Russell's Teapot issue 4

RUSSELL’S TEAPOT
Nature vs. Nurture
Ria Patel
ROYAL RUSSELL SCHOOL PRESENTS...
Can we create the Matrix?
Meenachey Niranjan
Dreams
Natasha Kirmani

The Student Team:
EDITOR’S NOTE
Anna Clery
Chief Editor
Molly Wicking
Media/ Design
Jaishan Jethwa
Editor
Serena Biju
Editor
Amber Knibb
Editor
Welcome back,
This is now the fourth issue of the Russell’s Teapot, and we hope that
you enjoy it as much than the previous ones.
A talented team has worked amazingly well on this magazine, and
some key names are featured above, however there are so many other
contributors that need their well-deserved recognition and gratitude.
Articles in this magazine vary from galaxies and the universe to
the psychological argument of nature verses nurture, and everything
in-between. These articles have been chosen purely by the passion of
the students, as people have contributed something in which they are
really interested in. I hope this means that there is something in here
that interests you.
This magazine has taken a lot of effort and determination from everyone
involved, and I really think that the final result is worth our time. I
am hoping that you enjoy the read, but I would appreciate any and all
feedback to keep the next issue engaging for everyone.
Enjoy,
Anna Clery

CONTENTS:
Nature vs. Nurture
How will the Universe end?
Artificial Intelligence
Driverless Cars
The Physics of Computing
Can we create the Matrix?
Colliding Galaxies
Resurrection of the Christmas Island Rat
Dreams
The Joker: A diognosis for an Evil Clown
COVID-19
Psychoanalysis
Meet The Teachers
The SATRO Competition
Jokes and Puzzles

Nature vs. Nurture
~ A psychologist’s view ~
The nature-nurture debate is concerned with the contribution that influences human behaviour,
such as personality, psychopathology, cognitive traits, and temperament.
The extreme nature position is called Nativism. For a long time, we have known that certain
physical characteristics are biologically determined by genetic inheritance. For example,
eye and hair colour, and even certain diseases are all genes that we inherit. This has
led to discussion as to whether psychological characteristics such as behavioural tendencies
and personality attributes are also wired into us before we are born. Those who adopt
this extreme hereditary position are known as nativists. They assume that the characteristics
of humans are a product of evolution and if people are different, it is because each
person’s genetic coding is unique. An example of nature is Freud’s theory of aggression as
being an innate drive.
Some may argue that we cannot say that our psychological characteristics are ‘wired into’
us as they are not observable at birth. However, others argue that they emerge later in life,
due to maturation and puberty. Our ‘inner biological clock’ switches our behaviour on
and off in a pre-programmed way.
At the other end of the spectrum is the extreme nurture position which is called Empiricism.
Empiricists believe that at birth the mind is a tabula rasa; this is a blank slate. This is
filled and nurtured through experiences. In psychology this takes the behaviourist view,
from this view psychological and behavioural differences emerge through childhood.
One famous example in psychology is Bandura’s social learning theory and the Bobo doll
experiment. Bandura stated that aggression is learned from the environment through the
observation and imitation of role models. He devised the Bobo doll experiment to prove
this. The results of his experiment were as follows: children who observed an aggressive
model made a far more aggressive response than those who were in the non-aggressive
or control group. This proves his theory that behaviour is observed and imitated, which
supports the nurture position in this debate.
By Ria Patel

Photograph by Jaishan Jethwa and Molly Wicking - featuring Arthur and Aubrey Heath

How will the Universe end?
There are countless mysteries surrounding
the universe. We have a good idea of how it
started (the big bang), but how will it end?
Scientists have not quite put their finger on
how yet, but they have a few theories.
In this article, I am going to go over three of
these theories: the Big Rip, the Big Freeze,
and the Big Crunch.
The Big freeze:
The Big Bang and CMBR (Cosmic microwave
background radiation) tell us that the
universe is expanding, and the expansion
seems to be accelerating. Astronomers believe
that this acceleration is due to a mysterious
dark force that is pulling galaxies
apart; they are calling it dark energy. In the
Big Freeze scenario, the Universe will continue
to expand at this rate forever. Space
between Galaxies will grow larger, and as
time goes on, the stars in them will run out
of fuel and stop shining. Clusters of gas will
spread out and will not be dense enough to
form new stars. This will cause the Universe
to cool and grow darker. Galaxies and solar
systems would separate, and black holes
would eventually decay due to something
called Hawking Radiation. Eventually, the
Universe would reach thermodynamic equilibrium
in which the whole Universe would
have a uniform temperature. And no life
would exist within it.
The Big Rip:
The Big Rip is basically the Big Freeze but
with extra steps. Let’s say that the Universe
is expanding faster than in the big freeze.
All galaxies and solar systems would still
separate, but it would not end there. This
rapid increase in acceleration would be due
to phantom energy, a form of dark energy,
and as it causes this faster expansion. Stars
and planets would begin to rip apart into
smaller and smaller parts until there are
only atoms left. Even the electromagnetic
and nuclear forces would be destroyed,
causing atoms and other subatomic particles
to break apart. At this point, the Universe
would cease to exist.
The Big Crunch/Big Bounce:
Now let us say that there is not as much of
this mysterious ‘dark energy’ as we thought.
In this scenario, the acceleration of the
Universe’s expansion would eventually
start to decrease due to gravity overpowering
dark energy. Eventually, the universe’s
expansion would come to a stop and then
start to reverse. This would cause galaxies to
collide and merge, increasing their gravitational
pull. As the universe gets smaller, its
temperature would rise to the point where
background radiation would be hotter than
the surface of most stars. As the universe
gets tighter, supermassive black holes will
begin to devour everything.
Then, once everything has been devoured,
these black holes would begin to devour
each other until the whole universe is in
a very dense hot state similar to its state
before the big bang. That is the big crunch.
But what if this dense universe explodes
causing another big bang? This is called
the big bounce theory which suggests that
the universe has undergone the process of
expansion infinite times.
Hopefully, I have not scared you too much.
If any of these do happen, they will not start
for trillions of years. Scientists currently
believe that the Big Freeze is the most plausible
out of the three. Which do you think is
the most interesting?
By Oliver Tchum

