Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Injustice in Java
In the spring of my senior year, I traveled to Jinotega, Nicaragua on a service trip. While there, I visited a coffee plantation to learn about coffee as one of Nicaragua’s biggest exports. The harsh labor conditions of this plantation were immediately apparent- workers were dirty, exhausted, malnourished, and many had their children in the…
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Inside The Studio: An Exploration of Bucknell’s First Visual Artist-in-Residence Shani Peters’ Workshop
Behind the canvas, the frame, and the lights, is the studio where the artist creates. It is a rare opportunity to go inside an artist’s studio and even rarer to talk with the creative individuals themselves. When such opportunities present themselves however, I have always found exploring the artist’s workshop is the most fulfilling way to discover…
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Nature’s Influence on Brain Health
Spring is a time of rebirth – of new beginnings, new goals, and new challenges. It is a time where the budding flowers, verdant fields, and sunny weather makes everyone feel alive again. It also signals the end of the school year, serving as a reminder to do things we always wanted to do. With the…
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The Unbreakable Ellie Kemper
Bucknell Speaker Series featuring Ellie Kemper, famous for her role as Erin Hannon in the NBC series The Office and current star in the Netflix series The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Actress and comedian Ellie Kemper, who gained prominence for her role as Erin Hannon in the NBC series The Office and now stars in the Netflix series The Unbreakable Kimmy…
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“Empty Bowls, Full Hearts”
800 million people go to bed hungry every night. 3.1 million children under the age of five die of malnutrition every year. Almost 50 percent of people living in extreme poverty are 18 years old or younger. In September 2015, the United Nations set a goal to end world hunger by 2030. This may take…
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Bill Nye The Science Guy Brings the Energy to the Bucknell Campus
“In elementary school we knew it was going to be a great day when the teacher wheeled out the TV,” Bucknell student Devon Wasson reminisced during his introduction for Bill Nye. Bill Nye, best known as the host of the Disney/PBS children’s science show Bill Nye the Science Guy spoke at Bucknell’s Weis Center last Tuesday…
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Salthouse
Art, as a series of rejection, absorption, and relentless uncertainty, portrays the mystery of humankind. Bucknell’s Samek Art Museum currently hosts Salthouse by Stephen Althouse, featuring unconventional photographs that capture such paradoxes. In his seemingly sculptural works, he embeds passivism, religion, the blindness to atrocities, and the lamentations of suffering and sorrow. He seeks to…
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“I Am Because You Are” – How Bucknell’s Ubuntu Club Is Changing Lives Across the Globe
Ubuntu is a foreign but beautiful concept. This humanist philosophy means “I am because you are,” embracing the idea that humans cannot exist in isolation. We depend on human connection, community, and caring – simply, we cannot be without each other. Gabriela Palumbo founded the Ubuntu Club at Bucknell in November of 2014 to remind…
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New Lewisburg Yoga Studio: Yoga Dear – Interview with Founder Leanne Matullo
Tucked into a little side street off Market Street is a new yoga studio in town. Leanne Matullo, the founder of Yoga Dear, has brought health, happiness, and a new sense of community in this new year to Lewisburg. Her mission for Yoga Dear, an acronym for “Developing self-Esteem And Respect,” is to forge a…
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Winter Activities in the Poconos
This article features 5 ski/snowboard mountains and winter activities at 8 Pennsylvania state parks. Winter is the season of hot cocoa, crackling fires, and wool sweaters. For many, it is a place of childhood nostalgia – of skiing, sledding, and some slightly-mad snowday schemes. And even when the harshness of the weather manifests and the…
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The Power of a Good Night’s Sleep: The Correlation Between Quality Sleep and Academic Performance
English dramatist Thomas Bekker once said, “Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” However, for many college students, we underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. Between balancing academics, extra curriculars, and a social life at college, we view sleep as a luxury rather than biological necessity that rejuvenates us mentally,…
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Miracle on Market Street
A guide to celebrating and shopping for the holidays in Lewisburg Lewisburg Holiday Activities Tree Lighting On December 3rd at 7 PM, the heart of Lewisburg will be illuminated with season cheer at the annual Holiday Tree Lighting at Hufnagle Park. Three Free Screenings at Campus Theater On Friday, catch Frozen with complimentary candy canes and hot chocolate…
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Spoon University: For the Love of Food
Whether it is photographs of layered sandwiches, artisan ice cream piled onto chocolate waffle cones, or oozing mac and cheese, foodie voyeurism, if you will, has gone mainstream. Food culture has always been a reflection of changing times. Now with the influx of social media, it is dominating and creating a digital dining table that satiates…
