. Jordan would also take the third worst team in the league the prior year to the playoffs with a record of 38-44 and even beat the best team in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks once in the series but unfortunately they would be eliminated. For the next decade Jordan would completely dominate the NBA winning many awards and Championships.

In the first article I consulted, “Michael Jordan Career Stats,” I found out just how incredible Jordan truly was. During Jordan’s fifteen-year career, he averaged 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. Jordan currently holds the all time points a game average during the regular season and during the playoffs. If you take away the highest scorer from the Chicago Bulls they very quickly would go from best to worst, even if they tried to replace Jordan it is not possible, a reason for this is because “n 1,072 regular-season games. He was selected to play in 14 All-Star games. He won the Rookie of the Year award, 1 Defensive Player of the Year award, 5 MVP awards, 6 Finals MVP awards and 6 NBA championships”. Michael Jordan was one of one, these statistical feats he achieved would show the insane dominance he played with. You take this away from the Bulls and they would never win a championship. With all of these accomplishments Jordan achieved, this all leads to Jordan being the GOAT. No player has a greater resume as when Jordan first joined the league he was already the best, and this would continue throughout his entire career making him the GOAT.

In “Life without Michael Jordan: The Story of the 1993-94 Chicago Bulls” The Story of the 1993-94 Chicago Bulls,” Michael Jordan has just retired for the first time after the unexpected loss of his father. Jordan was coming off a championship win and an MVP season. This article explains how poorly the Bulls performed without Jordan. The team was coming off two championship wins in a row, and except for the loss of Jordan, they had pretty much the same team. And this factor proved true, with Pippen having a breakout season and coming in third in MVP voting. The Bulls finished the season at 55-27 and advanced to the playoffs, where the loss of Jordan really showed. Losing the greatest playoff scorer of all time really hurt them against other great teams, and they fell in the second round to the Knicks. Pippen did elevate his play to become the new Bull MVP but not the league MVP that Jordan was. While the Bulls were able to replace Jordan in the regular season, they couldn’t replace his ability to will his team to win in the playoffs every year.

If any basketball player can lay claim to GOAT status, it’s the player whose PRESENCE virtually guarantees success and whose ABSENCE spells failure. In my third and final article, “The Chicago Bulls’ Title Drought Without Michael Jordan ” this goes into the struggles the team faced after Jordan left. In 1998 the Bulls would finish 17th in the east after just winning the championship, with almost an identical team, the loss of Jordan would destroy them. Not only did the loss of Jordan contribute to the Bulls losing, but they would lose a massive part of the fanbase they created during his time. Some fans may have been Jordan fans and not Bulls fans, so when Jordan left so did they. The loss of Jordan also destroyed the team’s chemistry as there were now players that wanted to fill Jordans shoes and players who were only on the team to play with Jordan. The following season after Jordan retired the Bulls traded Dennis Rodman, and Pippen. The loss of Jordan gave the superstars no incentive to play for them and the Bulls would quickly go into a very long rebuilding stage which is still in effect 25 years later. This rebuild was so bad that the broadcasting networks would refuse to show their games as it was a complete disgrace to Basketball. After Jordan left, the Bulls record in the playoffs is 4-6. The Bulls who were this great franchise in the 90’s were left to nothing with the loss of Jordan besides the 6 great trophies they won.

To conclude, the Bulls record without Jordan is 207-389 in the regular season and they are 4-6 in the playoffs without him. Jordan won 6 championships for the Bulls, winning all six finals MVPs which was never done before. Without him they would have never won a single one, as we saw in the 1993-1994 season the Bulls were at their best and Jordan retired and the team that was claimed as the best in history couldn’t get past the second round without Jordan. Jordan did what many players dream to do, win a championship and he won six. No player can compare in just how great Jordan was. Jordan was the best scorer of all time and the most clutch and the loss of him is still felt within this franchise to this day. No other player will have an effect on their team for as long a period like Jordan. This is what makes Jordan my candidate for the one and only GOAT status

In brief; with the fate of the universe on the line and I need one player to make a game winning shot, give me the GOAT of the NBA Michael Jordan.

