The Pi Perspective: Week 9
At Pi Online, we are a massive group of editors who work together to curate content for the website. But who are we really? What do we like, dislike, observe, think?
Each week, we’re pulling back the curtain with a new editorial spotlighting what’s been on our minds.
Editors-in-Chief
This past Wednesday was, quite unexpectedly, a perfect day. I slept in, made myself an excellent brunch, and then set off to volunteer at an offer-holder Open Day. Being surrounded by people who are desperate to get into your university is a strangely effective reminder not to take it for granted. It hit me, rather pleasantly, that I’ve spent three years studying my dream degree, at my dream university, in my dream city. Not bad.
I then wandered to the Student Centre (chatting to my mum en route), where I wrote an article for Pi that I think turned out rather well… in my not so humble opinion. Along the way there were brief but lovely chats with friends, a fleeting moment of eye contact with a cute boy, and a heroic attempt at reading papers for my dissertation.
The evening involved another great meal, my comfort TV show, and a long FaceTime with my best friend. Which is to say: nothing extraordinary.
And yet, the recipe for a flawless day, it turns out, is surprisingly simple; something we often forget while looking for something bigger. Sometimes, a perfect day is just a perfectly ordinary one.
News
Almost two weeks in, it is clear that the US-Israeli war on Iran has failed to achieve its stated objectives.
Analysts argue that the United States may have underestimated the scale and reach of Tehran’s response. Iran has widened the conflict across the Gulf region by choking the flow of oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and sending global energy prices into an upward spiral. Tehran has hit major US targets in the region including embassies in Riyadh and Kuwait, military bases, and missile defence systems. It also hit a vital desalination plant in Bahrain.
In the latest escalation, President Trump announced on Friday that the United States has “obliterated every military target” in strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island. The island is Iran’s principal crude oil export terminal, capable of loading up to 7 million barrels a day. In response, Iran struck the UAE’s port of Fujairah earlier today. The port is a major energy hub and one of the largest oil storage facilities in the world.
Meanwhile, at least 800,000 civilians have been displaced in Lebanon amidst the continuing Israeli military onslaught. Since March 2, Israel has killed at least 773 Lebanese civilians, including 100 children.
Features
Somewhat fittingly, I was thinking about perspectives this week. When a girl in my class said something that I strongly disagreed with, I was troubled, at first, that a fellow student at UCL, same age, same degree, living in the same city as me, could articulate a perspective that so loudly clashed with my own.
The interaction subsequently made me wonder how we form the beliefs we hold, and how much agency we have in the process. I am convinced that social media, whose algorithm largely reflects and plays into our pre-existing social environments, holds a decisive degree of responsibility. The information we regularly consume will inevitably mold a specific viewpoint. I appreciate this dynamic and, as a result, can understand why the respective opinions of my classmate and I collide. However, I am also convinced that we have agency in deciding the content we consume. In fact, it is our responsibility to take an interest in the world around us, to read widely and to cultivate a balanced, compassionate perspective. In this age, we have access to so much information that our social milieu and Instagram page cannot be held accountable for explaining how we think, it is up to us to take control and get a little perspective.
Opinion
Trump didn't stumble into this war. He chose it, cheered it, and is now celebrating the rubble as though destruction is the same thing as victory. Iran won't fold. They never were going to. Every analyst knew it. Every historian knew it. The only people who didn't, apparently, were the ones with the launch codes. Thousands dead, oil at record highs, a ceasefire going nowhere, and the man responsible is telling NBC he might bomb them again "just for fun." This is not leadership. It's recklessness with a podium.
Lifestyle and Culture
I like to think of myself as a pacifist. I don't have many opps. Yet if I do have an issue with someone, it’s Spotify and, specifically, its attempt at the ‘shuffle’ feature.
In middle school, I was among the last few standing Apple Music defenders: ‘The sound quality is just superb,’ I’d say with my head held high. I did not, in fact, hear the difference. What finally lured me to the dark side, then, was the utopian promise of an infinite music catalogue – a chamber of uncharted territories – and, at last, a hope to validate my self-imposed label as a well-rounded meloman.
If anything, my playlist withered. As a professional daydreamer, I insist on accompanying my Fitzrovia strolls with an overly loud soundtrack. Who I once deemed an ally, however, has proved to be a backstabber. Without fail, I walk to the sound of the same ten-to-twenty tracks, while the remaining thousands stay decaying at the depths of the lineup. This, of course, is not critical. Or, at least, wouldn’t be, if the app’s go-to tracks were reflective of my taste whatsoever.
Spotify is said to be one of the most AI-driven platforms nowadays. So, until the human hand lays upon the faulted algorithm, I’ll be over here with Sports Car (send help) and Drake’s Up All Night. Just like yesterday. And the day before…
Science and Tech
It’s difficult to walk across campus - or much of London - without spotting the familiar flash of green. Lime bikes have quickly become part of the city’s transport ecosystem, offering a convenient way to move between lectures, around campus, and back home after a night out. Their popularity is easy to understand: electric-assist bikes use lithium-ion batteries to power a small motor that amplifies the rider’s pedalling, and all available with a touch of a few buttons.
But like most technologies, their environmental story is a little more complicated. E-bikes produce far fewer emissions than cars or taxis, and replacing even short car journeys with cycling can significantly reduce urban carbon output. At the same time, lithium-ion batteries require energy and rare materials to produce, and shared bikes must be regularly collected, charged and redistributed across the city. The result is still far greener than most motorised transport, but not entirely impact-free.
As Lime bikes continue to multiply across London, it’s worth remembering that they’re just one option in a growing cycling landscape. Forest bikes offer a similar electric alternative, while Santander cycles provide a docked system across the capital. And, of course, there’s the simplest solution: a cheap second-hand bike of your own!
Sports
Earlier this week I attended Society Varsity: UCL vs KCL, but with societies instead of sports teams. Society Varsity showed that rivalry and community can exist beyond sport clubs, and it allowed a different group of students to get involved with the famous rivalry.
I think that all universities should start doing this for their Varsity Week because many students never get the chance to play competitive university sport, yet are very much involved with other societies and would cherish the opportunity of representing their university. Expanding Varsity would not only make university rivalries feel more representative and inclusive of actual student life, but could also help build on the rivalry between universities, helping all students feel more connected to their university.