"I don't think, it is just recession, I think, it is punctuation. We are going from something old to something new".... Don Tapscott....
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
It still scares me….
I was cold. My hands were almost frozen and it was getting hard to keep breathing as my nose was running. Running nose was making breathing miserable but my both hands were busy in steering my kite and I had no time for blowing my nose or rubbing my palms together to give them some heat out of friction. The only thing that I was caring was my kite. The wind was blowing at a good pace and my kite was flying high of all time. I was not sure if I could make it again so I just wanted to keep it high as long as I could. Despite my lust for flying kites, I was rarely successful to fly it as high. I was trying hard to learn the secrets of hobby so I was listening to everyone who had a say about it and was trying them but almost all of my efforts were ending in despair. I was so envious of my uncle’s skills (if it happens that you read this, please make a good kite for me, hehehe, as I still believe in your ingenious skills..). To me, he was a genius as he was making very handy and beautiful kites out of scratches. All he needed was bamboo spines, a plastic shopper bag and thread, not even a scissor as he was cutting plastic with thread.
That evening, it was one of my rarest times and it was so delicious that I didn’t realize that it was getting dark. Then I heard someone calling me. I think, I heard my name twice. I looked back but nobody was there. In fact, the whole ground was empty. I got so scared that I left my kite and thread in place and just started running to home. When I reached home it was already dark and I was no more cold as I had run nonstop, may be for more than 20 minutes. The reason that I got scared was not the empty ground and calling of my name by a ghost (or just out of my head) but the ground itself. I heard that before partition of India-Pakistan, this ground was used for open air cremation. More than that was the scary stories of elders that were making this place scarier after dark. One of the stories goes like,
(A retired old man); at those times, most of current Alamdar Road was unpaved. I was returning from duty (government job) on bicycle. It was dark, silent and there was nobody around. For me it was routine. Then I see a beautiful white baby goat playing and jumping around my bicycle. It was so beautiful and tempting that I couldn’t resist but to go and grab this baby goat. As I picked it up, I felt as its limbs are lengthening and it is becoming heavy and it is laughing with the sound of a woman. I tried to throw it but I failed. The only thing that I remember was fainting and falling on the ground. When I woke up, it was dawn and I was on the ground with no one around…
For a child it was enough to know that his city was totally destroyed in 1935 earthquake, in which estimated 30,000-60,000 residents died. The spirits of those who died must be roaming around but this ground was even scarier as no one knew for how long it was used for open air cremation. I think, the stories that then I was reading about dark roaming spirits had added to my superstitions. The thought of thousands of spirits roaming in the city after dark was enough to scare me. Whatever, it was just spirits and ghostly creatures that I was scared of and of course only after dark. I never thought that there will come times that I no more fear any ghost or spirit but devil-men who claim to stand for religion or civilization.
It is again March but that March was really a dark March. On March 2nd, 2004, long after I had forgotten my childish fears of ghosts I witnessed for the first time what devils are and how they go for cannibalism. I was in Ashura procession like every year. Around 1;12 PM, suddenly two blasts occurred and intense firing followed. Nobody had an idea that what was happening and then I saw the wounded and dead bodies coming in. It was a total chaos. What I may never forget was a dead 10-11 years old boy. His face was undamaged but his back-skull was missing and the skull was empty. Two persons were carrying him and his forehead was moving in and out as they were running. Though there were people with missing legs and open stomachs but that child, Ah, I just can’t forget. His innocent face and his empty skull still come to me as great pain. There were mostly children in front of procession and they were the first victims of firing and suicide attack. More than 56 people died on that day. It was first time that I realized, it is not dead-ghosts roaming around in dark that are scary but devil-men who roam around in day light who eat live people. Frankly, anybody, no matter who he is and what he stands for when talks about war; he doesn’t look to me as human but a devil. I would love to be scared of ghosts but I think, the devils snatched that innocence even from children. I can just wish that children continue to get scared of ghosts than devils. When I watch talks of war, I just think about those children who are now scared of ghosts but soon going to get scared of devils instead and that thought STILL SCARES ME….