Streeter, K. (2023, July 3). GOATs are everywhere in sports. so what really defines greatness? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/03/sports/tennis/greatest-athlete-of-all-time.html#:~:text=Defining%20the%20term%20as%20%E2%80%9Cthe,the%20acronym%20had%20become%20dictionary

Brooks, M. (2022, December 27). GOAT meaning: what does the term G.O.A.T. mean in sport – why Lionel Messi and Pelé are often called it. NationalWorld. https://www.nationalworld.com/sport/other-sport/goat-meaning-what-does-the-term-goat-mean-in-sport-why-tom-brady-and-rafael-nadal-are-often-called-it-3568312

https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/what-average-points-per-game-ppg-nba-year-looking-last-decade-evolution-scoring

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/07/lebron-james-vs-michael-jordan-how-their-careers-compare/#:~:text=Jordan%20was%20the%20flashier%20scorer,triple%2Ddoubles%20to%20Jordan’s%2028.

https://www.tacklesmartsports.com/are-we-becoming-too-obsessed-with-stats-in-sports/#:~:text=It’s%20a%20complicated%20question%2C%20and,game%20(and%20a%20player).

The Chicago Bulls’ Title Drought Without Michael Jordan | BashaBearsBasketball.com. (2023, November 20). https://bashabearsbasketball.com/the-chicago-bulls-title-drought-without-michael-jordan/

Michael Jordan Career Stats. (n.d.). StatMuse. https://www.statmuse.com/nba/player/michael-jordan-1932

B, M. (n.d.). Life without Michael Jordan: The Story of the 1993-94 Chicago Bulls. Bleacher Report. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/370455-life-without-michael-jordan-the-story-of-the-1993-94-chicago-bulls

Bad Foundations Worse Future

Gaming is big; scratch that, it’s massive as an industry with premium titles selling millions of copies worldwide and dwarfing many other entertainment industries It might seem strange to say it’s on the way day in the coming years. Devastating layoffs, lawsuits due to misconduct and poor working conditions, and games increasing and price yet still asking for more, are all the symptoms of the more significant problem becoming more apparent each year, one of the enormous titans is  unfortunately built upon the weakest of foundations.

Believe it or not, this wouldn’t be the first time this industry would crash as in 1983, the “original” gaming market fell due to correspondent issues. A niche market with too many cooks trying to make a quick buck inflated the market past her possible capacity, causing significant losses and an overall need for more trust in the Burgeoning consumer base. Gaming won’t die with the crash, it’s “too big to fail” in that regard, but what will be left afterward depends on the willingness to change the systems that brought them such success before.

Usually, when talking about an industry crash, we think in terms of stocks, according to business  insider writer Robin Kavanagh’s “What Is a stock market crash? Understanding the causes and  consequences can help investors prepare.” The stock market crashes when a substantial drop in overall share prices occurs within a few days. An industry crash, more likely than not, coincides  with a “customer” crash where the customer(s) no longer have the desire to pay for said product in the same quantity they have wanted in the past. This can be shown in a fad’s massive surge of popularity only for interest to  take a nosedive right after. The video game crash of 1983 displays both the consumers’ lack of interest in the product and the lack of faith in the investors due to the market’s oversaturation.

With many entities fighting to get into this emerging market, the number of games being published inflated to a point where consumers couldn’t handle the sheer volume of games coming out. While not as many companies are attempting to get into the gaming scene, the amount of games published today has only increased with the arrival of independent studios and massive conglomerates alike.

Video games, as the name implies, instead of lacquered paper and colorfully reentered cardboard playmats and plastic figures. Video is a digital medium, lines of code packaged through cartridges, discs, or downloaded through storefronts. These games are also interactive mediums managed through a controller and a console. The console and controller are a two-part system, the console being a CPU (central processing unit) reading the code of the game, as well as processing the game’s internal mechanics and interactions. The controller is connected to the interaction part, and the assorted buttons affect the game state.

This careful balance between these three core aspects of games makes the groundwork for the majority of games, and even if one of these aspects wasn’t done correctly, it was a death blow for that company’s success. Creating a “good” (financially and critically successful) game is hard, and creating a good game that is also economically successful is much more complicated. In a paper written by Nikolai Surminski,  The role of video game quality in financial markets is stated that “while the correlation between product quality, profitability, and financial growth is impacting a company’s stock price through different steps, there also exists a direct link between quality and the performance in the financial markets.” In short, though not always the case, good games should and can produce profitable results.

The fall of gaming wasn’t the result of the good games not being successful enough, it was due to a two-part punch of a flood of low-quality games and overproduction of consoles and game cartridges not being able to make back the production costs. So many companies wanted in on the gaming gold rush without a proper understanding of the trinity; Lackluster games, barely functioning controllers and unimpressive consoles came into the market, oversaturating a market with simply not enough people to buy them. These products were bought and sold for the same price as good products (a range of 30 to 125$) and due to the lack of formal reviews of the newness of the market people were not the wiser when buying, causing an absence of faith in an industry that, from an outsider’s perspective was an expensive roll of the dice to see if you get something worthwhile.

