The United States has consistently refused to issue a “no first use” pledge, an authoritative statement by a nuclear weapon state to never be the first to use these weapons in a conflict. In 2022, the Biden administration reserved the right to use nuclear weapons to deter enemy conventional, biological, chemical, and possibly cyberattacks. China and India are the only two nuclear powers to have adopted NFU policies.

The United States has consistently refused to issue a “no first use” pledge, an authoritative statement by a nuclear weapon state to never be the first to use these weapons in a conflict. In 2022, the Biden administration reserved the right to use nuclear weapons to deter enemy conventional, biological, chemical, and possibly cyberattacks. China and India are the only two nuclear powers to have adopted NFU policies.

Simulation theory says that we are all likely living in an extremely powerful computer program, directed by an entity outside of our physical comprehension. In this situation, humans are not necessarily “real” and tangible beings, but instead predetermined, coded constructs of the digital world we inhabit. Living in a simulation can be likened to living in a gigantic game of The Sims, except we ourselves are the characters inside the screen.

If we live in a computer simulation, then who is the programmer? Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom contends in his 2003 paper “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?” that future generations might have mega-computers that can run numerous and detailed simulations of their forebears, in which simulated beings are imbued with a sort of artificial consciousness. Odds are, we are products of that simulation, and we may not be the original species of humans.

Info Slide: Charter Schools

A charter school is a public school that operates as a school of choice. Charter schools commit to obtaining specific educational objectives in return for a charter to operate a school. Charter schools are exempt from significant state or local regulations related to operation and management but otherwise adhere to regulations of public schools — for example, charter schools cannot charge tuition or be affiliated with a religious institution.

Charter schools are publicly accountable — they rely on families choosing to enroll their children, and they must have a written performance contract with the authorized public chartering agency. Charter schools are also autonomous — they have more flexibility in the operations and management of the school than traditional public schools.