Why I'm smarter than you

What did I just do?

2011-10-07T16:41:00.004-04:00

Every single property in this universe is multi-faceted. Like a circle, it is possible to take infinite routes to a destination, all of them being efficient and all of them being equal. Why is it then, that human thought is so flat?

What I mean to say is, why is any human action always contradictory?

Religion makes us better people but also divides us. Purifying and selling bottled water destroys already pure oceans. Great human advances in science lead to an utter degradation of our planet. All great things with dire consequences both happening at the same time. Good for me, bad for you.

Too bad.

Fundamentals - Perception (PART 2)

2006-10-19T00:33:00.000-04:00

Fundamentals - Perception (PART 1)

2006-10-18T00:33:00.000-04:00

What is perception?
Perception is an individual perspective.

What you perceive may be very different from what I perceive (as a solution to the diagram).

However, if the odds are clearly specified; that is if the two ends of duality are clearly stated, then there are higher chances that our perceptions will match. (described further in Perception - PART 2)

Duality (when stated precisely) and perception are positively correlated - IMPORTANT --Remember this

Faiz (Original Work)

Defining zero.

2006-10-16T23:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the silence! It’s been a hectic week. I’ve finally realized its better to do things before they hit you in the face!! (NOT)

Anyway, getting back to the great theories of the universe that I promised. Many scientists and mathematicians argue that infinity is a creation of the human mind. Putting infinity into various equations often gives irrational or non existent answers. Therefore to get a set of conclusive results, they like to use finite assumptions. This is known as Mathematical Constructivism. You assume what you are about to prove and then prove it. Anything else is a contradiction.

The thing is however: not everything can be reduced through a set of logical steps. This will be defined later, but now please assume it true.

What is zero (0)? Does it mean 'nothing' or does it have more profound implications?

Look at the diagram, we see that both a line and a ray extend into infinity. However, the ray has an initial point and the line doesn’t; it runs in both directions.

Hence, it easy to define 0 for the ray (the point where it starts), but how do you find the centre of the line? Any point on it is the middle because the line itself is infinite.

Now think that the ray and the line were not close to each other and lying on entirely different planes. Where is the original starting point (for both)? Where is 0? You will not be able to define 0 for either the ray or the line.

See what I mean? This is the problem with infinity. A part of infinity is equal to infinity. Because of it, there can be no centre (point).

So it is possible to infinitely spread in all directions from one point. Still, when looking at infinity as a whole, it isn’t possible to define a centre point.

Faiz (Original Work)

PS. The Positive and Negative in the diagram is just to make it easy to understand. The entire line may lie in the positive; or in the negative (example).

Rudimentary stuff you must know before we proceed...

2006-10-16T13:57:00.000-04:00

Let’s not get into any theories today but instead look up the example of 'Reductionist Thought' in yesterday’s blog:

Did you notice anything wrong with the statement -
You cannot go without food or water for a week. Therefore, the entire human race right from the first man has never gone without food or water for a week. (?)

Well, let me tell you that technically, there is a LOT wrong with it.

WHY?

1.) First of all, we all know it is possible to die of starvation and people do die of starvation.

2.) If evolution is true and the theory of natural selection applies; then it is quite probable to say that a few people maybe able to go without food or water for more than a week. Hence, the above example may be false.

3.) Even if you look at it from an evolution point of view (a continuous flow right from the very beginning); any person in the human-family-tree who had children could have died due to hunger after and still continued his/her bloodline. This ultimately leads to the first half of the statement being true and the second half being false.

I hope you thought of all this when you read the statement. Otherwise; you are at risk of blindly believing what I say and that is cultish!!!

OK…What's the point of this discussion then?

- Well, the point is; the statement applies to you. And the statement also applies to every living person around you. Consequently, even though it may not hold true on many levels; with respect to your sitting and reading this; it holds true.

WHAT...HOW??

- For you to be alive and well; none of your ancestors, going all the way back to Adam have gone without food and water for a week. At least until the time they put in place forces that would have caused your birth (maybe even generations later).

Get it now?
After all this nonsensical evaluation, I’m saying the statement still holds true.

Cheerio,
Faiz

Reductionist Thought : An introduction

2006-10-15T18:06:00.000-04:00

All I do everyday, all the time is try to connect dots, try to put things together. Try to find some meaning; and doing this constantly for the past few years has got me thinking in a different/new way.

I like to call this thinking ‘Reductionist Thought’, which is a way of tying partially or completely unrelated events to one other. It is also a means to see through traditions, physical objects and actions to define what led to their occurrence.