That evening, it was one of my rarest times and it was so delicious that I didn’t realize that it was getting dark. Then I heard someone calling me. I think, I heard my name twice. I looked back but nobody was there. In fact, the whole ground was empty. I got so scared that I left my kite and thread in place and just started running to home. When I reached home it was already dark and I was no more cold as I had run nonstop, may be for more than 20 minutes. The reason that I got scared was not the empty ground and calling of my name by a ghost (or just out of my head) but the ground itself. I heard that before partition of India-Pakistan, this ground was used for open air cremation. More than that was the scary stories of elders that were making this place scarier after dark. One of the stories goes like,
(A retired old man); at those times, most of current Alamdar Road was unpaved. I was returning from duty (government job) on bicycle. It was dark, silent and there was nobody around. For me it was routine. Then I see a beautiful white baby goat playing and jumping around my bicycle. It was so beautiful and tempting that I couldn’t resist but to go and grab this baby goat. As I picked it up, I felt as its limbs are lengthening and it is becoming heavy and it is laughing with the sound of a woman. I tried to throw it but I failed. The only thing that I remember was fainting and falling on the ground. When I woke up, it was dawn and I was on the ground with no one around…
For a child it was enough to know that his city was totally destroyed in 1935 earthquake, in which estimated 30,000-60,000 residents died. The spirits of those who died must be roaming around but this ground was even scarier as no one knew for how long it was used for open air cremation. I think, the stories that then I was reading about dark roaming spirits had added to my superstitions. The thought of thousands of spirits roaming in the city after dark was enough to scare me. Whatever, it was just spirits and ghostly creatures that I was scared of and of course only after dark. I never thought that there will come times that I no more fear any ghost or spirit but devil-men who claim to stand for religion or civilization.
It is again March but that March was really a dark March. On March 2nd, 2004, long after I had forgotten my childish fears of ghosts I witnessed for the first time what devils are and how they go for cannibalism. I was in Ashura procession like every year. Around 1;12 PM, suddenly two blasts occurred and intense firing followed. Nobody had an idea that what was happening and then I saw the wounded and dead bodies coming in. It was a total chaos. What I may never forget was a dead 10-11 years old boy. His face was undamaged but his back-skull was missing and the skull was empty. Two persons were carrying him and his forehead was moving in and out as they were running. Though there were people with missing legs and open stomachs but that child, Ah, I just can’t forget. His innocent face and his empty skull still come to me as great pain. There were mostly children in front of procession and they were the first victims of firing and suicide attack. More than 56 people died on that day. It was first time that I realized, it is not dead-ghosts roaming around in dark that are scary but devil-men who roam around in day light who eat live people. Frankly, anybody, no matter who he is and what he stands for when talks about war; he doesn’t look to me as human but a devil. I would love to be scared of ghosts but I think, the devils snatched that innocence even from children. I can just wish that children continue to get scared of ghosts than devils. When I watch talks of war, I just think about those children who are now scared of ghosts but soon going to get scared of devils instead and that thought STILL SCARES ME….
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The need for a Second Culture
“Genetically we remain a single species, but culturally we are worlds apart, comparable to dinosaurs, birds and mammals.” Mark Pagel... Pagel's cultural speciation seems more valid when the concept of "clash of civilizations" doesn't stay a mere a theory but a reality...
Whether you are a rationalist who sees the world through the eyes of logic and Philosophy or a believer in one merciful God or worship idols, you can't claim that you do not belong to a history of men that were/are believing in their cultural superiority and have been involved in eradication of rival cultures in order to spread their own... It seems that the destruction and conversion of civilizations is a universal process across religions, cultures and times. We find the evidences in ancient world, Medieval ages and witness their continuation in our modern age.
Alexander "the great" was the pupil of logic's father and a great philosopher of all time, Aristotle. Aristotle tutored Alexander to fulfill the dream of his teacher, Plato for a "Philosopher King". The "Philosopher King" had a "Philosophical mission" and that was Hellenization (in other word to spread the culture of philosophy) of the world.
Alexander the great destroyed the Persepolis to ground while he was building new cities like that of Alexandria throughout of his expanding empire. It seems that the sole reason for his destruction of Persepolis was that of rivalry among civilizations. He was looking to Persian civilization as an obstacle to his project of Hellenization of world...
......................................................................................
Although Hellenization of world was not lasted long but the world didn't cease to repeat the same sort of efforts. Ottomans after capturing the last city of Byzantine empire, converted its jewel church, the Hagia Sophia Church to Aya Sophia Mosque in an effort of Islamization of Byzantine empire. Islamization of conquered territories was identical to Alexander's project of Hellenization of the world.
.......................................................................................
The re-christianization of Muslim Spain cities was no different than the Islamization of Ottomans and the continuation of the same phenomenon as those of Alexander and Ottomans... the conversion of Civilizations...
