Menu
Monday June 8th, some of us decided that we needed to write more proofs outside of Psets, and promptly decided to set about proving the effects of lack of sleep.
****************************************************************************** **************************************************
Claim: Sleep deprivation–the act of consistently not getting enough sleep–results in laughter, extended blinks during class, and crazy ideas that lead to a further lack of sleep.
Proof: (ignore that you cannot prove general cases through specific examples)
On Monday morning, we had a lecture about special relativity, in which we discussed Maxwell’s equations, the consequences of a constant speed of light for all observers, and rejected the existence of the aether. Most importantly, we established that at an alien university, only their physics department would be the same as ours. In the afternoon we had a lecture about the Orbital Determination process, in which we learned ways to fine tune our code to correct for various effects. Unfortunately, we didn’t beat the record of using 7 whiteboards in three hours.
During our breaks however, lots of people took quick naps; the first sign of sleep deprivation.
While this certainly shows that people are tired, it was Monday evening when we really set about proving the not altogether undesirable effects of sleep deprivation.
Observe figure 1: As has now become our habit, Corina and I were outside taking a brain break (and eating absurd amounts of candy) after finishing a challenging problem on the Pset when we decided that it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do to start bouncing up and down. We consequently proceeded to get ourselves locked out of the building without our phones. Whoops. And so we have the second effect of sleep deprivation: imitating frogs.
Observe figure 2: By observing the above figure, it should be evident that (a) it is night and (b) that we are all “vaguely damp” [1]. As it turns out, the reason that we are all slightly wet is because like all sane, well-rested people we decided that it was a great idea to run through the sprinklers at midnight. The third effect of sleep deprivation: deciding that getting soaked by cold water in the middle of the night is desirable.
Observe Figures 3-6: After arriving back at the dorm, we decided that it was a perfectly good idea to do headstands (see figures 3-4) in the hallway. After all, is one-o-clock not the best time to do gymnastics? The fourth sign of sleep deprivation is answering yes to that question. As the time passed, more people joined, and we progressed from headstands to extreme multiple person yoga poses (see figures 5-6).
As can be seen by the figures and explanations above,
Thus, by general consensus (which again, cannot be used to establish the validity of a proof), we conclude that lack of sleep results in more laughter, more running through sprinklers in the middle of the night, and more late night yoga poses.
That concludes our proof.
Citations
[1] Gault, Lauren. Word of mouth, 24191 Julian Date.
*********************************************************************************************************************************
These past few weeks have flown by in a blur of little sleep, challenging Psets, interesting lectures, and lots of laughter. I learned a huge magnitude of topics in a span of time that I didn’t think possible (all of vector math in 3 hours!) and have met a bunch of really interesting people who share my interests. It is hard to believe that we only have two weeks left at SSP. After the experience that I have had so far, I don’t know how I’m going to go back to my regular routine (what am I going to spend my time doing without Psets?!). I can truly say that I have enjoyed my experience so far and I look forward to making more memories in our last couple weeks!
About Me: Hi! I’m Onoclea (Clea) and I’m a rising senior at Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In addition to math and physics, I love creative writing, rock climbing, and hiking.
Back to the blog’s home page
SSP International is a nonprofit offering inspiring science immersion experiences. Founded in 1959, its mission is to provide opportunities to accelerate learning, doing and belonging in science. SSP International’s flagship program is Summer Science Program, a leading education experience for exceptional high school students in astrophysics, biochemistry, genomics and more.
