Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas--Not Less

Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas--Not Less by Alex Epstein

Alex Epstein argues that we have a moral obligation to support  fossil fuels in order to have humanity flourish. He argues that while emissions can impact the climate, the damage they cause is overshadowed by the gains humanity receives. Most of the argument to reduce carbon focuses on the harm without looking at the positive. If there were no positives, there would be no justification for using fossil fuels at all now. However, there are positives and we don't have any alternatives that can provide the benefit they provide. There is also confusion on adoption of policies, with some of the best non-carbon energy sources (nuclear and hydro) being attacked, while intermittent sources like solar and wind are subsidized. The climate research framework and reporting is willing to bend the facts to support an anti-fossil fuel agenda. The focus is on harm rather than benefits. Even as weather and climate related deaths have plummeted, reporting declares any incident as being climate change related. There is very little reporting on positive response to increased temperatures. Estimates of negative impact are also significantly underreported. Many advocates are seeking to eliminate any human impact rather than doing what is best for people.

It is easy to see the hyperbole and inconsistencies of climate change. Every heat wave of forest fire is declared to be a symptom of climate change (even if the problem had nothing to do with climate.)  Plastic straws and shopping bags are replaced by paper ones. Electric cars are mandated instead of gas. These are "swap in" solutions that may be a little less convenient, but feel better for the environment - even if they actually require more energy to produce. "Others" are encouraged to skip fossil fuels. We have low flush toilets that may need to be flushed a few times, high efficiency dishwashers that require more handwashing and other "improvements" that have limited value. 

If we really want to reduce energy use, we need to reduce it. The cheats are not going to cut it. We need to allow cities to be built in a way that people can walk instead of drive. We need to be "smaller" and produce less waste. If we are not willing to use less energy, then making changes is just rounding errors. Wind and Solar are "green", but they require disturbing the environment with their placement and the transmission lines needed. They also need backups, which can require moreland and possibly fossil fuel.

The books simple argument is that we should focus on what is best for humanity. With that model, fossil fuels are required. No other fuel is close to providing similar benefits. Others may have some limited benefit, but all have challenges. Things get a bit slow in the middle of the book, before the end presents ways to argue the point. 

Against Democracy

Against Democracy by Jason Brennan

Democracy enables everyone to have a say. This is both a feature and a bug. Everybody has a vote, but not everybody has a clue as to what they are doing. Many frequently vote against their own best interests - often because they don't have any idea how their votes impact them. They would be better off if they did not vote. It is not worth the investment to become more knowledgeable. Encouraging people to become involved and vote generally makes things worse. (As a thought experiment, how would Black activists feel if we could wave a magic wand and make all Black voters vote in all election? ... if it had the side effect of always having them vote for MAGA Republicans?)

The author explores different types of voters. "Hobbits" are uninformed. "Hooligans" are highly partisan and passionate, but generally clueless.  "Vulcans" dispassionately analyze and choose what is best. A nation of Vulcans would produce great results, but alas we have mostly Hobbits and Hooligans. People are often attached to a particular party and favor people that way and will even vote if out of their best interest.

Other systems may provide better results. Epistocracy is a potential system where the most knowledgeable rule. We could provide additional votes for those with more education or who have passed a civics test. Or we could randomly pick from among the people that had shown basic knowledge. (Though there are questions on how the demonstration of knowledge can be made - one proposal is to have that democratically produced. People often have a strong idea of how they should act, they just don't necessarily act that way.)  There are other ways that could also be explored that would be improvements on democracy. Is there a will to adopt anything better?

Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies

Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

I had read this back when it came out. There have been many that contradicted the argument since then. However, the general research and arguments are still quite convincing. He argues that factors in the natural environment play a big role in the development of cultures. When there is a large connected region across similar climates, the agricultural knowledge can easily be shared. When there are barriers in between, sharing is a much slower process. Some areas had many plants and animals that were ready for domestication, while other places did not. There was one example from polynesia where one culture advanced significantly beyond another after a period of separation. Through history cultures that were more advanced were able to dominate those that were not.

Memoirs of Hadrian

Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar translated by Grace Frick

The Roman emperor Hadrian was a real man. This book contains many accurate events of his life wrapped in a fictional narrative addressed to his successor. This brings the emperor to life in a way that a simple non-fiction work cannot.

