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On the Idea of an Unthinkable World: An Essay on Cartesian Epistemology
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/43b55df2-c219-470a-b5ed-44efc0ae16a6/thumb/128.jpgIn this paper I argue that McDowell’s understanding of conceptual experience presents a compelling alternative to the oscillation between internalism and externalism which has characterized much of contemporary epistemological debate. Here I develop this point through the examination of McDowell’s picture of experience and McCulloch’s interpretation of intentionality. To escape the epistemological back-and-forth an understanding of the mind is needed which takes thought as something genuinely capable of embracing the world, to fail in this is to see cognition itself degenerate into a meaningless play of empty forms. I conclude by laying the groundwork for an understanding of cognition decidedly opposed to the dualistic Cartesian tradition
Retention of visual features in the absence of conscious awareness…? A closer look at the inattentional blindness paradigm
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/6c6074c7-084a-4390-ac12-b91b2e002ebf/thumb/128.jpgDay to day, as we move throughout our lives, we generally assume we consciously perceive most of what exists around us, yet, evidence suggests otherwise: we may actually perceive very little, including incredibly salient, large, obvious stimuli when our attention is directed elsewhere, in a perceptual phenomenon called “inattentional blindness” (IB). Recently, the existence of IB has been doubted by evidence appearing to demonstrate above-chance performance on feature-discrimination tasks for stimuli participants claim to have not noticed (Nartker et al., 2025). Thus, the long-held core concept of attention being necessary for conscious awareness has been called into question. The current thesis combined the original IB classic cross-line paradigm created by Mack & Rock (1998) along with signal detection theory analysis and 2-alternative forced choice questions from Nartker et al. (2025) as well as improved follow-up questioning methods to test whether participants are genuinely sensitive to features of visual stimuli they fail to report seeing. Out of 914 participants run online, 77% did not report noticing the unexpected shape (i.e. “Non-Noticers”) and did not display any significant residual sensitivity to its features, through both traditional accuracy (% correct) and signal detection theory measures of sensitivity (d’) therefore consistent with previous literature on IB. Thus, the current study did not replicate findings displayed in Nartker et al. (2025), therefore validating the existence and prevalence of the phenomenon of IB
Crystal Engineering of Hydrophobic Drugs for Controlled Delivery and Release
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/df458b23-aaf7-48f0-9b04-fcaf24b488ae/thumb/128.jpgImprovements in drug delivery and administration is an on-going area of study within the pharmaceutical field. With hundreds of new drugs and pharmaceutics applying for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review every day, the problem of how to properly control a drug's delivery is growing more apparent. Techniques of crystal engineering, such as cocrystallization and hydration, have shown potential for providing manners of controlled drug release. Cocrystallization allows for formation of non-covalent bonds between a previously existing active pharmaceutical ingredient and a secondary safety-approved compound, opening a pathway for speedy FDA approval. This work reports the synthesis, characterization, and analysis of five novel drug forms for treatment of Type II Diabetes. These five new crystalline structures show large variability in intermolecular interaction, thermal stability, and degree of hydration. Through these findings, this thesis proposes a case study in the use of pharmaceutical cocrystallization for controlled drug delivery and release
Rhinoceros Horn Poaching Prevention: A Case Study of South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/f26bdc3b-e67a-45f8-8285-4e69cced81ad/thumb/128.jpgRhinoceros (rhino) are an iconic species that barely survived extinction due to poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Today, despite conservation efforts, rhinos still face poaching as the biggest threat to their existence. The white rhinoceros, also known as square-lipped (Ceratotherium simum), and the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) are classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered and near-threatened, respectively (Chanyandura et al. 2021). Conservation efforts of the past 50 years have focused on repopulation and poaching prevention; however, while repopulation efforts have seen population growth in key range states, poaching remains an issue. Through case studies of the four rhinoceros range states with the majority of Africa's rhinos, I will investigate what factors contribute to variation in rhinoceros poaching nationally in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. This study does this through a historical framework, considering the political and social climates in each country. I identify high levels of corruption, private and public land ownership, community engagement, funding for conservation (trophy hunting and ecotourism), and the historical and political context as key variables that contribute to rhino protection or the lack thereof. The future of rhino protection must include comprehensive, well-funded rhino management strategies that include anti-corruption frameworks and community-based conservation. Engaging local communities and improving management on a national level is central to controlling the rhinoceros poaching crisis
Geometry of Weighted Infinitely Degenerate Elliptic Partial Differential Equations
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/3bd3beca-d407-4f34-8ac8-e57ea506dec7/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis studies the geometry of the metric measure space associated with the matrix that appears in the weighted Laplace operator \cL u = \divg (A(x,y)\cdot \nabla u). In particular, we are concerned with estimating the area of metric balls in the case of an infinitely degenerate metric. First, we present relevant background in the case of an infinitely degenerate metric and so that the weight is the Lebesgue measure on Next, we outline pertinent results regarding weighting functions in the case that the metric is the standard Euclidean metric on . This exposition follows Chapter 7 in \cite{Korobenko} and Chapter 3 of \cite{Waugh}, respectively. Following these sections, we study the case of with an infinitely degenerate metric combined with general weights. We begin by estimating the measure of for a simple class of weights that are radial with respect to the metric, doubling, and increasing. Then we define a class of infinitely degenerate weights and derive the measure of a metric ball centered at the origin along with specific cases of a metric ball centered at an arbitrary point
