View allAll Photos Tagged Cognition
IDN4 Life&Death by Malga Kubiak, The Ego Trip 1991 3 h, 2h of 3
dedicated to my son Sun Zachrisson and his childhood
documentary shot in period of 5 years
this part begins in Mexico 1989, interview w Kathy Acker that I shot in Gbg at Sheraton, it got stolen from me by Austrian filmmaker Barbra Caspar who was making a documentary on Kathy Acker few years ago, though I don't know if she used anything of my filming.. I dearly hope so, as it was a great shoot, I adore Kathy Acker! I rented swimming pool at Sheraton, we used also bubble pool and Kathy did a work out. Interview with CM von Hausswolff who was always a great inspiration to my work of this period. The complete interview is dislocated, but it might pop up. Interview with Lung Leg when she visited Poetry Art Festival that I was responsible for. Complete interview is in safe place with Fox Andersson that himself vanished..
This part ends up in Rio De Janeiro Brazil 1990
MISS MESS appears in concert.
excerpts from Dirty Paradise
I wonder round in white snow landscape, start to dig. I dig through to the blood, muddy and thick, I warm up my hands.
I am in the open land of frozen fields and single and lonely black trees with frost covered twigs. And a white milky moon above. At last I find the burrow which is my size. I rest inside. I cut all my veins. Finally I am not alone anymore. My own blood surrounds me, it keeps me warm and soft, caressing to sleep.
The night came for to stay as scar. I weep along hotels empty corridor, bye bye babe song, string pearls tears into my bloodless wound. Its only the earth which wants my blood, which wants my body and my dirty heart and my dress. The sky swells with blood.
A man masturbates in the silent room. Hot seeds of sperm rest and die on his stomach.
Without rising my eyes, I knew I was going along the river. I know which river and why but this is nothing for you. All my eyes saw were my bare and frozen feet stumbling on clods of frozen earth.
I am so endlessly alone. The night is dark and warm, and I am so endlessly alone. This time is going to be finding out. Whats my illusions, whats my odds, and illusions have to be killed, I don't have more time to destroy. Don't I? Is my loneliness real and is my longing about what? Then who are this people?
What is the life about? Can I really see it? The sense of it? Can you? I'm just walking. Cognition, recognition; a field of seeing develops from day to day to a sudden stop when everything is as usual; a habit, a normality, as long as my life is OK, its OK. Fucking shame, shitty dirty business, the fucking ego of such ones as me possibly drive the rest of the world to the brink.
I'm walking, judging, thinking. I'm a robot, a camera eye, I'm taking it in, and letting nothing out.
Watch this video on Vimeo. Video created by malgakubiak film.
Shown here is an image from the exhibit "Open Minds: An Exhibit of Psychology Department Faculty Publications," on display in the Bright Gallery on the second floor of Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. The exhibit features publications from faculty in the College of William and Mary's Department of Psychology. The exhibit is on display from March 26, 2012-January 18, 2013.
The following is a transcription of the label text presented in this case:
Peter Vishton
Associate Professor of Psychology
Swarthmore College, BA with High Honors in Psychology and Computer Science, 1991
Cornell University, PhD in Psychology and Cognitive Studies, 1996
Professor Vishton has been with William & Mary for seven years and has focused his research on infant and adult perception, cognition, and action control. He notably developed a BabyKart which enables a pre-crawling baby to “drive” around a room.
The system provides a way to test how the onset of self-produced locomotion promotes mental development and may provide a therapeutic tool for motor-delayed children. Professor Vishton enjoys interacting with students in the lab.
Catherine Forestell
Assistant Professor of Psychology
University of New Brunswick, BS with Honors in Psychobiology, 1995
Dalhousie University, MS in Experimental Psychology, 1997
Dalhousie University, PhD in Experimental Psychology, 2002
Professor Forestell has been with William & Mary since 2007, and her primary area of research is developmental psychology, especially health-related behavior in children and adults. She is currently researching several lab projects, among them the development of flavor preferences. In collaboration with local county schools, she is examining the effectiveness of the School Health Initiative Program.
Selections from a testing kit for the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
circa 1960
Lee Kirkpatrick
Professor of Psychology
Lynchburg College, BS in Psychology and Philosophy, 1980
University of Texas at El Paso, MA in General and Experimental Psychology, 1983
University of Denver, PhD in Social Psychology, 1988
Professor Kirkpatrick has been teaching at William & Mary for twenty years, and his areas of research include evolutionary psychology, psychology of religion, and statistics and research methods in psychology. His professorship at William & Mary has enabled him to not only pursue research of his interest, but has afforded him an opportunity to work with uniquely “bright, hard-working, highly motivated students.”
W. Larry Ventis
Professor of Psychology
University of Tennessee, BS, 1964
University of Tennessee, MA, 1966
University of Tennessee, PhD, 1970
Professor Ventis has been with William & Mary for his entire forty-two-year career. His research areas include the psychology of religion, psychology of humor, and stress. His recent research has involved presenting a “constructive progressive view of religion,” and studying the role of humor in fostering critical thinking. He finds his
work rewarding because he is able to teach and collaborate with students at a university devoted to quality education and freely pursue his own research interests.
Joanna Schug
Assistant Professor of Psychology
San Francisco State University, BA in Japanese, minor in Psychology, 2004
Hokkaido University, MA in Behavioral Science, 2008
Hokkaido University, PhD in Behavioral Science, 2011
Professor Schug is a recent addition to the William & Mary faculty and brings unique scholarship and experience in the areas of cross-cultural psychology and social psychology to the department. Schug, who is fluent in Japanese, is currently researching topics with students such as the impact of cultural norms on cooperation, trust and reciprocity, cross-cultural preferences regarding compensation, and cultural differences in friendship and close relationships.
Danielle Dallaire
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Pennsylvania State University, BA in Psychology, 1997
Temple University, PhD in Developmental Psychology, 2003
Professor Dallaire has been with William & Mary since 2006 and her research examines children’s social and emotional development in the context of risk. Her current research explores how children cope with parental incarceration, and she will be participating in a community project addressing the needs of pregnant women involved with the legal system.
From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/scrc/ for further information and assistance.
The "Cognition Enhancer" sculpture in Sante Fe celebrates a failed brain-boosting drug from a now defunct chemical company.
Israel Gottlieb presents Participating in Cognition: The Interactive Search Optimization Algorithm by Nadav Abkasis, Israel Gottlieb, and Eliraz Itzchaki of Department of Computer Science, Jerusalem College of Technology, Israel
Plan / Results [ for the Interactive Search Optimization (ISO) Algorithm ]
- Focus on a common process where target not known
- Participate in this process with computation
- Describe implenmentation experiment
- Show results: Effective without knowledge of target
- Define consequence: non-Turing computation
- Discuss how may be used
in Technical Session # 5: Learning chaired by J. Storrs Hall at the The First Conference on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-08)
This room is The Zone, at the FedEx Institute of Technology, University of Memphis. It was a very good venue for this conference.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) research focuses on the original and ultimate goal of AI -- to create intelligence as a whole, by exploring all available paths, including theoretical and experimental computer science, cognitive science, neuroscience, and innovative interdisciplinary methodologies. AGI is also called Strong AI in the AI community.
