Our brains consist of many different types of cells, including astrocytes, microglia, and neurons. These are the cells that people are indirectly referring to when you hear someone say that hitting your head can cause permanent damage even though the initial impact was a minor one. They are the primary cells that are responsible for signaling functions, and one can see this in their shape because they resemble an electric cord. The dendrites receive signals, process them in cell bodies, and send an output signal via the axons and synaptic terminals (Figure 1). These cells cannot multiply, and our heads never get larger, so it begs the following question: how do we continue to learn and store information? The answer is long-term potentiation (LTP).

LTP is when synaptic connections between neurons become stronger with frequent activation. Neuronal activation is an electrical signal called an action potential that emerges due to a change in ion locations resulting in electrical potential that generates a nerve impulse (Figure 2). When the same neurons keep getting activated, again and again, a shortcut is created. We have two crucial receptors that play a role in this mechanism: AMPA and NMDA. AMPA is activated first because a Mg2+ ion blocks NMDA. As AMPA gets activated, the neuron becomes depolarized (due to the previously mentioned electrical changes). Now, the neuron is more positive overall, which will push the Mg2+ ion out of the channel, which is called the Law of Attraction in physics (i.e., opposites attract). With the Mg2+ ion removed, calcium ions can move freely through the NMDA receptor, and this influx of calcium initiates cellular mechanisms that cause more AMPA channels to be produced and placed on the synapse of the neuron, making the pathway activated quicker and quicker (Figure 3). These pathways become a default, and this is called long-term potentiation. The opposite of long-term potentiation is long-term depression, a decrease in synaptic strength, so if “you don’t use it, you lose it.”

Long-term potentiation is thought to be a way in which the brain changes in response to experience, and thus may be an underlying mechanism for learning, retaining memory, and even overall physical health. With long-term potentiation our default pathways are formed; so if we train ourselves to be anxious and stressed individuals, then we will be at an increased risk for developing hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and almost any other physical illness. We often forget that stress itself is a risk factor along with other lifestyle choices such as diet and regular physical activity. An interesting article, “The Science of Happiness: Why Complaining is Literally Killing You,” delves into this point of view:

“When your brain is firing off these synapses of anger, you’re weakening your immune system; you’re raising your blood pressure, increasing your risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes, and a plethora of other negative ailments… This is why it is so important to spend time with people who lift you up. Want to be happy? Surround yourself with happy people who rewire your brain towards love.” (http://www.curiousapes.com/the-science-of-happiness-why-complaining-is-literally-killing-you/)

Long-term potentiation is also the basis of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is a form of psychotherapy treatment that is goal-oriented and takes a practical approach to problem-solving. Cognitive-behavioral therapy recognizes the underlying mechanism of long-term potentiation: neurons that fire together wire together and puts it to good use by trying to change default patterns of thinking and behavior. By changing these default patterns, the result changes how we feel. For example, a common practice in cognitive-behavioral therapy is to keep a daily gratitude journal. The therapist may ask their client to write three things they are grateful for each morning and each night, whether it be something as simple as having water to drink or a significant life event. Forcing yourself to make these connections continuously, and being in a default repetitive state of gratitude, has been scientifically proven to decrease rates of depression and other mental illnesses.

Another perspective we can approach LTP from is from the lens of faith and prayer since prayer has an element of repetition in it. In his book, Fethullah Gülen: A Life of Hizmet, Jon Pahl states that “Peacebuilders pray, and prayer is a nonviolent practice. Even more: prayer has power. The power of prayer is neither political nor miraculous. Personally, prayer builds confidence. The repetition of prayer comforts a troubled mind with the solace of the familiar. Culturally, prayer builds trust. Communing with God and others can make any challenge seem surmountable. Socially, prayer builds movements.”

Yes, if we could rewire our brains towards love and peace with each prayer, we could find comfort and peace, and build bridges with those around us. In 2019 alone, the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen Hodjaefendi, mentioned the word “neurons” in his weekly sermons nine times, a fascinating statistic for a scholar who is neither a neuroscientist nor psychiatrist. Some excerpts from these sermons include:

“[when recited and listened to a couple times during the day and in the Tarawih Prayer] the Qur’an will establish itself better in our minds; our neurons will open their doors like the doors of a castle to the Qur’an and say ‘enter.’ Therefore, who knows how many times a day, a reunion will be established with the Qur’an.” (Ramadan: The Month of Mercy, Hope and Abundance on May 10, 2019)

“Bediuzzaman says: ‘Even if we had four hands instead of two, they would not be sufficient to do things we need to do.’ … In this case, we must send orders to the millions of neurons in our brain at the same to dedicate them all to the same task. … God opens you a window to exit. (Means for Serenity and Talk of the Beloved on April 4, 2019)

“[‘The entire universe is a great book of God; the meaning of each letter is nothing but God.’] Just as you … use all of your neurons to see the endless possibility of bounties, lined along like a gallery as if He is to say, ‘see and think as you walk this gallery.’ (Sorrow, the Spiritual Heart and Tongue on March 29, 2019)

To return to the biological aspect of neurons, one key component that is also valuable to synthesize all the information we have just covered, and that is the concept of “mirror neurons.” When we observe another person these mirror neurons start to fire and a kind of virtual reality simulation is formed in our minds, contributing to the construction of a theory of our intentions. For example, when someone smiles, you want to smile back; when someone gets a paper cut, you feel their pain; or when someone cries, you cannot help but cry as well. These are all phenomena explained by mirror neurons. Mirror neurons explain empathy on a biological level and are present even in animals.

From a multi-disciplined approach, including biological, psychosocial, and spiritual perspectives, one lesson becomes clear: we have the free will and responsibility to carve our default pathways. To make sure these default pathways are filled with love, peace, serenity, alongside discipline, patience, and resilience is paramount to our personal and collective health. By defining our own neural pathways, we will also be building our community’s networks since neurons mirror each other.

Politicians and anti-Muslim activists frequently take to audiences and websites to criticize the term jihad as a form of Islamic supremacism, oppression, and violence. Muslim extremists, on the other hand, argue that jihad refers to a “holy war” against non-Muslims. Viewing the term jihad through these frameworks alone, however, would be playing into the hands of extremists who forego the other elements encompassed by the term jihad.

In the Islamic tradition, jihad has several different components, including personal struggles, such as the fight against an addiction; social struggles, such as the struggle to become tolerant of others; and occasionally a military struggle, if and when necessary, but only in self-defense. When asked, “What is the major jihad?” Muhammad replied: “The jihad of the self (or the struggle against the personal self).” Contrary to the rhetoric and misinformation about jihad in anti-Islam networks, Muhammad did not say that the violent struggle was the most important form of jihad.

The hysteria in the United States and abroad over jihad has brought me to consider the term through a Christian perspective. In this article, I hope to explore how forms of jihad are presented in Islam and Christianity. This exercise can help to find common characteristics of jihad so that Muslims and Christians can build bridges of mutual understanding and tolerance.

Although the term jihad is not literally used in Christian scripture, the idea of struggling is at the very heart of Christianity. There are a number of instances in the New Testament which provide guidance for Christians who are struggling with different problems or dilemmas in their lives.

One major aspect of the Christian jihad is the practice of non-violence. When the Roman soldiers arrested Jesus and brought him to Pontius Pilate, the man who contributed to Jesus’s crucifixion, Christ said: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my [disciples] would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18: 35-36). Violence is antithetical to Jesus’s teachings. He did not require his followers to take up arms to show commitment to his teachings. Indeed, it was quite the opposite. In Matthew (26:53), Jesus told his followers that “… for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Jesus, as you can see, encouraged his disciples to struggle against the desire to use force when frustrated or antagonized. 

Similarly, Islamic scripture also encourages Muslims to struggle against the use of violence. The Qur’an (5:32), for example, notes that “…. If anyone slew a person unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land it would be as if he slew the whole humanity: and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of the whole humanity.” In another Qur’anic passage (2:190), Muslims are told to “Fight in the case of God those who start fighting you, but do not transgress limits (or start the attack); for God loveth not transgressors.” It is clear that these two passages echo the Christian jihad of struggling in the name of non-violence.

Another element of the Christian jihad is to show love to those around you. Jesus wants Christians to “love your neighbor” and even beyond that, “love your enemies,” a point which arises in Luke (6:27). In Matthew (5:9), it is written that peacemakers are blessed, “for they will be called sons of God.” The New Testament demands that Christians struggle in the fight for peace, even if it means embracing your sworn enemies and those who wish to harm you.

The Qur’an also requires that Muslims search for ways of making peace instead of war. Muslims, for example, are required to speak well of others even if they are not believers of Islam. In the Qur’an (17:53-54), it is written that Muslims must “speak in a most kindly manner (unto those who do not share [your] beliefs).” There is also no way a Muslim can force others to believe in Islam, as the Qur’an (2:256) mentions that “there is no compulsion in religion.” The jihad in these contexts is one in which Muslims have to work on treating non-Muslims with respect and dignity.

The Christian jihad also requires that Christians do not retaliate “evil for evil.” Romans (12:17) demands that Christians “live at peace with everyone.” People who call themselves Christians, yet call for the demise of Islam and anything related to Muslims, should heed the demand of this verse and search for ways to build bridges for peace instead of fanning the flames of hatred and bigotry. In a similar way, Muslims who call for violent jihad should remember that the Qur’an (4:9) asks Muslims to leave others alone if they leave Muslims alone: “refrain from fighting… and offer [them] peace, then God gives you no way to go against them.”