-------Artificial Intelligence-------
Artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing into
many areas of our modern society, and benefits
us as a society. For example, research into
medical fields, creating innovative technology,
and in the entertainment sector.
Artificial intelligence is used in the medical
sector to improve accuracy of programs that
detect health conditions. AI technology is
used in the entertainment sector in programs
such as Youtube. AI will gather information on
what users like or dislike and will make recommendations
based on your recent activity.
Banks use AI systems to monitor activity on
members’ accounts to check for identity theft,
approve loans and maintain online security.
Artificial intelligence creates safe and efficient
work environments which can complement
humans instead of replacing them. People argue
that the introduction of AI in society leads
to robots taking over jobs. However, AI helps
create safer and more efficient work environments
which introduces more careers. The jobs
for human workers that are being replaced are
called ‘the four D’s of robotics’: Dull, Dirty,
Dangerous and Difficult. People are sceptical
on the introduction of artificial intelligence
however, it helps us live our daily lives for
example, the introduction of the self driving
car (Tesla) is especially useful in our everyday
lives. It makes it easier for transportation and
makes it safer for us due to the sensors in the
car that help prevent accidents. In addition to
the above, artificial intelligence can prevent
crimes as criminals can be identified using biometric
data such as fingerprints, facial recognition,
and motion sensors.
computer to have so much data and information
about us.
This is due to the increasing risk of AI terrorism.
This is the use of AI in war to fight instead
of using humans. Examples of this include
autonomous drones, nanorobots and smart
bombs. In the hands of the wrong person,
these could easily cause mass destruction. In
addition to the above, social media through
its autonomous-powered algorithms is highly
effective at target marketing due to the data
they know about us. An example of where AI
socially manipulates people is in the 2016 US
presidential election: by spreading propaganda
about individuals to try and get more votes
for a certain party. This can include spreading
false rumours.
In conclusion, the pros outweigh the cons, and
that artificial intelligence benefits us more as
a society rather than harm us. A strong point
is that AI creates more jobs, as well as making
our daily lives easier and more comfortable.
Life would be very different without the use of
AI as we use it every day- our phones. AI helps
us grow as a society and further develop.
By Zayn Pajawani
AI can cause problems. For example, some
may debate that it invades our privacy and
our personal lives and that it is unsecure for a

Driverless Cars
When I was little, I remember reading stories
about how transport was going to be revolutionised
with flying cars and trains, high up in the
skyline, zooming at incredible speed inside transparent
tubes. I also remember watching the films
with the first automated car, originally appearing
in cinemas in 1968 as the loveable Love Bug, a
mischievous Beatle VW. Who has not marvelled
at the automated cars made iconic in the Bond
movies? Automated vehicles have peppered our
consciousness for decades, but are we really
ready for them?
Fast forward to 2021, it is clear that we are not
‘quite there yet’, but huge strides have been made
towards automated modes of transport, and driverless
cars are predicted as the next ‘big thing’.
In 2021, most have either driven these automated
vehicles or been driven in one. Does cruise control
ring a bell? Car automation comes in various
levels and there are mostly five accepted levels
which can be summarised as:
- Level zero: no driving automation
- Level one: Driver assistance like cruise control
or adaptive cruise control
- Level two: Partial driving automation like vehicle
steering and accelerating control
- Level three: Conditional driving automation
requiring human overdrive
- Level four: High driving automation, performing
all driving tasks with optional human override
- Level five: Full driving automation with no human
overdrive
When we talk about driverless cars, we automatically
think about level five, fully automated cars,
but automation involving Artificial Intelligence
sensors and cameras are already well within our
reach.
By 2020, it was widely estimated that 10 million
self-driving cars would be on the road. By 2030,
the estimates are that one in four cars will be
self-driving. It has been talked about reducing
traffic congestion, lowering carbon emissions,
and improving road safety, as human error will
be eradicated.
Already, inroads in automation are being made
in many sectors with driverless grocery deliveries,
driverless buses and taxis being trialled in
multiple locations. Between functioning prototypes
and mass market production, we are
looking at two to three years according to Carlos
Ghosn, CEO of the Renault Nissan Alliance.
Driverless car dashboard - photograph by Molly Wicking

Photograph of a Tesla by Anna Clery
A few roadblocks remain in terms of infrastructure
and a lot of anxiety remains when
people think that ‘robots’ are taking over. Nitin
Gadkari, who was the India’s Union Minister
for Road Transport Highways and Shipping in
2019, was clear in the media when he declared
that he “will not allow driverless cars in India
[and he is] not going to promote any technology
or policy that will render people jobless”.
It is true that millions of driving jobs could
disappear as cars and trucks become more autonomous.
Automation is always great until it
known to cost jobs, and driverless cars are no
exception.
The ethical issue surrounding driverless cars
being able to make life or death decisions on
our roads is still very emotive, and people are
reluctant to give them free rein. They were
proven right when, in March 2018, a driverless
Uber car fatally hit a pedestrian and currently
research is being undertaken to better protect
pedestrians from driverless cars. Another safety
issue is that automated cars have a problem
‘seeing’ obstacles in certain weather conditions,
like snow or rain.
The technology is undoubtedly evolving rapidly,
and technical developments are working
hard at keeping up with the most futuristic
ideas: Tesla announced this year that they were
considering launching, as soon as 2023, an
automated car without a steering wheel. The
near future will look quite different, and we
might to adjust to rapidly changing habits. So,
the question remains: not if, but when, will a
driverless car be in your garage? When this
becomes a reality, I will miss films like “Fast
and Furious”.
By Emily Hayden

