In the modern world, terms like machine learning, artificial intelligence and intelligent systems have become ubiquitous, and rightly so. There has never been a time in human history that we’ve had the raw power to fully utilize neural networks so seamlessly, and the results have been astonishing. True, this is far away from artificial general intelligence, the holy grail of artificial intelligence...

Winning elections requires political candidates to convince a majority of constituents to vote for them. Many make promises and constituents expect their champion to uphold campaign promises. After all, a promise without substance is an empty one, and politicians must honor promises if they hope to get reelected. There’s only one problem: solutions result in more problems. Take the debate about...

The conversation on whether you can separate the art and the artist is hotly debated in social media comment sections whenever a new scandal involving a popular artist pops up. In the age of cancel culture, many are quick to stop supporting an artist after accusations of problematic behavior. Video footage from last year of a physical altercation between rappers Quavo and Saweetie recently surfaced....

Individuality doesn’t exist because of the external world, the one we do not control. Our sense of self is a product of our genes, culture, stressors and ecology. When we come into this world kicking and screaming we have certain neural faculties that give rise to beliefs, allowing us to understand the world. Beliefs are concepts, ideas or themes that cannot be explained by the experienced world....

It seems that every mass shooting in the U.S. follows the same chain of events: shooting, media blitz, candlelit vigils, politicians on cable news promising change they will never deliver and those unaffected moving on a few weeks later. It’s hard not to become desensitized when gun violence is so frequent. The March 16 Atlanta-area shootings are one of the most recent senseless acts of violence,...

Writer's block. That dreaded moment when you are finally ready to work on your term paper, but cannot find words to describe your thoughts. Yet, this problem that every college student will at some point face, can be easily avoided by early preparation. Professors tell students to make an outline to structure their stories. The intentions are for you to structure your paper around your main ideas....

Did anyone have any of 2020 on their 2020 bingo card? A pandemic? Killer hornets? Nightly fireworks to no end? No? Me neither. But this is where we are — a pandemic, presidential election year, societal unrest — all while moving to Appalachian and starting classes. We are living in a time that, literally, is unparalleled. How do we navigate this, you may ask? Together. We are all in this together...

The November election will undoubtedly determine the fate of our nation and, subsequently, the fates of future generations. While all of us may never fully agree on what this path should be, what we can agree on is fundamental change is desperately needed. Unfortunately, I must take responsibility for my part in contributing to the tumultuous and dangerous political climate originating from Washington....