At first, air seems to be quite simple” gaseous mixture of atoms, ions, and molecules; 78.1 percent nitrogen, 20.8 percent oxygen, and some trace amounts of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, argon, neon, and krypton, just like spice and salt for a meal. So far, nobody has disliked this meal,’ whose mysteries and secrets are revealed upon investigation.

Air as a Light Source

Air is a mirror that illuminates our surroundings. We cannot read a book or a magazine in outer space, for there is no illumination there. Outer space is a vacuum. Since it contains no molecules or atoms off which the sun’s light and heat can reflect, its darkness cannot be pierced. Since the moon has no atmosphere or layer of gaseous matter to scatter the sun’s light beams, its surface is bright but the space just above it is dark. The Creator of the sun and the eye also created the atoms and molecules in the air and put them at our disposal so that we could see.

Now let’s analyze air, since we depend upon it for our very lives. We inhale oxygen with every breath, and once in our body it burns our food and thereby provides the energy for all bodily functions and maintains bodily heat. It exits through the throat, mouth, and teeth in the form of words.

Nitrogen, the largest component of air, dilutes the concentration of oxygen and makes the air we respire more pleasant. Without it, oxygen would be hazardous and irritating to our lungs. Nitrogen also is a natural fertilizer absorbed by soil and passed onto various micro-organisms in the soil and then to plants. As a result, one of our basic nutrition source components is produced: proteins. This flow of nutrition from plants to animals to people is a fascinating example of mutual benefit and co-operation.

Carbon dioxide, another gas, has only a trace (0.03 percent) presence in air. And yet every year, with the help of plants, it is used to synthesize billions of tons of sugar in a process known as photosynthesis. Plant leaves absorb carbon dioxide, the roots absorb water, and when sunlight is added the final product is glucose, the vital food for every living organism.

Oxygen is another by-product. The resulting energy produced by burning glucose enables all bodily cells to function. Photosynthesis stores the energy from the sun as bond energy between carbon atoms in the sugar. Thus the sun is our food source, as the Qur’an points out: And if you ask them who sends down rain from the sky and gives life therewith to Earth after its death, they will reply, Allah!’ Say: Praise be to Allah!’ But most of them do not understand (29:63).

Let’s travel in the atmosphere to learn more about this Divine source of resources. Now we are 10 kms above Earth’s surface. We cannot breathe here, and so must use our oxygen tanks. At 13 kms, we start to feel a great pressure that almost causes our eyes and blood vessels to burst.

The Unfelt Load

The gases forming the air apply a pressure of 1 kg per cm2 on our skin. The resulting air pressure plays the biggest role in the meteorological events, for strong storms and hurricanes occur when there is a 1 percent change in it. All living things live comfortably and unconsciously with this pressure.

As we go higher into the atmosphere, the density of gases and atmospheric pressure decrease. Also, the pressure of our bodily fluids rises (our bodies are 75 percent water) so much so that we might wonder if they will vaporize or rush out of our bodies. The air has a great weight, although we think the opposite. Most of us do not know that air applies a pressure equal to 1 kg on a fingertip-sized part of our bodies. We do not feel such pressure”calculated to equal 15 tons of air”because its Creator balances it with an inner pressure that is equally intense. Any disturbance in this balance threatens human life. This is why people cannot live at high altitudes, why mountaineers experience severe headaches and nosebleeds, and why astronauts have to wear pressurized space suits.

Layers of Atmosphere

Scientists divide the atmosphere into several layers, each of, which is unique in terms of its heat, pressure, humidity, and the events taking place within it. The first layer is the troposphere, which extends as high as 16 kms above sea level. This layer, which features the perfect circulation of air and matter, is the home for such events as rain, snow, and wind. At its upper edge, its temperature can reach -56’C.1

But the Owner of the universe, following His own rules, makes the atmosphere work as a giant water distribution center. Light breezes circulate thousands of tons of water (as clouds) and guide the water to the soil that needs it. Air’s circulation is moderated so perfectly that no area is ever always wet or dry, and even deserts and rainforests receive what they need to survive.

As Earth’s axis has a slant of about 23′, northern countries receive less energy than southern countries. The result of this seeming disparity in energy levels is the efficient flow of hot air to colder areas so that each area has its energy needs met. Hot air forms low pressure systems as it rises, while cold air forms high pressure systems as it sinks. Wind patterns blow cold air to the south and hot air to the north, forming an ideal system that spreads water vapor, as well as heat, energy, and even pollen, throughout the globe according to need. All of this allows the storage of heat at the equator in the form of energy to spread air and wind around the planet”a sort of global heat machine programmed by its Creator to serve life.

Air temperature drops by 0.61’C for every 100 meters increase in altitude.2 When the ascending air goes into troposphere (the kitchen of the atmosphere), its steam condenses into small droplets. Then clouds, a sign of God’s Mercy, start to form. The thin droplets in these clouds transform into separate ice crystals whenever the temperature drops below 0’C, just like a large army, and fall to Earth as snow.

While doing all of this, the air in our lungs and veins helps to weave colorful motifs on each plant’s leaves and blossoms. While bringing rain with clouds, it conveys pollen from one flower to another. On its weak shoulders it carries tons of water as well as airplanes, spreads light and transports heat, and brings sounds of all frequencies to our ears and many different smells to our noses. No mistake is ever made.

In warm weather, air’s lightness and gentle blowing bring subtle and deep meanings to our heart’s ear. Sometimes it assumes the form of a storm, a blizzard, or a tornado that rips apart everything in its path to warn those who do not understand its acts and do not thank God for the blessings it conveys. Through such events, people understand their weakness and turn to their Creator. Those who read and ponder the Book of Universe carefully, especially the page for air, observe such events as Divine indications of truth or warnings that should be heeded.

An Amazing Filter

The troposphere, the atmosphere’s first layer, is 8 kms thick at the poles and 17 kms thick at the equator. Its highest point is around 22 kms. After this comes the stratosphere, which is about 50 kms thick and has a higher temperature. This layer prevents the sun’s high energy radiations from reaching Earth. The ozone layer, which is vital for life on Earth, is located in the stratosphere. Ozone, which filters the sun’s hazardous rays, is a compound made of three oxygen atoms. The ultraviolet rays convert oxygen molecules into ozone by combining with oxygen.

Some human-made chemical products harm the ozone layer and thus enable ultraviolet rays to reach Earth’s surface. One result has been an anomalous increase in cancer rates, as high-energy ultraviolet rays have very short wavelengths and thus can potentially break the bonds of DNA molecules. These waves, if they reach Earth, also heat up Earth’s atmosphere. An increase of 10 C is enough to cause blood and sap to boil.

Thus we can understand the ozone layer’s role in maintaining this very sensitive balance. Those who claim that such perfection is casual are unable to read the signs God sends to His creatures.

A Comparison

To appreciate these blessings, consider the moon: Its diurnal temperature reaches 120’C, while its nocturnal temperature plunges to -150’C. It is a desolate, silent, and dead place constantly afflicted by meteor showers and ultraviolet rays. This does not happen on Earth, because the carbon dioxide and water molecules in its atmosphere absorb the sun’s excess radiation. This limits the temperature rise during the day and preserves heat for the night. The atmosphere screens hazardous radiation from the sun during the day and preserves the temperature at night. This roof’ gives our planet a moderate climate, while other planets suffer from extreme temperatures.

The water in oceans and seas, which cover approximately 75 percent of Earth’s surface, regulates Earth’s climate. It protects the land from the freezing polar climate and from the scorching temperature of the tropics. Land easily radiates the energy absorbed from the sun’s radiation and thereby ensures a moderate climate.

Although the oceans and seas face higher radiation rates, it is hard to raise their temperatures. Millions of solar calories from the sun are needed to raise the water’s temperature by only a couple of degrees Celsius. Also, this water does not cool easily. This resistance to temperature change enables it to regulate the climate and provide water to the land via evaporation. If the land-sea/ocean ratio were lower, Earth would be full of deserts. Given this, how can we not see the plan of the Artist who created the universe with infinite wisdom?

Meteors

The next level, the mesosphere, extends for the next 80 kms.3 It protects Earth from the meteors that used to scare the Vikings. This is vital, for many meteors fall to Earth every day, as Earth’s gravitational pull attracts them. Also known as shooting stars, they disappear when they enter the atmosphere, for the combination of great speed and atmospheric air reduces them to dust. Without this shield, we would face the meteors every day, just as the astronauts who visited the moon discovered. This dust then goes on to form clouds by joining with water particles until a certain density is reached and the resulting mercy of rain falls to Earth according to a physical and mathematical plan.

