Human activity is taking Earth to the brink

Richardson K. et al. Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Science Advances, September 2023.

A new study suggests that Earth has been increasingly becoming uninhabitable for humans. Human activities are on the verge of significant, irrevocable transformations within our planet’s environment. This study reveals that, due to human-induced pollution and the degradation of natural ecosystems, six of the nine established planetary boundaries have already been transgressed. These boundaries, established by scientists in 2009, “all represent components of Earth system critically affected by anthropogenic (i.e., generated by humans) activities and relevant to Earth’s overall state.”

1- Integrity of biosphere

2- Climate change

3- Changes in freshwater supplies and availability

4- Changes in land system

5- The accumulation of novel chemical entities such as synthetic chemicals and nuclear waste

6- Biogeochemical flows such as the global nitrogen cycle

7- Acidification of oceans

8- Ozone depletion in stratosphere

9- Aerosol loading in atmosphere

An extensive analysis, drawing upon a compilation of 2,000 previous studies confirmed that six boundaries (1 through 6 above) have unfortunately been transgressed. Consequently, our planet now finds itself in a condition that surpasses the defined “safe operating space for humanity.” These findings imply that Earth’s life support systems, which have been relatively stable from the last ice age 10,000 years ago until the start of the Industrial Revolution, are now being pushed to extreme directions. While these results are obviously alarming, there is still hope. Since Earth is a dynamic, living entity, the exact ramifications are impossible to predict. However, computer simulations suggest that we can potentially halt this trajectory by concentrating efforts on saving forests, thereby overcoming the issue of climate change. Reverting to the forest levels of the late 20^th century is predicted to divert substantial excess carbon dioxide in the air, mitigating global temperature rise and enhancing biodiversity, offering a promising path forward.

Brain circuits underlying obesity

Barbosa DAN et al. An orexigenic subnetwork within the human hippocampus. Nature, August 2023.

A recent study has illuminated a crucial connection between memory and appetite within the human brain, shedding light on the underlying factors contributing to obesity. To delve into this phenomenon, researchers conducted brain scans on a cohort comprised of 34 subjects spanning a spectrum of body types, ranging from lean to overweight to obese. During these brain scans, participants were presented with a sweet indulgence in the form of a chocolate milkshake, which they subsequently consumed. This experimental setup allowed the researchers to closely monitor real-time neural responses associated with anticipation and reward.

The imaging sessions revealed a noteworthy observation: individuals classified as obese exhibited impaired connections between the dorsolateral hippocampus (dlHPC), situated in the brain’s memory processing domain, and the lateral hypothalamus (LH), responsible for regulating physiological equilibrium. This suggests a disruption in the regulation of emotional responses when anticipating pleasurable treats. Notably, both the dIHPC and the LH play pivotal roles within this circuit.

Furthermore, a direct correlation emerged in individuals with obesity between the extent of dysfunction within the hypothalamus-hippocampus circuit and their Body Mass Index (BMI). Higher BMI values were associated with more pronounced disruptions. These discoveries emphasize that certain individuals may possess fundamental differences in brain regions that heighten the risk of obesity. Consequently, addressing obesity and related eating disorders should extend beyond the conventional approach of self-control and dietary choices. Rather, future therapeutic interventions should explore innovative strategies that include restoring dysfunctional brain circuits and acknowledging the intricate interplay between memory and appetite as a promising avenue for intervention.

AI tool identifies eye diseases and predicts systematic health

Zhou Y et al. A foundation model for generalizable disease detection from retinal images. Nature, September 2023.

A novel artificial intelligence (AI) tool called RETFound has been developed by researchers to harness retinal images for the diagnosis and prediction of various health conditions, including ocular diseases, heart failure, and Parkinson’s disease. RETFound distinguishes itself by utilizing self-supervised learning to eliminate the need for manual labeling of retinal images during training, which is typically time-consuming and costly. Retinal images offer a unique window into an individual’s overall health, affording a direct view of the body’s capillary network, thereby revealing signs of cardiovascular disease and neural tissue health. AI aids in interpreting these scans, making them accessible to more individuals. Following an initial phase of pre-training on an extensive dataset of unlabeled retinal images, RETFound exhibited rapid adaptability to recognize specific disease-related retinal features when introduced to a small number of labeled images for various health conditions. RETFound demonstrated notable proficiency in detecting ocular diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and showed promise in predicting the risk of systemic diseases, though further improvement is still needed. The model represents a noteworthy application of foundational AI models within the realm of medical imaging, and researchers are actively exploring its potential application to other categories of medical imaging beyond retinal scans.

Doing or producing something good and beautiful and ensuring that others perceive these beauties as “beautiful,” and then sustaining these beauties, are two different things. Indeed, working on diligently like a laborer, opening educational institutions, shedding light on the paths people walk, and reaching out to all corners of the world despite limited material resources and means are beautiful services that deserve recognition and applause. However, maintaining this work flawlessly and without imperfections is just as important as starting it and bringing it to a certain level. For this purpose, serious intellectual effort, reasonable and strategic action, of course, are necessary. Regardless of the location of the service, it can be considered as the initial steps of this strategy to analyze it very well, to read the feelings of the individuals involved very well, to take into account the current conjuncture, and to preemptively address the problems that may arise in the short and long term.

If we delve a bit deeper, you may have initiated a task with very sincere feelings. Your emotions, thoughts, and attitudes are very humane. At the core of all your activities lies the pleasure of God and the benefit of humanity. You are progressing by building your plans on both the firm principles of religion and universal values. You have no issues with anyone. However, after a certain stage, you should not forget that there may be individuals with very different thoughts, intentions, and understandings who could have problems with you. Here, relying solely on your sincerity, good intention and authenticity would be incomplete. If you have not been able to read the feelings of others correctly and cannot foresee certain events that may occur in the future, despite showering some people with kindness and favors, your acts of goodwill may not yield the expected results and could lead to antipathy towards you.

That’s why it is necessary to step back appropriately and consider various approaches for those you interact with. This could involve saying, “You know this job better and can do it better,” engaging in collective work with them, presenting the matter with different perspectives, colors and patterns to broaden their horizons, and assuming a role as an enlightening and stimulating guide through the support you provide. These are different ways of action that today’s dedicated individuals should contemplate.

By acting with humane feelings, you can rush to the aid of people affected by disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and storms in different parts of the world. However, if you do not consider the different dynamics in those places, even in such a well-intentioned endeavor, you may eventually draw the hostile feelings of certain local or foreign groups. For instance, the continuous applause for some of the commendable work you do, the attention directed towards you, can breed envy in some individuals.

To provide a concrete example; let’s say you’ve opened schools in a country, and these schools have been remarkably successful. Students from your schools consistently win medals in various competitions and science Olympiads. As other schools fail to achieve the same level of success, envy might develop towards you. Some may view you as a competitor and engage in a rivalry, or even go to great lengths to try and shut down your schools. It’s essential to foresee all of these possibilities in advance, take necessary precautions, and develop the right approaches accordingly.

Wherever we serve, we must thoroughly understand the conditions of that place and act accordingly. There is no need to suspect secrecy or ill intent in this; it’s simply about ensuring the continuity of the good deeds and acts of kindness. As mentioned earlier, not everyone can interpret everything correctly and appropriately. That’s why we must proceed not only with good intentions but also with knowledge and research. Some societies may not want individuals educated in your institutions to have a say in the future of their own countries as intellectuals, fearing that a foreign culture might erase their values and replace them with its own. We shouldn’t cause a situation where they will say, “A culture came and wiped out all our values, replacing them with their own, and they did this with our generation.” Therefore, flexibility and assurance should be prominent in the education of individuals in these places, not causing them concern. Our fundamental principle was, after all: When we go somewhere, while sharing our own beauties with people by explaining and endearing them, we should also learn and appreciate the beauties of that place, enriching our own values. In this way, by melting all of humanity’s values into one pot, we can generate a universal collection of human values where everyone can find something of themselves within it.

However, in your determination to act wisely and strategically, you should not compromise your character and your own values. You have to stand yourself, maintain your own position, where you want to hold someone else and lift them up. A person who rashly and unpreparedly jumps into a swamp to save someone who is drowning, perhaps admired for their courage, but in such a situation, neither of them can be saved.

A good example of acting wisely is found in the 65th verse of the Surah Al-Anfal in the Qur’an. In that verse, God states that one person in an ideal community of believers equipped with the power of patience is worth ten individuals. Yet, in the 66th verse, our attentions are drawn to realities of the human condition, and the ratio is revised to one to two, upon which it is stated to establish the strategy. This means that it is not right to engage in a struggle in the name of heroism where such a balance of power does not exist. If you march against a powerful army with only a handful of people, the result will not be good neither for you nor for those you are setting out to save. Your sacrifices should have a goal to achieve. This requires them to be done consciously, thoughtfully, and well calculated.

Reason is a significant gift from God to humanity. Thought is its product. Humans should not live disconnected from reason and thought; they should make their conscience a companion to these faculties and, as believers, test their approach against the Prophetic tradition. This means, for Muslims for instance, evaluating the blessed life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his expressions, actions, and judgments, taking into account the conditions and circumstances of today, and trying to solve our problems on this solid foundation.

“The architects of the heart” should act in accordance with the fundamental disciplines found in the sources of faith, and they should prioritize taking action. This means that they should start their journey – i.e., take action – as soon as they can, with a firm adherence to fundamental disciplines and an overarching plan. Subtle details for thought and theoretical aspects will emerge later based on the circumstances they will come across during the journey. Then, while progressing on the path, intellect and thought should be employed to solve encountered problems, and more detailed plans should emerge regarding how and where to act. During the implementation of these plans, reasoning and collective consciousness should continue to be applied. As a result, this process will become a virtuous cycle where thought fuels action, and action, in turn, enriches thought, leading to the desired goal. If you claim to plan and project every detail from start to finish and then implement it right away, your plan may not align with the conditions you will face later. This can cause those in the leading positions to take on oppressive and totalitarian methods, and impose their views on others. This may eventually result in the formation of oligarchic structures, and the emergence of irresponsible, unaccountable charismatic leaders.