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Fatima’s Story: The Impact of the Taliban on Her, Her Family, and Her Hometown of Kunduz, Afghanistan
In the quaint town of Lewisburg, it can be easy to forget that there is a War on Terror going on across the globe. However, for Fatima Arabzada, a native of Afghanistan and Bucknell senior, she thinks about it every day. Fatima left her family in Afghanistan 8 years ago to attend high school and…
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A Guide to Susquehanna River Valley’s Wineries
Whether we were atop the rolling hills of Tuscany sipping a glass of Chianti Classico, admiring the Andes Mountains while imbibing Malbec, or strolling through the vineyards of Cape Town with a silky Pinot Noir in hand, we made a point to plan wine tours while studying abroad. Once we came back to Bucknell though, many of us stopped planning trips on the…
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Follow up: Experiences with Meditation
This article is a follow up to my post “The Transformative Effects of Meditation,” published on Oct. 22. This article features not only my experience with meditation but also three Bucknell students’ and one Lewisburg resident’s insight about the practice. As promised, here is my follow up to my challenge of practicing meditation for a…
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The Future is Now
In this week’s address, President Obama remarked that the world “needs a climate-change deal to protect the planet for our children.” He reminded us that we are responsible for protecting our country, “home to some of the most beautiful God-given landscapes in the world… with natural treasures – from the Grand Tetons to the Grand Canyon;…
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The Importance of Art Appreciation: An Examination of Bucknell’s Samek Art Museum’s Current Exhibit, R. Luke Du Bois’ “Portraits and Landscapes”
Art enlightens us, challenges us, and speaks to us. When we take time to study a piece of art, we observe the elements, media, and methods used in the creative thought processes while also learning the history behind the work. As we lose ourselves to the rhythm of the paint strokes or in the beautiful…
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The Transformative Effects of Meditation
This article features an interview with Jason Leddington, a Bucknell Philosophy Professor and avid meditator; my own research and personal experience with meditation; and a challenge I am giving myself and anyone who wants to join in. Yesterday morning, I met with Jason Leddington, a Professor of Philosophy at Bucknell, who has been practicing meditation for…
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The Magic of Autumn: Embrace the Ephemeral Beauty of the Season
“Twilights are long, but darkness comes suddenly; the sky turns from dull orange to blue-black before one can take five steps, and with the light goes the last ray of the day’s heat,” Harper Lee’s shimmering description captures autumn, Scout’s happiest season, beautifully. Autumn, to me, has a certain magic. Maybe because it is so…
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Stop the Silence: The Solidarity March and the Spotlight on Human Rights
Tuesday evening, hundreds of students silently marched from Bucknell University’s Academic Quad to Hufnagle Park in honor of the many victims silenced by hate, discrimination, and oppression. Once in the park, the silence was broken by students’ performances, reflecting how this silence must end. Many students of all different cultures, social classes, ethnicities, religions, gender identities,…
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Breaking Bread Together: The Importance of Traditional Dining in a College Setting
Breaking bread together is one of the most ancient forms of developing and fostering relationships. We like food, we need food, and we have a socially profound urge to share food. Throughout history, we have come together to satisfy our daily hunger cravings by pumping fuel into our body. Eating fulfills our most basic physiological needs and, as a…
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Reduce Your Stress and Read a Book
Literature invites us into a fictional world that can be a wonderful escape from our daily tasks and stressors. When we read, we create a beautiful stillness between us and words on the page. As much as we college students don’t want to read for our leisurely activity when we have so much required reading,…
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From Farm to Table: Support Lewisburg’s Farmers Markets
With fall comes a flood of seasonal farm-fresh produce. The aromatic smells, blazing colors, and energetic atmosphere of farmers markets draws in locals, making the process of buying food an experience rather than a nettlesome task. Although the convenient Weis and Giant nearby carries all the items we could ever need, the chain stores somehow…
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Get Out and Hike – Great Adventures Await in Lewisburg’s Backyard
Falls Trail Falls Trail is 3.2 miles of mountainous terrain within Ricketts Glen State Park’s verdant wilderness. Along the climb, catch sight of 18 of the 22 cascading waterfalls, including the breathtaking 94-foot Ganoga Falls. Or, if you are feeling up for it, hike the full 7.2 mile loop that includes both the upper and lower sections. Hikers on…
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