Reductionist thought is very complex and rather hard to put into words. I'm afraid a combination of the two won't make it any easier for you, the reader to grasp what I’m trying to say! It may also seem a little juvenile at first but it really isn't. I would like you to contact me if you fail to understand any of the assumptions.

Over the next few days, I'm going to introduce a new set of theories which I've never made public before. I think they are all valuable and worth sharing.

I also want to state that everything I post is going to be my own work and may have numerous loopholes. I'm totally willing to make changes to a concept or idea if you let me know what is wrong or what needs improvement.

An Example of Reductionist Thought: You cannot go without food or water for a week. Therefore, the entire human race right from the first man has never gone without food or water for a week.

You have to be careful not to go beyond the birth of man; because primitive apes may have had different characteristics that we may not know about. Assume only to the point that you can make a logically deducible statement.

Reductionist Thought is a way of applying what is visible in the real world to other totally dissimilar things also in the real world. Often to obtain surprising results.

A bee thinking about the question too......

- How is the birth of a bee this year related to your birth twenty years ago?
If you think they are not linked; then over the next few days, you should read what I have to say.

So, this is what I’m setting out to do. It may not seem very relevant at first but do try to understand it or maybe even feel it. Before you start to criticize it.

That’s all from me,
Stay tuned…..

Faiz

Economic Paradox

2006-10-14T17:51:00.000-04:00

There is a famous question in economics; why is the price of diamonds higher than the price of water?

To answer this question, many have given their entire lives and come up with many brilliant theories regarding the cause.
So we’ve identified the problem; but the solution is far from near.

Why?
In capitalist philosophy (more like today’s philosophy; it's not my intention to point fingers at anyone), man has unlimited wants. Mans needs can never be fulfilled and this is the reason why he values what is rare and devalues that which is plentiful.

Thinking this way can be attributed to most of the problems we face as a race: War, hunger, struggle, conjecture.

And yet, instead of refuting the idea or trying to change it, all we do is reinforce it. We are so engrossed and obsessed with ourselves that we fail to recognize right from wrong.

So what do I think?
I think this philosophy is false. I think every human being has only limited needs. He is easily distracted but at some point in his life, he comes back to/or realises the right path.

If you truly look inside yourself, you will notice that you don’t really require a lot. And that the way we live now and what we have created is all part of the biggest hoax ever.

And who did this?
We did this.

Faiz Ahmad Ali

Can 0.1 be considered a difference?

2006-10-12T14:30:00.000-04:00

A muslim man outside a mosque in Delhi, India
Why do people like sitting in the same place in class or parking at the same spot?

Will it be outlandish to say that this is suggestive of the way we have evolved? Is this pointing to the fact why we know so little about each other? Is this what gives rise to discrimination? Is this what gives rise to terrorism? Is this what gives rise to bias? Is this why we as a race are so hesitant to change?

I think so, and I also think it isn’t right to sit in one place and make assumptions about others without really knowing them.
I say this because whenever I have done so, I have always been wrong.

Its personal experience which has forced me to write this,

99.9 % of the human genome is identical. The 0.1% difference is the difference in our skin color, the difference in our hairlines, the differences that must be present to make each one of us individuals. And yet, we fight.

It’s sad.

Faiz
Images from Flickr

Respect Life

2006-10-11T01:17:00.000-04:00

Between 260 and 300 million turkeys are slaughtered annually in the United States, according to USDA statistics.
Female turkeys raised for slaughter in the U.S. are typically allotted 2.5 square-feet of space per bird, while toms (males) are given a mere 3.5 square-feet of space each
The typical 50 by 500 feet factory farm warehouse holds approximately 10,000 hens or 7,000 toms
The overcrowded birds, who are unable to comfortably move, or exhibit natural behaviours, are driven to excessive pecking and fighting. To reduce injuries, factory farmers cut off the ends of their beaks and toes, practices know as debeaking and detoeing. These painful mutilations are performed without anaesthesia and can result in excessive bleeding, infections and death
Today's turkeys have been genetically altered to grow twice as fast, and twice as large, as their ancestors
Putting the growth rate of today's turkeys into perspective, Lancaster Farming reports, "If a seven pound [human] baby grew at the same rate that today's turkey grows, when the baby reaches 18 weeks of age, it would weigh 1,500 pounds."
An industry journal laments “...turkeys have been bred to grow faster and heavier but their skeletons haven't kept pace, which causes 'cowboy legs'. Commonly, the turkeys have problems standing, and fall and are trampled on or seek refuge under feeders, leading to bruises and downgrading as well as culled or killed birds.”
To meet consumer demand for breast meat, commercial turkeys have been anatomically manipulated to have abnormally large breasts. As a result, the birds cannot mount and reproduce naturally, and the industry now relies on artificial insemination as the sole means of reproduction.
The turkeys’ natural bronze colour leaves pigment on the carcass, upsetting consumers, and so the birds’ natural colour was removed through genetic engineering. It is now white.
Turkeys and other farm animals may be legally transported up to 36 hours without food, water or rest.
Turkeys and other poultry are specifically excluded from the Humane Slaughter Act, which requires stunning.