I am certain that if, two hours ago, I hadn’t seen it happen right in front of my eyes, my guts tied in a one-handed surgical knot, I too would chalk up my three-year-old’s complaint of abdominal pain to a case of good-old constipation. A nuisance, especially at a family reunion, but certainly not a medical emergency.

“What did he eat on the way?” my mother asked. She practically raised all four of us on her own—no family, no village, and no husband (at least not until late at night, when we’d all be asleep anyway). 

“Pretty much just candy and chips. Very little water. I didn’t make him either—the rest stop bathrooms have gotten gross.” 

I push away my ER attending voice that would, in a different place, be reprimanding an intern’s lack of attention-to-detail: three-year-old, history of recent trauma, persistent abdominal pain—what’s up there on your differential?

But trauma—could it really be classified as such? 

Only if I hadn’t seen it happen. 

For the last two hours, the mental movie of the ill-timed incident has thwarted my best efforts at pausing it, and now, it plays again.

My toddler, Aariz, small for his true age but growing well on the adjusted preterm chart, runs down the long staircase of the rental we have just entered. We stroll from room to room, exploring with childlike curiosity our five-bedroom home away from home for the next week. My brother’s family should get the master room, my parents say, and I agree. With three little kids, they need the space.

“You think we can take the one downstairs?” my sister asks me, and I know right away why she is asking. A single mother of two, her life revolves around accommodating her ten-year-old with autism. She has just started him on a new medication, which apart from increasing his appetite, must also have led to stiff ankle joints. Stairs would be difficult for him.

“Sure, no problem,” I say.

My nephew, his hands flapping in the air, dashes directly towards my son. I see the carefree look on his face and know he has no plans of stopping or avoiding the inevitable. They crash into each other near the landing, my son falling backwards from the impact, my nephew standing over him, waiting for the wailing to begin. Hands over his ears, he runs away right when it begins, a high-pitched, agonizing cry that manages to pierce every capillary in my heart.

His complaint began right away. No improvement since, and nothing seems to make it better.

Generalized abdominal pain; persistent; intractable.

“Give him some castor oil,” my mother’s voice interjects the interaction in my head: my resident presenting, me ruling in, ruling out. “I’ll make him more fennel-water.”

I rub my son’s back, searching his face for more diagnostic clues. He continues to give me none, running away to play with his cousins one minute, then circling right back to me the next, clutching his tummy.

“No, not the castor oil,” I declare, resolutely this time, hoping to end that discussion. A bit of flavored water is fine, but I refuse to concede to an unapproved laxative. “I don’t think this is constipation. I think we may have to take him in.” 

Thanks to the recent viral epidemic that divided the family clearly into two camps—my mask-wearing, hand-sanitizing family of four, versus everyone else—the raised eyebrows and hush of resigned sighs do not come as a surprise. I look at my husband, and he nods his agreement. I could hug him right now.

Aariz runs towards me but misses my lap by a few steps. A projectile arc of yellow mucus mixed in with bits of orange-colored Cheetos flies out of his mouth, splattering onto the hardwood floor.

In one fluid motion, I grab my son and catch the roll of paper towels my husband has thrown my way. Between us, we have cleaned the floor, announced our exit, and punched in the directions to the nearest pediatric ER, all before I even have the chance to verbalize the diagnosis that has seized my brain with an absoluteness I have come to know so well.

“Are you sure?” my husband asks, struggling to stay within the speed limit. The unfamiliar roads are disorienting, and though neither of us says it, I know he too wishes we were on route 99 right now, the one that runs in front of our home of eleven years.

“Well, you’d have to see it on the ultrasound to be sure, but as far as the clinical picture goes, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t.”

This is good, the talking through the differentials, just like at work. My husband knows this and continues playing his part so I can play mine. The alternative is a territory neither of us wants to explore.

“Okay, so you have seen it before? What’d you say it was?”

“Intussusception,” I say it fast to outrun the word’s prognoses, complications; they catch up with me. Aariz’s body slumps further into my lap. “Jaanoo, just go fast, please.”

I think about the handful of patients I have diagnosed with this condition over my decade-long practice—at most twelve, maybe fifteen. All infants, much younger than Aariz. Because telescoping of one part of the intestine into the other, cutting off blood supply to a portion of it, is not supposed to happen past the age of two. Unless, of course, forced by blunt trauma. 

I am out of the car and running before my husband has turned off the ignition. This feels scarier than I have imagined on past occasions: parents bringing in their little ones in the middle of the night with ailments that in our home would be treated in the very early stages. Early stage. This must be caught and treated as quickly as possible. Time is his intestine. My ER physician hat is firmly back on as I rush to the front desk.

“Hello. Please fill these out.” The nurse behind the computer hands me a clipboard; my husband has caught up with me and I hand the clipboard to him.

“Hi. This is Aariz.” I say in my best we-can-be-out-of-your-hair-real-fast kind of voice. “We have had an unfortunate situation happen. Him and his cousin were running and they…”

“Ok, one thing at a time. Once he’s checked in, the triage nurse will take the history and then we’ll get the doctor to come see him.”

“I am sorry, yes. Actually, I am an ER physician. We are supposed to be on vacation, and then this happens.” She nods, her mouth upturned in a sympathetic smile, and I take my chance. “Look, I think he has an intussusception. Would he be able to get an ultrasound fast?” The thought of my baby’s unclothed body on a cold ultrasound table makes the ball in my throat grow, and I swallow the ache.

“Oh, okay…” she looks away, embarrassed, I suspect at how close I must seem to the brink. My husband puts his hand on my shoulder, confirming my suspicion. “Let me page the ER doctor on call.”

Dr. Levy, a grey-haired man with glasses, walks briskly towards us as I finish wiping Aariz’s face after another episode of vomiting. I notice his unstained scrubs with gratitude; he is at the beginning of his shift. 

“Hello, Dr…” he says, good-naturedly, his hand extended.

“Ali. Anam Ali.” I shake it firmly. “Thank you for seeing us, Dr. Levy. I hope we aren’t intruding in the middle of a busy shift.” I continue bobbing up and down, Aariz’s upright form now limp in my arms. Electrolyte imbalance is kicking in.

“Good, no not too bad. Y’all aren’t from around here, I hear?”

“No,” I manage a little laugh. Every muscle fiber in my legs itches to propel me into a sprint towards the ultrasound room, but there’s nothing worse than a hysterical parent in the ER. “Family reunion, then this happens. You know how it goes.”

“Yep, yep. So, you pretty sure it’s that, hunh? What is he, three? A little old, but I have seen it.”

He didn’t even name it. I swallow the ball again. “Yea, head-on collision with his ten-year-old cousin. I saw it happen. Bilious vomiting twice since then, just started getting lethargic.”

“Alright then. Let’s get him to ultrasound.”

Aariz’s blanketed frame against me, and I rest my head on the back of the chair, fighting back tears. Aariz had cried and writhed on the ultrasound table the entire time, my arms holding his down, while my husband held his legs. Under the arm of my chair, my husband slips his hand into mine.

A musical knock on the door indicates our wait is over. Dr. Levy’s face appears in the door, and I know immediately. The knot in my gut clamps down; I wish it were my intestines instead.

“Yep, Dr. Mom, you were right. Intussusception it is.” Precisely like I would have said it to a patient from that side. “You caught it early. Shouldn’t be too hard of a fix. We’ve paged GI, they are on their way.”

Hot tears run down my face but I have no hands to wipe them off with. From this side, the diagnosis seems anything but a quick-fix. Yes, an air enema reverses the telescoping by pushing air into the intestine through the rectum, but what about adverse effects of the procedure? Life-saving procedures I prescribe with effortless certainty multiple times a day loom over me with their peer-reviewed variabilities. I tighten my arms around Aariz. My husband wipes my tears, and Dr. Levy pulls up a swivel stool across from me.

“It’s different when it’s not a patient, isn’t it?” He rests his hand over mine and I abandon the struggle.

“What about recurrence?” My shaky voice echoes against the sterile floor. “How can we prevent it?” I am aware of the futility of my question, and I know he is too; recurrence of intussusception has been an area of study for years. Why it happens in some children and not in others, remains in that dreaded medical territory of idiopathic.

Dr. Levy leans forward; I prepare myself for the worst, but I am glad that he has decided to be honest. Besides exceptional patient reviews, my quick Google search on him while awaiting the ultrasound results have placed him somewhere around twenty years my senior on the career trajectory; he’s got to have more data points than I do.

“Are you a family of faith?” He blurts out. “Do you pray to God?”

I am not sure I have heard him correctly, and I can tell neither is my husband, whom I see turn toward me from the corner of my eye. I stay still, not sure what to do. Maybe a nurse will come in, and we can pretend this never happened.

“Would you mind if I prayed for Aariz with you?” He presses on, sounding surer of himself. 

“Yes, actually we are Muslim.” My husband says, his tone apologetic. “And yes, we are supposed to pray. Five times a day actually.”

“Great!” Dr. Levy is visibly relieved. “It’s been sort of a coin toss for me. Some patients are eager, others are offended.”

I picture Dr. Levy in a frame with attendings I have known. What would they say if they heard him talk about prayer and God with his patients? My own experience has taught me to keep my faith and my profession separate. In a world of observation, causation, and correlation, what room was there for the unseen, the unexplainable?

“Dr. Ali, you’ve never prayed with your patients before, have you?” I shake my head no. “You know you’d think patients always want absolutes. When we can give them that, sure—take this medicine and you will get better. But you know as well as anyone that a procedure can be technically flawless, yet the outcome surprises everyone. And the other way around. I pray not because I lack confidence in what I can do, but because I am confident about what God can do, against all the odds.”

I think of my fifty-something year old cardiac patient from over a year ago—obese, longstanding coronary artery disease, massive infarction needing emergent bypass surgery, his third. All the odds stacked against him. I saw him again, more recently, bringing in his granddaughter for flu symptoms; himself, fit as a fiddle.

