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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Nature of existence....

A logical approach to use our talents and energy to help others is to focus on areas we are most familiar. BY this approach the most likely people that we have to focus is our community because we are most familiar with their needs, problems, culture, religion, language and also have better relations and connections...... I tried to stick to this line of reasoning but over time I realized that I can't be irrelevant to people around me....

I can't go without getting affected from people I see on the roads, school, shopping centers, public places and buses. I think I got a very light heart that moves badly by general appearances of people, their facial expressions and their talks......

I was waiting on bus stop around 4: 10 p.m. A fat woman who barely could walk came and sat to chair next to me. "Damn.....damn...." she sighed and breathing fast as she sat next to me. She was really tired...but still had to work...

I was really disturbed by this...and still it makes me sad whenever I remember... I just gave an example but frankly, I see everyday several of these cases where I can clearly read despair and helplessness in eyes, facial expressions and talks of men and women....

I can't go not moved by their conditions...but because I am a foreigner and I am not familiar with culture so I do not want to make people get offended by my compassion so I bury my sorrow deep down in my heart....

I know my existence does not matter to a lot of people. I do not exist for a lot of people but on contrary, People matters to me... To me everybody I come across exist..

When I hear the expressions like, I don't care...or they do not exist for me...I ask myself, why I can't make it that people who have no link to me or to my life do not exist in my thoughts...

One way that I explain it for myself is...Everybody, even those I feel sympathetic with carry a big gift for me...their unique perspective about life...their perspectives are very different than mine....I take it as a gift...I value it...it let me love the life and experience it from a new perspective that I was blind to....

Some may look at it as emotional...or as a sign of weakness...but I take it as a sign of liveliness. I think people collectively have bigger plans for us than we have for ourselves... They might not saying us but their expressions shape our life. If their expressions of praise stimulate and encourage us....their criticisms make us determined that correct ourselves and prove us...if by their relating themselves to us make feel strong similarly by discriminating us as "others" they make us have an identity and make it achieve new glories.....

People around me....is part of my existence because they have dreams, pride, identity and want to have a role in this world...and most importantly to be master of their fates...It is what they share with me...I learn how they shape their destinies and how they overcome their sufferings..

If my more familiarity to my community make them my priority but it doesn't mean I don't care about "others"...their pride, identity, dreams are part of my existence and matters to me...

Monday, December 27, 2010

Retreating youths


The exposures of young generation to world affairs and their deepening knowledge about history, politics and economics make their desires deepened to have a role in increasing connected world. However this desire seems to be naïve as number of stakeholders in global affairs and the competitions get tough and tougher. The increasing numbers of the stakeholders and increasing levels of competition makes different categories among young generation. The majority of young people who find no role in global affairs they retreat from real global affairs to global fashion trends and non-issues. When the youths find their voices not heard even in their own countries they isolate themselves from real issues and take refuge to personal  relationships. The movies help them to idealize a heroic role in relationships and you see their actions and their expressions concentrate around the concept of love. Still those who fail in attracting opposite gender they retreat more inwards idealized, fantasized and romanticized relationships…The retreats of large part of youths is a tragedy…They need an emancipation and communities have need to realize and help these youths to bring them out from their isolation and to link them to real world………

Effects of culture on politicians


News trends in politics are that the popular faces in politics are not much based on the political ideologies and performances but on the appearances and speech performances of politicians. Sarah Palin and Obama are two politicians that people follow them around the world not because they represent democrats or republicans but because they appear and perform their speeches very close to Hollywood stars…. Hollywood has shaped the US citizen tastes so the politicians who have same levels of performances get more attention. Hollywood is not limited to US only…it is popular around the world and its movies have shaped the tests of youths around the world….So Sarah Palin and Barrack Obama are representing the modern tastes…The modern politicians need the understand the changing tastes of people around the world..
This may seem an interesting hypothesis but not replicate the reality. Let me give another example from Pakistan so it not remains a mere hypothesis. The tastes of Muslims in subcontinent have shaped by sermons of the religious scholars in mosques (it is frequent almost weekly) before the advent of radio, television and satellite networks. People liked the scholars who have used emotional and angry tones. Scholars with mild tones were considered having weak nerves, lacking determinations and even lacking clear understanding. Angry tone and challenging opponents were signs of strong personalities….
As politics become widespread especially after democratization the politicians with emotional and angry tone become popular. The Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir are popular examples…Cultures really effects and politicians need to follow developing cultural tastes of people in order to remain popular…..