Dark Matter: A Novel

Dark Matter: A Novel by Blake Crouch

A middling professor gets abducted and beat up, but not killed. When he comes to, he relies he has been out for some time. The world seems about the same, but some things are different. His house is still his, however, there is no sign of his wife or child. He discovers that he decided to focus on his work instead of getting married. His work led him to some great discoveries and positions at elite universities before going to work for a private company. There he discovered ways of traveling into different realities. However, he had been missing for some time. He realizes it was the him from the future that had abducted him and they had now swapped lives. The book alternates stories of the two lives of the same man, but focuses on the original one. (The version of himself that had abducted him is now living the laid-back family life.) 

The original version of the professor is now treated as insane and involuntary committed, but escapes. He is also chased by members of his company. He teams up with a psychologist and explores alternate realities. One is a Utopian version of Chicago with high-tech L trains. Others are dystopian. The book concludes with many versions of the man encountering each other. What would happen if we could go back and see how things would turn out if we went down different paths? What if a version of us from one path went back to travel down a version of the other?

When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency

When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency by Anna Zivarts

One third of the residents of the US cannot drive. Our transportation infrastructure is built for drivers, thus disenfranchising a huge section of the population. Often the "solution" is to try to provide ways for them to be driven, rather than provide overall mobility. Young children are expected to be driven by their parents. The elderly are expected to be provided for by a caregiver. Undocumented immigrants are offered driver's licenses. Those that are poor are given subsidies. Those with disabilities are given expensive adaptations to support driving or expected to get others to help them.

A better solution would be to steer away from car dependency and allow universal mobility. However, transportation policies that make things a little bit better for drivers make things difficult or impossible for non-drivers. Wide streets with distant crossings make it difficult to cross. This is made worse when there are no sidewalks or safe walking places along the side. Transit systems are often designed by people who don't use them. Schedules and transfer can be difficult, with routes not necessarily going when or where needed. It is treated as generous charity rather than a legitimate means of transit. Sidewalks are often an afterthought. They may be il-maintained or missing altogether. Curb cuts could be missing. Construction may block sections.

This book points out many of the challenges faced by non-drivers. However, it goes a bit to far in the identity politics. Do we really need to focus on the race or ethnicity of non-drivers? It would be better to focus on universal needs rather than narrow the focus to small subgroups. Everyone is young or old at some point in their lives. Many have disabilities or even injuries that limit mobility. Most people have had some time in their lives when it was difficult to make ends meet. These universal experiences could serve as a better point for building this universal coalition. What if we changes the mindset. Instead of accommodating people, we built the infrastructure for them and then accommodated cars? This can enable freedom of mobility for all.

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick

This book takes a balanced view of AI. It is here. It can help us do a lot of powerful things. It will also cause a lot of changes. It can succeed at many complex tasks, yet can stumble at seemingly easy tasks. It likes to please, and will "hallucinate" to provide answers we want. We need to stay involved to make sure it doesn't spin out of control. Education and work will change. We still don't know the limits of AI. Maybe it will get much better. Maybe we are near it's limit now. There can also be many negative and positive outcomes. It will require work to be on the good side.

Pachinko

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Pachinko tells the story of multiple generations of a Korean family in the 20th century. There is somewhat of a rags to riches story as they rise from great poverty in Korea to respectability in Japan. However, it is not quite that simple. Koreans were looked down upon by the Japanese in both Japan and Korea. During the occupation, Koreans were treated poorly at home and at Japan. Afterwards, they were still not treated well. They were not Japanese, even though they lived for decades in Japan. As a young girl, Sunja was impregnated by an older married Korean from Japan (Koh Hansu). She didn't want to be a mistress and took up a pastor's offer to marry her. She moved with him to Japan where he had Korean expatriate family. Koh continued to keep an eye on the family and clandestinely helped them out - but the help often ended up being a faustian bargain with negative things happening. (For example, his son with the woman ran off and did well while posing as a Japanese. Once his family found out, he committed suicide.) The story goes through World War II and includes a family member getting harmed by the atomic bombs. The family builds up businesses, including Pachinko parlors. Some later generations are educated in America. However some of the relationships continue to haunt them. The characters lived through key events in modern Korean history as commoners. The characters have roots in Pyongyang, they live through World War II and the Korean War. However, they do not control the events nor have much active participation. They are just trying to live their lives. 