........................................................................................
One may argue that those events were happening in a time period of human history that human history were merely the story of emperors. So they were more of battles of emperors than clash of civilizations. So, lets come to our times and go to the biggest democratic country, India. The demolition of historic Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India was another act of eradication of a history or conversion of civilization in a democratic society.
.........................................................................................
And of course, religious fanatics who left their brains in history are determined to roll back all civilizations. The destruction of Buddha of Bamiyan by Taliban was just a trailer of their project will proceed and what their world will look like..
..........................................................................................
Wait, as we have the seed for a future clash. This process is not doing end as the controversial status of Jerusalem and prediction of Armageddon over Jerusalem is popular among Jews, Christians and Muslims.... It is just the matter of time when the followers these three Abrahamic religions go for a large scale clashes..
Looking to all these examples, I am compelled to think that overtaking of civilizations is not mere products of teaching but deeply embedded in our "second nature". What does it mean? That means that our "second nature" was born and grown up with us as we were born and grown up in our particular cultures.
While, I understand the need for preservation and promotion of our primary cultures (cultures that we have inherited and are the source of our identity) but in order to bridge the gaps and reduce conflicts we need a second culture, a culture common to all human being. Human Rights' thirty articles are accepted and endorsed by all nations and provides a framework and values system for our second culture. Unfortunately, there is no arts, movies, stories and other forms of cultural products to make this a reality. I don't know, how much my appeal goes but at least I voice for it...
Whether you are a rationalist who sees the world through the eyes of logic and Philosophy or a believer in one merciful God or worship idols, you can't claim that you do not belong to a history of men that were/are believing in their cultural superiority and have been involved in eradication of rival cultures in order to spread their own... It seems that the destruction and conversion of civilizations is a universal process across religions, cultures and times. We find the evidences in ancient world, Medieval ages and witness their continuation in our modern age.
Alexander "the great" was the pupil of logic's father and a great philosopher of all time, Aristotle. Aristotle tutored Alexander to fulfill the dream of his teacher, Plato for a "Philosopher King". The "Philosopher King" had a "Philosophical mission" and that was Hellenization (in other word to spread the culture of philosophy) of the world.
Alexander the great destroyed the Persepolis to ground while he was building new cities like that of Alexandria throughout of his expanding empire. It seems that the sole reason for his destruction of Persepolis was that of rivalry among civilizations. He was looking to Persian civilization as an obstacle to his project of Hellenization of world...
......................................................................................
Although Hellenization of world was not lasted long but the world didn't cease to repeat the same sort of efforts. Ottomans after capturing the last city of Byzantine empire, converted its jewel church, the Hagia Sophia Church to Aya Sophia Mosque in an effort of Islamization of Byzantine empire. Islamization of conquered territories was identical to Alexander's project of Hellenization of the world.
.......................................................................................
The re-christianization of Muslim Spain cities was no different than the Islamization of Ottomans and the continuation of the same phenomenon as those of Alexander and Ottomans... the conversion of Civilizations...
........................................................................................
One may argue that those events were happening in a time period of human history that human history were merely the story of emperors. So they were more of battles of emperors than clash of civilizations. So, lets come to our times and go to the biggest democratic country, India. The demolition of historic Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India was another act of eradication of a history or conversion of civilization in a democratic society.
.........................................................................................
And of course, religious fanatics who left their brains in history are determined to roll back all civilizations. The destruction of Buddha of Bamiyan by Taliban was just a trailer of their project will proceed and what their world will look like..
..........................................................................................
Wait, as we have the seed for a future clash. This process is not doing end as the controversial status of Jerusalem and prediction of Armageddon over Jerusalem is popular among Jews, Christians and Muslims.... It is just the matter of time when the followers these three Abrahamic religions go for a large scale clashes..
Looking to all these examples, I am compelled to think that overtaking of civilizations is not mere products of teaching but deeply embedded in our "second nature". What does it mean? That means that our "second nature" was born and grown up with us as we were born and grown up in our particular cultures.
While, I understand the need for preservation and promotion of our primary cultures (cultures that we have inherited and are the source of our identity) but in order to bridge the gaps and reduce conflicts we need a second culture, a culture common to all human being. Human Rights' thirty articles are accepted and endorsed by all nations and provides a framework and values system for our second culture. Unfortunately, there is no arts, movies, stories and other forms of cultural products to make this a reality. I don't know, how much my appeal goes but at least I voice for it...
