Common App Essays | Corona Essay | Add Info Essay

1. Everyone is URGENTLY being requested to send me at least 2 CA Essays for the next 5 days. It will make you write 10 essays. Only then I will discuss how to develop your essays to perfection. 
2. Corona Essay should be highly academic with blotches of personal insight. Yuval Noah Harari's FT articles could be highly indicative of what you should include. Request for links. 
3. Add Info essay MUST build on your EXTENSIVE reading materials.
4. Resume Building is an important task. Those who are yet to start, connect immediately. 
5. On Wednesday we will hold a SAT mock session. Those who have confirmed are: Arisha, Lamia. 
6. It is with a SAD note I have to announce that most of the students do NOT know the scientific Keyboard Typing/Input method. It is a MUST and Mandatory skill.  

Chrome Yellow: The Color, The Novel, and an 800 Years Old Classical Music

It goes without saying that mainstream ACADEMIA rarely produces any significant work that equates Art with the power of Mathematics and natural sciences. Therefore, GEB (Gödel Esher Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid) is a pure exception. GEB inspired me to take all of art-math-music in one sweeping gulp unashamedly, a feeling I would have been quite unwilling to admit in public, had it not been for GEB. This year I have decided to make another attempt to bring art-math-magic (read music here) within the scope of a single essay. The plan is to explore Aldous Huxley's novel Chrome Yellow with use of yellow as a symbol of spirituality and scientific investigation and thereafter connect it with discovery of this synthetic colour (chrome yellow) in the late 19th century. This is not the first time that a Logophilite will do such an experiment - it was done several times before - mixing threefold fields into one continuous text that enmeshes all forms of creative energy. The accompanying photograph shows Adolph Gottlieb's 1966 painting in an art gallery. Enjoy. (Contributed by SM)

 

Research Paper | Individual Assignments and Tasks

Today morning I wrote a really VERY detailed response to Ryem explaining HOW to develop a research paper. I am ready to share this complex web instructions to all. Please send a request to my WhatsApp. In addition, I have assigned following tasks to individual students. 

1. Yusuf: We had been working on Real Analysis and you are supposed to give a full feedback on the topic based on the 2 books assigned. 
2.  Zakaria: You have been assigned with 3 novels in the last week and you have already finished 2 of them. You will be working with MORE reading materials (FICTION) this whole week. I told you that you have to squeeze 2 years of reading in just 2 weeks. 
3. Lamia: You had been working on your own preparation for IELTS and SAT; Your progress is looking good. And in addition, you were also given one novel. I am not very impressed with the speed of progress with reading. So, today, I will assign HEAVIER works. 
4. Ryem: We are working on Research Paper materials.
5. Noor: Frankly, I had one of the best session this season when I had a long blabbering on the issues of Political Economy as a discipline that developed from Adam Smith and continued through Marx and Chicago School. You have been assigned with Introductory Chapter (18 Pages) of Chicagonomics, one of the best books for experts, and not at all intended for the undergraduates. 
6. Arisha: We had been working a few introductory things about Common App and we added a few unique schools. I hope to assign you will a BIG number of reading materials in our next meeting. 
7. Masud: We are expected to submit our 1st application to the grad school. However, I am yet to work on the FINETUNING of the SOP. 
8. Ishmam: We had a very fruitful day discussing our writing materials. This happened after a long time. It is important that we meet regularly after 7 pm as agreed. You need to give FULL GRE test in this week. 
9. Tamara: Already received the first SOP, which I believe needs lot of improvements. In the meantime, it is your exclusive duty to concentrate on GRE. 
10. Kayes: Since we are unable to meet any time soon, you asked for a Zoom/GMeet session, which I agreed reluctantly. 
11. Numayan: I have completely failed to DELIVER the Statement within our planned date. Hope to do it this week.   

Philosophy was once ALIVE

I had been reading this lovely 4,100 word essay on the AEON magazine. Welcome to the reading. What does this discuss? Well, the writer, a trained philosopher himself, shows how a real-life discussion for the search of "meaning of life" is far more rewarding than just locking this debate up in Academic Institutions. 

A great argumentative writing. Everyone MUST read. Here is the link:

Philosophy was once ALIVE

Fiction Mathematics and Music - some reading items

In the last tow days we had been working on the following materials. 

1. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
2. Gödel Esher Bach - The Eternal Golden Braid
3. Introduction to Real Analysis
4. Understanding Analysis

Of these the most difficult reading material is GEB. We have also watched a few youtube lectures about the book.  The following is a response submitted by Yusuf today morning after doing the first chapter of Introduction to Real Analysis.

"I have been introduced to real analysis today. After reading the preface which consisted of importance of the topic in particular careers , I understood that this is needed mainly in probability and measurement  which is a major part of the subjects I am interested in . I read up to chapter 1.2 and I found that a lot of the information I have read until now is something I have already learned but it was given in such a complex way that I  it  me feel like it was something new . There were plenty of new stuff that went a little over my head  but by learning concepts that were alien to me until now has broaden my knowledge and changed the way I think about mathematics ." Here is a very engrossing introduction to "Gödel Esher Bach", written by Ben Congdon Ben Congdon on GEB. Follow the link. 

