What did John O'Sullivan mean when he used the phrase "manifest destiny"?

John O'Sullivan first used the term in 1845 in an article for the Democratic Review. In his article, he argued for the United States to annex the Republic of Texas because the United States had a divine purpose to spread across the entire continent. At the time, the nation was in the midst of a fierce debate over the direction of the nation. Many Democrats, of which O'Sullivan was one, advocated a vision first articulated by Andrew Jackson which was rooted in conquest and territorial expansion. On the other side, Whigs advocated moral and social reform, not imperialism, and therefore opposed annexing Texas and the war with Mexico. Abraham Lincoln, who was a young lawyer at the time, fell into this camp.

O'Sullivan believed the United States had a destiny not only to spread its borders but to bring its people and to "civilize" the lands inhabited by Indians and Mexicans by spreading liberty through representative government. 

In what ways are the bowed-out shape of the production possibilities curve and the law of increasing opportunity cost related?

The shape of the production possibilities curve (PPC) is caused by the law of increasing opportunity costs.  If opportunity costs did not increase, PPCs would be straight lines.

The law of increasing opportunity costs says that, as you produce more of one good or service, you have to give up more of another good or service.  In other words, when you start to increase production of Good A, you do not have to give up that much of Good B for every new unit of Good A that you produce.  However, as you continue to increase production, your opportunity costs increase and you give up more of Good B for each new unit of Good A that you produce.  This is because some of your resources are equally useful for making Goods A and B while others are much better for one or the other.

For example, imagine that you are running a restaurant and you have lots of cooks in your kitchen.  Some of them make desserts and some of them make main dishes.  Now let us say that your customers’ tastes change and they want fewer main dishes and more desserts.  At first, this is easy to provide.  Some of your cooks are pretty good at both kinds of food so you don’t give up that many desserts for each new main dish that you produce.  But as you move more and more towards desserts, things get worse.  You have some cooks who were really good at making main dishes and could make many of them in a short amount of time, but who are really bad at making desserts and take a long time.   When you switch those cooks to desserts, you give up lots of main dishes and only get few desserts in return.  Your opportunity costs have risen because you have gotten to the point where your resources (the cooks) are much better at producing one good than the other.

This is why a PPC bows out.  In the middle ranges of the PPC, resources are just about equally good for making either thing (PPCs show tradeoffs between making two things or kinds of things), so the opportunity cost for switching is low.  However, as you reach the ends of the graph, you get into resources that are only really good for one thing or the other.  As you switch those resources, you give up a lot of one product to get only a little bit of the other.  In this way, the law of increasing opportunity costs causes a PPC to have a bowed-out shape.

Do the arts have an important role within modern day Britain?

The arts certainly have a large impact on modern day Britain. Though the days  of Shakespeare are long past, theatre continues to play a huge part in shaping British culture. For one, the United Kingdom's legacy of theatre culture draws millions of tourists every year. In addition to great achievement in theatrical arts, the British Museum houses one of largest collections of art and cultural artifacts in the world. 

Just like any other nation in the world, art serves as a leisure activity for many, a living for some, and certainly has an impact on all people. Whether intentional or not, art sends messages that are interpreted and integrated by the person who views, hears, or touches it. Even advertisements are art, and in London one can hardly escape the adverts posted on the sides of buildings, buses, and on billboards. Art has played a huge part in shaping the national identity of Great Britain, and many British people cite great works of art and artists as being formative to their identity as a Brit.

What makes Fortunato fall prey to Montresor's murderous plot?

In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "Cask of Amontillado" Montresor plots to murder Fortunato for an "insult" which is never revealed. Montresor chooses the time of Carnival to carry out the deed. Carnival is the celebration just before the fasting and abstinence of the Christian observance of Lent in anticipation of Easter. Carnival literally means a farewell to meat. 

Amid the chaos of the celebration Montresor lures Fortunato to his palazzo. Montresor knows his servants won't be around because they are out celebrating. He also knows that Fortunato will be a little drunk and that the man will not question the sincerity of Montresor's invitation. Montresor says,

It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my in to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my to smile now was at the thought of his immolation.

In order to get Fortunato to go into the catacombs where he later meets his demise, Montresor plays on the man's "connoisseurship in wine." Montresor tells Fortunato that he has a "pipe of Amontillado" and he needs his expert opinion. Partly because Fortunato has already been drinking he is quite interested in the fine vintage.