In today’s world we have many, many computers which can do a variety of things. From our
phones, gaming consoles and to kitchen appliances, not many people know the physics and
science behind the screen and buttons of the computer.
During the early days of computer processors, heat was not an important factor. Early, simpler
processors had fewer wires. The technology was not available to have multiple wires on a
single processor. However, even in these processors, electricity still passed through conductive
material. Since these materials were not superconductors, they naturally possessed a certain
amount of resistance. When electrical currents went through these wires, the semi-conducting
material has a resistance. This resistance converts some of the electrical energy
into heat, which is something that must be monitored. Today’s computers contain so many
transistors, which is a material used to switch electronic signals, that the collective resistance
creates a significant amount of heat. It is vital that the components stay cool, so heat sinks are
installed with it. Air or liquid can be used to cool down the components for the most amount
of efficiency.
CRT, Cathode Ray Tube, monitors, or televisions rely on three fundamental components.
The first is a source of electrons, a stream of electrons accelerated from an electron gun; the
second is a way of directing the beam; and third, a target onto which the beam is fired. When
the electrons are fired from the electron gun, they are focused into a finer stream by a set of
focusing coils. The electrons then pass through a set of deflection coils before reaching the
screen. By varying the magnetic field of the deflection coils, we can steer the electron beam in
a certain direction. The electron beam then continues hurtling towards the phosphor covered
screen. The phosphorescent material glows when electrons crash into it.
The Physics of Computing
Photograph by Anna Clery

Laser printers are another computer technology that uses certain basic physics principles to
assist print documents on a computer. Laser printers, so named because a laser is used to help
generate the picture to be printed in part, utilise the basic principle of similar charges repelling
to help create the image to be printed. Laser printers work by charging a photoelectric drum’s
surface and then accurately removing charges in certain locations. Except for where the laser
“knocks” the charges off, what is left after this charge removal is a drum coated in electric
charges which is negative. A reservoir of toner particles also comes into touch with the drum.
A negative electric charge is also present in these toner particles. Because like charges repel,
sections of the drum that have not had their charges removed will repel the toner particles, but
areas of the drum that have had their charges removed will have a positive charge, which will
attract the toner particles. These toner particles that are attracted to the drum are subsequently
transferred to the sheet of paper as the paper rolls beneath the drum, giving us a printed image.
The hard drive is one of the most widely used storage devices for computers today. Because all
computer data can be converted to binary, which is merely a sequence of ones and zeros, storing
this data requires only a medium with at least two states. Magnetic media are one of the
cheapest options, and because the North and South poles of a magnet parallel the two states of
a binary bit, one or zero, they are a sensible choice. We can make the magnet represent a zero
bit or a one bit by changing the magnetic direction of the material. Similarly, we may use a sensor
to determine which pole is closest to the read device and then interpret that information
back into words.
By Jaishan Jethwa

Can We Create The Matrix?
For those who do not know, or who have not already
watched the film, the Matrix is a simulation
completely run by AI where each human, in the real
world, has their sense of reality completely controlled.
This includes movement, which makes us
think we are moving but, in reality, we are stationary.
The movie was based off the idea that our perception
of reality is determined through microscopic, quick
impulses between neurons. If anything, humans
work in equivalent way to how computers do, though
humans do have other factors, such as common
sense and cell growth. But is it possible for humans
to create a simulation, or a Matrix, of a place we do
not exist in?
A good starting point is with one of the few devices
we have created that can translate electrical impulses:
limb prosthesis. World War II marks the milestone
of developing more modern prosthetic limbs. Before
that, artificial limbs were basic and lightweight
objects attached with straps and mechanisms that
work in an equivalent way to a brake pedal. A prosthesis
was a claw that we control separately, not as
a part of our body. This changed in 1943, when a
physics student, from Munich University, Germany,
created the first myoelectric prosthesis. His work was
published in 1948 after some redevelopment, but his
research was not carried far. It was during the 1950s
when scientists in the Soviet Union and England had
‘rediscovered’ this phenomenon. Reinhold had created
a hand that can move accordingly using magnified
electric potentials generated by muscles (impulses
sent to tell muscles of the hand to move) using a
vacuum tube amplifier. This meant the prosthesis
he made was not portable, but he had hopes that his
discovery would be developed further to solve this.
A point I have overlooked, however, is that recent
prosthetics use microprocessors to translate these
impulses into motion. Microprocessors consist of
transistors and are the brain of a computer, with a
pre-programmed ability to interpret electrical impulses
sent by other components and make decisions
out of them. This is how a prosthetic can convert
electrical impulses into motion. Electromyography
(EMG) electrodes read these electric potentials and
transmit them directly to the microprocessor. The
microprocessor then sends more electrical signals
to other components in the prosthetic that cause
movement. So, EMG electrodes can only read electrical
impulses our body generates, but how could we
Matrix background made by Anna Clery
create components that can generate or manipulate
these impulses to communicate with our brains to
manipulate our sense of reality?
On the 4th of March 2019, a French society named
the “Fonds de Donation Clinatec” announced that
one of their volunteers named Thibault, a man who
had been paralysed from the neck down, could walk
(with the help of an exoskeleton). The exoskeleton
is not portable, and the test had been conducted in
the controlled conditions of a lab, so further development
would have been needed. Initially, Thibault
had undergone surgery to place two implants into
the parts of his brain that control movement. The
implants, altogether, contain 64 electrodes. These
implants detect brain activity, which specialised software
interprets into signals that causes the exoskeleton
to move. This is similar to the idea of prosthetics,
although it reads direct activity from the brain and,
because the readings are sent to specialised software,
this could easily be interpreted into a simulation
instead of signals for an exoskeleton to understand.
We can certainly interact with a simulation, as we
can already do that in Virtual Reality (VR). However,
it is our understanding of electric potentials and
brain activity that can help us work towards building
components that can generate electric impulses like
our Central Nervous System does. An understanding
of this could allow paralysed people to move their
limbs, but a more complicated understanding could
allow us to reshape reality. Our brains receive signals
from around 100 billion neurons at the same time.
This means we would need at least 100 billion components
that can generate electric impulses in order
to truly immerse a person into a simulation. Once
in the simulation, you would have no indication of
knowing whether the simulation is reality or not
because everything, from your smell to your sight
to your touch, is controlled – much like the Matrix!
Furthermore, with the evolution of technology and
our understanding of brain activity improving, it will
not be long before we can manipulate our sense of
reality into something entirely different.
By Meenachey Niranjan

