Explaining Logic Fully Online Activity #3

[Andrew Burton]

*** Your Explanation ***

Answer one of the questions below, assuming your reader comes from
another planet and knows very little about the Earth and humanity.
With that reader in mind, explain every step in your logic,
anticipating and answering questions your naïve reader would likely
ask. Avoid vague language, unstated assumptions and logical errors.
Please be respectful of your classmates – do not post anything that is
offensive or insensitive.

Julia A., why don't students grade their own assignments?
Ronald, why does throwing a party result in people talking to each
other?
Alexandra, why would a student who buys an Xbox tend to study less
thereafter?
Pamela, why would parents be unhappy if their son/daughter told them
that he/she plans to drop out of CEGEP to become a sidewalk chalk
artist?
Debra, why would a student wearing a red clown nose to school be
considered odd?
Jenine, why don’t cafeterias sell raw steak for lunch?
Adrian, why don’t all students travel down school hallways on
skateboards?
Iline, why don’t libraries play loud techno music?
Kevin, why don’t Marianopolis teachers lecture in Latin?
Joshua, why doesn’t Marianopolis grow corn instead of grass on the
campus fields?
Yasmeen, why don’t Marianopolis students and teachers offer each other
a military salute when meeting in the halls?
Jessica L., why are walls and ceilings at Marianopolis generally
painted white instead of dark purple and fluorescent pink?
Kathy, why is punching random strangers considered unacceptable?
Xiya, why don’t people leave their garbage on the floor/ground?
Ryan, why don’t five year olds attend CEGEP?
Jessica M., why don’t Marianopolis teachers play card games with
students in the cafeteria?
Katharine, why don’t people grow poison ivy in their gardens?
Alexander, why don’t all CEGEP students have to learn to pilot a plane
in order to graduate?
Emma, why do no national anthems feature a punk rock style?
Max, why don’t people put sand in their cars’ gas tanks?
Julia R.-L., why would parents likely get upset if their 14 year old
wanted to get married?
Victoria, why don’t Montrealers only eat poutine or smoked meat
sandwiches?
Yu Xin, why don’t bicycles have engines?
Evelyne, why do so few people have scorpions as pets?
Mark, why can’t you buy a tank at a car dealership?
Élaine, why do people wash dirty dishes instead of throwing them out?
Chuong, why don’t drivers ignore traffic lights?
Tina, why isn't math taught in English classes?
David, why aren't grade appeals decided using rock, paper, scissors?
Sophie, why aren't marathons run in high heels?
Luohan, why doesn't the Biology department raise the animals it
dissects?
Spiro, why don't airlines require passengers to wear parachutes?
Cindy, why don't Marianopolis students wear reflective safety vests
while at school?
Xu, why don't students write essays using MS Excel?
Yichi, why don't people tell their banking/e-mail/etc. passwords to
others?

Your answer must be posted by midnight Sunday March 25th.

*** Your Response ***

Each student must offer critical feedback to at least two other
students regarding their answer. Identify at least two unstated
assumptions, missing logical steps, missing points of information or
logical errors that might confuse or frustrate a reader who knows very
little about Earth and humanity. In your feedback, please make
specific reference to a student’s writing to illustrate your points
instead of just offering vague general comments. Be courteous and
keep your comments focused on students’ writing/ideas. Only respond
to a student who has not yet received feedback.

All responses must be posted by midnight Friday March 30th.

[William Shakespeare]

Question: why don’t CEGEP teachers enter class by moonwalking?

The reason why CEGEP teachers don’t moonwalk into class is that
moonwalking is a form of movement in a dance style known as
breakdancing. While the performance of dance is always reserved for
specific social contexts, this is especially true of breakdancing: the
dancers are generally young, highly athletic and have chosen to
develop their skill in this dance form whereas teachers are generally
adults with more or less sedentary lifestyles and no special interest
in breakdancing. Moreover, breakdancing is normally accompanied by
specific pieces of music, which are rarely playing in a classroom. A
final reason why teachers don’t moonwalk into class is that
moonwalking involves moving backwards. As a classroom is full of desks
and students, entering backwards with the face directed away from the
direction of movement would risk causing a collision as human vision
is restricted to a field extending forwards from the face due to the
placement of the eyes.

[Andrew Burton]

Hey Willie,

Very through – you’re a real Renaissance man. ;-) Seriously, your
alien will understand your answer pretty well. However, he/she/it may
wonder why teachers have no special interest in breakdancing – can you
explain? Can you be more specific about the music that usually
accompanies breakdancing (e.g. Michael Jackson)? A final point -- why
would a collision between a teacher and a student/desk be a problem?
You might point out the risk of physical injury.

Well done,

Mr. Burton

On Mar 20, 3:23 pm, William Shakespeare <andrewelbur...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> > All responses must be posted by midnight Friday March 30th.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Ryan McHugh]

Question: Why don't five year olds attend CEGEP?

The reason why five year olds do not attend CEGEP is because, CEGEP is
devoted to a higher level of education for students who have completed
their elementary and high school education. Since five year olds have
not completed either elementary or high school they do not have the
prerequisites needed for attending CEGEP. To elaborate, five year
children do not have the mental capability to complete their education
process at the two levels because their brains and metal abilities
have yet to fully develop until they are much older. Furthermore,
CEGEP is used as a space of education to attempt to lead students into
a possible future career or further studies in University for what
they want to do as a job. As a five year old you have not determined
your career path because you have not experience enough of the variety
of daily activities (where most people get the inspiration for their
career) and therefore are unable to choose a job worth studying for in
CEGEP. Finally, the level of education in CEGEP is high and require
concentration and understanding of these advanced subjects to succeed
in the classes, in which a five year old has neither the concentration
nor the understanding, which is achieved through studies in elementary
and high school, of any given subject to succeed.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Debra Bruman]

1. The alien might wonder why five year olds don't have a fully
developed brain and/or fully functioning mental capacity when they
were born and why they would have to wait.
2. You might also want to give some examples of the variety of daily
activities that people experience that lead them to be able to choose
a job.
3. He/she/it might also question why people would want to have a job
in the first place, because the alien species might not understand the
concept of working.

[Sophie Watts]

marathons are not run in high heals because the purpose of a marathon
is to cover 42 kilometers in as short a time as possible. High heals
are constructed the wearers legs will look fantastic however, the
stability of the shoe is consequentially reduced. Covering a long
distance in footwear that is prone to breaking and causing one to fall
would result in significantly slower times then doing the same in
stable shoes. Shoes with allow your feet maximal contact with the
ground allow for a more stable stride diminishing the amount of energy
the runner must sacrifice to his/her balance. The trend of using
bikila shoes is an example of extreme flat foot running.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Debra Bruman]

A student wearing a red clown nose to school would be considered odd
because it is not normally seen in school. Red clown noses are not
normally seen in school because red clown noses are typically worn for
reasons of humour. Humour is usually used in light-hearted situations.
Since school is an environment for primarily learning, wearing a
humorous red clown nose in a learning environment would be construed
as odd, because even though the learning environment can be humorous
at times, the main purpose for school is to educate people and not
make jokes. However, this reasoning can be disregarded if the student
attends a circus school that teaches people to be clowns, in which
wearing a red clown nose could be a regular occurrence.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Adrian Carlesimo]

Why don’t all students travel down school hallways on
skateboards?

All students don't travel down hallways on skateboards for several
reasons.
For one, most students simply don't know how to skate board.
Not knowing how to skateboard leads to messing up which in turn hurts
the student.
Since all of human existence is defined by our desire to be happy, and
happiness entails comfort and painlessness, getting hurt is
ostensibly inimical to this goal (except for the odd masochist). Now,
man feels pain because of his developed nervous system, an
evolutionary mechanism that Man has acquired in order to survive. If
Man did not feel pain, members of the species would not know when they
are in danger, and we would quickly go extinct.

But, you said earlier that Man's objective was pleasure, not survival?
Ah, good question my alien friend. Man has evolved from primal and
instinctive animals into self-conscience, sentient beings. This
evolution has lead to a reorientation of Man's hierarchy of
objectives. In my opinion, Man's fear of death, and thus Man's will to
survive, comes second to Man's desire for pleasure, and subsequently,
happiness, because death prevents man from continuing to live in
happiness.
But I digress.
I hope it is clear now why we don't skate board down the hallways of a
school; because it is in our best interest (i.e. happiness).

[Evelyne Shousha]

The reason why so few people have scorpions as pets is because it is
dangerous. Scorpions are known to be venomous; they have venom that
can kill a man if he gets stung by a scorpion. Having one as a pet
would mean, by definition, that a human would be in close proximity to
it all the time he is in his house (and even sometimes outside his
house when he would take it for a walk). This intimacy between the
human and his pet scorpion would drastically increase his chances of
getting stung, and ultimately being sick or dying because of its
venom. These phenomena (being ill or dead) are what humans avoid the
most. It is in a man’s instinct to stay healthy and alive.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Evelyne Shousha]

1. The alien might not understand why high heels are prone to breaking
or why running in them would increase their chance of breaking.
2. You could also explain why flat shoes are more stable. Perhaps the
alien in question transports itself by gliding and that, for him, the
bigger the contact with the ground is, the more difficult it is to be
stable. He could then think that running in high heels would be the
best option.
3. The alien (and I) might want a description of bikila shoes.

[Julia Ros-Larocque]

why would parents likely get upset if their 14 year old
wanted to get married?

On planet earth, the average life expectancy is between 75 and 80
years old. Couple in 2012 decide mostly to get married by love, in
certain countries by by pre-arranged mariage ( but that is an other
issue). The average age for those couples to get married is between 25
and 30, considering the life expectancy, near the age of 25 a person
will have gain enough maturity and life experience to assure wise
decision. Therefore the idea of a marriage with little to no impact on
the future of that person is reflected before happening, while at 14
years old a person is still young enough to make life mistakes.
Considering the fact that in most countries a person is considered an
adult at the age of 18 and does not have the necessity to be under a
tutor anymore reflect the general agreement of society that 18 is an
age where important life choices can be made. At the age of 14, a
person is still considered a child that needs to be place under 18 and
older to make the decisions for them. This is why, parents would
likely get upset if their 14 year old wanted to get married, because
the person does not have the maturity and life experience yet to
understand the impact that a young marriage could have on life that is
really long ( until 80 years old)

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Luohan Wei]

Why doesn't the Biology department raise the animals it
dissects?