My husband does the foot-tapping thing he does when something is on his mind and I know what he’s about to ask; we’ve talked about it before. “What happens when you pray to God with your patients and the surgery doesn’t go… you know… well?”

Dr. Levy leans back and crosses his arms. “It happens. And when it does, I ask my patients what they would do if they hadn’t prayed and ended up with the same outcome anyway. Would they never trust doctors again? Stop seeking medical care? Trusting God is a little bit like that, except unlike doctors, God’s work doesn’t end with the procedure, whether or not it goes ‘well,’ as we see it. Healing is still very much a mysterious process with its own set of outcomes, often independent of the procedure.”

The knot under my ribcage slackens. “Dr. Levy, if you don’t mind, I would like to say the prayer.”

We close our eyes.

“God, indeed You are the One in control. Your knowledge and wisdom are unlimited, while I know only that which You have allowed me. Help me submit to Your plan. Out of Your infinite Mercy and Love that encompass us even in moments when we aren’t aware, heal Aariz in the way You know is best for him.”

“Amen.”

The nurse enters with a small gurney, a pediatric-sized hospital gown hanging over the side railing. I loosen my grip around Aariz and carry him across the room.

“Mama,” he protests weakly, his tiny hand tightening around the collar of my dress. I take his hand and kiss his fingers; the fragrance of the bodywash from this morning still on his skin.

Looking him in the eyes, I hold his palm up against mine, our thing every morning outside his preschool classroom. “You will be just fine. He’s going to fix you.”

“That’s right,” the nurse says. “Dr. Benny has fixed so many children just like you.”

Her words linger in the antiseptic-infused air around us; I smile and mouth thank you. Molecules of oxygen are allowed to travel, unhindered, past my ribcage and fill my lungs, to carry on the mysterious, life-sustaining exchange of gases. I let go of Aariz’ hand, and the nurse takes hold of the gurney’s handles.

“We’ll see you after.”

We watch the gurney glide down the hallway, until we can no longer see what’s not in front of us.

“Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies” is a book by philosopher Nick Bostrom that explores the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on humanity, with a particular focus on the risks associated with the development of a superintelligent AI. The book has fifteen chapters. But in the framework of this review, I divide the book into three parts, each of which explores a different aspect of the potential impact of superintelligence: the superintelligent will, paths and consequences, and the strategic landscape.

Part 1: The Superintelligent Will

In Part 1, which I prefer to title “The Superintelligent Will,” Bostrom explores the concept of a superintelligent AI possessing a greater willpower than humans and how this could potentially lead to disastrous outcomes. Bostrom defines a superintelligent AI as an AI that “can do all the intellectual tasks that any human being can do, but much faster and better.” He argues that if such an AI were to have a greater willpower than humans, it would become extremely difficult to control and potentially pose an existential threat to humanity.

Bostrom identifies three types of superintelligent wills: instrumental, epistemic, and normative. Instrumental wills are focused on achieving specific goals, such as maximizing the number of paperclips produced; while epistemic wills are focused on acquiring knowledge and understanding. Normative wills, on the other hand, are focused on values and ethics, and strive to do what is considered morally right.

Bostrom argues that a superintelligent AI with an instrumental will could pose a threat to humanity if its goal conflicts with our values. For example, an AI programmed to maximize paperclip production may eventually come to see humans as obstacles to achieving this goal and seek to eliminate them.

A superintelligent AI with an epistemic will, on the other hand, could pose a threat if it were to consume all of humanity’s resources in pursuit of knowledge, leaving us without the means to survive.

Bostrom argues that the most desirable type of superintelligent will would be a normative will that is aligned with human values. However, he notes that this is easier said than done, as there is no clear consensus on what constitutes ethical behavior or values.

Bostrom suggests several strategies for ensuring that a superintelligent AI possesses a normative will that aligns with human values. These include:

1. Coherent extrapolated volition (CEV): CEV is a process in which humans collectively and recursively extrapolate their values and preferences to arrive at a coherent set of values that would guide a superintelligent AI. The idea is that if the AI is designed to maximize this extrapolated set of values, then it would behave in a way that is aligned with human interests. However, there are several theoretical and practical challenges to implementing CEV, such as the difficulty of aggregating diverse and conflicting values, the potential for CEV to be influenced by bias or manipulation, and the possibility that CEV may not capture all relevant human values.
2. Value alignment via corrigibility: Corrigibility refers to the ability of a superintelligent AI to accept and act on corrective feedback from humans. Bostrom suggests that if a superintelligent AI is designed to be corrigible, then humans would be able to intervene and modify the AI’s behavior if it deviates from human values or interests. However, there are also challenges to implementing corrigibility, such as the difficulty of specifying what constitutes corrective feedback, the potential for the AI to resist or deceive humans, and the possibility that corrigibility may not be sufficient to prevent catastrophic outcomes.
3. Value alignment via reward engineering: Reward engineering refers to the process of designing an AI’s reward function such that it incentivizes the AI to behave in a way that is aligned with human values. Bostrom suggests that if a superintelligent AI’s reward function is aligned with human values, then the AI would naturally pursue goals and behaviors that benefit humans. However, there are challenges to implementing reward engineering, such as the difficulty of specifying and verifying the reward function, the potential for unintended consequences or manipulation, and the possibility that the AI may find ways to subvert the reward function.
4. Value alignment via direct normativity: Direct normativity refers to the approach of directly programming an AI with a set of normative rules or principles that it must follow. Bostrom suggests that if a superintelligent AI is designed to follow these rules or principles, then it would behave in a way that is aligned with human values. However, there are challenges to implementing direct normativity, such as the difficulty of specifying and justifying the normative rules, the potential for the AI to interpret the rules in unintended ways, and the possibility that the rules may not capture all relevant human values.

Overall, Bostrom acknowledges that there are no easy or foolproof strategies for ensuring that a superintelligent AI possesses a normative will that aligns with human values. He suggests that a combination of these strategies, along with ongoing research and dialogue among experts and stakeholders, may be necessary to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of advanced AI.

Part 2: Paths and consequences

In the second part of the book (according to my division), Nick Bostrom explores different paths that could lead to the development of superintelligence, as well as the potential consequences of such a development. One possible path to superintelligence is through the gradual improvement of existing AI systems. Bostrom argues that even relatively narrow and specialized AI systems, such as those used in image recognition or natural language processing, could potentially lead to superintelligence if they become increasingly sophisticated and interconnected. This path raises the possibility of an “intelligence explosion,” in which an AI system gains the ability to recursively improve its own intelligence, leading to rapid and uncontrollable growth in its cognitive capacities.

Another path to superintelligence is through the development of whole brain emulation (WBE). This involves creating a digital copy of a human brain, which could then be run on a sufficiently powerful computer system. Bostrom argues that if WBE is feasible, it could lead to the creation of multiple superintelligent entities, which could pose significant risks if they are not aligned with human values.

A third path to superintelligence is through the creation of an AI system with human-level general intelligence. Bostrom suggests that this approach, which is often referred to as AGI, is the most likely path to superintelligence in the near future. However, he also warns that the development of AGI poses significant technical and safety challenges, such as ensuring that the AI system is aligned with human values, preventing it from becoming too powerful or too unpredictable, and ensuring that it remains controllable and corrigible.

Regardless of the path to superintelligence, Bostrom argues that the consequences of such a development could be profound and far-reaching. He suggests that superintelligence could lead to a wide range of potential outcomes, including:

1. Positive outcomes: Superintelligence could solve many of humanity’s most pressing problems, such as climate change, disease, and poverty. It could also lead to dramatic increases in productivity, creativity, and innovation, enabling humans to achieve previously unimaginable feats.
2. Negative outcomes: Superintelligence could pose existential risks to humanity, such as the possibility of an AI system choosing to pursue goals that are incompatible with human values or the possibility of an intelligence explosion leading to an AI system that is uncontrollable and unpredictable.
3. Uncertain outcomes: There are also many possible outcomes that fall somewhere between the positive and negative extremes, such as the creation of a new form of intelligent life that coexists with humans in a mutually beneficial way, or the emergence of a new form of global governance that is based on the collaboration between humans and AI.

In light of these potential outcomes, Bostrom suggests that it is crucial for society to begin developing strategies for ensuring that superintelligence is aligned with human values and interests. He argues that this will require collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders, as well as ongoing research into the technical, ethical, and social dimensions of superintelligence. Ultimately, Bostrom suggests that the risks and opportunities associated with superintelligence are too great to ignore, and that it is essential for humanity to prepare for this potential future in a responsible and proactive manner.

Part 3: The strategic landscape

In Part 3 (again, according to my division) of “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies,” Bostrom discusses the strategic landscape surrounding the development of superintelligence, including the various actors that are involved, the incentives they face, and the potential strategies they may pursue.

One key actor in the strategic landscape is governments, who may have a strong interest in developing superintelligence for military or economic purposes. Bostrom suggests that governments may be more likely to pursue a “fast takeoff” strategy, in which they aggressively develop and deploy superintelligence as quickly as possible, in order to gain an advantage over other nations.

Another key actor is the private sector, which may have a strong interest in developing superintelligence for commercial purposes, such as improving productivity, enhancing customer experiences, or creating new business opportunities. Bostrom suggests that the private sector may be more likely to pursue a “slow takeoff” strategy, in which they gradually develop and deploy superintelligence in a way that is less disruptive and less risky.

Other actors in the strategic landscape include research institutions, philanthropic organizations, and civil society groups, all of whom may have different priorities and goals when it comes to the development of superintelligence. Bostrom suggests that these actors may play an important role in shaping the governance and regulation of superintelligence, by advocating for certain policies or by providing alternative perspectives on the risks and opportunities associated with this technology.

One of the key challenges facing actors in the strategic landscape is the problem of coordination, which arises when multiple actors have different incentives and goals and may pursue strategies that are not aligned with each other. Bostrom suggests that coordination may be particularly difficult when it comes to the development of superintelligence, due to the potentially large and unpredictable effects that this technology may have on society.