I did'nt even get into the gruesome bits.

Faiz
Its not possible to manipulate life this way and get away with it.

Constant change

2006-10-09T21:05:00.000-04:00

I keep meaning to write about an event, a happening, or something to that effect but never actually get down to it!

Will try from tomorrow! I’m sure the everyday philosophy gets dull after a while.

Today’s topic is change.

My personal view is that the pros and cons of every situation or action are always equal and always balance. You can never have more advantages than disadvantages or vice versa. When the pros suit us more for a particular situation or need, we favor that particular thing or thought.

But, although pros and cons always remain the same, change is inevitable. You cannot stop change; for the simple reason that you cannot stop time.

Time working together with just one of the other forces, (lets take gravity as an example) creates a host of events which interact with each other and keep changing. An initial point can never again be reached.
This is a complex thought similar to the “Subtle mathematical complexities” blog a couple of days earlier.

As Cassini approached Saturn (NASA Photo)

(For example) You put a ball on top of a box. It moves and falls to the ground. You lift it up again and put it on top of the box. Now, the action was the same but it happened during different time periods. In this time, there were an infinite number of changes in the surroundings which affected the outcome of the action the second time around. - The air might have gotten denser, the gravitational pull between the sun on the earth changed slightly, you may have changed your direction with respect to the ball, the blood vessels in your hand may have contracted a little. Thus, putting the ball in exactly the same place as before was more of impossibility than an improbability.

Science gives us one variable keeping everything else constant. Economics is the same. But in reality, this isn’t possible. And because of continuously changing cycles, it gets very hard to properly predict a chain of successive events. This is why no one can predict the future.

You have to realize that these conflicting cycles are impossible to predict (as of today). A fuel leak at an airport somewhere might cause an aircraft to crash into somebody’s home in another continent. What I’m trying to describe is similar to the butterfly effect. But different in the sense that I'm saying it’s not possible to control those tiny variations which finally affect the outcome, no matter how hard you try because the physical world is constantly changing.

NOTE: Think about idea of change in the universal sense, not in the everyday sense.
The universe as a whole is a 100% efficient. A typical internal combustion engine is only 20% efficient because it converts only 20% of its energy into “usable” work we want it to do. In universal terms, it is a 100% efficient because every element chemically altered by the engine is capable of renewal and re-use.

And the beauty of it all is that it still works, planets still revolve, stars still burn, plants still grow, things keep changing; no matter if they are the littlest smallest things we would never take the time to think about. We are designed in such a way so as to accommodate these changes and to function normally like our world was unchanging. It’s incredibly complex and also incredibly beautiful.

Faiz Ahmad Ali
Original Work.

It’s hard for me to put my thoughts into words. I’m sorry but I too wish my English was better at times!

How do you define right and wrong?

2006-10-08T20:00:00.000-04:00

What stops you from doing what you want?
Laws? rules? the police? your guts? your upbringing? your values?

I said “from doing what you want” rather than saying “from doing something wrong” because I meant exactly that. I’m not going to try to be politically correct because I do not know the definition of wrong.
We were not born with a handbook defining our purpose.

Should the rules be respected? After all, it’s us that put them in place, not God. The sentence for murder and for disclosing financial information is much the same. In fact, the one for disclosing financial information is harsher. So what were we thinking when we put these rules in place? Was it for the good of mankind or for the sake of free functioning markets?

Is the sanctity of human life lost? Is murder by self defense different from an assassination?

You see, the problem with doing anything you want is also the problem with freedom. People who emphasize the importance of freedom automatically imply that you stick to the rules, don’t disobey the law, don’t harm anybody else.

Is it always good to turn the other cheek?
Should you fight for what you believe in? Or should you die for what you believe in? Both are two very different things.

Should you give in externally but not internally; or should you never give in?
There are no answers for these questions. I don’t think there will ever be. But I do believe that there is a divine streak in every human being which tells each and every one of us what should and shouldn’t be done. Nobody should be able to force something upon us.

The thing I feel what we are here for is an understanding, a feeling where there is no regret, a feeling where we are comfortable with the rest of the world and appreciate it for what it is. A feeling where we realize we are a part of something greater than ourselves.
And this can be achieved only if we don’t get caught up in actions that defer that purpose.