The main reason for this is economical, because the biology department
does not the adequate resources to raise and feed these animals. This
is due to the fact that the Biology Department is given a restricted
amount of money and rooms as allocated by the school. The raising of
animals requires multiple things that all require time, money and
space an adequate living area, sanitation facilities, animal feed and
manpower to supervise and execute the above job. Thus, the cost-
efficiency of such an endeavour would be astronomically
disproportionate to the allowed resources of the Biology Department,
the alternative to buy the animals dead from other sources if less
costly and more practical. Another reason that the department does not
raise these animals is due to the possibility of emotional attachment
with the animals raised to be dissected created whilst raising them.
In society, many humans raise animals as pets and consider them part
of their families, they develop strong emotional bonds with these
animals that are caused by the investment and care they have provided
for these animals. Similarly, if the biology department started
raising these animals, the care and attention required would
necessarily create more emotional bonds that would then make it
difficult for these same people to have to slaughter these same
animals. Manipulating animals that you have never invested any
attention prior to is a way to alleviate these problems. Thus, because
of these two reasons the Biology department does not raise the animals
it dissects.

[Xiya Ma]

Why don’t people leave their garbage on the floor/ground?

People should not leave their garbage on the floor/ground since it is
part of a universal social etiquette of the human race (at least in
the western world). It is an social etiquette since the floor/ground
is a public property, which implies that it is shared by all humans
and should therefore remain clean in order to respect others's space.
It is also a social convention that clean spaces are markers of the
quality of a city, which is demonstrated by the different laws and
institutions (trash can, grabage pick-up trucks, etc) implemented
within that city. Garbage left on the ground can also be dangerous
since the people walking by that place can trip, fall and hurt
themselves, and humans despise painful experiences. It can also, after
some time, decompose on the streets and cause horrid smells which can
be toxic to humans. Garbage often shelters a plethora of bacterias,
which can increase the chances of people for getting nasty diseases
along with pain and possibly death, things which humans find
undesirable. Garbage left on the ground can also be harmful to the
environment since the plastic contained in human products can be
carried to the oceans by winds or other mystical ways and harm sea
creatures by the indigestion of these plastic objects.

Unfortunately, not all human societies on Earth have the resources to
implement rules or institutions for garbage management in order to
avoid trashing the floor. Aliens might also see places where the rules
are implemented but rarely respected (cough Cafeteria cough cough).

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Jessica Michelin]

Why don’t Marianopolis teachers play card games with
students in the cafeteria?

Marianopolis teachers don't play card games with students in the
cafeteria because it would breach the nature of the student-teacher
relationship. The student-teacher relationship is based upon a
hierarchy where the the teacher is higher than the student in terms of
authority. The teacher is often older, more educated, and has more
life experience than the student. The student is therefore supposed to
view the teacher as someone to be respected as opposed to a peer, who
they view as an equal. Playing cards is a game that involves yelling,
teasing, and attempting to beat one's opponent. If a teacher played
cards with students, then the student would be trying to do all of
these things to their teacher, which would cause them to no longer
view their teacher as someone who they should respect (especially if
the student wins).

Additionally, Marianopolis teachers are paid for their time spent at
school. If they spent their time playing cards, instead of fulfilling
their teacherly duties (grading, office hours, lesson plans, etc),
then the teacher's boss would be unhappy, and could impose sanctions
on the teacher. The boss would be unhappy because the teacher would be
breaching the contract that he/she signed, which specifies how a
teacher should spend their time under salary. Contracts are agreements
that are legally binding within society. The teacher would not want
any sanctions imposed on him/her, because it will affect his/her life
in an inconvenient way.

[Iline G]

Libraries are enclosed spaces housing vast collections of
documentation that come in the form of printed, audio, and visual
material. These materials contain recorded information that we humans
use as means of acquiring and sharing knowledge or simply to stimulate
our senses and intellect. Because of the learning, teaching, and
entertainment value of the materials found in libraries, people
generally visit them with the intention of consulting them in a quiet
and peaceful environment. This quiet and peaceful environment also
attracts other people who visit libraries with no intention of
consulting any document, but come to work on personal occupations
(hence all the tables and chairs and people). Techno music is a type
of rhythmic sound vibration generally emitted very loudly and
accompanied with sporadic bodily convulsions, or dancing. As these
conditions do not allow for a quiet and peaceful environment,
libraries do not play loud techno music in their facilities.
To accommodate those who would like to enjoy the documentation offered
at the library while listening to loud techno music, libraries have
put in place a very popular feature which allows users to check
documents out for a limited amount of time. Membership is usually
free, so you might want to check that out.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Alexandra Belanger]

Question: Why would a student who buys an Xbox tend to study less
thereafter?


The reason why a student who buys and Xbox would tend to study less is
because it is a form of distraction. An Xbox is a video game console
or a type of machine created for playing games on a screen. It
consists of a box that you attach to a television (which is a
telecommunication medium where moving images, in color or in black and
white, can be transmitted or received). The student can insert a
compact disc, a thin circular object containing digital data (a type
of game), into the machine. The game will appear on the television
screen and the student plays the game by using a type of controller
attached to the Xbox machine. There are a variety of games available
to play, including those involving sports (a form of competitive
physical activity). Studying for a test typically involves many hours
of memorizing details and practicing to answer questions both of which
will determine your grade (a numerical mark out of one-hundred), which
in turn will impact on your future. When you compare this activity,
which is stressful and tedious to playing Xbox, a carefree activity
designed for entertainment purposes, the student will most likely
choose to play Xbox. As a result, the student would be distracted and
the time allotted to his studying decreased.

[Emma Taline Noradounkian]

Why do no national anthems feature a punk rock style?

First off, a national anthem is a song that evokes the patriotism and
the history of a group of people in a specific area, generally a
country. It is known by almost everyone who lives in a said country
and it is sung during national holidays, before sporting events, and/
or first thing when arriving to school, etc. The idea behind singing
it (using your voice and memory of the lyrics of the national anthem
of one’s country) is to show one’s support, pride and love of their
country, and of themselves. To feature any national anthem in a punk
rock style would be very contradictory. Punk rock is an aggressive
form of music that is used to express a rejection of any kind of
conformity such as religions, social norms and cultures. Seeing as a
national anthem is sung because of one’s attachment to society and its
culture, it would be inappropriate to rock it out in a style that
evokes chaos and rejection of society. Also, national anthems are
usually very calmly yet proudly sung while punk rock songs are very
loud and show one's discontent towards something.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Alexandra Belanger]

1) You could explain to the alien what a scorpion is (other than it is
venomous) and mention where it is classified according to living
things on earth (for instance, mentioning it is an arthropod, which is
an invertebrate animal having an external skeleton, etc.). Without
the distinction between a human and a scorpion, the alien could wonder
if a scorpion is special kind of dangerous human or some completely
different creature with different physical characteristics (size,
colour, texture, etc.).
2) The alien could also wonder what a pet is and why people have them.
They could also question why a human would take a pet on a walk.
3) The alien might not understand how getting stung by a scorpion
could make you sick and kill you. Explaining what the symptoms are and
how it affects a human body internally and externally could help
clarify why venom is lethal.

On Mar 23, 1:21 pm, Evelyne Shousha <evelyne17soc...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

[Kevin Hua]

QUESTION: WHY DON'T MARIANOPOLIS TEACHERS LECTURE IN LATIN?

Language is a form or type of communication through sounds. Because
people live in various parts of the world, we could not, at the
beginning of languages, create a universal set of sounds for every
single human in the world. Instead, each tribe or group of people
developed sounds to mean certain things, and these sounds varied for
each group of people because we had no means of long-distant
transportation, thus could not bring our language and share it with
people halfway around the world. Slowly, these sets of sounds became
more and more, and eventually had enough to be considered a language.
Latin was the language from the Latin tribes. This language was used
several thousand years ago. This was when it was commonly spoken and
popular as a language. Over time however, people continue to drift
apart, and due to that drifting, the development of the language
changes with different groups. Some groups may develop to become
French, others may become Spanish, and still others Italian. Each one
has the same Latin root, but because different people lived in each
tribe, the language went a different way. This is the same with other
languages. English, the common language in this day, came from
Germanic roots, a tribe whose language did not have Latin roots. The
dominant language is usually the language of the most powerful tribe,
and in this era, a powerful tribe is the American tribe, who primarily
speaks English. Thus, this is why we speak English here at
Marianopolis. Latin is an old language, one that evolved and changed
much over the century. Because of this, a tribe whose primary language
is the basic Latin no longer exists - we speak languages of Latin
roots, but not Latin itself. If Marianopolis teachers were to attempt
to lecture in Latin, they would be met with much confusion because
students would have difficulty understanding them because Latin is not
our tribe's language. For this reason, Marianopolis teachers do not
lecture in Latin, an unfamiliar language to us students.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Jenine Burt]

Why don’t cafeterias sell raw steak for lunch?

