So the ban on whaling in Oklahoma (Oklahoma!) may be the
most bizarre law in the U.S., but some laws here in Michigan are
still pretty darn weird.
2B
Magazine Editor:
Ian DIllingham
Deputy Editor:
Natalie Gadbois
Design Editor:
Jake Wellins
Photo Editor:
Luna Anna Archey
Illustrator:
Megan Mulholland
Maggie Miller
Editor in Chief:
Jennifer Calfas
Managing Editor:
Lev Facher
Copy Editors:
Hannah Bates
Laura Schinagle
Emma Sutherland
THE statement
THE LIST
IN THE BACKSEAT
Couples are banned from making love in an automobile
unless the act takes place while the vehicle is parked on the
couple’s own property.
NO HAIR, HE CARES
A woman isn’t allowed to cut her own hair without her
husband’s permission.
PANCAKE SYRUP DAY?
Known to few, throughout the state the last Sunday of
every June is known as “Log Cabin Day.”
DAILY VIDEO: ARE YOU HAPPY?
BUZZFEED, BUT BETTER
FIVE STRANGEST LAWS IN MI
HOOP THERE IT IS
In Grand Haven, no person shall throw an abandoned hoop
skirt into any street or on any sidewalk, under penalty of a
five-dollar fine.
WELL I’M SCREWED
Drunkenness on any train is prohibited within state
lines.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015 // The Statement
This week I sat in my Economics
102 lecture and learned about the
utility function: the relationship
between consumption and “happi-
ness” — conceptually measured in
fictional units called utils.
Despite pages of textbooks and
explanations from multiple pro-
fessors that economics is model-
based and not literally based, my
anti-arithmetic mind rejected this
form of measurement. How could a
small graph and equation quantify
human happiness?
But beyond this resistance, I
questioned why and when and since
when did humans feel the need for
this type of economic organization.
And if humans felt the need for eco-
nomic organization, at what point
did humans desire a moral — or
in some people’s eyes, religious —
organization?
Humans organized economi-
cally in the early 18th century when
Nicholas Bernoulli theorized the
decision-making patterns of con-
sumers. Between Adam Smith,
John Maynard Keynes and hun-
dreds of others, economics has
evolved, but always continued to
provide humans with a structure of
looking at their world.
When humans were nomadic,
they found a spirit in everything
they interacted with: the river, the
sun, powerful animals, great lead-
ers and themselves. The earliest
form of religion was through imi-
tation of the things they admired.
They found these concepts so pur-
poseful that they were driven to
imitate them as a form of guidance
for survival.
In his book, “A Man’s Search for
Meaning,” Viktor Frankl chroni-
cles his experience in concentra-
tion camps during World War II.
He observes that those who found
meaning in their daily routine,
despite their dire circumstances,
were the ones who preserved and
survived.
Karen Armstrong, a former
Roman Catholic nun, wrote in her
book “A History of God” about the
evolution of three monotheistic
religions: Judaism, Christianity
and Islam. One observation that she
makes is that the three religions, all
in their own way, believe God is a
figure that gives humans this type
of purpose. The line of thinking
translates to: God made you for a
reason.
Humans across generations have
found that religion gives them a
purpose. Though, in some ways, I
believe this sounds as if religion is
a social crutch, there is no denying
that it is also a tool that motivates
humans to think about their mor-
als, their ethics and their purpose
here on earth.
If religion grants purpose and if
a concept of purpose grants a suc-
cessful life, then, like economic
utils, fictional religious utils hold a
valuable place in our world too.
From the Pews: A religious util?
B Y C L A I R E B R YA N
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
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