Today, gaming is dominated by AAA developers’ massive studios with budgets ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of dollars to produce a shippable product, and while smaller studios still make games, it’s the AAA studio that is the backbone of the industry. The landscape of the financial world has changed a lot since then as investors grow hungrier for a favorable return on investment and studios do everything in their power to meet those arguably obtainable expectations, more extreme practices are put into place. the phantom the pain of old mistakes evolves, becoming a dark parody of hopefully learned Failings, those failings pressure that will collapse on the Titans once again only this time around, I don’t think anything will rise.

 “Too big to fail” is a phrase reserved for only the largest of industries, something momentous and all-consuming that a “failing” of said industry  merely inconsequential in the wake of its power. It is unlikely that the industry will crash soon, but not as far away as it seems. A thousand cuts, big and small, which weather at the foundation the sector is based on. The many avenues in which the current system fails to provide proper support for the sector only deepen those wounds that are left untreated due to ignorant publishers and uncaring investors.

 To major AAA developers and investors, these cuts seem like a drop in the bucket, and yes, in the grand scheme of things, losing a couple of million dollars by releasing a bad game is fine. Employee turnover? Just get more employees and reviewers not enjoying the game, and then pay them off. Game studios are unable to deliver games that sell unrealistic sales numbers, so they liquidate the company and sell it off for a quick profit. Selling a game at a sixty (now seventy) dollar price tag is not enough anymore, and neither is loading it with microtransactions to make its money back.

What happens when they can’t afford for a game to be a flop, when they have no more employees they can’t exploit, when they have no more studios that make games, when the consumer gets fed up with predatory practices in games they pay for? This shortsightedness leads to an upsetting present and an ominous future.

Game development, like a machine, has many different moving parts to make it work. Every part is essential, and each deserves an equal amount of respect, but sadly, that isn’t always the case. Game developers take many forms and shapes. There are game directors who keep the vision of the game intact while managing all the departments, concept artists who develop the game’s personality through their art, game testers who make sure the game bugs are dealt with before the initial release, and the code monkeys themselves who pound away making lines of code to create a playable experience.

The human element of games should always be a priority, but what happens when that human element is used and abused to the point of breaking? Crunch is a common practice used in the game industry where employees spend inhumane overtime hours in their office (usually without overtime pay), slaving away at their desks trying to get as much work done as possible in the hope that the game ends up worth the sacrifice. The sad part about this is that the crunch in the gaming industry is often self-inflicted due to the culture surrounding the industry and the expectations from peers; this is called “good crunch.” In the paper  Game Industry Discourses Perpetuate Unsustainable Labor Practices by Amanda C. Cote and Brandon C. Harris say

In the case of crunch and labor practices, this research considers “good crunch,” the self-imposed or scheduled crunch that developers endure to make the best games possible, as a form of cruel optimism. Since developers set good crunch up in opposition to (indeed, as a solution to) problems of bad crunch or extended overtime imposed on developers by publishers or technology.

Crunch, whether it be  self-inflicted or mandated by upper management, is inherently toxic to the industry; as crunch has become a commonplace practice instead of a last resort, the sector becomes reliant on a procedure that destroys employees. 

Game reviews are intrinsically linked to the games industry and thus connected to the game development process. Industry leaders expect that a major release will not only be profitable but also be reviewed well, hoping to  increase profits further due to good press. In Nikolai Surminskis’s Financial Markets Journal he states, “Data on the financial success of a game is only available weeks or months after the game’s launch. This means that during the release, game quality measured through reviews constitutes the only new information released to the market.”

Making a good game is the hard part and is in the hands of the developers; the same developers that are being crunched to complete said game good will eventually lead to burnout. When developers burn out, mistakes get made, people quit, and holes in development start to show. These holes cause games to get worse in the process, meaning that the same practice the industry uses to make their games is the same process, making the game review worse. 

The game industry chases trends in an attempt to keep up with evolving markets via a “sure thing.” When “World of Warcraft” came out and made an absurd amount of money, everyone wanted to make an MMO, as did Call of Duty and Fortnite. Now, game companies are not just chasing genre but copying a popular marketing strategy called ( GAAS) or games as a service. This strategy is used to make a single game last as long and be as profitable as possible, usually by the implementation of content packs before and after the initial release and  microtransactions.

