The Grey Corner

The Well is already Dry..

2011-05-09T11:56:00.000+04:00

Earth History:

Many scientists and archeologists believe that the earth is 4.5 billion years of age, based on evidence from radiometric age dating or meteorite materials as well as the oldest-known lunar and terrestrial samples. Now over the span of all these years the climate of the earth , of course, have been changing constantly and to our knowledge these changes happened over very long periods of time that later were referred to as era’s or ages. However, the current hot topic of “global warming” and “climate change” debates whether we, humans, are causing this current global warming, thus affecting climate change around the globe.

Natural history tells us that there were lots of ice ages and warm periods that the earth went through, changing the geological features known at that time. Some happened suddenly, caused by sudden volcanic eruptions and devastating earthquakes.. But mostly some of them have happened over a long period of time.

But, for those who look closely and dig deeply in civilizations’ history and archeological findings, they will find that maybe there is more to it that we don’t quite understand.

Ancient Civilizations:

By the end of the “Golden Age” of the “Old Kingdom” of Ancient Egypt (2686 BC – 2181 BC) the King Pepi II, was the ruling Pharaoh at that time. History, based on archeological evidences including Pepi’s own tomb, shows that after Pepi II, there was nothing. Literally. There were no signs or tomb drawings, no inscriptions or anything to tell that someone else succeeded him. Of course, this was marked as the first Dark Age of Egyptian history or as archeologists like to refer to it as the “First Intermediate Period”. This period was plagued with civil wars, famine, diseases and disunity across all Egypt. It is said that what caused it was a major drought in the Nile. At that time, there were no dams or other techniques to hold and reserve water, so if the main source of water disappears, the whole agricultural society will be doomed, thus the whole nation will starve to death. Now, just to make you understand how severe this would be. During the Old Kingdom times, and later eras of Egyptian history as well, the Pharaoh was considered a deity, a God, so to speak. And within his power, is everything.. Including the flow of the Nile and distributing of earth’s gifts to people. Now imagine what would happen if the people found out that they were fooled and the Pharaoh controls nothing! What would happen? An uprising that will turn the whole nation into turmoil. And that what happens after Pepi II time. A chaos that brought down the greatest and most advanced nation on earth, to the ground. Thus explaining the absence of any evidences or archeological findings related to the era of after Pepi the second. Not for a long while at least.

About the same period, another great Nation was ruling nearby, The Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia. And their fate was no different. Their country faced a similar drought that brought them to ruins. Similar to what was found in the archeological layers of mud, clay and sand discovered in the Nile, archeological findings in the Akkadian city of “Tel Leilan” shows the same findings. There was a layer of windblown sand among the layers beneath it. That means the same thing; the river there also dried up, and stayed like that for at least a hundred years.

And to cover the whole picture, the biggest desert known to man, the Sahara Desert in North Africa, was really not a desert. It was actually a vast rich area of forests and green lands, but it gradually dried up, cornering the cities closer to their rivers and seas till the great drought happened. A period which is referred to in history as the “4.2 Kiloyear Event” which started in 2200 BC and lasted for the entire 22^nd Century BC.

The Question?

Now, my question is: whether this is enough evidence that Global Warming or Climate Change is not really a man-made event..? Is it a natural cycle of planet Earth? Are the current so frequent natural disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis and so forth, are they just the shaking of the earth declaring the beginning of a new era? Did we cause it? Or is it inevitable? To be frank, neither science nor history can tell us for sure. There is no definite answer. Everything is still debatable within the halls of the scientific community.

But one thing I know for sure, is that we harm the planet unnecessarily if we are consuming more than what we need. If we are polluting the earth by dumping toxic wastes and God knows what into its oceans and rivers. We can harm our surrounding environment more than we think we can. I mean, do we really need a disaster to behave right? Do we need a tragic blow to keep our environment safe?

What we need is a cultural shift in the way we interact with nature. I don't think we're going to save anything if we go around talking about saving plants and animals only; we've got to translate that into actions that truly reflects positively on the future of the planet. Modern technology and the industrial wheel really owe ecology an apology. I’ll end this with a quote from Thomas Fuller’s Gnomologia (a collection of proverbs and adages published in 1732). “We never know the worth of water, till the well is dry”.

Life...

2010-06-21T10:44:00.000+04:00

a compilation to a friend, on Father's Day..
--------------------------------------------------------------

Life is beautiful.. or so they say..

Remember that feeling when you're free.. struggling your way into school.. making friends.. fighting enemies.. it even sounded better when you're at college.. more mature now.. sniffing around for girls.. staying up all night.. living the single life.. without any responsibilities.. but then you get bored.. you feel it's time for some real relationships.. you get more mature.. you stay loyal to one girl.. at a time.. then you end up marrying someone else..

you feel great for a while.. you think that's it.. am a happy established man..

but wait..

you start realizing some shits (that were told to you but you ignored them) are really true.. you start wondering "why wives are so annoying..?" it's like after a certain point of time, they switch to something unbearable at best..!!

at first you ignore the facts.. the signs.. "that's fine", you start to accept.. "I'll get used to it.." you’ll say.. but, again, this is marriage.. it supposed to be that way.. now you know why all those jokes are out there about husbands and wives.. about marriage.. unfortunately, it's a cage that you have to enter to know what is it about.. and once you know, you realize it's too late to get out..!! you cannot get out..! and the not-so-cool thing about it, is you pay for everything.. whether you know why you’re buying that crappy sofa, or this fuchsia curtains.. or that shiny set of glasses that no one will use.. they’ll always give you the punch line: “it looks good, honey”..!!

Something should be done to make singles aware of this.. some awareness, maybe.. a global marriage warning, perhaps..!! like those of the "global warming".. that should work..! no..? I guess, it won't.. marriage is like the army.. it sucks, but you would be amazed how thousands and thousands enroll every day..!!

the good thing though, about this whole pain called marriage, is the cute off-springs that comes out of it.. those cute little babies.. it worth every second spent in agony.. every moment in pain.. those cute little babies.. the angelic look.. the innocent face.. how beautiful they look when they're asleep..! when they fool around.. when they laugh.. when they first start to walk.. you just adore them.. those cute little hands and soft feet..

but WAIT..!!

they won't stay like that for long.. soon they'll grow up, and give you more headache than their mother.. in fact, their mother will look like the angel now and they turn into little devils.. they switch places on your helpless arse.. they'll break shit up, make loud noises in public places, keep you awake at night, fight with kids at school.. and you, the poor shmug, still pay for everything they break..!

to some people, marriage is a word.. to others, it’s a sentence..!

as Plato once said: "by all means, get married, if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher..!"

a key word to men.. do not try to understand your wives.. I repeat: DO NOT TRY TO UNDERSTAND YOUR WIVES.. it won’t work.. just say yes.. argue a little, ignore.. give her what she wants.. stay headache–free.. talk.. calmly.. argue a little.. ignore your bank statements as well.. plan ahead.. TEACH them to plan ahead.. argue a little.. IGNORE.. sleep on the sofa.. ignore..