Colliding Galaxies
Based on a lecture at Gresham College by Carolin Crawford
First, ‘Ordinary’ Galaxies:
These have a massive range of both size, mass, and colour. They can vary from a few thousand
to half a million light years wide. This being from dwarf galaxies all the way up to giant galaxies.
They can vary from mainly reds, yellows, and white stars to more blue coloured stars. This visually
represents the age of the stars; red stars being older, and blue stars being younger and more recently
formed. The two main types of ‘ordinary’ galaxies are elliptical galaxies and spiral galaxies.
• Elliptical galaxies:
This name represents 60% of all known galaxies in our universe and is therefore the most common.
They are symmetrical and consist of red, yellow, and white stars which are older stars.
• Spiral galaxies:
Of all the galaxies in our universe, spiral galaxies take up 30% of them. Spiral galaxies have a large
ball of stars in the centre, with tails of stars reaching all the way around. They are flat, apart from
the ball in the middle, and some people say they often look like two fried eggs placed against each
other. In comparison to the elliptical galaxies, they have a larger range of colours, varying from
reds and yellows in the middle, to younger, bluer stars on the outside.
Both ‘ordinary’ galaxies are symmetrical.
‘Unordinary’ galaxies have a one in a million chance of occurring. This is when the shape of the
galaxy doesn’t conform to the pre-defined shape of either spiral or elliptical. These shapes are
random and have more bluer stars as they have more active star formations. These types of galaxy
shapes occur when two galaxies get so close to each other that they are affected by each other’s
gravitational pull. Professor Carolin Crawford explained this process in three stages:
1. The First Pass. This is when the galaxies first come into range of each other, and we start to see
mild asymmetries between them. As simulations show, this is when the tidal tails begin to develop.
2. The Mice. This is the name for the second stage of colliding galaxies, after the first encounter.
This is when the tidal tails are ‘thrown outwards,’ stretching the galaxy, and increasing its length.
3. The Final Collision. The final stage is the completion of the collision, where are new galaxy
starts to form. This new galaxy is bigger and holds the mass of both smaller galaxies put together.
These new galaxies are much bluer in colour as there is a higher rate of star formation. The spaces
between the stars in each galaxy are called gas clouds, so during the collision they are pressed
against each other and compressed. Under high pressure, this leads to the formation of newer,
bluer stars. This is called high starburst activity.
Scientists have predicted that this simulation will come true with our galaxy, The Milky Way, and
out ‘twin’ galaxy, Andromeda. Due to their remarkably similar sizes and masses, both galaxies
will, eventually, be equally affected by each other’s gravitational pull, although this is only supposed
to happen in eight billion years, give or take.
By Anna Clery

The Resurrection of the Christmas
Island Rat
Approximately 120 years ago, a disease brought
by European ships led to the demise of Australia’s
Christmas Island rats; Rattus Macleari
is the scientific name for these species of mammal.
However, scientists are now investigating
whether this extinct creature could possibly be
resurrected.
Resurrecting mammals that died millions of
years ago, like dinosaurs, may seem like something
far from reality, however the examination
of resurrecting a more recently extinct creature
offers insight into the extent to which this is
possible.
A team of palaeontologists researching the
limitations of what technique is possible to
resurrect the Christmas Island rat, said that the
whole point of de-extinction work is defined by
the vast unknown out there. This ensures the
process works and it is very much dependent
on how degraded DNA is rebuilt. A characteristic
of degraded DNA is that it do not contain
all the genetic material required to reconstruct
the full animal genome. An example would be
the carcasses of mammoths found underneath
layers of ice in Siberia – as the freezing of the
ice has usually damaged the DNA. Fortunately,
with the Christian Island rat, which became
extinct in the early 20th century, the team said
they “lucked out”, as they had managed to obtain
all of the rodent’s genome. This is a critical
step in ensuring the possibility of resurrection
of these rats remain promising. As 95% of its
genome is identical to the Norway brown rat,
this provides the perfect case of genome sequencing
as a really good modern reference
comparison was needed.
While the sequencing of the Christmas Island
rat was mostly successful, a few key genes were
missing. These genes oversaw the olfactory system,
which allows the sense of smell, meaning
that without these crucial genes, a resurrected
Christmas Island rat would likely not smell in
the way that it had done originally. Professor
Gilbert from Copenhagen University in Denmark
said that “with current technology, it may
be completely impossible to ever recover the
full sequence, and therefore it is impossible to
ever generate a perfect replica of the Christmas
Island rat”. Though a replica may seem like a
long way off, the key is that scientists can edit
the DNA that defined what makes the extinct
animal fundamentally different from the living
rat. Therefore, Professor Gilbert said that purely
editing an elephant’s DNA may lead to them
growing fur and being able to live in a cold
climate.
The only problem is whether this is ethical or
not, which can only be decided when the Professor
Gilbert and the team of palaeontologists
involved in the project discuss it with other
scientists and the ethics committee. A good
step forward would be to take it incrementally.
For example, we could change existing animals’
DNA, like male lions to not have a head so furry,
but to look more like its female counterpart,
or as Professor Gilbert plans to do, changing a
black rat genome to a Norway brown rat. The
professor has raised some doubts as to whether
it is the best use of money to undertake a project
that goes about reviving extinct species,
when more should be placed on keeping existing
animals alive i.e., the snow leopard, sea
turtles, rhinos and saola.
By Kinshing Huo