GAAS is greatly inspired by the mobile game market, which profits nearly double the console market, as seen in the J Clements Market revenue chart done in 2022. The problem with GAAS is that it’s a mobile game system with a premium price tag being used on games. The difference between being subjected to microtransactions in a free-to-download game that we play for an hour max on your phone versus a premium 70$ product that you need to pay hundreds of  dollars for a console to have an opportunity to play and still needing to sell more money to get all of the content it has to offer. It puts pressure on consumers to pay more for less and effectively lowers engagement instead of retaining it. 

All of this is because of shortsightedness. Wicked poison to just about every industry, social, and political structure known to man, and the gaming industry is no different. Whether it be Congress enacting spotty laws to find a quick solution to a complex issue, a student waiting till the last minute to start studying for exams, or a game company deciding it needs another revenue stream so more microtransactions are added.

The source of the shortsightedness varies through industry, but a similar thought process is transparent throughout these situations “If it’s working right now, why should I stop?”. “it’s not sustainable” is the answer, and that’s something that is an arduous process, especially when it’s working so well and making them so much money and getting the company awards for how successful it becomes.

The fact of the matter is that games will never die, even if the industry crumbles. The games industry right now is growing. Yes, the big-budget titles are being reviewed well and selling well, but none of that is indefinite, not with shaky foundations and brittle pillars made from shortsightedness. Building upon such foundations leads to an inevitable fall no matter how well the industry and its supporters think it’s doing; it will be slow and dreadful, but it will fall, nonetheless. Pillars will crumble, and foundations will shift under the weight of the need for industry to reach for bigger and better things, and it will be over.

On October 20th, 2023, Spider-man 2 by Insomniac Games was released for the PlayStation Five, the latest console by Sony Games, and broke the record for the fastest-selling PlayStation exclusive title with its The previous holder is the Last of Us Part 2. According to Stephen Tolio of Gaming  “The development and marketing budget for Spider-Man 2 isn’t public, but if its first 2.5 million copies sold for at least $70 each that’d be a $175 million first-day hauls.”. It certainly is an impressive number in a vacuum, and it broke a record on its first day and has no doubt made much more since its release. This should prove that gaming isn’t in trouble, but that’s not the case.

Since we don’t know how much it took to make the game, we can only make an estimate based on a range of fifty to a hundred fifty million dollars as provided by the CMA (competition and markets authority), this is the general range of a cost of triple a title made in the past five years so we can use this a basis to make an educated guess with the information that the fist spider-man from Insomniac costs a hundred million dollars. We can say that spider-man Two costs were in the upper echelon of triple a game cost, but why does this matter? 

While games are growing, their cost is growing faster, according to Ray Ampoloqiuo from x.fire.com uses an anonymous tip to show how much a game would cost this year. “An unnamed large studio reported to the CMA that major franchises can cost 660 million to develop and around 550 million to market.” While games are growing, that doesn’t automatically mean that growth is going to be enough to make up the cost, and with these titles taking years to make, it’s a gamble for investors to put so much into something they must wait so long to see the results they’re hoping for hopefully, and what happens if they do not? They stop investing and look for a  safer thing to put their money into, and investor money is now intertwined with the industry.

Companies need to make sure their games make bank. In a perfect  world, the relationship between the games industry, employees, and customer base should be a harmonious one where everyone benefits from each other’s growth, but in the cold reality, that’s not the case. Game companies care more about making the bottom line than they do their employees and customer base, and it should make sense. A successful game should be enough to continue development, but it isn’t. Microtransactions, battle passes, and DLC (downloadable content) are a symptom of this need to be successful in the eyes of the investors.

Oliva Lowden claims that the increased improvement in technology and the arrival of a newer, more technology-connected generation will help gaming continue to grow. “Over the next few years, video gaming hardware will experience major updates, allowing for more creative game design,  immersive graphics, and an enhanced overall experience. As technology improves, gamers will continue to invest in new games and consoles – and new gamers will also enter the mixer.” While I agree that the arrival of new and improved hardware will allow for unique innovation and better graphics to tantalize players, it will only perpetuate the same problems the game industry has been facing.

Crunch destroys people and careers, and it is not exactly a secret that the games industry is host to some of the worst crunch out of any industry. In an article by the Post, the statement is made  that over 40 percent of full-time game developers and 63 percent of freelancers crunch on top of their regular work schedule, and the most egregious crunch stories come from triple developers who would have access to the improved technology first. Continuing to implement those innovations and fine-tuning the graphics takes a significant amount of staffing. These companies are bleeding dry either due to layoffs or crunch. As the demand for bigger and better continues, so too does the budget and the pressure on employees to deliver on those more extensive, better things. The industry cannibalizes itself, finally falling from the tower they’ve built.

