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