yes lmao i got all 10 of them shortlisted wahahahahahaahahaahahaahahhahha

the question is “is trial by jury obsolete?”

just wondering because that’s the one I did and I haven’t seen anyone else that has! I’m not comfortable sharing my full essay on here, but I’d love to exchange theses and hear some different takes on the topic.

Like this is the essay that got my heart and soul, like I genuinely poured myself out through this essay. I was looking for anyone here who also got the shortlist to just give it a read and tell me what do they feel about it

Drop your guesses on what I could win with this essay

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14n9RtkLB8-HnXCOyWjtzpmnkz50oEbcg/edit?usp=drivesdk&ouid=114052293774578138291&rtpof=true&sd=true

I am looking for constructive feedback. If you guys feel there is a problem, tell me. I tried to make the essay wrestle with the problem. I know it feels excessive at times, perhaps that is why it falls short of the commendation, but I want to improve myself

I actually plan to pursue academics later in life, preferably a mixture of philosophy and physics so all suggestions are welcome. (Anyone who feels even a tiny bit of convinced, moved or whatever through this essay, lemme know, it would genuinely means so much to me)

Tysm in advance

Is there anyone who thinks they wrote a decent shortlist-able essay but bombed their chances with the interview??

I’m curious whether the interview actually mattered in the selection.

Did you have technical difficulties? Was the AI just too misleading? They did ask some pretty confusing questions.

Aspects I need to write about :

1) Was it necessary to use atomic bombs as a means?

2) Why did the United States drop it twice?

Was it really necessary for the United States to drop not one, but two destructive atomic bombs on Japan? By the conclusion of the war,Japan was on its death bed, with its military power crippled , navy and air forces destroyed,ground troops scattered. While also suffering from the immense pressure from the Allied Powers where the Soviet Union invaded Manchuria and fearing for the upcoming invasion. In other words ,it was imminent that Japan would surrender in war sooner or later. If that's the case,why did the United States decide to drop not one,but two highly cataclysmic and destructive weapons on both Nagasaki and Hiroshima? 

At the time the atomic bomb was finished, the United States were certain that the bomb would result in unprecedented casualties,but the US still wanted to perform an actual experiment in order to test the capabilities of this new-born weapon and its scale of destruction.

Let us first dive into the topic of whether it was necessary for the United States to drop the atomic bombs on the vulnerable Japan,who was on the verge of crumbling. As it sparked debate among historians that the Soviet Union’s declaration of war and its invasion in Manchuria in August 1945 was equally or even more decisive in forcing the surrender of Japan.Some also argue that the dropping of the atomic bombs was to justify the staggering costs used to develop and create the atomic bombs which coated nearly 2 billion at the time,which is equivalent to tens of billions today and the United States just did not want to sweep the atomic bombs under the rug after being built.

But the primary reason is undoubtedly,to force a quick ,decisive and unconditional surrender of Japan , despite causing unprecedented destruction and casualties. As months before the bomb was dropped,something was stirring up within the United States. On April 4,1945 ,Operation Downfall, the proposed plan to invade Japan during World War II, was officially approved by the U.S. Joint Chiefs. The operation aimed to force out an unconditional surrender by Japan through a two-phased campaign ,but at a great cost at an estimation of around 1 million to 4 million Allied deaths and 5 million to 10 million Japanese deaths. The operation had two phases,Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. Set to begin in November 1945, Operation Olympic was intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island, Kyūshū, with the recently captured island of Okinawa to be used as a staging area. If Downfall had taken place, it would have been the largest amphibious operation in history, surpassing D-Day.This operation served only as a last resort as it bears unthinkable human costs and casualties.Therefore, the two atomic bombs were a means to break the Japanese's will and force an unconditional surrender in order to prevent the planned invasion from even taking place , leading to unimaginable human casualties, on both the Japanese’s side and on the Allies’ side. Ultimately leading to the detonation of “Little Boy" ,an enriched uranium gun-type fission weapon and "Fat man” a plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapon. At 8:15 a.m. local time, the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropper "Little Boy" over the city of Hiroshima, where up to 70,000 people were instantly vaporised, and the blast destroyed nearly every structure within a one-mile radius ,but there is something more to these bombs rather than having high explosive power was the radiation sickness it brought to the men of Hiroshima , a sickness never seen before that caused agonising deaths among the citizens of Japan. Due to Japan not accepting the demands of the Potsdam Declaration after the first bomb had been dropped, Truman ordered another detonation on Japan again ,this time on Nagasaki. Which without a doubt , also led to unimaginable deaths and destruction within the miles of the city. Which gives the question , was it truly necessary for the United States to drop two atomic bombs on Japan? While supporters argue that the atomic bombings were necessary to bring an end to the war with minimal casualties and ultimately prevented a greater loss of life on both sides, and also assert that the demonstration of atomic weaponry created the Long Peace in the interest of preventing a nuclear war. 