The current generation is gaming, and future generations are sure to follow. I’m confident it will grow the industry, but it doesn’t change the fact that the industry would require more from them in terms of payment and whether they can afford it at the mercy of the industry’s control. The fact of the matter is the games sector right now is at the mercy of the current economic climate and that’s not changing.

The industry needs to change, and it can’t afford to at this rate. This digital arms race where AAA publishers put their creatives through to make investors happy is bleeding them dry. Unethical business practices slithering into our games in a vain attempt to squeeze as many pennies from our pockets as they can get their hands on are unstainable due to increased living expenses. Every industry changes for better or worse; it’s part of life to grow and evolve to change into something new. Just as the games industry is one of the fastest modern industries formed from the corpse of its early days, it needs to change just as fast, but it’s still to be seen whether it realizes that until it’s too late.

References

Clement, J. (2023, August 29). Global gaming revenue by segment 2022. Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/292751/mobile-gaming-revenue-worldwide-device/

Cote, A. C., & Harris, B. C. (2021). The cruel optimism of “good crunch”: How game industry discourses perpetuate unsustainable labor practices. New Media &amp; Society, 25(3), 609–627.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211014213

Surminski, N. (2023, June 3). The role of video game quality in financial markets.
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1773250/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Ampoloquio , R. (2023, October 23). AAA games can reportedly cost over a billion to make in 2023. Xfire. https://www.xfire.com/aaa-games-cost-over-billion/

Lowden, O. (2023, November 15). The video games industry is still growing – but why?
https://blog.bccresearch.com/video-games-industry-is-still-growing-but-why

Totillo , S. (2023). Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is Sony’s “Fastest-selling” PlayStation game – axios. Axios Gaming . https://www.axios.com/2023/10/23/marvels-spiderman-2-playstation-sales

WP Company. (2021, March 24). Why is the games industry so burdened with crunch? it starts with labor laws. The Washington Post. <a href=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2021/03/24/crunch-laws/&#8221;

Josephson, K. (2023, August 5). The 1983 video game crash and a history lesson for Lina Khan:  Kimberlee Josephson. FEE Freeman Article. https://fee.org/articles/the-1983-video-game-crash-and-a-history-lesson-for-lina-khan/

Kavanagh, R. (2020).  What is a stock market crash? understanding the causes and consequences can help investors prepare. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/what-is-a-stock-market-crash/

Surminski, N. (2023, June 3). The role of video game quality in financial markets. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1773250/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Unraveling the truth of wrongful convictions and advancing justice

The innocence project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld has emerged as a deacon of hope and justice within the legal landscape. The research paper will explore the history mission impact of the innocence project shedding light on the pivotal role of exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals on revealing systematic flaws and within the criminal justice system and advocating for critical and crucial reforms within the system. Through an analyst of studies legal strategies, the innocence project on policy changes this aim to demonstrate the transformative power of the innocence project and its more sustainable and just society.

The innocence project is a nonprofit legal organization that helps exonerate wrongfully convicted through evidence and also another goal of there is to reform the criminal justice system to prevent further injustices. The genesis of the innocence project can be traced back to a case in which Berry Scheck and Peter Neufeld  were involved. They were a part of the defense team for David Vasquez who had the wrongfully convicted of rape and murder in 1984. Scheck and Neufeld Use DNA evidence to prove Vasquez innocence leading to his release in 1989 after spending five years in prison.

Inspired by the success in the Vasquez and recognition of the potential of DNA technologies, revealing the truth in criminal cases, and that’s when they found the innocence project. The innocence project is set out to use DNA evidence to re-examine, and when possible overturn convictions were individuals claimed to be innocent. The innocent project, a crucial role in advocating for the use of DNA tests to establish innocence, and to identify the real perpetrators of the crime. The organizations led to the exoneration of numerous wrongfully convicted individuals and highlighting flaws in the criminal justice system such as I witness identifications and improper science and prosecutor misconduct. Over the years, the Innocence Project has expanded its scope beyond DNA testing, it also addresses issues of the criminal justice system and brings up ways that they can reform and reshape the system to make it better. The innocence project advocates for policy changes to prevent wrongful convictions, support Legislation initiatives and work to prove the reliability of forensic science and the use of forensic evidence.