Life is beautiful.. or what do you say..? :)

p.s. to my wife, if you are reading this, the above article is a virus, I don’t know how it came into my blog.. just ignore it, honey.. like you usually do.. no, it’s based on a friend’s request to celebrate Father’s day differently, and by no means it reflects my personal views.. :/

Crawler..!!

2009-11-15T23:57:00.004+04:00

meet meet my new freind SpiBot..!
He follows mice..!!!

on "International best sellers"..!!

2009-09-30T13:28:00.003+04:00

I was in a book store looking for a book the other day, and I couldn’t find it as quickly as I hoped I would.. but something really caught my eyes there.. the volume of the self-help or self-development books available in the book shops or libraries.. I mean, darn..!! see how many books on that subject..!! thousands..!! and most of them really useless, if not all..! these kinds of books doesn’t really offer knowledge or science.. just “shoot your mouth off” kind of books with dazzling titles and burnished subjects, books like “how to be successful in…” or “the essentials of …” or “awaken the blah blah within…” or “how to..” or my favourite “50 or so ways to do such and such..” all these books target one group of people, and you can see this same group line up for a new book of the same subject.. EVERYTIME..! why..?

My question is:

If these books really help, why do you need to buy another one..? why do you keep looking and searching for solutions from these kinds of books.. when would you realize that these books are only money gigs..! the main and only reason that these authors write such crap is because they are in for the financial value of it.. not really helping their readers, except of course reducing the thickness of their wallets..!

This so called self development section depends always on the author’s own experience.. and there is no way you can validate its legitimacy.. the same way you’ll never guarantee the results of following their footsteps..

I can understand a fiction writer’s reason to write, or a novelist’s or even a biographer or an autobiographer.. you know what you expect from them, and if it interest you, you’ll buy their books, but these self-development author’s intention is as plain as the nose on your face.. what can they offer..? entertainment as in novels..? or historic or scientific knowledge as in biography or science books..?? no, they just trick you in their fancy book titles to bag some bucks out of your pocket..

millions of copies sold yearly..! if we take for granted that everyone read such books is getting benefit out of it or at least fulfill the book title, then by now, we should have better communities..! the world would be a better place.. whereas, its either the same or worse..

maybe there are few authors who write to motivate others.. maybe..! but, the rest are copycats, they saw how many millions those few authors made, and they try to do the same.. and we (readers) pay the price.. waste of time and money.. the last big crap was the book “The Secret”.. I never found so much BS in one place..! so many people liked it.. but, let me ask you this.. did it help you achieve something major, after you read it..? did it fulfill what it assumed it will do..?

just search and look for how much money those crap sellers make, and you’ll see why they keep writing sequels and follow ups..

I’m not talking out of envy or jealousy or even frustration.. no, am just a simple bloke who decided to abandon the public bandwagon..!!

A Nameless Clout.. part 2

2009-09-23T13:49:00.009+04:00

It came to me again. An unwelcomed visitor, late at dawn..
It was dark, too dark. And too quite..!

A perfect theme for a good night sleep. Yet, something was not right. It felt like a deep breath before a plunge..

I was discussing some matters with my wife. We kept shortening our phrases as we were too tired to talk.. With every moment passed and at a snail's pace, we went quieter, calmer.. Going to sleep.. It was too quiet. so, naturally, the storm came..!

I don’t know what it is, but last time, I desired something.. And I don’t know if it was fulfilled or not.. And this time, and just before closing my eyes, I was wondering what it would be like to know the future, to see a glimpse of what to come..

I don't know what happened, it didn't feel like a dream.. The stage was the same.. There was my wife, sleeping.. In the very room that we were in.. Nothing was different, except, I saw something wrong with her..! She was breathing heavily.. Sweating.. My heart started pounding.. My chest was stirring with awful feelings.. Life darkened before me.. I felt like I was somewhere else, not here.. My mind felt distant.. Thousands of feet high, somewhere so far in the sky.. and as last time, it felt like I've been riding a hyper-sonic wave up to the sky.. yet back to the same scene, but in a different stage!

A strange woman was there with us.. "This is definitely a dream" I thought.. She was checking on my wife, my youngest sister was also there.. Observing.. I was lying beside my wife.. Holding her hand.. Hoping she gets well soon..

"She’s been touched!!" the strange woman hissed.. “By an evil psyche..!!”
I went perplexed..! Couldn’t comprehend what she said.. And as I was trying to comfort my woman, everything felt like vaporising around. I felt cut off suddenly.. mercilessly pulled to somewhere else again..! Like I’ve been raised up too high, and swiftly been brought downhill to where I was. back to the first scene where I was laying before. There I was.. On the bed, beside my wife, no one else was there.. except, I couldn’t breathe.. It was too suffocating.. Yet managed to scream loud.. My wife was trying to calm me down, “wake up..!” she murmured half asleep.. “Wake up, Hun.. Are you alright..?” but, I was awake, I was screaming, calling on her.. Seeking help.. But she couldn't hear me.. She swore that I had my eyes closed where in fact they were wide open..

I struggled till I muddled through and calmed down and now trying to regulate my breathing.. The wife was asking so many questions that I couldn’t grasp.. She was fine.. It was me who had been touched by an evil clout.. A nameless clout.. Unaware of its malice.. Oblivious to its menace.. Yet again, beaten by its sudden assail..

“When will it end?” I asked.. “And why?”

“I’m here..” she said unaware of what I was referring to.. “No matter what it is, we’ll go through it together..” she reassured.
I felt, hopeless, not able to make her understand what it is.. “I’m alone in this” I whispered to myself.. “And this is the only thing I don’t want to share with anyone..” for it is treacherous to share such devilry prevalence with people you love..

I kept pacing my breaths, while falling asleep in her arms.. Waiting... for the next strike.

From the Editor's Desk, to the Trash..!

2009-09-23T10:53:00.005+04:00

Here is something that is bugging me for a while. I write articles for my company's magazine for a while as a voluntary contribution. About many issues, not necessarily related to the line of work that my company does, but it's a column for interesting and irrelevant stuff that the magazine is trying to publish to give it a more open theme than the closed topic-limited theme the working environment offers. Some of them get published. And many others get edited and completely transformed into something it has nothing to do with the purpose of the article that I wrote! and for very ridiculous reasons that can be easily bypassed. "Too philosophical" or "too artistic" and sometimes " too political "..!