Cafeterias in the western world do not sell raw steak for lunch mainly
to keep within health and food safety codes and cultural preferance.
Human beings usually eat meat that is cooked, meaning that it has been
heated to a point where it's texture changes into a hard and dryer
texture, unlike raw meat, which is very gooey, wet and soft. Raw meat,
as well as the raw steak that is not sold in cafeterias, would also
consist of a wet and soft texture which attracts more bacteria vs a
dryer and harder texture of cooked meat. Bacteria are very simple life
forms that need higher life forms to survive and can cause disease in
humans and other animals. The Bacteria that would get into the wet raw
steak would depend on it to survive, grow and develop into a disease
that can harm human beings in various ways when the meat is ingested.
The food safety code insures that food in restaurants, stores and
cafeterias is safe to eat (avoiding disease out beaks usually caused
by bacteria) and well handled by employees. Raw steak would be
difficult to keep fresh and refrigerated in a cool environment to
maintain a dry texture to avoid bacteria infestation. As a social norm
in the western world, raw steak is not a typical preferred meal choice
because of our tendency to cook it. Furthermore, serving raw steak in
cafeterias would be outside of our social norm and preference, while
also being displeasing due to the cooked texture we are used to.
Because of the wet and soft texture of the meat and bacteria
infestation linked to our cultural preference of cooked meat, food
safety regulations do not allow raw steak to be served in cafeterias
for the general well being mankind.

On Mar 20, 3:23 pm, William Shakespeare <andrewelbur...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

[Jenine Burt]

1. The alien would probably wonder why it is important for human
beings to sing national anthems
2. Also, patriotism would be absurd as well as the importance to show
one's devotion to their country
3. Why are national anthems only sung at specific times (holidays,
sporting events etc.)


On Mar 24, 10:52 pm, Emma Taline Noradounkian

[Pamela B.Girard]

Why would parents be unhappy if their son/daughter told them
that he/she plans to drop out of CEGEP to become a sidewalk chalk
artist?

My dear extraterrestrial fellow,
let us start answering your question by providing further explanations
concerning the role of CEGEP. CEGEP is a post-secondary level of
education which, in our society, is regarded as higher education. By
higher education, I refer to the fact that, since we are living in a
developed country, the most part of society has at least attended the
secondary level of education, if not passed it. Therefore, fewer and
fewer people attend the higher levels of education, such as CEGEP and
later University. Thus, the more a person attends school, the more
specialized the workforce is and few are the more specialized a
workforce group is, the fewer members it has, making it a more
valuable workforce that will earn more money, which is what we
exchange for goods or services. Having mentioned the role of CEGEP in
terms of what it brings to its students, you can see that dropping out
of CEGEP would mean a lesser level of specialization for the drop out
student, which would in turn lead to a lesser gain of money overall,
which would mean the lesser chance of acquiring goods for this person,
wether it be basic goods, the ones that ensure your survival, or goods
that simply make your life easier, such as an internet wired
computer.
Then, amigo from outer space, let us explain the role of parents and
their expectations in order for you to fully grasp the answer to your
inquiry. Parents are a couple(two people, generally a man and a woman,
but it can also be a pair of men or women) that are educating
kids(fairly recently born humans, boys or girls) at home about life in
general, culture, social behaviour, but that mainly transmit a set of
values, general guidelines for conduct in life, to their
offspring(which can also be adopted, in which case the educating
couple may be referred to as "parents"). If parents take the task of
educating their children seriously, which some do not, they will care
a great deal for their children's well-being, wether it be material,
physical or psychological. Having cared for their children while
educating them, they expect their offspring to care for themselves in
the same way or even better once they leave their guardianship to live
a life on their own, which is usually customary since parents mortal
and cannot take care of their children indefinitely. Therefore, they
expect their children to have enough specialization in order to be
able to earn a living(money) that will allow them to acquire basic and
lifestyle goods and services. Acquiring a CEGEP or higher level of
education is a good way for the children to ensure this seeing as
CEGEP has also been created in order to promote higher education to
Québec students.
Therefore, the issue of dropping out is a big part of the unhappiness
that parents will feel if their child drops out of CEGEP in order to
become a sidewalk chalk artist.
The other part of the answer lies in that children can earn a decent
living even if they do not attend CEGEP, even if the instances of this
are rare. However, becoming a sidewalk chalk artist signifies that the
child will earn his/her living through the goodness of people or the
taste of people, if he/she gets a sponsorship by an art gallery or art
foundation. Thus, the living he/she will earn depends on his/her
talent, if he/she lives in an urban center or a rural community(there
are more people likely to see and like the chalk art in urban centers
since there are more people living there) and the goodness of people
which is not very great and depends as many factors as there are
people living on planet Earth(7 billion). Therefore, the chances of he/
she making a living that corresponds to the standards of his/her
parents are very limited, which explains the possible unhappiness of
the parents when they hear the news.
There are however a few instance where parents might not be unhappy :
if parents do not care for their children, if they have a huge
inheritance($$$) they can leave to their children that will ensure
them a good life, if the cultural legacy of the parents is closely
tied to artistic development regardless of the living conditions of
the children.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Kathy Liu]

Question: Why is punching random strangers considered unacceptable?

Punching random strangers is considered unacceptable for two main
reasons: a punch is often seen as a threatening behavior, and
strangers do not usually interact with each other.

As a general rule, punching is unacceptable no matter what situation a
person is in. This is because punching is a dangerous action often
leading to bodily harm. (We assume here that the alien knows what a
punch is; if not, a physical demonstration may be necessary. For more
details on how a punch leads to injuries, refer to the fields of
physics and biology.) For this reason, punching is usually used as a
means of offense or defense, with the intent of causing bodily harm.
Therefore, punching strangers is improper because it will be viewed as
a attack on that person. Said person will then be hurt, and society
will have, temporarily or permanently, lost a functional member.
Furthermore, the stranger is likely to punch back (or deliver another
type of physical blow) to defend him/herself. If replicated on a large
scale, society would be unable to function, as too many of its members
would be incapacitated. Consequently, punching others is not tolerated
in society, and laws are created to protect citizens from bodily harm.

There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. For example, playful
punches (i.e. without the intent of causing bodily harm) are common
among groups of friends, especially young males. (Human males tend to
be more aggressive than human females. Again, refer to biology, or
psychology, for a more detailed explanation.) We see then that there
are situations in which punching is acceptable. The issue lies with
punching random strangers. In typical North American societies,
strangers do not interact, unless they have reason to. Being rational
creatures (we evolved to have a superior intellect than other animals;
see theories of evolution for more information), human beings require
a motive for each of their actions. Without motive, strangers do not
interact; the implicit understanding of this logic within society has
in effect turned it into a social convention. Therefore, punching a
stranger, whether playfully or not, is considered unacceptable; at
best, it will be viewed as unconventional and at worst (especially in
the case of bodily harm), it will be viewed as law-breaking.

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

[Pamela B.Girard]

1. The alien might not understand why marriage is an considered "an
important life decision", you should explain further what is marriage,
what it implies and why it is such an important decision.
2. It is also possible that he/she/it might have a hard time figuring
out why at 18 years of age a human might be able to make important
decisions with respect to their lives, since this age changes
according to the certain countries. Explain further why 18 or 25 are
more appropriate ages and no simply arbitrary numbers chosen by
society. Why have most societies(at least in the West) agreed on 18 as
an age where important decisions can be made. What are the life
mistakes mentioned and how do they impact on our lives?
3. You should also explain the concept of love to the alien(I know it
is a hard job, many people have tried and failed). Given that love may
be completely free from reason in some cases(at least according to
some definitions of it), the age really shouldn't matter, no? Try to
go more in depth with respect to this question.

On Mar 23, 10:43 pm, Julia Ros-Larocque <juliaroslaroc...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Kathy Liu]

Wow, nice (almost :P) airtight argument. I had to really dig to find
some flaws in it. So, if I were an alien with little to no knowledge
about Earth and humanity, this is what I'd be asking you:

First of all, why is the Biology department "given a restricted amount
of money and rooms" by the school? Can't the school just give them
more resources, until they have enough to be able to raise their own
specimens? Secondly, if the Biology department can't kill the animals
it raised because its members became attached to them, why can't it
just ask the students to do it? They're not attached to them, as far
as I know.

[Yu Xin Shen]

Why don’t bicycles have engines?

1. Bicycles don't have engines because according to the Oxford
Dictionaries, a book which gives the meaning of words accepted by all
humans, a bicycle is by definition "a vehicle [...] propelled by
pedals". Since it is propelled by pedals, a "foot-operated levers used
for powering a bicycle [...] by the legs" (legs being a part of the
human body), it is human-powered and does not have an engine, which
uses a form of external non-human energy to a form of mechanical
energy.

2.Furthermore, bicycles were invented as a mean of transportation
which did not require any external, non-humanl form of energy, such as
the gasoline, coal or electricity needed in engines of automobiles or
locomotives, as these forms or energy were harder to access than the
simple energy from the human body (which all humans have). This
invention therefore enabled a person to transport himself/herself with
the sole use of his/her own energy, without needing an engine to
convert gasoline, coal or electricity into mechanical energy. That is
why bicycles don't have engines.

> Luohan, why doesn't the Biology department raise the animals it
> dissects?

[Yu Xin Shen]

Dear Jenine, you answer was very satisfactory to my antennas but my
alien senses are still a little confused about certain points:
1. What about cafeterias in the eastern world? Do they sell raw steak
for lunch?
2. Why are there restaurants that serve steak tartare if food safety
regulations don't encourage it?
3. If certain restaurants can serve steak tartare, why couldn't
certain cafeterias do so as well?

[Max Renner-Rao]

Cars are vehicles, therefore their purpose is to move from one
location to another faster than a person could walk. In order for a
car to move, it's engine must provide a force, which is done by a
process of repeated combustion. Gasoline and other common fuels are
capable of undergoing this rapid-fire combustion process since they
have an appropriate hydrocarbon structure. Since fuel does not
regenerate after being burned, a certain quantity of it is kept in a
gas tank for the car can function over a period of time proportional
to the amount of fuel in the car's tank.
Sand lacks the appropriate hydrocarbon structure that a car can use as
fuel, and, if put in the gas tank, may also damage the engine and
render the vehicle unusable. THAT is why people don't put sand in
their car's gas tank.

[YasmeenKhan]

Question: Why don’t Marianopolis students and teachers offer each

other
a military salute when meeting in the halls?