Another good reference is Artificial General Intelligence : A Gentle Introduction by Pei Wang
I030208 161
Taken on December 11 at IIT Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa - Italy, During the Family Day 2015
---------------------------------
The iCub is the humanoid robot child designed to support researchers interested in the themes of learning, control, cognition, and interaction, both at IIT and worldwide. The goal of the iCub Facility is to foster the development of the iCub, arrange the construction of new versions, supervise the incorporation of new technologies.
--------------------------------
iCub è un robot androide costruito dall'Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) di Genova. Alto 104 cm e pesante 22 kg, la sua estetica e funzionalità ricordano quelle di un bambino di circa tre anni.
----------------------------------------
Sito ufficiale IIT:
www.iit.it/en/research/departments/icub-facility.html
Official website IIT:
www.iit.it/en/research/departments/icub-facility.html
Wikipedia italiano:
Wikipedia english:
-------------------------------
You can see my images on fluidr: click here
You can see my most interesting photo's on flickr: click here
You can see my web site as Nikon Photographer Advanced: click here
Free Art School Graduation Exhibition 2018
tempera ja öljyväri mdf-levylle 120x91cm
"I was born into this body - through it I create a connection with reality. My body paints, all the experiences in me, the whole intellectual cognition.
In the kinesphere I extend in my ideas as far as I want, I free myself from my introvert's world. It's fascinating and self-contradictory. I look at the world as a researcher, but I reflect knowledge through art."
-Maarit Rantala
Dr. Richard A. McKinley, Ph.D., is the leader of the Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) Team in the Cognitive Performance Optimization Section, Applied Neuroscience Branch, Warfighter Interface Division, Human Effectiveness Directorate of the 711th Human Performance Wing at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Jul 19, 2016. Researchers working in the NIBS lab are exploring how directed electrical stimulation to the human brain affects cognition, fatigue, mood and other areas with the end goal of improving warfighter awareness, memory and focus. (U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr.)
We view ourselves as mentally flexible and others as inflexible.
(Baxter & Goldberg, 1987)
Children who expect rewards for an activity are less likely to engage in the same activity later than those who were intrinsically motivated.
(Lepper, Greene & Nisbett, 1973)
CC image courtesy of www.flickr.com/photos/swamibu/2911042795/
ein Uhrenglas lässt sich auf den Kopf stellen, jedoch, ändert es die Wahrnehmung ... ?
you can turn an hour glass, but will it change the cognition, sensation, awareness, perception ? ...
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
Paul Russotto in Torpignattara
© Arianna Lodeserto
POEM FOR PAUL RUSSOTTO
A series of pictures one upon another
Charles Baudelaire
Chill early morning Paris spring 2013 looking out from a window onto the small courtyard
Hôtel du Dragon three doors up from Cahiers d'Art
Christian Xervos pace editor of books both popular and beautiful
chambre - petit déjeuner - chambre - petit déjeuner
The clouds are moving eastward from the Atlantic
to the indifference of a clear fleur de lis blue sky
halfway to Switzerland where they stop to rest
jumbo cottonballs among the Alps
then to follow after Hannibal and Bonaparte down onto the plains of Lombardy where foreign clouds wed native fog
Across from the window
latticework crosshatching ivy green and crinolated to let the gaze go
beyond adjacent wrought-iron balcony balustrades arabesque kittycorner to the coiled hose
and maritime life-buoy emblem of Paris of painters and of poets fluctuat nec mergitur back to the ivy
overlaying latticework in simultaneous visual cognition
an inevitable geranium on a window ledge
"So here we have these various planes..." I can hear Russotto explaining to the un-
initiated the arcana of painting
while his hands demonstrate cubistic signals at face-level
SCRIPTIONS
JARGONS
GRIBOUILLIS
KRITZELTRIEB
An elevator shaft meets up with a ventilator duct
What poets learn from painters is an open question
Gautier Baudelaire Laforgue Verlaine Apollinaire
"Cavalry Crossing a Ford" a small canvas painted by Walt Whitman
Malarmé chez Manet and the blue-grey skein of smoke still meanders from his cigarillo
(on the Metro the "alarme" is missing an M)
Ezra Pound at El Prado in Madrid memorizing eyes
Ardengo Soffici Futurista alias Stefan Cloud
Robert Creeley nightwatch with Franz Kline at Black Mountain College
The clouds are moving east
over the broken geometry of the metropolis
the clouds from Spleen of Paris
Then look down:
on the skylight's irregular reflection
the clouds are moving in the opposite direction
Over the rectangular patch of glass reminiscent of a painting by Russotto
(vide Study for Restless 1999 gouache on paper)
the clouds are moving
below the smudged charcoal the ivy and the latticework
the grid of windows and the elevator shaft
The vertical oval porthole of the third floor latrine
the arabesques of balcony and the coiled garden hose
the halfhearted pendulum of the cuckoo clock
and the corridor of mirrors and lithographs
cubistic handsignals at face-level
What poets learn from painters
Lawnchairs facing hilltop Todi
Matisse's garden above Nizza
Fanelli's bar a cave of mirrors
What painters know and what poets if they're lucky come to learn
ut pictura poesis
Jacques the painter at Lascaux chatting
with magicians and musicians
"language..." Willem De Kooning saying "in order to sit around all day talking about art"
and there are worse ways for mankind to spend their hours and their years
"La rue Saint Jacques..." Pierre Soulages is saying "...was dug up
full of ivory tusks the mastodons who lived on Mont Saint Geneviève
the rue Saint Jacques first trampled down by thirsty mastodons
then by painters and their poet friends
coming down to drink in the evening
at the sacred helicoptered waters of the river Seine
ALAN JONES Paris April 2013
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
From Wikipedia:
"Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (commonly GEB) is a book by Douglas Hofstadter, described by his publishing company as "a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll".[1]
On its surface, GEB examines logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, discussing common themes in their work and lives. At a deeper level, the book is an exposition of concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence.
Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses how self-reference and formal rules allow systems to acquire meaning despite being made of "meaningless" elements. It also discusses what it means to communicate, how knowledge can be represented and stored, the methods and limitations of symbolic representation, and even the fundamental notion of "meaning" itself.
In response to confusion over the book's theme, Hofstadter has emphasized that GEB is not about mathematics, art, and music but rather about how cognition and thinking emerge from well-hidden neurological mechanisms. In the book, he presents an analogy about how the individual neurons of the brain coordinate to create a unified sense of a coherent mind by comparing it to the social organization displayed in a colony of ants."
"Gödel, Escher, Bach – ein Endloses Geflochtenes Band, kurz GEB, ist ein Buch von Douglas R. Hofstadter aus dem Jahr 1979[1]. Der Originaltitel lautet: Gödel, Escher, Bach – An Eternal Golden Braid.
Die deutsche Übersetzung erschien 1985. Hofstadter sieht in bestimmten selbstbezüglichen Mustern, den von ihm so genannten Seltsamen Schleifen, den Schlüssel zum Verständnis von Phänomenen wie Sein oder Bewusstsein. Er stellt diese Muster in seinem Buch vor.
Seine Systematik verbindet das mathematische Werk Kurt Gödels mit den kunstvollen Illustrationen M. C. Eschers und der Musik Johann Sebastian Bachs. Diese schöpferischen Werke setzt er in Beziehung zur Informatik, wie selbstbezüglichen Computerprogrammen, den so genannten Quines, und den Strukturen der DNA, mithin der Molekularbiologie.