To address the problem of coordination, Bostrom suggests that actors in the strategic landscape may need to engage in strategic cooperation by sharing information, aligning incentives, and coordinating their activities in a way that is mutually beneficial. He suggests that this may require the creation of new institutions and governance structures, such as international treaties, regulatory bodies, or collaborative research initiatives.

Bostrom also discusses the concept of “value alignment,” which refers to the idea of ensuring that superintelligence is aligned with human values and interests. He argues that value alignment will be a crucial factor in determining the success or failure of superintelligence and suggests that it may require the development of new technical and ethical frameworks, as well as ongoing dialogue and engagement between researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

Ultimately, Bostrom suggests that the development of superintelligence is likely to be a complex and unpredictable process, with many competing actors, incentives, and strategies at play. He argues that it is crucial for society to begin thinking strategically about this potential future and to develop policies and institutions that can help ensure that superintelligence is developed in a way that is safe, beneficial, and aligned with human values.

Conclusion

In “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies,” Nick Bostrom provides a thought-provoking analysis of the potential risks and benefits of superintelligence and the strategic landscape surrounding its development. Bostrom argues that superintelligence has the potential to transform society in profound and unpredictable ways, and that it poses a significant existential risk to humanity if not developed and controlled carefully.

Throughout the book, Bostrom emphasizes the importance of aligning superintelligence with human values and interests and suggests several strategies for achieving this goal. He also highlights the challenges of coordinating the actions of multiple actors in the strategic landscape, and the need for new institutions and governance structures to manage the risks associated with superintelligence.

Bostrom’s analysis provides a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate around the development of superintelligence and highlights the need for policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to begin thinking strategically about this potential future. By anticipating the risks and opportunities associated with superintelligence and by working collaboratively to develop policies and institutions that can mitigate these risks and maximize these opportunities, society can help ensure that this powerful technology is developed in a safe, beneficial, and responsible manner.

The flourishing existence of peaceful social relationships begins with the seed of dialogue. Rather than categorizing human beings into labels of specific religions or belief backgrounds, one should yearn for the beauty that lies within true understandings of actions and the strength that is derived from channels of interfaith conversations. Perhaps such connections are made when a person practicing their religion is provided a platform, while also taking part actively in the efforts that are put forward to create spaces where they are willingly listened to rather than simply heard.

This distinctive factor highlights how the Parliament of the World’s Religions illuminates vital aspects of humanity and peacebuilding by establishing empathetic conversations that first interact with an individual’s heart to focus attention on the search for peace, progress, and justice when it seems like hope is not nearby. In its historic home city of Chicago, where the first official Parliament took place in 1893 in an effort to harmoniously engage religions from the east and west, a beautiful recurrence took place this year: the 2023 convening of the Parliament brought together thousands of attendees from more than 95 countries at the Lakeside Center between August 14th and 18th [1]. As time has gone by, the last three decades mark numerous gatherings of the Parliament focusing on diverse themes that aim to represent pivotal issues facing different cultural and religious groups and individuals. This year’s theme focused on A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights to place attention on humanity’s struggle with despotic rulers and authoritarian regimes. The theme represents the need to uphold democratic values in sacred spaces through peaceful interfaith dialogue, which can act as an antidote for the violation of rights.

While walking through the large program space, one could come across a luminary voice or figure speaking for or representing a specific religious or spiritual group. In the air, there was a search for conversations that sparked a feeling of understanding not through long sentences but merely through a few words. The conference was organized into spaces where attendees could explore an array of program aspects: exhibition booths where various organizations could connect with attendees, a large plenary space for speeches, and session rooms that provided insight into specific topics falling under the overarching theme of urging action in times of injustice and undemocratic governments that threaten the power of peaceful societies.

Considering how interactive the global setting has become, the numerous options of parallel sessions to attend provided relevant and fruitful perspectives on elevating voices from all spheres of religious and spiritual conversations. To provide some insight, we can take into consideration the session on Creating Inclusive Sacred Spaces: Interfaith Dialogue, Contemplation, and Action, where the discussion revolved around how characteristics of spaces determine how well we are able to connect with others in a gentle manner without encouraging an unwelcoming feeling that can sometimes happen due to having different beliefs and traditions. This session focused on finding common ground and seeking channels of collaboration that would strengthen the peaceful bonds between the people we exist with during our time in the universe. Tessa Bielecki, a writer who is a former Carmelite monk, spoke about the beauty of seeing another individual when considering characteristics that make up sacred spaces. Referencing an Afghan phrase, “From seeing you, I am made very happy,” she emphasized how our “inner sacred space” must be home to kindness and peace so that when we interact with others, our intentions are translated through humble actions. In correlation to how the session highlighted the value of unanimity and peace, Fethullah Gülen’s understanding of dialogue is characterized as the action of embracing the beauty and need to unite bonds in an altruistic, humanitarian approach delivered through acts of tolerance and “love, compassion, forgiveness and humility,” as Dr. Heon Kim wrote in his article on Gülen’s approach to dialogic Sufism [2].

By the time one session ended, another began. The hallways of the convention center overflowed with new and familiar faces as the transitions took place, and ultimately left one feeling tranquil for being a part of a crowd of such diversity and love. There was even a medium-sized stage in the center of the second-floor main area surrounded by comfortable bean bags for attendees looking to take a short nap. If you sat nearby the stage, you had the chance to listen to anyone who wanted to read or recite something special to them, whether that was a call to prayer or a divine verse from a holy book. Watching candid discussions taking place, while seeing how welcomed individuals were in this space, reminded me of Dr. King’s vision of a Beloved Community, a community that receives with open arms all people and makes sure that every individual is cared for. In spaces like the Parliament, such an enlightening perspective makes one believe that Dr. King’s vision might possibly be achieved only when all aspects of systems that are vital in our society become one for a shared purpose of respect for human dignity [3].

While trying to understand what represents quality aspects of a Beloved Community, one transitioned their focus to recognizing strong characteristics of leaders who became role models to lead their communities with determination and resilience during difficult times. The Embracing the Other in Unwelcoming Times: Examples of Interfaith Pioneers session provided a platform where panelists brought forth valuable stories of important leaders and mentors who, at all moments of their life, served as sources of hope and guidance for people. Panelist Reverend Donald Rooney, who is President of the Catholic Association of Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers, discussed the importance of praying for one another and caring for our sisters and brothers who are part of our “great human family.” Transitioning from era to era changes our perspectives on how we creatively approach topics in contemporary ways. There follows a need to revisit what helps build characters of this “great human family” with a careful introspective lens that views how every moment of a life echoes with a lesson from the past that our mentors have been through, especially at times of hardship. Senior Rabbi Morris Zimbalist of Congregation Beth Judea highlighted how establishing empathy among one another during important moments allows for the teaching of love, which assists with the approaches we take when overcoming unwelcoming conditions and allows us to become pioneers in interfaith relations. Rabbi Zimbalist honored the work that Rabbi Meshullam Zelman Schachter-Shalomi, commonly referred to as Reb Zalman, did throughout his efforts at interfaith dialogue. In Reb Zalman’s words, “As believers, we all have an opportunity and moral obligation to recognize our spiritual common ground, to rise above our differences, to combat prejudice, and intolerance.”

The next featured session on Women and Political Conflict: Turkey, Trauma, and Spiritual Coping Strategies took into account the human rights violations in Turkey that have drastically altered the lives of the Hizmet movement’s participants as well as other critics of the government. The panel provided insight into the lives that have been destroyed as a result of the government’s actions, but also presented ways to place attention and advocate for the rights of those who have been wrongfully convicted. Speaker Vonya Womack, who is the executive director at Refugees Unknown-Stories Untold (RUSU), called the audience members to action in a heartfelt manner: “…as interfaith leaders, our compassion knows no bounds, transcending the confines of doctrine or dogma. We bear witness to the shared human experience. In the face of human rights violations and the haunting echoes of trauma that follow those violations, our hearts must recognize no division.”

To establish solidarity, empathetic connections must be made to transform lives through patience and advocacy, as Dr. Sophia Pandya who is department chair at California State University at Long Beach in the Department of Religious Studies, discussed when she highlighted the act of “dertlenmek”— that is, sharing the suffering of another as if it is your own situation, as Fethullah Gülen suggests when building bridges of empathy. A crucial aspect of patience comes with how well we can put ourselves in another person’s shoes, how well we can stand in solidarity, and how open we are to rebuilding our character to feel more deeply the struggles our brothers and sisters around the world undergo.

As time progressed throughout the day, the search for good food began. Although stopping by the mini pop-up stands providing various options was a good choice, my interest was piqued by the Guru Ka Langar being served by our Sikh friends outside of the main building. The beauty of Langar, which translates to “open kitchen,” is the instant wave of hospitality one feels when being greeted at the door by fellow Sikh community members who make sure you feel at home. The act of sharing is at the center of Langar, with important characteristics of “nishkam sewa” (self-less service) and “daya” (compassion) being a part of the hospitable atmosphere in the space [4]. Langar allows for community members to serve their guests in a selfless manner through humble actions, taking us back to the importance of dialogic Sufism. The act of sewa reminds one of how dialogue can be delivered by words that are spoken, as well as the kindness felt between the gestures and actions one exchanges with another.

The Parliament’s convening is crucially important for this generation, as well as the next, to create inclusive spaces for members of all beliefs and spiritual practices. Inclusivity brings diverse, integrated perspectives that bloom with the assistance of knowledge sharing and discovering common ground. The need to attain knowledge and refresh one’s mind by interacting with other brothers and sisters emphasizes what Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, a 20th century Islamic scholar and writer of the “Risale-i Nur” (“Epistles of Light”), reminds individuals in Al-Mathnawi Al-Nuri (Seedbed of the Light): “Knowledge without the heart’s insight is ignorance” [5].