Hunger

Hunger by Knut Hamsun translated by George Egerton

The protagonist of Hunger is a true starving artist. He had a falling out with his landlord and is forced to leave his apartment. He now has no place to live and is just wandering the streets. He has a manuscript he has worked on that he sends to the publisher that he hopes will provide him something. He remembers others that he has helped before. However, he is too prideful to accept handouts from them (or even ask for something in return.) The police send him to a homeless shelter. However, he is too prideful to ask for a meal ticket like the others have. This type of cycle repeats many times. He comes really close to getting food or money, but his pride gets in the way. He doesn't see himself as in need, so is reluctant to take. He even asks for a "dog bone" and tries to chew of the mea (only to throw it back up.)

A society can have many resources available. However, they don't help if people are unwilling to use them. Those that have been able to contribute to society may be the least likely to accept that they are now in a position of need. 

Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America

Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America by Chris Murphy

Chris Murphy is a Democrat and is upset with what Trump has done to the presidency. However, rather than jump into partisan attacks, he looks at the root cause. Trump is able to tap into resentment felt by many in America. The town where people know each other and work together has been replaced by a homogenous culture. People don't have the community and the desire for the common good. People are much more siloed. Community organizations and churches are much less present.

He sees the problems as many "cults". Cult of Profit, Cult of Globalism, Cult of Technology, Cult of Consumption, Cult of Credentialism, Cult of Corruption. Given his political leaning he left out the "Cult of Other" - the look for somebody else (like the government) to solve the problems. He tries very hard to be politically neutral, and for the most part succeeds, though the partisanship does occasionally eek out.

In one section, he stated that he would like for the government not to provide any services dependent on income. He was focussing on "fast lanes", but it would be a great idea for all services. There is a huge application needed to apply for low-income housing or rent assistance. Other resources require regular validation that you are in fact poor. This is demeaning and encourages one to keep income low to maintain benefits. What if we just provided everything to everyone? The administration costs would go down. The negative aspects would go away. It would cost more, but everyone would benefit from it. It is similar to the public library. Wealthy people could just buy the books (and many do.) However, everyone has access to the library regardless of how much they earn. What if we did that with our many other programs? Instead of charging low-income bus riders $1 and everyone else $3, just charge everyone $1. Provide basic health care for everyone. Provide free school lunch for everyone. Eliminate anything that requires you to validate that you are poor to receive some benefit. The rich would need to pay a little more in taxes. The middle class would probably be a wash. Administration costs would go down. There would also be incentive for everyone to make the system better. There would also eliminate the "income penalty". There is more incentive for people to earn more above-board. Alas, things are moving in the opposite direction. Washington even started a "low income toll", where low-income people pay less. This is like butting a band-aid on a broken arm.

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert

Humans of gone to great effort to engineer nature to their designs. While this has often worked well in the short term, the long term is quite a different story. There are many cases of plants or animals that were introduced to help with a local issue, only to have caused even greater issues. People have also built many structures to combat one problem only to have another problem surface. The water control structures in Louisiana have helped prevent floods (when they work). Yet, the floods are what deposited sediment to keep the land.

After discussing the many unintended consequences of engineering the planet, the book pivots to climate change. We have spewed so much carbon into the atmosphere that we are impacting the climate. By some accounts, even if we stop all carbon emissions we are still on a bad path. That leaves reducing carbon in the air as a potential solution. How could that go wrong? The book first explores various carbon sequestering schemes in a positive light. Then puts on the cautious hat. Humanity does not have a good record looking at all the long-term consequences and impacts of the big projects. Alas, we are still continuing down the route. Will switching to electric cars really make a difference when the freeways themselves are impacting ecosystems? Could carbon captures just encourage more bad behavior? Or will it lead to a negative feedback loop in the other direction? Climate change does not have easy solutions.

The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics

The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics by Richard Hanania

The origins of woke is a case study in unintended consequences. What started out as civil rights legislation to end Jim Crow segregation in the south ended up encompassing many more "rights" and "identities". Many groups exist only because of the regulations. The many groups lumped together in "Hispanic" have little in common other than the Spanish language. (And even that can be very different.) However, they are combined together into the "Hispanic" classification. New identities have sprung up. Many more people have disabilities. Trial lawyers have become some of the greatest beneficiaries. Should they win against companies, they can collect fees. If they lose, the company cannot collect legal fees. Thus, companies are often willing to settle even somewhat frivolous cases.