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Names....

Looking to name of author who had four names, I asked my teacher, “Why he has four names?”…. “Why you have a single name?” He replied. I did want to reply because as having single name is cultural, not arguing with teacher is also a cultural practice. My question’s main purpose was to say, “Is having long and big names make you big?” On the other hand having a single name is natural. Our bodies have evolved to have a multi-tasking purpose for each organ. Take the most obvious example of your hand,….It is not only for tool making but also for defense, cleaning, holding and even for deceiving and calculating……………..Nature favor multi-tasking and efficiency…….Having four names is quiet opposite of this aspect of nature….
It equally doesn’t matter much that how many names you have to have…except the more than two names is waste of time and resources, it consume time of people in remembering them, taking more time in writing them, take more space and also increase global warming to wasting a few more pages on long run……..Haahhahahah…Just joking…………….

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Patriotism?

It is my second time that I have watched the movie, "Saving Private Ryan" and both times I have the same feelings. Do really people truthful in their claims of patriotism? I am sure, if you question some body's patriotism, you will face his or her outrageous anger. But what if you ask them to name five soldiers who have died recently for their country? If you ask me, what the name of five Pakistani soldiers who died two days ago? I would not be able to tell you. But if you question my patriotism you will face my bony fist. It is not only true for me. If you stop anybody, you will find the same situation.

The truth is we look to the country as a piece of land while it is not true. A country is recognized by her people. The soldiers and people who die for their country get a few words of sympathy and may get some honors and then get forgotten. It is the families who have lost their sons who are left to bear the sufferings.....

Honors are painkillers and they can't heal the pains of families who have lost their loved ones.... Those feel more pain who love more.... We just feel sorry.... May be patriotism do not mean loving but is just claim of love....................

Suffering from life

No doubt, there is no escape from suffering in life, however the question is the effect of sufferings. Some get spoiled by suffering and some grow out of them. How to avoid spoilage of suffering? One widespread piece of advice that you get from almost everyone is to live, the way you want. Certainly, everybody thinks that, he is living the way he wants. However, the matter of fact is that, everybody is conditioned in their lives. Life do not give you free hand even if you believe in 100% freedom of choice. The limitation of choices especially when it come to life changing decisions is what make life is conditioned and there is no escape out of it. Making it worse is the role of others in your life. People around you are unpredictable. We can't insulate ourselves from their responses. You can avoid, you can forget but there is limitation and it is what we all know very well......

Having said this, what we can do is to realize or having a different look/perspective on life. One thing that we learn through cultural transmission is looking at world as "Black and white" or classifying things as "Bad or Good".

When I hear people say, "life is good or bad", I really get puzzled because it is tallying life and concluding the gains or loses. You will find expressions about life changes frequently.

I think you can tally your performances and works but not your life. Life is felt. You feel it good, sometimes it is acceptable and sometime you don't like it. Feelings that we get from life, depends on what we like and what we don't.

Our likes and dislikes changes over time. You do not enjoy the things that you were enjoying in your childhood. Why? Because your perspectives have changed. Our likes and dislikes changes over time because we learn things what to like and what to dislike and it is the most important in judging life.

Feelings in not like tastes. Sweet always taste sweet and sour always taste sour. We can't lean to tastes sour as sweet and vice verse.... However, feelings could get changed. You may not liked a person but as you learn more about him, you may start  to like him. You may not liking a practice but over time you may realize that you were wrong and so on................

In conclusion, I would say, though life is conditioned, what we can do is be vigilant of our feelings and making sure that we have not learnt wrong way of feelings that could spoil our lives. Certainly, suffering remains sufferings until we feel bad about it and it will turn into experience we do not feel bad any more about it................

Monday, September 6, 2010

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100511173819.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100511173819.htm

Magical hugging from Indian movie, "Munna Bhai" got a psychological study recognition. Though it is Freudian concept that experiences of childhood remain the whole life but it is true to a large extent unless you didn't cross a lot of breaking points to kill out your senses. In this study it is found that a woman's touch make one more confident to take risk, especially financial risks. I don't know where to link it? Whether link it to maternal touches at childhood as study is suggesting or to common conception that behind every successful man is the supporting hands of a woman?