D
R
E
A
M
S
Dreams are hallucinations that occur during REM sleep,
the deepest state of sleep. They usually reflect someone’s
mood or events throughout their life, or any trauma that
the person may have experienced. Some people even
believe that their dreams can tell the future. But what do
dreams actually mean, and why do they exist?
One theory is that we dream in order to confront any unconscious
emotions that are locked in our brain. Objects
in dreams sometimes have symbolic meanings, usually
those you remember when you wake up. For example,
being in an embarrassing situation in your dream may
be your brain confronting any shame or anxiety buried
deep in your unconscious. Confronting these emotions
in dreams is convenient because when we are asleep the
brain is in its most vulnerable and emotional state, which
leaves the dreamer relieved after they wake up.
Another theory is that dreaming helps memory; a study
that was conducted investigated how dreams can assist
memory. A group of people were told that they were
going to partake in a maze: those who took a nap and
dreamed about the maze were more successful than those
had not slept or had not dreamed about the maze. This
leads researchers to believe that there are some memory
processes that only take place while we are asleep, causing
our memory to be stronger and more successful.
Another theory is that dreaming keeps our brain working;
this is because we believe that the brain always needs
to be active or creating memories in order to be healthy
and functional. Theoretically, this is done by dreaming
so that the brain can create memories even while we are
asleep. This could explain why we sometimes feel like we
are falling as we are drifting off to sleep. We still are not
sure why the body can sometimes jerk right before we fall
asleep, however doctors theorise that when we go into the
deeper stages of sleep, the brain misunderstands the situation
and thinks that we are falling or dying, causing it to
startle the body. This happens to the majority of people
every now and then, so it is perfectly normal.
levels of stress and anxiety, particularly right before you
go to sleep. However, there are several foods that can also
contribute to nightmares due to the chemicals that are
in them. Cheese is a quite common (and well known)
factor of nightmares. Sometimes it depends on the type of
cheese, for example blue cheese is believed to cause vivid
dreams or nightmares, while cheshire cheese can cause
someone to have no dreams. However, if you regularly
suffer from nightmares, you may have a sleeping disorder.
Being afraid to go to sleep or regularly waking up in the
middle of the night due to dreams can both be signs of
sleeping disorders.
Lucid dreaming
Lucid dreaming is the idea of being fully aware and
alert while you dream. Many people do this to practice
skills, for psychological reasons, or even just for fun. In
all fairness, the majority of people spend approximately
one third of their life in the dream state, which is a lot of
life that could be potentially spent experiencing things
that may be more difficult to experience in the material
world, such as flying or going into space. There are several
methods to lucid dream, one of them being regular reality
checks throughout the day. Clocks do not work properly
in dreams: time moves much faster in dreams than they
do in real life. Things may also be significantly more
blurry than usual, or you might have too many fingers
on each hand. However, you could also simply fall asleep
with the intention of lucid dreaming and wake up in an
unknown world. These things are all part of dreaming,
just one more normalised yet extraordinary phenomenon
of the brain.
By Natasha Kirmani
Nightmares
A nightmare is a dream that is unpleasant or frightening
and many people experience nightmares from time
to time. There are several factors that could individually
affect dreams, such as events that have happened or foods
that we eat. Nightmares are usually causes by elevated

Every dream will
reveal itself as
a psychological
structure, full of
significance.
~ Sigmund Freud

The Joker: A diagnosis for an evil clown
‘The Joker’ film follows Arthur Fleck, a
fictional character, living with a mental
illness. The film details his thoughts and
feelings as he turns into a serial killer - this
raises many questions into what caused
Arthur to turn into The Joker.
Arthur Fleck (The Joker) had many traumas,
starting in his early childhood. As
seen in the film, Arthur was physically
abused and assaulted on numerous occasions:
outside the music shop when he
got ‘jumped;’ on the subway by the three
young men; and the film mentions that
he was abused by his mother’s boyfriend
from an incredibly early age (being beaten
and chained to a radiator). However, this
was only his physical trauma. Sociologists
use the term ‘socialisation’ to describe the
process by which people learn about their
culture and is an essential process that
must take place in order for a society to
form. A strong source of socialisation for
most people is the surrounding family they
grow up with. For Arthur, his family at an
early age consisted of an adoptive mother,
Penny Fleck, who was hospitalised due to
her mental instability and unable to protect
Arthur from her abusive boyfriend.
This had a significant impact on Arthur’s
socialisation at an early age, which continued
as he got older. Arthur was psychologically
abused by his own mother. However,
she also shielded him from the nightmare
that was the world they lived in, which
gave him a reality distorted by fantasy.
His mother nicknamed him “Happy,” and
constantly told him he was “bought here
to bring joy and laughter to the world,”
further distorting his naive outlook on life.
The caring responsibility for his sick
mother, when she never properly cared for
him, and the way that he was illegally adopted
by his ‘mother,’ slowly drove him ‘crazy.’
Penny used this in her protection when she
claimed, “I never heard him [Arthur] crying,
he’s always been such a happy little boy,”
to defend herself from Social Services. His
mother also convinced Arthur that Thomas
Wayne (Batman’s dad) was his real father,
which caused him to confront Thomas
Wayne and get punched.
Arthur’s ‘insanity’ and his own mental disorder
led to numerous acts of violence, assault,
and murder. The first encounter we
had with ‘The Joker’ was during the scene on
the subway. After his mental disorder caused
him to burst out in uncontrollable laughter,
three young, drunk men thought it would
be funny to physically bully him. They began
to assault him, but he pulled a gun, and
these three “Wallstreet men” became his first
victims. This continued when he smothered
his own mother while she lay in hospital
after having a stroke, angry about the secrets
she had been hiding regarding Arthur’s real
father, and the fantasy she created for him.
The Joker’s character was created through
Arthur’s need to hide behind face paint and
a ‘fake smile.’ He was the embodiment of the
phrase ‘putting on a happy face.’
His job as a clown reflected his need to keep
others happy and smiling despite his own
life shattering into a spiral of depression.
He constantly refused help from his friends,
especially when his colleagues visited and
he murdered one and traumatised the other.
This was reported on the news, and the
media portrayed him as a riot-starter, which
only fuelled his narcissism. The riots erupted