The Christian jihad can be explored further in the wisdom left by Jesus’ disciples. Peter, for example, is considered “the rock” of Jesus’ church because he spoke about the struggle to maintain the Christian faith at all costs. In 2 Peter (3:14), he stated “… make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with [Jesus].” In this verse, Peter is highlighting one of the ultimate aims of Christianity — avoid wrongdoing and sin. A true Christian, such as Peter, cared more for fixing his own transgressions rather than attacking others for their sins. He encouraged Christians to struggle with overcoming their personal dilemmas first before bickering and complaining over the errors of others. In essence, he believed progress is rooted in individuals’s ability to change their attitude and behavior in struggling to adhere to the teachings of Jesus.

In addition to Peter, Paul of Tarsus also embraced the Christian jihad. Paul made “every effort to do what leads to peace” (Romans 14:19). In Timothy (6:12), he encouraged Christians to “fight the good fight of the faith,” which can be interpreted as spreading peace and love in the spirit of Jesus. In addition, in 2 Timothy (4:7), Paul stated, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” There is an underlying non-violent tone in these statements. Never did Paul ask Christians to take up the sword or use violence as a means of showing faith in Jesus.

Moreover, in 2 Peter (1:5-7), Peter stated that a Christian must “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance; godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.” Peter’s emphasis on doing good and searching for knowledge mirrors the Qur’an’s frequent emphasis on ilm, which means “knowledge” in Arabic. Indeed, few religions in the world place so much emphasis on knowledge as Islam. “Knowledge” is mentioned more than 700 times in the Qur’an.

In the Qur’an (58:11), God raises in rank “… those who have been given knowledge.” Muhammad also emphasized knowledge in a Hadith in which he said that “seeking knowledge is a must for every Muslim, male or female, from cradle to grave in any part of the world.” Muhammad also stated in another Hadith that “the ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr.” Christians and Muslims, therefore, share a similar jihad in terms of their obligation to seek out knowledge and apply that knowledge in good faith for the betterment of humanity. 

Jesus, like Muhammad, taught his disciples and future believers that struggling is a fundamental element of the Christian faith. He told his disciples to “strive to enter in at the narrow gate…,” which mirrors the popular Muslim notion of staying on the “straight path” or practicing Islam to the best of one’s ability. Ultimately, Christians and Muslims are guided by their scripture to persevere in the face of their struggles. They are encouraged to struggle in this life, to maintain belief in God, in exchange for a higher reward when this life inevitably ends.

In essence, Christians and Muslims share a similar jihad. This jihad is one of non-violence, the love of humanity, the perfection of the soul, and the search for knowledge.

For this tree, the seed is intelligence, water is determination, air is patience, and effort is excitement. One thing to consider is that imagination and fantasy are not the same concept. Whereas imagination is the seed of realistic, logical plans and projects designed in accordance with long term goals regarding life and the future, fantasy involves short term projections out of proportion with reality, emotion, and rational thought. In this sense, there is no imagination that does not sprout its roots towards the goal and does not disperse the seeds of excitement to the human soul. This is because imagination is like a pile of emotions that sustain us in the years ahead. It is the energy that powers the heart, the mystery juice which injects excitement into our minds, a framework of desires that bind us to life. It helps us to believe that one man’s expectations for life are as good as his dreams; his earnings will match his excitement. Imagination and the resulting “excitement” is a great blessing that brings out treasures, love, and skills hidden inside us. Above all, imagination can help us to achieve success in all of our endeavors. This is true of science, too.

Defining scientific success can be tricky. It requires effort, hard work, and observation to achieve scientific success. But most importantly, it requires intelligence which is a blessing. Just like a licensed driver controlling a car, the brain’s performance improves with the skill of its driver. To maximize the brain’s potential, it is very important to integrate the heart and conscience with the use of intelligence.

Can we explain the reality that there is only a limited number of scientists because they were born as such or inherited this quality genetically? The reality is thousands of babies are born with brain capacities similar to that of scientists’ in terms of anatomy, histology, physiology, and biochemistry. Even though human intelligence is partly determined by inheritance, there are other factors. If the case was as simple as inheritance, would Einstein say, “I do not have any special skill, but I am passionately curious”? When Thomas Edison said, “1% of genius is inspiration and 99% is sweat,” he captured perfectly that one needs more than just intelligence to achieve success – one also needs to maximize that intelligence through hard work.

Scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi summarized the stages of knowledge development of the human mind in seven steps. “One first imagines something (tahayyul), then conceives of it, and clothes it in a form (tasawwur). Afterwards, one reasons and reflects on this thing (taaqqul), then confirms it (tasdiq), and then has full conviction of it (iz’an). Then they fully support it (iltizam); then they become committed or devoted to it (itiqad)” (The Words, Gleams of Truth).

Each of these stages is subject to different rulings. They form the ladder to higher meanings. Thus, if a person is unaware of the step occupied, he/she ends up remaining in the lower stages and acts according to the necessities of that particular level.

Therefore if we do not want to leave our scientific approach at the dimension of “sophistry,” which starts with imagination (tahayyul), we have to continue our intellectual and ideological journey all the way to the end. Imagination, which is often overlooked, bears the seed of intelligence, which is a blessing offered from the infinite ocean of God’s wisdom. Imagination is the unprinted photo of our intellectual aptitudes. How do you like to print and uncover your dreams?

(continued from the previous issue)

Using the distinct groves and folds on the hemispheres as a guideline, a map drawn on the cortex identifies focal points, where the various senses are concentrated, and activities in particular regions. Each of these different colored schematic centers has a specific name and performs specific functions. For example, the region above the neck at the back of the head (occipital lobe) is the field of sight; the sections that coincide with the temporal region is the field of hearing; immediately in front of this, on the left, is (generally) the field of speech; in the forehead region (frontal lobe), on the anterior wall of the middle canal is the initial center of planning of movement; on the top section of the front region is the field of complex movement; immediately behind here, in the middle-side region, is the field of simple movement; the area behind this, next to the hearing field and extending upwards, is defined as the touch receptive field. However, these areas are not confined, but rather spread out, and have a very complex connection network. The duty of the adjoining areas of these regions is to display and decipher the meaning of the signals received from the nerves. As the received signals regenerate past experiences and memories, the object or event sending the signal is recognized. To perform voluntary complex movements, the plan of movement must initially be defined in the mind and then the combination of this plan is conveyed through my nerve fibers to the movement regions. As complicated activities in humans, such as talking, and activities that involve the sensory integration mechanisms are miracles in themselves, it is quite astonishing that certain people claim that humans evolved from apes, later learning how to speak. The spinal cord (medulla spinalis) that extends from the skull in the form of a long cord, is the central nervous system sending signals to the body regions under the neck. The grey matter of the brain is located on the surface, while the white matter lies beneath the cortex; however with the spine, the butterfly shaped grey matter is inside, and the white matter on the surface covers the grey matter. In this central nervous system, all of the sensual messages that are received from the entire peripheral system, in particular from your skin and muscle, are immediately connected with the synapses or connections of the movement cells, and thus a spinal reflex is produced. As a section of the connecting cells (synapses) responds with a reflex, the other section transmits the signal to me to determine the appropriate voluntary response. For instance, if you tread on a nail, as the nail goes into the foot, a signal is transmitted by the sensor fibers to the spine, and to avoid a loss of time, the spine immediately signals the movement nerves before me, and a command is transmitted to your muscle you to raise your foot. And after your foot is saved by instant reflex, you begin to perform the other conscious activities, for example; you avoid putting weight on the foot, and bandage the wound if it is bleeding.

31 pairs of nerves (right and left) emerge from the spinal cord; 12 pairs from the brain area lay beneath the skull. These are all nerves that emerge from the central nervous system, and are distributed to various organs of the peripheral nervous system. All of the head nerves that emerge from the skull, with the exception of the tenth nerve, called the vagus nerve, control activities related to movement and senses in the head and neck region. Each of the 31 nerves exit from a space in the side of the vertebrae, and each of these nerves has two roots, an afferent nerve (sensual nerve), and an efferent nerve (movement nerve). These roots join immediately outside the spinal cord, and form the cords that carry the sensual and movement nerve fibers. These nerve cords are distributed in a plan and system that is specific for each organ. For example, the receptor sensor cells that sense a needle pricking your finger transmits this signal to the spinal cord through the receptor cell of the arm. The responsive reflex of pulling the hand away, a reflex from the spinal cord, is sent to the arm and hand muscles, and you pull your hand away. This is an example of a simple reflex. The movement nerve cells of the peripheral nervous system are divided into two, the somatic nervous system, which is distributed to the skeletal muscles, and the autonomic nervous system, which is distributed to the inner organs. Whilst the majority of the activities of the somatic systems occur voluntarily at the conscious level, the activity of autonomic systems is mainly involuntarily, or below the level of consciousness. The autonomic nervous system controls the smooth muscles of the heart, glands, blood vessels, respiration, digestion, urination and reproduction systems without our even realizing it. Dear Peter! Could you manage to do all this if you were in control? Your self control can only intervene until you place food in your mouth. Then the digestive secretions, the stomach and bowel activity, and the excretion of waste are all conducted automatically, totally beyond your control. Your breathing continues while you sleep, your kidneys never cease to function, your heart never rests, and your liver never relaxes while you sleep; your pancreas continues to produce insulin. All of your internal organs and blood vessels continue to function with the smooth muscles whenever necessary. And all this activity is conducted without you even being aware of it. If you tried to do all this, you would become exhausted within five minutes, lose interest and become unable to cope.