A Mirror for Radio Waves

Now we come to the ionosphere, which extends for the next 400 kms. Here, all particles have either a negative or a positive electrical charge.

People were astonished when the wireless radio was invented. However, scientists saw a huge problem: Since radio waves must travel on a straight path, and Earth is a sphere, they could travel only 100 kms. But in 1901, England and Canada were able to communicate via wireless radio across the Atlantic ocean because particles in the ionosphere have an electric charge that makes them reflect radio waves coming from Earth back to Earth. The ionosphere was seen to be like a large echo chamber in space.

Thus we see that God took the needs of all centuries into consideration when creating Earth. As our knowledge increases, we discover what He placed there at the time of creation to benefit us at a later date.

Magnetic Shield

Next comes the exosphere, which extends another 2,000 to 3,000 kms. Here, there is almost no air and friction. Molecular collisions gradually decay, and the relative meaning of temperature no longer applies. Thus most satellites are placed in orbit at this layer.

A compass always points north on Earth because of the magnetic field lines. If we follow this direction, we reach the North Pole. Such knowledge enables us to navigate on land, sea, and air quite easily.

The poles are situated at opposite ends of a hypothetical axis passing from the middle of a hypothetical circle forming the equator. But they are only geographical”not magnetic”poles. The magnetic North Pole is located at the edge of the Ellef Ringes islands in northwestern Canada, 1,290 kms south of the geographical North Pole. The magnetic South Pole is located at Adelie Land in Antarctica. There are various explanations, but no solutions, about what causes these magnetic fields. One theory claims that magnetic field lines (Van Allen Belts) surround the Earth because of the hot liquid iron and nickel at its center.

This layer, the seventh, largest, and final layer, functions as a magnetic shield. The magnetosphere consists of belts formed by magnetic densities. The closest belt to Earth is 4,000 kms distant. The second belt is 16,000 kms distant and can effect things up to 30,000 kms distant. These invisible belts catch and prevent dangerous cosmic rays and charged particles from entering the lower levels by changing their direction. Thus these cosmic rays (having the force of atomic bombs) and solar winds (high-energy electron-carrying atoms) do not reach Earth. Before any of the atmosphere’s properties were discovered, the Owner of Earth and the sky told us about the atmosphere’s shielding: And We have made the sky a roof withheld (from them). Yet they turn away from its portents (21:32).

The Balance in the Atmosphere

Atmospheric gases, because of their nature, seek to scatter into space while gravity works to pull them down and keep them. However, a perfect balance ensures that neither development will happen. Using Earth’s mass, radius and gravity, and several other factors, the precise calculations and adjustments that maintain this balance are beyond even the imagination of humanity.

If Earth were closer to the sun, its air would be hotter and these hot gases would rise and leave the atmosphere. If Earth were further away from the sun, they would be pulled down onto Earth’s surface. If gravity were a little more or less than its current value, the same situation would occur. In addition, the incoming heat must be held for some time. This is done by carbon dioxide.

And yet our planet is a warm and lighted home moving rapidly in cold, dark space. In this home, we have everything we need. To appreciate what we have, all we have to do is compare it with the moon. Do those who seek the source of these actions in blind nature or unconscious and unintelligent reason know that they must assume that all lifeless and unconscious particles must have the knowledge of how to create the universe; how to meet every need and action of all parts of existence (especially of humanity), and also have absolute power to make these processes function with complete perfection for all of eternity?

Footnotes

1. www.geog.ouc.bc.ca/physgeog/contents/7b.html.
2. Ibid.
3. www.onlineastronomy.com/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.html.

A point of Divine Unity*

In His Name, be He glorified.

There is nothing but it glorifies

Him with praise.

My dear and faithful brothers and sisters! While reflecting on air during a mental journey, a subtle point related to Divine Unity suddenly became clear to me in the word He in There is no deity but He and Say: He is God. I observed that the way of belief is so easy as to be necessary, and that the way of misguidance and associating partners with God is so difficult as to be inconceivable. I shall explain this comprehensive matter briefly.

A handful of soil serves as a flowerbed for hundreds of flowers. If this process is attributed to nature or causality, each handful must contain hundreds of minute machines or factories [to produce the flowers] and an immaterial factory [to determine and govern their lives in place of the Divine Knowledge and Destiny]. Or, each particle must know how to make each flowers different characteristics and living elements. In other words, each particle would possess infinite knowledge and power, both of which are unique to God.

Each air molecule (a conductor of Divine Will and Command) in each gust, each shift of air making the sound He, must have minute centers, exchanges, receivers, and transmitters of all human means of communication so that each air molecule could perform those countless acts simultaneously. Or, each particle or molecule must control all relevant faculties (of mind, spirit, personality, etc.) of all means ofcommunication, know their users languages, and transmit them to the other particles simultaneously. Unbelievers, naturalists, and materialists ask us to believe this impossibility.

(If attributed to the Majestic Maker, however, all air particles become soldiers under His Command. Through their Creators permission and Power, their connection to and reliance on Him, and the manifestation of their Makers Power, they perform their innumerable universal duties as easily as if they were one particle with only one duty.)

Their duties are performed instantly, and with the ease of uttering He and the movement of air. And so air becomes a page for the Pen of Powers endless, wonderful, orderly inscriptions. Its particles become the Pens ribs, and the particles duties become the points inscribed by the Pen. All of this is done with the same ease as it takes to move one particle.

While observing and studying the world of air, I saw this truth clearly and in detail. I realized with a certainty based on knowledge that this is so because the actual word He and its utterance are both brilliant proofs and gleams of Divine Unity. I understood that its meaning and resonances contain a radiant manifestation of Divine Oneness and strong proof of Divine Unity. Moreover, that proof contains an indication to the identity of the One to Whom the indefinite, third-person, singular pronoun He refers. I came to know that both the Quran of Miraculous Expression and those who constantly recite the Divine Names frequently repeat this sacred word to express Divine Unity.

If several points are jumbled around one, it is almost impossible to distinguish that point. If you do several jobs simultaneously, you will be confused. If a living creature is loaded with many burdens at once, it will be crushed. If you listen to or say many words simultaneously, they become confused and muddled.

However, I saw with a certainty based on clear observation that although thousands of points,letters, and words are deposited in each air molecule ” even in each particle ” they are conveyed without confusion or irregularity. Also, the air performs its duties simultaneously and without confusion. Each air molecule or particle bears heavy burdens without lagging behind or displaying any weakness. Also, I witnessed countless words enter ears and leave mouths with perfect order.

(By carrying out all of its extraordinary duties, each particle and air molecule proclaims in the tongue of its being and functioning, in ecstasy and perfect freedom, and through its testimony: There is no deity but He and Say: He is God, the One. All of them travel among air-clashing waves like lightning and thunderstorms in perfect order and harmony.)

Given this, can we assert seriously that each particle or air molecule necessarily has infinite wisdom, knowledge, will, power, and all qualities needed to dominate all other particles so that it can perform those functions? Or, from a position of certainty based on knowledge, clear observation, and personal experience, can we assert logically that air functions here as a changing page for the Pen of Power and Destiny, used by the All-Majestic One with infinite knowledge and wisdom, and as a signboard (the Tablet of Abrogation and Confirmation) reflecting a changeable copy of the Divine decrees preserved on the Supreme Preserved Tablet?

Air shows the above-mentioned wonders and manifestation of Divine Oneness by transmitting sound, and shows the impossibility of what the misguided assert. In the same way, it performs other duties (e.g., transmitting such subtle forces as electricity and light, attraction and repulsion) while simultaneously transmitting sound. It also carries out duties essential for plant and animal life (e.g., respiration and pollination) with perfect order and without confusion.

Air is a very important means of conveying the Divine Will and Command. It performs its duties without any real or imagined interference from random chance, blind force, deaf nature, confused and aimless causality, or powerless, lifeless, and unknowing matter. I also understood that each particle and air molecule proclaims in the tongue of its being and functioning: There is no deity but God and Say: He is God, the One. Just as I witnessed these wonders in the physical aspect of air with the key of He, so air itself became a key, like He, to the World of Symbols or Ideas and the World of Meaning.

Peace be upon everybody!