So is murder wrong? Of course it is. Think of the family of the person murdered. Each member is devastated, broken. But it will make each one stronger. It will move him or her closer. It will make him or her realize that life isn’t really the needless struggle that it’s made out to be. That the path of life is uncertain and anything is possible, that life is so precious that maybe it should be shared. That maybe we should try to look beyond it.

So, let me ask you again, what is “wrong”?

Faiz Ahmad Ali

The rain

2006-10-08T02:40:00.000-04:00

The heavy rain in India hits you hard, you realize, you succumb, barriers fall apart, rules make no sense, the only thing that remains is relationships. And even though Indians are not the best at it, that’s where the emphasis lies.

Hardly any rain in the Middle East has people lost, no water, the thirst makes their throats dry. It makes people desolate, it makes them fight. It has them parched, it makes them lost. It breaks them into small groups. It makes them squabble about the littlest things. It forms a mirage.

The light rain in North America doesn’t hit you hard; it retains your line of thought. It enhances your imagination and it makes you brilliant. You don’t fight, but at the same time you don’t succumb. You are in between, you’re not fighting, but you’re still as lost.

None of this is true. It was a just a dream

Faiz Ahmad Ali
Images from Flickr

FLY

2006-10-07T14:01:00.000-04:00

A couple of days ago, not more than a week ago, I witnessed something very strange. Not strange in a surreal sense, but weird enough for me to write this piece.

What did I see you may ask?

Not a whole lot, I saw a common house fly in an empty washroom. A very large washroom complete with glossy tiles. The tiles were white, tiny and plastered all over from floor to ceiling. Although the contrast and décor of this setting could be considered clichéd, I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. However standing there, a truth hit me.

The fly was hovering about for no apparent reason. In a space large enough for him to live his entire life without facing any shortages, his actions seemed increasingly insignificant, his movements seemed blank, and his very existence appeared futile. In real terms, everything he did seemed meaningless.
Figuratively speaking, the fly was in captivity. He knew something was wrong but didn’t quite do anything about it because all his needs were met. The reason for his plight was partly the result of us and partly the result of his luck.

At first I felt learned, a lot more learned, a lot more experienced. I felt comforted by the fact that having learned so many skills throughout my life, I knew a lot more than this fly. I knew how to leave the room and he didn’t. He didn’t possess common knowledge to operate the switches and turn off the lights, but I did. He was subject to my treatment, he was subject to my environment and in this environment, I was king.

Unfortunately, all my learning didn’t help at all, I still felt confused. I felt that the fly and I were attached to each other in this indirect gloomy connection.

Millions of years of evolution never intended for the fly to be locked up in a bland, dark room. Evolution (if true), only led to the creation of new species so the world would progress in harmony. This way, order would be maintained, balance would be upheld. There wouldn’t be a waste of resources. Every scrap of sustainable material would give rise to an organism that could live on it.

When all this was happening, the earth was a very fertile place. A place which provided the perfect blanket for a higher form of life to emerge. Now, popularly known as “The Human Being”. The animal which could think for itself. The animal which could solve problems.

Little did nature know at the time that this animal would go on to reach the moon, discover the atomic bomb, create financial markets, and eat large amounts of Trans fats. Nature did not know. Nature never knew our plan because nature never anticipated the pace of our development.

But what did we learn? Did we learn something if anything at all? Yes, a lot, OR conversely, No, not a lot. Built into us was this knack for a great imagination. Much of this materialized into our beliefs, our attitudes, our misconceptions, and our greatest ideas. But another thing built into us was belief in something greater than ourselves. A divine order.

To search for this “divine order”, man embarked on his greatest mission ever. The quest to find God.
He tried to do this by growing vegetables, he tried to synthesize gold from chemicals, he tried through mathematics, he tried by going to the moon, and he also tried by creating McDonalds.

But, what did all our struggles ultimately result in? A world where everything we achieved wasn’t the slightest bit necessary. Those nano-carbon tubes, those computer chips, those transistors, that plough, the wheel, that club, that spear, that cave, that apple.

It’s as if we passed on all our learning from one generation to the next just to drown them in more of a struggle, push them farther from the truth.

Our maxim today? More competition, more production, more efficiency. We fail to realize the fact that the more we try, the more inefficient we are going to be. And the less chance we will have in the future of rectifying our mistakes.

So don’t fool yourself into thinking that those football players are actually doing meaningful work. Don’t think that a car is a greater achievement than just walking. Don’t think that computers, telephones, the renaissance; or even art, sculpture and history has brought about any further meaning in our lives.