Marianopolis students and teachers do not offer each other a military
salute when meeting in the halls because that would suggest a military
environment which Marianopolis is not.

A military salute involves lifting one hand to your forehead, the area
at the top of your head right before your hairline, in one swift
movement. This movement is referred to as a military salute as it is
normally done in a military setting. The military is a group of armed
soldiers who's primary occupation is defending a country through
whichever means is necessary. This is usually carried out in a war,
where two states of groups of people who disagree use various weapons
or methods to defeat the other group by killing them. Defense is a
very dangerous occupation as it can result in the deaths of many
people or can save many lives. The ultimate goal of the human species
is survival and thus humans try as much as possible to avoid death.
The military being a very serious group is extremely strict.

It is normally soldiers who will normally salute each other. They
normally give military salutes to each other as a symbol of their bond
as a team as well as their mutual respect. While working together,
humans often develop relationships with each other, and therefore
develop certain practices to display the bond they share. For
soldiers, this practice is this swift movement that is an image of
their respect for each other.

While Marianopolis students and teachers also share a relationship,
they do not offer each other a military salute as that would insinuate
an extremely strict and serious environment. Although Marianopolis is
a serious institution as it educates young individuals, it is there to
foster creativity in students and is therefore not as strict as the
military. It is for this reason that students and teachers at
Marianopolis do not offer each other this symbolic salute in the
hallways.

[Elaine Tat]

Question:Why do people wash dirty dishes instead of throwing them out?

To answer your question my dear alien friend, people wash their dirty
dishes to limit their waste load. Waste is the term humans use to
define material items that they don’t need anymore. Humans eat with
plates and utensils everyday, thus dishes are not useless. If every
person would throw away his dirty dishes every time they would get
dirty, the planet will be filled with wastelands that pollute the air
humans’ breath to stay alive. Therefore, a planet with less waste is
essential to our survival.  Another reason why humans wash their
dished is to save money. Dishes have a monetary value. Humans have to
exchange physical labour for money in order to purchase material goods
like dishes. In other words, the more dishes you throw away, the
harder you have to work to get the money to buy new ones.

[Cindy Yang]

Marianopolis students do not wear reflective safety vests while at
school because first of all, reflective safety vests are made for
people who need to be highly visible anywhere at any time because they
are exposed to danger because of their job. For example, construction
workers need to stand out in order to not have anyone accidentally
drop anything on them. Traffic controllers need to be seen in order to
not be run over by cars. Runners and bikers wear safety vests to be
visible by motorists. At Marianopolis, there are no cars, airplanes,
or tractors. The circulation within the school is safe. Hence, it is
not necessary to wear reflective safety vests. Also, there are a lot
of students circulating in the hallways. If everyone wore reflective
vests, its purpose, which is to stand out for safety, reasons will be
meaningless because all students will look the same and will not stand
out. It will only create chaos because of all the flashy colors and
reflecting lights, which can be very overwhelming for some people and
create headaches for them. The number of seizures due to
photosensitive epilepsy might also increase during “hallway rush
hours”.
Furthermore, it is all about mob mentality. In our society, we
associate reflective safety vests to a certain function, to the people
described in the previous paragraph. We want to fit in the norm and
hence will not wear what our peers do not wear. Students wear pants,
skirts and t-shirts. They do not show up to class wearing reflective
safety vests.
Finally, as Marianopolis students, we are smart enough to avoid
fashion fiascos.

[Elaine Tat]

Your alien friend might ask....

1. Why do humans need to consult library documents in peace and quiet?
Can’t they read and listen to music at the same time?
2. Are you saying, that the library can play other types of music
(music that don't incite dancing, e.g. classical music)?
3. The alien might not understand why humans would want to acquire,
share or stimulate their senses and intellect. You might want to
explain why it is important for humans.
4. You might want to explain to your alien friend that respect for
others is another important reason why libraries don’t play loud
techno music.

[Xu Zhang]

Why don't students write essays using MS Excel?

Simply because there is Microsoft Word.
Microft Excel is one of the three main applications of Microsoft
Office, a software created by Microsoft. Microsoft Office allows us,
students, to do our homework more efficiently. The three most useful
MS Office applications for students are MS Word, MS Excel and MS
PowerPoint. Students have to choose the most appropriate application
among these three when they do their homework. MS Word is a word
processor, which allows us to write texts and in addition, it can
correct our mistakes. MS Excel essentially features calculation,
graphing tools and pivot tables. MS PowerPoint is useful when you want
to present or introduce something new to people, usually with pictures
and some small labels. Since an essay is a piece of writing, which
does not involve graphics and calculations, or pictures, it should be
written by MS Word. Therefore, students do not write essays using MS
Excel.

[Alexander Ness]

Why don't all CEGEP students have to learn to pilot a plane
in order to graduate?

In Quebec there are many CEGEP students. In the world there is not as
many planes.
If you were to train all those CEGEP students you would have pilots
who would not be needed.
Learning to be a pilot also requires a lot of time, being that you
would need to learn how the mechanics of the
cockpit work and you would need to understand how the plane itself
could fly, since if you dont you would not even get off the ground.
Since becoming a pilot takes such a long time, it would distract from
other studies and then we would not have proffesions such
as doctors and lawyers. Becoming a pilot is also dangerous, since
plane malfunctions could kill everyone on board.
Therefore, underaged students would be allowed to get there license
since they could die. Death is something people don't want
since you would lose that person, and also a young person's death
would also mean they cannot contribute to society when they get
older.
Since planes also cost a lot of money, since the technology within
the
plane itself is very sophisticated after years of development, and
how
most people
do not make large amounts of money, since most jobs either dont
require experience or being a proffesional,
which does require large sums of money to fullfill, or they have jobs
with substansial benefits, which would take away part of their
salary,
since those benfits require money to have, most people cannot afford
a
plane for private use, therefore making you have a pilots license for
your own
use pointless.

[Spiro Xiradakis]

Airlines do not require their passengers to wear parachutes because it
would be very expensive to get every single parachute for every single
airline. It is very expensive because you can only use a parachute
once and thats it you have to get a new one. So if someone were to
accidentally activate one they would have to replace it. People get
scared and that is why they accidentally activate parachutes.Getting
scared because you think you are going to die. Dying is very scary
because after that your life is over. When your life is over that
means nothing else happens. Also it would be hard to make parachutes
for kids. They wouldn't know how to use them and it wouldn't fit all
of them. It would not fit everyone because we are all different sizes.
we are all different sizes due to our diets and physical activity .
Because our diets and physical activity affect our body. If you have a
bad diet your fat but if you have a good diet and physical activity
you are skinny.

[Iline G]

The alien might ask:
-What exactly is an essay; what components of essays make it better
fit to use MS Word to write them? Can't we write on MS Powerpoint and
Excel, too? Couldn't we need to calculate or insert graphs and
pictures in an essay?
-What are applications and software? How do we use Microsoft
applications and software?
-Why would we need the application to correct mistakes when writing
essays? And depending on the species of alien, he/she/it might ask:
What are mistakes?
-Are essays homework? Is homework only comprised of essays? The
relation between 'homework' and 'essays' and 'MS applications' will be
vague to him/her/it; it seems like all homework has to be done with
MS.

-From your argumentation, the alien might understand that the only way
to write essays is to use MS Word.

[Yichi Zhang]

Why don't people tell their banking/e-mail/etc. passwords to others?

Telling others one's banking/e-mail/etc. passwords is unwise since
these people might use his account in ways he does not agree with.
Passwords are used to protect the owner so that actions made in his
account are under his responsibilities. For instance, if he buys "The
Hunger Games" on an online bookstore, he has the responsibility to pay
for it. But if someone else knows the password of that account, this
person may buy something that the owner does not want, say
"Twilight" :P. But he still has to pay for it, if he notices it too
late. Of course buying Twilight is not something he does. Another
argument is that passwords, under the "Terms and Condition", which the
owner knows when he creates the account, have to be kept personal, ie.
never revealed to others. Disregarding this rule can lead to account
suspension, and if too severely, a permanent ban. One will feel
frustration, sadness. In the worst case he can falls into permanent
depression and even commit suicide. Although this is a rare case, it
has already happened, multiple times.

[Yichi Zhang]

1. When you state that "Studying [...] will determine your grade [...]
which in turn will impact on your future", you assume that the
student's future is dependent on grades. Although this claim is true
for most people living in society, you did not mention why or how
grades impact on one's future.
2. You say that "Playing Xbox [is] a carefree activity designed for
entertainment purposes, the student will most likely choose to play
Xbox [instead of studying]", you make the assumption that playing Xbox
is carefree and not stressful nor tedious, which you did not explain
but is also false: when I play video games I need to feel the
adrenaline rush (shooting games). You also did not mention why a
student likes to do, as you said, carefree activity instead of
stressful and tedious one.

On Mar 24, 10:35 pm, Alexandra Belanger <abelang...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> Question: Why would a student who buys an Xbox tend to study less
> thereafter?
>
> The reason why a student who buys and Xbox would tend to study less is
> because it is a form of distraction. An Xbox is a video game console
> or a type of machine created for playing games on a screen. It
> consists of a box that you attach to a television (which is a
> telecommunication medium where moving images, in color or in black and
> white, can be transmitted or received). The student can insert a
> compact disc, a thin circular object containing digital data (a type
> of game), into the machine. The game will appear on the television
> screen and the student plays the game by using a type of controller
> attached to the Xbox machine. There are a variety of games available
> to play, including those involving sports (a form of competitive
> physical activity). Studying for a test typically involves many hours
> of memorizing details and practicing to answer questions both of which
> will determine your grade (a numerical mark out of one-hundred), which
> in turn will impact on your future. When you compare this activity,
> which is stressful and tedious to playing Xbox, a carefree activity
> designed for entertainment purposes, the student will most likely
> choose to play Xbox. As a result, the student would be distracted and
> the time allotted to his studying decreased.