* Adapted from Bediuzzamans Thirteenth Word.

As this news spread throughout the world, people began to ask if one day a human being could be cloned. Certainly, at least in theory, it seemed possible. Some people even claimed that it would be a good idea to clone such geniuses as Einstein and others who had passed away. On the other hand, others argued that such knowledge could lead to cloning such people as Hitler, and that this was reason enough never to open the door to this potentially dangerous technology. 

The role of environment

But is DNA everything? Is DNA the only item that makes us human? Case studies of same egg twins’ show that there is more to us than DNA. Researchers have noticed that such twins, despite having the same DNA and being brought up mainly in the same environment and the same manner, somehow follow different paths, acquire unique personalities, and show evidence of different characteristics, although they may show similarities during childhood. Thus we can see that environment is an important factor on human behavior.

Used in this context, environment refers to the surrounding society, culture, belief, and moral values in other words, that which separates human beings from animals. DNA, the acronym used for a person’s genetic code, plays the key role in the beginning of any biological life form. This key molecule functions similarly in both animals and plants to produce living cells.

Human beings have a special life-giving feature: the soul. Although its nature remains a mystery, its existence is felt deeply in the conscience and gives us a distinct nature that is not shared by non-human life forms. Although a person’s first biological body is evident in the DNA even before it assumes an identity, it is the soul that determines his or her character and temper. Another shaping factor that should not be underestimated is the surrounding society (e.g., family, school, and economy) that unites with the soul and contours the body.

The era in which one lives also has a role in determining one’s character. Given that a society is made up of individuals, it is subject to changes in moral values over time. Thus it is quite likely that if Einstein or Hitler were cloned, the resulting person would be an ordinary contemporary man who is obsessed with sports cars and the Internet, and a man who carries his cellular phone wherever he goes.

What made Hitler a monster was the era and society in which he lived, not his genes. What made Einstein a genius was the chance to explore and use his own capabilities and intelligence. It is quite certain that genes are the sole parameters that affect a person’s intelligence and other intellectual features. In addition, the wonderful and unknown nature of a human being would be more conclusive and understandable if the complex interactions between the spiritual properties and cultural effects were taken together as a whole.

The role of the soul

People can be cloned. In fact, clones that are biologically similar and yet behaviorally unique would be the best proof of the soul’s existence. Since the soul cannot be cloned, as it issues from a different world, cloning a person’s body may not be that dangerous. But it also would not make any sense. Moreover, the cloned individual could end up as a dangerous animal.

Consider the following example of inter-species breeding: When a horse and a donkey are mated, the resulting animal is a non-fertile hybrid. If a female horse and a male donkey are mated, the result is a non-fertile mule. If a male horse and a female donkey are mated, the result is a smaller and weaker animala hinny. But since half of the DNA comes from each animal and thus each hybrid offspring has the same DNA, how can this difference be explained? Obviously, the DNA contained within the mitochondria of the female horse’s egg cell makes a huge difference.

Other issues

The patent dilemma: The patent (copyright) system prevents any illegal copying and imitating and ensures that the actual researcher and inventor is rewarded. Drugs and chemical substances are the most patented items in medicine. After a large portion of the human DNA puzzle was solved, the issue of how to patent this information was put on the American agenda.

President Clinton declared that most parts of human DNA had been determined. However, such information was not to be placed in the hands of humanity at large, for the pharmaceutical companies had spent vast sums of money to produce this information. Also, it would be a serious violation of basic commercial sense for the companies to just give this information to the general public for free.

In addition, paying for the copyrights to acquire the technology does not mean that you are totally free to with it what you want, for these same copyrights limit the usage of that particular technology. This means that if cures are found for AIDS, cancer, and other currently incurable diseases, only the wealthy will be able to afford them.

Determining does not mean understanding: DNA consists of exons and introns. Exons form the meaningful parts of DNA by uniting with each other. We call the result genes. Introns are the non-meaningful parts of DNA. What is interesting here is that these non-meaningful introns make up 97 percent of all DNA. One wonders if they have functions, other than protecting and shielding the meaningful parts from external radiation and ultraviolet light, that are unknown to contemporary scientists? For example, each human cell contains about 4 meters of DNA chain in its nucleus. Surprisingly, introns and exons are represented by the same symbolic letters (A, C, G, and T), so determining the DNA chain is nothing more than a new beginning. The more important task is to identify the genes made of exons, which are non-trivially embedded into the introns.

The exact number of human genes remains unknown. According to some scientists, this number is either 25,000 or 32,000. Determining the DNA chain written with a four-letter alphabet is like trying to determine the meaning of an ancient inscription. Just seeing what it looks like does not mean that one can read it, for the latter is far more difficult than the former. This suggests that just determining the DNA chain is not enough, and that truly understanding the genes and their exact locations requires more time.

Conclusion

Human DNA has been determined, but we must remember that there are as many combinations as there are people. Also, the claim that DNA has been determined’ is true only for a select group of people. Human DNA differs from race to race, society to society, and even from disease to disease. Thus it will take more time to develop a full comparative table of human DNA. It would be great if our current technology somehow could devise a single formula to represent the gene map of every individual.

References

• Anderson, Kenneth N. (ed.), Lois E. Anderson (ed.), and Walter D. Glanze. Mosby’s Medical Dictionary. 5th ed. Mosby Year Book, Inc.: 1997.
• Erturk, Hikmet, DNA Her Sey mi?’ Siziniti, no. 269 (June 2001): 228-29. Translated by Emrah Altunkaya.

According to the author, Islams response to modernity has passed through three stages: revivalism, reform (including nationalism), and fundamentalism. Each has emerged from the former ones failure: the inability to achieve true independence, self-sustaining economic and scientific infrastructures, and a realistic alternative to a now-globalized system that marginalizes and ignores the Muslim world.

Lawrence builds his book around several arguments. First, Islam and being Muslim are not synonymous with being Middle Eastern Arabs, who are a minority within the fold of Islam. Second, the Islamic world is not a unified bloc, as shown by failures at attempts to unify individual countries or even to agree on what constitutes real Islam. Thus there is no basis for the Wests fear of a so-called clash of civilizations. Lawrence maintains that the likelihood of this happening is as remote as Canada, the United States, and Mexico uniting because they profess Christianity.

Third, fundamentalism has surged since the 1970s because of the failure of Arab nationalism, the use of oil money to create dependent rentier states, and the success of the Iranian revolution (1979). Other reasons include an omnipresent nation-state structure that blocks all outlets of legitimate protest, as well as the practices of every party trying to justify itself in terms of Islam because that is the most effective rallying cry.

Fourth, fundamentalists are mainly educated urban or newly urbanized young men who have little hope of finding a job after graduation, instead of the stereotypical types often presented in the media. Frustrated and angry, yes; but far from being uneducated, illiterate, and easily swayed by demagogues. What attracts them to fundamentalism is its black-and-white nature and its promises of a better and more just future. Unfortunately, fundamentalism preaches idealism and utopia, is destructive instead of constructive, and offers no viable alternative (Iran being the sole exception).

Throughout this book, Lawrence maintains that Iran is worth watching, for it is the social laboratory in which Islam is grappling with modernity on a daily basis. Another Muslim country worth watching is Malaysia, which has moved jihad from the battlefield to the economic and development plane by striving to become a fully modern industrialized nation by 2020. It appears to be the first Muslim country actively trying to disprove the assertion that Islam precludes such a transformation.

The author also discusses the role of women, a favorite media topic. Basing himself on several geographically distinct Muslim countries, he concludes that attempts to restrict women to the home, while often justified in Islamic terms by a patriarchal sociopolitical order, reflect the fact that there are not enough jobs to go around even for men. As long as the army remains one of the few ways of social and economic advancement, economies do not develop and expand, modern technical education remains beyond reach for most young people, and skilled foreign workers are hired because there are not enough trained local workers, this problem will persist.

Lawrence has done the reading public a great service by reaching beyond stereotypes and lazy scholarship to give us a much more realistic view of the Muslim world and its inhabitants.

These special functions are responsible for analyzing sensory data, performing memory functions, learning new information, forming thoughts, and making decisions. Given this, cognitive science deals primarily with the functioning of the brains frontal lobe, which is responsible for cognition (the act or process of knowing, including both awareness and judgment) and memory. The brains prefrontal area enables concentration, attention, and the elaboration of thought. As the brains gatekeeper (judgment and inhibition), it also is responsible for personality and emotional traits. One of the frontal lobes main functions is memory, a very important topic in cognitive science.