The organization’s efforts have gained widespread attention and support from people and other organizations contributing to a greater awareness of the flaws within the criminal justice system, and forms of ensuring a fair and accurate outcome in the legal process. The mission of the innocence project is to use DNA evidence to overturn convictions of people who are wrongfully convicted.

By employee DNA evidence, the innocence project can help find the real perpetrator of the crime In every cell of every living organism lies a blueprint for the buildings and maintaining living beings even though human share 99.9% of DNA with one another that 0.1% that varies from person to person can tell a lot about each other and every individual because they are all different in each and everyone. That 0.1% of our DNA becomes the key difference and is a valuable tool for both convicting the criminal and  liberating the innocent.

In the technological advancements since the early 200010s where technology really excelled, DNA evidence has been newfound and it has a new purpose because it is more reliable now than ever. Recognizing the vulnerability of evidence, tampering forensic experts to straighten prosecutors in both gathering and evaluating evidence. The evolution of forensic science, which once witnessed the misuse of method hood, such as bite marks, fingerprints, blood stain patterns And hair compressions have been enhanced through the advanced technology in our new day and age. Also through more careful and cautious procedures of gathering, and using evidence to make sure that the evidence does not get destroyed or tampered with in the process. These changes and new method hoods have not only made a major impact on the criminal justice reform, but have also made an extremely valuable impact on forensic evidence and forensic gathering. These methods are used to make sure that the evidence is not being tampered with or gathered incorrectly because then it is unusable in the criminal justice system, because tampered evidence can lead to a wrongful conviction, and cannot be used at all in the legal system.

The technology powers have really shown a major impact, especially in the achievements of the innocence projects. The innocence project has exonerated 575 individuals in the United States alone through the DNA testing and impact of technology. The justice system is on deniable and has made a very big impact on the surgeon technology advancements during the late 1900s And early 2000s reaching its pinnacle in 2010 has not enable the innocence project to accelerate and do well but it is also positions itself as a potential force in the ongoing battle against the wrongful convictions that still are going on today. 

Testing once a novel concept has emerged as a very major thing in criminal cases, offering precision and determining guilt or innocence. These testings have become some people’s last resort of being freed or not. DNA testing and advancements and forensic science discipline have related weaknesses in those scientific foundations of several methods that were once wide we accepted by the criminal legal system and used to help secure earlier convictions has now changed Because our world has changed and there have been new found ways to do these things better and more efficient beyond just individual cases the innocence project operates as an agent of change exposing flaws inherited in the system. Alone they advocate DNA testing, addressing such issues as police procedures, evidence, handling and reliability of eyewitness testimonies. Witness testimonies were one of the things that the legal system would use without any hard evidence supporting it. Which led to a lot of innocent people being convicted of crowns of they did not commit because of eyewitness testimonies, and how unreliable they were at the time and still are today I witness testimonies should not be as valuable as they are, because there are different techniques and method hoods that they could use that are more reliable, and have more evidence, supporting the decision that they are making rather than an eyewitness testimony you would have.

The innocence project has also changed the way we use forensic science in the criminal justice system. The presentation of misleading evidence is displayed by the innocence project. It not only identifies errors, but it also proposes remedies contributing to reform the methods that they are using in the justice system foundations. By pointing out these mistakes in laboratory procedures for the forensic evidence, and also in the way that they gather this evidence, the innocence project has become a major instrumental force in the legal system, and insuring the accuracy and integrity of forensic science.

At its core, the innocence project contributes significantly to the criminal justice system by raising awareness and pointing out errors within it throughout many investigations and trial and error. The organization covers mistakes within cases, not only wrongfully convicted cases, but also cases that have prosecutor biased opinions in them. They’re really trying to shed light on these systematic weaknesses that contribute to the majority of individuals being wrongfully convicted. By bringing these issues up they really shed light on them. The innocence project serves to change the justice system, and its practices. The innocence provided impact on the criminal justice system is pronounced in the security of eyewitness testimonies, a major factor, in the case of Barry Gibbs, where he spent 17 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit, and this illustrates how unreliable eyewitness accounts are, and that it is only one of many cases where eyewitness testimonies were wrong. A key focus of the innocence project is really showing and highlighting how unreliable eyewitness testimonies are by demonstrating the potential for misidentification, and also by cases where people are wrongfully convicted. By leveraging DNA evidence, the organization showcases the limitation of human memory, and really shows how easily these cases and eyewitness testimonies can be Wrong or changed because the human memory is not as liable as hard evidence because you can manipulate things throughout your own mind and think it was somebody that looked like that. The innocence project in interventions in such cases not only individual exonerations, but also borders questions of ethical conduct of the prosecutors And the innocence project says they need stricter oversight in the justice system. The innocence project believes that there should be someone overseeing each and every case, and giving a second opinion on it, or having a stricter rule, and how decisions are made. They feel like a lot of wrongful, convictions, and biased cases were because there is a lack of security or oversight in the justice system. 