[Jessi Lau]

Question: Why are walls and ceilings at Marianopolis generally painted

white instead of dark purple and fluorescent pink?

The reason why walls and ceilings aren’t painted fluorescent pink at
Marianopolis is because they would be highly disruptive. There would
be a lost of concentration because fluorescent pink can be really hard
on the eye. According to ThinkQuest.org, scientist have figured out
that bright colors, such as fluorescent pink, tend to exhaust our eyes
because they reflect the most light, “thus, the sensory cells of the
eyes have a lot more work to do.”

Dark purple as a wall and ceiling color has a different effect; it
can causes gloom and sleepiness. Without the reflection of any light,
the room would be darker and therefore cause students to feel
somnolent and depressive. We know that the amount of light a person
absorbs can be linked to depression through a disorder called Seasonal
Affective Disorder. The amount of light, absorbed by a person, is a
major factor in S.A.D. S.A.D usually happens during the winter, when
it is dark and days feel long. If student are stuck in dark purple
classrooms, without light and feeling like the class will never end,
then Marianopolis’s student body will probably have a very high
increase in depression. And that’s why walls and ceilings at
Marianopolis isn’t dark purple and/or fluorescent pink

On Mar 20, 3:22 pm, Andrew Burton <a.bur...@marianopolis.edu> wrote:

> *** Your Explanation ***
>
> Answer one of the questions below, assuming your reader comes from
> another planet and knows very little about the Earth and humanity.
> With that reader in mind, explain every step in your logic,
> anticipating and answering questions your naïve reader would likely
> ask.  Avoid vague language, unstated assumptions and logical errors.
> Please be respectful of your classmates – do not post anything that is
> offensive or insensitive.
>
> Julia A., why don't students grade their own assignments?
> Ronald, why does throwing a party result in people talking to each
> other?

> Alexandra, why would a student who buys an Xbox tend to study less
> thereafter?

[Julia Altmann]

Why Don't students grade their own assignments?
Students, humans who are studying at a school (an institution for
educating children) complete assignments (a task or piece of work)
that they hand in to their teachers (a person that teaches the
student). There are many reasons why student's cannot grade their own
assignments. One, is that since it is the studen'ts own work, they
will be biased, a feeling of being prejududice in favor of something
(in this case their assignment) and hence give themselves a good
grade. Another reason is that student did not get there teaching
degree (an academic rank given by a unviersity) and is therefore
inadequate to mark they own assignment. In addition, if a students
marked their own assignments, their report card (overall assesment)
would not be truthful to their writing skill level.

[Julia Altmann]

You state that walls and ceilings aren't painted fluorescent pink
because they would be highly disruptive. But what are walls and
celings? Where are they located and what is their function? What is
paint? What's the meaning of fluorescent and pink and why are the two
together disrruptive? You also state that scientists have figured out
that bright colors exaust our eyes. But what's a scientist? How do we
know what hes saying is true? You also state dark purple causes gloom
and sleepiness. What is gloom and sleepiness? Are those good things or
bad things? And what is depression? is it a positive or negative
thing? I'm a little confused

[Ronald Baxter]

Why does throwing a party result in people talking to each other?

Well for starters, the person throwing the party has to invite people
to the party. An invitation is when one person asks another person to
do something. So, once the person throwing the party has invited
people, then the people he invited have to confirm (say you're going),
that they are coming to the party. Then once people are at the actual
party, it is epected that these people will talk to each, since when a
large enough group of people come together, they tend to communicate.
For humans, it is a natural instinct to communicate (talk) with one
another when they are sharing a similar situation. So when people
share a common space they will follow their natural instinct and start
talking with each other.

[Mark Tartamella]

Why can't you buy a tank at a car dealership?

The reason one cannot buy a tank at a car dealership is because a tank
is a vehicle reserved exclusively for military purposes. The purpose
of a car dealership is to sell a vehicle that has been approved by a
Highway Safety and Regulation Commission to a citizen that has the
sole purpose of bringing said citizen from one place to another. The
Commission is able to approve a vehicle if it meets criteria such as
being able to fit between road lines. This is because the power to do
this has been established by many generations with the main idea in
mind being to maintain the safety and security of the individual.
These road lines have also been created long ago with the same
intentions. Any normal citizen cannot simply purchase one because
firstly it is ridiculously expensive and almost completely
unaffordable to anyone, and secondly because it will cause massive
property damage and/or death en masse if driven or fired within the
confines of a densely populated city or town. It is unaffordable to
the general population because of the fact that the materials used in
its construction are rare and extremely durable, accounting for the
tank's costly nature. They are made to withstand bombings, gunfire,
and gas, all illegal out of a war setting due to their destructive
nature. This makes the tank's purpose in a normal environment
generally useless. The treads located underneath a tank and the
mounted cannon and machine guns also pose a serious threat if used
because again, the tank's sole purpose goes against the underlying
conditions of the Commission. Operating a tank is also a direct
violation of the law, which strictly prohibits the harm (directly or
indirectly) of anyone or their property. The law has been established
in ancient times and its authority governs the lives of each person on
the planet. If one does not follow the law they are subject to
penalties ranging from severe to extremely severe, depending on the
offense. Purchasing and operating a tank in an urban area (where a car
dealership should normally be in order to maximize profits) is an
extremely severe offense, as it can be classified under a "rampage".
This is when one goes out with the intention of causing as much
destruction to individuals and property as possible and is one of the
most serious offenses in the already established and authorized law.

[Andrew Burton]

On behalf of Victoria who e-mailed me her text last night because she
couldn't post it:

Although poutine and smoked meat sandwiches are very tasty,
Montrealers can't only eat them.The reason is simple! They don't
contain all the nutrient our bodies needs in order be healthy. There
are certain types of food that we need to eat in order to give our
bodies strength and energy. Energy is what keep our body active and
moving. However, poutine and smoked meat sandwiches does not fall

under these types of food. Furthermore, they contain a large amount of
calories ad fats, which is even bad for our bodies. Calories and fats
builds up in our bodies, making it grow larger and lager until we
become overweight. Becoming overweight reduces the amount of energy
our bodies gets. If we get less energy, we will do less stuff, be less
active and become more tired. this causes heath problems. It can also
affect our concentration in school and at work. Therefore, we can
enjoy poutine and smoked meat sandwiches once in a while as a treat,
they simply don't supply enough energy to our bodies to make us
healthy and fully functional.. :)

[Ryan McHugh]

Your argument has almost no areas of confusion for an alien but an
alien may nit pick over a few things.
1) Why are red clown noses part of light hearted situations?
2) What is a light hearted situation?
3) A school and a circus school are both by definition environments of
learning. If they are both learning centers and it is considered
normal to wear a red clown nose in circus school doesn't that mean
that it is also considered normal to wear a red clown nose a school?
4) Why do you have to be a clown for it to be considered normal to
wear a red clown nose?

On Mar 23, 9:26 am, Debra Bruman <dbru...@gmail.com> wrote:
> A student wearing a red clown nose to school would be considered odd
> because it is not normally seen in school. Red clown noses are not
> normally seen in school because red clown noses are typically worn for
> reasons of humour. Humour is usually used in light-hearted situations.
> Since school is an environment for primarily learning, wearing a
> humorous red clown nose in a learning environment would be construed
> as odd, because even though the learning environment can be humorous
> at times, the main purpose for school is to educate people and not
> make jokes. However, this reasoning can be disregarded if the student
> attends a circus school that teaches people to be clowns, in which
> wearing a red clown nose could be a regular occurrence.

[Ryan McHugh]

Your argument is very good, there no obvious problems or issues with
you statement. However, what if the alien was not as developed as
humans were, meaning what if they were similar to our ancient
ancestors, the cavemen, who never used dishes or utensils to eat and
did not understand our concept of cleanliness. The alien then may ask?

1) Why do you have to uses dishes and utensils? Why not just eat with
your hands and off of a leaf or plank of wood? The leaf will
disintegrate and you don't have to clean anything except your hands.
2) How would you clean your dishes?
3) What's the point of cleaning your dishes if they will just get
dirty the next day?
4) Why do you leave your remaining food on the plate.? As aliens who
hunt and gather for our food we do not always know when our next meal
will be, wouldn't it make sense to save up your remains for another
day if you don't any other food to eat?

[davidv...@hotmail.com]

Hello Mr. Alien, the reason why people don't use rock paper scissors
to determine things is because it is a game of chance. Now if you had
an object that belonged to you and someone came over and declared it
was theirs would you hand it over? You see on earth people have
ownership over certain items that belong to them and people have made
rules to make sure that everyone is entitled to keep their own private
property and not have it taken away from them unjustly. So back to the
example that I previously mentioned, to determine if the person is
allowed to take away your object would you leave it up to luck and
chance, or would you instead follow the earths way and have the
situation figured out using the rules I associated with ownership? If
you go with the second option then you can apply this to almost
anything and in this case we will talk about grade appeals. If you
think you are being treated unjustly, just like having your item taken
away by a stranger who claims it is his when its not, then you should
have the right to fight back and have justice be enforced in the
situation. In this case you think your grades aren't being assigned
fairly and you don't want to leave it up to chance to determine if you
are being treated fairly or not. So instead humans have grade appeals,
which let the student have a chance at evaluating whether or not their
evaluation was fair, to do this the student would have another teacher
grade his or her work to see if they grade his or her work
differently. If so, then it would be determined through a fair and
just system, not one based on luck and chance, that the student
deserved a better grade and was being treated unfairly.

[davidv...@hotmail.com]

As an Alien maybe I would not understand what fashion or clothing is,
maybe I am a hairy alien that doesn't need any clothing and would thus
not understand the concept of clothes. Also these Marianopolis
students seem to be very preoccupied with their looks, wouldn't they
want to be flashy and stand out to not be a part of the norm of
society? If I was an alien I basically would be able to understand
what you are talking about if our cultures were at all similar and if
we wore clothes; also I find your points very thorough and interesting
and you covered all the topics that were worth mentioning in your
question.