The fear of criticism and lack of a strong sense of independence drives the Public Relations department to refuse such writings. Such writings could elevate the common sense that is not so common anymore, and perhaps could ignite the innovation within the company’s employees to better perform, feel stronger and more empowered. To do that, people should be free of the constraints that the working environment put around them. Be free politically, socially and more important, free psychologically.

I understand the reasons behind refusing such writings, and frankly I laugh at them. These people have so much room to roam, yet they decide to circle around the same circles that have been drawn long ago. Specially here in this region, the middle east, and specifically here in Abu Dhabi, UAE. No offence, but so many restrictions are built around the freedom of speech, act and behavior that are self-inflicted here. Organizations limit themselves with books and long lines of documents on policies & procedures. So much that they cannot see the obvious grounds of the very fables of common sense, without referring to their policies and procedures!

We are turning into mindless machines that do not even know whether the loop is correct or got an incorrect formula embedded in its source code!!

Many “benchmarking” are followed, even if they’re not applicable to us. Just for the sake of following. Many “best practices” are implemented, even though they’re not really valid! Just for the sake of being among the elite bunch of firms who do need it.

When do such organizations learn to lead and invent?! I wonder where we will be, if not for the cash flow of the oil & gas industry and the long provision of ADIA super lobby! Or maybe we’ll be better off.?!? Cause then, and only then, we’ll try and rely on people and the minds of people. Not only their muscles! Necessity is the mother of all inventions they say, is it not!

In general, people here do not realize the power their voice, the voice of the public, instead they rely on some hot shot government officials or rulers to intervene and make solid decisions (which is very rare) that help improve our future and well being..

I just hope the people first then leaders do realize this before it’s too late. I really fear for the future of my country.

*just another rambling post... it’s been a while, I know... ;)

"Lost" can be "Found"..!

2009-07-14T13:00:00.002+04:00

I know I'm taking the following seriously.. maybe too seriously for my own liking.. but I had to write something..! a sad friend (or that what I think) wrote a sad poem that reflects the feelings that this friend is having.. so I responded with what I had to say, and I actually liked the advice that I gave.. and I think it can help or inspire whoever out there.. so, here it is:

"When love is lost, do not bow your head in sadness; instead keep your head up
high and gaze at the stars for that is where your broken heart has been sent to
heal..!

We should gather strength from sadness and from pain.. each time we die we learn to live again..

The walls we build around us to keep sadness out, also keeps out the joy..so smile and live to love, not love to live..

Take care & good luck.."

I'm getting too sensitive or too emotional and expressive these days.. I guess it's the marriage..!

A Fine Aroma rises, with Candles & Roses..

2009-07-12T13:56:00.000+04:00

It’s been a while since my last post, and as you can guess from the title, I experienced a new and beautifully challenging incident.. yes, I GOT MARRIED..! so, for the first month up until the first year of the marriage, I can recommend this cultural activity for all the singles out there.. so far it’s so freakin great.. Entering a new phase of one’s life is always is.. It’s a milestone for me, as I’ve been going through many experiences for all these long years of bachelorhood.. now, it’s time to settle down, and share all the beautiful things I care about with someone I love, honor and respect..

I’ve planned to go to Zell Am See, Austria then Milan for the honeymoon.. however, all these freaking Swine flu cases forced me to change my plan, so I spent it in Dubai, which, by the way, is considered one of the best destinations in the world, although I didn’t expect much, but it turned out to be one of the best trips I’ve had.. it’s about the company u take with you, I say.. it’s the “who” not the “where”.. I’ve never stayed in a hotel or a resort in Dubai before although it’s less than a couple of hours away, but I have to say, it has the best services and facilities in the world..
Now, to settle down and feel the serenity that this partnership affords is by itself enough to be happy, for a while before life hits you with its troubles and responsibilities again.. so, the old grumpy me is on leave for now.. feel free to leave any messages.. :P
Don’t expect any new articles or ramblings for a while.. I’ll be busy smelling the flowers..

Cheers.. :)

Like Leaves in an Autumn Night..

2009-05-19T02:03:00.008+04:00

I couldn't sleep.. There is a stirring wave that needs to shatter on my shores.. and like a steady land I stood firm, and infused its rousing rage.. no pen could transform it into writing.. this is just an attempt:

“Like leaves in an autumn night...

The shattered heart has declared its flight..

A blatant strain of life...

Uprising Tears,

Drained of patience..

Diminished...

Behold the wrath of flowers,

Against its very perfume..

The spiritual rebel,

Has come home,

Proud of its solitude..

singing:

In the darkest night,

I chose to suffer..

In the realm of void

I sailed my boat..

To the unknown...

Hoping..

For a foolish hope,

Is all I have..

To wander along,

This wretched life...
So long, my beautiful life…"

"To Kill A Humming Bird"

2009-05-14T08:47:00.002+04:00

When talking about creativity or innovation, we should really give credit to what surrounds the innovation when it first came out. What factors helped paving the way for its success. A common misunderstanding is that a successful invention will sell itself, well, in most cases it is far away from truth. A successful idea can only sell itself, if and only IF, the surrounding factors are met properly. Would a successful innovation sell itself?

To promote an innovation, you have to fulfill the four elements of its diffusion: (1) The innovation itself which gets (2) communicated through certain channels (3) over a period of time (4) amongst members of a social system. So, even if we could create a proficient invention, we cannot guarantee that it would be accepted and adopted.
For example, the current typing layout of the very keyboards that we use daily in our PCs or laptops, have you ever wondered why it is laid out the way it is. We only type fast (most of us do anyway) because we got used to it, remember when you first used the keyboard? How difficult that was? I am sure it took you months of practice to be an efficient typist. Now here is the punch line, the current layout was deliberately made like this to slow down typing..!! Most people don’t know that the layout they are using in their keyboard is known as the “QWERTY” layout. (Named after the first six letters on the upper left corner of the keyboard) and this layout persisted since 1873. Almost all individuals who use computers for the first time are taught to use the QWERTY style, not aware that a much more efficient typing style is available..?

