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Generic Language and Structural Thinking about Social Groups
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/0c8759e9-5cf1-41b2-b961-3795aa64f949/thumb/128.jpgGeneric statements about social groups (e.g., Mexican immigrants hold poorly paid jobs) promote essentialist beliefs about the groups they describe. These problematic beliefs are a hallmark of internalist reasoning—inferring that members of a social group exhibit similar properties because they hold deep, inherent characteristics in common. Internalist interpretations of generics can be reduced with structural reframing: accounting for the association between the group (Mexican immigrants) and the property (holding poorly paid jobs) by appealing to stable external forces acting on the group (e.g., discrimination in the hiring process). However, evidence supporting the efficacy of structural reframing comes solely from studies using generics about novel, fictional groups for which people hold no prior beliefs. I investigated whether the efficacy of structural reframing generalizes to socially-charged generics about real-world groups in contemporary U.S. society. Participants (N = 203) read a series of generics about novel groups (“Borunians” and “Kemians”) or real-world groups (Mexican immigrants and native-born Americans), accompanied by internalist or structural explanations or left unexplained. After reading each generic statement, participants rated the plausibility of different interpretations of the statement and generated interventions to address any inferred disparity between groups in the prevalence of the attributed property. The results showed that structural explanations countered internalist interpretations and elicited structural interventions in response to generics about novel groups, but not generics about real-world groups. For the latter, structural explanations partially backfired, boosting internalist interpretations of generics and having no effect on proposed interventions. Nevertheless, structural reframing still has the potential to combat essentialism under the right circumstances. Additional work is needed to better understand when, how, and why structural reframing is useful for disrupting the harmful effects of generics on beliefs about the social world
Understanding Monsky’s Theorem: A Study Through Sperner’s Lemma and p-adic Valuations
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/21be8177-5726-44b4-8a47-f8e6cddb8ddb/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis addresses Monsky’s theorem, which states that a square cannot be divided into an odd number of triangles of equal area. To provide context, the work first introduces Sperner’s lemma, a combinatorial-topological result that guarantees the existence of a subdivided simplex with all distinct vertex labels under appropriate conditions. Next, the text examines p-adic valuations, with emphasis on the 2-adic valuation, and describes how these valuations can extend to real numbers to capture arithmetic characteristics relevant to geometric problems. Combining the combinatorial aspects of Sperner’s lemma with the arithmetic restrictions imposed by valuations leads to the proof of Monsky’s theorem, showing that the requested division of the square is impossible. The thesis also discusses related developments, including analogues for other polygons, extensions to higher dimensions, and alternative approaches to the original problem. These findings illustrate how arithmetic considerations and combinatorial meth- ods shape the outcomes of geometric constructions. The results may provide a starting point for further investigations into related geometric and algebraic questions
Hardware acceleration of the Kyber post-quantum key encapsulation scheme
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/6227c679-fac6-4f5d-828c-628af417c3dc/thumb/128.jpgSchemes such as AES and RSA have been in use for multiple decades, which speaks to their security against current threats. As the introduction of quantum computers becomes an ever-approaching possibility, their potential to break the security of established schemes has led to the introduction of a new generation of encryption methods that rely on a different paradigm. In this thesis, we attempt to design and implement a hardware module which allows for faster execution of the arithmetic operations necessary for the Kyber key-encapsulation scheme. We will explore topics including the reasons for which existing encryption schemes have proven so resilient to classical computers, the differences between classical and quantum computers, and the importance of hardware acceleration in the wide-scale adoption of secure encryption systems. In the end, we will detail a design capable of efficiently carrying out modular arithmetic with parameters specific to Kyber, and in the process of doing so, we will also explore the process that goes into designing task-specific hardware
Unveiling the Unknown: Depictions of the Ocean in Nineteenth-Century French Literature
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/197a838b-dfa4-4586-974e-f4afb7e8fad5/thumb/128.jpgThe present thesis examines two important literary works written at the eve of the new French Third Republic: Jules Verne’s novel Vingt mille lieues sous les mers (1869- 70) and Arthur Rimbaud’s long poem “Le Bateau ivre” (1871). Its main argument is that the motif of the sea, which features prominently in both works, materializes “l'inconnu” [the unknown], understood not just as the limit of human experience and knowledge, but more pressingly as a limit in literary representation, which both authors seek to transgress. In each of the chapters, I consider how the writers mobilize a wealth of literary creativity to address the problem of giving an intelligible shape to the unknown. Chapter 1 focuses on Verne’s systematic domestication of the maritime unknown. Leveraging descriptive practices based on the scientific traditions of Enlightenment taxonomists such as Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Verne resorts to using technical terminology and scientific language that function as cognitive anchors between the known world and the submarine unknown. Chapter 2 offers a close reading of “Le Bateau ivre” through the lens of two programmatic letters known as the “Lettres du Voyant” [Letters of the Seer]. It shows how Rimbaud embraces the chaos and disorder of the sea to create a revolutionary poetic framework, “le Poème De la Mer”, in which syntax dissolves and sensory experiences are rearticulated as a means of accessing the unknown. Evocations of the sea in both Verne and Rimbaud thus function poetically as an impetus for renewing literary expression and activating the imagination
Democratize the Discount Rate