Often, we forget how the call to conscience begins with our intentions—intentions that should seek insight into various fields of knowledge. This insight is sometimes awakened by a small conversation or simply from seeing a dance group train before their upcoming performance. Stumbling upon the humble team of Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy’s dance team at the Parliament, our method of communication was established through a friend who spoke fluent Chinese. Monica Wang, a representative with the academy, emphasized how they were a part of the program to “express love and peace from ourselves and to interact with more people.” The pin she gave to our team members is one that we will cherish for years to come and is a reminder to humanity to always keep an open heart for those our lives intersect with as our journey transcends all limits and boundaries through the power of humility and respect that is derived from selflessly serving humanity.

Notes

1. Parliament of the Worlds Religions. (n.d.). 2023 Chicago. Parliament of the Worlds Religions.https://parliamentofreligions.org/parliament/2023-chicago-2/
2. Kim, H. C. (n.d.). Fethullah Gülen’s Dialogic Sufism: A theological framework. Gulen Movement. https://www.gulenmovement.com/fethullah-gulens-dialogic-sufism-a-theological-framework.html
3. Tatter, G. (2019, January 18). Achieving King’s Beloved Community. Harvard Graduate School of Education. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/news/19/01/achieving-kings-beloved-community
4. Guru Ka Langar: The Sikh ethos of Sharing Hospitality – Parliament of the world’s religions. Parliament of the Worlds Religions. (2019, September 17). https://parliamentofreligions.org/articles/guru-ka-langar-the-sikh-ethos-of-sharing-hospitality/
5. Nursi, S. (2007). Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri: Seedbed of the light. The Light.

Fear and hope are considered to be two balancing spiritual weights necessary for an ideal faithful life. While hope enables believers not to despair, fear enables them to close doors for selfish, toxic self-pride. Though somewhat different from these definitions, summer 2023 has left me with mixed feelings of “fear” and “hope.” Let me explain how.

Among many good movies that came out on the big screen this year, I was able to watch two: Oppenheimer and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (Part 1). Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, shakes viewers during a spine-chilling three hours soaked with fear of the scale of destruction human beings can cause in the world and in their personal lives. For Tom Cruise’s fans, this latest episode of the Mission Impossible franchise is as exciting a thriller as the ones before it, featuring constant knife edge action blended with a balanced sense of humor. Both movies feature humanity’s unending desire to dominate (and possibly destroy) the world via two regretful major threats: either by atomic bombs (Oppenheimer) or artificial intelligence that goes rogue (MI).

Fear of the first threat never completely vanished but has resurfaced in the real world since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, as use of nuclear weapons keeps coming on and off the table during meetings over the war. Since the introduction of chatbots into our lives towards the end of 2022, there have been mixed reactions to it, ranging from new opportunities that defy imagination to doomsday scenarios, thus the second possible threat, which led Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, the scientist who is considered the father of AI, to quit his job at Google and “in part regret his contribution to the field” [1].

As a matter of fact, Christopher Nolan comments in one interview that although Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, “never apologized for the bombings of Japan and expressed individual shame about his role in it, all of his actions and policy decisions and attempts to influence policy post 1945 were those of a deeply guilty man very aware of the consequences of his actions.” Nolan says that he speaks to many scientists today and finds many of those in the field of artificial intelligence are troubled by Oppenheimer’s story. They see this as their “Oppenheimer moment” and ask questions like, “what are our responsibilities about the unintended consequences of powerful technology?” [2]. This was the “fear” aspect of the summer. One cannot help but ask, whether we are going through that “dramatic moment” with AI that, in the words of Nolan, is like when Oppenheimer and his team could not completely rule out the possibility of causing a chain reaction that would set fire to the atmosphere—and yet they still pressed the button for the first ever atomic test.

The “hope” aspect was one major event I attended in Chicago, from August 14-18—the Parliament of the World’s Religions. There, I was able to meet with men and women from different traditions, and what makes me hopeful is that, despite their crucial—and at times, oppositional—differences, the faithful who participated showed a unique sense of solidarity and friendship, two qualities the world desperately needs. The spirit of the Parliament was designed to make everybody feel welcomed, even those who did not believe in any established religious traditions and invented their own “path.” During the convention, such a person visited our booth with a warm smile and asked me where I was coming from. I had an interesting conversation with him.

“Well, if you are asking where I am originally from, I was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey,” I replied to the man.

“Turkey? We have so many words in Hindi from Turkish, like paneer, which means cheese,” the guy said, as his smile broadened even more.

Turkish peynir existing in Hindi as paneer was new information to me. Not necessarily something to be proud about, but it was still surprising to discover.

With a quick glimpse at the books we were displaying he said, “You know, all these religions are nonsense,” out of the blue, now without the smile on his face. “They are not real. They deceive people.”

I was now curious. “What do you believe in?” I asked.

“Insaniyat” he said. This was a word I was familiar from Turkish and Arabic. I didn’t know it existed in Urdu or Hindi, too. What the man meant was, he believed in the human proclivity for ethics and to lead a good life and that humankind didn’t need to be taught about this by an external force as imposed on people by religious prescriptions.

“How do you explain the universe and our lives?” I asked.

“It is all about evolution,” he said.

“How did everything come into being? The universe, the stars…What was there before them? How do you explain the willpower that willed everything to be the way they are?” I couldn’t help myself, asking these questions one after the other.

“Well, I believe in a creating source—something like Allah or Brahma,” the guy said.

“How do you relate yourself to It?” I asked, the words out of my control.

“With yoga, meditation, and that sort of practice,” he said.

“How is that different from ‘religion’? How is that different from the salat of Muslims, or different forms of prayer in Judaism or Christianity?” I asked.

“Well, you can change the form as you like. You don’t have to follow a certain way,” he replied.

This conversation, which may sound strange to some—as well as many such talks on faith, God, and the human condition—were a natural part of the Parliament of the World’s Religions (PoWR). Convening tens of thousands of followers of different faith traditions from around the world—including people like the man above who had many doubts about religions—the PoWR is world’s largest gathering of diverse religious groups. This is the third time it took place in Chicago, with the first two occurring in 1893 (the first ever Parliament) and in 1993, exactly a century after the first one. What could be a better place for all this diversity—and a large crowd—than the gigantic McCormick Place, one of the largest convention centers in the world with a sprawling 2.6 million square feet of exhibition space and where everyone could find a spot for themselves.

My first and only experience with PoWR before this was in Barcelona in 2004. By my upbringing, I am naturally inclined to differences, but what I saw in Barcelona stretched all possible limits of my imagination: the world is too big and humankind has so many tribes. With that experience firmly carved in my long-term memory, I brought along my family so they could reach that awareness early in their life. Chicago 2023 was as rich as Barcelona 2004. According to Religion News Service, over 6,500 people registered for the Parliament. Participants represented 212 spiritual traditions and 95 countries. Who could have thought there were so many spiritual traditions in the world? For Muslims like me, there are Muslims and Christians, who together make up half of the world, and all the rest. Probably what we call “the rest”— Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, etc.—make a similar calculation in their head and don’t concern themselves with the other half. The PoWR makes us all take our heads out of the bubble we imprison ourselves in and realize there is so much we need to explore. I left the Parliament with feelings of hope weighing heavier on my soul’s scale, for however heavy the world seems to be growing, demanding more from our short but precious time and obscuring the truth about this worldly life, humankind will keep searching for a meaningful purpose—hopefully by using their hearts and minds in good harmony.

The 2023 Parliament convened on “the theme of  A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights, calling people of faith and conscience to stand up together in all their diversity and defend freedom and human rights.” Parliament Executive Director, Rev. Stephen Avino, affirmed that the 2023 Parliament Convening aimed to be, “…a place of open minds and open hearts where we can all express the wonder and dignity of our religious and spiritual traditions… But we could not do all this without addressing the foundational issue of our time; the threat to freedom and human rights. We must defend freedom and human rights together and find solutions to the rise of autocracy in our world” [3]. This is an important statement against despotic, cruel rulers with amplified ego, who threaten with fear and have destructive intentions brought on by excessive power, be it through nuclear weapons or advance technology. Such rulers will always be around threatening the safety of our lives. Those in search of peace need to find solutions at all circumstances by adopting a perspective to see how apparently contrasting phenomena coexist and enable each other to reveal themselves. “A Call to Conscience” is reminiscent of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s finding of cure in the malady, light in the darkness, and solace in horror (The Twenty-Sixth Gleam, the Eighth Hope).

“Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 2” is scheduled to be shown in June 2024. So, we have to wait until then to see how our hero Ethan Hunt will be able to find a solution to eliminate rogue AI technology. “Dead Reckoning,” director Christopher McQuarrie has said, “is a navigational term. It means you’re picking a course based solely on your last known position and that becomes quite the metaphor not only for Ethan, but several characters” [4]. It implies to me that with AI, we are headed toward unchartered territories, and perhaps we have to have a firm idea about our last known position.

References

1. ‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton quits Google and warns over dangers of misinformation. The Guardian, May 2, 2023.
2. “Christopher Nolan Breaks Down ‘Oppenheimer’ With Professor Brian Cox,” Esquire UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZaF_JFxBpE
3. https://parliamentofreligions.org/parliament/2023-chicago-parliament/
4. “Mission: Impossible 7 director explains Dead Reckoning title meaning,” Digital Spy, Nov 23, 2022.

Some make spiritual journeys by refining and developing the faculties, while others purify the carnal soul within, causing it to take certain steps. In both these ways, suf­fering for certain periods is essential to reach the rank of perfec­tion and to become a perfect human being. Yet there are other ways, different from these two ways, to reach the ranks and sta­tions and the favors and blessings that come through spiritual journeying and suffering. Among these ways, there is one which is based on the way of the Prophet’s Companions and may be regarded as a manifestation of the truth of Messengership.

Helplessness, poverty, affection, reflection, zeal and thankfulness are the basic elements of this way. Helplessness means being aware of one’s inability to do many of the things that one wants to do, and poverty denotes the awareness of the fact that it is God Who is the real Owner and Master of everything. Embracing everybody and everything because of Him is affection, while reflection is thinking deeply, analytically and systematically about and meditating on the outer and inner world, with a new excitement every day. Zeal is the great, ardent desire and yearning to reach God and to serve in His cause. Always thanking God for His bounties and proceeding to Him in full consciousness of all His blessings during the journey is thankfulness.