Montresor further entices the man by saying he can always confer with another supposed expert if Fortunato is too busy. Fortunato has disdain for the other expert, further playing into Montresor's hands. Montresor says,

"As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me --"

"Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry."

"And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own.

"Come, let us go."

"Whither?"

"To your vaults."

"My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement. Luchresi--"

"I have no engagement; --come."

As they descend into the vaults where the wine is stored, Montresor continues to discourage Fortunato by saying it's too cold, the walls are covered in nitre (a salty substance that accumulates in underground caverns) and he fears for Fortunato's health, quite ironic considering what is in store for the man. Montresor does this to disguise his true plan to bring the man to the end of the catacombs, chain him and brick him into the wall, never to be heard from again. 

To this means Montresor also offers more drink to his victim until Fortunato is quite inebriated: "He turned towards me, and looked into my eyes with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication." 

In a final irony Fortunato asks Montresor if he is of the "Masons." The term mason has two meanings. Masons, or freemasons, could be a fraternal order or they could simply be those workers who build with masonry. When asked, Montresor reveals the trowl he plans to use to wall up Fortunato deep in the catacombs below the palazzo.

Who are the "Termites?"

Stanford University professor Lewis Terman launched a major psychological study of gifted children in the 1920s. He found 1,470 California children whose IQs averaged more than 140. These “young geniuses” became known as “Termites,” because of the researcher’s surname. For the rest of his life – and theirs -- Professor Terman followed and studied these individuals. After they reached adulthood and got jobs, he divided them into groups he called A, B, and C, depending on the types of work they did and how successful they had become. Terman found that even the smartest people needed a supportive community around them, or a cultural legacy, in order to get the best jobs and to succeed in life. Their birth years also factored in to their chances for advancement.

Gladwell refers to the Terman study three times: in the chapters “The Trouble with Geniuses,” parts 1 and 2, and in “The Three Lessons of Joe Flom.”

What are the origins of literature?

I think from very early on, human beings have been storytellers in one form or another.  They told stories of their lives, they created stories to explain the natural phenomena around them, and they created stories of heroes and heroines.  To be human is to imagine, and to be human is to create a narrative of one's world and one's life. Before they had writing, humans told stories in the form of pictures, for example, in cave paintings, and probably in rhyme, since the rhythm of poetry made it easier to remember a story. Once people acquired writing, they used writing to keep records, certainly, but they also used writing to tell their stories.  The oldest writings in the world that we know of are from the Middle East and go back to approximately 2600 BC.  These include poetry and stories. It is possible that there is earlier written literature, but none has been found so far.  So, the origins of literature are to some degree lost in the mists of time, but we do know that people have been telling stories from their earliest days and will continue to do so as long as humans exist as a species. 

What are some quotes ( and page numbers ) from Lord of the Flies that shows Simon's personality?

Page numbers are going to be difficult.  I don't know which version of the book that you have, so chances are that my page numbers and yours won't match up perfectly.  I can get you relatively close though.  

Page 72 in my text.  For sure in chapter 3. Here is the quote:

"They talk and scream. The littluns. Even some of the others. As if—"

"As if it wasn't a good island."

Astonished at the interruption, they looked up at Simon's serious face.

"As if," said Simon, "the beastie, the beastie or the snake-thing, was real. Remember?"

Simon is a tough character to analyze.  I've always thought he was more weird than anything else.  I mean he's always saying some weird things.  Of course that makes sense since Golding is presenting Simon as a sort of prophet figure.  There is no doubt that Simon knows things.  He knows them by feelings first, but his feelings are always confirmed.  He is the first boy to realize that the beast is both real and fake at the same time.  It's not a real physical beast; the beast is the power for destruction in all of them. The above quote is Simon already hinting that the island itself might be making very real monsters of a sort.  

Page 159.  Chapter 7

“You’ll get back to where you came from.”

Returning to what I said earlier about Simon being a prophet of sorts is this quote.  Simon is talking to Ralph about getting off of the island.  Simon actually says the above multiple times in a few variations, but it is always the same in concept.  Ralph will get home.  Simon never says "we."  In a way, Simon is predicting a future outcome that is, in his mind, absolute.  Ralph will live, Simon will die.