[Chuong Trinh]

1) Why do students go to school (hence, all other scholarly questions
arise, such as why do students complete assignments, etc.) in the
first place?
2) What is the correlation between the faculties of teaching and
grading? (why are teachers adequate graders)
3) Why would students be biased in favor of their own work?
4) Why aren't teachers biased?
5) What if the student has a teaching degree? (university)
6) What is truth? and how can it be measured? (same for writing skill
level)

[Sophie Watts]

the alien might ask why people tend to communicate when they are in
groups because they might not understand the concept of instincts
they might also ask why people would talk to many people instead of
only to one person
they may ask what purpose this communication serves
they might even get back to the basics and ask why one would throw a
party and why people must be invited instead of simply arriving
instructively

[Sophie Watts]

bikila shoes are awesome

http://birthdayshoes.com/media/blogs/bdayshoes/womens_vibram_five_finger_bikila_pink.jpg

On Mar 23, 1:31 pm, Evelyne Shousha <evelyne17soc...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> 1. The alien might not understand why high heels are prone to breaking
> or why running in them would increase their chance of breaking.
> 2. You could also explain why flat shoes are more stable. Perhaps the
> alien in question transports itself by gliding and that, for him, the
> bigger the contact with the ground is, the more difficult it is to be
> stable. He could then think that running in high heels would be the
> best option.
> 3. The alien (and I) might want a description of bikila shoes.
>
> On Mar 23, 8:34 am, Sophie Watts <crazy_ca...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > marathons are not run in high heals because the purpose of a marathon
> > is to cover 42 kilometers in as short a time as possible. High heals
> > are constructed the wearers legs will look fantastic however, the
> > stability of the shoe is consequentially reduced. Covering a long
> > distance in footwear that is prone to breaking and causing one to fall
> > would result in significantly slower times then doing the same in
> > stable shoes. Shoes with allow your feet maximal contact with the
> > ground allow for a more stable stride diminishing the amount of energy
> > the runner must sacrifice to his/her balance. The trend of using
> > bikila shoes is an example of extreme flat foot running.

[Emma Taline Noradounkian]

Yasmeen, your thought process is very logical and you cover all of the
points of information flawlessly by first describing a military
salute, the military, war, defense, certain forms of human
relationships, and finally the fact that Marianopolis doesn't have as
strict of an environment as the military. There are only a couple of
minor details that you'd have to cover for the extraterrestrial:
-What are a student and a teacher exactly?
-If they don't offer this symbolic salute in the hallways, what do
they do in order to show their respect for each other?

[Jessica Michelin]

Dear Adrian,

As an alien, I am still a bit confused. While I completely understand
why humans try to avoid pain (aliens tend to be the same), I still
have a few issues.

1. If skateboarding causes pain, then why does anyone do it? And if
some humans have developed the skills to skateboard without falling
and hurting themselves, why don't these humans skateboard at school
then?

2. You said that "most students" don't know how to skateboard. This
generalization is valid, however, your subsequent answer then only
applied to these students. Once again, I ask, what about the students
who aren't part of the "most"?

3. The question specified "school hallways", however there is no
specific mention about why this rule only applies to schools. Should I
assume that the no-skateboarding-in-hallways rule applies to all
buildings? What about a skateboard design company? Or a hallway in my
own house?

[Adrian Carlesimo]

I disagree on two small issues. One, you assume Marianopolis teachers
would be playing cards during work hours, which could not be the case.
Teachers could simply stay after hours or go to the caf during AP to
play cards without infringing on their contract.
Secondly, although I do agree that engaging in card playing would
distort the teacher-student paradigm, I see no reason for it to result
in disrespect of the teacher in question. If anything, it would
reinforce ties between students and their students, because the latter
would see their superiors in a kinder, more approachable and more
human light. I can attest to this. I played cards with my sec 3
history teacher and a couple of friends once, and all that came out of
it was even more respect for him as a teacher and as an individual.

[Josh Indig]

Good arguments. The alien would understand your explanation well, but
there are some parts that may cause some confusion. Firstly, you might
want to elaborate more on how parachutes would be cost prohibitive by
explaining the concept of money and prices. Also, there would likely
be less confusion if you were more specific about the dangers of
accidentally activating a parachute on a plane and why seeing a
parachute on a plane makes people scared of dying. You could also
point out that a parachute isn't necessary on a flight since the plane
is built to land safely without passengers having to jump out by
parachute.

[Josh Indig]

Both arguments are thorough, but have minor logical flaws. Since a
bicycle is a form of technology, its formal definition sometimes
changes because technologies are often improved to increase their
convenience and efficiency. An example of this would the personal
computer, whose formal definition has changed many times over the last
couple decades. The alien might question why a vehicle like a bicycle
needs to be human-powered when a motor provides greater convenience to
the user. Also, you might want to elaborate on why non-human energy
sources are harder to access and how they can accomplish much more
work than human physical exertion. Lastly, you might want to point out
that a human-powered motorcycle is less expensive and more
environmentally-friendly than a motorized one.

On Mar 25, 2:25 pm, Yu Xin Shen <yuxin.she...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Why don’t bicycles have engines?
>
> 1. Bicycles don't have engines because according to the Oxford
> Dictionaries, a book which gives the meaning of words accepted by all
> humans, a bicycle is by definition "a vehicle [...] propelled by
> pedals". Since it is propelled by pedals, a "foot-operated levers used
> for powering a bicycle [...] by the legs" (legs being a part of the
> human body), it is human-powered and does not have an engine, which
> uses a form of external non-human energy to a form of mechanical
> energy.
>
> 2.Furthermore, bicycles were invented as a mean of transportation
> which did not require any external, non-humanl form of energy, such as
> the gasoline, coal or electricity needed in engines of automobiles or
> locomotives, as these forms or energy were harder to access than the
> simple energy from the human body (which all humans have). This
> invention therefore enabled a person to transport himself/herself with
> the sole use of his/her own energy, without needing an engine to
> convert gasoline, coal or electricity into mechanical energy. That is
> why bicycles don't have engines.

[Cindy Yang]

Max, your answer to the question is very rigorous and follows a
logical process. However, the alien might ask:
-What is sand?
-Why would it also damage the engine and render it unusable?
-Why does a car necessarily need a force created by combustion?



On Mar 25, 2:49 pm, Max Renner-Rao <maxrr...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> Cars are vehicles, therefore their purpose is to move from one
> location to another faster than a person could walk. In order for a
> car to move, it's engine must provide a force, which is done by a
> process of repeated combustion. Gasoline and other common fuels are
> capable of undergoing this rapid-fire combustion process since they
> have an appropriate hydrocarbon structure. Since fuel does not
> regenerate after being burned, a certain quantity of it is kept in a
> gas tank for the car can function over a period of time proportional
> to the amount of fuel in the car's tank.
> Sand lacks the appropriate hydrocarbon structure that a car can use as
> fuel, and, if put in the gas tank, may also damage the engine and
> render the vehicle unusable. THAT is why people don't put sand in
> their car's gas tank.

[Cindy Yang]

Your explanation makes sense. However, the focus of your answer is
rather specifically on online shopping account passwords and does not
encompass other passwords. Also the alien might ask:
-What are "accounts"?
-Do humans all have account passwords?
-If they do, why would they want to use yours in ways you do not agree
with?
-What are the Hunger Games and Twilight?
-What are "Terms and Conditions"?
-How would the "system" know that you gave your password to someone
and why would they ban your account from doing so?
-Why would a human feel frustrated about having his account banned and
some even consider suicide?


On Mar 25, 11:03 pm, Yichi Zhang <yichi.poutine.zh...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Xu Zhang]

The alien might still ask:
1- Why paying for someone else is bad?
(What if the alien does not mind helping other people to pay their
bills? Therefore, an explanation of how money is gained is needed.For
example, you could have told him that money is gained by handwork.)
2- Why can't I share my e-mail or Facebook accounts' password to
people, since there is no money involved?

On Mar 25, 11:03 pm, Yichi Zhang <yichi.poutine.zh...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Xu Zhang]

The alien might say to you:
1- I've tried poutine once and it actually gave me a lot of energy...
He is right, because fats and starch do provide energy. A lot of
energy.
2- Is eating only about calorie control and gaining energy? What if I
really like to eat tasty food and I do not mind being overweight and
doing nothing else than sleeping and eating?
Therefore, you should have mentioned the fact that if a person does
not work well, no one will hire him/her, therefore, he/she will not be
able to get paid and buy himself/herself poutine or smoke meat.

[Ronald Baxter]

Hi Alex,
You definitely explained your question from many different angles.
However, for your first argument you state that their arn't as many
planes as people, to which the alien might as "why?". They might also
be confused as to why we would have un-needed pilots if we were to
train all CEGEP students. At one point you mention learning how a
cockpit works, but the aliens might not be familiar with such a
concept. One last comment, your point you made about underage students
not being allowed to get their piloting license is a little illogical
becuase you can actually get a pilot license before turning 18.

On Mar 25, 6:43 pm, Alexander Ness <aness2...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Why don't all CEGEP students have to learn to pilot a plane
> in order to graduate?
>
> In Quebec there are many CEGEP students. In the world there is not as
> many planes.
> If you were to train all those CEGEP students you would have pilots
> who would not be needed.
> Learning to be a pilot also requires a lot of time, being that you
> would need to learn how the mechanics of the
> cockpit work and you would need to understand how the plane itself
> could fly, since if you dont you would not even get off the ground.
> Since becoming a pilot takes such a long time, it would distract from
> other studies and then we would not have proffesions such
> as doctors and lawyers. Becoming a pilot is also dangerous, since
> plane malfunctions could kill everyone on board.
> Therefore, underaged students would be allowed to get there license
> since they could die. Death is something people don't want
> since you would lose that person, and also a young person's death
> would also mean they cannot contribute to society when they get
> older.
> Since planes also cost a lot of money, since the technology within
> the
> plane itself is very sophisticated after years of development, and
> how
> most people
> do not make large amounts of money, since most jobs either dont
> require experience or being a proffesional,
> which does require large sums of money to fullfill, or they have jobs
> with substansial benefits, which would take away part of their
> salary,
> since those benfits require money to have, most people cannot afford
> a
> plane for private use, therefore making you have a pilots license for
> your own
> use pointless.

