Ok, I think there's been enough time for everyone possibly interested in this contest to submit an essay: I officially declare that no more submissions will be accepted from this point onwards! (you can post comments etc, but no submissions) Now, let's talk about winners: tomorrow I'm going to be busy for the whole day and I don't want to make a rushed choice, therefore I will probably announce the winners on Monday. Meanwhile, you all have a last chance to make corrections to your essays: take advantage of that if you want to have more chances to be a winner! (and those of you who are careful readers should have got a hint about how this contest will end, though I never explicitly specified any of this in the original announcement - you are free to bet on what this will be )
What makes me proud of being human is our amazing timeline of evolution. Think back to when the first monkey appeared, never knowing that it would evolve into one of the most advanced species ever. Think about when the first Homosapien was evolved into, living in a cave, eating whatever it could find, and struggling for its life daily. Then think about some modern day accomplishments. For example, the first steam engine, or the invention of the first computer (OK, it was command line – so what?) or the colour TV? Our society has transformed from so little to so much in such a small space of time compared to how long it has been since the big bang. And now, the younger generation are writing mini-essays on what makes them proud of being human. The monkey never knew that it would eventually evolve into something that did all of this (to be fair, it probably never knew that it would evolve at all). Our ancestors could never have imagined the sheer scale of creativity and engineering that their next generation would be capable of. Our history is amazing. Go outside and go to a museum or read an interesting history book. -IGN: SolarisMC
I hereby finally declare the winners of the contest! As you might have guessed, I changed my mind and decided to have not just one winner, but a complete podium with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place But before announcing the winners, a huge thank you to all those who participated in this contest <3 So, here are the winners: First place: @Julia8910 who wins 100k for her "from scavengers to creators of technology" essay! Though the form was not up to standards, the content was still the one I found most inspiring and I decided to reward primarily that (and let's not forget she's 11yo). Second place: @Unabating who wins 20k for his "creation of the United Nations" essay! The form was good and the topic sufficiently specific. Third place: @TunefulThespian who wins 5k for his "studies of the brain's logical and creative hemispheres" essay! The topic was extremely narrow, maybe even too much, but on the other hand it was very interesting and original. I also want to give a 1k consolation prize to @SionainnSun for her "humans are innately kind and compassionate" essay and to @0TheRedHerring0 for his "discovery of the higgs boson" essay: it was a very difficult choice and I really couldn't pick just three essays. I'm going to update the original post of this thread quoting your essays, but on top of that I would like to publish them in my blog (with a reference to the authors and with your permission, of course). Let me know if that's ok for you, even just a "yes you may publish it in your blog" will do p.s: @Julia8910 please do your best to improve your writing skills, because if this is the kind of content you can generate, it would be a pity to spoil it with typos, grammar mistakes, etc!
I have already paid @Julia8910 and @Unabating their prize via forum. I've not done the same for @TunefulThespian, @SionainnSun and @0TheRedHerring0 because the amount is lower than 10k and you might not have enough in bank to withdraw that: let me know if you want to be paid ingame or if nonetheless it's ok even via forum.
Of course your parents are right. I'll just write your minecraft username and link to this thread as a reference, nobody will be able to get any information that isn't already public
I am proud of how much mankind has achieved, of how deep into science we've gotten. We've unravelled quite a few mysteries, and proved old theorys wrong. We are the most amazing species in inteligence. We've created machines, both simple and complex, we've cloned sheep, we've changed the world around us to suit us. Most animals just evolve to easily live in the environment, but we've changed the environment so we can live easily in it. I am proud and happy to be descendants of our ancestors. P.S: I don't care if I win, but if I do, I'm giving it all to my friend @CemCrazy, who got herself in an eff7 debt.
Pending prizes: @Julia8910; @Unabating; @TunefulThespian; @SionainnSun; @0TheRedHerring0. Pending permissions to publish the essay in my blog with a reference (yes or no): @Julia8910; @Unabating; @TunefulThespian; @SionainnSun; @0TheRedHerring0.
I'm going to post, though I realize the contest is technically over. This sparked my interest. I'm proud to be human because of how our brains work. While we aren't the only beings on Earth with a complex and developed brain, but we are the only species with a written language. But written language isn't necessarily that big of a deal in the larger scope of life. Why don't we look at Philosophy? Socrates and Plato, Aristotle, etc. Basically anything in life that we as humans come across, someone, somewhere, has thought of a way to answer it and given it reason. (Here's a fun little game. Think of anything you can that seems like it's the most random thing. Type it in Wikipedia and click the first hyperlink that you see in the text over and over, on every page that comes up. Eventually, you will get to Philosophy.) Everything we know, everything we understand, is linked to our own fabrication of Philsophy. It explains different people's beliefs and argues about them all, defining the rationality of each. The real thing about Philosophy, though, is there is no real answer. Every question can be explained and answered with a different question, and there is no wrong answer because everything is based off of opinion. That is something to be proud of.
This works also with Physics, Mathematics, Soccer, Racism, Donald Trump... basically everything: it's more or less an application of the Poincaré recurrence theorem Tell that to gravity when you walk off a window
Sorry, I've been away so I haven't checked the forums You're welcome to publish my essay, and payment via forums is fine by me. Thanks so much for hosting this competition!