further after Thomas Wayne publicly announced all ‘lower-class’ citizens were “clowns.” Arthur’s
journey as the Joker climaxed when he stood against the teasing and bulling from Murray
Franklin – the talk show host who he murdered live.
Despite the extent of Arthur’s struggling being clear, he is repeatedly failed by the system
created to help him. Arthur had previously been psychiatrically hospitalised, which led to
him receiving a mixture of different medications. Arthur also has therapy
sessions with a state funded service which encourages him to keep a
journal of his thoughts and feelings. The service provided does not
fit his needs and they fail to notice several passages in his notebook
which could be seen as ‘cries for help.’ There were magazine
clippings of girls with their heads cut out of the photo,
disturbing drawings and even phrases such as “I just
hope my death make more cents than my life.” and “The
worst part of having a mental illness is people expect
you to behave as if you don’t.” These clear warning signs
were ignored which stopped Arthur getting the help
he needed, which could have prevented the deaths of
many. Not only were the warning signs ignored when
in therapy, the funding was eventually completely
cut which resulted in Arthur being unable to get the
medication he needed.
Although there is no excuse for Arthur Fleck’s
murders and violence, there was an explanation.
It is thought Arthur suffered with an Involuntary
Emotional Expression Disorder called the Pseudobulbar
Affect (PBA). Medical researchers describe
the symptoms of this disorder as periods of
time when a person is unable to control their facial
muscles which can appear to others to be episodes
of intense laughing of crying. This could also explain
why his emotions are ‘all over the place’ and
his reactions are disproportionate to
the action. His mental illness also
separates Arthur from society due
the stigma surrounding it. Arthur
was severely abused and neglected
during his childhood, leading him
to constant suffering and him developing
a sense of a ruthless and
depressing universe.
By Anna Clery and Molly Wicking
~ Artwork by Cynthia Ding

COVID-19
VACCINES

Since the news that an effective vaccine had
been developed to protect people from contracting
Covid-19, the world became fascinated
by how it was done. Many people questioned
how the developers managed to condense a
process that would usually take years into just
10 months.
To understand how the vaccines were made
so quickly, we need to understand the human
immune system. When a person is infected
by some kind of pathogen, the body responds
by sending three diverse types of white blood
cells to stop it from becoming a serious threat.
Macrophages digest germs and leave behind
antigens, B-lymphocytes produce antibodies
and attack the left-over pieces of the virus,
and T-lymphocytes attack the infected cells. A
vaccine gives people immunity without having
to develop the disease, by providing the white
blood cells with a weakened protein of the virus.
The white blood cells will therefore try and
destroy the foreign substance. They remember
the shape so that in the event that the virus
infects the person, it will be easier to fight off.
An area of concern for the corona vaccine is
how the process of making a vaccine takes an
exceptionally long time, so it is difficult to feel
secure when there is the fear that the development
stage has been rushed. However, after
having experiences with several types of coronaviruses
(the Sars coronavirus and the Mers
coronavirus), scientists have been more prepared
for the outbreak of Covid-19. Witnessing
the effects of having such a slow response to
the Ebola outbreak in 2014-2016, prompted
scientists to develop a plan for the next big outbreak
of a disease by taking a cold virus from a
chimpanzee and engineering it to become the
backbone for a vaccine that could be manipulated
to fight off various kinds of diseases. Now,
it has been modified to prevent people from
contracting Covid-19.
Some are sceptical; it still seems like a short
amount of time to develop a vaccine as well as
passing it through trials. However, the vaccines
have been tested in three phases: testing for
safety, testing if the vaccine’s response is correct
and testing that it actually provides protection.
The Oxford vaccine has been tested on
30,000 volunteers in the third phase, and Pfizer
have addressed some of the concerns, confirming
that their mRNA vaccine, a relatively new
concept, does not change human DNA or have
the ability to cause someone to contract Covid-19.
Overall, the vaccine has passed through
the same clinical trials as other licenced medicines.
A potential consequence of having the vaccine
developed this quickly is that we have not seen
how well the vaccine protects against the new
variants from Kent, South Africa or Brazil and
the question was raised of whether they could
render our current vaccines ineffective. Although
this is a possibility, the proteins in the
vaccines are quite large, so for the new variants
to be unaffected, they would have to have mutated
a lot. However, this does not change the
fact that the vaccine does not protect people
against the newer variants as effectively. There
is still the possibility that the vaccine could be
redesigned by synthesising a new piece of DNA
or RNA and inserting it into the original vaccine
so it is unlikely that the work put into the
current vaccines will have been for nothing.
By Katie Pietroni