Jedem Kapitel geht ein kurzer Dialog mit den Hauptfiguren Achilles und Theo Schildkröte voran, in dem das Thema des Kapitels spielerisch veranschaulicht wird. Dies geschieht durch die geschilderten Ereignisse, aber teilweise auch durch literarische Stilmittel.
Das Buch wurde in Deutschland ein Bestseller und stand für fünf Monate auf Platz 1. 1980 wurde es mit dem Pulitzer-Preis in der Kategorie General Non-Fiction und dem American Book Award in der Kategorie Science Hardback ausgezeichnet."
I construated a Moebius Strip like Eschers Moebius strip and added music from the German composer Bach.
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
Johann Gottfried (after 1802: von) Herder (25 August 1744 – 18 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.
Works and ideas
In 1772 Herder published Treatise on the Origin of Language and went further in this promotion of language than his earlier injunction to "spew out the ugly slime of the Seine. Speak German, O You German". Herder now had established the foundations of comparative philology within the new currents of political outlook.
Throughout this period, he continued to elaborate his own unique theory of aesthetics in works such as the above, while Goethe produced works like The Sorrows of Young Werther – the Sturm und Drang movement was born.
Herder wrote an important essay on Shakespeare and Auszug aus einem Briefwechsel über Ossian und die Lieder alter Völker (Extract from a correspondence about Ossian and the Songs of Ancient Peoples) published in 1773 in a manifesto along with contributions by Goethe and Justus Möser. Herder wrote that "A poet is the creator of the nation around him, he gives them a world to see and has their souls in his hand to lead them to that world." To him such poetry had its greatest purity and power in nations before they became civilised, as shown in the Old Testament, the Edda, and Homer, and he tried to find such virtues in ancient German folk songs and Norse poetry and mythology.
After becoming General Superintendent in 1776, Herder's philosophy shifted again towards classicism. Herder was at his best during this period, and produced works such as his unfinished Outline of a Philosophical History of Humanity which largely originated the school of historical thought. Herder's philosophy was of a deeply subjective turn, stressing influence by physical and historical circumstance upon human development, stressing that "one must go into the age, into the region, into the whole history, and feel one's way into everything". The historian should be the "regenerated contemporary" of the past, and history a science as "instrument of the most genuine patriotic spirit".
Herder gave Germans new pride in their origins, modifying that dominance of regard allotted to Greek art (Greek revival) extolled among others by Johann Joachim Winckelmann and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. He remarked that he would have wished to be born in the Middle Ages and mused whether "the times of the Swabian emperors" did not "deserve to be set forth in their true light in accordance with the German mode of thought?". Herder equated the German with the Gothic and favoured Dürer and everything Gothic. As with the sphere of art, equally he proclaimed a national message within the sphere of language. He topped the line of German authors emanating from Martin Opitz, who had written his Aristarchus, sive de contemptu linguae Teutonicae in Latin in 1617, urging Germans to glory in their hitherto despised language. Herder's extensive collections of folk-poetry began a great craze in Germany for that neglected topic.
Along with Wilhelm von Humboldt, Herder was one of the first to argue that language determines thought, a theme that two centuries later would be central to the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. Herder's focus upon language and cultural traditions as the ties that create a "nation" extended to include folklore, dance, music and art, and inspired Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in their collection of German folk tales.
Herder attached exceptional importance to the concept of nationality and of patriotism – "he that has lost his patriotic spirit has lost himself and the whole worlds about himself", whilst teaching that "in a certain sense every human perfection is national". Herder carried folk theory to an extreme by maintaining that "there is only one class in the state, the Volk, (not the rabble), and the king belongs to this class as well as the peasant". Explanation that the Volk was not the rabble was a novel conception in this era, and with Herder can be seen the emergence of "the people" as the basis for the emergence of a classless but hierarchical national body.
The nation, however, was individual and separate, distinguished, to Herder, by climate, education, foreign intercourse, tradition and heredity. Providence he praised for having "wonderfully separated nationalities not only by woods and mountains, seas and deserts, rivers and climates, but more particularly by languages, inclinations and characters". Herder praised the tribal outlook writing that "the savage who loves himself, his wife and child with quiet joy and glows with limited activity of his tribe as for his own life is in my opinion a more real being than that cultivated shadow who is enraptured with the shadow of the whole species", isolated since "each nationality contains its centre of happiness within itself, as a bullet the centre of gravity". With no need for comparison since "every nation bears in itself the standard of its perfection, totally independent of all comparison with that of others" for "do not nationalities differ in everything, in poetry, in appearance, in tastes, in usages, customs and languages? Must not religion which partakes of these also differ among the nationalities?"
Following a trip to Ukraine, Herder wrote a prediction in his diary (Journal meiner Reise im Jahre 1769) that Slavic nations would one day be the real power in Europe, as the western Europeans would reject Christianity and rot away, while the eastern European nations would stick to their religion and their idealism, and would this way become the power in Europe. More specifically, he praised Ukraine's "beautiful skies, blithe temperament, musical talent, bountiful soil, etc. [...] someday will awaken there a cultured nation whose influence will spread [...] throughout the world." One of his related predictions was that the Hungarian nation would disappear and become assimilated by surrounding Slavic peoples; this prophecy caused considerable uproar in Hungary and is widely cited to this day.
Germany and the Enlightenment
This question was further developed by Herder's lament that Martin Luther did not establish a national church, and his doubt whether Germany did not buy Christianity at too high a price, that of true nationality. Herder's patriotism bordered at times upon national pantheism, demanding of territorial unity as "He is deserving of glory and gratitude who seeks to promote the unity of the territories of Germany through writings, manufacture, and institutions" and sounding an even deeper call:
"But now! Again I cry, my German brethren! But now! The remains of all genuine folk-thought is rolling into the abyss of oblivion with a last and accelerated impetus. For the last century we have been ashamed of everything that concerns the fatherland."
In his Ideas upon Philosophy and the History of Mankind he even wrote, "Compare England with Germany: the English are Germans, and even in the latest times the Germans have led the way for the English in the greatest things."
Herder, who hated absolutism and Prussian nationalism, but who was imbued with the spirit of the whole German Volk, yet as historical theorist turned away from the light of the eighteenth century. Seeking to reconcile his thought with this earlier age, Herder sought to harmonize his conception of sentiment with reasoning, whereby all knowledge is implicit in the soul; the most elementary stage is sensuous and intuitive perception which by development can become self-conscious and rational. To Herder, this development is the harmonizing of primitive and derivative truth, of experience and intelligence, feeling and reasoning.
Herder is the first in a long line of Germans preoccupied with this harmony. This search is itself the key to much in German theory. And Herder was too penetrating a thinker not to understand and fear the extremes to which his folk-theory could tend, and so issued specific warnings. He argued that Jews in Germany should enjoy the full rights and obligations of Germans, and that the non-Jews of the world owed a debt to Jews for centuries of abuse, and that this debt could be discharged only by actively assisting those Jews who wished to do so to regain political sovereignty in their ancient homeland of Israel. Herder refused to adhere to a rigid racial theory, writing that "notwithstanding the varieties of the human form, there is but one and the same species of man throughout the whole earth".
He also announced that "national glory is a deceiving seducer. When it reaches a certain height, it clasps the head with an iron band. The enclosed sees nothing in the mist but his own picture; he is susceptible to no foreign impressions." And:
The passage of time was to demonstrate that while many Germans were to find influence in Herder's convictions and influence, fewer were to note his qualifying stipulations.