[Mark Tartamella]

Greetings, it's your alien's awkward, yet totally human cousin. Just
have a few questions for you so Ooblah doesn't force me to make toast
again.....
First off, why are national anthems specific to only countries and not
individuals? You could explain the reasons behind what exactly an
anthem is and where it began. Also, why do people take pride in their
country and themselves? Why would the rejection of conformity be seen
as a contradictory thing to do? You could possibly go into a little
more detail about what religion, social norms, and cultures consist of
that make contradicting them contradictory, without contradicting
yourself of course. Also, what type of instruments and "words" or
lyrics rather, are contained in these punk rock groups that make it an
aggressive form of music, especially against the aforementioned
categories? Does this mean that if punk rock were to be aggressive, it
would be exclusively toward these categories, or everything in
general? What if I wanted to conform to my friend's wishes and buy my
alien cousin a new particle accelerator? According to the space
government, all the coolest E.T.'s be wanting that blarg on their
blergs know what I'm sayin'? Would I be eligible for scrutiny by a
punk rock band in this regard? Adding to my earlier question, why
would these lyrics evoke tendencies of chaos and rejection of society
in individuals? Are all humans programmed in such a way that as soon
as we listen to a punk rock song, an instantaneous riptide of chaos-
induced destruction immediately ensues against something? A final
thought: what do people in punk rock bands specifically and normally
complain about or show discontent to? I think the biggest question is
why should any sort of conformity be associated with scrutiny,
especially by publicly aggressive individuals? Finally, what is
conformity? Please state a definition.
Thank you for your cooperation

On Mar 24, 10:52 pm, Emma Taline Noradounkian
<emma.noradounk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Why do no national anthems feature a punk rock style?
>
> First off, a national anthem is a song that evokes the patriotism and
> the history of a group of people in a specific area, generally a
> country. It is known by almost everyone who lives in a said country
> and it is sung during national holidays, before sporting events, and/
> or first thing when arriving to school, etc. The idea behind singing
> it (using your voice and memory of the lyrics of the national anthem
> of one’s country) is to show one’s support, pride and love of their
> country, and of themselves. To feature any national anthem in a punk
> rock style would be very contradictory. Punk rock is an aggressive
> form of music that is used to express a rejection of any kind of
> conformity such as religions, social norms and cultures. Seeing as a
> national anthem is sung because of one’s attachment to society and its
> culture, it would be inappropriate to rock it out in a style that
> evokes chaos and rejection of society. Also, national anthems are
> usually very calmly yet proudly sung while punk rock songs are very
> loud and show one's discontent towards something.

> > Alexander, why don’t all CEGEP students have to learn to pilot a plane
> > in order to graduate?

[victoria sayko :)]

I like your response, however there are just a few key points that
should be clarify
In order to make the aliens understand your argument.

First, You should clarify that the sound we use to communicate are
made using our mouth/ vocal cords
and not by using the objects that surrounds us. For examples,
hitting 2 rocks together creates a sound but is not considered to be
talking or a language.

Second, you should specify what you mean by the word “tribe”. Hence
you should say that a tribe is a group of people that usually share a
common location and has similar lifestyle, traditions and beliefs.

Third, you should specify that different location has different
“tribes”, therefore uses different languages. I am aware that you
mention that this era the dominant tribe is American who speaks
English, you should still mention that different parts of the world
still speak different languages, but Latin is not popular in those
countries either.


On Mar 25, 11:17 am, Kevin Hua <melrakki.villie...@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUESTION: WHY DON'T MARIANOPOLIS TEACHERS LECTURE IN LATIN?
>
> Language is a form or type of communication through sounds. Because
> people live in various parts of the world, we could not, at the
> beginning of languages, create a universal set of sounds for every
> single human in the world. Instead, each tribe or group of people
> developed sounds to mean certain things, and these sounds varied for
> each group of people because we had no means of long-distant
> transportation, thus could not bring our language and share it with
> people halfway around the world. Slowly, these sets of sounds became
> more and more, and eventually had enough to be considered a language.
> Latin was the language from the Latin tribes. This language was used
> several thousand years ago. This was when it was commonly spoken and
> popular as a language. Over time however, people continue to drift
> apart, and due to that drifting, the development of the language
> changes with different groups. Some groups may develop to become
> French, others may become Spanish, and still others Italian. Each one
> has the same Latin root, but because different people lived in each
> tribe, the language went a different way. This is the same with other
> languages. English, the common language in this day, came from
> Germanic roots, a tribe whose language did not have Latin roots. The
> dominant language is usually the language of the most powerful tribe,
> and in this era, a powerful tribe is the American tribe, who primarily
> speaks English. Thus, this is why we speak English here at
> Marianopolis. Latin is an old language, one that evolved and changed
> much over the century. Because of this, a tribe whose primary language
> is the basic Latin no longer exists - we speak languages of Latin
> roots, but not Latin itself. If Marianopolis teachers were to attempt
> to lecture in Latin, they would be met with much confusion because
> students would have difficulty understanding them because Latin is not
> our tribe's language. For this reason, Marianopolis teachers do not
> lecture in Latin, an unfamiliar language to us students.

> > All responses must be posted by midnight Friday March 30th.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Kevin Hua]

I liked your argument, but there are a few things that made make an
alien with no prior knowledge seriously confused:
1) You mention that it is "a social convention that clean spaces are
markers of the quality of a city... etc."... but what exactly is this
"city" thing you speak of? and trash can, GRABage pick up trucks... I
don't know what those things are. Please clarify :-)
2) You mention that plastic contained in human products are
potentially dangerous... but what exactly is this plastic you speak
of?
3) What is this "cafeteria" you speak of and why does it make you
cough? Is this intended as humor?

Okay, i'm back :-) Well done though Xiya :-)

On Mar 24, 7:03 pm, Xiya Ma <xiyama...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Why don’t people leave their garbage on the floor/ground?
>
> People should not leave their garbage on the floor/ground since it is
> part of a universal social etiquette of the human race (at least in
> the western world). It is an social etiquette since the floor/ground
> is a public property, which implies that it is shared by all humans
> and should therefore remain clean in order to respect others's space.
> It is also a social convention that clean spaces are markers of the
> quality of a city, which is demonstrated by the different laws and
> institutions (trash can, grabage pick-up trucks, etc) implemented
> within that city. Garbage left on the ground can also be dangerous
> since the people walking by that place can trip, fall and hurt
> themselves, and humans despise painful experiences. It can also, after
> some time, decompose on the streets and cause horrid smells which can
> be toxic to humans. Garbage often shelters a plethora of bacterias,
> which can increase the chances of people for getting nasty diseases
> along with pain and possibly death, things which humans find
> undesirable. Garbage left on the ground can also be harmful to the
> environment since the plastic contained in human products can be
> carried to the oceans by winds or other mystical ways and harm sea
> creatures by the indigestion of these plastic objects.
>
> Unfortunately, not all human societies on Earth have the resources to
> implement rules or institutions for garbage management in order to
> avoid trashing the floor. Aliens might also see places where the rules
> are implemented but rarely respected (cough Cafeteria cough cough).

[kate mikula]

My dear Pamela,

I see the validity of your points, however, I would like to point out
that not all parents would have that reaction. While some parents do
care first and foremost about the education of their children to
provide a stable future for their children, not all parents would
agree with that. Parents want their children to graduate from higher
education institutes to guarantee their happiness and a stable,
overworked, well-paying job will not guarantee every childs happiness.
Some people would be happier with a job as a sidewalk chalk artist as
there would be less pressure to succeed, they would enjoy drawing more
than sitting at a computer, and they don't give a **** about money.
For that reason, some parents would condone their childs decision to
drop out of school to become a sidewalk artist. Parents should have
their childs happiness first and foremost in mind.

sincerely,

Katharine Ann Mikula

xoxo

On Mar 25, 12:20 pm, "Pamela B.Girard" <pamela.blanc...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Why would parents be unhappy if their son/daughter told them

