What is the meaning behind "mysterious energy" in Paulo Coelho's book The Alchemist? I feel like he means superstition in a sense, but I'm not...

In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, Melchizedek, the King of Salem, is speaking with the boy about how to obtain one's Personal Legend. One's Personal Legend is fulfilling one's full potential in life. For Santiago, he must find his treasure at the Egyptian pyramids as told to him in a dream. He must go on a journey, though, and this journey is where he discovers more about himself than just searching for treasure. Melchizedek explains that one's Personal Legend is different for everyone and we all know what it is when we are children. However, the following eventually occurs:

"But as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend. . . It's a force that appears to be negative, but actually shows you  how to realize your Personal Legend. It prepares your spirit and your will, because there is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are. . . when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth" (21-22).

The above passage helps to complete the "mysterious force" thought by connecting it to the soul of the universe. The mysterious force seems negative, which can be construed as something evil to some, but it's really the person facing his or her challenge--and that can feel like fear, superstitions, negativity, doubt, or any other repressive feeling if it is translated incorrectly. The soul of the universe originates in a person's deepest desires, and when a person actually connects with the language of the universe, they feel that mysterious force. People who face this "force" or "energy" are really being challenged to pursue their full potential. Some people hide from it; some people say they will go after it later in life; some disregard it and submit to living a "safe" life; and others accept the challenge and proceed on their journey to discover their Personal Legends.

What does Miss Gates say does not happen in this country and does happen in Germany?

Miss Gates is the teacher Scout gets in the fall following the Tom Robinson case. Miss Gates asks the class to bring in Current Events articles to present and discuss. Scout says that some of the kids brought advertisements because most didn't understand what a Current Event was. Cecil Jacobs, on the other hand, brought in an article about Hitler's treatment of Jews at the time. Children ask her how Hitler can do that and Miss Gates first teaches them that the United States is a democracy and Germany is a dictatorship. Then Miss Gates says a very blind, ironic and hypocritical statement, as follows:

"Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. . . There are no better people in the world than the Jews, and why Hitler doesn't think so is a mystery to me"(245).

In a round-about way, Miss Gates is suggesting that prejudice exists in Germany and not in America. However, Miss Gates does not say this explicitly; she just says that Americans don't believe in it. The whole scene is ironic because prejudice feelings and events abound in Maycomb County, U.S.A., but of course, that topic isn't touched in class.

What were the reasons for Shylock's loneliness in Merchant of Venice?

There's not much reason to believe that Shylock is truly lonely in “The Merchant of Venice”, maybe a better word to describe his position in Venetian society is “isolated”. Shylock is isolated because he is a Jew and the Jewish society of Venice at the time was cut off by law from the Christian society and was only permitted to deal with them in very specific ways: they were forced to live in a separate ghetto to which they had to return at night and be locked in until morning, and they were only allowed to work as moneylenders, they were prohibited from holding any other kind of job. Shylock has many connections to other members of the Jewish community, though; in fact the Jewish community in the play is portrayed as being closely knit. There’s his daughter Jessica, of course, and also his friend Tubal who we meet in Act Three, and there are many references throughout the play to other Jewish friends and business associates both in Venice and abroad. The Jews are forced to live separated from Christian Venice, however, and at critical moments that leaves Shylock very isolated, particularly in the trial scene when he is surrounded by Christians and facing a biased and hostile Christian judge.

`sin(pi/12)cos(pi/4) + cos(pi/12)sin(pi/4)` Find the exact value of the expression.

You need to recognize the formula sin(a+b) = sin a*cos b + sin b*cos a. You need to put `a = pi/12` and `b = pi/4 ` , such that:

`sin(pi/12 + pi/4) = sin (pi/12 ) *cos (pi/4)+ sin (pi/4)cos (pi/12 )`

`sin (4pi/12)= sin (pi/12 ) *cos (pi/4)+ sin (pi/4)cos (pi/12)`

`sin (pi/3) = sin (pi/12 ) *cos (pi/4)+ sin (pi/4)cos (pi/12)`

`sin (pi/12 ) *cos (pi/4)+ sin (pi/4)cos (pi/12) = sqrt3/2`

Hence, the given expression could be evaluated as the sine of the sum of angles `pi/12` and `pi/4,` such that `sin (pi/3) = sin (pi/12 ) *cos (pi/4)+ sin (pi/4)cos (pi/12) = sqrt3/2`

Prior to the health care reform that was passed in 2010, the government’s role in health care was limited to A. Medicare and Medicaid. B....

Of these answers, the best answer is to say that the federal government’s involvement in health care before 2010 was limited to Medicare and Medicaid.  This is not really true as the federal government was involved in many other ways such as regulating various aspects of the industry, but it is the closest to being correct.

Medicare is a federal government entitlement that is mostly concerned with providing health insurance to people over the age of 65.  Medicaid is a program that helps people pay for health care if they have low incomes.  It is run jointly by the national government and the states.

The national government was involved with both of these programs long before 2010.  This means that Option C is wrong.  Option D refers to an old name for a welfare program, not a health care program.  The US has never had universal health care so Option B is not right either.  For these reasons, Option A is the best answer. 

In "There Will Come Soft Rains," where are the human beings?

In “There Will Come Soft Rains,” there are no human beings still alive in the story.  As a matter of fact, the only things we see of them are their “painted” shadows on the wall after a nuclear war.  Supposedly, a nuclear blast will imprint the shadow of someone against a wall if they are in a certain radius of the explosion. This phenomenon was first seen with the dropping of the bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  The only thing still alive (and not for long) is the family dog that somehow survived the catastrophe.  He comes to the door wanting to be let in and fed but, unfortunately, dies.  The robot mice sweep him right up, and he is incinerated in the basement.

It is ironic that the technology that controlled the family’s life and provided them with an easy lifestyle is the very same technology that killed them.  The technology lived on without the family until the very end when fire destroys the last house standing in the city. 

`2x - y = 0, x - y = 7` Solve the system of linear equations and check any solutions algebraically.

EQ1: 2x-y=0

EQ2: x-y=7

To solve this system of equations, let's apply substitution method. Let's isolate the x in the second equation.

`x - y=7`

`x=7+y`

Then, plug-in this to the first equation.

`2x - y=0`

`2(7+y)-y = 0`

And solve for y.

`14+2y-y=0`

`14+y=0`

`y=-14`

Now that the value of y is known, solve for x. Let's plug-in y=-14 to the second equation.

`x -y=7`

`x-(-14)=7`

`x+14=7`

`x=7-14`

`x=-7`

To check, plug-in x=-7 and y=-14 to one of the original equations. Let's use the first equation.

`2x-y=0`

`2(-7) - (-14)=0`

`-14 + 14=0`

`0=0 `   (True)

Therefore, the solution is (-7,-14).