Title IX is a bizarre case of unintended consequences on top of others. Original protection for women was added to civil rights legislation an attempt to scuttle it. It stayed. Then later through judicial fiat, equity of roster spots was required in college sports. It did not matter if women wanted to compete or not. (In fact, cheerleading was declared not a sport, despite it being something that women wanted.) A strict equality was enforced and many men's sports were dropped. Interestingly, this was applied to sports, yet not academic or arts programs. (Perhaps they were prescient in guessing how sports would dominate society.)

Judges are not the only ones to expand the definition. There are many executive orders that apply to policies for government contractors. There are no quotas, but many things that might as well be quotas. It is expected that people match their local population that can be even worse than quotas. There is a lot of "good intentions" in much of the policies. However, it has resulted in a whole "human resources" industry that is now dependent on the existing policies. There has been an industry built up around the policies making them difficult to take away without sound heartless. Yet the policies provide more difficult than benefit. The solution is hard to find.

Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World

Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar

It depressing to read about how car parking space took over our cities. Parking sucked livelihood out of cities. Those that sought to play the "suburban" game ended up most bombed out. Most communities adopted very precise parking standards that had no basis in reality. They were pretty much pulled out of thin air and propagated. The end result was massing overproduction of parking that needlessly drives up the price of all real estate. The cost of parking that a car occupies is greater than the cost of of the car. The solution is tough. People get upset when the "free" parking is taken away. However, cost is the best way to regulate supply and demand. Typically when people complain about "no parking" there is plenty of parking available nearby, though it may be more costly or restricted to other users. Parking requirements have become one of the last remaining venues for bigots to fight housing. When parking requirements are fully removed, the market does not demand as much parking. Is there any hope for a future of American cities built for people rather than cars?

The Money Illusion: Market Monetarism, the Great Recession, and the Future of Monetary Policy

The Money Illusion: Market Monetarism, the Great Recession, and the Future of Monetary Policy by Scott Sumner

This book had interesting somewhat counter-intuitive views of the impacts of monetary policy. I didn't fully grasp all the details, but felt it could be a good way to look at things. "Easy" money is a key way that the government can help the economy. However, interest rates are often only a part of this. Often the anticipation of rates can be more critical than the actual rates set themselves. Common explanations we hear of for economic crashes are often side correlations. For instance, housing production had already stalled before the great recession. Some "fixes" may also make matters worse. (Encouraging unions and high wages at the start of the Great Depression likely stalled employment gains and production.) Macroeconomics uses the same terminology as microeconomics to describe something very different. Getting the right policies in place can help keep things humming along well, while the wrong policies can make things worse.

The author is very cautious about his beliefs. While he holds them strongly, he also feels that common culture is not likely to take them up until ready. He also notes that "liberal economics" will almost always "win", though the definition of "liberal economics" is always changing. Could we really keep the economy moving around nicely for a long term? Or would the thought of bubbles and crashes mean they must occur?

Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things

Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things by Dan Ariely

During Covid, Dan Ariely got attacked by those opposed to Covid policy. He had given some satirical discussion about healthcare that were taken out of context and used as bait. His "half beard" made him recognizable and subject to ridicule by those that did not like current Covid policy. Many of these people would latch on to "conspiracy theories" and could not be convinced otherwise. Ariely attempted to find out what drove people to believe irrational things.

There seemed to be a pattern to "misbelief." People would start with some objection. They may feel wronged or didn't like how things were happening. Then they would go online and after a few searches they would find some sites that seemed to support their position. Then they would dig deeper. Other sources would provide deeper validation. These would often start with some degree of credibility, but be missing certain features of respectability. (It may be something that looks like a medical organization, but is actually just a propaganda group.) Then people find their community. Others support their belief and provide the support they need. The community members often have an outward portrayal of intellectual humility, but inwardly are not willing to change their own mind, but they want others to change their mind. They see others that change their mind or even align with the enemy as outcasts. That makes them unwilling to change their own minds even if they realize they may be mistaken.