Herder had emphasised that his conception of the nation encouraged democracy and the free self-expression of a people's identity. He proclaimed support for the French Revolution, a position which did not endear him to royalty. He also differed with Kant's philosophy for not placing reasoning within the context of language. Herder did not think that reason itself could be criticized, as it did not exist except as the process of reasoning. This process was dependent on language.[25] He also turned away from the Sturm und Drang movement to go back to the poems of Shakespeare and Homer.
To promote his concept of the Volk, he published letters and collected folk songs. These latter were published in 1773 as Voices of the Peoples in Their Songs (Stimmen der Völker in ihren Liedern). The poets Achim von Arnim and Clemens von Brentano later used Stimmen der Völker as samples for The Boy's Magic Horn (Des Knaben Wunderhorn).
Herder also fostered the ideal of a person’s individuality. Although he had from an early period championed the individuality of cultures - for example, in his This Too a Philosophy of History for the Formation of Humanity (1774), he also championed the individuality of persons within a culture; for example, in his On Thomas Abbt's Writings (1768) and On the Cognition and Sensation of the Human Soul (1778).
In On Thomas Abbt's Writings, Herder stated that "a human soul is an individual in the realm of minds: it senses in accordance with an individual formation, and thinks in accordance with the strength of its mental organs. . .. My long allegory has succeeded if it achieves the representation of the mind of a human being as an individual phenomenon, as a rarity which deserves to occupy our eyes.
------------------------------------------------------------------Wiki
20161004 S 2578 5362 PhotosLVRiga Monument to Johann Gottfried Herder at the Cathedral, Vecpilseta, Riga, Riga pilseta, Latvia
Mohrungen (today: Morąg, Poland) 1744 - Weimar 1803
German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic; he taught in Riga, 1764-1769
------
Johann Gottfried von Herder, (* 25. kolovoza 1744. Mohrungen, Pruska; † 18. prosinca 1803. u Weimaru) je bio njemački književnik, prevoditelj, teolog i filozof Weimarške klasike. Plemićki naslov nosi od 1802. godine. Često ga se naziva i tvorcem pojma kulturnog nacionalizma.
Životopis
Mladost
Johann Gottfried Herder rođen kao sin kantora i učitelja Gottfrieda Herdera i njegove druge žene Anne Elisabethe, rođene Peltz. Iz poštovanja prema vrlo religioznim roditeljima je studirao teologiju. Njegovo prvo djelo je posvečeno smrti brata Carla Friedricha stihom Auf meinen ersten Todten! das Liebste, was ich auf dieser Welt verloren.
Filozofija
Iako je u mladosti bio pod utjecajem filozofa poput Kanta i Rousseaua kasnije je postao najveći intelektualni protivnik prosvetiteljstva i značajno utjecao na razvoj romantizma u Njemačkoj. Time što je naglašavao naciju kao organsku skupinu čija su obilježja poseban jezik, kultura i duh, Herder je pridonio kako nastanku povijesti kulture tako i posebnog oblika nacionalizma koji ističe urođenost vrijednosti nacionalne kulture i narodu u koje su ukorijenjeni.
Definicijom pojma Volkgeist (duša naroda) s njim započinje etnologija. Tvorac je i pojma Zeitgeist kojeg je prvi put uporabio 1769.
Herder govori o nacionalnom duhu i karakteru, u kojem sve vrijednosti, aktivnosti i tvorevine do njihove filozofije i poezije, imaju zajedničko težište i koji ovima daje specifični karakter.
wiki
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
La final de la primera edició de la competició Rin4', un exercici de divulgació científica adreçat a un públic no especialitzat a càrrec de joves científics doctorands d'aquest curs acadèmic, va tenir lloc ahir 8 de juny a la Sala Polivalent de l'edifici Mercè Rodoreda del campus de la Ciutadella de la UPF. Prèviament, del 2 al 7 de juny, es van dur a terme les fases classificatòries entre els 70 aspirants dels més de 100 inscrits, de les que en van sortir els nou finalistes que van competir pel 1r, 2n i 3r premis, a més d'un premi especial atorgat pel públic assistent, dotats de 900, 600, 300, i 200 euros, respectivament.
En un acte conduït per David Comas, investigador del Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut (CEXS), cadascun dels nou candidats, vuit del Doctorat de Biomedicina i un del Doctorat en Tecnologies de la Informació i les Comunicacions, van fer l'exposició del seu projecte de recerca en el temps rècord de quatre minuts com a màxim. En aquesta edició, les ponències finalistes van estar relacionades amb els àmbits de ciències de la salut i de la vida i de ciències cognitives i del llenguatge.
Jaume Casals, rector de la UPF va lliurar els premis. El primer premi va ser per a Cristina Galusca, que està fent la seva recerca en el Grup de Recerca Reasoning and Infant Cognition (RICO) del Centre de Cognició i Cervell (CBC) del Departament de Tecnologies de la Informació i les Comunicacions (DTIC), amb la ponència " Ull recorda això!".
El segon premi va ser per a Álvaro Castells, investigador del Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG), amb " Dinàmica del RNA emprant la microscopia d'alta definició"; el tercer premi va ser per a Mònica Domínguez i " El discurs prosòdic en la interacció home-màquina", recerca que està duent a terme al Grup de Recerca sobre el Tractament Automàtic del Llenguatge Natural (TALN) al DTIC. Finalment, el premi especial del públic va ser per a Carlota Rubio per " Buscant les forces que mouen el càncer", part de la recerca que fa dins del Grup de Recerca en Genòmica Biomèdica del Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut (CEXS).
Van formar part del jurat Núria Sebastián, directora de l' Escola de Doctorat de la UPF, Emma Rodero, professora del Departament de Comunicació de la UPF i Mónica López-Ferrado, periodista científica del diari Ara, guardonada en diverses ocasions per la seva tasca professional. Com van afirmar els membres del jurat: "La gran qualitat de les presentacions va fer molt difícil la decisió final".
i did this wallpainting for the exhibition "stasti vil..." (tell me more...) in riga. it was organized by zane and david from the latvian centre of contemporary art.
i've made a comic about 2dreams* which i was supposed to present there. but i was not satisfied so i changed my plans and did this installation about falling asleep, being asleep, and waking. therefore i mixed graphic elements which i connect with this cognitions.
on the little desk there are to books, one with the 2dreams and one visitors are invided to draw phrases from their dreams.
i fell sheepish about it but as i finished the sketch for the painting it looks like a drawing from my friend lily wittenburg. she uses black/white colors and works with space and elements similar to these. it reflects her big influence to me but next time i will shy away from showing such propinquity. it's meant to be an homage to her wonderfull detailed drawings. by the way she has the most interesting dreams i've heard of.
take a look at here site here:
*one dream i had about me friend kolja, some years ago, the other one he had about me last year
The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor number exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.
(from Elliot Eisner's "10 Lessons the arts teach")
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
Panel: (Left to Right) Jean-Charles Quinton, Arthi Murugesan , Stephen Reed
Stephen Reed chaired the panel Technical Session # 3: Language and Cognition at the The First Conference on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-08) Stephen started Texai which is an open source project to create an artificial intelligence.