The QWERTY keyboard was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes who made it the way it is to slow down typists! Why? Because back then, the typewriter machines consisted of bars that hung down in a sort of basket and pivoted up to strike the paper, then they fill back in place by gravity. Now there was the problem, when two adjacent keys where struck rapidly they jammed, causing a waste of paper, ink and effort. So, Sholes re-engineered the layout to make the most commonly used letters sequence awkward, thus eliminating the jamming of the key bars. Soon the QWERTY keyboard was adopted by most typewriters manufacturers and spread like a wind. Typewriters salesmen were impressing customers with it by typing the word “TYPEWRITER” using only the upper row of the keyboard. However, with the advance of technology, typewriters have evolved and touch keyboards were introduced and by time, the problem of jamming no longer existed, but still the QWERTY design was still used. In 1932, professor August Dvorak of the University of Washington came to realize the difficulty with the QWERTY design, and made an intensive study on it in order to come up with an alternative, his studies highlighted that not only the QWERTY design is less efficient, but also, it overloads the left hand which types 57% of an ordinary typing. Furthermore, only 32% of typing is done on the home row in the QWERTY system. Dvorak then came up with a design (called by his name “the Dvorak layout”) that emphasis more on the stronger right hand (with usage of 57%) and 70% of typing is done on the home row of the keyboard, which helped getting rid of the unnecessary intricate movements that caused mental tension and carpal tunnel syndrome that lead to typographical errors. It takes only a week of training for a QWERTY accustomed typist to master a Dvorak keyboard; however, Dvorak Typists have broken all speed records. Now the question remains, why do we still use the QWERTY design while there is a much superior, more efficient and advanced design? This clearly answers our first question; does a successful innovation sell itself? Clearly not.

Here in our example, communication, time and social system were missing to diffuse the Dvorak innovation. Giving the fact the typewriters manufacturers, and typists trainers and most of the populations were not “aware” of the new and far more efficient design in addition to the failure (of Dvorak supporters) to demonstrate the clear "superiority" of the Dvorak layout. The time consumed by nearly all typists at that time to learn the QWERTY layout was not taken into account when introducing the Dvorak layout, again, the resistance to change or adapt halted the use of the more efficient solution.

To sum up the innovation problems, I guess I’ll have to quote Dee Hock (founder and former CEO of the VISA Credit Card Association.) when he said: “The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.”

A "grey" Perspective..

2009-05-10T07:22:00.004+04:00

I’m not sure if this is a subject you like to go through, or even interest you in any way.. or even you agree with me on it.. but, well..

have u ever wondered while the world is getting smaller and smaller.. and ironically, it gets more and more complex.. I'm sure you thought about that.. and every time a big change happens (either political change, or pure technological) life only gets worse and worse.. not a day passes, without me wishing that I was living in the ancient ages.. way back in time.. where one lives for his day, and worries of none.. the days when people value love and friendship, beauty and art, valor and bravery.. when people fight the unjust, and hearten the righteous..

But, again, when I rummage around history and dig through its pages, I find that even those times witnessed the cruelty and malice of the human mind.. people were killed over wealth and lands.. greed.. people were enslaved so others can live prosperously.. discrimination was as easy as scribbling on your notepad while sipping your tea..! The age of this earth that we live upon is about 4.5 billion years according to geologists.. it is believed that it was inhabited by mankind for the last 250 thousand years.. imagine, for how long this earth gives its riches and treasures and keeps feeding the ungrateful man, who nevertheless, keeps fighting, killing and raping his fellow men.. greed.. what an ugly image to think of when looking into the mirror..!! humans, the most advanced and complicated creatures that ever walked this earth, are the most unworthy of all..

And in the midst of all this, I forgot my point, or the thought I was trying to perceive..!

But, let’s go on, while I’m at it.. it’s not enough that we are greedy and consume almost every ounce of natural and unnatural resource that we come to possess, no.. we need to resist any change that might help improve our way of life, or the way we live.. just because we cannot comprehend how bad we live.. to think of it, our blindness surpasses the mere purpose of our existence.. I mean why are we here.. and where are we going.. let me rephrase, if each and every one of us knew how his life will end, would it change the way we lived it..? to the better I believe.. cause see.. we tend to see the big picture after it is ruined.. after it’s too late.. at the end.. and now, I believe the end is near.. well, for most of us anyway..

let’s take a quick look at what’s happening around the world.. there are wars.. there are rumors of wars.. there are floods, drastic climate change, mass extinction in some ecosystems.. diseases and epidemics with no vaccines and solid cure.. and a current global financial crisis that blinds global governments from thinking of anything else..!! I mean if there is a strike, there is no proper timing for it than now.. all the pieces of the dominos are falling apart..

I don’t know what will happen, or when will it happen.. but something inside me tells me that some massive global disaster is gonna happen soon.. very soon…

The Kingkiller Chronicle (day 1)

2009-03-20T12:29:00.000+04:00

Limited is the time we have now.. It seems we are forced to pick certain things to do and sacrifice the rest.. it makes me really regret the minutes, the hours and the days that I wasted doing something utterly useless.. who knows, maybe, I’ll regret opening this blog someday..
however, there are certain things that no matter how many times we repeat them, their significance stays the same, and we feel that the time spent was really worth it.. people’s preferences vary of course for these things, but what I really never regret is reading a good book.. one of my worst habits is buying so many books and reading selective ones, and I still have piles of books to read, and I feel guilty sometimes for reading my preferred authors first.. yet, there are times when I just decide to read something for someone unknown to me.. sometimes I regret it, because not every writer knows how to win the attention of his readers, however, there are a few selective ones, who really amaze me for their talent and skill even if it is their first novels.. one of those, is “Patrick Ruthfuss” in his debut first novel “The Name of the Wind”.. as a history and an art fan, I like storytelling, and this book satisfies my passion.. the way the novel started off and the interesting dialogues and the expressive yet not boring descriptions.. this guy is really talented.. and for a first debut fantasy to be of such magnitude.. wow..
I haven’t read novels for quite some time now, too busy reading other stuff, but, this guy caught my eyes, it was recommended by a friend, but when I read the back cover that says:

"I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

.. My name is Kvothe... You may have heard of me.."

When u read such lines, You gotta read more..!

p.s. this novel is part of the "kingkiller Chronicle" a series of three days of storytelling.. the Name of the Wind is Day 1..

And He Remains Still..

2009-03-16T10:41:00.001+04:00

What does it mean to be drained?
How it feels to be hollow?
The world is spinning,
The day comes
Followed by night
They both disappear
But reappear
Yet he remains still
Despite the singing birds, the colorful trees,
The shining sun and the gentle breeze
He remains still
Undone by misery and tears
Unmoved like a heavy stone
Buried deep
In a bottomless sea
Insensible of those around
Living in shadows
Careless of the surrounding brightness
Like an hideous mole on a pleasant face
All you wish is his riddance
Yet, he remains still
Pushing away whoever touches him
Slaying whoever loves him
Suffocating himself along the way
A rising menace
Spoiling the elegant horizon
Attractive to some, he might be
Nevertheless, still a sweet poison
No hope is there
For those who care
For he remains still
Is it the death of his life?
Or the life of his death?
A dead life?
A life without life…
Where emptiness reigns
And darkness prevail
Imagine living like that
For nothing to win
Like an empty vase upturned
The only way to be free
Is for it to be broken
Yet… it remains still
As he remains still…

Happiness...