The nerve cords of the autonomic nervous system are divided into two, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. These two systems have been created in such a way that they respond in opposition to one another, and every organ is provided with a stem from both. Therefore, no organ of the body is left uncontrolled. Whilst one signals and encourages the organ to function quicker and generate more outcomes, the other acts to the contrary, sending signals that encourage the organ to slow down. In which case, with these two contrasting signals, the organ protects its optimal functioning tempo according to the situation and conditions. The sympathetic system generally responds in cases of stress and shock, preparing the body for the effects of such situations. For example, an increase in your blood pressure, blood-sugar level, and perspiration, the dilation of your pupils, and an increase in the flow of blood in your muscles all occur from the effect of the sympathetic fibers. The parasympathetic system sends adverse signals, such as reducing blood pressure and so on, so that the organs return to their neutral state and continue their normal functions.

From the very beginning I have described many of my sections and signals, but I have not yet told you about my key to life, my nerve cells, and how my nerve cells function. 30 billion cells, known as neurons, are the actual units that function in every part of my system. A neuron has a cell body and emerging filaments like tree branches. The single thicker filament like the tree trunk is called the axon, and the thinner filaments that emerge in larger quantities like tree branches are called dentrites. The nerve signals advance from the axon to the dentrite in the form of an electrical pulse. In the space between the connection point (synapses) of a nerve cell axon and the other cells, the dentrite, a chemical substance, called the neurotransmitter, is released. When these substances, in the form of neuropeptides, amino acids, acetylcholines, and monomines, reach the wall of the opposite cells, it an electrical pulse is immediately ignited in the dendrite. Just like a row dominos, falling down one after the other, or football fans performing the Mexican wave, a wave-like effect is generated and these electrical messages are fired with great speed from one end of the cell to the other, advancing in the form of tiny electrical pulses to be transmitted to neighboring cells. While a cell at rest has a potential of 70m V, the action potential of up to +30 – +40m V can transmit all types of information. Every cell can transmit up to 1,000 signals per second.

While you still do not recognize the true value of what you call the memory, which records hundreds of experiences every day, various theories are presented regarding how this bank which stores information in your brain actually functions. But we all know that the answer to this question lies within the millions of neurons that constitute me. Just as all of the senses, thoughts and actions occur from electrical and chemical signals that are transmitted from one cell to another they are presumably recorded in the same way, that is, with electrical and chemical signals.

It is difficult to define a precise center for the boundaries of the memories in me; memory could be interconnected with all of my regions. The storing of certain memories, some voices, visions, smells, or dreams, or the sense of resentment, anger or joy, is all carried out in different forms. You could not even begin to imagine the greatness of the memory storage! I have two types of memory, one short and one-long term. In my short term memory, I can store up to between seven and nine different things at any one time. Nothing remains in my short-term memory for more than a few minutes. Everything that you remember after this is stored in my long-term memory. In my long-term memory things can remain for days, months or even years. Everything you know and learn is stored in your long-term memory. By the time you are eight years old, the information in your memory is enough to fill one million pages. However, this is a mere drop in the ocean; the long-term memory is so vast that it can never become full. Even when you reach a hundred, I will have the capacity to store new information, so never assume that you are overloading a child’s mind and never deprive them of education…Some presumptuous people say; “Never force a child to memorize at a young age, it will affect the brain.” Do not believe them! The learning of foreign languages, the Qur’an and religious education is recorded in my memory by electric pulses and this is so much easier and healthier in the early stages of life. In fact, such activities at a young age can even strengthen the memory. The event called ‘recollection’ is the repeat of the electric pulse codes that are recorded at the actual time of an event. Occasionally you try to remember a person’s name, and although the name is on the tip of your tongue, you just cannot remember. You struggle and eventually give up. Then suddenly, two days later the name comes to your mind. You are quite puzzled and of course pleased that you have remembered, but have you ever wondered how this happens? As you try to remember, you control each of my nerve cells individually, because you are not sure where you placed the files that bear this information. But you are unable to find which section of the millions of cells bears the information. As you have not used this information often, or because you did not consider it to be important, you did not register it in a particular place. But you would never forget your father’s name, as it is important to you and use it often, so the file is in front of you constantly. Well, you get frustrated at not being able to remember and stop searching; however, what you call the subconscious is in fact a much more mysterious mechanism. It begins to search without you being aware of it. Then to your surprise it produces the file two days later. The subconscious is a very mysterious place, it affects everything about you. Only the most sincere feelings are recorded in the subconscious; no veil, no hypocrisy, only actual thoughts are recorded. And also events that deeply affect you, the sad or bad memories you experience, and of course sins…The subconscious is what causes the sense of guilt or an inferiority complex; this is reflected in much of your behavior. But problems like guilt or an inferiority complex are something we can change; it all depends on you. If you are a person who has self-control, you perform good, favorable deeds, and are continuously patient; thus you can eventually renew the contaminated sections of your subconscious so that it will not upset you anymore. Indeed, this is the reason why, of all the creatures on earth, only humans were blessed with the sense of remorse and faith. If you suppress feelings of guilt and sin in the subconscious, the autonomic system affects the organs without you even realizing it; the thalamus, hypothalamus, or the pituitary gland (hypophsis), which are small in size, but bear a great responsibility; eventually this disturbs the balance of the whole body and you become ill. Although this may not be an organic complaint at first, due to psychosomatic symptoms which are caused by suppressing your subconscious, over time this will affect the functions of one of your organs and you become ill. Of course the exact opposite is also possible, with inspiration, pleasant thoughts and good actions the positive signals transmitted to the affected organ may possibly be the means to recovery.

Dear Peter! I have so many more facts and mysterious functions to describe to you, but unfortunately the pages here are not enough. Well, I suppose I must stop somewhere. I really wanted to talk to you about a number of different things, like dreams, mental illnesses such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, strokes, sleep, hypnosis, and the damage caused by drugs. However, each of these subjects is so vast, and many of them have already been explained in previous issues, so for now I will leave it to others to describe these subjects to you, and say my last words…

Dear Peter!… While your hand is writing and reading these words, or explaining what you have read to your friends, or learning all this information and passing it through the filter of thought, you are constantly using my nerves and my systems. There is not a single moment where I am not informed of events that occur in your body. Who knows just how much of the mysteries in me you will use in order to rise to the peak of accomplishment with the blessings that have been bestowed upon you by the Creator. Even the greatest computers made by human beings are mere toys compared to me. Nevertheless, the knowledge of engineers and craftsmen which design, plan, and place every piece into these computers with total accuracy is only possible because of me. Presumably you are not denying those who designed, constructed, and made the computer operate, are you? In which case you should thank God, the One who created me, an organ whose capacity exceeds that of thousands of computers, with His eternal power and wisdom; always remember to use me in good, blessed, and honest actions!…May God protect you!…

Irfan Yilmaz is a professor of biology at Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir. 

Adam forgot, so did his children.

How does our brain store information? How is it possible to make learning faster and easier? Is there any way not to forget what we have learned and to remember things more easily? Of what importance is the fact that information is never deleted from our memory, even if we have forgotten it? These are among many of the questions for which answers have been sought over the years.

Memory is one of the functions of the brain and it is defined as the ability to preserve acquired information consciously and relate it to the past. It is not just a certain portion of the brain, but rather the entire organ that functions in storing, processing, and retrieving external and internal signals. Signals that build up our memory are what we usually perceive through our five senses. When we burn our hand, or see or experience a traffic accident , when we are given a compliment and many other events are all examples of external signals, whereas internal signals are related to our nervous system or imagination. The pain one feels during a heart attack, the anxiety of a cold sweat, or a beautiful daydream are all stored in our memory too. We may or may not remember them. There is no deletion; it is simply that we do not remember. Forgetting is a state that is encoded in our makeup with differing degrees, depending on the kind of life the person has experienced. Age, gender, stress, habits, and illnesses all have varying roles in forgetting.

Short-term memory

Short-term memory refers to saving and remembering what we have learned a few seconds or minutes ago; the prefrontal brain is the location for this temporary processing. Signals are kept in this portion of the brain for a few seconds and then conveyed to the back stage (as in the transfer of data from the cache memory to the main memory in computers). We tend to quickly forget those things on which we have not spent a long time or to which we have not assigned great importance, even though we can understand them. Imagine how unbearable our life would be if we were to store in our memories and remember things in infinite detail like the color of the wall we are facing, the variety of the objects around us and their qualities, the air we breathe in and out, or every beat of our heart. The signals that come to our brain within a certain time frame are filtered according to our needs and their significance and limitations are applied depending on their qualities and quantities.

There is no consolidation processing for short term memory. Second or minutes after signals are received they are retrieved in accordance with what we need; if they are insignificant for us, they are forgotten in the same amount of time. The information that is significant for the person is consolidated in the hippocampus and reserved in mid and long-term memory units.

