A Review of Brave New World Essay Example

A Review of Brave New World Essay Example A Review of Brave New World Essay A Review of Brave New World Essay Essay Topic: Brave New World A life truly lived What is a life truly lived? Can one be happy all the time? To truly experience all that life has to offer, one must be able to compare the good and the bad. To know what happiness is, one must know sadness and to appreciate the highs, one must overcome the lows. In Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, we can see that a life without both good and bad experiences is a flat line and does not complete a person. Bernard was not happy though he was a member of Brave New World, Helmholtz was incomplete though seemingly happy and actually chose a ‘less-than-ideal’ life while Linda thought she was happy, but when she tried to apply her lifestyle in a new environment, she was unsuccessful and eventually died of overdosing on the one thing she felt was making her happy. Bernard is an excellent example of the flaws in Brave New World’s philosophy. Brave New World prides itself on happiness, â€Å"Our civilization has chosen machinery and medicine and happiness. (Huxley, p 234) Though he is part of Brave New World, Bernard does not feel happy because of his height. â€Å"’He’s so ugly! ’ said Fanny. [†¦] ‘And then so small. ’ Fanny made a grimace; smallness was so horribly and typically low-caste. † (46) So we know Bernard was short but why should this make him unhappy? Is there not more to life than being tall and ‘perfectâ₠¬â„¢? â€Å"’He does look glum,’ said the Assistant Predestinator, pointing at Bernard Marx. † (53) Bernard feels inadequate and therefore feels sad and unfulfilled. He feels like he is not truly living so he rebels against his own society in different ways like, â€Å"[†¦] to say ‘No, thank you,’ and fend off the proffered tube of [soma] tablets. † (54) Eventually, Bernard becomes popular and feels happy however this is a superficial happiness that does not last very long. â€Å"In the end Bernard had to slink back, diminished, to his rooms and inform the impatient assembly that the Savage would not be appearing that evening. The news was received with indignation. The men were furious at having been tricked into behaving politely to this insignificant fellow with unsavory reputation and heretical opinions. † (173). This is, however, a different emotional time for Bernard so he is able to see another side of life and appreciate different circumstances for what they were. Life cannot be lived in a constant state of one emotion because then we would not know what other emotions feel like at all. Bernard could not truly live and experience life until he knew what both happiness and sadness were. To truly live life, we must appreciate it and to appreciate it, we must experience all of it. Helmholtz is another example of a life that has not been truly lived. Helmholtz, by every right should be exceedingly happy because he has everything going for him; he has good looks, he has great intelligence, he is very popular and he is, â€Å"[†¦] every centimeter an Alpha-Plus. † (67) However Helmholtz does not feel fulfilled even though he is happy. Helmholtz feels incomplete and even asks Bernard, â€Å"’did you ever feel, [†¦] as though you had something inside you that was only waiting for you to give it a chance to come out? Some sort of extra power that you aren’t using – you know, like all the water that goes down the falls instead of through the turbines? ’† (69) He feels like there is something more to life; something more than just being good at everything or being happy all the time. When it was decided that Helmholtz could no longer be part of Brave New World, he CHOOSES to go to a dismal place where, â€Å"[he] should like a thoroughly bad climate. † (229) Helmholtz understands that life is not all about perfection and asks for imperfection. He asks for hardships to fulfill his life. Helmholtz is a perfect example of a perfect life not being a life truly lived. One needs to know both the good and the bad to feel complete. Linda is yet another example of how a ‘perfect’ world view really is not perfect at all. Linda grew up in Brave New World and when she was left behind during her visit to the savage reservation, she did not know any other way of life so she tried to maintain her lifestyle. She believed, â€Å"the way they have one another here. Mad, I tell you, absolutely mad. Everybody belongs to every one else – don’t they? Don’t they? † This lifestyle did not make Linda happy at all. She was not living her life the right way and by extension was not living life at all because she only thought she was happy. Her lifestyle did not fit in with the culture in which she found herself and this made her unhappy since, â€Å"’nobody’s supposed to belong to more than one person. And if you have people in the ordinary way, the others think you’re wicked and anti-social. They hate and despise you [†¦]† (121). She also tried o continue in her consumerism mentality but this made her angry because, â€Å"it never used to be right to mend clothes. [†¦] Mending’s anti-social. But it’s all different here. It’s like living with lunatics. Everything they do is mad. † (121) Linda tried to keep her ‘happy’ lifestyle but realized she was not really happy and then felt li ke life had left her no reason to live. She turned to mescal when she did not have the option of soma and when she finally did get back to her own world, she killed herself by overdosing on a happiness substitute while trying to escape her unhappiness. All Linda wanted was, â€Å"the return to soma, was the possibility of lying in bed taking holiday after holiday, without ever having to come back to a headache or fit of vomiting [†¦]† (154). Linda â€Å"took as much as twenty grammes a day [,] [†¦] [w]hich will finish her off in a month or two. † (154) Linda did not truly live her life and therefore felt like ending it was fine. You cannot live your life in one constant state of happiness or unhappiness and those who do, cannot cope with any changes. A life truly lived, is a life fully experienced. A life truly lived requires one to appreciate all the facets of life, love, happiness, sadness and all emotions, experiences and circumstances one could possibly know. Bernard, Linda and Helmholtz were all supposed to be happy but through their life experiences, found out they were not truly complete. Life needs excitement and excitement includes something changing; something different. We must all experience every emotion to appreciate all of life and all it has to offer. To truly live, we must experience and appreciate all that we can.