Heartbreak Museum
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/49de7cb9-4d91-4e37-9c01-4ee2c0ddf1e2/thumb/128.jp
Testing for Inefficient Spreads: An Analysis of Relative Accuracy of Spreads in the National Football League Betting Market
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/f3814841-8788-4beb-b384-0cd5e43cdf04/thumb/128.jpgThe Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which was a national ban on sports betting in places that did not already allow it (Nevada), was only ruled unconstitutional in 2018. Since then, 39 states have legalized sports betting, making it an extremely young and under researched market. My thesis seeks to find potential points of inefficiency in specifically the National Football League sports betting market, as well as whether focal points exist around spreads of 3 and 7. I use a dataset which includes 4676 games from the 2007-2008 season to the 2023-2024 season and isolate different spreads, years, and weeks of the season before using a two-sided t-test at a 95% confidence interval to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in the accuracy of spreads at these points. I find that spreads of 4 and 5 tend to be less accurate, and spreads of 8 tend to be more accurate. I also find that week 10 of the regular season tends to be less accurate. With the number of tests I ran, it is statistically likely that I may have captured statistical noise in the positive results I found. Though this is likely highly researched internally at sportsbooks, there is little existing public literature regarding potential inefficiencies in the sports betting market. The aim of my research is to shed more light on the overall efficiency of the market, supporting some existing theories that others may have regarding certain points of inefficiency and opposing other theories
Daphna magna Metal Band: Variance in The Relationship Between Copper Concentrations and Daphnia magna Mortality Among Populations and Genotypes
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/8b029554-831b-4151-a495-385392844163/thumb/128.jpgIn aquatic environments, metal contamination is a serious problem affecting aquatic ecosystems, animals, and humans. One of the most common metals found in water is copper. Copper is an essential metal that, in small amounts, is known to be beneficial, but when an excess amount is in our water can have negative effects on some living organisms. In previous studies, Daphnia magna has been used to examine the effects of metal contamination and levels of toxicity. In my study, I investigated whether different populations and genotypes of D. magna vary in their copper tolerance. Specifically, I performed an acute exposure experiment with 6 genotypes over 48 hours over a range of copper concentrations (0 ug/L, 1.175 ug/L, 2.32 ug/L, 4.7 ug/L, 9.4 ug/L, 18.8 ug/L) and analyzed the relationship between copper concentration and mortality after 48 hours. I found that the relationship between copper concentrations and mortality after exposure is not significant and does not differ among D. magna populations and genotypes, given the sample size in this experiment. However, if intraspecific variation is not factored into the model, an effect of concentration on mortality can be detected, which suggests future investigations with larger sample sizes or long exposure periods would be worthwhile
Beyond Villains and Victims: Leftist Struggles with Antisemitism
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/99b10674-9145-4a10-9b21-158681f2ffb9/thumb/128.jpgHow can we think of claims to offense beyond simple dichotomies of victims and villains? This thesis takes American Jewish victim claims as a test for leftist discourse which privileges the victim in contentious political speech. The left, and particularly the left in U.S. universities, has regulated speech based on a presumption that victim and villain groups are clearcut, a presumption drawn from U.S. white and Black relations. Using Friedrich Nietzsche’s thought as an impetus, I argue that this framework is ill-equipped to mediate between American Jewish victim claims and pro-Palestinian advocacy. While I do not believe that a return to liberal free speech absolutism is necessary to remedy the inconsistency of left speech politics, I do find enticing reasons for an increase in open political contest on campus and approaching identity as informing experience where relevant, not as verifying contributions
Todas las Plantas son Medicina
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/0d66d747-b1b7-4dd8-a74b-ef473e7c74c6/thumb/128.jpgEvery month hundreds of thousands of people cross the US-Mexico border, risking their lives in pursuit of better. These immigrants often come to find work after their homes are ravaged by US-sanctioned violence and genocide which has violently displaced them and forced them to leave ancestral lands in pursuit of basic subsistence. Indigenous immigrants often don’t speak Spanish and follow other community or family members to towns which can become hubs for certain transnational communities (Hallet 2012). These communities can become small hubs of world building and often show how survivance plays out after displacement (Hallet 2012, Sheptak 2017). Survivance of central relationships hold us to our identities as transnational indigenous peoples on and off our ancestral lands. One of the most important relationships is with medicine, be it spiritual or physical. Medicine is vital to life, for Q’anjob’al people our relationships with medicine allow us to continually rearticulate our relationships with more than human kin. I show three examples of medicine through stories of foods we consume regularly as medicine. I use autoethnography rooted in indigenous methodologies like tsikbal and other forms of participant observation to present stories which show what it means to know medicine. This research explores how medicine continually reconstructs transnational Q’anjob’al identity and to what extent it is tied to place