Humans are complex beings. It is common knowledge
that everyone is different and made up of
different psyches. We yearn to be understood by
parents yet keep information and emotions hidden.
We look towards astrology and personality types to
figure out ourselves and the people around us, to
figure out if they can feed our ego and have mutual
interests.
But what if that was all rendered useless? What
would be left of us?
~ Psychoanalysis ~
Our behaviour is motivated by desire whether that is
a conscious or unconscious decision.
It is the emotion of longing or hoping for a person,
object, or outcome. The same sense is expressed
by words such as “craving”. When a person desires
something or someone, their sense of longing is excited
by the enjoyment or the thought of the item or
person, and they want to take actions to obtain their
goal no matter how big or small. Yet according to
Jacques Lacan, who was dubbed the most controversial
psychoanalyst since Freud, this is our downfall.
Because of these desires, you can never be yourself
and are instead stuck in a desire loop.
‘But the things we strive to get make us more ourselves!
How could I be anyone but myself?’
Well, our desire is always pointing out of us, the next
step we want to take to be better, therefore
what’s not you are a fundamental part of you because
we think our desires will make us more ourselves.
Due to this, humans are always naturally longing for
more, ergo never being yourself. This psychoanalysis
is compiled of a few theories that will be explained
in more depth.
One of the first instances of these ideas appearing in
humans is ‘the Mirror Stage.’
This occurs when ‘the subject’ is a mere child or toddler
and has their first interaction with themselves
through a mirror consciously. It is the moment you
recognise the reflection in the mirror as yourself.
Fundamental but tragic, it is the root cause of anxiety
of being a subject and never getting the things you
desire.
Artwork by Leah Clery

It starts the loop of always telling yourself to be
yourself but being unable to. Of course, as a child
the effect will not seem drastic and will not suddenly
spring up a highly intelligent self-aware
child, but it simply starts the process. The mirror
stage describes the formation of the Ego via the
process of objectification, the Ego being the result
of a conflict between ones perceived visual
appearance and one’s emotional experience. This
identification is what Lacan called alienation. To
resolve any tension between the subject and reflection,
the child identifies with the image. ‘To
know yourself is to always misrecognise.’
Other aspects are the ‘The imaginary’, ‘The Symbolic
I’ and ‘The Gaze masquerade’
‘The Imaginary’ is not to say that something is
pretend rather it is the title for image-based things
usually fuelled by our social media where we see
fitness, lifestyle, fashion etc. Even our dreams are
images, forms and outlines that fall into this category.
It is everywhere in our advertising whether
that is corporate or on Instagram and how we
perceive these images that show our future self
or create the ideal ‘I’ out of the world of images.
Through these images you learn what to desire as
your grow and want to be perceived the same way
you perceive others, you are role models, under
this constant gaze in your head. Like a kid playing
basketball alone but imagining a crowd cheering
when they score.
Meanwhile ‘The Symbolic ‘I’ is what we identify
ourselves with and Lacan argues that the concepts
of “Law” and “Structure” are unthinkable without
language—thus the Symbolic is a linguistic
dimension. You are signifying yourself the same
way you do objects. For example, you understand
symbols on the street, on toilet doors, in shop
windows and apply them to yourself.
‘The important point is that this form (the ideal-I)
situates the agency of the ego, before its social
determination in a fictional direction which will
always remain irreducible for the individual’ -
Écrits
Finally, the ‘Gaze Masquerade’. Celebrities are
the same anxious subjects trying to be people,
trying to turn themselves into ideal I’s and to be
seen as complete unities amongst the other subjects.
They post and ‘influence’ on social media
to shows how ‘themselves’ they are being and all
the happy, cool things surrounding them. This
masquerade is what we see and tells us ‘You have
to be happy because the image is happy’ but not
being the image is what is making you not happy.
‘I see only from one point, but in my existence, I
am looked at from all sides…we are beings who
are looked at, in the spectacle of the world.’ -Seminar
XI
The gaze masquerade is the idea of others looking
towards you and you doing the same, seeing
who can put up the best front, it is full or ironies
and contradictions. It shows us that your desire
is what makes you incomplete, yet you desire
the desire of others which is what makes them
incomplete. Quite the mouthful. Desire is the
emptiness at the centre of subjects, it is this lack
of completeness that makes us need things like
relationships, lifestyles and more
While there is much more to Lacan’s controversial
psychoanalysis, such as Lacan’s The Real, it
continues to become more complex and figurative.
This analysis may not be something you
need in your everyday life or something you need
to change because it is inescapable, however it is
a deeply intriguing complex that shows life in a
new perspective, putting humans in a new light
on how we work and function. It is arguably
important to find different sources and different
theorists to figure out what your opinion is on the
predicament.
By Iris Nuredini

Meet the Teachers
Questions:
1. Favourite memory of teaching at Royal Russell?
2. Worst/ funniest thing to happen in your classroom?
3. Favourite subtopic to teach, and why?
4. Kiss, Kill, Marry - Albert Einstein, Issac Newton, Bill Nye the Science Guy
Mr McKenna
Teacher of Chemistry
The funniest is in S5 where if you look at the ceiling you can see
the yellow stain where we got a bit over enthusiastic with the
elephant toothpaste and the bubbles shot out of the flask and
hit the ceiling and the iodine has never come off
I think for the planet we are going to have to keep Einstein and
Newton and Kill Bill Nye the poor guy. Probably marry Einstein
because he is more fun and kiss Newton.
Teacher of Physics
During a year 11 class, when they managed to fully complete the lesson
by themselves with great critical thinking skills and I was able to sit
there and watch them complete the experiment very successfully.
Another time was when one student connected a power pack to a circuit
and did not do a thorough check (as they were supposed to) and
the circuit shorted and created a large mushroom cloud, although it
was extremely dangerous, it was also quite funny.
I quite enjoy teaching particle physics. I like how it explains the nature
of understanding of everything, looking at the fundamental nature of
existence.
Kill Newton, because he was not a nice person, really quite evil.
Kiss Einstein because he looks like a fun guy.
Marry Bill Nye for his stability and because he would look after you.
Mr Pattison
Background made by Anna Clery