Improving your hiring process, according to a former Google recruiter

Improving your hiring process, according to a former Google recruiter For years, Google has been considered kind of a gold standard in the tech recruiting and hiring field. It’s not just the lavish cafeteria or the geek-utopia vibe that has made the company such a giant and lasting success- much of the credit goes to smart hiring strategies and implementing an adaptive approach. If you’re looking to make your organization more Google-esque in your hiring (regardless of what field you’re in), former Google recruiter Kevin Grice has some fantastic insight into what you can do on a practical level.â€Å"Recognize your unconscious biases.†Most organizations have come in line with non-discriminatory policies that seek to eliminate blatant bias in hiring. But no matter how strict those policies are, or how conscious we are of hiring a qualified person without regard for their personal gender, religion, or race, unconscious bias will likely always come into play. For example, studies have found that people with identifiably ethnic names receive fewer interviews. And while unconscious bias means (by its very nature) that we don’t know exactly why we’re rejecting a person, it’s important to be aware that it exists and to evaluate whether it could be at play in any given step of the process.According to Grice, using systematic, consistent interviews is one way to limit bias. After all, if every candidate is answering the same questions at the same point in the process, it’s less likely that you’re asking a particular question because you have made an assumption about the interviewee. It also makes your job easier when it comes to evaluate and differentiate each candidate.â€Å"Don’t look for your doppelganger.†Speaking of bias, according to Grice, people tend to be drawn toward others who remind them of themselves, and organizations want to bring in people who fit in with a particular vibe. It’s basic human nature, which means it will inevitably come into play during the hiring process. And unfortunately, a philosophy of I like you because you remind me of myself leads to less diversity in your talent pool. With increased diversity a non-negotiable goal for so many organizations, specifically looking for people with different backgrounds or experiences is a way to increase that diversity throughout the hiring process.â€Å"Research the person you’re interviewing.†Just about every candidate who comes through your door for an interview will have spent time prepping for it: researching your company, reading up on the job description, tailoring their resume to the job. It’s not only common courtesy to do some prep work yourself, but also, according to Grice, an opportunity to show off your well-oiled organizational brand to your potential new hire.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});That means not only researching the candidate so that you can ask substantive questions, but also ensuring that everyone on your interview panel is well-versed on the candidate as well. Grice recommends â€Å"digging a little deeper,† going beyond the standard checks of public social media profiles. A person’s past writing online, videos, etc., can help give you a fuller sense of the candidate- much more than a cursory read of their resume 10 minutes before the interview.â€Å"Be present.†Grice recommends giving all of your attention to an interview. We live in a multitasking world, but stepping away from email for an hour and focusing attention on a candidate not only ensures that you’re getting the most out of this conversation with a potential new hire, but that you’re also being a good ambassador for your o rganization. â€Å"I’m sorry, I really need to take this† or â€Å"I’m just finishing this email really quick† is rarely a mortal insult to an interviewee, but it does convey a message of, â€Å"this is not my top priority right now, sorry.†Whether your organization is a media conglomerate or a small business, Grice’s experience and insights show that all it takes to improve your hiring and interviewing skills are a few mindful, common-sense tweaks that can make all the difference.