Mid and long term memory

After being processed in the sub-cortex (limbic system) of the brain, signals are saved. Depending on their level of urgency, the meaning they stand for, and their emotional effect, signals are saved in either the mid or long term memory. Pain, joy, pleasure, and fear are states that solidify memory traces. A heart attack, the infliction of wounds and bruises or humiliation, accidents, visits from a loved one-these are all examples of events that are easily remembered. However, a lasting record is almost impossible to attain if the subject is something that has been forced (like a student studying for higher marks) or if the subject does not appeal at all. Consolidation is necessary to make a short term memory a lasting one. However, if a student is curious about the subject and enjoys what he or she is learning, then long term memory is possible without too much effort in consolidation. Forced consolidation (e.g. a student’s orientation to attain higher marks) requires a longer period. The information is consolidated more easily when a person is in a sound and alert state of mind.

Storage in the long-term memory does not occur immediately after something has been learned or experienced. For this storage to be possible at least an hour needs to pass to synthesize the memory proteins that are responsible for recording. If electric shock is applied to a person’s brain immediately after an unforgettable event, they will not be able to remember the event. But if the electric shock is applied an hour later, the memory remains.

Once stored in long-term memory, information can be retrieved, even after months or years. When new information is obtained older information is called up and they are saved with a new pattern of storage, with the newcomers being related with the ones that have already been stored; it is in this way that long term memory is generated.

It has been argued that RNA has a role in storing old information. In experiments, guinea pigs were taught information through repeated practice which is stored in their long term memory. The brains of these animals were later minced up and fed to other animals. It was observed that those animals which had been fed the brains learned faster and more easily than other animals that had been fed on a diet that did not include the brains. This shows us that information encoded in the memory is not lost; rather it is transferred with the help of certain molecules. It is also known that DNA is related to genetic memory.

It has been found that people with good memories have a greater number of nerve cells and channels of transfer in the memory-related zones of their brains (cortex, corpus callosum, hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, amygdale, temporal lobe, and prefrontal cortex), while there are less cells in other zones of the brain. Nerve cells are stimulated while signals are stored in one’s memory. Even if a person has a weak memory, activities like reading, memorization, or other engagements that improve love, happiness, and peace of mind may help long-term memory.

Forgetfulness

It is important to find out whether forgetfulness occurs because of an illness or something else. Age is one major factor. Forgetfulness in an aging person is proportionate to the number of the loss of cells.

Stress, dealing with multiple things all at once, or occupying oneself with things that are of no benefit, that is, creating a pollution of information, all affect short term memory and may cause forgetfulness.

Forgetfulness due to damage or illness

If the nerve cells of the lower occipital lobe of the brain are damaged, old information cannot be retrieved. Likewise, in case of damage to the nerve cells that are found in the temporal lobes on the sides of the brain, or due to an insufficient intake of B3 and B12 vitamins, cerebral hemorrhage or an embolism in the veins of the memory zones forgetfulness may occur.

Patients with Alzheimer indicate short term memory loss. They tend to forget visitors’ names, daily events, or the doctor’s advice.

Chronic alcohol abuse may cause damage in the hippocampus and thus in the ability to encode information.

Electroshock may also delete recent information that has been recorded in the short-term memory. Thyroid failure, Parkinson’s, hydrocephaly, schizophrenia, brain tumors, and epilepsy may also cause forgetfulness.

Some advice

Spiritual teachings and religious services have many positive aspects in our lives in addition to being our duties for expressing our servanthood to God Almighty. In Islam, for instance, principles like “enjoining good and forbidding evil,” praying at night, a brief afternoon nap, staying away from what is forbidden, reading and/or memorizing the Qur’an, and other activities may provide some protection against forgetfulness.

It is also claimed that keeping oneself busy with things that are considered morally improper, not least things that are sexually provocative in an illegitimate way, may damage neurons that are operative in memory. In order to be less affected by forgetfulness in our advanced years, it can be helpful to read spiritually and intellectually useful material, to learn and memorize new words and concepts, to keep oneself in good moral condition by engaging in charity work and helping others, and to maintain good sleep and a healthy diet

On the other hand, thinking a bit more wisely, to be able to forget (not forgetfulness) also has many benefits. Our nervous system is relaxed by forgetting, otherwise it might collapse. Forgetting old informa¬tion could well open up room for new information, although this does not mean that the information is deleted from memory; it is retrieved when needed. But, if forgetting reaches a level that is above medically ex¬pected averages, then medical help should be sought.

There are incidents of patients who are suffering from dementia and Alzheimer regaining their memory after electroshock therapy. Perhaps this is evidence that we will remember and testify for all our actions when we will have to account for them.

Answer: Self-confidence, or self-esteem, is usually defined as a person’s believing and trusting in himself, relying on his personal abilities and opportunities, living in peace with his own person and environment, and being content with himself in general. Even though it has a positive aspect in terms of urging us to look at life positively, this term is an expression of a notion whose underlying meaning and connotations do not comply with universal humane values. The term “self confidence” expresses a perspective which originates from an egotistic worldview.

Naturally, a person’s character needs to be revealed in order to be able to improve his or her talents and capabilities. However, while seeking their development we should not flatter individuals excessively and throw them into whirlpools of egotism. We should not make a person become a know-it-all and act insolently; we should not let issues rely on a single individual’s restricted personal capabilities, limited power, and feeble will.

First of all, it is inevitable for a person who approaches every issue with respect to his or her personal talents, power, and capacity and keeps saying “I” to become totally egocentric; it is inevitable for them to grow more and more arrogant by feeding their ego with every achievement and everything they do. On the other hand, it is also obvious that a self-centered person who has too much trust in himself will become completely desperate at the slightest slip or fall; he will not find anything to hold on to and will not be able to rise again.

People have the sense of and need for confidence engrained in their nature. However, a person who does not know whom he should trust and who cannot correctly identify the true source of reliance will finally turn into a complete egotist and he or she will ascribe every matter to himself or herself. Such a person will even nurture some perspectives leading to unbelief; she or he will go too far and-God forbid-say, “I have created…”, or “such and such has created….” In time, these people will become narcissists, self-admirers who are fond of themselves, their behavior, their manners, and their appearance. They will be ready to reject and criticize any thought, measure, and solutions other than their own.

In this respect, a principle of “fulfilling what befalls on the free will and then relying on God” should replace the notion of self-confidence in the eyes of a true believer of God. Humans are blessed with the “free will,” which is a very special gift. We are responsible for using all the senses and feelings granted by God Almighty as capital, but expect the result and reward from Him again. Likewise, the feeling of confidence is always ascribed to God in the Qur’an and the practical example of the Prophet, since God Almighty is the one who creates everything and who directs every affair. If we use the potentials placed in our nature as seeds and then put them to practice as an intention and wish to be realized, God Almighty grants us the power and possibility to accomplish that act. Regarding it as mental power, as directing one’s own thoughts and actions with that power, or as God’s direct favor on the human free will within the sphere of causes, no matter how we define fulfilling what befalls the free will, when we wish to do something and incline towards it, the Creator of the Universe renders it possible for us to realize that intended act. Therefore, we should always put our faith in God and rely on His execution. Accordingly, true believers firstly have faith in God in every matter and make use of the abilities He has bestowed on them. In addition, they ascribe achievements not to themselves but to Divine Providence. They know that all of these come from God and they have complete faith that future achievements also lie in the power of God. Such people, while fully acknowledging their impotence and weakness, are very powerful at the same time, for they are well aware of the true source of power. Such people are very rich, since they are conscious that they are fed from the treasures of Divine Mercy. They become heroes of the fact that “belief is both light and power. Those who attain true belief can challenge the universe.” (Nursi, Twenty-Third Word). Therefore, they have the courage to defy worlds. The fortress they take refuge in and the sword they make use of is the truth, “There is no power except with God.”

Yes, true believers make use of the free will granted by God in the best way possible. On the other hand, they pray as “O God, please do not leave me with my carnal self even for a span as short as the blink of an eye,” putting their trust not in their own selves, but in God Almighty. They take their carnal self and carnal desires as their archenemy and take only God as their best supporter, sole friend, and helper. In the face of every event, they croon, God is sufficient for us; how excellent a Guardian He is! (Qur’an, 3:173), and they voice the truth, O Our Lord! It is in You that We have put our trust, and it is to You that we turn in utmost sincerity and devotion, and to You is the homecoming (Qur’an, 60:4). They always keep loyal to the divine decrees:

“And put your trust in God. God suffices as One on Whom to rely (and to Whom to refer all affairs).” (Qur’an, 33:3)

“God is sufficient for me; there is no deity but He. In Him have I put my trust, and He is the Lord of the Supreme Throne (as the absolute Ruler and Sustainer of the universe and all creation, Who maintains and protects it).” (Qur’an, 9:129)

Nevertheless, nowadays saying “I” in everything one does and overflowing with arrogant considerations is more common than ever. Egotism is so widespread today that most people use even what has been granted by Divine Providence in the name of their arrogance and use it as elements to feed their ego. For example, most of those who put emphasis on self-confidence contract the plague of vanity in time; they are seized by a feeling of superiority and catch the egotist disease of talking about themselves at every opportunity. Therefore, the term “self-confidence” or “self-esteem” is impossible to reconcile with the perspective of a believer in the true sense of the word. It is a very unnatural term from the standpoint of faith, for it misguides minds and hearts like other spurious expressions do. With an understanding based on the essential values of belief, we all need to pray, “Hold me, O God. Hold me, please. I cannot do without you!”