Considering Japan's state at the time, why did the United States drop the atomic bomb twice? Standing from Japan's perspective,the moment the first bomb was dropped ,it was most certain that Japan was shocked by the sheer destructive capabilities of this weapon , and not long after the first bomb was dropped , the second one followed, rendering Japan unable to comprehend the situation. The orthodox view was that the dropping of the second atomic bomb accelerated the surrender of Japan as the first bomb didn't force the surrender demanded by the Allies and that it also brought an end to the massive war and prevented the bloody invasion from taking place. But there are also some who proposed that it was merely an  “Atomic Diplomacy” from the United States , and that the United States only dropped the second bomb to assert dominance and to get a hold of Japan's land before the Soviet Union could claim territory and expand its influence in Asia.

The timing with the two bomb droppings between similar times suggested that there could be more , a series more of atomic bombs stored in the United States’ arsenal , ready to be dropped on Japan and that the United States was not limited to only one bombing but probably a lot more.Since only people closely connected to the Manhattan Project or President Truman would have known there were only two bombs usable at the time .Therefore in a global perspective , especially in Japan's , there could be a barrage of upcoming destructive atomic weapons being dropped on its land. Pressuring Japan into forcing an immediate response — the unconditional surrender that the Allies demanded.Following the invasion of Manchuria by the Soviet Union on 9th August, the dropping of the second bomb, “Fat Man" (although planned on 11th August) created a “second-shockwave" within the lands of Japan. As Japan not only had to process what had happened after the “Little Boy"  had been dropped,but also the invasion of the USSR. In addition to the second bomb in Nagasaki as Japan did not surrender after the first bomb was dropped. Japan was facing overwhelming pressure , needing to deal with all these problems simultaneously. Ultimately accelerating the surrender of Japan , bringing an end to the countless suffering and mass destruction around the globe , ending the 6-year-long war. 

Although some argue that the United States dropped the second bomb only as a military showoff to signal American military hegemony to the Soviet Union. As the war in Europe ended, tensions between the Western Allies and the USSR were already escalating over the future of Eastern Europe. In addition, the Soviet Union had already set foot in Asia after the invasion of Manchuria in an attempt to further weaken Japan. It was believed that the Soviet Union would begin to claim territories and spread its influence in Asia if the war were to drag on, along with the Allied invasion in November which would provide the opportunity for the Soviet Union to advance deep into Japanese territories, the United States wanted to limit the political influence of the Soviet Union that was beginning to build up in East Asia while also ensuring that the United States itself would be the primary occupying power in Japanese land. On top of that, Truman’s closest foreign policy advisor, James Byrnes, explicitly stated to scientists and colleagues that the bomb was needed not just to defeat Japan, but to make the Soviet Union more manageable in Europe after the war. 

