Spoken word poetry

I really enjoyed this. I hope you will too:

Anis Mojgani performs Shake the Dust at HEAVY AND LIGHT.

The World is amazing

 [A nice short post] Thoughts on happiness. I refer to happiness in the general sense. For some people, this can mean being content or satisfied.

Simply put, the world is just awesome [I think that Discovery channel has been using this as a slogan]. It is easy to forget this and become complacent. I try to pay attention when I can and revel in the elegance of all that surrounds us.

For example: When I sit in an aircraft, every single time - I look at the wings, these perfectly shaped piece of metal and I am fascinated: a protrusion of the right dimensions can lift us off the ground and we can take flight... how astouding it is that someone figured this out... how much more can we figure out? about everything...

Then I think of birds and I think of nature and just how much more efficient things are in the natural world... and I realise there is so much more cool stuff we have yet to figure out. That makes me really happy. I am in in awe of what exists now and look forward to remaining as such for the rest of my lifetime.

Check this vid out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

Positive posts - lack thereof

A good friend of mine pointed out that there aren't many 'positive' or 'feel-good' posts on this blog so far. I agree - expect one soon.

Scary facts, stigmas and societal health

[ Initiate rambling :P ]
One of my frequent ponderings is on the subject of mental and societal health [I believe that they go hand-in-hand]. I'm hardly an expert or very well read on the subject, but I do try to follow the current events pertaining to it. Of course, this is something I have personally struggled with and something a lot of people I know have struggled with - it is a reality I must confront.

There is little doubt, mental illness is definitely a problem. here are some details from the WHO website: [N.B: DALYs = Disability Adjusted Life Year = The sum of years of potential life lost due to premature mortality and the years of productive life lost due to disability.]

Depression is the leading cause of disability as measured by YLDs and the 4th  leading contributor to the global burden of disease (DALYs) in 2000. By the year 2020, depression is projected to reach 2nd place of the ranking of DALYs calcuated for all ages, both sexes. Today, depression is already the 2nd cause of DALYs in the age category 15-44 years for both sexes combined.
Depression occurs in persons of all genders, ages, and backgrounds.

Facts

• Depression is common, affecting about 121 million people worldwide.
• Depression is among the leading causes of disability worldwide.
• Depression can be reliably diagnosed and treated in primary care.
• Fewer than 25 % of those affected have access to effective treatments.

So, we're seeing huge costs because of mental illness in the world and it's expected to get worse. However, there is still a stifling stigma that surrounds it. I have read many articles that describe this as a 'barrier to treatment' for things as diverse as alcoholism to general anxiety disorders, I find these disturbing, but the fact that 'fewer than 25% of those suffering from depression have access to treatment' is just scary - this is a curable disease and we are in the midst of an 'epidemic'. Something has to be done, depression is arguably a contagious condition and it severely impacts society's progress [This applies across the spectrum: a scientist curing cancer and a farmer growing crops can both be equally impaired by depression. (check out Dr. Sherwin Nuland's experience)]

As is often the case, science is trying to catch up. We still don't know the exact cause of depression and it's a tricky issue. In my opinion, one of the major factors for my generation is the all-or-nothing mentality that accompanies academics [see: cognitive distortions]. From a young age, we learn that we must be better than everyone to succeed - we must compete, we must win, only those at the top matter, go big or go home, etc, etc, etc....

Our happiness and fulfillment in life fall to the bottom of the priority list. Education has lost its' holistic approach to personal growth and society has followed suit. [I acknowledge that this is a very generalised statement, however the presence of 'grade inflation' and increasing mental illness in my age bracket lead me to believe that it is a valid point for a significant demographic]

Personally, I think one of the first steps we need to take is to adopt a more holistic philosophy of success. It isn't possible for all of us to be on the far end of the bell-curve, it is an unrealistic and unhealthy expectation. We need to start valuing happiness and mental health more - I argue that a happier society will also be more productive and innovative. [Check out a TED talk on A kinder, gentler philosophy of success]

Thanks for reading.
Cheers!

Ultra low-cost solutions/design for the other 90%, etc.

One of the passions that I am discovering is best described as inventing things for poor people. I come from the 'third-world' and have a humanitarian bent; so how can one, such as myself, make a difference beyond financial aid etc?

