Jay Buckingham’s Reviews > The Measure > Status Update

A time I felt unity within a community was when I went to the Des Moines Art Festival. There were many people there from lots of different backgrounds who presented their creativity in various ways. Though for many of those people, the jobs they created with their art have been threatened by AI, and I found it interesting how that brought so many artists together in the humanity that makes art so captivating.

I believe the cyclist's song is significant to the message of the book because it correlates to the theme of not being able to alter fate. Moreover, it relates to how the characters have to adapt to fate and learn how to make the most out of what they've got in life in spite of their struggles.

If I were in the place of Nina or Amie in their argument, I would try to be a bit more careful with what I'd choose to say. I understand that it was a very emotionally charged interaction, and I wouldn't expect it to go any other way in reality. But for me personally, when it comes to arguments, not damaging my relationship with the person and having empathy matters more to me than proving my point.

If I knew when I was going to die, I would mainly prioritize doing as many things as I know I want to do while I can — whether that be living out certain experiences, finishing certain projects, refining my skills, and so on. I think if I were to prioritize that as my main goal, I could live out my final days satisfied and not ruminating over what could've been.

I do agree that short stringers are like other minorities, considering that they are being discriminated against. I don't see how laws like those put in place against short stringers wouldn't violate existing laws like the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. Therefore, I think it would also be totally justified for short stringers to push back against their oppressors.

I think Anthony Rollins is completely untrustworthy and simply relies on voters being confused or distracted to be successful. For example, when his problematic actions were brought to light, he chose to dodge accountability until society inevitably found something else to focus on, and he could continue putting on a "nice guy" front.

While others alter the way they go about their lives in response to the strings, Hank seems to continue going about his life as he originally intended, just with additional insight provided by his string. I don't think he wants to be limited in any way by the length of his string and would rather ensure that he ends up satisfied and undisturbed by the end of his life.

Though I think the meaning of miracles is subjective, I believe miracles exist according to my definition of what they are. I think it's unreasonable to believe that a miracle could defy fate. That is, if fate is real at all. However, I consider many things that are within our control and unlikely to occur, yet do so anyway, to be miracles. Ex. Someone being accepted to their dream school with a low acceptance rate.

Because of the shooting incident at the hospital where Hank works, it will cause him to reconsider how safe he feels in his position, how the length of his string could correlate to that, and how worthwhile it would be to stay in his position. This incident will also likely cause onlookers to be a lot more wary of people with short strings and stereotype them as being more likely to be a danger to others.

If I had a long string, I don't think trying to "test" it would be worth it. Especially if the news had already been released about it not working, I wouldn't see the point in it. Though I do think it would be interesting to see how the string could affect the outcome of taking risks, just knowing roughly how likely it is to end in one's death.