The book focuses on the fringe misbelievers. However, the same symptoms are present throughout society. Even in science, the orthodoxy may be insular and not intellectually humble enough to accept changes. Most conspiracy theories start with at least some grain of truth. When mainstream thought accepts falsehoods as a way of getting its point across it opens up the conflict. During the outset of Covid, government officials initially said masks were not useful and that schools should stay open. Later officials pivoted, despite the science not changing. Officials knew that masks helped slow the spread, but used falsehoods to preserve the supply. They also knew it was best to keep schools open due to past pandemic experience. However, they ended up closing them in the name of stopping the spread more due to emotional appeals. "Science" was used to back up what were primarily political decision. Science against the orthodoxy was discredited. This forced many "underground" and did more to harm outcomes. (If the government had lied about lockdowns, why trust them regarding vaccines?) Today, we often see any extreme weather event blamed on climate change even if there is not justification. Is this attempt of public persuasion just enabling climate change denial?

The Science of Second Chances: A Revolution in Criminal Justice

The Science of Second Chances: A Revolution in Criminal Justice by Jennifer Doleac

We are wasting a lot of time and money with criminal justice policies that don't work. Meanwhile, cheap solutions are staring us in the face and not being followed. The author is an equal opportunity critic, with many favorite right wing and left wing policies criticized. Mostly using natural experiments, she studies various measures and finds those that work and those that don't work. Most of the results seem counter-intuitive, such as the fact that children of incarcerated parents tend to be better off than children in similar situations where the parent is not incarcerated.

Left wing policies to help those stuck in the crime cycle often do not help. Baning the job application "checkbox" for crimianl convications makes it harder for ex-cons to find jobs, especially if they are black. Heavy wrap-around programs on release result in higher recidivism rates. Being "soft on crime" doesn't help the criminal or society. Right wing policies like broken-windows policing and strict monitoring and cutting off food stamp eligibility for food stamps hurt.

What helps? Letting first time offenders off easy does not disrupt their lives and results in fewer repeat offenses. Going through the process of getting arrested is often enough of a negative experience. Adding everyone to a DNA database, even after the most minor offenses also reduces the likelihood of future crimes. Electronic monitoring instead of more time in jail helps. Giving criminals more money when released and keeping them eligible for social welfare programs works. Requiring sobriety checks to maintain release encourages treatment programs.

In general, we should have consequences for criminal activity. These should be expected and consistent. They should also only escalate with repeat offenses. Prison is a huge disruption for people's lives and should be used only when needed. Very focussed efforts should be made to reintroduce them to society. On release, it is best to fully integrate in society, separate from other former prisoners. Don't try to solve all problems at once.

The proposed solutions tend to anger those vested in certain schemes. Is this a case of those benefiting from the status quo wanting to keep their funding rather than do what is best society? 

The Book of Disquiet

The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, translated by Richard Zenith

The book is structured as the random thoughts of a Portuguese bookkeeper and aspiring writer. Though the author died in 1935, this book was not published until 1982. He muses on the culture and the life, providing armchair discussions of history and philosophy. He explores the concepts of joy and culture. The religion that served as the base of society was cut down, leaving nothing much in its place. Postmodernism is seen as just "anti" without any strong coherence to itself. Are dreams or reality better? The book has little organization, but is filled with interesting thoughts.

Football

Football by Chuck Klosterman

Football is the most popular sport in the United States. It dominates the TV ratings. The USA vs. Belgium world cup soccer game was the top rated non-NFL sports broadcast, and didn't come close to NFL playoff ratings. It was even behind two Thanksgiving day broadcasts. The Super bowl is always the most popular TV broadcast. Even Canadians are more likely to watch the super bowl than the Canadian Football Grey Cup Championship. The "defects" of football work to its advantage. There is intense action and then a lot of time to figure out what happened. The full game cannot be played casually. The "casual" versions like flag football are fundamentally different.

Football's great popularity is sowing the seeds of its downfall. College football is professionalizing, reducing the strong attachments that students would have to their team. At the lower levels, the dangers are driving parents away from letting their kids play. Outside the south, high school football has become less important. Football is dominating casual fans, but not producing new die hards. It is a conservative bastion in a liberalizing world. People will eventually lose interest and move on to something else. Horse racing was once an extremely popular spectator sport. Today, it is shadow of itself with a few niche events remaining. In the past horses were part of everyone's regular life. Not so anymore. Other dangers could impact football. A death on the field remains a possibility. Sports gambling is helping to increase interest now, but could also create issues. Professional football only surpassed baseball in the 1960s as the most popular American sport. Today, soccer is closing the gap among youth. How much longer will football dominate?