> that he/she plans to drop out of CEGEP to become a sidewalk chalk
> artist?
>

> My dear extraterrestrial fellow,
> let us start answering your question by providing further explanations
> concerning the role of CEGEP. CEGEP is a post-secondary level of
> education which, in our society, is regarded as higher education. By
> higher education, I refer to the fact that, since we are living in a
> developed country, the most part of society has at least attended the
> secondary level of education, if not passed it. Therefore, fewer and
> fewer people attend the higher levels of education, such as CEGEP and
> later University. Thus, the more a person attends school, the more
> specialized the workforce is and few are the more specialized a
> workforce group is, the fewer members it has, making it a more
> valuable workforce that will earn more money, which is what we
> exchange for goods or services. Having mentioned the role of CEGEP in
> terms of what it brings to its students, you can see that dropping out
> of CEGEP would mean a lesser level of specialization for the drop out
> student, which would in turn lead to a lesser gain of money overall,
> which would mean the lesser chance of acquiring goods for this person,
> wether it be basic goods, the ones that ensure your survival, or goods
> that simply make your life easier, such as an internet wired
> computer.
> Then, amigo from outer space, let us explain the role of parents and
> their expectations in order for you to fully grasp the answer to your
> inquiry. Parents are a couple(two people, generally a man and a woman,
> but it can also be a pair of men or women) that are educating
> kids(fairly recently born humans, boys or girls) at home about life in
> general, culture, social behaviour, but that mainly transmit a set of
> values, general guidelines for conduct in life, to their
> offspring(which can also be adopted, in which case the educating
> couple may be referred to as "parents"). If parents take the task of
> educating their children seriously, which some do not, they will care
> a great deal for their children's well-being, wether it be material,
> physical or psychological. Having cared for their children while
> educating them, they expect their offspring to care for themselves in
> the same way or even better once they leave their guardianship to live
> a life on their own, which is usually customary since parents mortal
> and cannot take care of their children indefinitely. Therefore, they
> expect their children to have enough specialization in order to be
> able to earn a living(money) that will allow them to acquire basic and
> lifestyle goods and services. Acquiring a CEGEP or higher level of
> education is a good way for the children to ensure this seeing as
> CEGEP has also been created in order to promote higher education to
> Québec students.
> Therefore, the issue of dropping out is a big part of the unhappiness
> that parents will feel if their child drops out of CEGEP in order to
> become a sidewalk chalk artist.
> The other part of the answer lies in that children can earn a decent
> living even if they do not attend CEGEP, even if the instances of this
> are rare. However, becoming a sidewalk chalk artist signifies that the
> child will earn his/her living through the goodness of people or the
> taste of people, if he/she gets a sponsorship by an art gallery or art
> foundation. Thus, the living he/she will earn depends on his/her
> talent, if he/she lives in an urban center or a rural community(there
> are more people likely to see and like the chalk art in urban centers
> since there are more people living there) and the goodness of people
> which is not very great and depends as many factors as there are
> people living on planet Earth(7 billion). Therefore, the chances of he/
> she making a living that corresponds to the standards of his/her
> parents are very limited, which explains the possible unhappiness of
> the parents when they hear the news.
> There are however a few instance where parents might not be unhappy :
> if parents do not care for their children, if they have a huge
> inheritance($$$) they can leave to their children that will ensure
> them a good life, if the cultural legacy of the parents is closely
> tied to artistic development regardless of the living conditions of
> the children.

[Xiya Ma]

Bzzz Bzzz...Calling earthling Kathy!

It is very interesting to learn about human culture, which is very
different from where I come from. Thank you for the very elaborate
explanation of why punching random strangers in inacceptable.

However, I'm still curious about certains things:

1) Unfortunately, I do not know know what a punch is. Would you care
to show me? :D
2) Could you also elaborate on why playful punches would be acceptable
for friends? Wouldn't the punches still hurt even if they are playful?
3) Why is it a social convention to not interact with strangers? What
kind of barrier is there between strangers?

Bzzz Bzzz...connection....bzzz...bzzz....weakening.....bzzzzzzzzz


On Mar 25, 12:22 pm, Kathy Liu <ephemeraldra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Question: Why is punching random strangers considered unacceptable?
>
> Punching random strangers is considered unacceptable for two main
> reasons: a punch is often seen as a threatening behavior, and
> strangers do not usually interact with each other.
>
> As a general rule, punching is unacceptable no matter what situation a
> person is in. This is because punching is a dangerous action often
> leading to bodily harm. (We assume here that the alien knows what a
> punch is; if not, a physical demonstration may be necessary. For more
> details on how a punch leads to injuries, refer to the fields of
> physics and biology.) For this reason, punching is usually used as a
> means of offense or defense, with the intent of causing bodily harm.
> Therefore, punching strangers is improper because it will be viewed as
> a attack on that person. Said person will then be hurt, and society
> will have, temporarily or permanently, lost a functional member.
> Furthermore, the stranger is likely to punch back (or deliver another
> type of physical blow) to defend him/herself. If replicated on a large
> scale, society would be unable to function, as too many of its members
> would be incapacitated. Consequently, punching others is not tolerated
> in society, and laws are created to protect citizens from bodily harm.
>
> There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. For example, playful
> punches (i.e. without the intent of causing bodily harm) are common
> among groups of friends, especially young males. (Human males tend to
> be more aggressive than human females. Again, refer to biology, or
> psychology, for a more detailed explanation.) We see then that there
> are situations in which punching is acceptable. The issue lies with
> punching random strangers. In typical North American societies,
> strangers do not interact, unless they have reason to. Being rational
> creatures (we evolved to have a superior intellect than other animals;
> see theories of evolution for more information), human beings require
> a motive for each of their actions. Without motive, strangers do not
> interact; the implicit understanding of this logic within society has
> in effect turned it into a social convention. Therefore, punching a
> stranger, whether playfully or not, is considered unacceptable; at
> best, it will be viewed as unconventional and at worst (especially in
> the case of bodily harm), it will be viewed as law-breaking.

[Jessi Lau]

As an alien I'm a bit confused, you mentioned that tanks are extremely
durable but what are these materials, why are they so expensive, you
also mentioned The Highway Safety and Regulation Commission, what is
that, why is there a commission for highway safety and regulations,
also mentioned is that one of the criteria for approved vehicles is
that it must fit between the road lines but why can't we just make the
space between road lines bigger? If the law established governs the
lives of each person on the planet then I get to break the law right
cause I'm an alien and what is an rampage?

[Mark Tartamella]

Very nice, specific, and scientific, just the way "they" like it.
However, there are a few minor details that can be addressed. Firstly,
why would one want to go somewhere faster than they can walk? What
exactly is a vehicle and what other main parts, besides the engine,
does it consist of? Are the individuals in question in some sort of
hurry and walking seems too slow of a task?
To get right to these "vehicles" of which you speak of, why do they
have engines and why do these engines have to provide a certain force
in order for the car to move? Do objects not move indefinitely on
Earth? What does this particular force consist of (mathematical
formula would be nice) and who is responsible for its discovery, if
such a thing could be discovered or understood at all?
Where does gasoline come from and what molecular components allow it
to react to other elements in order to produce combustion? Why must
the combustion be in rapid-fire bursts and not just one continuous
combustion?
Hydrocarbon structure? I'm sorry I'm not familiar with that color.
Why does fuel not regenerate? Is there a finite amount on this planet?
And what happens once the tank runs out of gasoline? Does it explode?
Does it become a unicorn? Are there specific laws of nature perhaps
that prohibit sand from ever turning into gasoline? What is sand, what
is it made of, and what differentiates it from gasoline? What
components involved in the construction of an engine do not allow for
the use of sand?

On Mar 25, 2:49 pm, Max Renner-Rao <maxrr...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> Cars are vehicles, therefore their purpose is to move from one
> location to another faster than a person could walk. In order for a
> car to move, it's engine must provide a force, which is done by a
> process of repeated combustion. Gasoline and other common fuels are
> capable of undergoing this rapid-fire combustion process since they
> have an appropriate hydrocarbon structure. Since fuel does not
> regenerate after being burned, a certain quantity of it is kept in a
> gas tank for the car can function over a period of time proportional
> to the amount of fuel in the car's tank.
> Sand lacks the appropriate hydrocarbon structure that a car can use as
> fuel, and, if put in the gas tank, may also damage the engine and
> render the vehicle unusable. THAT is why people don't put sand in
> their car's gas tank.
>

[Max Renner-Rao]

Your answer seems thorough enough to make any alien stay as far away
from CEGEP as possible. Though the concept of chance is well
explained, extra clarification is needed as to what ownership, grade
appeals, and justice signify. What advantages does an individual
receive from owning something, material or not (who knows, maybe
intergalactic beings are communist), and why should someone worry
about losing their property? Why should grades, which are completely
abstract concepts, matter to a student? Finally, how does justice
work, and how is it applicable to a situation in which the student
doesn't come under any obvious harm? Honestly, I think these are all
questions we still might be asking ourselves.

On Mar 27, 11:41 pm, "davidvolp...@hotmail.com"

[Julia Ros-Larocque]

1. Might want to explain why a student feeling depressive and sleepy
is not good or eplain what is drepression.
2.An alien might think why not put the two together if one reflect
lights and the other doesn't they might actually counter balance
themselves.
3. And why is white better than a normal blue?

On 25 mar, 23:59, Jessi Lau <jessi_...@rocketmail.com> wrote:
> Question: Why are walls and ceilings at Marianopolis generally painted

> white instead of dark purple and fluorescent pink?
>

>         The reason why walls and ceilings aren’t painted fluorescent pink at
> Marianopolis is because they would be highly disruptive.  There would
> be a lost of concentration because fluorescent pink can be really hard
> on the eye.  According to ThinkQuest.org, scientist have figured out
> that bright colors, such as fluorescent pink, tend to exhaust our eyes
> because they reflect the most light, “thus, the sensory cells of the
> eyes have a lot more work to do.”
>
>         Dark purple as a wall and ceiling color has a different effect; it
> can causes gloom and sleepiness.  Without the reflection of any light,
> the room would be darker and therefore cause students to feel
> somnolent and depressive.  We know that the amount of light a person
> absorbs can be linked to depression through a disorder called Seasonal
> Affective Disorder.  The amount of light, absorbed by a person, is a
> major factor in S.A.D.   S.A.D usually happens during the winter, when
> it is dark and days feel long.  If student are stuck in dark purple
> classrooms, without light and feeling like the class will never end,
> then Marianopolis’s student body will probably have a very high
> increase in depression. And that’s why walls and ceilings at
> Marianopolis isn’t dark purple and/or fluorescent pink

[Julia Ros-Larocque]

According to this book that the alien found called the bible there is
a eternal life after death, why would that be scary? And than he also
saw in book that you can re-use the parachute, also according to the
book you only open parachutes in the sky not in the plane, how would
the fear make them open it before? But the alien understood well why
kids wouldn't be able to fit with them.

[Spiro Xiradakis]

Since i am from a different galaxy far far away i do not understand
why some people don't make as much money as other people, or how a
plane works, so young people always contribute to society how? Also
what is money, is it something you eat? what if a person is on a
deserted island and all they have is a plane? Why do most jobs not
require us to have experience? What is substansial benefits? If the
technology is so advanced why cant it go underwater.....I do not
understand

From your favorite alien buddy Eligervith Tergivne ....E.T. for
short :D