2009-03-08T02:59:00.007+04:00

People tend to put targets and goals, that they think when they achieve them, they'll be happy... and that's exactly what keeps them looking for new goals or purposes every time, and make them sad most of the time because they keep trying every time and fail to find what they are looking for.. Because what happens is, we keep looking and searching, tiring and eating up our strengths, and when we finally THINK that we are there, we get disappointed, because there is always something else to pursue... a new challenge... a new dream... till we reach a point and say, that's it.. Alas, we failed..

Happiness in life comes when u realize that happiness is not at the end of the road, but it is the road itself.. Enjoying the moments you live NOW, not what comes tomorrow.. This is the key to a smiley face and a laughing voice..

But, sometimes, we get dragged in our work and responsibilities.. Exhausted to think of anything else, we tend to slip or make mistakes that keep haunting us and block our view of happiness, drying up our souls till there is nothing left to say or do.. We then remain like empty shells of humans.. Once alive.. Now dead.. This is the most important fact that people can't seem to see.. What passed has passed, no use to hang on to it, but what to do about it, how to correct it.. They say some wounds cannot be healed.. I say crap, all wounds can be cured.. We just need to realize that we can be the doctors..

* to the memory of a dear friend, who passed away five years ago, may you rest in peace..

A Nameless Clout..!

2009-02-23T01:19:00.001+04:00

It was cold, the pillow has slipped from beneath my head again.. everything was fuzzy and I couldn’t recognize much of what happened.. all I remember is that I was talking to someone.. I was mumbling about the contemporary pose that shaping my life at the moment.. I reckon desiring to be in entirely different circumstances somewhere very far away from my current plunk.. with different people, social life and affairs.. in “another dimension” I said.. another galaxy perhaps, light years away from where I am.. you know, sometimes, when you wish for things to have gone in a totally different track that it has gone..

nonetheless, there I was.. bored and numb of almost everything.. feeling sleepy.. I hung up and I went to sleep.. two and half an hour later I woke up rigorously frightened..!! breathing heavily.. nothing seemed to make sense when I opened my eyes, although everything was at the exact place where I last saw it.. except that pillow, of course.. But, I was totally hyper and vigilant.. I haven’t seen any dreams or nightmares.. nothing… I just felt like I had been somewhere, in a very high speed and came back to my very position without knowing where I went.. or how.. I just felt something wasn’t right.. I never felt this ever before.. I cannot describe it.. and how can you describe something that’s so vague.. my vision was hazy yet I can see.. but could not see what happened.. it’s so awkward.. undistinguishable.. a nameless state of unconsciousness that came over me.. I looked at the clock beside the bed, it was 4:30 AM.. and I couldn’t go back to sleep again..

Was it magic..? was I possessed by a dark spirit..? a demon perhaps..? I couldn’t tell.. all I remember is saying every prayer I know, trying to pace my Inhalation and barely managed to regulate a few gulps of air out of my mouth..

Whatever it was, it was extraordinary.. was it a self-fulfillment out of my desperate deep desire for it to happen..? did I really went to another dimension..? is that even possible..?

What if being in another dimension is possible.. can we be in a position to realize what’s happening to us there..? does it haunt us back.. in some kind of déjà vu moments..?

I don’t know why I’m writing this.. I just felt like saying it out loud.. maybe I should stick to my boring scientific, social or philosophical writings.. other than sharing these kinds of freaky thoughts..!!

Nature Has It…

2009-02-02T09:04:00.000+04:00

Nearly every technological solution that man came up with was inspired by nature; that vast ocean that never seized to lend our brains with brilliant thoughts to create a massive collection of inventions and devices that we use today. Just to name a few: the sonar (a mimic of bats and dolphins’ techniques to navigate), airplanes (the birds’ airfoil, hollow bones and tail), suction cups (the octopus) solar cells (imitating the vascular plants) batteries (literally derived from eels), fishing nets (spider’s web) and even the internet itself and its application is an exact copy of the human brain and society. And the amazing list goes on. I think science have accomplished monumental achievements based on “natural ideas” that keep us in awe of the magnificent creation of God...

However, there are certain types of behaviors that proved to be deadly for certain animals. Certain traits where the brainless animal act in a way that endangers its survival. The closest and most obvious example is the moth and how it gets attracted to light. Scientifically, flying insects are attracted to light, as they use it to navigate. Originally, the main source of light at night is the moon. But now, we have many artificial light sources that make these insects confused. And they cannot distinguish between them, that’s why most moths fly right into a nearby fire and burn. Of course, the issue here is not to discuss whether the moth get attracted to light or heat, but mainly to measure our intelligence or behavior based on our observations so, I think we could draw a lesson from this simple behavior and learn how to avoid being in similar ones. Unlike animals, we humans have brains that help us memorize, process and analyze whatever information we perceive. Although we are well equipped to better use our “God-given gifts”, yet, we still witness from time to time man-made disasters that could have been avoided. It would only seem appropriate to relate light to money and heat to disaster in this moth parable. How many disasters have happened because our inability to sense gradual change where our actions had more tendency to ignore than to forecast. The Chernobyl disaster, the Bhopal chemical disaster, the Challenger space shuttle disaster, the Hindenburg tragedy, the sinking of Lusitania and Titanic, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster and many more are just few examples of how costly our mistakes can be. The actions that lead to all of these disasters were classified as violations of “safety measures”. Mistakes, accidents and disasters do not just happen, they are “caused”. By ignoring the facts or simply by getting your priorities sorted out upside down. Safety, security and happiness of people are the objects at which all institutions should aim, and to which all such institutions must be sacrificed...

It is in nature to be cautious and prepared. We have mimicked nature in most aspects of our lives but we still struggle to benefit from the most important one that made it survive this whole time...

The Global Oven

2009-01-10T12:28:00.000+04:00

When I look at today’s hot issue of global warming, I get a feeling that we are all in a giant airplane, crashing down into the ground and everyone is arguing about who gets the window seats..!
Since the beginning of the previous century, the environment is getting worse, and so little is done to recover it. In the contrary, our dependence on harmful technologies grows stronger while the earth is getting warmer and many ecosystems and endangered species are being threatened to extinction. I won’t point fingers and start blaming certain entities for this matter in this article, for that won’t lead us anywhere. Instead, I’ll shed a light on what to do, or where to start to ease the pain that the earth is suffering because of this dilemma.