This room is The Zone, at the FedEx Institute of Technology, University of Memphis. It was a very good venue for this conference.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) research focuses on the original and ultimate goal of AI -- to create intelligence as a whole, by exploring all available paths, including theoretical and experimental computer science, cognitive science, neuroscience, and innovative interdisciplinary methodologies. AGI is also called Strong AI in the AI community.
Another good reference is Artificial General Intelligence : A Gentle Introduction by Pei Wang
I030208 104
"The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard. He knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence."
Chief Luther Standing Bear
A hypnopompic state (or hypnopomp) is the state of consciousness leading out of sleep, a term coined by the psychical researcher Frederic Myers. Its twin is the hypnagogic state at sleep onset; though often conflated, the two states are not identical. The hypnagogic state is rational waking cognition trying to make sense of non-linear images and associations; the hypnopompic state is emotional and credulous dreaming cognition trying to make sense of real world stolidity. They have a different phenomenological character. Depressed frontal lobe function in the first few minutes after waking – known as "sleep inertia" – causes slowed reaction time and impaired short-term memory. Sleepers often wake confused, or speak without making sense, a phenomenon the psychologist Peter McKeller calls "hypnopompic speech". When the awakening occurs out of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, in which most dreams occur, the hypnopompic state is sometimes accompanied by lingering vivid imagery. Some of the creative insights attributed to dreams actually happen in this moment of awakening from REM.
The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra. Formerly, there was also the Syrian elephant or Western Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus asurus) which was the westernmost population of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). This subspecies became extinct in ancient times. Skeletal remains of E. m. asurus have been recorded from the Middle East: Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey from periods dating between at least 1800 BC and likely 700 BC. It is one of only three living species of elephants or elephantids anywhere in the world, the others being the African bush elephant and African forest elephant. It is the second largest species of elephant after the African bush elephant.
The Asian elephant is the largest living land animal in Asia. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the population has declined by at least 50 per cent over the last three elephant generations, which is about 60–75 years. It is primarily threatened by loss of habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation and poaching. In 2019, the wild population was estimated at 48,323–51,680 individuals. Female captive elephants have lived beyond 60 years when kept in semi-natural surroundings, such as forest camps. In zoos, Asian elephants die at a much younger age; captive populations are declining due to a low birth and high death rate.
The genus Elephas originated in Sub-Saharan Africa during the Pliocene and spread throughout Africa before expanding into the southern half of Asia. The earliest indications of captive use of Asian elephants are engravings on seals of the Indus Valley civilisation dated to the 3rd millennium BC.
Evolution
The genus Elephas, of which the Asian elephant is the only living member, is the closest relative of the extinct mammoths. The two groups are estimated to have split from each other around 7 million years ago. The earliest Elephas species, Elephas ekorensis, is known from the Early Pliocene of East Africa, around 5-4.2 million years ago. The oldest remains of the genus in Asia are known from the Siwalik Hills in the Indian subcontinent, dating to the late Pliocene, around 3.6-3.2 million years ago, assigned to the species Elephas planifrons. The modern Asian elephant is suggested to have evolved from the species Elephas hysudricus, which first appeared at the beginning of the Early Pleistocene around 2.6 million years ago, and is primarily known from remains of Early-Middle Pleistocene age found on the Indian subcontinent.
In general, the Asian elephant is smaller than the African bush elephant and has the highest body point on the head. The back is convex or level. The ears are small with dorsal borders folded laterally. It has up to 20 pairs of ribs and 34 caudal vertebrae. The feet have five nail-like structures on each forefoot, and four on each hind foot. The forehead has two hemispherical bulges, unlike the flat front of the African elephants. Its long trunk or proboscis has only one fingerlike tip, in contrast to the African elephants which have two. Hence, the Asian species relies more on wrapping around a food item and squeezing it into its mouth, rather than grasping with the tip. Asian elephants have more muscle coordination and can perform more complex tasks.
Cows usually lack tusks; if tusks—in that case, called "tushes"—are present, they are barely visible and only seen when the mouth is open.[citation needed] The enamel plates of the molars are greater in number and closer together in Asian elephants. Some bulls may also lack tusks; these individuals are called "filsy makhnas", and are especially common among the Sri Lankan elephant population. A tusk from an 11 ft (3.4 m) tall elephant killed by Sir Victor Brooke measured 8 ft (2.4 m) in length, and nearly 17 in (43 cm) in circumference, and weighed 90 lb (41 kg). This tusk's weight is, however, exceeded by the weight of a shorter tusk of about 6 ft (1.8 m) in length which weighed 100 lb (45 kg), and there have reportedly been tusks weighing over 150 lb (68 kg).
Skin colour is usually grey, and may be masked by soil because of dusting and wallowing. Their wrinkled skin is movable and contains many nerve centres. It is smoother than that of African elephants and may be depigmented on the trunk, ears, or neck. The epidermis and dermis of the body average 18 mm (0.71 in) thick; skin on the dorsum is 30 mm (1.2 in) thick providing protection against bites, bumps, and adverse weather. Its folds increase surface area for heat dissipation. They can tolerate cold better than excessive heat. Skin temperature varies from 24 to 32.9 °C (75.2 to 91.2 °F). Body temperature averages 35.9 °C (96.6 °F).
Size
On average, when fully-grown, bulls are about 2.75 m (9.0 ft) tall at the shoulder and 4.0 t (4.4 short tons) in weight, while cows are smaller at about 2.40 m (7.9 ft) at the shoulder and 2.7 t (3.0 short tons) in weight. Sexual dimorphism in body size is relatively less pronounced in Asian elephants than in African bush elephants; with bulls averaging 15% and 23% taller in the former and latter respectively. Length of body and head including trunk is 5.5–6.5 m (18–21 ft) with the tail being 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft) long. The largest bull elephant ever recorded was shot by the Maharajah of Susang in the Garo Hills of Assam, India, in 1924, it weighed an estimated 7 t (7.7 short tons), stood 3.43 m (11.3 ft) tall at the shoulder and was 8.06 m (26.4 ft) long from head to tail. There are reports of larger individuals as tall as 3.7 m (12 ft).
Asian elephants inhabit grasslands, tropical evergreen forests, semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous forests and dry thorn forests, in addition to cultivated and secondary forests and scrublands. Over this range of habitat types elephants occur from sea level to over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). In the eastern Himalaya in northeast India, they regularly move up above 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in summer at a few sites.
In China, the Asian elephant survives only in the prefectures of Xishuangbanna, Simao, and Lincang of southern Yunnan. The estimated population is around 300 individual (in 2020).
In Bangladesh, some isolated populations survive in the south-east Chittagong Hills.[10] A herd of 20–25 wild elephants was reported as being present in the Garo Hills of Mymensingh in the late-1990s, being detached from a big herd in the Peack hills of India and prevented from returning by fences put up in the meantime by the Indian border security force. The herd was estimated at about 60 individuals in 2014.
In Malaysia's northern Johor and Terengganu National Park, two Asian elephants were tracked using satellite tracking technology. They spent most of their time in secondary or "logged-over forest" and travelled 75% of their time in an area less than 1.5 km (0.93 mi) away from a water source.