Reading Materials and Others

 We worked on the following things. 

1. IELTS Reading Materials (Mining, Maternity , Safety work on Roofs)
2. Neurotoxicity and Microplastics = Research Articles.
3. Review of Essay = What is REALITY. Review will be given tomorrow.
   
4. We read a portion of a Research Article titled Neurotoxicity and Microplastics.
5. We read a short story by Anton Chekhov. At home you will read 2 stories for the next three days.
6. You are required to submit a 5-6 page Autobiography.  
7. IELTS Task-1 and Task-2 should be submitted for tomorrow's Review. 

What is Reality

This is both a PHILOSOPHICAL and a Scientific Question. Reality means many things to many people. But the way we understand our world is very complex and there is hardly any ONE way to know reality. Here is a 30 min VIDEO that gives you a Philosophical-Scientific explanation of what is REALITY. Read this and write your own article titled "Reality: What is it?" Make this article full of your own understanding. 

Music, Food for SOUL

1. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody 
   
2. Doors (Jim Morrison)
3. U2 (wall)
4. Leonard Cohen - Everybody knows
5. Beatles - "Imagine" 
6. Nat Cole king - "Autumn Leaves"
7. Chan Chan - Buena Vista Social Club
8. Finally, Raga Yaman presented by Ustand Shahid Parvez. A heavenly Sitar performance. 

Application Materials

The following POST was drafted in 2019 on 5th November. The picture remains the same today. So, take a look. For Zakaria, Lamia, Ryem, and RK. 

Application Materials Preparation - URGENT Attention Required

As we are on the tight moment when full-scale writing for application materials preparation is going on, here is a list of materials that we need to start preparing during the NEXT TWO Weeks.

1.  Write a CV/Resume where you list your academic credentials and ECA along with your achievements. You need to record everything from Class 9 onwards. Most of the colleges will want this CV/Resume. 
2.  Prepare at least 2 different Why Major Essays based on your interests. Most popular Majors with Intl. Students are (a) Comp Engg. / Science/Studies, (b) Economics / Business/Intl. Studies, (c) Biomed/Premed / Pharmacy / Chemistry, (c) Physics/ Math / Astrophysics, (d) Engineering [Mechanical/ Chemical/ Electrical /Environmental].
3. We also need to start working on a Common App Essay - the most important FLAGSHIP Essay.
4. Prepare at least 2 Research Concepts after consultation with me. (a) One Technical Research Paper based on your Why Major topic, (b) One General Research paper based on a recent book published from USA in the past 6-8 years.
5. Start working on the Financial Aid papers. We shall need the following items for this. (a) Tax Return of this year or Previous year, (b) Filled out ISFAA Form, (c) CSS Profile Account opening. 
6.  If you want to upload any Music/Art Portfolio - talk to me immediately.
7.  If you think that your ECA / Activity List is not strong enough, you are required to ask for ECA placements. Our COMMON Activity list item will be "Fellow, Logophiles School of Critical Thinking." In the description part, you will write different things, based on your reading assignments. Include Poetry, Novels, Philosophy, Cultural History, Political Science etc.  

NINE lives of an Essay

1. It must be 650 words. 
2. It should be about your understanding of your world. 
3. It need NOT be about your major. 
4. It should show your PERSONALITY.
5. In terms of style, it should be VERY COMPLEX.
6. It's thought process should be HIGHLY Philosophical. 
7. Vocabulary should be highly SOPHISTICATED. 
8. Opening must have a HOOK. The admission committee must be captured. 
9. Ending must be MEMORABLE. Give SOLID surprise. 

Major Reading Materials

1.  Metamorphosis (originally in German): It is a story about a young man who transforms into something different, and then the society rejects his transformation. 
2. Great Gatsby (American): It is a story of early 20th C. America. But it is still a truthful picture of Capitalist American society built on fake sense of Wealth and Importance. 
3. Dr. Faustus (English Play): It is the story of a man called Faustus, who denounces God in exchange for KNOWLEDGE and power. He is finally doomed to hell. 
4. Quantum Physics (A beginner's Guide): A colorful 70 pages book that reveals the strange world of subatomic particles. 

10 Commandments (Things to Start Working on Immediately)

Please do not take these things lightly. 

1. Select your first choice University: 
2. Select your Major and at least 2 Minors. 
3. Open Collegeboard account. Thereafter, start working on Khan Academy free practice on SAT.
4. Remember, that your Collegeboard account will be used for submitting Financial Aid application. This financial form is known as ISFAA. 
5. Add at least 10 University and College on your Common App Dashboard. Fill out as many things as possible. 
6. Start writing your Letters of Recommendation (LoR). Get these approved by me and then submit to your school for Review and Upload to your Common App. We need a total of 3 LoR. One from your School Principal and 2 from your Subject Teachers. 
7. Practice your IELTS with me. 
8. Begin your Personal Statement (Autobiography) for clearing out all your thoughts about life and your goals of life. It can be anywhere between 8 - 15 pages long. This is NOT a part of our application, just a way of explaining your own thoughts to yourself. 
9. For your CA Essays, start writing your first essays (and get rejected, because these are early drafts.)
10. Keep a Notebook / Journal of your Reading Materials.