Needless to say, I think this has been the best course that I’ve ever taken at school. At least, so far. I honestly feel as if I could build a very simple calculator from scratch if given the appropriate tools. And you know what? I probably could. Giving me transistors alone would be tedious, and I would have one very large calculator on my hands. But, I would still be able to build it. In fact, you can make transistors on your own out of pretty simple things, but they would be pretty large. Which means that I would be able to build a very simple calculator out of nothing (provided that I know how to make my own transistors consistently). And that excites me. I feel like I’m learning something useful. It’s wonderful.

But my example of a simple calculator doesn’t even compare to a computer’s processor. No sir. In fact, even talking about it doesn’t do it justice. There is so much that goes on that it’s mind blowing. So I’m going to stop here. It’s very humbling to know how far we’ve gone as a race, and I can think of no better example than the computer’s processor as a testament to our achievements.

If that isn’t enough, there are even talks of quantum computing. What’s that? Well, I’ll explain it in a nutshell. You know all those 1s and 0s that your computer understands? You’ve probably seen it in movies, or heard of it being referred to as binary. In any case, binary only has two states. 1 or 0. On or off. What quantum computing does is add a third state. Both on and off at the same time. I tried thinking about this and only found that if I kept at it long enough my head would start to hurt.

Technology is amazing.

Anyhoo, forgetting that I have back-to-back 2 hour lectures, I think my Mondays in first semester are going to be all right. I’m really looking forward to the software development course. Stuff like version control, SSH, build tools and vi (bonus! take that emacs!) are finally going to be covered. I’ve wanted to be an Ubuntu MOTU for quite a while now, and I feel that after this semester I can finally ease into the transition of becoming one. What else? Oh yeah, the CSC258 course is going to be pretty sweet. It has a pretty awesome prof, and it’s all about computer hardware, logic circuits, and other related stuff. In other words, a continuation of high school computer engineering. Fun.

Oh, and the other courses aren’t worth mentioning, so I won’t. Maybe it was me being tired that made me extremely drowsy in these classes, or maybe it was that it was well…for lack of a better word: boring. Ah well, it’s the first day of school. Can’t expect to much from a course on the first day.

But yeah, it’s a wonder I’m even still typing. I made a pact with one of my friends that we’d hit the haystack before midnight every school night. I wonder how long that will last, haha. 34 more minutes and I break that pact. God damn…

All in all, I’m going to be very busy this semester. Three math courses and three computer science courses are enough to drive any person insane. I’ve also restricted the amount of hobbies this semester. I’m going to actually have to try for once in my life. I look forward to seeing what I can accomplish when I actually give it my best.

Good night!

Canada doesn’t have a single unified culture. While America can be called a Christian nation (and this might be stretching it for some people), Canada can be referred to as a multicultural mosaic. We, as Canadians, are encouraged to express our culture and beliefs. In fact, some of us are even paid to do it. But when you take a public school and start segregating it, then in my opinion you are crossing the line. This idea of an “all black” school would only work if we took a bunch of black kids and taught them “white” history, while taking all the white kids and teaching them “black” history.

However, this school brings far worse problems. How are we ever to achieve a state of equality when we are constantly reminded of slavery and atrocities committed long ago? I agree that we should never forget them (history has forever recorded them anyway), but we live in a society now that frowns upon and even prevents slavery. Why should we view blacks as an oppressed people? Yes, maybe black ancestors were once oppressed, but my current black friends certainly never were. By erecting this school we are stepping back into a more ignorant and hateful time.

This logic can be applied to all different minority groups. Take for example, homosexuals. But wait, the Toronto district school board even has school for them! How are homosexuals ever to be viewed as equals if we keep separating them? How are blacks, and every other group you can think of, ever to be viewed as equal, if we keep separating them?

The answer is, they never will. We will always view them differently. Black History Month does the same thing. During the four weeks of Black History Month we are reminded of Blacks who did great things. We are reminded of “black” history. Firstly, I don’t want to sound rude, but if you want to study history, there are history books that could teach you far more than some “black” month could. And secondly, why on earth are we only honouring people from one type of race during this month? Where is this logic coming from? Oh wait, we have to because the “black” race was once oppressed in the past, and now that they aren’t any more is only makes sense for everyone to reminded of how “special” the entire “black” race is.

I am white. I’m not a racist. I would say out of every 10 of my friends, only 1 is white. And I don’t mind at all. In fact, I love it. I am very grateful for Canada’s multiculturalism. When I am with my black friends, I don’t think about how their race was once oppressed in the past. I don’t know anybody who does. I treat them like human beings, the way I want to be treated. This is all very obvious. I don’t even know why I’m saying this. Everyone knows how you should treat another human being. Having things like this “all black” school and a Black History Month only reminds us of how blacks were once oppressed. I think I speak for everyone when I say this, but, we don’t need to be reminded of that.

Here are some links to articles. [1][2][3]

Edit: I thank you all for the comments. I realize this is a controversial issue, but let me clear up some misconceptions some people seem to be having. I do not think this school was created to further segregate the black community because they were once oppressed. I only said what I said above because by having this school, it inadvertently segregates the black community, whether we like it or not. For more details, read the comments below.