Friday, March 2, 2012
The Peaks?
If you know about Magnetotactic Bacteria, then you know that these bacteria live in the Oxic-anoxic zone in the sediments and to find favorable environments, they use magnetic field lines of Earth to locate themselves and find directions. If you live in sediments, it would be hard to know whether you are going up, down or any other direction so these bacteria have evolved to convert dissolved iron compounds into magnetite and store them in their magnetostomes which are used as magnetic needles like those in compasses used in orientation and finding directions. The Oxic-anoxic zone in sediments change frequently by cycle of water, seasons and influx of sediments so these bacteria need to move in order to survive...Here is a video of magnetotactic bacteria responding to changing magnetic field...(One point that I wanted you to note is the migration of whole colony by shifting magnetic field... That fits from very simple unicellular organism like those of bacteria to very complex ones like those of human... Our needs are like magnet...If there happens a big change in sphere of needs then the mass migrations are inevitable)
Unlike bacteria that respond to changing environments, humans are smart creatures and change their environments to their needs BUT it is not ideal either...In the process of changing the environments, they create new dependencies. Gold and Oil is not part of essential commodities for survival but by creating complex societies and machines to run them we are now dependent on these precious commodities.
Human populations have responded to each big breakthrough in technological, economical and social developments and have increased to reach 6 billion. Of course, this number is going to increase. It is logical to think that as population increase, the rate of consumption also increase. Until now, as the consumption has increased so is the production. That means we are living in good times. There are some ecological migrations but the still most of the migrants are those of war migrants and economical migrants and this might made this look natural to see most of efforts are linked with political and economical concerns....
There are some people who are alarming us that these good times (A balance between consumption and Production) might not go forever. Some of commodities are limited and non-renewable so expecting to increase in their production forever is not logical and they predict a peak for production beyond which the productions won't be able to meet the supply demand...
Hubbert peak oil plot
The concept of Oil Peak was there since 60s but now we are hearing about "Peak Gold".
Peak Gold might not be as serious as Peak oil but still it would affect the way people think of economy and their personal savings. My concern is not whether Peak oil or Peak gold are real or myths but of coming more Peaks. Perhaps our next talks be about "Peak Food", "Peak Fresh Water", "Peak Land" and so forth. Although human have faced famines and other ecological disasters in past but in global world where interdependence are rapidly growing, the ecological disasters and migrations are something totally new that yet we may have to discover their scales and impacts....
......................................................................................
Peak Oil
.....................................................................................
Peak Gold
This report belongs to 2009 but still it shows the renewed interest in gold. If we really have reached Peak Gold then gold will be the next big player in social stratification assuming that the prices will continue to climb up, especially in societies where Gold is an important part of social events (especially marriages)
Unlike bacteria that respond to changing environments, humans are smart creatures and change their environments to their needs BUT it is not ideal either...In the process of changing the environments, they create new dependencies. Gold and Oil is not part of essential commodities for survival but by creating complex societies and machines to run them we are now dependent on these precious commodities.
Human populations have responded to each big breakthrough in technological, economical and social developments and have increased to reach 6 billion. Of course, this number is going to increase. It is logical to think that as population increase, the rate of consumption also increase. Until now, as the consumption has increased so is the production. That means we are living in good times. There are some ecological migrations but the still most of the migrants are those of war migrants and economical migrants and this might made this look natural to see most of efforts are linked with political and economical concerns....
There are some people who are alarming us that these good times (A balance between consumption and Production) might not go forever. Some of commodities are limited and non-renewable so expecting to increase in their production forever is not logical and they predict a peak for production beyond which the productions won't be able to meet the supply demand...
The concept of Oil Peak was there since 60s but now we are hearing about "Peak Gold".
Peak Gold might not be as serious as Peak oil but still it would affect the way people think of economy and their personal savings. My concern is not whether Peak oil or Peak gold are real or myths but of coming more Peaks. Perhaps our next talks be about "Peak Food", "Peak Fresh Water", "Peak Land" and so forth. Although human have faced famines and other ecological disasters in past but in global world where interdependence are rapidly growing, the ecological disasters and migrations are something totally new that yet we may have to discover their scales and impacts....
......................................................................................
Peak Oil
.....................................................................................
Peak Gold
This report belongs to 2009 but still it shows the renewed interest in gold. If we really have reached Peak Gold then gold will be the next big player in social stratification assuming that the prices will continue to climb up, especially in societies where Gold is an important part of social events (especially marriages)
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