Memory

Memory is defined as the power or process of reproducing or recalling what has been learned and retained, especially through associative mechanisms. It is also the store of things learned and retained from an organisms activity or experience, as evidenced by structure or behavior modification as well as recall and recognition.

Just like any other human trait, memory can be empowered and improved. How this is accomplished usually depends upon the individual. Many such techniques and tricks are advertised and marketed in daily life. While some actually work, most are like overloading our already full memory files. Eventually, it comes down to tricks vs. power, just like in sports. Consider the following analogy: If an Olympic boxer wants to improve his skills, should he watch pro-boxing matches on TV or punch a vinyl speed bag to train the muscles he needs to overpower his opponent?

This example might seem a little strange, for it depends heavily upon muscles. But, surprisingly, it really is relevant to the brains memory center, for recent developments in cognitive science show that a specific area behind the forehead (in the pre-frontal cortex) houses the brains memory muscle (1) ”the working memory. The discovery was made possible by advances in such brain-imaging technologies as PET and MRI scans.(2) Suppose you are studying for an exam and have to wade through a mound of reading material, or have to make a 10-digit phone call without the aid of a phone book, or are under a lot of pressure to answer questions rapidly or to make a snap decision. It is your working memory that decides what is relevant and where to best store such data for quick retrieval upon demand.

Developing our memory muscle

Pharmaceuticals, memory books, mnemonic tricks, seminars, and mental chronometrics (3) say that we develop our memory muscle and thereby improve our memory power. In reality, our memory muscle is our heads chief executive, for it is in charge of receiving, organizing, encoding, filing, and retrieving just about anything we learn, as well as for all planning and decision-making activity.

This activity is also known as psycho-interactive intelligence, for such tasks challenge all of the powers of working memory, including short-term memory, concentration, and mental speed. Computer-based exercises (CBEs) function in the same way. And, since they are psycho-interactive, they customize new challenges via simultaneous analysis and measurement. In addition, they usually are far more entertaining.

In fact, our memory muscle actually determines how quick, sharp, and focused our thinking is. According to Life magazine (July 1994): Evidence is accumulating that the brain works a lot like a muscle”the more you use it the more it grows. Although scientists had long ascertained that the brains chemistry was hard-wired by adolescence and inflexible in adulthood, its newly discovered ability to change, grow, and adapt is apparently with us well into old age.

NASA continues to make extensive use of training exercises to improve the brainpower of astronauts and pilots. Computer models of the brains functioning also are used in determining how to improve brainpower. Due to such research, they have been able to tap and train the brains memory muscle.

Mind Machines and Pharmatronics

The term mind machines refers to a large variety of technologies that affect ones brain: HemiSynch tapes, light and sound machines, cranial electrical simulation (CES) devices, biofeedback, biocircuits, lucid dreaming tapes and machines, consciousness alteration software, and sensory deprivation tanks. They are designed to transform the users brain waves into a wide variety of new patterns: from focused and alert to creative and ultra-relaxed, meditative to twilight receptive/learning state, or to different states of sleep. It is like instant brainwaves–ready in seconds on demand.

Bio-entrainment is the process of causing neurons to function in a desired manner. For example, a person with attention deficit disorder (ADD) cannot focus due to slow theta rhythms and desynchronous beta waves. Mind machines, especially light/sound and biofeedback, can help break these brain waves out of their scattered gridlock and drive them into open focus (theta) or closed focus (beta) patterns. Bio-entrainment also can enable people to focus better, relax or dive into deep meditation, induce creative or intuitive states, or to enter a deep sleep state quickly.

Encouraged by mind machines, pharmatronics (neuroscience) has induced researchers to postulate the psycho-physiological principle: Every psychological state has a corresponding measurable physiological (i.e., physical, electrical, and biochemical) state, and vice versa. For instance, using biofeedback to reach a state of deep relaxation and serenity (i.e., meditation) may cause the pituitary gland to produce endorphins that make you feel real good. This electronic-to-pharmacological effect, known as pharmatronics, is like an electronic drug or a device (e.g., a computer, game player, biofeedback device, or even software), for it alters the brains electrical (brain wave) pattern and, hence, its biochemical (pharmacological) profile.

One of the first notable pharmatronic agents was Tetris, a computerized puzzle game. Using PET scans, Dr. R. Haier discovered that first-time Tetris players experienced a significant increase in their cerebral glucose metabolic rate (GMR), indicating that their basic brain energy consumption was soaring.(4)

Computer-based exercises (CBEs)

Psycho-interactivity is not the same as interactivity. Clicking on a hyperlinked button to go to another page is interactive, whereas a psycho-interactive activity involves a computer taking the user through a series of mental challenges. But it does not stop there, for it also analyses the individuals reactions and then adjusts the level of complexity in subsequent challenges to ascertain the full potential of the players memory recall, thinking, and decision-making speed. Thus it renders a dynamic brainpower analysis, whereas most mental ability tests are static.

Since the brain is like a muscle, it must be challenged with the appropriate kind of resistance if it is to develop and grow. To develop any muscle, one has to engage in anaerobic exercises that feature a resistance or load that is very difficult to lift more than 10 to15 times (reps). Aerobic exercises (e.g., using a weight that you can lift 100 times), will not develop the muscles power. This is also true with the brain, for it will not develop only by thinking harder (an aerobic activity). What it requires is an anaerobic-like challenge, such as learning a new skill. Playing chess or mastering a new judo move can stimulate the brains neural dendrites to grow. However, the best anaerobic exercise is one that challenges the person to exert maximum mental energy, like running the 100-meter dash instead of a mile. This is what CBEs do.

CBEs also lower the noise in the brain, which leads to a more accurate reading and processing of information. The brains learning and testing is much like computers”its power is indicated by its speed, efficiency, and capacity for reading, filing, and recalling information.

CBEs are a synthesis of cognitive science, educational psychology, computer science, biofeedback, and psychophysiology. In addition to psycho-interactivity, add the law of psycho-physiology: If you can receive immediate on-line measurement of anything, whether it is your heart rate or brain waves, you can control it.(5)

In one experiment, astronauts used cognitive challenges every day and reported back to Houston so that their brains functioning could be recorded for that day. Subtle changes in cabin CO2, CO, ionization, and so on were found to have measurable effects on their brainpower and performance. CBEs do something like this, but their interactivity makes them more challenging and allows researchers to determine good or bad days in terms of brainpower.

Physical, perceptual, and cognitive reflexes are important in athletics. Contrary to common belief, reflexes can be trained and improved. There is plenty of research on how diet and nutritional supplements effects mental and physical performance. But training can sharpen and hone all of three reflexes. Psychology and physiology books say there is a limit to how fast one reacts to a simple stimulus, such as a car suddenly stopping in front of you on the freeway. The limit is assumed to be 150 milliseconds. But CBEs have reduced this to 100 milliseconds.

CBEs can improve perceptual reflexes (seeing speed). Moreover, some cognitive reflexes, strangely enough, are not highly correlated with physical reflexes. Just because an athlete has good hand-eye coordination and reflexes does not guarantee athletic success when the reaction is based on making a split-second cognitive choice or decision. Cognitive reflexes also can be improved.

Brain software in clinical studies

CBEs that analyze the brain and compute the users IQ may have an important role in studying and detecting Alzheimers, a progressive brain disorder. Josh Reynolds points out that while Alzheimers only affects 4 to 5 million people in the US, PMI (Premature Mental Impairment) is estimated to afflict over 50 million Americans. PMI typically manifests itself as loss of sustained concentration, memory, and mental quickness. It has many causes, such as undetected strokes, poor nutrition, head injury, alcohol and tobacco abuse, and depression.

However, the most prevalent cause of potentially serious brain deterioration may be cortisol, an adrenal hormone produced as a byproduct of stress. Recent research suggests that cortisol may actually kill brain cells and even lead to Alzheimers if the stress is not detected and treated. Ironically, the very medications used to treat stress (e.g., Valium) temporarily impair physical and cognitive reflexes, especially when dosages are too high or mixed with other drugs or alcohol.