Evolution created us in much the same way it created the fly. Don’t think we are any different.
The fly was trapped in a big box, and so are we. Step outside this box to step into the world of an altered reality. Step outside this box to understand the foundations of existence. Step outside this box to the truth.

Nothing the fly did was meaningless, only its surroundings were meaningless. The same goes for us and the same goes for any living breathing creature in this universe. What we have created for ourselves, and that goes for nearly everything in our lives, is reflective of our brilliance, but is ultimately rather ineffective.

A sage achieved enlightenment through meditation in the Himalayas. I don’t think he would’ve found the isle of a Wal-Mart as spectacular.

Faiz Ahmad Ali
The photo of the fly is one taken by a dear friend of mine - Kunal, during the Bombay monsoons last year.

Subtle Mathematical Complexities:

2006-10-04T00:39:00.000-04:00

Ok…this one’s for yesterday.
Take the time to think it over

You copied me.
I copied you copying me.
Hence, I copied myself

Another one:

John is an ass.

John is an ass because he is an ass.

John is not an ass because he is an ass. (Because "he" doesn’t know he’s an ass)

No, this isn’t from any textbook, it’s my original work. It's what I do in my free time!

Goodnight!
Faiz

Quotes : Comparison

2006-10-03T23:50:00.000-04:00

Don’t let the Buddha fool you. Don’t let TV evangelists taunt you. Don’t let Islamic clerics scare you. The only real truth is the one that cannot be explained, the one that can only be understood. That is why im not even going to try. Just remember that its not religion which is dogmatic but our institutions, our mp3 players, our tv dinners, our brand names. That’s what we should be afraid of, they consume us.

If you don’t know who you are, don’t try to be yourself.

Once upon a time, we lost our souls.

Faiz Ahmad Ali

Yes, I can be very vain.
Some people knew a lot more than me though:

My metal chains did wear away,
Unfortunately a half remained,

The body in the coffin lay,
The mausoleum half remained,

The funeral chants went on and on,
The incantation half remained,

The sword unveiled its nudity,
Encased in sheath but half remained,

My soul did go to the sky of skies,
In body mine a half remained.

Mukhammas

Ghalib

PS. Take a slice of wholewheat bread and put some "Red Raspberry Jam" on it. Then take a butter knife and spread it (streak like fashion) gently. Look at it under a tubelight, and tell me what you see.

Cheerio for today!
Faiz

Practical Observations/Common Fallacies

2006-10-01T23:41:00.000-04:00

Darwin vs. God, impressionist vs. abstract art, meat vs. vegetables, good vs. bad.
If this or anything like this has ever been an object of discussion among you and a few others, then its quite probable you went astray, you missed the point.

What matters is fundamentals don’t change, their presence can be felt and they remain constant so long as to not affect us during the course of our lives. It doesn’t matter how well you define gravity. What’s more important is that it exists.

Maybe evolution is true, maybe it’s false, but we’re all here. So why does it matter? Don’t argue, realize. Don’t push the limits of nature because we’ll always be hindered by thermodynamics (nothing being a 100% efficient).

Or maybe that’s just me. Maybe that’s a screwed up one sided way of looking at a twisted world.
Maybe both of us are right, maybe if the universe allows it, then it must hold true.

You cannot punish a murderer because the physical world isn’t going to stop him from committing a crime. But a cop can be considered part of the physical world. The laws that have put the cop in place are part of the physical world.

So who are we to decide? Who am I to tell you? Who are you to tell me?

Take a moment to visualize the greatness of life, the leaves on trees, the water in the oceans, the structure of a cell. Try to comprehend the variety of life in this world. Try to scrutinize its complexity. Spectacle at its beauty.

Appreciate that we can never create anything greater than ourselves for the simple reason that we cannot create.

Think of the forces that have put us here, don’t even try to comprehend but instead marvel at what is known as our universe. Then try to grasp that for every grain of sand on this planet, there is a star in space.

Don’t think that the world is what you see through those eyes and maybe it all stops if you shut them. Beware of the fact that we are just one planet, one little round ball of rock amongst a tidal wave of creation.
Take a moment, and imagine….

We can never be more than our fathers for the simple fact that we couldn’t have been born without them.

The line of creation goes back, all the way back. And if you see it clearly, you will realize that after we die, we return to the soil, but the procession of creation is one that has been passed on since the birth of humanity. What before then?

Don’t argue, don’t convince, don’t deny, don’t accept. Understand.

Faiz Ahmad Ali

Me......fifty years down the line

2006-10-01T00:36:00.000-04:00

When home is a bench in the Bus Station

By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Abandoned by his family, an old man lives in a bus station in Bur Dubai clinging to every ray of hope that life will take a turn for the better one day.