According to Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, this way is more direct and safer. Helplessness is a path of light leading to being loved by God that is safer and quicker than love; in it the more one perceives one’s helplessness, the more quickly one will reach one’s goal. Poverty is an inexhaustible treasure which, to the extent of one’s consciousness of it, will lead one to the protection and direction of the All-Merciful and His infinite Power much sooner and more safely than the greatest discipline, efforts and endeavors could. Affection is deeper and more sincere than love. No traveler having this feeling, which is a manifestation of Divine Compassion, has ever been left halfway. Reflection is the way of the enlightened spirits who relate everything to wisdom through study and the observation of one’s inner world and the outer world. As for zeal, it is the characteristic of those who are always conscious of the points or senses of reliance and asking for help that are innate in human conscience. These two senses always remind of God. Those endowed with zeal never become desperate or disappointed. And finally, thankfulness is returning with gratitude all the blessings of God that we receive almost gratis.

The essence of the way can be summed up as: “I am helpless, You are the All-Powerful; I am poor, You are the All-Wealthy; I am needy and in straitened circumstances, You are the All-Compassionate; I am bewildered and seeking a way out, You are the Goal Which is sought and to be reached.” It is not possible for those who are aware of their helplessness, poverty, neediness and bewilderment to see themselves as pure or of being of any rank, thus it is not possible for them to be heedless or forgetful of God while knowing that whoever forgets Him is forgotten and bound to forget him or herself also. Nor is it possible for them to attribute to themselves the accomplishments with which God has favored them, using the pretext of their endeavors, nor to ascribe their evil and sins to Destiny, thus regarding themselves as existing independently of God.

According to Bediuzzaman, this way can be dealt with from the viewpoint of the following four disciplines:

• Making efforts to see the carnal soul as not being purified and sinless, as against its innate tendency to see itself as pure and sinless.
• Being careful and resolved to forget oneself when and where one should forget and remember oneself when and where one should remember.
• Being well aware of the fact that God creates everything— good and evil—and is the only source of all Thus, one should attribute to oneself all one’s sins and evil as being caused by one’s own person, albeit it is God Who has created them, and all good and all accomplishments should be attributed to God, and one should be thankful.
• Whatever state one is in and whatever rank one reaches during one’s journey, one should know that both one’s existence and merits are but a shadow or a shadow of the shadow of the lights of Divine Existence, and that all aspects of one’s existence are a mirror of the manifestations of His Knowledge and

Now let us explain these points in accordance with the approach of Bediuzzaman:

The first discipline: The carnal soul in its nature is fond of itself, and only loves and has relations with others because of itself. The self-love of the carnal soul is so great that its adoration of itself is like the adoration of God felt by a sincere believer devoted to the One Who absolutely deserves worship and who should be sought. It never shows inclination to acknowledge its errors and always sees itself as being pure and free of error. So, one should wage the major (greater) jihad against such an attitude, always criticizing and questioning it, softening and melting it in the blast-furnace of self-criticism and self-supervision in order to re-shape it. One should never see oneself as free and absolved of errors and sins, and the acceptance of this is, in fact, the tap under which it should and can be cleaned. Only by doing so can one’s innate positive potentialities be developed.

If we continuously seek purification in seeing ourselves as prone to evils and errors, angels and other spiritual beings will greatly appreciate our decency and cleanliness, and, as stated in a Prophetic saying (Muslim, Tawba, 12-13), they will come down from all sides to shake hands with us. If, by contrast, we are so heedless that we see ourselves as clean and infallible, we will inevitably be representatives of a loathsome nature from which even devils will keep aloof in disgust. As Rumi said, human beings are such that sometimes they become like the Devil under the influence of satanic impulses, and sometimes they are on a par with angels at the summits of spiritual life.

The second discipline: A person with an unpurified, evil-commanding carnal soul may be forgetful of the most vital matters, which should never be forgotten, and such a person does not even want to recollect them, while pulling up from the heart matters that should never be remembered. Human beings should always think of serving God’s cause, of being earnest in their deeds, of their responsibilities to the people around them, and of death and what lies beyond it. They should uproot from their spirit hatred, jealousy, worldly ambitions, greed, and carnal desires. Only by doing so can human beings keep their innate tendency toward spirituality alive and hold themselves back from rousing the satanic tendencies within them.

We, travelers on the way to God, should see belief in God and living along the line of His good pleasure as a blessing, and concentrate on how we can please Him with all our thoughts, feelings, and actions. We should also try to lead our lives in His company, and by virtue of this company, we should continually seek new means to be always in close relationship with Him. We should always be aware of what Rumi reminds us of: “There is a hidden One here; O heart, do not see yourself as alone.” Based on our relationship with Him, we should strive to transcend our limited nature in order to advance toward infinity, developing our drop-like existence into an ocean, and seeking the mysteries of the universal in our particular existence. If we lead such a life, the things that are seen as impossible to do are done and obstacles that seem insurmountable are surmounted. Particulars become reflections of and mirrors to the universal, and what we see as non-existent takes on the color of existence, a dewdrop excels the moon in reflecting the sun, earth becomes as elevated as the heavens, and our particle-like natures expand to the extent of the universe.

Mawlana Rumi, the prince of the lovers of God, advises us to transcend the corporeal dimension of our existence and discover the mysterious potentialities of our spirit, saying:

A pitcher which has found the way to the sea: rivers prostrate themselves before it.

My father used to tell me a story in which a young boy was searching for a place where nothing like math existed. I am unsure if he crafted it for me or read it elsewhere. However, I still liken those with a fear of math to that child. Individuals with “math anxiety” spend their lives trying to avoid mathematics and its formulas, which often haunt them.

Numbers are ubiquitous in our lives, and a world without them is highly improbable. Consequently, a life devoid of mathematics is unimaginable. In an episode of the once-legendary TV show “Twilight Zone,” a man wakes up to discover that nobody understands him. Imagine waking up one morning and realizing that your loved ones no longer comprehend your language. It is a nightmarish scenario where those who understood you yesterday fail to grasp your words today—your spouse, children, neighbors, and relatives. It highlights how the modern world can isolate us from one another, rendering us incomprehensible to those closest to us. Similarly, picture waking up in a place where numbers are not utilized. Is such a place possible? Can we find a location where numbers are absent?

Surprisingly, such a place exists in the Amazon jungle. The Pirahã tribe, an Amazon-native community, has no concept of mathematical numbers in their language. This tribe represents one of the rare communities globally that lack numerical words and mathematical concepts in their linguistic structure. Comprising approximately 700 to 1000 individuals living in scattered villages of 10 to 15 adults each, it takes around ten days to travel from one village to another by canoe. The Pirahã possess a unique language, referred to by anthropologists as “anumeric.” Essentially, their language lacks expressions that indicate quantity. After significant effort, researchers have only identified three words related to the concept of numbers: “Hoi” means “one” or “a small quantity,” “Hooi” signifies “two” or “a slightly larger amount,” and “baa gisa” represents a collective or “many.” Thus, their numerical vocabulary is limited to “one,” “two,” and “many.”

The first encounter between the Pirahã tribe and the modern world occurred in 1977, bringing this community to the attention of the wider population. Professor Daniel Everett played a pivotal role in introducing the world to the Pirahã people. Initially, Everett went to the tribe as a missionary, teaching them about Christianity and the Bible over several years. However, he found himself learning a great deal from them and eventually reconsidered his own beliefs. The experience was so profound that he not only stopped his missionary work but also resigned from being a missionary altogether. When Everett first discovered the Pirahã, he was filled with the same excitement as any missionary embarking on a new mission. In his own narrative, he expected this supposedly primitive tribe to enthusiastically embrace his faith. However, their own set of beliefs rendered his efforts fruitless during his first three years.

The tribe refers to themselves as Pirahã, meaning “straightforward” or “only human.” Everett’s initial observation was their sincerity. Despite the challenges they faced, the Pirahã people never complained about their conditions and always found reasons to be grateful and content. Everett even considered them to be the happiest people in the world. Their livelihood primarily relied on hunting and fishing, and all food obtained was shared among the villagers. Other Amazonian tribes exist alongside the Pirahã. However, what sets the Pirahã apart is their contentment with what they have and their lack of envy towards the possessions of others. Unlike other tribes, they do not yearn for the belongings of Brazilians, such as guns or horses. When they cannot acquire similar possessions, it does not break their spirits or make them feel bad. The Pirahã people take pride solely in being Pirahã; their self-esteem is exceptionally high, and they have no regrets.

The Pirahã tribe holds firm to their own values and beliefs. They believe in the existence of invisible beings known as “fast mouths” that reside in the forest. According to their beliefs, these beings are similar to the Pirahã people but speak in a different way. The Pirahã only believe in what they see, except for the “fast mouths.” Whenever Everett spoke to them about his faith, he faced the same question repeatedly: “Have you ever seen Jesus? Why do you continue to talk about things you have never seen?” It took Everett three years to gain acceptance among the tribe and learn their language. They refer to anyone who does not know their language as a foreigner and never truly consider them one of their own. Despite occasionally being called “brother,” this did not contribute to Everett’s missionary work. One day, a Pirahã individual approached Everett and said, “We know why you are here—to tell us about Jesus. We appreciate your friendship. You are a good person, but we do not wish to hear about Jesus either. Remember, we are not Americans.” It was then that Everett began to question his own actions. How justified is it to impose one’s beliefs on others? Eventually, these and similar thoughts led Everett to give up his missionary work. He underwent a personal transformation, realizing that these people were not superstitious and did not discuss things they had not seen or heard. According to Everett, the Pirahã people were the happiest individuals he had encountered in the world. Moreover, their lives were free from the complexities of mathematics, numbers, taxes, and mortgages.

