The Collected Writings

Reflections from 2034 : On The Social Network Boom Cameron Byerly Published in St. John's Epoch, October 2016 In those idyllic years before The War, when both the millennia and I were reaching our teens, a cultural explosion rocked the world. The Social Network Boom, as it is now called, was to human communication what the American Gold Rush was to westward expansion; it completely engulfed the public’s imagination, and thrust those fully romanced unto uncharted territory. It was a fascinating and chaotic time; its madcap experimentation would create the spine of modern communication and thought. And yet, there is little discussion today as to how this Boom began, how it existed, and what factors would cause it to, inevitably, end.   To fully understand this dramatic adolescence from past to present, one has to know what the world was before, and what the world has become nearly 20 years later. The beginning point of The Boom, ignoring its failed precursors, was once...

On the Assassination of JFK By Cameron Byerly July 4, 2016 I guarded lives for several years. More accurately, I was a lifeguard. I managed chlorine levels and provided an atmosphere of safety. The hours often burned, so it was pleasant to cool off in the water during shifts. And no matter how many years I’d do this, or how refreshing the result, I would think the same words every time the water rose over my chest. ‘Why would I do this to myself?’ The question has become a familiar... maybe personal ' δαίμων' would be a fair description for Johnnies (with apologies to Freshman, The Apology is a few months away) . Self-inflicted discomfort always brings it about. In the case of jumping in a pool, the question of ‘why’ has an easy answer, but in all other moments of pure reaction, when all thought is the doctor’s needle in the arm, this familiar little spirit is a knee-jerk reply to life’s many mallets. So when watching the footage of John F. Kennedy’s ...

My two younger brothers have a youtube channel, The Byerz Bros , which is home to many simple videos which demonstrate charming action sequences and sketches. I have contributed to some in production, filming, and acting, and recently I edited this simple video of my fellow college students and I sledding and falling to the music of The Blue Danube.

This Eerie, Starless Sky  - Cameron Byerly  Published in St. John College's The Gadfly February 24th, 2016 Suppose, for a moment, that I could pluck a man from Ancient Athens, and bring him to this night. Suppose that I placed him next to me, on a hill overlooking our city. I imagine that he might look above us, then down to the hundreds of lights below, and conclude that we had succeeded in stealing the stars from the sky. I wouldn't have the heart to disagree. One often forgets that light pollution is a central characteristic of our night sky. Perhaps a reasonable percentage of us have seen pictures of the sky’s appearance to hikers far from electricity, but I’ve spoken to many that have not. The stars we look to are pathetically lacking compared to the naked sky. Until the 20th century, the sky humanity slept under had thousands of stars we can no longer see. photo credit: Hong Kong 22° 17' 55'' N 2012-03-23 Lst 14:54 THIERRY COHEN/DANZIGER GALLER ...

Chess with Lucifer By Cameron Byerly Published in St. John College's The Gadfly January 12th, 2016 Part I Your God and I sat Somewhere Else , and played a game of Chess, Beneath our pieces, gently pushed, Earth groaned with man’s new stress. We watched and planned for Times to Come , And learned of Deathless Laws . We pondered deep, we spoke and wrote, And presently, took pause. “Oh King of Pain, foul Lucifer,” he called me such, in jest. “This game of ours, again, is doom’d, Man falls just as the rest.” “In all our play, the pieces rise, And mine the board beneath, Their nest, on which their lives rely, Shall spoil ‘tween their teeth.” “Same Will that rose them ‘bove the Beasts, Such pluck as we admire. Is too entrench'd to cease in time, They’re doomed in their desire.” “Agreed I am, oh Lord of Light!” I called him such, to mock. “Might I suggest new spectacle? We crave some novel shock.” “In lieu of this re...