The innocence project is also pushing for a significant change in police procedures. They have resulted in the implementation of more accurate identification methods, such as double blind lineups, emphasizing the need for corroboration before relying on eyewitness testimonies. Other procedures that the innocence project has also helped change and reshape is interrogation practices. This is Spark discussion about the needs for recording all Kastl interrogations to ensure transparency and accountability. Some jurisdictions have adopted or expanded the use of video recording during the interrogation to prevent false confessions. The innocence project has also been involved in cases where flaws on reliable forensic evidence have played a role in the wrongful conviction. This has led to an increase of security of forensic science, practice, and through the improvement of standards and reliability in the forensic science and forensic disciplines.

The direct impact of the innocence project is most evident, and a few success in exonerating wrongful convicted individuals having freed more than 575 individuals in the United States in routing, has not only restored their freedom by exposing flaws within the criminal justice system it has led to an increase of public successful exonerations of wrongful. It has led to an increase of public scrutiny forcing a reevaluation of the death penalty in some states due to the possibility of executing an innocent person. The reason why there is a reevaluation of the death penalty in or if not all states is because it has happened before where they have executed a wrongfully convicted individual that was on death row and could happen again, if not change. Most or if not all states have either done away with the death penalty, or change their death penalty laws. The innocence shed spotlight on the laws within the death penalty, and recognizing that some of these people that were on death row really shouldn’t be there for a crime that they did not commit. Many people on death row have been sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit, and the innocence is working in advocating for those people who are in the system right now that didn’t do anything wrong, and for those who have sadly passed away due to wrongful convictions. The exoneration cases underscore the urgency for a systematic change and reform within the justice system because they have shown that there are many different flaws within the system not only within the prosecutors themselves, but as a system as a whole.

Beyond just individual exonerations the innocence projects, influences policies in both legal reforms at both federal and state levels, introducing post conviction, DNA test laws, which help people who are wrongfully convicted be freed by the people that should be convicted get convicted the organization that convicted individuals have the right to request a den test, offering a potential avenue to prove Their innocence. These policies change the causes of wrongful convictions and work towards preventing future injustices within the system.

Some people believe the innocence projects disproportionate focus on cases involving prosecutors. Misconduct is too much the reason why the innocence project focuses on these cases is because they know the prosecutor was wrong, and it is an easier way to win and overturn the case, and potentially creating an unbalanced narrative under the means of the credibility of the entire criminal justice legal system. Critics argue that the organization should not just target these cases because it is really showing how bad some prosecutors are, and how much a biased opinion can go into the case. This can also contribute to the public distrust in the system. But the innocence project seeks to hold accountability for those who are in the system, and seek out the ones that violate the principles of Justice by exposing the incident where those prosecutor misconduct happen. The innocence project aims to promote systemic change and increase accountability within those legal systems, and or the legal profession because they have to uphold a standard, and the law ethically under the oath that they swore. The Innocence Project is pointing out the wrong things within the system so that they can make change and show that change needs to happen so the public trusts them more. Everybody knows that distrust and having an untrustworthy community not trusting the legal system is not good The organization to strengthen the public trust by advocating for reforms, and addressing the issue head-on the innocence project believes, encouraging informed and critical public perspective is a good way to get a better understanding of the justice system, rather than just blind skepticism to the public. Innocent project finds this very important because public trust within the legal system is one of the main things the organization is trying to strive for to balance that out. The innocence project also has a very good attention to these victims that are exonerated. The innocence project does take into accountability, those who have suffered from the convictions, because of an amount of extensive time behind bars, in prison and some traumatic experiences that they may have witnessed throughout the whole process of their conviction. They also take accountability of these victims’ families and how it impacted them. The organization helps them in the best ways that they can be actively involved in post exoneration efforts. These individuals are re-entering society, and to seek support that they need. The reentry of society may be a hard thing for most of these people that were wrongfully convicted, especially if they served a long time in prison. The innocence project remains sensitive to the multi face impact on these wrongful convictions, striving to correct injustice.

