watiss

Hi all. Here is an issue I've done to entertain for the GRE AWA-Issue section. Thank you in advance for any comment on it :) (Note: Sorry for the typing errors. I'm still having problem with the qwerty keboard :s) The well-being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position. We live today in a modern era where democracy and freedom of speech are among the main principles of almost every nation. It goes without saying that the more people are concerned about their government and its leaders, the less probable it is that dictatorship and misleadings occur. However, the question whether or not public intervention in questioning governmental issues is truly a factor of well-being, is a rather thorny question. I perosnally think that, in general, it is worth that people participate in the main decisions taken by the government, even though it is possible that this doesn't necessarily lead to their well-being. The most compelling reason to this argument is, to my mind, the fact that in a democratic society, the members of the government are chosen by the public, through a system based upon voting and polling. Thus, it is up to people to continuously ask themselves whether the incumbent government meets with the requirements of the country. A counterexample to this can be illustrated by the former Italian governor Silvio Berlusconi, who let the country become rife with corruption. I can barely understand how Italians could let this happen, without intervening. I think that if a governnment goes corrupt or is misled, it is before all the people of that country that should be blamed, perhaps even more than the governors themselves. Furthermore, in some countries based on a monarchy rather than Republic, I think it is crucially important that people make sure that the inheritance does not lead "naturally" to an incompetent governor. In these nations, such as UK for instance, questioning the current government members is even more important since the latter are chosen "naturally" and there is no ptential reason to attest their ability. Nevertheless, it should also be borne in mind that the well-being of a society is not always guaranteed by the intervention of the public. More often than not, there are contestations, strikes, sometimes even revolutions, which merely lead to a temporary mayhem in the nation without giving rise to to any satisfying result, not to mention the cases in which the situation even worsens. Take the numerous revolutions and uprisings that took place during the so-called Arab Spring. How far did the revolutionists go in acquiring what they sought? In most of the countries, apart from murders and dreadful fights, nothing more was acheievd. In a nutshell, I think it is important that people take the time to reflect on the current government from time to time, since the latter depends on their decisions before all. However, one should not forget that these questionings do not always prove efficient.

Thanks ;) Your GRE blog seems nice by the way :) ...

Hi all. I've got a question regarding the Mathematics conventions of GRE, especially concerning the number 0 : Is it considered as an integer? Is it considered positive? Is it considered even? I have already read the official PDF mentionig these facts, but the thing is I was just taking some practice tests and it didn't seem to be in accordance with what I had understood (for example listing the positive even 1 digit numbers inferior to 10 leads to 0,2,4,6,8 for me, but in the test, the 0 was ommitted and therefore the rest of the reasoning was wrong as well...) Thanks for your help :)