A Doll House

A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen

This play was a lot better than I remember it in high school. Nora is a ditzy materialistic housewife. She seems very excited about the promotion to bank manager her husband Torvald is about to receive. He chastises her for plotting to spend it before he has started to receive it. She has three kids, but likes to have the hired-help take care of them. She likes to buy presents for others, but just presents for herself. An old friend comes to town. She has been divorced and needs a job. Nora pulls some strings with her husband to secure a job at the bank. However, this ends up causing things to unwind for her. To give a job to her friend, her husband is letting Krogstad go. Nora had received a loan from Krogstad with a forged signature from her dying father. Krogstad holds this against her. (Nora had taken out the loan to help her husband convalesce in the south.) Nora doesn't want her husband to find out. However, he reads the letter from Krogstad and flips out. He is more concerned for himself than for Nora. Then when he receives the paid off note, he is happy again. It is Nora's turn to flip out and decide she will leave them to be independent.

Nora is quite unreliable and is prone to take things to extreme. I wasn't sure that she had really taken out the loan. Was she just exaggerating to feel better with her friends? When it appeared she did take out hte loan, she went to extremes to hide it from her husband and prevent it Krogstad from doing negative things. There was a lot of toeing around issues to try to get what was needed. Then when it came to that she did it, she flipped out and decided to drop her life and not live in a "Doll House". They both seem to delight in controlling each other. There seemed to be some love in the relationship, but also some mutual manipulation. They both were most interested in caring for themselves. Nora also came from a family with some not-so-good characters. Is the rash behavior and familial abandonment just another case of this behavior? The L.A. Theater Works production was well done with some great actors. This helps the play come alive.

Boring Asian Female

Boring Asian Female by Canwen Xu

This reminded me of Best Offer Wins. In both cases, an Asian American lead is driven to succeed in the way she understands the American Dream, but goes off the rails. 

In this book, Elizabeth Zhang is in her last year at Columbia, getting ready to go to law school. She grew up in South Dakota with hard-working immigrant parents. She was the only Asian at her high school and never quite fit in. She went to Columbia because that was were the snobby elite in a TV show went. She had her mind set on attending Harvard Law school to achieve the life of wealth and prosperity that other classmates seemed to have. Then she learns she didn't get into Harvard Law, or any law school other than Georgetown. She also hears that another Asian female, got into Columbia. When Elizabeth talks with the pre-law advisor, the. feedback is that she has a good application, but that she is a "boring" Asian female. Then she seadil goes off the deep end.

She is convinced that Laura stole the spot at Harvard Law. She starts stalking Laura. She impersonates a high schooler to learn more about Laura. She even asks to be called Laura when making love. Then things get worse. She hatches a plan to get Laura's admission rescinded. She publishes an anonymous far-right blog in a way that would be identified as Laura. However, people eventually trace it to the male student whose login she used to publish it. He ends up dropping out of school, only to later become a right wing commentator. Elizabeth finds out she is pregnant. After getting money from the guy for an abortion, she decides instead to have the kid, so she can be less boring. She later sneaks into Laura's dorm, but Laura comes home (with limited mental functionality due to substance use.) After Laura finally realizes everything Elizabeth has done, Elizabeth sprayed her with pepper spray and got away. Laura dies from the spray. (she had a heart condition). Elizabeth showed no remorse, and was fine when another girl was charged with the manslaughter death. Elizabeth has a miscarriage. She later impersonates Laura in the Harvard law admit group. She has a big breakdown when the group calls her out as not being a real future student. After recovering, she gets a call from Harvard, letting her know there was an error with her score reporting and that she was now being offered a spot. 

Previously, Harvard said the decision was final and there was no way to validate the data. If only they hadn't Elizabeth would not have gone wacko. However, she showed clearly that she would do anything to have her desired success. Is this really the type of person you would want? The steps seemed logical, but the results were horrid. Is this an indictment of an over-driven Asian culture? The narrative was compelling and the characters. were interesting,  though I really wanted to see her charged rather than end up with her dream.