A significant aspect of the innocence project revolves around the selective focus on DNA cases. Evan can be a deciding factor for proving innocence. People argue that the narrow approach may create a skewed perception of those who were wrongfully convicted, but particularly as it predominantly addresses cases where biological evidences, available and present. In these cases, however, the innocent project emphasizes on DNA cases is not arbitrary rather than strategic choice, driven by the needs of concentrated evidence to successfully overturn convictions, and the wrongfully convicted. This may present some challenges within the organization, but the committees in the innocence project. Their primary goal is exonerating the wrongfully convicted, and have resulted in significant success.

The innocence project has strategically engaged itself in collaborations with legal criminal justice institutions that amplify its impact fostering, systematic change and promoting more legal landscapes. These collaborations take many different forms, ranging from partnerships with law schools and legal clinics, engaging with criminal justice systems. The innocent Project is partnered with law schools and legal clinics. Law students often play, crucial role in the work of innocent work. The in project collaborations with law schools to provide students with hands-on experience in investigating and litigating wrongful conviction cases. The innocence project also collaborates with police working with the law-enforcement agencies to improve investigation practices, primarily in the area, such as eyewitness identifications procedures, and handling friends. Evidence collaboration was pleased departments contribute To preventing wrongful convictions as an investigation stage. The innocence project is also testifying before legislative bodies representation from the innocence project often testify before these bodies to advocate for policy changes. By collaborating with land, markers and organizations contribute to the development of laws that prevent wrongful convictions and facilitate post conviction review.

In conclusion, throughout its tireless efforts, the innocence project has played a pivotal role in exonerating, wrongfully convicted, individuals, revealing systematic flaws within the criminal justice system and advocating for critical reforms throughout the legal system. The innocence Project can trace back to cases where the power of DNA evidence is instrumental in securing justice And providing someone with their freedom. Over the years, the organization has expanded its mission beyond DNA testing, addressing issues ranging from eyewitness identifications, prosecutors in  interrogation practices and forensic science standards. The transformer of power of the innocence project is evident in its advocacy policy changes within the system that can contribute to a more sustainable and just society. Technology advancements have played a major role in the innocence project success. The organization has not only exonerated 100s of individuals but has also influenced the criminal justice system throughout the advancement of the technology. The innocence project impacts extend beyond individual cases by shutting light on the systematic weaknesses advocating for those for more oversight in the illegal justice system and promoting formed public perspectives. The innocence strives to strengthen the trust in the legal system. Why critics may argue about the organization focus involving cases with prosecutor conduct remains committed to accountability reform, and most importantly, ensuring justice prevails. In the face of challenges and skepticism, the innocence project continues to be a driving force and systematic change and change in general not only seeks to correct past injustices, but it also works to prevent future wrongful convictions. It also contributes to a more trustworthy, public opinion, and a more fair and accurate legal justice system.

References

Selby, Daniele. “DNA and Wrongful Conviction: Five Facts You Should Know.” Innocence Project, 2 May 2023, innocenceproject.org/news/dna-and-wrongful-conviction-five-facts-you-should-know/#:~:text=The%20emergence%20of%20DNA%20technology,exonerate%20hundreds%20of%20innocent%20people. 

The Innocence Project. “Misapplication of Forensic Science.” Innocence Project, 18 Oct. 2023, innocenceproject.org/misapplication-of-forensic-science/.

The Innocence project. “Transforming Systems.” Innocence Project, 2 Nov. 2023, https://innocenceproject.org/transforming-systems/

The innocence project. “Restoring Freedom.” Innocence Project, 25 Oct. 2023, innocenceproject.org/restoring-freedom/. 

The innocence Project. “By the Numbers.” Innocence Project, 23 Oct. 2023, innocenceproject.org/exonerations-data/#:~:text=The%20Innocence%20Project%20fights%20to,contributed%20to%20their%20wrongful%20convictions. 

The Innocence Project. “Research Resources.” Innocence Project, 10 May 2023, innocenceproject.org/research-resources/. 

LaPorte, Gerald M., et al. “Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations: Understanding the Role of Forensic Science.” National Institute of Justice, 7 Sept. 2017, nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/wrongful-convictions-and-dna-exonerations-understanding-role-forensic-science. 

Ferrerro, Eric, and The Innocence Project. “U.S. Department of Justice Failing to Enforce Critical Forensic Oversight, New Innocence Project Report Finds.” Innocence Project, innocenceproject.org/u-s-department-of-justice-failing-to-enforce-critical-forensic-oversight-new-innocence-project-report-finds/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2023. 

The innocence Project. “David Vasquez.” Innocence Project, 12 June 2023, innocenceproject.org/cases/david-vasquez/.