. Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici SEDBERGH VINDICATOR, Vol.2. No.8 , Monday January 30 th 2012 Much time has passed since I left Sedbergh in 2009 and here in Egypt at the centre of the on‐going Arab struggle for democracy, my school days seem a very distant memory. However, siing in university in Alexandria before Christmas, I was reminded of a day when I sat in Powell Hall, aged 10 for the morning assembly way back in 2001. The day was Wednesday 12 th September, the day after the 9/11 aacks against the United States. The assembly that morning will stay with me for the rest of my life. Mr Hirst, the former headmaster, delivered an extremely sombre assembly. Many teachers and students alike tearfully looked up at the prefects on the stage, fearing that Britain was about to go to war and that these boys were soon going to be sent off to fight. The day I was reminded of that assembly, I was siing in class in November shortly before the Egyptian elections. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians across the country were protesting against the perceived unwillingness of the ruling military council to hand over power to an elected civilian government. The mood of the country was very low and post revolution euphoria had been replaced by deep anxiety and frustration. This received widespread news coverage back in Britain and I remember my mother calling me and asking me to get out of Egypt and come home. What started in Cairo had spread to Alexandria and at night I could hear gunfire from my flat. In the mornings the streets were eerily deserted. However what had the greatest impact on me was the aitude of my Arabic teachers, all of whom were going out to protest after classes that day. Resolute and determined, one teacher said to us, “I am prepared to die today, what else can they do to me? If you don’t have a lesson next week then that is probably what has happened.” Major news never really has an effect on you looking at it on the television and this was particularly true when I was at Sedbergh. I used to think that we were all isolated in a bubble, far away from all the problems in the world. So for a Sedbergh boy like me, witnessing history in the making and the people taking part in it has been an incredible privilege. “Alhamdu lillah” (Praise be to God) none of our teachers died that day, but others did trying to achieve their basic democratic rights, something that is difficult for us to imagine. Egypt is a fascinating country, love it or hate it and my time here has been both challenging and amazingly enjoyable. It can be overwhelming at times and I was shocked when I first got here in September. I stepped out of the airport and I was greeted by a swarm of taxi drivers all offering me a beer deal than the other. The mountains of rubbish on the sides of the roads are certainly difficult to get used to. Crossing the road requires serious thought as to whether it is really worth it. Studying most of the time in London I am used to having to pay a lot, mostly for travel. However in Alexandria I take the tram to university costing the equivalent of 2p. A taxi ride covering the length of the city will cost no more than £1. One of the great ways to practise Arabic is to haggle the price with the taxi driver. Sometimes it becomes very heated, shortly before you realise that you are haggling over 10p or so. I recommend studying Arabic to anyone in the MFL or Classics departments, and Egypt as a holiday destination for all of you once the situation has calmed down. Tomorrow [25 Jan] is the first anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution and we are all praying that there will not be a repeat of the violence of last year. Alex Elletson (OS, S/2001-2009) From Sedbergh to Alexandria Oli Cowen (H/9) Steph Gardner (L/10) Why are we unique? Five Year Nines are currently in the process of doing a project of their choice. I am studying the differences and similarities between humans and bonobos. Bonobos are like chimpanzees except they are smaller, they walk more upright, and are hairier. They live in the rainforests of The Democratic of Congo, and are largely unknown due to war, their small numbers and the difficulty of reaching their location. The population is estimated to be around 35,000, which is very worrying, especially as we are so very close to them. Why are we so different, so extraordinary, so unique compared to other animals? How come we can have intelligent computers and expensive cars when other animals just roam about unaided? Even our closest relatives (bonobos) are still living in the forests of Congo in a more primitive fashion than when we were cavemen. What do we possess that no other species we know of has? Could it be that are genes are just perfect and that if there is any difference of over 1% the formula is spoiled, and the result is a lacklustre being? Is it our passion to know or our desire to have? Or, are we the one failed species? Were humans not meant to be the cleverest? Were we not meant to have money, and schools, and any sophistication? Have we gone against the grain of our primal instincts and disobeyed the law of our world? Humans share 98.7% of our genes with bonobos but that is no real indication of our closeness, as we share around 40% of our genes with bananas! Still, bonobos are incredible animals. There is a language which was created entirely for them called lexigrams. They are pictures with an audio representation. There is one ape at The Great Ape Trust, in Iowa, USA, called Kanzi who can draw the lexigrams on the floor to communicate with the staff. This barely shows the intelligence of the great creatures, as there are many, many more things they can do. We are, essentially, a more reformed version of them. Our differences with bonobos are physically small, as we are less hairy and have a more upright way of walking but our brains differ slightly more. This could be due to the slight change in genes as a small change genetic can have huge consequences. What I want to find out is what differs, and crucially, do bonobos have the capabilities to be more like us? Just imagine if one day, we could live side by side with apes. Maybe they will, or maybe they won’t after only 30 years of training. Will they eventually be able to be clever and will they have the capacity of reason? Bonobos are truly incredible creatures, and although they are not as well‐known as chimpanzees, they are probably more important. Let us hope they will be around for many more years. Cambridgeʹs Dept of Social and Developmental Psychology recently announced their 2012 AS Level Essay Competition. Entrants have a choice between two topics. The developmental topic this year asks writers to challenge the reality of gender differences while the social topic invites students to explore the construct of ʹgood enoughʹ parenting. Ask your tutor or Mrs C‐C for details; the number of essays we can send in is limited. Prizes awarded to top three submissions with the overall winner invited to receive their prize at Newnham College. (Good food. Great company. In a beautiful light‐ filled room.) In L6 & interested in Psychology? Good luck to Y11 who have mock exams this week! 30 January 1647 ‐ King Charles I handed over to English parliament 2 February 1852 ‐ 1st British public toilet opens. 30 January1956 ‐ Martin Luther King Jrʹs home bombed 1 February1958 ‐ US launches their 1st artificial satellite, Explorer 30 January 1965 ‐ State funeral of Winston Churchill 3 February 1973 ‐ President Nixon signs Endangered Species Act into law. This Week in History pbs.org Kanzi learning lexigrams