Mr Turner
Teacher of Physics
Something that happens every day when students thank you for your lessons, and
when you start talking about an interesting topic, they like the fact that you can go off
on a tangent and get carried away in the stuff that is not on the syllabus.
I was teaching the life cycle of a star recently, using the analogy of people as stars are
born, they live, and then die. One student genuinely asked him if stars have intercourse.
As he believed stars and humans were more similar than they actually are.
Without any changes to the past, Kiss Newton, because he would be horrible to live
with long term. Marry Bill Nye for being genuinely funny and interesting. Kill Einstein
because he was a little but weird like marrying his cousin.
Teacher of Biology & Chemistry
I really like teaching the real fundamentals of
chemistry because once you know that you
can build on anything so atoms and periodic
table and ions and how all that relates, so you
can then move on to other things like bonding,
electrolysis, and other more complicated topics.
I would say kiss Isaac Newton, marry Albert
Einstein and kill Bill Nye the science guy.
Ms Porteous
Teacher of Biology
Ms Hornby
The worst thing that ever happened was that I was doing a dissection and demonstration
to a class, and I was going really over the top about how the scalpel was
very sharp and then proceeded to put the scalpel into my own hand.
My absolute favourite topic to teach is genetics because are lots of patterns you can
identify in results and outcomes from breeding different things together.
You should have Darwin in there, I would totally marry Darwin! I think Einstein
would have been impossible to live with, he would be very tricky, so I would kill
him. I would kiss Newton because without those three laws what would we be doing,
and I would marry Bill Nye the science guy because if I could write a song that
would be an ear worm to every student for every topic you would not have to do
anything else.

SATRO Competition
In the evening of the 24th of January, myself and a select few from key-stages 3,4 and
5 were chosen to compete in the Surry SATRO problem solving challenge. After a half
hour journey and looking at intense competition, we were quite nervous for what was
about to begin. We were given 90 minutes to design a contraption that would turn on
a lamp using a marble dropped by somebody from the group after exactly 10 seconds.
After spending 10-15 minutes planning, us (the KS5 group) decided as a collective that
the best course of action was to give ourselves as much time as possible for testing. As
the clock ticked closer and closer to 0, we spent more and more time adjusting our contraption
until it was as well as we could design it. After an extremely tense testing period,
we were second to last out of the KS5 teams to be judged. Entrusting Oliver Tchum
to drop the marble, we clasped our hands together and prayed. 10.2 seconds. Although
we have gotten better times in our test runs, we decided to refrain from doing a rerun
in order to get a 20-point bonus afterwards. After a few more minutes, the results were
to be announced. The KS3 group’s winners were up first. Our group came in second
place, losing out from first by only a few points. KS4’s group weren’t so lucky and just
barely lost second place to our competitors. The KS5 groups were last, but certainly not
least. With 167/170 points, we came in first place, and broke both our school’s records,
as well as SATRO’s. Both the KS3 and KS5 groups are invited to the finals, where we
will aim for nothing but the top. Many thanks to Mr Endersby and Mrs Cook for organising
this, and we hope that we’ll be able to do this even better next time.
By CJ Coleman Benjamin
Image taken of the team in action

WORD SEARCH

CROSSWORD

Elemental Jokes
1. What two elements are the most agreeable together?
2. What elements are trying to scare you?
3. What elements would surprise you the most if they were
dating?
4. Which single element is the most polite?
5. What element laughs easily when it meets its twin?
6. What two elements could you find on a farm?
7. What three elements are friends but can never agree?
By Emily Hayden

ANSWERS
Elemental Jokes:
1. Oxygen and Potassium OK
2. Boron and Oxygen BOO
3. Oxygen and Magnesium OMg
4. Tantalum Ta
5. Helium HeHe
6. Molybdenum and Oxygen MoO
7. Nobelium, Bromine and Oxygen NoBrO
Cartoon, wordsearch, and crossword made by Anna Clery

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE FRONT COVER
On the 18th of June 1983 Sally Ride
took to space and became a global icon.
She was the first American women in
space and was also part of the LGBTQ+
community, setting a great example for
those who admire her to follow in her
footsteps. After earning her physics
degree at Stanford University in California,
she joined Nasa and became
the person responsible for working the
robotic arm on board the space shuttle
mission. The robotic arm was used to
put satellites into space. After leaving
Nasa she became a teacher at the University
of California and dedicated her
life to helping women and girls study
maths and science.
By Molly Wicking
Russell’s Teapot is entirely student made,
and it allows students from all years
groups to express their interest in whatever
aspect of science they like. This is
done through research, articles, artwork,
podcasts, and a lot of hard work.
HTTP://RUSSELLSTEAPOT.ORG
EDITOR IN CHEIF
Anna Clery
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Anna Clery, Molly Wicking
CONTRIBUTORS
Ria Patel
Oliver Tchum
Emily Hayden
Jaishan Jethwa
Meenachey Niranjan
Anna Clery
Kinshing Huo
Natasha Kirmani
Molly Wicking
Katie Pietroni
Iris Nuredini
Serena Biju
CJ Coleman Benjamin
EDITORS
Anna Clery
Jaishan Jethwa
Serena Biju
Amber Knibb
ARTWORK/ PHOTOGRAPHY
Cynthia Ding
Leah Clery
Molly Wicking
Anna Clery

RUSSELL’S TEAPOT