Dopamine + Uni attendance in Australia and Iran

Golden Queen

I read the science magazine Cosmos (not Cosmopolitan) and there's an article about a study on people that got "chills", which is a "marker of extreme pleasure" when they listened to music. I don't know if you've ever gotten goosebumps or chills when you read a really good piece of writing or listen to music you really like, but I have.

The article was about a study that found that when the people tested listened to their favourite piece of music, there's increased physical action and they released a chemical called dopamine. It's the chemical that gives the rewarding feeling when we have things like food, money and some drugs (it's a category of drugs that starts with p, but the exact word eludes me, it's something to so with the mind). It's released even in anticipation to listening to the music, but if they listen to a piece of music they don't really really like, they don't feel the chill. No dopamine is released and they are "emotionally dead" to that music.

I love getting that chill, it's a really good feeling. When I read one story I feel it again and again in busts and my body is pleasantly tingly afterwards.

~o~o~o~o~o~

I was chatting with my Maths teacher in Math today, and we somehow were on the topic of going to University. She told us that only around 30% of Australians get into Uni and of those around 10% drop out. We're living in a sort of bubble because we're in selective schools, we only see that almost everyone around us is planning to go to Uni and is probably going to get it. She says that we don't realise other public schools may not do as well. (Clare: So what percentage of Sydney Girls students get into Uni? Teacher: *thinks for a bit* 100%) I for one assumed a lot of people went to Uni.

She then said that's a lot better than where she's from (Iran) where only 10% go to University. They have a test 3 months after high school where they test students on everything, science, math, religion, everything. It's also really really hard. If you don't pass you have to wait another year, some people are still trying at 28.

The teacher says that only people who's lost limbs for the country or religion man can get in. The former gets in easily because the government says because they gave up their leg for the country, they can get into Universities easier. The religion people go to University to study religion.

She said she couldn't go to University in her country because she's not religious. That sounds ridiculous to me, I can't understand the reasoning of a certain religion being compulsory as dictated by the government. People should be free to believe what they want, disbelieve what they want and doubt whatever they want.