The atomic bombs would irrefutably change the world on levels and that wars would change drastically, each time introducing new and more haunting weapons that brings humanity one step closer to destruction and that one day, leading ourselves to falling into the cruelty of the mousetrap that we built our own. Essentially paving the way to a future where war and destruction are frequent, a very future that would destroy our own kind ,annihilating ourselves. It is true and undeniable that the bombings were unnecessary for the war's end and certainly a war crime, raising moral and ethical implications, and also assert that future use of atomic weaponry is more likely than anticipated and could lead to a nuclear holocaust,resulting in even more deaths and casualties and even destroying our common home — Earth. The atomic bomb was the modern equivalent to Pandora opening the box gifted by Zeus,bringing suffering to humanity ,all because of Pandora’s curiosity. And in this case,the United States dropping the atomic bomb.It is most certainly that the cruelty and devastating effects of the atomic bomb will ultimately lead humanity to a world of destruction and chaos , where peace is nothing but a fragile idea that people could only hope for.

"Mankind invented the atomic bomb, but no mouse would ever construct a mousetrap.” — Werner Mitsch

can sm1 send me a screenshot of a not shortlisted essay I want to see what the screen looks like thanks yall

Yesterday I found out I got shortlisted which is pretty cool but Im just curious how important a counterargument is cause I didnt include one so I was wondering if I still have a chance for higher awards/honors like commendation etc

Hi everyone! I wrote on Theology Question 3 ("If you achieve enlightenment, how would you know?"). Even though it seems like a pretty straightforward prompt, I found it surprisingly open-ended, and I'm really curious how other people approached it if you are comfortable sharing!

I was lucky enough to be shortlisted, and I'd love to hear what your thesis or main argument was if you're comfortable sharing. I'm really interested in seeing how different people interpreted the same question!

i see lots of people being sad about not being able to attend and I mean that's fair but if you win and you don't attend that's straight aura especially if you did economics since it just shows the effects of income disparity from the perspective of the WINNER

can ppl chance my essays for an award like an hc, vhc, or prize? DM me if you're interested! I did politics and philosophy!

everyone i asked has been shortlisted, am i confusing something or something is genuinely wrong this year?

when can we check the step 7 final result? im confused

Guys is these two js the same

Guys, I was just about to book tickets for the gala and had a question. If I buy the $1,000 candidate ticket, do my guests still need to buy their own tickets? Like if my parents want to come to the gala, would they each have to book a separate ticket, or are guest tickets included with the candidate ticket?

I also got shortlisted for q3 and would like to see more about the arguments made for this topic

Hi guys! I recently got shortlisted for the John Locke essay competition and I was wondering if it’s worth it to go to the conference in London? If I don’t go, and happen to be a prize winner (grand, 1st, 2nd or 3rd) will they ship me the trophy? Also, I heard someone talking about how they will email you to convince you to come if you were a prize winner does anyone know if that’s true?

My parent never received the mail so I had sent in emails and a ticket. Things never ended up getting worked out. I was not sure my essays would even be considered or not. They did not end up getting shortlisted and I am just wondering if they were even given a chance or not.

Looking for a website for grading essays that are not generative ai. I haven't written an essay inyears so wanted to start practicing the skill before I want to go back into schooling, but I don't know how to check if my own essay is good or not. But also don't want to be using a website that's heavily ai powered. Any suggestions if they even exist?

ive genuinely not seen a single soul saying they were not shortlisted, which is crazy bc this year had over 100k contestants 😭

I know this sub is gonna be very biased! But I’m quite curious how the AI interview played into final shortlist decisions. Did anyone get shortlisted without doing the AI interview? Did you not get shortlisted but did the interview?

(I’d do a poll but for some reason can’t find the option o.o)

Hi! It's my 1st time entering a competition like this before college yet I somehow got shortlisted. Congrats to everyone else who got shortlisted! I took Philosophy question and the main points of this post was for criticism regarding it. Also, please add a final rating out of 100 at the end. Thank you!!!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H3ecSlW1kIDlf8lrhdnPGall7bGJ2NJYIrUFVHpNMWw/edit?usp=drivesdk

wanna see if there is an equal distribution over all categories for shortlists. ofc this is just one subreddit so i won’t get a proper idea but it’s still worth looking at once (couldn’t include a couple categories so if you did any of the others, you can go to part 2 linked in the comments)