Climate Change and the Greenhouse effect
To understand how to fight global warming, we should first understand how it came into being. In other words, what are the reasons behind it? Is it something new or is it a cyclic behavior that nature does to balance things out?
As many knows, the earth atmosphere is kept warm by a combination of certain gases along with the water vapor that exist in the earth atmosphere which (among other factors) helps the earth from solar radiation and keep it warm enough to sustain life. The process in which these gases circulate and stay in the atmosphere is called the “greenhouse effect”. Now, this is not bad by itself, in fact, the greenhouse effect is what keeping the world warm enough to be inhabitable, however, since the industrial revolution, humans have been hammering the atmosphere with substances that increase the percentages and concentrations of some of the greenhouse gases (like CO2, N2O and Methane) causing the atmosphere to absorb more heat and holdup the natural cooling off, resulting in “a significant man-made increase in the earth's climatic temperature over quite a short period of time” and that is what we now call “Global Warming”. Some might not think of this as a serious matter, few scientists (whom ideas are not shared by the overall scientists around the world) think that this is a natural behavior of the earth and the earth is recovering from a period called the “Little Ice Age” (that started in the 13th century and ended at the beginning of the 19th century) when the world witnessed a significant drop in the average temperature of the atmosphere specially in the northern hemisphere of the earth. However this idea was rejected by many scientific organizations as well as individual scientists and climate change experts bearing in mind that it would take the earth thousands of years to “naturally” cool down or warm up just one Celsius degree and over the last 100 years the earth’s average atmosphere temperature increased 0.74 degrees. Moreover, the warming trend of the last 50 years is nearly double that of the last 100 years. Bearing all that in mind, we will start to realize the grave seriousness of this issue.

The Kyoto Protocol
The international community has been so hectic and active regarding this issue. One of the major steps taken on that level was signing the Kyoto treaty. Over 175 countries have signed the “Kyoto Protocol” which is an agreement under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year 1990. The UAE signed this protocol on November 2005.

UAE and CO2 emissions
The latest reports from the CDIAC (Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center) for the U.N. shows that the UAE is ranked 29th among the world’s most CO2 emitters producing 0.5% of the total CO2 emissions, however, we are ranked 3rd among CO2 emitters per capita (per head). In common terminology, compared to other countries we are emitting way more CO2 than what we should. And if you really think of it, it makes sense somehow because about 80% of our country is a mere desert and one factor that gets into the calculations of these “emissions per capita” is forestation and deforestation, because trees and forests help reducing the CO2 concentrations in the air. Also, I might add (and this is totally a viewpoint, not a fact) that the level of awareness toward this issue here in the country is so law, which makes people tend to over-use electricity or not using recycled and environment-friendly products.

We have to ask ourselves: how many times do we use our cars unnecessarily? How many times do we keep the TV on? Or the lights switched on? How many papers do uselessly print out? How about our consumable products? Where do they go after we are done with them? After we find the answers to these little questions, I’m sure we’ll find out that we are contributing heavily in harming the environment. But, at the end, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel; this means we can change this situation by being more aware to the matter at hand. To be environmentally cautious costs us nothing, instead we can save the world.

I’d like to end this article with a quote from an unknown author; “Nobody can go back and a start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending”.

The Demographic Imbalance

2008-10-30T10:35:00.002+04:00

Here is a great article I read, and I want you to read.. what kills me is the fact that nothing is done to overcome this serious delimma.. no actions from the goverment.. even the people, no rallies, boycott or anything that could put more pressure to approach a solution..

please read..

--------------------

The UAE suffers from a deep demographic imbalance, which is getting worse by the hour. Some 360,000 people entered the county on work visas in 2006. According to 2005 population census, 8 out of 10 people living in the UAE were born abroad. If the current double digit annual economic growth continues, the percentage of non-citizen will reach 90 per cent by 2015.Henceforth, by 2025, the citizens of the UAE will constitute "zero" per cent of the population.

A county with a zero percentage citizens is unprecedented in modern history and will make a new entry in the Guinness Book of Records. The demographic figures alone are frightening and raise serious issues regarding national identity, citizenship, residency, multiculturalism, sustainability and, ultimately, the question as to who is going to be in the driving seat of this rapidly globalizing society?

No easy answers are forthcoming and no frank discussion has taken place about the demographic dilemma facing the UAE. The problem is abundantly clear. But what is not so clear is what to do about it and how to effectively deal with its unintended consequences for the sake of the future of the country.

All the solutions that have been floating around for the last 30 years turned out to be totally unrealistic. The few rather practical ideas put through to tackle the growing demographic problem received scant attention. The authorities relentlessly pursue a policy of double digit economic growth that only perpetuates the chronic demographic imbalance.

Criticism

Lately Dr Jamal Al Suwaidi, a leading academic figure and the director of the government-run Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) has gone public with an unusually sharp criticism of the government's lack of seriousness in attending to the demographic nightmare in the country. Dr Jamal was blunt in saying that the UAE has lost the demographic fight for good. To him the problem is beyond repair and the damage is lasting. The policy option he recommends is one of coexistence rather than resistance, which amount to a national suicide for the citizens of the UAE.

The logical conclusion of the proposed coexistence strategy could well be a new social contract whereby the local Emirati minority willingly accept to share power with the overwhelming foreign majority. The first step is to grant residency which will eventually lead to a permanent citizenship. That could lead to the birth of a fast-globalizing society with brand new national identity that is neither Arab nor local but rather multicultural and global in essence.

The end result of this strategy is a 21st century "salad platter" society that would serve as a model and would address all the apparent shortcomings of the "melting pot" model that is not going very well in the United States as it turns into a multicultural society.

Frightening

Naturally, Dr Jamal's frank views on this sensitive national issue generated some sympathetic response among the expatriate community in the UAE. But his rather unconventional ideas were not received well by the local minority. Being as he is, a political adviser to General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was Dr Jamal speaking for himself or the government? Is he expressing a purely personal opinion or is he preparing the ground for a new national strategy in the making? That is not entirely clear. The statement could be just a wakeup call to the government and the citizens of the country at large.

Whatever the real intentions, there is a limit to how much one can conceal the deadly demographic imbalance in the UAE. The numbers alone, which have reached critical level, are frightening. But the numbers, as frightening as they are, have not evoked any genuine public debate in the past 30 years. The recent trend towards foreign ownership of land and real estate selling sparked some angry local reaction but did not last for too long.

