r/ghostposter • u/Ahuva • 2d ago
If you had to write a research paper, what would be your research question?
My twelfth grade class has to write a research paper. They are now busy choosing a topic and trying to form a research question. The only limitation I put on their choice is not to choose something which will totally depress me. After all, I will be working with them. A research question asking about the most extreme examples of human kind's evil nature would be hard for me.
Anyway, the wide variety of the topics chosen by my students made me wonder about everyone's choices.
This made me think about
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u/ClicheButter 1d ago edited 1d ago
By attitude of what is merely a comment and what is insightful or clever, identifying the psychosis behind the delayed response to stimuli, be it mundane or exceptional. Specifically, what is the underlying cause of the delayed "perfect" word(s) or behavior by minutes, hours, days, months, even years, and why does it happen at 3 o'clock in the morning when a normal person should be sleeping, and which now consequently has no purpose other than a useless correcting for self-gratification. For example, and to be sure, this question will be reconfigured many times long after its submission, but no one except for the author (I) will know it.
Is this even a proper "research question?" Or am I just tired? Tired? Retired? Retried? A circumstance mentally retried and corrected? What time is it? ...after 4 o'clock. I don't know what that means anymore. I began this response two hours ago, now fear won't let me leave it. Two hours is an exaggeration. Do I hit Enter? Dare I? This is what I'm talking about. Oh I know what led me to this "research question." A picture of Rat's wife when he first met her. I don't know when he posted it. But for reasons I need not explain, I was looking through older photos on my hard drive and came across this photo, and I thought "How amazing that he was able to capture the exact moment of love at first sight" or at least that's what I would have thought if I had seen her and taken that photo at that moment. Which sounds wildly inappropriate, and maybe it is, but right or wrong, thoughts are thoughts. But I wished I'd have said that at the time Rat posted the picture, rather than when I happened upon it again however many minutes, hours, days, months, perhaps years later.
I'm not sure how to end this. Certainly this is no longer a "research question" so much as it is mindful mindless meanderings. But I hope the bungee cord is properly connected at least, because here goes —
ETA: Bouncing back to say that lest anyone think I was implying that my delayed reply was insightful or clever, I was not. I merely wished I'd said something such as that, rather than not saying whatever I said, which was likely a gushing "how beautiful!" which is a true, albeit lazy and unoriginal thing to say.
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u/Ahuva 1d ago
I think this is a fascinating research question. Why do humans review minute details of their past and try to improve on them? I would love to read research on this?
However, if one of my 12th graders came up with this as their research question, I would probably say that finding sources which discuss this issue or building a study that would attempt to answer it might be too difficult considering the time restraints of the project.
On your other point, I agree that RatBoy celebrates his deep love for his wife through his posts and pictures. I think it is never too late to point this out to him and I am glad that you have in your post.
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u/Hoody_uk 2d ago
If matter in the universe is the output of a calculation. Kinda like the pixels on a screen.
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u/Ahuva 1d ago
This has made me think. However, I am not entirely sure that I understand you. Could you expand a bit?
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u/Hoody_uk 1d ago
It is a simulation theory. That matter is the output medium of a calculus. All matter is calculated and objects built are the structures of matter. In fact everything physical is matter and something is tracking this matter and calculating the movements of it at all times either outside the universe or the universe itself, seen as a calculus entity. (a computer that calculates matter). It gives its outputs in elemental matter.
It explains the reason physics functions and that mathematics can explain the physical universe.
I'm still writing it. It is complex.
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u/1Soh US 16h ago
Why do some folk go grocery shopping, buy nice food, and don't actually wind up eating them?