There is also a word of caution for men and that is you become more vulnerable in works where there are greater risks. A woman's presence that is close to you make you confident to take risks. It is all depends on your judgments to what extent you want to be exposed to risks. Risks don't mean lossing but most of time they mean gain. You can use this study to your advantage. In areas that you feel less comfortable or less confident, you may use a touch to become more confident. That is a good idea! Hahaha hehehe

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Ace?

Ace, means perfect and it also used for perfect shot. There is nothing perfect but it is strange that we still use this expression. Why? The reason is simple and that is when we feel good. To me, feeling good is of two types, immediate just like eating something when you feel hungry, drinking water when you are thirsty and sleep when you are tired and ultimate feeling of good that is feeling good after completing your graduation or completing a book. Ultimate feeling of good, remains forever with you. Ultimate feeling of good is the core of logic, truth, morality, beauty and justice. So complete is more related to emotions that to rationality and better to say related to emotional wisdom.

What to believe?

Usually believing is attached to religions or belief systems. Before, we could be able to judge in what to believe or to what believing is attached, it is necessary to clarify that we all do not born with beliefs but we learn through cultural transmissions to what believe and to what not? On other hand we had born with basic tools for reasoning and rationality, our CNS and PNS.





I think believing is attached to emotions than to religions and belief systems.



Let me explain it by an example. Say, you believe in a religion that teaches in equality of all human beings beyond races, cultures, geographical regions and it also teach compassion. When it comes to helping out people in need, rationality says that aid should be given to people most in need than gradually to those in less and lesser in needs. Certainly needs are at different levels. Your 10 dollars donation may be one time meal in an advanced country for one and 2 pair of clothing for another or text books for few children in third world countries.



What is your targeted needy ones. The experience shows people care less about poor and needy people in third world countries than their country men who are much in better shape.



Both beliefs and rationality teaches to go for most needy one first who are most vulnerable. However, our helps go to those who we care. Our kin, our countrymen or those who get spotlight attentions are those who we care. This is out of beliefs and rationality but rather more biological and instinct based.



Our emotions play a key role in what to think and what think not. Unless we do not think we neither get an understanding nor can make a decision making.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Intellectual Eugenics

Einstein's famous quote, "Imagination is more important than knowledge" could fit in a lot of instances. One way that it fits is to use imaginations in persuasion. Imaginations are designed to simulate situations before being tested to reduce harms and make smart decisions. For example it is your first field in a mountainous or a forest. Though you have never been to mountain or forest but you have heard, read or watched videos about and based on your these knowledge basis you will use your imaginations for upcoming situations. You prepare yourself accordingly. Though your imaginations can't simulate the exact situations but it helps you to be prepared for them. As much you braoden your knowledge base and imagine well you be more prepared and have a secure trip and also have fun.

This is a good part of imaginations. We have used and relied so heavily on our imaginations that sometimes we take them as real. Let me elaborate this. You take math class and your teacher solve math problems and make a lot of propositions by proving them through imaginary scenarios that you become habitual to them and you no longer question them.

All these propositions are based on definition. Once you accept a defination, you make another definition based on first one and create a chains of definitions. It is really intimidating and a lot of people do not dare to question them. They accept them as rational.

This is an unfortunate use of rationality and imaginations. It is even more unfortunate when it is used politically or due to personal prejudices to attack, cultures, religions and social gains. Often people become the victims of these kinds of misuse of imaginations and rationality just because they born in a particular race, religion, cultural or social conditions.

Individuals who use rationality to promote their political or personal prejudices try to create intellectual monopoly by using imaginative definitions and a chain of them to persuade people. I look to these efforts as "intellectual Eugenics".

Just in early few decades of last century, some people thinking that they are doing science by favoring a race against other. Later, genetics proved that no all races have harmful gene mutations and also beneficial gene mutations.

Now, people who advocate that only their position is ultimate truth and all other positions are irrational and should be stopped is an effort of intellectual eugenics. Most unfortunate is that some people do it by name of Science and Philosophy.

