Hi Steemit!

I’m Serene Desiree, pleasure to meet you.

About Me:

I work in the cannabis industry as an extraction professional. Essentially, I take weed and make it into a concentrated oil. I love my job, and am so grateful that I’m able to be on the forefront of so much unexplored territory. I hope to become a cannabis entrepreneur, look forward to a career rich in discovery and innovation.

My interests aren’t exclusively defined by the Devil’s lettuce. I’m an avid guitar player, voracious reader and an OK juggler. I’m interested in science; particularly neuroscience, psychometrics (a branch of psychology that deals with trait measurement and predictions), and AI- though I’m only just beginning to learn to code. I also do stand up comedy, though it’s recently taken a back seat to my other pursuits.

About this Page:

I’ve got a lot huge variety of interests, and a number of strong opinions to match. Though I’m not confining myself to any one topic, I’ll probably talk a lot about political and social issues, philosophy and science. My aim is to present thoughtful opinion pieces which will motivate the reader to question their existing values and inspire positive change. There’s only one problem: I’m a 23 year old with an Arts Degree, which means I probably don’t know shit.

This is where you come in.

Your Mission:

Every Sunday, I will present a new topic, outline an argument and propose an opinion on the subject. Your role will be to pick apart every statement with which you don’t agree. Even if you believe 99% of what I say, I want you to criticize the %1 that you believe is a logical fallacy, based on cherry-picked data, or is simply a straight up lie. You’re also encouraged to apply the same principles to each other.

Before we start, some ground rules.

Law of the Blog:

1. Don’t be a Little Bitch: This also happens to be my number one rule for life. Steemit is a community full of intelligent people who are being incentivised to discuss the world. Unfortunately, many issues can be considered offensive to some. If your only goal is to shut down a discussion because you don’t agree with an idea, you probably shouldn’t be here in the first place.

2. Back up Your Argument: Any opinion is welcomed, but facts must be backed up by good references. I’m not drawing a line in the sand for what qualifies as a ‘good reference’, but please try to be aware of the inherent bias in many publications. I won’t instantly believe a Fox News article on immigration, for instance, or a Salon article about feminism. It’s also important to remember that just because a paper is peer reviewed doesn’t mean it’s of high quality.

3. Don’t Marry Your Ideas: This is a page dedicated to personal growth and the cultivation of wisdom. Sometimes, this means separating one’s ego from one’s ideas. We tend get so attached to our opinions that we believe them to be interchangeable with our character. Giving up stale ideas is necessary for growth. Imagine if you never stopped believing in Santa Clause, and insisted he was real well into your 30s and 40s. You were so sure of his palpability that you lashed out at everyone who tried to convince you otherwise. Would other adults take you seriously? Would they entrust you with difficult responsibilities? Probably not. Adjusting to a world without Santa was difficult, but knowing the truth helped you to navigate through life more efficient.

We’re all wrong about something, it’s up to us to find out what that something is!

Questions? Comments? Death Threats?

Let me know what you think of, and feel free to comment with topic suggestions!