As is the case in many scientific arenas, the first studies in the field of algorithms were conducted by Muslim scientists. The concept of algorithm was used for the first time by the worldwide renowned Muslim scientist Al-Khwarizmi, who lived between 780–850 AD in Baghdad. Al Khwarizmi put his name to historic studies in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and geography. His work entitled Hisāb al-jabr wa-l-muqābala (Calculation by Completion and Balancing) constitutes the first collection of algorithms. The Latin translation attracted great attention in Europe. The Europeans used the term algoritmi, rendered from “Khwarizmi,” to refer to rules for solving arithmetical problems by using Arabic numerals.

Having first developed as a branch of mathematics, algorithms have been described as a sequence of instructions that is used to solve a certain problem. These finite number of steps,begin at a certain point and come to an end with a result. But, today when we talk about algorithms, what comes to mind are the methods pursued in the operations of sequencing in computer programming; though algorithms are used in many fields, including physics, chemistry, biology, and music.

When different algorithms are used for solving the same problem, this enables us to reach the same solution through different means. There are, for instance, a great number of sorting algorithms (selection sorting, merge sorting, quick sorting) that have been developed for the purpose of incrementally sorting a given set of numbers. The same also applies to the search algorithms which find a given number in a set of numbers. What does this imply for us? Different people can attempt to solve the same problem with different algorithms or approaches that are better, truer or more “beautiful”. Thus, it is always important not to reject an idea without a prior examination or understanding, to welcome proposals of different opinions and to try to benefit from better alternatives or solutions. Thus, we can understand from an algorithmic approach that establishing dialogue and showing mutual respect are essential moral virtues in transforming differences into wealth.

Computer algorithms solve certain problems according to pre-defined parameters. Thus, we should never forget that computers cannot carry out a spontaneous operation, but can only carry out functions that have previously been programmed into them by human beings. Although some researchers, by relying too much on recent developments in computer sciences, and particularly in fields like artificial intelligence, attribute human characteristics to computers. They even estimate that they can produce human-like things in the near future, which seems rather unfeasible when we consider countless physical and spiritual features of humans. What does this imply for us? Pursuing a systematic method when solving problems in both computer sciences and daily life would considerably increase one’s success rate in solving any problems encountered. The most critical stages in problem solving are obviously a correct diagnosis and full description of the problem. The algorithms are developed and the most coherent and suitable are then chosen.

After an algorithm is designed in a flowchart, it is translated into software and tested against verifiable data prior to its usage in real operations. This test is necessary to prevent probable flaws in the software. What does this imply for us? By utilizing all the talents and especially the intelligence granted to us, human beings are always able to find what is better or truer. Research has been conducted in scientific studies by keeping in mind that there is always a next step in any development that has been achieved; the experience of the history of mankind demonstrates that a method that has been developed today might prove to be inadequate tomorrow.

When analyzing a number of different algorithms that are used to solve the same problem, the cost is assessed, with the least costly and most suitable one being selected. The cost of an algorithm is determined according to the number of operations carried out in solving any problem. An algorithm which solves the same problem with a greater number of steps has a lesser efficiency and a lesser performance.

Sorting algorithm by insertion

Sorting algorithms are one of the most frequently used algorithms in computers. As sorted data is more easily processed and used, data are usually sorted first with a sorting algorithm before it is processed within more costly operations.

In insertion sort (i.e., sorting by insertion), numbers to be sorted are inserted into a new “sorted” set. The new sorted set is empty at the beginning, and the numbers are inserted one by one into the right position of this set. During each insertion, the number at hand is compared to the numbers of the new set from the smallest to the largest. During a comparison, if the term (number) at hand is smaller than the term in the new sorted set, then the term is inserted right before the term in the sorted set. As each term is generally compared with all the terms which precede it, sorting of n numbers is done by about n2 comparisons. Thus, the cost of such a sorting algorithm is O(n2).

The quick-sort algorithm

This algorithm is used to find the shortest way between two points. Let us suppose that we have a limited number of points, some of which are inter-related. During this type of calculation, the shortest way is systematically found by checking all the combinations that have been able to be established among given points. The web sources that are provided for planning routes and mapping services with PNDs (Portable Navigation Devices) for travelers can be given as examples; here the minutest details of every highway and road have been recorded to the virtual media. In accordance with certain criteria, by taking into consideration all the probable routes between the two addresses provided by the user, the optimum driving route, including road and street names, is suggested.

Use of algorithm in medicine

Any research or inquiry used in the diagnosis and treatment/curing of a disease is defined as a medical algorithm. The logic of a decision tree is used in diagnosing, curing and following up diseases with these algorithms. Guiding algorithms, for example, “if symptoms A, B, C are observed in patient, then, the patient is probably suffering from the disease D, so, use the treatment E” are used in medical expert systems. The purpose of such algorithms is to standardize the medical services provided and thus minimize potential uncertainties and errors that likely to arise. Moreover, such algorithms are also used for educational and training purposes and as a guide to approaching the patients, diagnosing and curing diseases and towards solving their problems with greater ease. A great number of medical information that has been published has been transformed into numerous algorithms, ranging from those that use simple calculations to those that make highly complicated decisions. For instance, in the algorithm that was developed to measure the Body Mass Index (BMI), age, sex, height and weight are among the questions that are asked of the patient. The data obtained from the patient is later applied to a formula developed from the experiences of medical science, and the said index can thus be calculated. However, doctors should compare the results obtained from such algorithms with their existing knowledge, for even such simple algorithms as BMI become undependable in different cases, for example an athlete or an expectant mother. Algorithms only provide guidance for physicians, but the final decision should be taken by the physician after having individually assessed the status of each and every patient.

Algorithms and music

The algorithmic composition has been used in music for centuries to produce music with a methodological approach. Canon, for example, is a form of music produced with an algorithm in which a melody is replicated by one or more imitations of it played after a given duration.

Human brain, nature, and algorithms

Although the secrets of brain have not yet been fully explained, vital information has been compiled about its biological structure and functioning, thus proving that different sections of the brain fulfill different roles. Such sophisticated tasks as controlling the bodily organs, mental discernment, functions corresponding to the use of tongue and other sensory activities, the perception of colors, calculation of actions and the perception of physical conditions, are all carried out by use of brain mechanisms and faculties. All these tasks are accomplished by algorithmic processes which have not yet been fully explained. The issue of the unification of the data or images received by the eyes is, for instance, one of the matters that scientists do not yet fully understand. Although many have tried to imitate the human brain, such simple cerebral functions as walking and communicating have, to date, not been convincingly imitated.

What algorithms imply for us

As science and technology develop more and more, new inventions are being made, algorithms are being proposed for unsolved problems, while algorithms of already solved problems are being further developed. For example, many ciphers, which in the 1970s were believed to be unsolvable within an acceptable span of time, are being easily solved today thanks to the algorithms that have been developed and the ever-increasing operational power of computers. Consequently, developments in algorithms suggest to us that we should always search for that which is better and more effective; also we should remember that there are a number of different ways that lead to the very same target. Thus, we should always be open to the ideas of others and willing to consult with them before making a decision about any subject.

Ahmet Isik has a PhD in mathematics and is a freelance writer.

References

• Cormen, T. H., C. E. Leiserson, R. L. Rivest, Clifford Stein. Introduction to Algorithms, MIT Press, 24th Edition, 2000.
• http://www.nist.gov/dads/termsType.html#P

The 2006 World Development Report analyzes the relationship between equity and economic development in Developing countries. In this essay, I re-examine the relationship between equality, equity and development from a long-term economic development perspective. Equality refers to the condition where socioeconomic groups, i.e. upper, middle and lower classes, in a society have access to relatively similar levels of income. Equity, however, roughly corresponds to the broader term of human development,² and emphasizes equality of opportunity, and a broader set of human conditions. In the light of this report by the World Bank, I suggest that contrary to the long-held views, the development of contemporary Developing countries can only be achieved by “leveling the playing field” among citizens.

For long years, it was believed that economic development led to human development. it was assumed that as a country develops economically, it is able to provide more for the basic needs of its citizens such as education, healthcare, and a better quality of life. Even though it seems reasonable to expect improvement in individuals’ quality of life as a country develops, we have not observed many countries successfully achieving this better quality of life by following the advice of policymakers. However, a casual observation suggests that the relationship between economic development and human development may be endogenous; that is, just as it is natural to expect economic development to affect human development, we should be able to observe various aspects of human development shaping the course of development of many Developing countries. In fact, many Developing countries such as India and Turkey perform better in measures of economic development due to their higher levels of educated citizens.

Equality – development tradeoff

Following Simon Kuznets’ (1955) pioneering study on the relationship between economic development and equality, academicians and policymakers believed that there exists an inherent trade-off between economic development and socioeconomic equality. The dominant perspective places economic efficiency concerns at the center of this tradeoff .³Equality-enhancing redistribution programs lead to “diversion of resources away from their most efficient use.” According to this view, employing limited resources in welfare-improving areas results in a decrease in economic growth as well as underutilized resources. Instead of employing the relatively scarce factor of production, that is capital, in new investment opportunities which would economically be more efficient, spending the capital on less productive social redistribution would negatively affect the economic development hopes negatively.