Asian elephants are crepuscular. They are classified as megaherbivores and consume up to 150 kg (330 lb) of plant matter per day. They are generalist feeders, and are both grazers and browsers. They are known to feed on at least 112 different plant species, most commonly of the order Malvales, as well as the legume, palm, sedge and true grass families. They browse more in the dry season with bark constituting a major part of their diet in the cool part of that season. They drink at least once a day and are never far from a permanent source of fresh water.They need 80–200 litres of water a day and use even more for bathing. At times, they scrape the soil for clay or minerals.
Cows and calves move about together as groups, while bulls disperse from their mothers upon reaching adolescence. Bulls are solitary or form temporary "bachelor groups". Cow-calf units generally tend to be small, typically consisting of three adults (most likely related females) and their offspring. Larger groups of as many as 15 adult females have also been recorded. Seasonal aggregations of 17 individuals including calves and young adults have been observed in Sri Lanka's Uda Walawe National Park. Until recently, Asian elephants, like African elephants, were thought to be under the leadership of older adult females, or matriarchs. It is now recognized that cows form extensive and very fluid social networks, with varying degrees of associations between individuals. Social ties generally tend to be weaker than in African elephants.
Unlike African elephants, which rarely use their forefeet for anything other than digging or scraping soil, Asian elephants are more agile at using their feet in conjunction with the trunk for manipulating objects. They can sometimes be known for their violent behavior.
Asian elephants are recorded to make three basic sounds: growls, squeaks and snorts. Growls in their basic form are used for short distance communication. During mild arousal, growls resonate in the trunk and become rumbles while for long-distance communication, they escalate into roars. Low-frequency growls are infrasonic and made in many contexts. Squeaks come in two forms: chirpings and trumpets. Chirping consists of multiple short squeaks and signals conflict and nervousness. Trumpets are lengthened squeaks with increased loudness and are produced during extreme arousal. Snorts signal changes in activity and increase in loudness during mild or strong arousal. During the latter case, when an elephant bounces the tip of the trunk, it creates booms which serve as threat displays: 142 Elephants can distinguish low-amplitude sounds.
Rarely, tigers have been recorded attacking and killing calves, especially if the calves become separated from their mothers, stranded from their herd, or orphaned. Adults are largely invulnerable to natural predation. There is a singular anecdotal case of a mother Asian elephant allegedly being killed alongside her calf; however, this account is contestable. In 2011 and 2014, two instances were recorded of tigers successfully killing adult elephants; one by a single tiger in Jim Corbett National Park on a 20-year-old young adult elephant cow, and another on a 28-year-old sick adult bull in Kaziranga National Park further east, which was taken down and eaten by several tigers hunting cooperatively. Elephants appear to distinguish between the growls of larger predators like tigers and smaller predators like leopards; they react to leopards less fearfully and more aggressively.
Reproduction in Asian elephants can be attributed to the production and perception of signaling compounds called pheromones. These signals are transmitted through various bodily fluids. They are commonly released in urine but in males they are also found in special secretions from the temporal glands. Once integrated and perceived, these signals provide the receiver with information about the reproductive status of the sender. If both parties are ready to breed, reproductive ritualic behavior occurs and the process of sexual reproduction proceeds.
Bulls will fight one another to get access to oestrus cows. Strong fights over access to females are extremely rare. Bulls reach sexual maturity around the age of 12–15. Between the ages of 10 and 20 years, bulls undergo an annual phenomenon known as "musth". This is a period where the testosterone level is up to 100 times greater than non-musth periods, and they become aggressive. Secretions containing pheromones occur during this period, from the paired temporal glands located on the head between the lateral edge of the eye and the base of the ear. The aggressive behaviors observed during musth can be attributed to varying amounts of frontalin (1,5-dimethyl-6,8-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane) throughout the maturation process of bulls. Frontalin is a pheromone that was first isolated in bark beetles but can also be produced in the bulls of both Asian and African Elephants. The compound can be excreted through urine as well as through the temporal glands of the bull, allowing signaling to occur. During musth, increased concentrations of frontalin in the bull's urine communicate the reproductive status of the bull to female elephants.
Similar to other mammals, hormone secretion in female elephants is regulated by an estrous cycle. This cycle is regulated by surges in Luteinizing Hormone that are observed 3 weeks from each other. This type of estrous cycle has also been observed in African Elephants but is not known to affect other mammals. The first surge in Luteinizing Hormone is not followed by the release of an egg from the ovaries. However, some female elephants still exhibit the expected mating protocols during this surge. Female elephants give ovulatory cues by utilizing sex pheromones. A principal component thereof, (Z)-7-dodecen-1-yl acetate, has also been found to be a sex pheromone in numerous species of insects. In both insects and elephants, this chemical compound is used as an attractant to assist the mating process. In elephants, the chemical is secreted through urination and this aids in the attraction of bulls to mate. Once detected, the chemical stimulates the vomeronasal organ of the bull, thus providing information on the maturity of the female.
Reproductive signaling exchange between male and female elephants are transmitted through olfactory cues in bodily fluids. In males, the increase in frontalin during musth heightens their sensitivity to the (Z)-7-dodecen-1-yl acetate produced by female elephants. Once perceived by receptors in the trunk, a sequence of ritualistic behaviors follow. The responses in males vary based on both the stage of development and the temperament of the elephant. This process of receiving and processing signals through the trunk is referred to as flehmen. The difference in body movements give cues to gauge if the male is interested in breeding with the female that produced the secretion. A bull that is ready to breed will move closer to the urine and in some cases an erection response is elicited. A bull that is not ready to breed will be timid and try to dissociate themselves from the signal.
In addition to reproductive communication, chemosensory signaling is used to facilitate same-sex interactions. When less developed males detect pheromones from a male in musth, they often retreat to avoid coming in contact with aggressive behaviors. Female elephants have also been seen to communicate with each other through pheromone in urine. The purpose of this type of intersex communication is still being investigated. However, there are clear differences in signaling strength and receiver response throughout different stages of the estrous cycle.
The gestation period is 18–22 months, and the cow gives birth to one calf, only occasionally twins. The calf is fully developed by the 19th month, but stays in the womb to grow so that it can reach its mother to feed. At birth, the calf weighs about 100 kg (220 lb), and is suckled for up to three years. Once a female gives birth, she usually does not breed again until the first calf is weaned, resulting in a four to five-year birth interval. During this period, mother to calf communication primarily takes place through temporal means. However, male calves have been known to develop sex pheromone-producing organs at a young age. Early maturity of the vomeronasal organ allows immature elephants to produce and receive pheromones. It is unlikely that the integration of these pheromones will result in a flehmen response in a calf. Females stay on with the herd, but mature males are chased away.
Female Asian elephants sexually mature around the age of 10~15 and keep growing until 30, while males fully mature at more than the age of 25, and constantly grow throughout their life. Average elephant life expectancy is 60 years in the wild and 80 in captivity, although this has been exaggerated in the past. Generation length of the Asian elephant is 22 years.
Asian elephants have a very large and highly developed neocortex, a trait also shared by humans, apes and certain dolphin species. They have a greater volume of cerebral cortex available for cognitive processing than all other existing land animals.[citation needed] Results of studies indicate that Asian elephants have cognitive abilities for tool use and tool-making similar to great apes. They exhibit a wide variety of behaviours, including those associated with grief, learning, allomothering, mimicry, play, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation, self-awareness, memory, and language. Elephants reportedly head to safer ground during natural disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes, but data from two satellite-collared Sri Lankan elephants indicate this may be untrue.