A bench serves as his bed and a small plastic bag contains his possessions. The man says he does not know how old he is, but reckons he could be 80 or even 90. Esmail does not have documents to prove his identity. Originally from Oman he says he has been in the UAE since he was a child. Today, the bus station at Al Ghubaiba is his home.

With a wizened face and a furrowed forehead, Esmail looks tired.

"I have two sons and a house in Al Satwa," Esmail says, but he has no other details.

Workers at a nearby restaurant say Esmail came to them a year ago asking for food.

"He was unkempt and looked very dirty. We could not let him into the restaurant. We told him to wait outside and we would bring him food," says one worker at the restaurant.

Since then Esmail has been a familiar face. Staff at the restaurant have become his family.

"We only offer him liquids because his health does not allow him to eat solid food," the restaurant worker said.

Staff also wash his clothes and take him to the barber.

"Esmail is sick, his health is deteriorating day by day. He cannot even go to the toilet unaided. We help him. Two weeks ago he fell very sick. We had to call police and an ambulance. He was taken to Al Baraha Hospital but he came back to the bus station after two days," the worker says.

Passersby also offer him money and food.

"We hope the bench doesn't become his deathbed. Esmail needs to be taken to a shelter and given treatment," the worker added.

Esmail has never left the bus station on his own for the past 12 months. With tears streaming down from his tired eyes he says with a feeble voice.

"I can't go on like this. But I have hope ..."

Red bull and vodka, without the vodka

2006-09-30T23:29:00.001-04:00

I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t do anything really. I’m like one of those people you know for a decade and then they rob your house. I’m psychotic, just like those penguins. What?

Crazy Campus Tree

Yes, I'm back (not that anyone reads my blog anyway!) and will start posting more frequently from today. If you have a blog of your own, send me the address and I'll put it up in the links section.

Chevon lover!

Faiz

Best Reply Ever?

2006-08-21T09:36:00.000-04:00

With Reference to the previous Blog, this is what Marecage had to say:

Hi Faiz,
I am sorry about the manner in which I came off - I did not mean to sound insulting...I re-read my entry and it seemed more rude than what I intended. It is a long, inherent English-speaking tradition to use sarcasm in making a point, perhaps even more broadly an Occidental one as well. It is kind of a Sophist manner of learning, posing a kind of question that forces the receptor to make his/her own conclusions and think critically. Furthermore, the sarcasm helps us not to take ourselves so seriously and reminds us that, regardless of the existential things going on, we are simple human beings who live on a wonderful planet.

Now, as for the other points, I think you and I are probably in total agreement on most things. I totally agree that Occidental society revolves around the individual and that Oriental society places emphasis on the collective. Sometimes both perspectives are bad for humanity and it would be arrogant of us to designate one better than the other.

One other thing that is true about Eastern society is the good family structure. I feel cheated that in the West we don't have such a thing, but sometimes, as I said, these things hurt more than they help. Think of all of the gay Middle Eastern people whose only options are suicide or a lifetime of lying and hiding in order not to be thrown out of the family. Think of all of the girls, in more traditional families, who are forced into marriages with no reason except for a little more economic security. Of course these are extreme examples, but they happen often enough that I, a foreigner, who knows many Middle Eastern people, can spot the problems just from the conversations I have had with people.

Also, to clarify, I am not sure if you are saying that the East is better than the West in this aspect or if the West is simply a little worse off. Either way, I will always maintain that the East is as guilty of "losing its soul" as the West. Why were the advances made in the Middle Ages by the Orientals replaced by autocratic regimes, both secular and religious? Even today we see the wholesale execution of citizens by their own governments for such things as adultery, apostasy or again, homosexuality. Why is that in Iran only 1% (or little more) of the population holds all off the wealth of the country, which is exactly the same situation in the United States? Why is it that in Lebanon the Palestinian refugees are treated like pariahs and not allowed to work? Why have none of the other Middle Eastern countries taken it upon themselves to extend citizenship to the Palestinians so that they do not have to beg other governments for asylum? Why is it that France has been more vocal in its condemnation of Israeli war crimes than say, Jordan or Yemen? If this is what a warm, family oriented society means, I think we should rearrange our definitions.

Now, as for our advances taking our "souls" away, I am not sure how to respond. I could not imagine a world in which there were no condoms to help prevent aids, no computers to help facilitate international dialogue that otherwise could not happen, no airplanes so that we could open our minds by travelling and no electricity to help us express ourselves in architecture and other fields. When you go to Mexico City or London or Toronto or Miami, you see women walking around freely, working as executives and not having to have a 12 year old, male escort or wearing a cloth to cover themselves. In Norway or Sweden you can see little children whose parents have been married all of their lives and they have all of their relatives living around them, not in nursing homes. Montréal has one of the lowest crime rates on Earth...

