Pandora's Box

There are many stories about the infamous Pandora's Box and what it holds. However, despite this infamous object's fame, very few people know much about Pandora's Box and its origins. Look no further for this post will aim to inspire you and inform you about the mystical mystery (yeah, I went there) of Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is an artifact in Greek Mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation in Hesiod's Works and Days which I think is some Greek mythology story. The "box" is actually a large jar which was given to Pandora and it contained all the evils of the world. You can see how such an object would appeal to such a wide variety of people and how it can be a source of great story telling. A popular phrase (that I have never heard of) which is "to open Pandora's box" means to do a little innocent action that has far-reaching and severe consequences. I do not know why that is important but it is, so deal with it.

Source: http://www.insanelymac.com/_/osx86/news-pandoras-box-beta2-is-out-r1000

In Greek mythology, Pandora was said to be the first woman on Earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her and so he did. Athena then clothed her, Aphrodite gave her beauty and Hermes gave Pandora speech. In retaliation of Prometheus stealing fire from heaven, Zeus gave Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, Pandora. In doing so he also gave Pandora a jar with strict instructions not to open it under any circumstances. Of course, due to her curiosity, Pandora opened the jar and all evil contained within escaped and spread over the Earth. Before Pandora had the chance to shut the jar, all of the evil had already escaped leaving only the one thing that lay at the bottom: the Spirit of Hope named Elpis. Then even Hope escaped into the World. So after this the world was full of every kind of evil, but it was also full of Hope. Pandora's Box has become something of a modern obsession for story-tellers due to its rich history and the possibilities it holds. Some people see the evil as truth and so that by opening the box an unimaginable number of truths, some good and some bad, would be let free into the world. Others see Pandora's Box as something which contains all the secrets of our world and existence and once found and opened our new lives can begin. The point of Pandora's box, however, is not the story. Rather, Pandora's Box is merely a vessel in which the ancient Greeks believed that evil and hope entered the world. It is a nice story.

I do not know how I got onto this topic, see you tomorrow!

The Methods SAC Part 2

So yesterday, the 9th of May (a.k.a. my Birthday) I completed the rest of the Maths Methods SAC which also included the continuation of the Tasmania Jones story and his quest to recover the "Cory Potion". I didn't write about it in yesterday's post because it was my Birthday. The following is the continuation of the Tasmania Jones story as told in the Methods SAC. It has the worst ending which shows why Maths teachers aren't English teachers (well, at least not the ones who wrote this SAC).

Click here if you haven't read Part 1.

We left off with Tasmania Jones on a perilous roller coaster on the path to recover the "Cory Potion". We start Section 2 with Tasmania Jones discovering another perilous roller coaster which starts at ground level and goes on a path described by a cubic equation. Then there are a number of questions relating to the rule and some other questions before Tasmania Jones completes the Roller Coaster and continues on his search for the "Cory Potion".

Having safely crossed this perilous attraction Tasmania Jones comes across some toxic liquid which is made up of a certain percentage of toxic acid. Then you have to work out the total amount of acid in the toxic liquid and then it gives you two solutions (x and y) and the percentage of acid in each. From here you need to work out how much of each solution is in the Total liquid (I'm not saying how) and then that is all for this section. Then Tasmania Jones continues and he finds a giant container on top of a stage above which is suspended the "Cory Potion". Tasmania Jones must somehow save the potion as the container is slowly filling  up with the toxic liquid and then there are a number of questions relating to this and then you must work out how long it will take for the container to fill and how long Jones has left to save the potion.

And now for the ending that would make English teachers everywhere cringe. Once Tasmania successfully receives the potion he rushes back and notices a note attached to the vial containing the potion. WARNING: ENDING MAY MAKE YOU SICK. The note reads: "Congratulations on successfully recovering the fake potion. I look forward to meeting you again someday. The Forces of Evil". And that is the end of Section 2 and the Maths Methods SAC. I know, worst ending ever. I'm so sorry but that is how they ended the SAC. At least it provided a little bit of entertainment.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!