The main alternative view highlights the welfare consequences of the presumed tradeoff between growth and equality. Proponents of this perspective claim that a focus on rapid growth is likely to entail “distorted patterns of development” and to reduce the welfare of the poor in the society. In particular, the state along with the actors in the private sector directs its focus on increasing productivity and efficiency in the manufacturing sector. Any financial commitment that potentially decreases efficiency in the economy is strictly avoided; redistribution to the poor in the society is considered among such expenditures. The socio-economic distress of the poor simply takes a backseat vis A vis economic efficiency. In order to minimize the short-term effects of the growth-oriented economy, equality should take precedence over economic growth. In the long-run, equality will positively impact economic development.

A recent report by the World Bank draws attention to this widely-accepted tradeoff between development and equality,⁴and proposes an alternative. The report claims that equality and development are complementary to each other rather than contradictory. Economic growth without equality can only provide distorted patterns of economic development leaving the majority of the population in need, just as we observe in many Developing countries today. On the other hand, an exclusive focus on equality is likely to hinder development as valuable resources at the disposal of capital-holders are diverted from their efficient use. As a result, a long-term solution to this impasse requires the introduction of a delicate trade-off between the two: Investment in human. Human development, hence, lies at the heart of this new conception of economic development.

Equity and equality

Equality, in the conventional sense of the term, refers to the elimination of extreme disparity with respect to wealth among individuals within a given community. For this end, different states have applied various forms of redistribution in order to eliminate inequality of income. Such use of the term mostly taps into the outcome aspect of equality. That is, the goal is to minimize the differences in incomes of the people by redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor. Equity, on the other hand, is the new term offered by the World Bank to development terminology. Equity is based on a larger conceptualization of the notion of equality. It suggests equal opportunities in respect to education, health and such; no explicit implication is being offered for the outcome-based notion of equality. Individual responsibility, in this regard, is critical in bridging equal opportunity at the outset with the final outcome.

John Rawls’ notion of the “veil of ignorance” summarizes the basic idea behind this contemporary understanding of equity.⁵ The veil of ignorance is expected to provide a fair allocation of resources that all members of a society would agree. In a hypothetical decision-making situation prior to their knowledge of which position they would occupy in the society, individuals are asked to allocate resources to members of the community; they may be the worse-off or best-off in the community, hence they will put an effort in fairly allocating the resources. In essence, Rawls concludes that “primary goods” should be provided for all, referring to the equality of opportunity for all. Amartya Sen dwells on a similar concept of primary goods, “functionings,” and defines it as “the set of actions a person performs and of states the person values and enjoys.”⁶ It is important to recognize the fact that no suggestions are being made here with respect to the conventional understanding of equality, that is income redistribution. The emphasis in this conceptualization of equity highlights the relative importance of equal opportunity provision over outcome-based redistribution, but not necessarily the exclusion of the latter for the sake of the former.

Inequality traps

Based on this relatively modern notion of equity, it is possible to identify three ways that equity and development are complementary in Developing countries. The first of these ways touches on the notion of “inequality traps.” Inequality traps can be defined as the reproduction of economic, political and social inequalities “over time and across generations.”⁷ Existing political and economic inequalities in Developing countries systematically favor the interests of a relatively small elite group over the rest of the society. By the use of overt or covert power, the elite in Developing countries are able to influence the policymaking process more effectively despite their disadvantage in number. As the poor are likely to be much less involved in the political decision-making process, the vicious circle of underperformance continues.

The second way that equity and development relate to each other comes in the form of inefficient redistribution mechanisms. The institutional structures are tailored to benefit not the neediest in the society, but rather middle-class and upper middle-class citizens.⁸Hence, the influence of the more advantaged in the society further determines the shape of the institutional structure.

Finally, leveling the playing field does potentially affect the investment and innovation environment. A modern economy is inconceivable without an active investment environment. Inequality of opportunity prevents individuals like Nthabiseng from taking part in the modern economy and realizing their potential. Barred from entry, either through institutional mechanisms or mere negligence, individuals facing inequality of opportunity will not be able to enrich the environment of competition necessary for economic development. The relatively few and well-endowed rich will be less likely to feel any pressure to pursue innovation and investment opportunities. Competition, which is regarded as the major source of development, will not come about. As a result, the resulting environment is inimical to sustainable development and poverty reduction.

Implications

Several world religions endorse social justice, helping the poor, and equality as central principles in their teachings. Even though these principles may manifest themselves in fundamentally different ways, the basic idea remains the same. Christians are urged to love their neighbors as themselves; Buddhists are responsible for caring for the poor; one of the five pillars of Islam is zakat (almsgiving); and, the word for “charity” is the same as for “justice” in Hebrew.⁹ As a demonstration of this shared concern among world religions, the World Faiths Development Dialogue has issued a statement the essence of which asserts as follows: “All religions would see the extreme material poverty in the world today as a moral indictment to contemporary humanity and a breach of trust within the human family.”¹⁰ In addition to this poverty-reducing aspect of religions, it is easy to see how this recent understanding of equity can also be inferred from one of the fundamental tenets of all religions. Human dignity constitutes a shared and fundamental theological principle for world religions.¹¹ In order for human beings to reflect this dignity, the latent potential for perfection has to be provided with the right set of opportunities, and basic necessities such as health care, education, and nutrition. Otherwise, undeveloped individual potentials do run the risk of being wasted leading to both dishonoring human dignity and economic underdevelopment, as a social phenomenon.

In what preceded, I introduced a new perspective on economic development, a chronic problem among Developing countries. By making a distinction between equality of income and equality of opportunities, the presumed trade-off between equality and economic growth might be overcome. It is my hope that this new emphasis on equality and human development will allow billions of people living in dire conditions to reclaim their dignity as humans. Eventually, this emphasis on human development will result in economic development, long-anticipated in Developing countries.

A. Kadir Yildirim is a PhD candidate in political science at the Ohio State University. He can be reached at yildirim.10@osu.edu.

Notes

1. The story of Nthabiseng and Pieter is taken from World Development Report 2006 by World Bank.
2. Human Development is defined by the United Nations Development Programme as “the priority of human well-being, and aimed at ensuring and enlarging human choices which lead to equality of opportunities for all people in society and empowerment of people so that they participate in – and benefit from – the development process.” Education, health care, and quality of life are different aspects of human development. For reference, see: http://www.undp.org/rbec/nhdr/1996/georgia/glossary.htm
3. Bruce Moon and William Dixon. 1992. “Basic Needs and Growth-Welfare Trade-offs.” International Studies Quarterly. Vol. 36 (2).
4. World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development. Oxford University Press: New York.
5. John Rawls. 1971. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
6. Amartya Sen. 1985. Commodities and Capabilities. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
7. World Development Report, p. 2.
8. Rudra, Nita. Who Really Gets Hurt? Globalization and the Race to the Bottom in Developing Countries Manuscript. Also, see World Development Report, p. 179, for a similar discussion.
9. World Development Report, p. 76.
10. http://www.wfdd.org.uk/, September 1999.
11. In a recent article in The Fountain, Halim Calis presents a compelling argument on human dignity in Islam and Christianity as a common ground for interfaith dialogue. See “Holy Sources of Human Dignity.” The Fountain, Issue 58, 2007.

Jacques Derrida¹

For over two thousand years despotism has been used by the West as a concept for slandering systems that differ from it. What this means is that the term itself is European. It was used against the French king as a means of opposition. It was also used by Montesquieu and Engels as a strategy of accusation against Oriental regimes. Karl Wittfogel attempted to adopt it for the case of Soviet Russia, but he did not succeed, because the term has been indexed to the East since the time of ancient Greece. The East for the Greeks was Persia, then, it became Seljuk-Ottoman Empire and the Mongols for a while.

“Enlightened despotism” was used in positive terms for Frederic the Great and Catherine II; however, even this positive attempt did not conceal this myth or alleviate the burden of this prejudice. To sum up, the term despotism has cast a silhouette over the Eurasian map since the time of Aristotle’s Politics. What is more, the notions developed in the West still dominate today, even in the mindset of some “intellectuals” in the East.

There have been many books written on this subject. Edward Said struggled greatly at the beginning with his Orientalism, published in 1978, and in subsequent studies. There has been much research conducted on the problems and contradictions of Eurocentrism. In 1748 Montesquieu presents us with a discussion of despotism in his The Spirit of Laws. However, his outmoded theory was found to be ridiculous by Voltaire at the time and by Anquetil-Duperron thirty years later in 1778.

In fact, the aim of the “Eastern Orientalists” is clear: they are trying to find an explanation for the lack of development in the East. Montesquieu-who invented the term despotism while criticizing the French king-would be pleased if he could hear the repercussions of his theory still haunting Eastern history after 250 years. The philosophers of the Enlightenment were very clever men, they used special terms for special aims, and the myth of “Oriental despotism” is one of the terms used for multiple aims.

The French thinker Louis Althusser analyzes and criticizes Montesquieu in his book Politics and History.2 Althusser first of all tries to “understand” the thinker he is examining. He evaluates works by Montesquieu in general terms and he divides the thoughts into themes. Despotism is one of these themes.

Althusser thinks that Montesquieu’s main aim was not to defend a republic or a democracy against despotism, but rather to support monarchy and make it something that the King would opt for. Therefore, he continually tries to frighten the King with the specter of despotism, a degenerated form of monarchy. He wanted to show the King that if you abuse the monarchy you will become a despot, like that of the Turkish and Chinese states. His warning was, “Be careful not to abuse the monarchy!”