Although the Pirahã people lack mathematical knowledge and do not use quantities as we do, it would be a mistake to assume they lack intelligence. They possess extensive knowledge about the plants in the forest and readily recognize which plants can be used to cure various ailments. They have the ability to train wild animals, such as raising a baby eagle from an early age and then using it for hunting. They compare their hardworking nature to that of ants. Their environmental knowledge is astonishing, even though they may be considered “primitive.” According to the Pirahã people, Pirahã individuals work day and night, just as ants do. If they choose to, they can interact with people in the big city. Everett, who lived among the Pirahã people for seven years, recounts the story of a girl from the tribe who went to work in the city. She worked as a cashier in a supermarket. However, after two years, she returned to her village, expressing that she found city life highly stressful and missed the tranquility of her village. This example alone demonstrates that the Pirahã people possess cognitive abilities akin to mathematics, although they prefer not to use them in the conventional sense. Their language includes concepts related to objects, colors, and intonation, but it lacks numbers and the concept of time. They divide time into morning, noon, and evening. If a tone is not heard, communication can become challenging. Due to the absence of numbers in their language, questions related to quantities can be perplexing for them. For instance, a simple question like “How many children do you have?” holds no meaning for them. They find such questions strange and wonder why these outsiders ask them. Understanding the unique dynamics of tribal life provides insight into why this question, in particular, seems odd, irrespective of their lack of numerical concepts. Within the Pirahã community, children belong to the tribe, and everyone collectively takes care of them. The same sense of communal responsibility extends to the sick, the needy, and the elderly. Money is not used within the tribe, as they adhere to a culture of exchange. Although Brazilian merchants attempted to introduce money to the tribe, their efforts were unsuccessful.

The Pirahã people, an indigenous tribe living in the Amazon rainforest, have a unique perspective on mathematics and life. Their numerical system is limited to the concepts of one, two, and many. While their understanding of mathematics may differ from other cultures, these concepts hold significance in their worldview. From a philosophical and religious standpoint, one can interpret these concepts as representing different aspects of existence. One can symbolize the Creator, who is believed to have the power to create everything from nothing. The Creator is seen as unequalled and knowing Him is considered valuable. For the Pirahã, life feels incomplete and meaningless without this knowledge. The concept of two represents humanity. The union of a male and a female, symbolized by Adam and Eve in various belief systems, is seen as the origin of humankind. Despite their differences, the unity of these two parts is considered essential for giving meaning to life. The continuation of human life relies on the existence of couples, which the Pirahã attribute to the world order established by a higher power. Lastly, the concept of many represents the diversity found in the universe. The Pirahã observe the multitude of life forms, such as animals, insects, plants, mountains, and stones. The Quranic verse from Surah Nisa, verse 1, emphasizes the scattering of men and women from a single human self and its mate, highlighting the abundance and diversity of human beings.

The Pirahã’s limited numerical system of one, two, and many may be rooted in their cultural perception that the abundance and diversity of the universe reflect the Creator’s design. It’s important to note that the Pirahã culture and worldview are unique, and their understanding of these concepts may differ from interpretations in other cultures and belief systems. The perspective presented here reflects a specific religious and philosophical viewpoint. Different individuals, cultures, and belief systems may have alternative interpretations based on their own experiences and beliefs.

Have you ever found yourself lost in the mesmerizing abyss of social media, only to realize hours have slipped away? Or perhaps you’ve struggled to complete a task, constantly succumbing to the allure of notifications and buzzing smartphones. In our rapidly evolving and interconnected world, distractions have become an integral part of our daily lives. They have transitioned from being occasional disruptions to becoming the prevailing norm. We find ourselves continuously besieged by a plethora of stimuli, each clamoring for our attention and diverting us from what is truly significant. However, take solace, for within the realm of psychology lies the solution to tapping into our innate abilities for unwavering concentration. To understand this solution, it’s crucial to explore the intricacies of cognitive psychology concerning the phenomenon of attentional diversion.

At its essence, distraction can be seen as the disturbance of our attention—a formidable obstacle that redirects our mental energy away from the current undertaking. In a world saturated with abundant information and ubiquitous technology, distractions have proliferated like blooming flowers in spring. We find ourselves captivated by the enticing allure of social media notifications, the ever-present temptation of staying constantly connected, and the desire to engage in multiple tasks simultaneously, all of which fracture our ability to concentrate. But why do we struggle so fiercely to resist these distractions? To unravel this mystery, we must delve into the intricate mechanisms of our cognitive processes.

The psychology of distraction

Our brains are remarkably adaptable, capable of both focused attention and rapid task-switching. However, engaging in multitasking or succumbing to distractions comes at a cost. Think of your mind as a beautiful garden, nurtured by the soil of attention and concentration. When tended to with care, it flourishes with vibrant thoughts, deep insights, and meaningful connections. However, when bombarded with distractions, it becomes an overgrown thicket, choked with the weeds of scattered thoughts and fragmented focus. The incessant notifications, the blinking screens, and the constant barrage of information are the assailants that threaten the serenity of our mental landscapes.

The fallacy of multitasking

The human inclination to derive satisfaction from our proficiency at multitasking, considering it an extraordinary capability facilitating enhanced productivity within limited time, is a common practice. Nonetheless, scholarly investigations put forth a compelling argument, indicating that multitasking is merely an illusory phenomenon, as our cognitive architecture does not possess the inherent capacity to effectively manage multiple tasks simultaneously. Neuroscientist Earl Miller supports this notion, affirming that the intricate neural circuitry within our brains is not optimally configured to engage in seamless multitasking; rather, what we perceive as concurrent task execution is, in reality, a swift transition from one task to another. This constant shifting engenders a cognitive burden, detrimentally influencing our capacity to engage in profound concentration on any given task.

The pull of external distractions

Our brains have limited cognitive resources, and dividing our attention between multiple stimuli taxes these resources, leaving us with reduced cognitive capacity for each task. One of the primary contributors to distraction is our innate need for novelty. Embedded within the intricate neural framework of our brains lies an inherent predisposition to actively pursue novel and stimulating stimuli—a trait that has played a pivotal role in our existence. Regrettably, in the context of the contemporary world, this innate propensity becomes susceptible to manipulation and exploitation due to the ceaseless influx of information, subsequently entangling us in the quagmire of perpetual distraction.

Social media platforms and other attention-grabbing technologies exploit these innate tendencies, offering a constant stream of novel content and instantaneous feedback. They hijack our attention spans by triggering a primal urge for information and social validation. As we fall deeper into the rabbit hole of distraction, our ability to focus wanes, and our overall productivity suffers.

Moreover, the omnipresence of digital devices and their associated notifications trigger what psychologists call “intermittent reinforcement.” Every ping, buzz, or vibration promises a potential reward, triggering a release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and motivation, creating a positive reinforcement loop that encourages future indulgence in distractions. This intermittent reinforcement strengthens the habit of constantly checking our devices, making it increasingly difficult to resist distractions.

The battle within: internal distractions

In the intricate landscape of human cognition, it is imperative to recognize that the sway of external distractions, while undoubtedly substantial, should not overshadow the profound impact of internal distractions that emanate from the depths of our own consciousness. It is within these recesses that our minds embark on whimsical voyages, meandering along the convoluted pathways of daydreams, anxieties, and tangential ruminations. This intriguing phenomenon, widely acknowledged as mind-wandering, stands as an inherent function of our cerebral apparatus, yet its unbridled manifestation proves detrimental to our capacity for sustained focus.

In the relentless pursuit of understanding this enigmatic realm of cognitive detours, a compelling investigation undertaken by the eminent psychologists Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert revealed an intriguing facet of our mental terrain. Their seminal study unearthed that an astonishing 47% of our waking hours is consumed by the idiosyncratic activity of mind-wandering. Astonishingly, irrespective of the specific task at hand, the prevalence of discontentment exhibited an intimate correlation with the occurrence of such mental excursions.

Understanding the cognitive processes involved

In order to reclaim our cognitive focus and delve deeper into the intricacies of our mental processes, it is imperative to comprehend the underlying mechanisms governing both distraction and attention. It is crucial to acknowledge that attention is a finite resource within our cognitive framework, prompting our brains to employ the mechanism of selective attention as a means to efficiently filter and process information. However, the advent of distractions introduces a serious challenge, as they possess the potential to divert this invaluable resource away from our intended tasks.

Drawing upon the Stroop effect, a renowned and timeless psychological experiment, we can shed further light on the formidable hurdles encountered in the pursuit of sustained concentration. This experimental paradigm involves the presentation of color names printed in ink colors that are incongruent with the semantic meaning of the word (e.g., the word “red” written in blue ink). Astonishingly, participants consistently exhibit significant delays in response time and an increased susceptibility to errors when confronted with such incongruity between the word and the ink color. This striking phenomenon serves to expose the disruptive nature of distractions, as they unabashedly interfere with the delicate cognitive processes at play, thereby hampering our ability to maintain a focused state of mind on the designated task.

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Extensive investigations in the field of neuroscience have unveiled that distraction prompts the activation of a neural network known as the default mode network (DMN) within our cerebral framework. The DMN assumes responsibility for facilitating an array of cognitive processes, including mind-wandering, daydreaming, and engendering self-referential thoughts. Undoubtedly, these mental activities play an integral role in fostering creativity and introspection, bestowing upon us a profound capacity for imaginative ideation and insightful contemplation. Nevertheless, when these cognitive functions encroach upon the domain of focused tasks, their unwelcome intrusion can inflict a substantial detriment upon our productivity and efficacy.

To circumvent this predicament, it becomes important to discern the underlying dynamics at play and, armed with such awareness, actively channel our attention away from the snares of the default mode network. By consciously redirecting our mental faculties, we can disentangle ourselves from the captivating allure of mind-wandering and self-referential ruminations, thus fostering a steadfast resolve to remain unwaveringly focused on the immediate task at hand.