Several students of elephant cognition and neuroanatomy are convinced that Asian elephants are highly intelligent and self-aware. Others contest this view.
Threats
The pre-eminent threats to the Asian elephant today are the loss, degradation and fragmentation of its habitat, which leads to increasing conflicts between humans and elephants. Asian elephants are poached for ivory and a variety of other products including meat and leather. The demand for elephant skin has risen due to it being an increasingly-common ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.
Human–elephant conflict
In some parts of Asia, people and elephants have co-existed for thousands of years. In other areas, people and elephants come into conflict, resulting in violence, and ultimately, the displacement of elephants.
Destruction of forests through logging, encroachment, slash-and-burn, shifting cultivation, and monoculture tree plantations are major threats to the survival of elephants. Human–elephant conflicts occur when elephants raid crops of shifting cultivators in fields, which are scattered over a large area interspersed with forests. Depredation in human settlements is another major area of human–elephant conflict occurring in small forest pockets, encroachments into elephant habitat, and on elephant migration routes. However, studies in Sri Lanka indicate that traditional slash-and-burn agriculture may create optimal habitat for elephants by creating a mosaic of successional-stage vegetation. Populations inhabiting small habitat fragments are much more liable to come into conflict with humans.
Human-elephant conflict can be categorised into:
ultimate causes including growing human population, large-scale development projects and poor top-down governance;
proximate causes including habitat loss due to deforestation, disruption of elephant migratory routes, expansion of agriculture and illegal encroachment into protected areas.
Development such as border fencing along the India–Bangladesh border has become a major impediment to the free movement of elephants. In Assam, more than 1,150 humans and 370 elephants died as a result of human-elephant conflict between 1980 and 2003. In India alone, over 400 people are killed by elephants every year, and 0.8 to 1 million hectares are damaged, affecting at least 500,000 families across the country. Moreover, elephants are known to destroy crops worth up to US$2–3 million annually. This has major impacts on the welfare and livelihoods of local communities, as well as the future conservation of this species. In countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the Asian elephant is one of the most feared wild animals, even though they are less deadly than other local animals such as venomous snakes (which were estimated to claim more than 30 times more lives in Sri Lanka than elephants). As a whole, Asian elephants display highly sophisticated and sometimes unpredictable behaviour. Most untamed elephants try to avoid humans, but if they are caught off guard by any perceived physical threat, including humans, they will likely charge. This is especially true of males in musth and of females with young. Gunfire and other similar methods of deterring, which are known to be effective against many kinds of wild animals including tigers, may or may not work with elephants, and can even worsen the situation. Elephants that have been abused by humans in the past often become "rogue elephants", which regularly attack people with no provocation.
Poaching
For ivory
The demand for ivory during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in East Asia, led to rampant poaching and the serious decline of elephants in both Africa and Asia. In Thailand, the illegal trade in live elephants and ivory still flourishes. Although the amount of ivory being openly sold has decreased substantially since 2001, Thailand still has one of the largest and most active black markets for ivory seen anywhere in the world. Tusks from Thai-poached elephants also enter the market; between 1992 and 1997 at least 24 male elephants were killed for their tusks.
Up to the early 1990s, Vietnamese ivory craftsmen used exclusively Asian elephant ivory from Vietnam and neighbouring Lao and Cambodia. Before 1990, there were few tourists and the low demand for worked ivory could be supplied by domestic elephants. Economic liberalisation and an increase in tourism raised both local and visitors' demands for worked ivory, which resulted in heavy poaching.
For skin
The skin of the Asian elephant is used as an ingredient in Chinese medicine as well as in the manufacture of ornamental beads. The practice has been aided by China's State Forestry Administration (SFA), which has issued licences for the manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical products containing elephant skin, thereby making trading legal. In 2010, four skinned elephants were found in a forest in Myanmar; 26 elephants were killed by poachers in 2013 and 61 in 2016. According to the NGO Elephant Family, Myanmar is the main source of elephant skin, where a poaching crisis has developed rapidly since 2010.
Handling methods
Young elephants are captured and illegally imported to Thailand from Myanmar for use in the tourism industry; calves are used mainly in amusement parks and are trained to perform various stunts for tourists.
The calves are often subjected to a 'breaking in' process, which may involve being tied up, confined, starved, beaten and tortured; as a result, two-thirds may perish. Handlers use a technique known as the training crush, in which "handlers use sleep-deprivation, hunger, and thirst to "break" the elephants' spirit and make them submissive to their owners"; moreover, handlers drive nails into the elephants' ears and feet.
Disease
The Asian elephant is listed on CITES Appendix I. It is a quintessential flagship species, deployed to catalyze a range of conservation goals, including habitat conservation at landscape scales, generating public awareness on conservation issues, and mobilisation as a popular cultural icon both in India and the West. A key aspect of Asian elephant conservation is connectivity, and preserving the preferred movement routes of elephants through areas of high vegetation cover and with "low human population density".
The World Elephant Day has been celebrated on 12 August since 2012. Events are organized to divulge information and to engage people about the problems that the Asian elephant is facing. August has been established as the Asian Elephant Awareness Month by zoos and conservation partners in the United States.
In China, Asian elephants are under first-level protection. Yunnan province has 11 national and regional nature reserves. In total, the covered protected area in China is about 510,000 km2 (200,000 sq mi). In 2020, the population of Asian elephants in Yunnan was estimated at around 300 individuals. As conflicts between humans and wild elephants have emerged around protected areas in the last years, the prefecture of Xishuangbanna built food bases and planted bananas and bamboo to create a better habitat.
In Thailand, Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary and Tham Than Lot National Park are protected areas hosting around 250–300 elephants, according to figures from 2013. In recent years the National Park has faced issues due to encroachment and over-exploitation.
In India, the National Board of Wildlife did a recommendation, allowing coal mining in the Dehing Patkai elephant reserve in April 2020. The decision raised concerns between students and environmental activists who launched an online campaign to stop the project.
In captivity
About half of the global zoo elephant population is kept in European zoos, where they have about half the median life span of conspecifics in protected populations in range countries. This discrepancy is clearest in Asian elephants: infant mortality is twice that seen in Burmese timber camps, and adult survivorship in zoos has not improved significantly in recent years. One risk factor for Asian zoo elephants is being moved between institutions, with early removal from the mother tending to have additional adverse effects. Another risk factor is being born into a zoo rather than being imported from the wild, with poor adult survivorship in zoo-born Asians apparently being conferred prenatally or in early infancy. Likely causes for compromised survivorship is stress and/or obesity. Foot problems are commonly observed in captive elephants. These are related to lack of exercise, long hours standing on hard substrates, and contamination resulting from standing in their dung. Many of these problems are treatable. However, mistreatment may lead to serious disability or death.
Demographic analysis of captive Asian elephants in North America indicates that the population is not self-sustaining. First year mortality is nearly 30 per cent, and fecundity is extremely low throughout the prime reproductive years. Data from North American and European regional studbooks from 1962 to 2006 were analysed for deviations in the birth and juvenile death sex ratios. Of 349 captive calves born, 142 died prematurely. They died within one month of birth, major causes being stillbirth and infanticide by either the calf's mother or by one of the exhibition mates. The sex ratio of stillbirths in Europe was found to have a tendency for excess of males.