Montesquieu was not an innocent philosopher merely giving advice to his ruler. Philosophers are at least as far removed from innocence as politicians are. However, Althusser does not see things so simple. He thinks that Montesquieu uttered these “great ideas” in order to consolidate the importance of the feudal lords, of whom he was one, in the eyes of the King.

According to Althusser, Montesquieu was trying to bring back the interests of his class that would be lost by centralizing the monarchy.3 Montesquieu was in the camp of the feudal rightist party and he was constantly criticizing Louis XIV-a monarch who represents French monarchy at its peak; he was advising him not to be a despot. If the French king became drawn into the sphere of despotism, then the privileges and rights of the upper classes would be abolished, and they would have to hand over not only their power, but also their wealth to the control of the central authority. Montesquieu lists all the problems inherent in despotism; Louis XIV would continue to distribute offices that had formerly belonged to the aristocrats-a practice started by Cardinal Richelieu-to the newly emerging bourgeoisie, and the logical consequence of this is that Louis XIV would come close to establishing a tyranny.4

Here is what Montesquieu said clearly: Despotism is a regime of fear. There is only one ruler. There are no intermediaries between the King and the people. The despot who rules arbitrarily does stand much of a chance if the people, living like a herd of animals, were to rebel against him en masse. Despotism can not oppose rebellions because the King will be the only target of a huge upsurge, and therefore the life of the king and the continuity of the regime can easily be threatened. However, if there are intermediary classes-of which Montesquieu was a member-who stand between the king and the people, they would be the target of the masses. The king would be free from blame and he would not be a direct target. Finally, Montesquieu concludes: “O Kings! Distance yourself from despotism if you want to protect your reign from the violence of the people.”5

Montesquieu denigrates despotism, particularly in his Letters from Persia, by giving examples from the administration of the Ottoman sultan and the Iranian shah (the Ottomans and the Safavids became the devils in this despotism context and were the parties accused of despotism).6 Yet, as Althusser cleverly recognized, Montesquieu’s problem was not with the Ottoman Empire or Iran. They were just distorted mirrors, fake images, or boogeyman chosen to serve the aim of the feudal rightist opposition that was trying to stand against the king. In short, Althusser wanted the Turks and the Ottomans to be left alone and he was calling for European thought to confess their faults.

Concepts should be perceived as an umbrella rather than as a shopping bag into which we can cram everything. If we use them in the latter fashion then, as implied by Braudel, they tell us nothing, while trying to tell everything. Likewise, Karl Popper-a philosopher of science-was right when he said if we do not limit a concept, a theory, or a scheme and if we try to use it to explain everything, then it is difficult to call it scientific. This is also true for the concept of despotism. If this term is used in an unrestricted sense and is universalized, there will be a superficiality that eliminates all minor differences within the concept. This leads to an evaporation of the deep meanings that are hidden in the nuances, an atrophy of complex thinking and an establishment of thinking based on limits and ease. Because of this we need to talk about multiple despotisms rather than unique despotism.

In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought, 7 there are four meanings for the term despotism:

1. In political terms, despotism emerged for the first time in the war between the Persians and Greeks in 5th century B.C. However, the term was formulated by Aristotle. According to him, despotism was an administration confined to Asian barbaric people. Therefore, the first conceptual iron door between Asia and Europe was constructed by Aristotle, who is known as “the first teacher” in Islamic philosophy. According to him, Asian peoples are natural born slaves and are accustomed to living under the authority of a single leader. He thought that their power was derived from despotism. However, since Greek (Europeans) people were superior to Asians in terms of rational capability and spirit, they should be the rulers. Thus, despotism was commonly used in a pejorative sense.

2. In the 16th century, the colonial powers that went to discover new lands to plunder frequently remembered Aristotle’s legitimizing despotism concept. The slave trade was inspired by this ancient obsession with despotism. The people who divided the world into two camps, the free and the barbaric, like Machiavelli, Bodin, Hobbes, and Grotius, believed that the soldiers of European republics were more virtuous than those of the barbarians. According to this belief, it was therefore acceptable for the virtuous to convert the slavish barbarians into slaves.

3. In the 17th and 18th centuries two opposing groups in France, the French aristocrats and the Huguenots (French Protestants, some of who took refugee in the Ottoman Empire after the Edict of Nantes) used the term despotism as a tool of criticism for a European state. Therefore, the content of the term despotism expanded to European rulers who were ruling over free people. In conclusion, the term became two-sided; one for “Western despotism” and the other for “Eastern.” The despotism concept of Montesquieu emerged in the context of this century.

4. There is one other thesis which originated from the Swedish-born French liberal Benjamin Constant and was developed by Tocqueville. This thesis argues that the term of despotism had lost its ancient and original meaning after the French Revolution. These discussions allowed despotism to enter European politics and led to many interesting discussions, like “democratic despotism” or “the tyranny of the majority.”

After all these definitions those of Hegel, Marx, Weber, J. Stuart Mill, and Wittfogel follow; these are not very different in the main line of thought, also seeing despotism as something reserved for the East. They use terms “petrification, “resistance to change” and “static” as symbols of despotism and see it as the reason why eastern societies did not create democratic tendencies and a civil society.

Edward Said in his Orientalism has already shown that the concept of “the East” is a fiction. To put it more correctly, it is an image constructed by the European imperial subject in his mind and then imposed on the world. Therefore, there is no fixed “reality” of the East; rather there is only the ideologically distorted image of the “East” constructed over the ages in the Western imagination. Yet, our mission seems more difficult, as Said does not present us with any clue that can differentiate the “factual” and “fictional” faces of the East. He only diagnoses the existence of the fiction and analyzes the roles of the most important actors (Orientalists) in creating such a fiction. This critical tradition of Orientalism developed greatly after the pioneering role of Edward Said. According to his perception, the East has been singly constructed in the West. Arif Dirlik in his The Postcolonial Aura elegantly criticizes Said”s thought and says that Said is obsessed with external Orientalists; however, Dirlik puts it that Said seems to be unable to recognize the internal Orientalists among easterners.

According to Dirlik, Edward Said takes Orientalism as something that has finished; however Dirlik suggests that it is a continuing process. Thus, he advises that we closely examine local compradors. He asks the question that if there were not collaborationists in the “Orient” would it be so easy for a perspective like Orientalism to settle there? Finally, departing from the Chinese example, he tries to display how Asian intellectuals supported and adopted the Orientalist discourse at its birth and throughout its evolution, and how they worked hard in order to make their societies adopt this perspective.8 This striking thought of Arif Dirlik may facilitate our task, as it is very interesting to note how eastern intellectuals adopted a pejorative and humiliating term like eastern despotism for defining their own histories without questioning and criticizing it, how they were able to take on the habit of seeing their societies through the eyes of a Western subject and in the name of liberation and modernization. According to this approach, the commoditization of Chinese culture and its presentation as a static and petrified entity and marketing it like a commodity to Western people are one side of the Orientalization of the Orient itself.

The other side is glorifying the superior Western race, its land and its culture after humiliating the Orient. Furthermore, the East believes that if it possesses superior properties to that of the West it will be also superior and have a free-minded society. To sum up, much as Hegel strived to achieve, Easterners have put themselves onto this scale of frozen, static and unchanging societies because that is what the West thinks of them. So we have to admire the success of the Orientalist project. Lucette Valensi, in his encompassing and striking study, The Birth of the Despot: Venice and the Sublime Porte, draws conclusions from reports of Venetian ambassadors and arrives at how the concept of the “despot” was constructed in Europe. He says that the Ottoman sultan had not been called a despot and the Ottoman order had not been conceptualized as despotism before. On the contrary, the power, brilliance, and progressiveness of the Ottoman administration were often discussed.

However, beginning with the 17th century, the discourses of the Venetian ambassadors started to change. It was strange, according to Valensi, how the “grand Turc” was transformed into a “despot” in the 17th century. He rightfully asks why the Venetian ambassadors had glorified the Ottoman sultan until the 16th century and then humiliated him in the 17th century. It is clear that there was a change in the Venetian perspective of the Ottomans during this century. As Valensi himself elegantly points out: In the end, the ambassadors and then Montesquieu dressed an ancient Greek concept in a Turkish robe. To say it more correctly, that time is not very distant from us. The fantasy of pure power follows us and transforms its vision continuously.9 According to Valensi, Oriental despotism is just an image reflected onto non-western societies by the West in order to satisfy its fantasy of power. Yet, this image reflects the passion of power in the West; a passion that desires to be as powerful as the Ottomans. Voltaire declares the concept of despotism as presented by his contemporary Montesquieu as ridiculous; he defends that a mass of people ruled by a regime led by a single leader cannot survive; even though it might be possible for it to remain standing, it will not be for long. There was no despotic rule according to Voltaire because it could not exist. It is nothing less than a lie to talk about the existence of such a regime.