I know that all of these things can be found in the East as well, but with the added tension of knowing that if you make a wrong move you can be branded as a prostitute or arrested for "crimes against nature." That is not a warm, soulful society in my opinion. I would gladly take Western materialism as long as I know that what I do in my own bedroom or what my sister is wearing remains our own business.

I hope you are not insulted by any of this...I rather like the fact that you are intelligent and thoughtful. And again, I do not agree with everything we do and are in the West, but our strength is that we leave space to change and evolve with time. Your strength is that you think of the community and care more about the joy of the human being and family than about material comfort. The only way to solve both our problems is to combine the philosophies, not argue about which should take precedence.

Who are you dude?

2006-07-08T11:47:00.000-04:00

"Blogspot: Marecage said....

I know this a little late, but I recently found your blog. I must say, not to be a fan of Western culture, you have nothing but western things on your blog. Do you think Milla Jovovich or hip-hop boys and cars are an Oriental invention? Or that they are the least bit moral?

Speaking of morals, what is the difference in a cinematic piece of fiction or a literary piece of fiction dispensing the way we should behave?

Furthermore, I hate to sound militant, but the East is not exactly living in poverty. I mean, look at Dubai - there is more money in Dubai than in most American or European cities. And Saudi Arabia....hmmm....now there is a pious civilization: private planes for each prince and no women's rights.

All I mean to say is that West, East, inbetween, all humans are the same at the core. Have you ever read Amin Maalouf? He has a fabulous book called "The Murdering Identity" that illustrates why sociological labels are just that, labels to separate us into neat little corners so that we don't build our Tower of Babel."

Hello Marecage,

I enjoyed reading your comment and think that everyone has a right to their own opinion. I feel that silence and a little compromise work best at resolving problems but in some situations silence isn’t any good.

About culture, please try to look at the bigger picture and don’t get confused with ‘things’. Your culture shouldn’t be your car, or how many songs your ipod can hold. This may be the way some people think of culture but I'm afraid I was referring to common everyday practices, ways of thinking, behavior, family life, traditions. Sorry for the ambiguity.
One of the earliest known human civilizations, the Indus valley civilization in India (around 2500BC) used the first sanitization systems with drains and running water. But I’m not going to mock you by saying the toilet you use everyday is an Indian invention. That to me is hitting below the belt.

Going onto the next issue, morals are not something you learn by watching a movie or listening to your parents. Morals are built into you. Nobody has to tell you that killing is wrong or laughing is good. Nobody teaches you these things. Your parents help, a book or movie helps, but it just re-affirms something already inside you. Malicious people will always find pleasure in sin, no matter what they read or what they do. Again, this is an argument which can go on forever, so please try and understand what I meant.

Learning, efficiency, status, wealth etc. have always been at the heart of human society be it east or west. The only big difference I find between eastern and western culture is the ability of being more about ‘others’ than ‘oneself’. Joint families, great hospitality, sharing, friendship and long lasting relationships, none of them come without baggage. You can’t place yourself ahead of everyone else in an eastern setting because you have to keep everyone in mind. Your success is shared, not only amongst your immediate family but with everyone around you.

Please don’t get me wrong. I think the west has produced great things; modern advances in science, technology, literature, art, music, fashion and most other things can be attributed to the west. But in doing this, I feel it has lost much of its soul. The tower of Babel is symbolic. Don’t think of it as a physical tower, but instead think of it as how our own advancement has failed to bring any extra meaning in our lives. The more we know, the less we really know and this ultimately has us struggling, persevering, trying that little bit harder for something that we will never find.

I also fully agree with you that all human beings are the same at the core.
Think of one apple and two people, both of them needing the apple to survive. The first person wants the apple as badly as the second person, the only difference being that he is prepared to use force which ends up hurting the second person. In the end he survives and the second guy dies. The first guy now realizes that his greed only made it worse because his only companion is now dead. He also realizes that sharing the apple would have been the best option but it’s too late, nothing can be done. He gets so disenchanted and lonely that he ultimately kills himself. A great loss considering they both could have survived. We are the same at the core but sometimes, it is necessary to control ones actions, not to act upon them even if it seems like the best thing to do.

All in all marecage, I found your comment very sarcastic, it was more about bringing somebody down then about putting an idea across. You did have some very good points but there was a constant sense of satire which spoilt it. Although used in similar connotation, the word dislike is very different from the word hate; so really I didn’t mean anything overly negative and you shouldn’t have responded the way you did.