CBEs can show the subtle early stages of stress-related memory loss, and can be used to titrate the dosage levels of anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs. Thus, they can minimize the temporary impairment mentioned above while maintaining the medications therapeutic efficacy. CBEs are developed on a computer science platform and thorough research into cognitive chronometrics, defined as the direct active computer-assisted measurement of the brains function. CBEs also can diagnose the early stages of a brain disorder before the onset of clinical symptoms. In addition to Alzheimers, CBEs are used to study and detect ADD and head trauma recovery.

The early stages of dementia, especially Alzheimers, are typically characterized by a breakdown in short-term memory. The primary breakdown is believed not to be in memory retrieval, but in the memory consolidation and storage phase, which are believed to be delegated to the hippocampus. According to CDI president Josh Reynolds, one of the earliest markers of Alzheimers is in the cholnergic system in the hippocampus.

PMI is characterized by a loss of sustained concentration, memory, and mental quickness. CBEs assess six areas of neuro-cognitive functions: physical reflexes, perceptual reflexes and thresholds, cognitive reflexes, working memory capacity (short-term memory), neuro-cognitive processing efficiency (concentration/attention), and neuro-cognitive processing speed (mental quickness). This is accomplished by measuring cognitive states (or status) and subtle changes in cognitive states.

CBEs also provide a reflective measure of neural noise, which is measured by analyzing, among other proprietary variables, the standard deviation (consistency) of the subjects intra-trial reaction times.

Conclusion

As in any field of science and life, computers are becoming a ubiquitous element in cognitive science. With its potential prospects and uses, the computer continues to offer many opportunities to improve our life. This article focused on some of the ways in which a computer can be used to aid the brains memory function. However this is just a crawling stage, and the field essentially remains wide open for researchers.

Footnotes

1. The term memory muscle is used here for the resemblance of this area of brain to a muscle in terms of functioning.
2. PET (Positron Emission Tomography) involves producing a computer-generated image of a biological activity within the body by detecting gamma rays emitted when introduced radionuclides decay and release positrons. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) involves using a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer to produce electronic images of specific atoms and molecular structures in solids, especially human cells, tissues, and organs. Cognitive scientist Dr. Richard Heier of the University of California, Irvine, is a prominent figure in this area.
3. Mental Chronometrics: A field within cognitive science that uses computer assisted brain exercises to interactively isolate, challenge, and develop working memory.
4. Phil Sater is a pioneer in neuro-technology and light and sound Personal Relaxers. He also is involved in developing an L/S TurboCharger. See www.mindgear.com.

5 Josh Reynolds is the founder of www.brain.com.

References

• http://at-advocacy.phillynews.com/data/brain.html.
• McCrene, John. New Scientist. Apr. 1996.
• Quarterly Report. The Long Beach Business Journal. Nov. 1997.
• www.brain.com.
• www.mindgear.com.

The ways Christians and Muslims relate to each other in the 21st century will have a profound impact on both communities and the world. Clearly, global interdependence requires more than tolerance in the midst of diversity. Economic, ecological, and military dangers underscore the need for mutual understanding and cooperation across religious and cultural boundaries. Unfortunately, the large majority of Christians and Muslims tend to view the other through the lens of misinformation and stereotypes. This problem is made worse by the media’s tendency to focus on the most violent and sensational events.

Knowing very little about Islam, most Christians in the U.S. shape their views in response to stories about terrorists blowing up the World Trade Center, a zealot’s call for Holy War, hostage takers, or the sharp rhetoric of Louis Farrakhan. While these images are rooted in the behavior of small groups of Muslims, they are hardly representative of the more than one billion Muslims, the overwhelming majority of whom are horrified by violent extremism. Consider the following facts:

– Minister Farrakhan’s supporters represent less than 20% of the African-American Muslim community. Some Muslims consider this movement to be another religion. The large majority are following traditional Islamic teachings out of camera range.

– The largest Islamic country is not in the Middle East. It is Indonesia with more than 160 million Muslims. There are more than 100 million Muslims in each of the following countries: India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. China has over 30 million Muslims, more than any Middle Eastern country except Egypt.

Why should Western Christians base their images of Islam on the behavior of extremist elements rather than the hundreds of millions of people who are not behaving violently?

Turn the image around and the problem comes into focus. Imagine that you are a Muslim living in Tunisia. You know very little about Christianity. But, you see and hear strange stories on the TV and radio: David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in Waco, TX; the scandals of Jim and Tammy Bakker; bombings by the IRA in Ireland; more than 20,000 documented cases of rape or murder of Bosnian Muslim women and children; or, a recent media frenzy over the group known as Heaven’s Gate. If your image of Christianity were shaped largely by media attention to these violent and sensational stories, how accurate would it be?

In addition to pragmatic needs for cooperation, the Bible challenges Christians to examine relationships with others: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16); Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 19:19); and If it is possible, so far as it depends on you live peaceably with everyone (Romans 12:18).

How is it possible to avoid bearing false witness against or to love one’s neighbor, or to live together in peace if we know so little about our neighbor? Even worse, how is it possible to live in faithfulness to these biblical imperatives when much of what we think we know is incorrect?

Most Christians and Muslims have similar views on God’s revelatory activity through Prophets. The Bible and the Qur’an convey similar things about angels and devils, the last judgment, heaven and hell. They also differ at crucial points, most notably the understandings about God’s activity in and through Jesus. The differences are real and profound.

For Christians, the similarities and differences with Muslims have important consequences for mission and witness, as well as for dialogue and cooperation on common concerns. However one approaches these concerns, the prospects for constructive encounter is linked directly to a better and more accurate understanding. Now, perhaps more than ever, people of faith and goodwill need to make concerted efforts toward such understanding. The road is not blocked, and there are ways to move forward.

A good place to begin is with study programs in churches and intentional dialogues with local Muslims. Such efforts can help to correct stereotypes and begin to put a human face on others with whom we share this increasingly fragile planet.

Greed shows its evil consequences wherever there are animate beings. In contrast, seeking one’s provision while trusting in God is a means to tranquillity and displays its good effects everywhere. For example, fruit trees and plants need provision and yet remain stationary, “contentedly trusting in God and showing no impatience.” And so their provision hastens to them and they reproduce more vigorously than animals. Animals attain only an insufficient provision after great effort, since they pursue it with impatience.

Only young animals, who “demonstrate their trust in God through their weakness and impotence,” receive in full measure their rightful and delicious provision from Divine Compassion’s treasury. On the other hand, wild beasts that leap greedily at their provision obtain “illicit” and coarse food at the cost of great effort. These examples show that greed causes deprivation, while trusting God and contentment are the means to Divine mercy.

Contented and greedy people can be likened to two people entering a great one’s audience. One thinks: “It is enough that he admits me so that I can escape from the cold outside. Even if he seats me in the lowest position, it will be a favor.” The second person arrogantly hopes for the highest position, as if he had some right to it and as if everyone were obliged to respect him. He enters with greed and, fixing his gaze upon the highest position, attempts to advance toward it. But the owner turns him back and seats him in a lower position. Instead of thanking the owner, the man is angered and criticizes him, thereby annoying the owner. The first one enters most humbly and shows his willingness to be seated even in the lowest position. His modesty pleases the owner, who invites him to sit in a higher position and thereby causes his gratitude to increase.

This world is like the Most Merciful One’s audience hall. Earth’s surface is like a banquet laid out by Divine Compassion, with the different degrees of provision and grades of bounty corresponding to the seating positions.

Everyone can experience the evil effects of greed. For example, you are offended by a beggar who importunes greedily and are inclined to refuse the request, whereas you give to the peaceable one out of pity. Or you may fall asleep quickly if you do not think about sleeping, instead of trying to fall asleep immediately. If you are impatient, you might lose your whole night’s sleep. Or, if you impatiently wait for someone and complain continually, finally you will lose patience and leave. But a minute later the person will come, and so your purpose will remain frustrated.

The reason for this is as follows: A loaf of bread is produced only after cultivating the field, harvesting the crop, taking the grain to a mill, and baking the loaf. Similarly, Divine Wisdom arranges everything according to a certain deliberation. If you do not comply with this deliberation and neglect to follow all the arranged steps, you cannot achieve the desired result.

I had a true, highly interesting, dream during the fifth year of WWI. In it, I was asked the reason for this hunger, financial loss, and bodily trial afflicting the Muslims. I replied:

From the wealth He grants to us, God Almighty requires, as zakat, either a tenth or a fortieth so that we may benefit from the poor people’s grateful prayers and avoid their rancor and envy.(3) As our greed did not allow us to pay, God Almighty removed its accumulated amount: three-fourths where a fortieth was owed, and four-fifths where a tenth was owed.