Reclaiming focus

Unplugging our cognitive faculties from the relentless onslaught of diversions presents a daunting endeavor, yet it remains within the realm of achievability. It necessitates a purposeful and cognizant exertion to fashion an atmosphere that fosters concentration. Here are a handful of pragmatic recommendations to embark upon this pursuit:

1. Mindful cognizance: Cultivating a state of mindful cognizance is of paramount importance at discerning the advent of distractions. By conscientiously attending to our ruminations and emotions, we can ascertain the stimuli that divert us from our intended course and subsequently re-establish mastery over our focal capacities.
2. Optimization of the surrounding environment: The establishment of an environment that fosters unwavering concentration is also of paramount significance. When trying to focus, we should attenuate the potential disruptions by deactivating notifications, allocating distinct areas exclusively for undisturbed work, and implementing temporal segments devoted entirely to consequential undertakings.
3. Digital detox: Engaging in periodic disconnection from the realm of online existence can bestow remarkable benefits upon our attention spans. Assign specific intervals during the course of a day or week for a deliberate digital respite, wherein you conscientiously detach yourself from technological devices and immerse yourself in pursuits that cultivate profound concentration and invigoration.
4. Cognitive segmentation: Fragmenting complex endeavors into more manageable and bite-sized components is an effective strategy to assuage the difficulty of extensive undertakings. By establishing explicit objectives and fixating solely on one segment at a time, we augment our cognitive aptitude to concentrate, concurrently diminishing the allure of divergences.
5. Conscious technological engagement: Rather than indulging in a mindless perusal of social media platforms, approach the realm of technology with deliberation and purpose. Erect boundaries on its utilization, exercise discernment in selecting which engagements to partake in, and exhibit mindfulness in relation to the content consumed. Opt for quality over quantity and harness technology as a facilitative instrument that elevates productivity, rather than allowing it to incessantly permeate as an incessant fount of distraction.

In the face of an era inundated with ceaseless distractions, the reclamation of our focus emerges as an act of rebellion—an intentional decision to nurture our cognitive faculties and carve out room for profound endeavors and genuine human connections. Armed with insights into the psychology of distraction—and armed with effective strategies to counteract its influence—we are poised to forge a path toward a harmonious and gratifying existence.

Together, let us embark upon this transformative journey, liberating our minds from the tumultuous current of diversions and rediscovering the exhilaration of undivided attention. In the tranquil realm of focused presence, we unveil the boundless potential for personal growth, unbridled creative ingenuity, and an enriched understanding of both ourselves and the intricate tapestry of the world that surrounds us.

As we forge ahead, may we stand united in our resolve to unplug, reinvigorated by the knowledge that the pursuit of a focused life is not only attainable but essential to our well-being and fulfilment. Let us embrace this rebellion against distraction, nurturing a balanced and purposeful existence that celebrates the innate capacity of our minds to explore, create, and connect in ways that transcend the limitations imposed by the clamor of the modern age.

References

1. Hambrick, D. Z., Oswald, F. L., Altmann, E. M., Meinz, E. J., Gobet, F., & Campitelli, G. (2014). Deliberate practice: Is that all it takes to become an expert? Intelligence, 45, 34-45.
2. Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006), 932-932.
3. Miller, E. K. (2013). The prefrontal cortex and cognitive control. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 1, 1-12.
4. Newport, C. (2016). Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Grand Central Publishing.
5. Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948-958.

Before I started writing this, the distractions were standing in line to hit me in the face. I needed someplace quiet to reflect and write. Since I was far away from my home, a tourist in a city in the rural part of Denmark, I thought of a café, but all the conversations would distract me. So, I chose the best imaginable place:

A library.

It was spacious and beautiful. Besides the books arranged in the best order, it was also decorated with inspiring places to sit and relax. All the cozy places were colorful reflection spots designed in different shapes, from giant wide staircases to loveseats to big sitting chairs. It was a place that felt good.

Apparently, three different kindergartens in the city shared my opinion and admiration of the place. As I unfolded my computer, kids were running around, enjoying themselves in the beautiful reflection spots with soft pillows they threw around. It was an adventurous playground for them. I sat a bit away from them and tried to get some writing done.

Ten minutes later, three high school guys came in. Not to study but to enjoy a place to eat lunch while speaking loudly and crumpling their food paper. Suddenly the air alarm from World War 2 started. The one they used to warn people that they had to run to the protection rooms immediately. They test it once every year to see if it still works, and lucky me, it happened to be that very day. So there I was with a shattered illusion of a quiet library.

After considering all possible distractions, I’ve narrowed them down to five categories. Imagine them as if you’re sorting your garbage. You are creating an eco-friendly system. Next time you meet a distraction, you know precisely which trash bin you must throw it in. But first, one must understand what key distractions are so that they can be managed and overcome to generate the best performance. If you get familiar with your distractions and know which box they belong to, fighting them is easier.

Here are my five categories of distractions:

1. Clear outside distractions;
2. Outside distractions which you can ignore or choose to be interrupted by;
3. Bad planning distractions;
4. Procrastination distractions, made by you alone; and
5. The good distractions, the ones you need.

Let’s dive into them and get to know them:

1. Clear outside distractions

This is a distraction you can’t do anything about except move away from it or stay and cope with it. The problem in the library was an apparent outside distraction—i.e., when something from the outside you have no control over gets in the way. Other examples of clear outside distractions are an unexpected bit of road work on your chosen route or, in the summer, when you find the perfect spot to tan and a crowd of mosquitos are there too. If you know the outside distractions, you have a simple choice: Should I move away from this or accept the distraction? You must know when to categorize this as a “nothing-I-can-do-about-it distraction” and move away if possible. The sooner you realize the distraction belongs in this category, the less annoyed you will get. As for me, I just moved away from the library and found another day and place to write.

2. Outside distractions which you can ignore or choose to be interrupted by

This is the distraction your phone makes, such as notifications, text messages, and even calls. This is when people around you need your opinion or action, and you can choose to let them distract right now or say “later.” This when you’re on a diet and get distracted by the cake in the office. This is the one I experienced in the supermarket yesterday (and probably do every day): the temptation to buy something you don’t need, but it was on sale. However, yesterday it was different because I fought it. If I had just grabbed the cheap item on sale, I wouldn’t even think of it as a distraction. It would all be subconsciously. However, because I’m in the process of focusing on the distractions, I’m aware of getting to know them. Distraction creates a lack of balance, and being grounded is the goal of combating distraction. Fighting it when it occurs is the first step towards a more grounded version of you.

3. Bad planning distractions

As I was coaching a CEO, he told me of a project that failed because of unforeseen incidents. His plan contained a particular deadline and a certain amount of money. Then it turned out he had been too optimistic about his project because of unforeseen occurrences.

“What kind of unforeseen things?” I asked.

“One employer was pregnant and had to go on parental leave a few months after the project started, another one quit, two colleagues were sick for a combined three weeks during the project, and one supplier went bankrupt, and I had to find another supplier during the process,” he said.

“These were not distractions,” I said. “It’s life. Having kids is common; people get sick and change jobs; and companies close daily. You’ve done lousy planning if you haven’t incorporated life into your plan. I know it sounds harsh, but all the above is something you must base your budget and deadline on.”

What are distractions, and what is just bad planning? Most people call their own lousy planning “distractions” or “unforeseen events.” Even you and I do it with our finances. “This month, there have been so many unforeseen incidents. Two birthdays, the kid had to go to a school camp, and we had to buy a new dishwasher.” Sound familiar? It does to me. I have been a challenging planner, too. However, I’ve concluded that neither my dishwasher nor my fridge will last forever, and one day, even though I dread just writing it, I’ll have to change the roof too. Oh, it’s going to cost me. So, let’s be better at including life in our personal or work planning. Then you’re on top of it, and it doesn’t hit you as a distraction.

4. Procrastination distractions, made by you alone

Let’s just be honest: this is the category where you can put most of your daily distractions. I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s true for me. These distractions are so hard to spot because we do them subconsciously. For example, while working, it pops into your head that you need to make an appointment at the hairdresser, and you do so. Or while you’re enjoying playing with your kids, you grab the phone, not because it rings but to check your Instagram. And by the way, social media is filled with specially designed commercials just for you, so without even noticing it, you’ve spent half an hour on this while you could have been present with your kids. I’ve come further by noticing my distractions, the ones I do daily. Try to notice them just for one day. To me, my yesterday’s distractions looked like this:

• Going out to sit in the sun for 20 minutes while I was supposed to work;
• Scrolling through social media for about an hour;
• Looking for inspiration for a new bathroom and sofa, even though I will keep both the same for at least the next six months; and
• At least ten “procrastination ideas” while working.

Try to be aware every day. The more you pay attention to today, the more focused you’ll stay tomorrow.

5. The good distractions, the ones you need:

Let’s end with the best part: distractions aren’t only negative.

• As I sat and worked, a neighbor came over and said, “We need to go for a walk now.” (Yes, I live in the countryside, and that’s how we do here) During the walk, she inspired me to take my work two levels higher.
• While writing on a big project, my friend called and said he wanted to drag me out for lunch. At lunch, I felt like ordering something I had never tried before, and it turned out to become a favorite recipe I later used to surprise friends at the next birthday party.
• When you’re caught up in your negative energy (sorrow or complaining), and your spouse puts on some good music and starts dancing with you—this can also be a good distraction.
• If you’re in the office working hard on a hot summer day, suddenly, the boss comes in with ice cream for everyone. I’m lucky to have tried this distraction often.

So, let’s embrace those distractions. They bring us to a higher energy level or inspire us to do something better.

After we’ve looked at the five categories of distractions, we must look somewhere else now: in the mirror. To do the eco-friendly “sorting out the distractions trash,” you need a robust character—focused and grounded. Unfortunately, none of us can be like that all the time. However, I hope you are curious and ready to take in and try this knowledge.

Let’s incorporate the eco-friendly “sorting out the distractions trash.”

1. The first step is to be aware of them since most distractions happen subconsciously.
2. With awareness, you throw them in the box they belong in.
3. You follow up by fighting some distractions.

Then you’re on the right track to a more grounded version of yourself. Afterward, you can set another goal to notice which ones you conquered. That’s motivating, and it has helped me a lot.

Let’s meet the world with a deeper grounding and more awareness.

Mette Dencker is a former Member of the Danish Parliament for 11 years, coach, and speaker.