Cheers,

Faiz

Which One?

2006-05-03T17:23:00.000-04:00

Even if we somehow managed to eliminate wealth and class, envy would still prevail because some people would always be naturally superior to others. True equality among people will never be a possibility.

So then, are personal assets, riches and modern day human structures all that dismal? Isn't making it big easier than being born with great physical and mental characteristics?

I think money gives the naturally disadvantaged power. That’s a good thing if we are all supposed to be equal.

Faiz

The awesome new Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano.

Milla Jovovich.

For The Boyz in the Hood

2006-04-28T19:07:00.000-04:00

Yo Shobby D (Show-Be D). If it wasn’t for yesterday, then I wouldn’t know that only the legs at KFC are halal, that desi’s put dhania and green chillies on pizzas, that guys stop playing basketball when they see raccoon's and that green cars are the cheapest to insure.

In the world of 24” rims and 12” sub woofers, the bigger the better. the blingier; the cooler, and the louder; the trippier! Rock on guys and thanks for showing me Toronto from the back Streets. In true Dogg Style!!

Peace Out Yo! It's goin' down from now on'

Faiz!

An old Pic of me and Shoaib

Time to Change

2006-04-25T11:45:00.000-04:00

Different moulds of the same steel have a different value. We subjectively assign value to things and many a times lose track of the things that truly matter.

Human beings love to keep up an image, looking good in today’s world is more important than feeling good. From everything I’ve noticed however, the dirt still prevails.
Everytime you eat a good meal at an expensive restaurant, the food looks so much better, it may even taste better. But remember, just because you’re not seeing the blood doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Its come to a point where the more we gain is relative to level of respect we command. It doesn’t matter how we conduct ourselves or the values and morals that we hold. As a race, we’ve come to a point of saturated selfishness. Our greed has reached a dew point. Any more and there will be outright wrong. Wars, quarrels, and everything else will be acceptable to get ahead. It would be wrong to say that we haven’t reached this point already.

Give up your bodywash and switch to soap. It truly doesn’t matter. Everytime you leave a place you have grown accustomed to, you realize that one day, it will be over, you will have to leave everything behind. That day, nothing, not the money you had, not your possessions and not even your life will matter. It will all be gone. So give it away, help those in need. Don’t feed a stray cat, feed a person.

Human achievement is not going to peak by going to mars; it will be complete if we share what we have.

Faiz Ahmad Ali

Kunal, your photos look great dude!

Let’s Get Started

2006-04-17T03:27:00.000-04:00

What makes Zippo lighters so popular?

The answer is the proverbial man playing with fire dilemma. We do tricks with a Zippo, all of which are different ways to start a fire. Most men think this is very cool. We even spend time learning these tricks. In the end, the fire is used to light a cigarette; which is considered even ‘cooler’.
I don’t smoke because I don’t think it’s me smoking; I feel it’s Brad Pitt in fight club who I’m trying to copy.

Is what I’m trying to say trivial? Think about it. Am I only referring to lighters? Or am I pointing to something much bigger?

Have fun figuring out this one,
Faiz

From Now On........

2006-04-16T13:45:00.000-04:00

My English is simple to the point of being stupid. I have to to do this because it is easy to get confused when trying to understand something. For this reason, I am going to keep my messages short, simple and concise.

Human beings have the ability for greatness, but not all the time. Our brilliance builds up slowly and is materialized when we come up with something new, think of something original and try to achieve something out of the ordinary.

It is not easy to be consistently imaginative and ingenious. Still, it will be my aim to think ‘out of the box’ every so often. Every few days, I will post a blog, it may be something completely new or it may be an extension to something we already know. The blog will be deep enough to take time to think about.

My work as always will remain original, but at the same time it won’t be complete. It will be your job as the reader to fill in the gaps.

Have fun and come back often!
Cheers,
Faiz

INTRO

2006-04-16T01:47:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my very own blog. In time, you will notice that I am very different from other people, sometimes in a shocking and sometimes in a superior way. I am not the average everyday inconspicuous run of the mill person. I am an advocate of culture, discipline, morals and the truth. If you do not possess these, then I consider you the product of a self serving society. One where fulfilling your needs is your only sole purpose.

I believe that defensiveness and aggression are not the answer to any problem. It takes effort to build something, it takes time to achieve something. Sacrifice is paramount to me when it comes to accomplishment.

I hate to say this but I am not a fan of western culture. It is a shallow society where morals are shown in movies, where money is supreme and where the elderly are disregarded.

Stay tuned for more from me. This was a very little. Faiz Ahmad Ali…remember the name.