Parth's 340 Blog

 World We Imagine Part 1  Living in Dubai, I had the opportunity to play sports with people from various backgrounds, including many from Pakistan, even though I am originally from India. Despite the historical tensions between India and Pakistan, sports such as cricket brought us together, and ultimately transcended those deep-seated divides. One of my teammates, originally from Pakistan, eventually became my best friend, and despite now being based in the UK, we are still in touch with each other on a daily basis. That there is the power of sport. This friendship, that was forged on the cricket field, was initially surprising to my cousins back in India, which once again shows the power of sports and how it can challenge and change our preconceptions and biases. Because at the end of the day, we are all the same, we all have the same wants and needs, but we get divided by our own people. Sport proves to be a powerful catalyst for unity and understanding and is hence would be...

 Critical Thinking Extra Credit: Five Surprising Moments in Vaccine History  The article published by The Washington Post, and authored by Anna Rothschild is about the development of vaccines and their history. Anna Rothschild is an on-air journalist that covers science and health, which is supported by her BA in biology from Brown University and her MA in journalism from New York University. This article in particular is quite short as it only includes a very high-level overview of vaccines, but the main focus is the 3 short videos as part of a series. I ended up watching all 3 videos to gain more context about the history of vaccines.    In her article, the author Anna Rothschild traces the history of vaccines back to their primitive but ingenious beginnings with variolation, which is a precursory form of inoculation against smallpox. Rothschild then introduces Onesimus, who was an enslaved man that played a crucial role in bringing variolation to the US (or the Am...

 Random Post 2 - IPL  If you read my first random post, then you can probably guess what I will be writing about: cricket. However, I will be more specifically talking about the Indian Premier League (IPL), mainly because the season started just a week ago, and so for the next two months I will have the chance to watch a cricket game (at 7am though). If you don't already know the IPL, think of the NBA or EPL for cricket. Unlike traditional cricket formats where you are representing your national teams or state teams, the IPL consists of franchises representing various cities in India. Similar to the NBA/EPL, IPL teams are owned by a mix of big corporations, celebrities, business tycoons, which adds a certain glamour to the league. Moreover, the league doesn't just consist of Indian players, the league features a mix of the best international players as well. However, there is a limit of 4 international players that can be featured per team out of a total of 11 players as part ...

 Book 2 Post 2  The book I have continued to read is Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Dr. Ali Abdaal. As I mentioned in my previous post, Book 2 Post 1, I couldn't have asked for a better book at this time during midterms season. Moreover, being someone who prefers the visual medium more than reading (I blame TikTok for reducing our attention spans), I consequently started watching Dr. Abdaal's YouTube Channel to learn more about studying techniques etc. But what fascinated me the most was how does someone like Dr. Abdaal, who is a full-time doctor, create content on YouTube with several million subscribers? As one would expect, Dr. Abdaal probably works hundred-hour work weeks, and then potentially feel good after accomplishing what he wanted to. However, turns out that is not the case. As Dr. Abdaal put it, "Step 1: feel good. Step 2: do more of what matters to me". So rather than suffering and putting in the "grind" as most...

 AMDP DRAFT PROPOSAL: IPL After conducting extensive research, I have identified a possible investment and firmly recommend that we at AMDP do invest in the Indian Premier League (IPL). As a prominent entity in the global sports industry, the IPL has exceeded beyond all expectations by promoting not only a high-intensity and widely celebrated cricket tournament but also it has also emphasized suitability and community involvement, particularly for women. An investment in the IPL will not only offer us a great return on our investment, but also perfectly aligns with AMDP’s investment values.      The following memo will be discussing: ·      An examination of AMDP’S ethical and sustainable guidelines ·      A detailed overview of the IPL, including its history, financial performance and claims ·      Two expert opinions on the IPL’s sustainability practices   ·    ...