He asks us to fast for a month each year so that we may benefit from as many as 70 beneficial purposes. But we pitied ourselves and did not fast. And so God Almighty compelled us to fast for 5 years with a hunger that combines almost 70 kinds of afflictions.

God requires believers to spend no more than one hour out of 24 in prayer, a pleasing and lofty, illuminating and beneficial form of Divine training. But we were too lazy to observe the five daily prayers and so wasted all 24 hours. In return, God Almighty chastened us by making us undergo a form of training and physical exertion for 5 years.

I awoke after this and, pondering over it, realized a very important truth. As The Twenty-fifth Word indicates, by comparing modern civilization’s principles to the Qur’an’s commands, all immorality and disturbances in human social life proceed from two sources and two attitudes: “Once my stomach is full, what do I care if others die of hunger?” and “You work and I will eat.”

These attitudes are perpetuated by the prevalence of usury and the abandonment of zakat. The only remedy is to implement zakat as a universal principle and duty and then ban usury. Zakat is a most essential pillar for individuals, particular communities, and humanity to live a happy life. Humanity usually comprises two classes: the elite and the masses.(4) Only zakat can arouse the elite’s compassion and generosity toward the asses, and the masses’ respect and obedience toward the elite. Without zakat, the elite cruelly oppresses the masses and thereby often engenders revolt. Such a development gives rise to a constant struggle and position, finally resulting in labor and capital confronting each other, as in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century.

O people of nobility and fairness, of munificence and liberality! If you do not act generously in the name of zakat, your acts are useless and potentially harmful. If you do not give in God’s name, you make poor people feel obliged to you and so deprive yourself of their prayers, which are acceptable in God’s sight. Also, your subsequent belief that you own your wealth shows great ingratitude.

But if you give zakat, you are rewarded for giving for His sake and thank Him for the bounties received. What is more, its recipients will not feel obliged to flatter or fawn, and thus damage their self-respect. Moreover, their prayers for you will be accepted.

See the vast difference between giving to earn fame and impose obligation, and giving as zakat to fulfill your religious duty, gain a reward, be sincere, and have poor peoples’ prayers for you accepted.

Glory be to You, we have no knowledge save what You have taught us. You are All-Knowing, All-Wise. O God, bestow blessings and peace on our master Muhammad, who said: “Believers stand together like a firm building, one part of which supports the other” and: “Contentment is a treasure that will never be exhausted,” and on his Family and Companions. And all praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.

Footnotes

1. The Qur’an says: Ignominy shall be their portion wherever they are, unless they (seize) a rope from God or a rope from people (3:112). This means that those nations can make progress when they begin to obey God’s commands or are backed by some powers, as is the case today. Otherwise, ignominy shall follow them. Regardless of their current status, when compared with their long history of ignominy, they still live in constant fear, insecurity, and uncertainty about their future. (Tr.)
2. Zakat: This word literally means purification and growth, for Muslims believe that it purifies their possessions. For most purposes, it consists of setting aside 2.5 percent of one’s capital, provided that this capital reaches a certain minimum amount after its owner’s needs have been met, to help those who qualify for it and to benefit the local community in general. Zakat is considered so important that those who ignore it are not considered part of the Muslim community. (Ed.)
3. A tenth of wealth that annually yields a new crop; a fortieth of whatever yields a financial surplus during the year, or of at least 40 pasturing animals (e.g., sheep or goats). (Tr.)
4. Said Nursi uses elite for those who can give zakat, and the masses for those eligible to receive it. These designations are relative, for they depend upon local standard of wealth. As Islam does not allow a deep socioeconomic gap to form between Muslims, the gap between these groups is not very great. In many Muslim societies today, members of both groups can be found within the middle class. As the main purpose for zakat is for the poor to receive enough money to provide for their families, we should consider the living standard envisaged by Islam when considering zakat. (Tr.)

In today’s cellular communication systems, cellular phones operate in several frequency bands. European systems use the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) at around 900 MHz and 1800 MHz; American systems use 850 MHz and 1900 MHz, frequencies that fall between the operating frequency ranges of televisions and microwaves. This frequency range is called non-ionizing, for the wave’s energy does not release electrons from atoms in living tissue. For instance, an X-ray is an ionizing wave that, to a degree, damages exposed biological material. Therefore, most concerns deal with RF energy’s heating effect rather than with ionization.

Technical Motivation

The electromagnetic spectrum extends from DC (direct current) to ionizing radiation. Scientists divide this spectrum into subregions. Cellular phones fall into the ultra-high frequency (UHF) regime, specifically from 300 MHz to 3000 MHz. By itself, a continuous UHF wave carries no information and does not enhance communication. It only becomes useful when modulation, defined as means carrying the information on a high frequency carrier, like UHF, is applied. The most common modulation techniques are amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM).

The capacity of the spectrum’s given section to carry information is limited by the Shannon Theorem. According to this theorem, channel capacity can be increased by increasing the system’s signal-to-noise ratio. In wired communications, channel capacity can be increased by adding more parallel optical fibers. Channel capacity in wireless communications can be increased by transmitting weak signals that attenuate rapidly near the transmitter and thus provide a given portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to be utilized many times. How a given spectrum is allocated among users affects the channel capacity. Therefore, there are several coding techniques, the most common of which are Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

Neglecting some small details, an electromagnetic (EM) wave’s energy is expressed in terms of power density (W/m2) across a surface. Power density measures an incident EM wave’s strength. Easily measured, it is a very preferable metric to UHF fields. For uncontrolled environments, the American National Standards Institute and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (ANSI/IEEE C95.1) recommend a 2 to 20 W/m2 for an average external exposure to UHF. The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has similar power density recommendations for limiting the general public’s exposure to RF energy so that people will not be overheated by RF energy. As a comparison, for example, summer sunshine peaks around 1000 W/m2.

However, as power density is not a good indicator inside a living organism, scientists have defined a Specific Absorption Rate: SAR (in W/kg). For uncontrolled environments, ANSI/IEEE limits the spatial-average SAR to 0.08 W/kg whole body and to 1.6 W/kg averaged over any 1 gram of tissue. Also, 1998 ICNIRP restrictions are similar to ANSI/IEEE’s. The SAR can be estimated in three ways.

– Micro-antenna: Small antennas can determine a tissue’s electric field as well as its SAR. But it is difficult to place the antenna, and the tissue’s properties may not be known.

– Miniature thermal probes: Since RF energy heats the tissue, this technique detects the heat and the SAR in the neighborhood of the temperature cell, which then can be computed accordingly. However, this method also seems very difficult technologically.

– Numerical modeling: The numerical modeling of macroscopic bodies enables a numerical simulation, known as the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD), that can estimate the SAR. However, this process can be time-consuming and expensive.

Possible Health Issues

An EM wave can effect a biological change in living tissue in two ways: Depositing enough energy while passing through the biological material to alter some structures, or depositing packets of energy larger than the bond energy. Yet neither way seems to be possible, for the photon energy within the UHF zone is far less than the bond energy or the energy required to alter a living tissue’s structures. Therefore, many scientists now argue that UHF radiation at subthermal power levels can cause some biological damage.

Due to relatively low exposure levels, relatively small populations, and a lack of reliable dose estimates, proving or disproving the existence of RF exposure’s biological hazards remains an issue for epidemiology (e.g., statistical analysis of health records and animal studies).

Epidemiological Studies

Epidemiological studies were conducted among people who worked in a high frequency environment, such as radar stations. Search criteria were not limited to cellular and personnel communication system (PCS) frequencies. Due to the nature of radar and other military equipment, broader frequency ranges were covered. The epidemiology of cancer and RF radiation includes studies of cancer mortality rates among those exposed to RF energy.

Throughout these studies, people’s records were searched to determine if their cancer was due to RF exposure. These studies were made in various institutions, including the Radar Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and the Polish military. There was no conclusive evidence that RF exposure increases the risk of cancer. Also, due to the lack of comparisons with total cancer, it was suggested that RF exposure does not have a strong effect on cancer.

Since brain cancer takes a long time to develop and epidemiological studies tell nothing about future risks, these studies have not proved or disproved that RF exposure increases the risk of cancer.

Animal Studies

Animals are the other source of information that potentially may answer people’s concerns. Experiments have studied rats exposed to certain power levels of RF energy. However, these studies found no link between cell phones and cancer.