As I mentioned above, the concept of despotism, which Voltaire found absurd and fictive, has been used with the aim of concealing rather than describing, complicating rather than explaining. However, we should direct our energy and attention to understanding the facts rather than thinking within limits and fantasies. Then, our attempt to find the realities will remind us that our past is not “a foreign country,” it will give us sound clues about our present and past. Likewise, Voltaire, addressing Montesquieu, explained the Ottoman reality to those who thought like Montesquieu. Voltaire underlined that not only were the Turks free, but they also did not discriminate according to class. Their only criterion of privilege was merit. The facts Voltaire provides about the Ottomans are in complete contrast with the fiction. In conclusion, when carefully examined, myths like “Oriental despotism” do not amount to anything more than European fantasies about the East. Seeing despotism as an oriental concept is no more realistic than the Western misconception of the harem, where the sultan is depicted with hundreds of women. As long as we adopt orientalist presumptions without thoroughly questioning them, we will be unable to tell where the fictional ends and where the factual starts.

Notes

1. Jacques Derrida, Of Grammatology, The John Hopkins University Press, 1976, p.80
2. Louis Althusser, Politika ve Tarih: Montesquieu-Rousseau, (Politics and History: Montesquieu-Rousseau) Ankara: Verso, 1987. Translated by Alaattin Azenel and Ömür Sezgin.
3. For this transitional period, the seigneurs or landlords were delivering their rights to central government, that is, the central state was becoming a universal seigneurate, see W. H. Lewis, The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV, Anchor Books, 1957, pp. 73-79.
4. Stephan J. Lee, Aspects of European History, 1494-1789, Routledge, 1986, p. 167.
5. Micheal Curtis, “The Oriental Despotic Universe of Montesquieu&”, Princeton Papers in Near Eastern Studies, n. 3, 1994, pp. 1-33.
6. Montesquieu, Ãran Mektuplari (Letters from Persia), Anka, Istanbul, 2001, p. 88-89. Translated by Muhiddin Gaklu.
7. David Miller (ed), The Blackwell Encylopedia of Political Thought, Blackwell, 1998.
8. Arif Dirlik, Postcolonial Aura: Third World Criticism in the Age of Global Capitalism, Westview Press, 1998
9. Lucette Valensi, The Birth of the Despot: Venice and the Sublime Porte (Despotun Dogusu: Venedik ve Bab-i Âli), tr. A. Turgut Arnas, Baslam, Istanbul: 1994.

The theory is simple: Cosmic particles coming from outer space continuously collide with stable carbon-12 atoms in CO2 molecules, which are widespread in the atmosphere. Each carbon-12 atom takes up two neutrons and is converted into a radioactive carbon-14 atom. Radioactive carbon-14 atoms rapidly mix and become uniform throughout the atmosphere. Deep oceans, the biosphere, and carbonate rocks are giant reservoirs of carbon and with the addition of the atmosphere they constitute the carbon cycle of the Earth. Within this cycle, radioactive carbon-14 is continuously created and disintegrated. Both processes are in equilibrium. Since the total amount of carbon on the Earth is constant, a constant ratio is established between the amount of stable and radioactive carbon. This same ratio is valid in all the reservoirs of carbon in this giant cycle. In the biosphere, both carbon-14 and carbon-12 atoms are added to the food chain via assimilation; first by plants through photosynthesis and then by animals through consumption of the plants. For an animal or a plant, a carbon-14 atom is no different from a carbon-12 atom in assimilation. Living beings continuously take up both atoms, so the ratio of both atoms in their bodies remains constant throughout their life. When an organism dies, the uptake of exogenous carbon is terminated. After this point, although the amount of carbon-12 remains constant, carbon-14 continues to disintegrate and the ratio starts to decrease after the body dies. Because the ratio after death is related to the time that has passed since death, it is possible to determine the date of death by measuring the amount of radiocarbon present.

The half-life of radiocarbon is 5,730 years. This means that after 5,730 years half of the total amount of radiocarbon in a dead body disintegrates. The remaining half decays in the following 5,730 years and only a quarter of the first amount remains. This goes on until a very minuscule, undetectable amount remains. In bodies less than 50,000 years in age the amount of radiocarbon can be detected. For an older body, the amount of radiocarbon is so small that the instruments would be unable to measure the amount of radiocarbon present. In addition, such a test obviously works only on the remains of things that were once alive, such as bones or wooden parts of an old structure.

But how accurate is an age determined by this method? How dependable is this technique for enlightening us about the past? Although the theory seems quite consistent from a general outlook, one can see it is not the case when analyzed more rigorously.

Archeologists have tried different ways to test the accuracy of the method. The results have revealed long-term and short-term variations from the actual ages. Long-term variations show systematic deviations of the radiocarbon age from the real age; that is as the date of the sample gets older the deviation increases. On the other hand, short-term variations show irregular fluctuations in the radiocarbon age from the real age. These deviations apparently reveal that the assumptions made concerning the radiocarbon technique were not accurate. The results of these important abnormal conclusions in radiocarbon dating were summarized in the Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology as follows: “for years, it was thought that possible errors could have minor effects, however, recent research shows that the natural concentration of carbon-14 deviates at some certain periods, significantly affecting the calculated ages.”

The method is based on two assumptions that should be examined carefully: Firstly, the method assumes that the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 has remained constant in the atmosphere from the time the body died to the present. However, recent scientific research has proven that this ratio has not remained constant during geological time.

Secondly, the method also assumes that the carbon supply to the organism was made only by the global carbon cycle and no other source of carbon has affected the system.

Initial concerns about the possible sources of error were focused on the constant ratio assumption. So, why did the constant ratio assumption turn out to be incorrect? Actually, many reasons were found to refute the validity of this assumption. The most important ones are explained below:

Changes in the Earth’s magnetic field are believed to be responsible for long-term deviations in radiocarbon dating. By investigating the orientation of magnetic minerals in ancient rocks, geologists have proven that the magnetic field surrounding the Earth has not been constant throughout the time. Today, it is widely accepted that both the strength and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field has changed. Interestingly, these changes are appreciable even within a century. Changes in the geomagnetism affect the radiocarbon production in the upper atmosphere; cosmic rays are deflected according to the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field. If the magnetic field is high, more cosmic rays are deflected away from the Earth and the production of radiocarbon falls. If it is low, production rises. When the production rate changes, a new equilibrium concentration in the carbon cycle as a whole can only be established after a considerable amount of time has passed. The likely time scale for achieving the complete new equilibrium level is about 10,000 years. This is about the same as the age of the sample that is to be dated! The bottom line is that anything that affects the density of cosmic rays reaching the atmosphere will affect the rate of radiocarbon production, thus affecting the ratio.

Short-term changes might be the results of different factors. One of these is the variation in sunspot activity. Sunspots appear as dark places on the surface of the Sun for a short period of time and generate strong geomagnetic storms. Sunspot activity increases the Earth’s magnetic field and leads to a decrease in the radiocarbon production rate. Therefore, again, anything that causes a change in the Earth’s magnetic field will affect this ratio.

Other effects for short-term variations are the changes in the Earth’s climate. It is widely accepted that the amount of carbon in the atmosphere during geological time is strongly related to temperature changes on the Earth. This fact is also key in understanding the global greenhouse effect, which occurs with the release of high amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by hydrocarbon combustion. The global sea level has also been affected by these climatic changes. During low temperature seasons (ice ages or glacial periods), large ice sheets covered most of the continents and as a result of this, the sea level dropped appreciably. During these periods, a high amount of carbon (as carbon-dioxide) was kept inside glaciers and they became C-14 depleted (dead carbon). By the end of the Ice Age, large amounts of dead carbon had been released into the system and they had decreased the global ratio of radiocarbon.

Actually, three more resources of dead carbon make a negative contribution to the ratio. One of them is the dead carbon that comes up from deep Earth through volcanic eruptions. Radiocarbon dating of an organism that lived in the vicinity of a volcano gives inaccurate results. Because of the expulsion of dead carbon, samples found close to volcanoes have less radiocarbon in their body than others. Consequently, the age determination of these samples gives significantly incorrect results.

As is obvious from the previous examples, the main problem arises in the lack of knowledge about the history of the sample being dated by this method. Another example is when the sample being tested is wood from the inner part of a tree; the radiocarbon method gives an incorrect result in this case. The reason for this is that the innermost part of a tree finishes the carbon cycle before the tree dies. If a sample was made from this part of the tree (it is impossible to know which part of a tree is being used) then the date produced would be greater than its real age.

Even human activity is an important resource for dead carbon. Although only effective since the last century, a high amount of dead carbon in the carbon dioxide has been released into the atmosphere by the burning of fuel. So the ratio of radiocarbon has decreased. Actually, compared to the factors above, this effect has a more profound influence on the application of radiocarbon dating: No recent organic material can be used as a modern standard. Because of this, the zero point of the timescale chosen is to be 1950 AD, as determined by the US National Bureau of Standards for quoting radiocarbon results.

Consequently, the ages determined by the radiocarbon method are not taken seriously by archeologists because of the problems in the basic assumptions upon which the method was established. Occasionally, the radiocarbon method is used to roughly determine whether an object is modern or of considerable antiquity; in essence, it is used as an authenticity test. Even then the answer may not be clear-cut; for example, an old piece of timber could have been carved to produce an authentic looking sculpture!

Radiocarbon dating is an example of how scientific tools should be used carefully to unfold the reality around us. Scientific theories are only poor models of what is happening in reality. The history of science is full of such examples, which sometimes may be misleading if not handled carefully.

Reference

Radiocarbon Dating, Sheridan Bowman, University of California Press, 1990