A healthy debate about the population imbalance in the UAE is a national imperative. It is in the best interest of both the small local minority and the growing foreign majority. They all share the same concern: no one would want to rock the boat. It is nice to share in the bounty but we need to keep the delicate balance functioning. It is good to stay economically at the top where the UAE is at the moment but we all need to avoid living so dangerously close to the edge of the mount.

Dr Abdulkhaleq Abdullah is Professor of Political Science at the Emirates University, Al Ain.

The Silent Warriors..

2008-10-20T08:19:00.005+04:00

One thing that is certain about history is that it tells us what happened and when. But the “why” seems to be the link that changes everything. Perception of events and actions in a certain era may fluctuate from a person to another depending on intellectual and educational facets. However, so much is lost or defaced although precisely recorded, as it was taken for granted by the recorder of events to miss out some details that can be understood in a different way by people who do not share the same knowledge or simply living in a different age. How many books have been written or beliefs have been fabricated based on wrongfully accused characters or sets of mistakes or perhaps lies that were taken for granted. It’s hilarious how history, or historians for that matter, keeps record and yet the truth gets distorted in the process! Napoleon once said that “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon”. Yet, another fact remains; we learn from history that we do not learn anything from history..

And to add to its biting wit and severe mockery, the history pages seem to miss out on most of the crucial characters that helped shaping the culture that we live in; praising the obvious and diminishing the obscure despite the fact that the influence of the hidden heroes can be far powerful than the man-made legendary players. Just to think through this thought, if we put an unknown fictional character for instance in the events of Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster and this fictional character was to propose a new maintenance plan with a complex procedure and expensive maintenance cost months prior to the actual disaster date that could help eliminate the disaster that occurred by improving the reactor overall design thus eliminating the failure that is to happen. And we might add another character, let’s say in the aviation control procedure just prior to the events of the infamous September 11th, and this character also proposed a new ploicy or design that will make the flight cabinet impossible to penetrate or affected by whatever events happening with the passengers, and probably there will be no apparent contact between the captain’s cabinet and the rest of the plane. What will happen to these two fictional characters who proposed these two ideas? How the world will see them, if remember them at all? In fact, they would be satisfied if the people just stop hating them for complicating their lives! Ironic isn’t it? How if we know the consequences, our actions would radically change..!

Just imagine how many people went through history unnoticed while their actions helped saving thousands, maybe millions, of lives.. In the contrary, how many people were marked “Great” just because they won battles and wars, forgetting how many human lives were spent and the bloodshed they caused..!!

History is not an entity by itself, it is the people who wrote it, as well as the people who perceive it.. And once we know that, we will realize how cruel it can be.. it is hilarious that when you look back at any bloody event in history, it won’t be so historical if not for the fact that so many people died in it now would it..?!!

In the same way, when applied on businesses today, the people working in the background coming up with strategies in different units and divisions in any organizational structure, applying policies and procedures that not so many people can comprehend, making so many simple things get complicated for a purpose that not so many people can attain. Those people are really like those fictional characters in the previous analysis. Those are the ones who work hard to prevent disasters. Those in my humble opinion are the hidden heroes that we refuse to praise; the silent warriors whom our own minds try to neglect..

Disasters occur not by mere chances, It is in the actions that we do not take and the facts that we keep ignoring every now and then as Martin Luther King said: “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.” And now in a global financial crisis where financial institutions collapsed and entire banking systems failed, when the most powerful tool of capitalism lost its validity, we have to go back and see what went wrong and where did the world missed the presence of the silent warriors..

The not-so-big Bang..!

2008-09-22T10:51:00.011+04:00

A couple of weeks ago, the scientific community celebrated passionately the success of the first stages of simulating the big bang theory, to imitate the very creation of the universe some 13 billion years ago.. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has announced the success of much anticipated firing of the particle beams to re-create the conditions similar to those that happened just after the big bang.. As most of you know, the big bang theory is an attempt to explain what happened at the beginning of the universe.. Simply put, it suggests that before our universe there was nothing, and out of nowhere, there was something.. Something sprang our universe into existence..!!

Although its name suggests that there was an explosion, “the big Bang” theory does not imply any explosions or bangs. Actually it was not called so when it was first introduced. Not until it was ridiculed in an American radio show in the late seventies by this name, and it got stuck ever since. There are many variations of the theory and all of them depend on the hypothesis of the Inflationary Universe Theories (IUT’s). It’s debatable whether this theory is incorrect or not, however, discoveries in physics and astronomy have shown without any reasonable doubt that our universe is expanding and still expanding as I speak which suggest that it was compacted and had a beginning at one point of time. Off course, piles of mysteries and vague obscurities remain unexplained and what science has gathered so far is not “proving” much, however scientists at CERN are hoping that these current experiments in the Large Hadron Colliders (LHC) would help them explain what happened. The first step was to fire the particle beams in a super speed and they succeeded in that, now the next step is to get these beams to collide head on, using these huge LHC (these colliders run on a radius of about 27 km). However there was a setback a couple of weeks later, and CERN says that the LHC would be out of action for at least two months which is not that much considering that this project is ongoing for over 13 years now.

As for the never-ending debate, that comes to mind whenever the big bang theory is mentioned, in regards of God’s existence. Many atheists try to use this theory along with the Darwinian hypothesis on revolution to “prove” the non-existence of God. Well the way I see it, believing in God does not require evidence or proof.. To believe means having faith, and having faith doesn’t require evidence otherwise it won’t be faith as much as it is doubts.. However, and a BIG however at that, most scientists at NASA or CERN or any other scientific establishments are religious people.. Most of them believe in God.. And to think of it more closely the wonders of discoveries and explorations that these scientists witness would only increase their belief in God.. The extraordinary complexity of the tiniest organic cell by itself is an eye opener, and does certainly impose that this detailed and comprehensive construction of everything from DNA to galaxies cannot be merely a delivery of chance or a sheer strike of unknown matters that collided in each other and formed “everything” with such details. In fact, the only logical outcome that even science approves is that there must be a master designer for this entire universe. You cannot put some spare parts, plugs, engines and steel scattered in the backyard of your home, and assume that after a million years have passed and millions of storms have formed around the backyard, that a car would be created out of that chaos..! with all the features, including GPS..! it does not sound very rational to me.. but, let’s go back to science, to dazzle those atheists once more, the big bang theory itself suggest that at the very beginning of the universe, there was nothing, after that something they like to call a “singularity” came into being and sprang the universe out of it..! What is this singularity? And where did it come from? And what is the nature of it? And how it evoked the creation of all things and the expansion of the universe? Well, no one can explain that in any scientific terminologies..! And I think that to think of the big bang theory or any other theory as a proof to the existence or non-existence of God would be an illogical progress and a waste of money. There are many benefits that we can reap out of these scientific experiments that can spare us the religious disputes that fill our life at the moment..