I really like having this sense of purpose - it motivates me quite a bit. The most interesting part of trying to design things for those in need is that one is forced to innovate and decide what is essential. The cost of the product must be ultra-low for it to be affordable [one cannot ignore the necessity of economic sustainability] and it must be durable [it must last] and it must be relatively easy to use [the majority of the target demographic has the misfortune of bad formal education]. This means one needs to decide what the most important functions are and then everything else must serve that purpose - nothing can be extraneous.

As they say: 'need is the mother of invention'

There is a wonderful TED talk that covers this idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_XchYY3bnU

Who's really in charge

So, I have this pesky problem - recurring thoughts that cause anxiety. [Yes, I am in touch with a professional, etc. - don't get worried]  I like to go on tangents as I write because it follows the meanderings of my mind. Some have called it 'stream of consciousness', but I won't claim such eloquence - it's a matter of convenience. My mind wanders, a lot, like a lot a lot, and this allows me to follow it without having to worry about keeping track when writing. Although it still ends up having a strange rhythm to it - I'm tempted to say it's 'staccato' in nature, but some close friends might take offense to my lack of musical knowledge - the reason for this is that I switch from a writing mode to drifting along with my thoughts, then back again - they never seem to be quite in sync. :)

 Anyways, I like to follow the research and discoveries as best I can in the eclectic fields I am interested in. One of which is mental health [side note: the taboos surrounding mental health issues are a drain on the entirety of society and in my opinion, a bunch of codswallop (I try to avoid cursing)]. An interesting study that was done recently involved checking on on people to see what they were thinking about throughout the day. They found a correlation between how often one was thinking about 'other things' - as opposed to being in the 'present' - and mental health issues [I forget the exact details, but I'll post the link once I'm done with my point.]

I found this particularly interesting because many philosophies, that I have bought in to and 'tried' out, about meditation and spirituality revolve around the concept of being in the 'present' [I admit that my knowledge and exposure may be rather limited] and how that is the key to happiness [this also seems to be a theme in quite a few self-help books... hmm, someone needs to write a paper on the symbiotic evolution of self-help books and religion in practice... ]. I have tried many times to gain control over my mind and be in the present - I suspect there is a lot of other baggage in the way that I will continue to work through before I get 'there'.

So, these pesky thoughts are still bothering me and meditation isn't really helping, even with a mantra. I've decided to take the brute force approach - I'm going to take a pen and a paper and write down the mantra (i.e. "I will not let others negativity bring me down") at least 25 times [or 50 or 100]. It's the best way I can think of until I can truly control my mind's teeterings.


As for the title: who's really in charge? 
Is it our free will or our mind's predispositions and the 'baggage' we carry. I think it's the latter for most of us - even the most successful, perhaps especially the most 'successful'. Maybe one day we'll focus on mental health as part of the education system and will have a truly healthier society, where we can keep our emotions in perspective and allow reason to govern more of our lives. Maybe that's exactly what the world needs...?

The article: 

"People spend 46.9 percent of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they're doing, and this mind-wandering typically makes them unhappy." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101111141759.htm

The Physics of Coffee Rings

I'm trying to imagine how this came about: "I can't think of anything truly profound, a legacy to leave. Darn, this is good coffee. But where should I look for inspiration. Oh yeah, that hits the spot. If only this coffee could provide the answers as well... wait a minute!"

I kid of course. It's great that they found inspiration in an everyday phenomenon. Makes me realize that we are surrounded by little mysteries all the time.

"For centuries, intellectuals have met at the ring-stained surfaces of coffee shops to pore over the most pressing problems of the day -- but has anyone ever pondered the coffee rings they left behind? What causes the formation of stain patterns left behind by coffee droplets on a surface?"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101123191303.htm

Allo Allo

So, this is the 3rd time I'm editing this. I'm all for admitting there's a better option when it's presented and with experimenting - so I'm applying that philosophy to this blog. My sibling said that the tone was too formulaic, and that paraphrasing will bother them as well haha.

Without further ado:
This blog is a work in progress. Yup, that's how I want to define it: open-ended and in keeping with one of my personal philosophies.

However, I will indulge myself and  add more: it will document various wanderings on the internet and my personal journey through life. A lot of it will be sharing links to things I find fascinating - often technological and scientific in content, but sometimes just profound or funny.

Occasionally, I will publish some reflective thoughts.

We'll have to see how things evolve.

The name of this blog comes from another personal philosophy: let every step be a step forward.

Cheers,
Tarboos