In 1999, a Motorola-funded research program concluded that exposing rats to pulse-modulated 837 MHz RF energy, very close to that radiated by a digital cell phone, does not cause or develop brain cancer. A study in April 2000 reported that this conclusion is valid for continuous-wave RF (analog cell phones). But a 1995 study at the University of Washington (Seattle) reported that exposing rats to RF radiation at an average whole-body exposure of 1 W/kg of body weight caused breaks in their brain cells’ DNA, which is an indication of cancer. No other study has confirmed this finding.

Other studies have focused on different aspects of RF radiation rather than brain cancer. They searched animals for certain diseases and noticed an increase in disease rate. However, despite such research findings, animal studies seem to be far removed from human health.

Conclusion

Epidemiological findings and animal studies have neither proved nor disproved the health hazards of mobile phones. A February 2000 essay by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that: There is currently insufficient scientific basis for concluding either that wireless communication technologies are safe or that they pose a health risk to millions of users. Research activity continues. For example, France’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has received a research project of 8 million euros from the European Commission for a 3-year, wide epidemiological study. Also, the FDA and the Cellular Telephone Industry Association have undertaken a $1 million research project to clarify the health risks of mobile phones.

Meanwhile, some researchers are trying to find the head’s SAR by using electromagnetic simulations (FDTD). So far, they have discovered that it is strongly affected by the cell phone’s position as well as the head’s shape and properties. Therefore phone-makers are trying to design handset designs to reduce the SAR. However, it seems that the debate will remain until scientific proof is confirmed and made available.

• References
• http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/ocd/mobilphone.html.
• IEEE Spectrum. Are Mobile Phones Safe? (August 2000): 23-28.
• Moulder et. al. Cell Phones and Cancer: What is the Evidence for a Connection? Radiation Research Society, 151 (1999): 513-31.

A brief history of lasers

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, scientists made many improvements to our life. One of the most important was a more accurate understanding of light, currently defined as traveling electromagnetic waves. Like the ocean’s waves, light also has an amplitude (which determines its power) and a frequency (which determines its color and energy). The better we understand light, the more uses we find for it in our life. For example, today we are faced with many technological devices based on light, such as printers, CD writers and readers, and fiber optic devices for telecommunications.

Many scientists are very interested in photons, for they can be used in communication, computation, and many other fields. Also, many researchers think that the technology of the future will be built on optoelectronics”photons and electrons.

The invention of lasers is a very important step in the science of optics. While lasers started out as a major component of science fiction stories, science fiction is rapidly becoming scientific reality due to continual improvements and discoveries.

Lasers defined

By definition, a laser is amplified light. However, its amplification is very different from a normal amplification, for this amplification makes the photons coherent by causing them to have the same energy and same direction. Such coherence enables a laser light to travel over long distances without diverging. If the laser beam is kept in a dispersionless media, theoretically it can keep the same waist size forever. However, the only media that currently can serve as a dispersionless media is a vacuum.

In a laser system, many atoms have to have electrons in the same high energy levels. If this is the case, any effect that stimulates the atoms’ system will emit coherent light. For the emission to continue, the system should be constructed so that there are always some electrons changing their energy level.

Observing several laser systems will give us a clearer understanding of lasers.

Ruby lasers

The first lasing structure was the ruby crystal (see Figure 1), devised by Dr. T. H. Maiman in 1960. This was a surprising development, for researchers thought that gases would be the first lasers. The ruby crystal is Al2O3 (called sapphire), and has an impurity level of 0.05% Cr+3 ions.

The ruby laser consists of a ruby crystal surrounded by a flash tube enclosed within an aluminum cylindrical cavity that is cooled by forced air. The laser cavity is pumped by a flash light. When the light’s power exceeds a certain limit, it begins to re-excite some ions inside the ruby crystal to higher state. The cavity ends are coated with evaporated silver. However, one side has a lower reflection ability so that some light can pass through it.

Gas lasers

Most elements and many molecules can be made to lase in a gaseous state. The first example of a gas laser is the HeNe (helium neon) laser, as depicted in Figure 2. In a high voltage tube, colliding helium and neon atoms transfer energy to neon atoms, which then assume a meta-stable state. After this, spontaneous emission occurs when neon atoms transit from a higher energy level to lower energy level. Like other lasers, the HeNe laser also needs to have a population inversion. The high population for neon’s meta-stable state is achieved by applying a high voltage to the tube. Although the stimulated emission decreases the number of atoms in the meta-stable state, the high voltage pumps the system back into the population inversion condition.

Having many different wavelengths (colors), HeNe laser are useful for all sorts of applications, from semiconductor technology to construction leveling.

Improvements in semiconductor technology have made many contributions to laser technology. Data storage on CDs, computer, printers, and telecommunication tools are just a few examples of the places where semiconductor lasers are used.

Semiconductor lasers

Three different materials have the properties necessary to serve as electron (carrier) conductors: metals, insulators, and semiconductors. Metals are good conductors for carriers, whereas insulators do not conduct electricity. In a solid state material, electrons stay in the bands determined by the attraction between positive and negative charges (electrons and nucleus). The further band for an electron is called the conduction band. In metals, the conduction band is partially filled, while in insulators the conduction band is totally empty. There is also a very large energy difference between the conduction band the valence band (the band just before conduction band). Thus, a large amount of energy has to be supplied in order to produce some carriers in the conduction band.

Conduction occurs when electrons are present in a conduction band, for they are somehow free in that band. They are not so free that they can escape it, but they are free enough to walk around in it. Research is revealing many other surprises or gifts that the All-Wise Creator has put in front of us.Our discovery of certain materials’ ability to serve as insulators and/or conductors has made our life much easier.

A very important step in the field of semiconductors is the use of optics during experiments. The electron in the conduction band can loose energy by radiating light, and one can use this energy to build lasers. The laser’s wavelength mainly depends on the energy gap between the conduction and the valence bands. If this energy gap is known, researchers can grow appropriate semiconductor structures to lase.

As growth techniques for semiconductors improve, the quality and variety of semiconductor lasers increase. Early semiconductor lasers were built from bulk structures. But after the 1980s, scientists discovered that layering different semiconductors could increase optical efficiency. The commercial state-of-art now is semiconductor quantum well lasers. In these structures, the electron’s mobility is restricted on a plane, giving carriers a two-dimensional freedom. Lasers using quantum dots (quasi-zero dimensional structures with superior optical properties) also have appeared during the last 5 years.

Conclusion

To see how our life will change via improvements in optics, just look at how fast communication has become, thanks to telecommunication lasers. Old thick and slow copper wires are being replaced by fast thin fibers. A computer and a camera gives one access to visual telecommunication via the Internet. All of this used to belong to science fiction. Not any more!

I believe that one we will develop a technology to transport material instantly, as stated in Qur’an: One who had knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you within the twinkling of an eye! When (Solomon) saw it placed firmly before him, he said: This is by the Grace of my Lord! – to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful! If anyone is grateful, truly his gratitude is (a gain) for his own soul. But if any is ungrateful, truly my Lord is free of all needs, supreme in honor! (27:40).

In conclusion, we have to learn how to read the Book of the Universe and to understand it so that we can make even more beneficial discoveries.

References

• Arakawa, Y. and H. Sakaki. Multidimensional Quantum Well Laser and Temperature Dependence of Its Threshold Current. Appl. Phys. Lett. 40, no. 11 (June 1982): 939-41.
• Davis, Christopher C. Lasers and Electro-Optics: Fundamentals and Engineering. Cambridge Univ. Press: 1996.
• Hecht, Eugene. Optics. 4th ed. Addison-Wesley: 2001.
• Hitz, Breck et al. Introduction to Laser Technology. 3d ed. IEEE: 2001.
• http://home.achilles.net/~jtalbot/
• Kirstdter, N. et al. Low Threshold, Large T Injection Laser Emission from (InGa) as Quantum Dots. Electron. Lett. 30, no. 17 (Aug. 1994): 1416-17.
• Ledentsov, N. N. et al. Quantum-dot Heterostructure Lasers. IEEE J. Select. Topics Quantum Electron. 6 (May-June 2000): 439-51.
• Maiman, Theodore. The Laser Odyssey. Laser Press: 2000.
• Svelto, Orazio (ed.). Principles of Lasers. Translated by David C. Hanna. 4th ed. Plenum Publishing Corp.: 1998.

Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattentiveness, impulsivity, and excessive activity (DSM IV; American Psychiatric Association 1994), and has a prevalence rate of 3 percent to 5 percent (Pelham, Wheeler, and Chronis 1998). Children with ADHD also have a high risk of experiencing academic (Henker and Whalen 1989) and social problems in school (Landau and Milich 1988).

ADHD is one of the most prominent expressions used in schools to describe children who do not stay put,” meaning that they have too much energy and excitement during class and recess time. Although these observations could be the results of teacher or staff misperceptions, they also may be symptoms of ADHD, childhood depression, or consequences of an unstructured environment. In most cases, behavior that differs from peers is a combination of the above factors.

However, sometimes we have to identify those with ADHD to serve them appropriately via proper individualized programs and possibly medicine. Longitudinal studies suggest that such children are likely to experience problems related to social functioning at an early age and throughout adolescence and into adulthood (Weiss and Hechtman 1986). These problems can be seen in various situations (e.g., home, school, community), across people (e.g., parents, siblings, teachers, peers) and activities (e.g., academic work, play, recreation) (Carey 1996).

For example, Fischer et al. (1993) studied the behavioral ratings of 108 children meeting research diagnostic criteria for hyperactivity, as well as a control sample of 61 children. They ranged in age of 4 to 12, and were followed over 8 years into adolescence and young adulthood. Those diagnosed as hyperactive remained more deviant in the ratings than the control children during follow-up observations. A decline in deviant behavior was observed for individual children, although the end results were still more deviant than those of the control children.

Hansen, Weiss, and Last’s (1999) more recent longitudinal study produced some encouraging results. This study compared the psychosocial functioning in 18 young adult men who had been diagnosed with ADHD 10 years ago. Their average age at the time of follow-up was 21. The researchers matched their subjects with 18 male controls who had never had any kind of psychiatric illness.

Through the use of interviews to assess subjects’ educational, occupational, residential and marital status, as well as use of mental health services and psychological status (experience of depression, anxiety, drugs and alcohol problems), they discovered that young adults with ADHD were significantly more likely than control subjects to be using mental health services, report psychological problems, and have fathered children. School dropout rates were higher for subjects with ADHD; however, they were likely to attain a graduate equivalency diploma. Men with ADHD had higher rates of trouble with the law; however, they did not differ significantly from controls in terms of current legal problems.

This study gives hope for the future of young adults with ADHD, as they appear to have overcome the various educational and legal difficulties experienced during high school. In the area of psychological functioning, results are consistent with the findings of other longitudinal studies. In general, though, the above studies indicate that we should expect the children with ADHD to continue to have problems in the social domain, since they remained at a disadvantaged state in psychological functioning and still rated behaviorally as being deviant after 8 and 10 years.

Peer relationships

The longitudinal study of Cowen et al. (1973) demonstrates the link between early peer problems and later maladjustment. In this study, children were asked to nominate their peers according to both positive and negative qualifications. Negative nominations of third-grade class peers were found to be the best predictor of psychiatric problems when a follow-up was conducted when the children were 11 to 13 years old. This result indicates the seriousness and consistency of problems experienced in peer relationships as early as 9 years of age.

In addition, peer rejection has been found to correlate with premature dropping out of school, juvenile delinquency, job termination, poor military performance, police contact, and psychiatric hospitalization (Parker and Asher 1987).

However, the difference between correlation and causation needs to be considered when interpreting these studies. In their chapter of Assessment of Children’s Social Status and Peer Relations (1990), Landau and Milich emphasize that linkages found between peer rejection and later difficulties are correlational, and not causal.

Generalization of social skills training programs

There are many social skills training programs designed to increase peer acceptance. Some of the most common are ACCEPTS (not an acronym), ACCESS (not an acronym), Skillstreaming, Think Aloud, ASSET (not an acronym), RECESS (Reprogramming Environmental Contingencies for Effective Social Skills), and PEERS (Procedures for Establishing Effective Peer Relationship Skills) (DuPaul and Eckert 1994). Although these programs are taught as solutions to peer relationship problems, teaching children in isolation and then expecting them to perform successfully in real life is usually not a successful strategy.

DuPaul and Eckert reviewed the literature and found a total of only seven studies that had used commercially available social skills training programs that considered generalizing skills to real-life situations. To assess the generalization over time, those seven studies did follow up assessments 1 to 3 months after treatment ended. The authors concluded this period too brief to be able to assert that intervention is generalized. They stress the effects of treatment being more prominent in those studies using multiple strategies to promote generalization. Among those strategies, teaching social skills within a real environment seemed to be the most fruitful one.

The generalization issues of social skills trainings also are discussed by Carey and Stoner (1994). They suggest considering a technology of applied behavioral analysis and application of strategies to ensure the maintenance of newly learned behaviors reinforced by natural contingencies In this context, applied behavioral analysis is defined as studying what happens in the environment before, during, and after the problematic behaviors’ occurrence, and then rearranging the environmental factors to promote the desired behaviors and suppress the problematic behaviors.

Another similar discussion is found in Moore (1994). She argues that behaviors which are not functional for the child, will not generalize. The behavior’s functionality is defined as how much the behaviors are linked to socially meaningful outcomes or elicit natural reinforcements from the environment. She further states that an increase in social interaction and eliminating negative behaviors do not ensure peer acceptance. Instead, documenting concomitant increases in positive, reinforcing, pro-social behaviors, which have been linked to peer acceptance, popularity, and friendship, was suggested. She also mentions the importance of designing interventions for particular children in particular settings, rather than using a one-size-fits-all program.

Most recently Sheridan, Hungelmann, and Maughan (1999) explained the contextualized framework for the purpose of linking assessment to intervention and generalization planning. They state that identifying target behaviors that are critical for a child to socialize successfully is poorly understood. In other words, behaviors that predict positive social status in immediate social context are unclear, although clinicians and researchers often assume that the skills being taught in structured settings are those that are relevant in places and at times that extend beyond training. However, little empirical research has been done on whether these skills are actually important for children’s abilities to develop and maintain social relationships (Sheridan et al. 1999).

According to Sheridan et al., two methods can be used to select meaningful target skills. The first one is to normatively compare the target child with children considered socially adjusted. This involves listing the behaviors believed to increase peer acceptance and decrease rejection, and comparing the rating of each child in the peer group. This social comparison method allows researchers to determine whether the child’s behavior following intervention is similar to the peers’ behavior.

The second method is template matching, or identifying relevant and meaningful social behaviors based on input from significant others and peers by asking them to identify the most important behaviors for them in a particular social context. Sheridan et al. emphasize doing direct observations of socially desirable behaviors, recording the narrative descriptions, and then collecting them from the social recipients. Then the intervention would focus on decreasing the discrepancy between the template and the target child’s behaviors, utilizing the qualities listed in the template as the intervention’s objectives.

What are the social dynamics?

Hymel (1986) demonstrated that children interpret identical actions in different ways, depending on their liking of the actor. They tend to credit liked peers for positive behavior, and make excuses rather than blame them for negative behavior. Moreover, for children who are disliked, positive behavior is perceived as a result of unstable causes that are unlikely to recur. Children were found to be not so eager to change their perceptions of disliked peers or to expect more positive behaviors from them in the future when they notice behavioral improvements.

In 1949, 24 boys from similar backgrounds were brought to an isolated site to test two hypotheses:

1. When individuals having no established relationships are brought together to interact in group activities with common goals, they produce a group structure with hierarchical statuses and roles.

2. If those artificially formed groups are brought into a functional relationship under conditions of competition and group frustration, reciprocal hostile attitudes and actions will arise across groups.

The results obtained through direct observations of the children’s behavior confirmed those two hypotheses. The study was replicated later with the addition of a new component. Superordinate goals that could be accomplished only by the cooperation of both groups were induced to reduce inter-group tension and integrate the two hostile groups. Sheriff and Harvey reduced the inter-group tension and formed a new group by integrating the two groups back together by creating a problem that would affect both of them negatively.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned empirical studies calls for a reconsideration of the issue, and possibly the addition of new conditions: Children with ADHD are likely to be rejected by their peers and therefore will drop out of school and will be in trouble with law, unless more effective programs specializing in manipulating social dynamics are developed, along with equipping children with ADHD with the necessary social behaviors by using direct instruction and guided practice.

References

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