To me, intellectual plurity is needed for evolution of logic and rationality and it make us able to distinguish natural evidences from imaginary definitions.

Let me know if you have a different take on th issue. I would like to hear it.

Who deserve your time?

If we accept this phrase that, "time is money" then few interesting aspects usage of time is pops up to mind.
- From political perspective, money is power and you can't give power to your opponents.
- From business perspective, money attracts money and you can't waste it. You have to invest it.
- From philanthropic perspective, money can change the lives and you have to give it to those who deserve it.
- From individualistic perspective, money can buy you anything and it is the engine of success. A wise use of money is your insurance to successful, healthy and happy life. 
- From religious perspectives, money is opportunities that God have given you and you can't waste them. You will be judged for opportunities that have been prvoided to you.

We can extend our analogy of money and time to other aspects of life also but I think the mentioned propositions are enough to have clear understanding of usage of time.

In relations to fellow human there is two clear aspects of usage of time. First, you may use you are spending your time with individuals who know more than you like teachers, mentors, creative people, parents and professionals. Here you are investing your time for your future. In Secondly, you are spending your time with individuals who need your time like your students, children and family and people in need. These are the people who deserve your time. It is a philanthropic usage of time.

Unofortunate wasting of time comes through cultural transmissions. Just as some people waste their money (they may need it seriously) by smoking and spending money on things that they don't need like buying movie characters costumes, etc. Similarly, people waste their time with people that really don't deserve their time just because of cultural transmissions. Youth regularly hear expressions like bold and shy or confident and shy. It is more conceptual than real (I may discuss it on another blog about essence). Due to these cultural transmission, youth (both boys and girls) spend their time with individuals for no clear purpose in name of fun and spending time doing strange things just to prove that they are bold.

It is really unfortunate and these kinds of individuals need help as they don't have an independant mind to judge who are they and where to spend their time. They think from other people's perspective. I really feel sorry when I see these youths who realize very late that they did mistakes in spending their times just under cultural influences.

I would say again that time is life and life couldn't be equal by money. Your present is becoming part of past where you can't go so it is really necessary to use time wisely and smartly.

If you have a different perspective let me know. I like to hear them.

Shelter of rationality for morons

In philosophical perspective, we are living in post modern era but everybody is not post modernist.  I would say that this division always existed but in our time people became conscious of this division and are making allainces intentionally in either camp. OK, what are these two camps. I would say skeptics and non-skeptics. Skeptics are post-modernist and non-skeptics are modernist. It is roughly equal to traditional division of political thought in USA, as conservative and democrates but it is not. To me, dividing people broadly in these two camps are looking the world and people in black and white and it is a senseless judgment just like judgment of computers.
To me, exteremism is the signature of morons. Individuals who divide people in these two camps based on their black and white view of world are morons who believe firmly in their super intelligence and think of themselves more rational thinkers than anybody else.

Now that we got a general overview of what we mean by post-modernist or  post-modern skeptics (Individuals with 2 characteristics: black and white world view, firm belief in their rational thinking), we can enter in discussion,

Evolution of human intellect has a chronology. You can trace it out through recorded history. Today, the treasure of rationality, reasoning, logic and sciences that we have are the result of collective contribution of human civilization in both East and West. As human societies progress they rely more and more on human intellect but still times comes in parts of world when exteremist forces slow down the pace of human intellect.

To me, exteremism is a coin of firm belief with head of skeptics and tail of non-skeptics. They both claim to be true but the fact of matter they both escape from single question, whether they understand or not? Let's take the exmaple of contrpvery between evolutionist and creationist. Creationist firmly believe that evolution is not occured and evolutionist firmly believe that evolution has happened. Both these two camps trying hard to prove their position, escaping from fact whether they understand evolution or not?

To me, time and timing is the biggest fact or I would say the mother of facts. What does it mean? It means we couldn't be totally skeptic and similarly totally certain. As time passes we learn and discover and our thoughts and ideas become more coherent but coherence and more understanding still do not make us totally certain or skeptic. We all always in the middle and it is why we use certain levels of thinking and rethinking to increase our understanding. We make logical explanations (hypotheses) and look for evidences or testing them by experiments (evaluation) and draw conclusions (make our understanding more coherent). It doesn't put us in a position to claim that we understand it but it doesn't put in position that we say we are not sure. It is neither skepticism not non-skepticism. It is a natural process that fit the functioning of our brain.