This brings us to the next logical item that we should think about.. What is the return on investment in such experiments? Many people and scientists were afraid that these particle-physics related experiments are risky and could create “black holes” of antimatter that would eventually suck us all and destroy earth?!! Why risk all of that..??! Are the billions paid and time wasted justifiable..?
Well, I will try to be as objective as I can when I try to answer this question. For over two centuries now, the world has witnessed many scientific breakthroughs in all aspects of our life, and to a certain degree it helped rising the standards of our living. Indeed without these experiments and discoveries, our civilization would be significantly poorer. Also, these experiments at CERN do not only deal with the big bang theory, it also might help science in understanding the nature of all mass, particle physics can explain many other issues related to the dark matter “Antimatter”, a much deeper understanding of gravity and the existence of extra-dimensions in the universe and many others issues..

I don’t know where these experiments will lead us to.. But what I do know is that years from now, maybe centuries, the results of these researches will be the foundations for hundreds or thousands of new technologies, each is considered indispensable to our quality of life.

Silence..

2008-09-10T13:23:00.007+04:00

A great writer once said “you talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts”. In other words, when you talk, you’ll start a war where words bombard whoever around you, and the conversation becomes a battlefield where random ranting and usual bashing triumph and as a consequence, thinking is "half-murdered!”

A regular reader will think regularly and say “so what?”. indeed “so what?” the main idea of a normal conversation nowadays, is not to breed thoughts and spark new creative ideas that may help improve the existing functions of our community or for this world to be a better place. No, we bring highly paid men in black neat suits and colorful ties for that purpose..! And keep the mumbo-jumbo subjects for ourselves. Alas, we are the butchers of our own thoughts. How awfully sarcastic, and they say the world won’t get any worse.. ! It seems I’m pushing this too far, and it is not really the case in most of our conversations, but the truth lies somewhere between these two edges. But one thing remains true. People tend to stick to their opinions even if it turns out to be false. It is part of the rock logic belief most of us have embedded in our minds, where people ignore inherited functions of their mere ears. To listen carefully and understand, what is being said is part of having a constructive conversation, however deemed by personal preferences over the big picture; this tool can be manipulated as well if used well.

Yet, there are those who have the ability to talk with a clear presence of mind, with a great sequence of logic and a great harmony of thoughts.. Those thinkers, if I may add philosophers, are very rare and different than the rest of us in a way that when you listen to them you just shut up.. not because of their social rank, they can be anybody.. but because of the reason they speak with, and the wisdom that drops from their mouth.. some of my favorite writers/philosophers are from this type I believe.. just to name few of these: Eduard De Bono (Lateral Thinking) Thomas Kuhn (Paradigm Shift) and Nassim Taleb (Black Swan) and many many others.. not to forget also the works of Gibran Khalil Gibran, whom I quoted at the beginning of this article, and who's considered one the modern philosopher of the modern age, and for your own information, he is the third-bestselling poet in History after William Shakespeare and Laozi.. and to name a few from the ancient classic philosopher, you have to admire the works of Plato (the Republic) and Aristotle (Politics) these two specially had my brain go perplexed, and why would it not, it beats me how they wrote this stuff more than two centuries ago..!! it's amazing how they talk about society and public affairs at that barbaric (to a certain degree) time..

just grab any book for one of them and behold..! your brain will pass.. to the next level..

The Bandwagon Fallacy

2008-09-04T12:32:00.008+04:00

Trying to predict how people behave is not as easy as most people think. An individual’s response to certain events may vary radically when this individual is put into a group of people. With that in mind, some people try to win other people’s opinions in an indirect attempt to falsify their personal beliefs, where someone usually concludes his point of view by saying “many people did so and so, therefore it must be true”. The phrase used in Latin, to describe this behavior precisely, is called “Argumentum Ad Populum”, it means in plain English “Appeal to the People”. What appeals to others makes people think it is right. People tend to agree on what other people think. The greater the herd is, the stronger this effect becomes and more and more people will jump in to the wagon, hence the name “the Bandwagon Effect”.

This effect is very crucial when it comes to politics, economy or even simple matters like supporting a sport team. In marketing, for instance, the theory of “supply and demand” assumes that consumers buy products based on its price with relation to their personal preference. However, the problem ascends when people’s preferences for buying a commodity increase as the number of people buying it increase, not their personal demand for it.

Even on organizational levels, this theory is present. Most managerial decisions are based on what other departments or even other organizations did. The very concept of bench-marking or referencing is based on that, although that is quite a safe-side insurance strategy and doesn’t necessarily has to be wrong, however, it eliminates a little bit the creativity factor from the equation which brings in mind the “Paradigm Shift” theory as an opposing adversary that wipes out a whole thought-pattern of public beliefs.

Anyway, with the holy month of Ramadan on our door steps, I think it’s a good idea to start evaluating what we do as habits or traits mistaking them for religious duties. We commit unknowingly many mistakes out of tradition, not doing things because they are right, “Just following the herd”. Not only in Ramadan, but on any given time, there are many behaviors and wrong-doings casted upon our society that we repeat and accept just because it has the mass public approval.. it just annoys me when someone says in an arguement, with a goofy look on his face:
"why everybody does it.." -_-

Just to conclude, at one point of time, the whole world thought that the sun was rotating around the earth, the whole world thought that Earth is flat.. yet it turned out to be the exact opposite..!

Welcome to the Grey Realm..

2008-09-04T10:31:00.006+04:00

this is the first post in this blog.. and before saying anything, I'd like to say: "welcome".. as u can see, things are not normal around here.. and they shouldn't.. why should they..? what is normal anyway, but the simple fabric of thought that a human brain is accustomed to adapt while the majority agrees on it and by which make it regular..!! that's what makes abnormal behaviors so dazzling..!!

anyway, back to the "welcome" part.. :D

I hope you all enjoy my blabbing, I mean blogging.. and what is better than a poem to introduce myself..

The paradox of my mind,
Taught me not to share
Out of fear of the unknown,
I’ve become scared of affairs
bad dreams
sweet nightmares..
So opposite,
Like the famous pair,
Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll
How they always took care,
Of who would win the biggest share
Of that poor mind of theirs
Have I lost my mind as well..?
Or is it still there..?
Oh, how can life be so unfair…

have fun.. :)