“A person who is full loathes a honeycomb; but to the hungry, any bitter thing is sweet” (Proverbs 27:7). When the appetite doesn’t exist, or if you are already very full, even the best food means nothing. This describes the human condition in our times – we are easily bored, we consume very quickly, and move on to the next video in a few seconds. Is our life more boring than before or has something changed in our perception of it? Lyndsey Eksili explores this condition in her essay “Wonder in a World Too Familiar.” She writes, “there is a kind of knowledge that explains, and there is a kind of knowledge that awakens.” Today, we know much more about the world, nature, and the universe, but to many as “understanding advances, mystery retreats,” thus leading to boredom. Eksili is shedding light on some of the questions that pertain to losing the sense of wonder and how changing our perspectives in this matter can help us reclaim that “hunger” in our lives.
One way to change our perspectives is to benefit from the nighttime. Sleep is an important aspect of healthy living, writes Hakan Oztunc in this issue, where he also explains that “intentional wakefulness” driven by a longing to pray can serve as a stabilizing force. According to neuroscientific studies, the emotional centers of the brain become more active, and with a conscious engagement of the self by worship can “quiet the storm within.”
Following in the tracks of Oztunc, Sidra Noor writes about her own “intentional wakefulness” in her “The God of 3 a.m.” Hers is a sincere reckoning of a soul in communication with the Divine while the rest of the world sleeps, and “where even in uncertainty,” her “awareness of longing and hope becomes a sacred dialogue.”
In the age of AI, we keep exploring what new opportunities and possible threats are out there waiting for us. Drawing on Isaac Asimov’s robots and the laws that shaped his imagined civilizations, Zeynep Orhan and Zeliha Cetin offer much to think about as they explore how new technologies can be prevented from becoming dangerous to humankind. They rightfully make a distinction between past inventions and artificial intelligence, for while the former were carefully monitored in expert hands, the latter is freely given away into the hands of all kinds of people. They also outline the qualifications of scientists who can deal with this problem.
One important dimension of the human condition is about managing time. The lead article explains how we should value the “now,” without ignoring the past and the future. A comprehensive look on how the present, past, and future can help us understand the world better, and cope with its challenges more easily.