Our brain works in two ways. It receives information by our senses (evidences and experiments) and analyse these information (logical explanations). Our concepts or world views are the result of combination of these two processes. Working out of this combination is exteremism. Before, I go further in discussion I wanted to remind you that both our senses and thinking processes have limitations so accepting these limitations make us more realist.

Using the word, 'moron" is really offensive and inappropriate and I acknowledge that there are a lot of smart, wise and sincere people among both skeptics and non-skeptics and I am really respectful to them. I use this word not for anybody and it has just a symbolic usage to stress that individuals who escape from open debates and justify their position just by insulting others need our help.

Still there are people who do not have their own judgments and are just in either camp because those camps use words like rationality, logic, reasoning or attach themselves to science. These kinds of people join either camp just because it feels good or secure. These kinds of people also need help because they use rationality as a shelter.

Let me know your opinion......

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Practical Realism and Creativity

How you look to your world is very important to know your position in this world. If you look it as a world where everybody is struggling for their survival then world will look to you as a dangerous place where everybody is struggling to climb or move to higher classes. As you move to next class you get more surety of living longer. If you have this concept of world then you may proudly call yourself a realist. You may love to think successful people as businessmen, politicians and professionals as most realist people. Yes that is true but it is everybody think. I mean it is really a common thought and if you are following this thought you may work really hard, get some position and a decent life style and then? Yes and then you will find that millions of people are as realist as you are. I think it is as wise as somebody buys a life insurance.  In case you dies of an accident, somebody will get a check otherwise you have wait for a decade or longer to get a check. You work hard to have a secure future. It is wise and but it is basic that everybody must do.

If practical realism is an insurance to decent life style and steady progress then what is the problems?

Problem comes from Freudian concept of consciousness or in modern terms psycho-analytic concept of consciousness. You may disagree with Sigmund Freud a lot but this part of his concept beautifully explains the hesitations that people have of using their imaginations.

According to Freud's concept of consciousness, individuals actively suppress the ideas or memories that is disturbing for them.

Now by having Freud's concept in mind, if you have a strictly practical realist concept of world, a lot of ideas and memories become disturbing to you and you will try to suppress them.  Let me give you a scenario that is common to all of us.

In our present conditions, we all are much better from a lot of better in financial terms, health, education and social status but certainly a lot of people are much better in some these aspects than us if not all of them.  So, from practical realist concept of world, people who you are much better than give you a soothing idea so your brain nourish them. On other hand, people who are much better than you in some aspects are disturbing ideas and your mind actively try to suppress them.

I am sure that all minds are selective in terms of ideas but suppressing ideas or images of others that are doing much better than you is just a wasting a big and important chunk of imaginations.

You may not accept this argument because you may think of yourself of having an open mind with a vision of learning and appreciating others. It is really nice but let get another example,

Let suppose you had some failures in past or embarrassing moments in past. What your mind do to those memories. Certainly suppress them. But if you could turn these memories into a success or capitalize on them. Would your mind still suppress them? Certainly not. People who stand unique in human history didn't suppress their ideas. Some names are enough to elaborate this concept.

- The world ever greatest conqueror and father of globalization, Genghis Khan used oppressed, brutally victimized and humiliated childhood and early youth age experiences to unite his nation and win over great civilizations of world.

- Babur the founder of Mughal Empire in India, used his experiences of humiliated defeats at his homeland Faghana valley to conquer India.

- Adolf Hitler, Ibraham Lincoln, Ford and Michael Faraday born and raised in poverty and got poor education but turned the course of human history.

- People who actively capitalize on their painful memories are artists and novelists.

What do you think? If these people had a realist world view, would they be able to do such dreamy works?
To me, the world is a network of brains. It seems unrealistic but it is what most of people realize very late. If you look to world as network of brains then you need not to suppress your ideas but have to make a center of best of these ideas to stand unique. Once you start looking to ideas and imaginations as a treasure, then ideas come from either side would be precious. I call the brain as a magic box because it has the capability to surprise you. You just need to appreciate its work.