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/3c39b6a8-09a9-4de3-a33f-cf8f055af889/thumb/128.jpgThe social discount rate is a tool that allows policy makers to account for risk, economic growth, and individual time preferences in trade-offs between long-term and short-term payoffs. Long-term environmental policy is highly sensitive to the choice of a discount rate; for policies such as climate change mitigation, the discount rate may be the most influential factor in the decision. This thesis is a critique on the methods by which economists and governments have converged on a choice of a discount rate. I present a detailed literature review of the subject, utilize meta-analysis on historical data on the social cost of carbon and pure rate of time preference, and present data on US and international government discounting to show that the theories behind the choice of a discount rate are inconsistent, conflicting, and highly disputed. Many dissonant discount rates are supported by current theory. Politicians, therefore, have been able to exert political influence over the choice of a discount rate in ways which are deceptive to the public. I analyze the most commonly used methods of discounting and show that they are systematically biased and not representative of democratic preferences. I conclude that in order to move towards a democratic ideal, discounting theory must unify to a consensus on the practice of discounting for environmental issues. I end with a proposal for a basic framework for aggregating a discount rate democratically
Cultural Life, Cultural Death: Ritual, Tourism, and Indigenous Revival in Yucatán, Mexico
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/980f8c86-129c-46a9-9965-1f81665e057d/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis explores the ways in which ‘cultural death’ in Yucatán, Mexico engages with indigenous Maya ‘cultural life.’ In my analysis of cultural death, I explore celebrations around death and dying alongside histories of colonial missionary violence and fears regarding the demise of an ‘authentic’ Maya culture. In my analysis of ‘cultural life,’ I refer to the ways in which indigenous Maya people across Yucatán work as agents in their own cultural ‘survivance’ in the fight for “native presence over absence, nihility, and victimry” (Vizenor 2008, 1). Ultimately, I argue that notions of death in Yucatán – colonial, cultural, and as an inspiration for celebration – inform and shape processes of indigenous Maya cultural survival, sustenance, and re-creation
Power Spectrum Analysis of Lenticular Galaxy NGC 524
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/20329f5c-c290-462d-ab7a-b7c9b153d504/thumb/128.jpgThe relative lack of star formation in gas-rich lenticular galaxies is currently an open question in extragalactic astronomy. The dynamic suppression theory would explain this deficiency as a result of the spherical potential of lenticular galaxies driving up the steepness of angular velocity profiles. This steepness is expected to increase shear in the ISM, creating turbulence and quenching star formation. Gensior (2023) ran a study on the gas mass maps of several early and late type galaxies, and found no correlation between SFR and turbulence. That study used CO emission line observations from the WISDOM survey to build their gas mass maps, and cited one of their limiting factors being the large PSF of the maps used. This paper examines the gas mass map of one of the galaxies from the Gensior (2023) study lenticular galaxy NGC 524, but uses V-band extinction as a gas tracer, with the hope that the greater resolution will provide more insight into the role turbulence plays in the galaxy's dynamics. Probing to these smaller spatial scales does significantly increase the slope of the power spectrum, implying that NGC 524 has turbulence not detected by the CO emission line map. An additional benefit of this gas tracer is also found, as the CO emission line's sensitivity to excitation creates an overly bright ring around the galactic core, which is not present here
A Case for Tragedy in Contemporary Trans Theatre
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/36c4eee2-7bbd-4afa-bad5-e16dbc32060c/thumb/128.jpgHow can contemporary queer tragic theatre exist in a state that is fresh, potent, or even popular? This thesis answers this question with a survey of theorists and critics, an examination of what has made past attempts at tragic yet politically poignant queer performance art successful, and close readings of three plays: The Normal Heart (1985) by AIDS activist Larry Kramer, and American Girl (2023) and No More Candy (2024) by Portland-based trans playwright Mikki Gillette. I was fortunate enough to interview Gillette herself for this project, and this thesis incorporates our conversation. I believe Gillete’s plays hold considerable potential to identify how queerphobia affects their relevant demographics and provide insight into what to do about it. My intention is to demonstrate this potential within these works to provide a template for how tragic trans theatre can not just survive the current political landscape but fight to change it
Resisting a New ‘Normal’: Covid-Related Mutual Aid and Logics of Systemic Vulnerability After the End of the Public Health Emergency Order
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/9fe0a14d-fbe3-4196-abac-ee9b151950ae/thumb/128.jpgWhile many have considered life after the end of the Public Health Emergency Order (PHE) to be “post-covid” , a sect of mutual aid organizers continue to attend to the virus. To this, I ask how these organizers address COVID-19 as a continuing problem and what alternative interventions they provide. Following Science and Technology Studies and Mutual aid literature, this thesis is more broadly concerned with how marginal perspectives can produce systemic thinking and innovative remarkable interventions. This qualitative project uses interviews with mutual aid organizers to track how organizers interact with “post-COVID” moment to recognize it as a problem that demands their intervention. Through moments of incongruence and marginalized positionality, organizers understand a continued need for COVID care, and in turn systemically problematizing institutional divestment as an inequitable norm. Organizers reject the “normal” that this declaration aspires to, instead utilizing an alternative logic of care: systemic vulnerability. This frame looks beyond the biomedical and acute focuses of COVID and considers risk ongoing and inequitable. Within this alternative logic of care, organizations tend to their communities through distribution of PPE, educational materials and community knowledge, and holistic care provisions
A Continuum Model for Physical Billiards
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/f538bda9-37f3-44b4-9014-a11ca8bcad81/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis aims to describe a continuum model of the contact forces acting on a billiard ball. This continuum model is solved first analytically and then numerically, and compared with previous discrete models of billiard physics. Three interactions are explored: the ball-slate interaction, ball-rail interaction, and ball-ball interaction. In each interaction we find that the transition from a discrete model, where collisions are instantaneous, to a continuum model, where collisions take finite time, yields new billiard trajectories. We also find that new physics arises from alternate formulations of friction and inelasticity necessitated by the continuum model. Finally, we find that the discrete model is unable to describe simultaneous interactions, and show how the continuum model solves this problem in the case of the combined ball-rail-slate interaction and the break. We compare the discrete and continuum model's ability to simulate an experimental break, and find that the continuum model performs much better