Indigenous Knowledge Systems: sticks and stones may break my bones...

Beyond the raw fish, yellow skin and small eyes lies a country comprised of intricate traditions and often incomprehensible customs. The Japanese culture is generated by ancient beliefs and gestures, and some of these indigenous knowledge systems include; always removing footwear before entering a house, sleeping on the floor, bowing (can't stress this enough), giving money to relatives on New Years day, and so on. So the expression, "in a nutshell" cannot, or rather, should not be used to describe the Japanese lifestyle- for the sole reason of the "nutshell" being incapacitated to incorporate an immensely versatile and diverse culture.

Arguably the most prominent attribute about the Japanese culture would be the utilization of chopsticks. Before I go in depth though, I would like to annihilate the common misconception way-too-many peoples have- Japanese women don't insert chopsticks in their hair. Ever. Needless to say, chopsticks are mere tools used for eating, and in the same way that Westerners would not stab themselves with a spoon or fork in their head, Japanese people try to keep their cutlery as hygienic as possible. The "stick" that traditional Japanese women use as a hair accessory is called a kanzashi. A kanzashi is not, and will never be used for eating. 

Now, let me move on to explain the "chopstick rules" which must be followed when in Japan. Chopsticks were originally introduced to Japan from China, however, the Japanese have completely revolutionized chopsticks; from the manufacturing stage to the actual usage of it.
Firstly, at the table, mismatched chopsticks, whether in length, shape, color etc., should not be used. This is only because placing mismatched chopsticks as one is aesthetically unpleasant, which is quite simple right? The next rule which must be followed is that, chopsticks should always be placed parallel to the edge of the table where one is seated (horizontally in front of a person), and the thinner extreme of the chopsticks facing the left. Quite often chopsticks are accompanied by a "hashi-oki", which translates to chopstick rest. The chopsticks are placed in this way on the hashi-oki because one must firstly grab the thinner extreme of the chopsticks with the dominant hand, slide the hand across to the other side, lift the chopsticks up, hold the thin end of the chopsticks with the other hand, and with its support, hold the chopsticks in its righteous way.

And all of that happens prior to the actual meal. Once the meal starts, that's a different story. Countless chopstick laws must be followed, like never ever passing food from chopstick A to chopstick B. Yes, a pair of chopsticks belonging to a person should never touch another pair belonging to another person. This is because Japanese people handle corpses with a different kind of chopsticks, so when two pairs of chopsticks touch, that alludes to the act of handling a cremated body. Moreover, a person should never stab a food item with chopsticks either because they are meant to just pick foods up, and stabbing a pair of chopsticks also alludes to death. (Japanese people often mourn by inserting short and thin sticks into a bowl full of sand, and the sticks are ignited at one end, and when all the sticks burn out like a candle, that signifies the end of somebody's life.) ...Who knew chopsticks could actually signify death?
Unsurprisingly, there are many many more taboos when it comes to chopsticks, like never licking them, never drawing a plate towards you using them, never stuffing too much food using them etc.
And that's how the Japanese people feel about chopsticks. In a country where change is the norm, the laws of chopsticks seem to have made a pretty big impact. After all, Japanese people have been using chopsticks for over 1000 years. I guess some things never change. 

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Is history a science?

History is the retelling of past stories, and science is the composition of theories supported by factual and relevant evidence- or is it? 

Science, in my opinion, is our wicked manner of explaining creativity, be it natural or anthropological. It is nothing but an idealistic belief in which we can rely on, yet much more than a simple imagination which explains what the universe is comprised of. Science is cultivated, and has been evolving over a long period of time, the first practice of science having been thousands of years ago.

The key point here is the fact that science is generated. We may find the evidence to support our hypothesis in nature, but science itself is a man made invention. We create science. We break science. We mend science. And I am saying this because over the years "science" itself has changed. People tend to connote the diction science with the truth, however, that is not always the case. The earth was said to be flat at one point in history- this is a divine example of the evolution of science, or rather, the evolution of us and our conceptions and perceptions as human beings. 

We often hear the saying: it has been proven by science... But what does that mean exactly? How can we prove something with science when science itself can't be proven sometimes?  The number of species on earth for example is unknown and uncertain in the field of science. Thus science is a contradiction of its own, and cannot be associated with factuality as often as we tend to do so. 

Consequently that brings me to the following segment of my discussion: what is history and can it be classified as a science? Firstly I would like to say that the retelling of ancient stories and occurrences is history. My birthday is the starting point of my own history. The French Revolution and the execution of king Louis is history. The pasta I had for dinner last night is also history. Every single one of these events, whether they left a significant impact on the human race or not, is an event that has occurred righteously, thus cannot be reversed or changed. They can, however, be simply concealed by the lack of evidence or equivocation. The most fundamental way in which this can be observed is through the game, 'Chinese whisperers'. Original words are altered, new phrases are incorporated, false information is passed on, and a total misunderstanding is generated. This concept can be observed in social sciences, in the phenomenon known as gossiping. So history and science both have their similarities in terms of accuracy and precision. Having said that, stating that history is a science would be a fallacy. Rather, I'd say that science is a subset of history. The story of the evolution of science is made up of a series of historical events, and the development of this history entails the generation and cultivation of the human mind. Therefore, open-mindedness is the key to success in terms of science, history, and the advancement of us as human beings.