In culture
Bones of Asian elephants excavated at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley indicate that they were tamed in the Indus Valley civilization and used for work. Decorated elephants are also depicted on seals and were modelled in clay.
The Asian elephant became a siege engine, a mount in war, a status symbol, a beast of burden, and an elevated platform for hunting during historical times in South Asia.
Asian elephants have been captured from the wild and tamed for use by humans. Their ability to work under instruction makes them particularly useful for carrying heavy objects. They have been used particularly for timber-carrying in jungle areas. Other than their work use, they have been used in war, in ceremonies, and for carriage. It is reported that war elephants are still in use by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to take control of Kachin State in northern Myanmar from Myanmar's military. The KIA use about four dozen elephants to carry supplies.
The Asian elephant plays an important part in the culture of the subcontinent and beyond, being featured prominently in the Panchatantra fables and the Buddhist Jataka tales. They play a major role in Hinduism: the god Ganesha's head is that of an elephant, and the "blessings" of a temple elephant are highly valued. Elephants are frequently used in processions where the animals are adorned with festive outfits.
The Asian elephant is depicted in several Indian manuscripts and treatises. Notable amongst these is the Matanga Lila (elephant sport) of Nilakantha. The manuscript Hastividyarnava is from Assam in northeast India.
In the Burmese, Thai and Sinhalese animal and planetary zodiac, the Asian elephant, both tusked and tuskless, are the fourth and fifth animal zodiacs of the Burmese, the fourth animal zodiac of the Thai, and the second animal zodiac of the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka. Similarly, the elephant is the twelfth animal zodiac in the Dai animal zodiac of the Dai people in southern China.
‘The nervous system is composed of a network of neurons and other supportive cells (such as glial cells). Neurons form functional circuits, each responsible for specific tasks to the behaviors at the organism level.’ [Wikipedia/Neuroscience]
Hooded Sweatshirt, Sweatshirt, Long Sleeve T-shirt, T-shirt, Sleeveless T-shirt.
Go to online store: www.printfection.com/brainfood-clothing
Cost me a pretty pile (INR 2,294), but looks totally worth it. You can buy it on flipkart.com here. It's also available on the Kindle now.
Self-enquiry: (before page 1)
| As each thought arises one must be watchful and ask to whom is this thought occurring. The answer will be 'to me'. If you enquire 'Who am I?' the mind will return to the source from whence it issued. The thought which arose will also submerge.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 11
| The greatest error of a man is to think that he is weak by nature, evil by nature. Every man is divine and strong in his real nature, What are weak are his habits, his desires and thoughts, but not himself.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 43:
| God is an unknown entity. Moreover, He is external. Whereas the Self is always with you and it is you. Why do you leave out what is intimate and go in for what is external?—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 71:
| Happiness lies deep within us, in the core of our own being. Happiness does not exist in any external object, but only in us, who are the consciousness that experiences happiness.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 113:
| The Self is known to everyone but not clearly. The Being is the Self. Of all the definitions of God, none is so well put as the Biblical statement 'I am that I am'. Knowing the Self, God is known. In fact, God is none other than the Self.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 127:
| The question about the Heart arises because you are interested in seeking the source of Consciousness. To all deep thinking minds, the inquiry about the 'I' and its nature has an irresistible fascination.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 139:
| Enquiry in the form 'Who am I?' alone is the principal means. To make the mind subside, there is no adequate means other than Self-enquiry. If controlled by other means, mind will remain as if subsided, but will rise again.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 175:
| What is called mind is a wondrous power existing in Self. It projects all thoughts. If we set aside all thoughts and see, there will be no such thing as mind remaining separate; therefore thought alone is the form of the mind. Other than thoughts, there is no such thing as the world.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 203:
| Keeping the mind fixed in the Self at all times is called Self-enquiry, whereas thinking oneself to be Brahman, which is sat-chit-ananda [being-consciousness-bliss], is meditation. Eventually, all that one has learnt will have to be forgotten.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 227:
| Self-enquiry directly leads to Self-realisation by removing the obstacles which make you think that the Self is not already realised.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 245:
| Solitude is an attitude of the mind; a man attached to the things of life cannot get solitude, wherever he may be. A detached man in always in solitude.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 279:
| Firm and disciplined inherence in the self without giving the least scope for the rise of any thought except the deep contemplative remembrance of the Self, does verily constitute self-surrender to the Lord.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
page 313:
| Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try hard as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
From Who Am I? - (Nan Yar?):
1 . Who am I?
The gross body which is composed of the seven humours (dhatus), I am not; the five cognitive sense organs, viz. the senses of hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell, which apprehend their respective objects, viz. sound, touch, colour, taste, and odour, I am not; the five cognitive sense-organs, viz. the organs of speech, locomotion, grasping, excretion, and procreation, which have as their respective functions speaking, moving, grasping, excreting, and enjoying, I am not; the five vital airs, prana, etc., which perform respectively the five functions of in-breathing, etc., I am not; even the mind which thinks, I am not; the nescience too, which is endowed only with the residual impressions of objects, and in which there are no objects and no functioning's, I am not.
2. If I am none of these, then who am I?
After negating all of the above-mentioned as 'not this', 'not this', that Awareness which alone remains - that I am.
3. What is the nature of Awareness?
The nature of Awareness is existence-consciousness-bliss.
4. When will the realization of the Self be gained?
When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer.
5. Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there (taken as real)?
There will not be.
6. Why?
The seer and the object seen are like the rope and the snake. Just as the knowledge of the rope which is the substrate will not arise unless the false knowledge of the illusory serpent goes, so the realization of the Self which is the substrate will not be gained unless the belief that the world is real is removed.
7. When will the world which is the object seen be removed?
When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition's and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.
8. What is the nature of the mind?
What is called 'mind' is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all thoughts to arise. Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind. Therefore, thought is the nature of mind. Apart from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world. In deep sleep there are no thoughts, and there is no world. In the states of waking and dream, there are thoughts, and there is a world also. Just as the spider emits the thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself, likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves it into itself. When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears. Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear. When one persistently inquires into the nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving the Self (as the residue). What is referred to as the Self is the Atman. The mind always exists only in dependence on something gross; it cannot stay alone. It is the mind that is called the subtle body or the soul (jiva).
9. What is the path of inquiry for understanding the nature of the mind?
That which rises as 'I' in this body is the mind. If one inquires as to where in the body the thought 'I' rises first, one would discover that it rises in the heart. That is the place of the mind's origin. Even if one thinks constantly 'I' 'I', one will be led to that place. Of all the thoughts that arise in the mind, the 'I' thought is the first. It is only after the rise of this that the other thoughts arise. It is after the appearance of the first personal pronoun that the second and third personal pronouns appear; without the first personal pronoun there will not be the second and third.
10. How will the mind become quiescent?
By the inquiry 'Who am I?'. The thought 'who am I?' will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization.
11. What is the means for constantly holding on to the thought 'Who am I?'
When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire: 'To whom do they arise?' It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, "To whom has this thought arisen?". The answer that would emerge would be "To me". Thereupon if one inquires "Who am I?", the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense-organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out, but retaining it in the Heart is what is called "inwardness" (antar-mukha). Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as "externalisation" (bahir-mukha). Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the 'I' which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine. Whatever one does, one should do without the egoity "I". If one acts in that way, all will appear as of the nature of Siva (God).
12. Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?
Other than inquiry, there are no adequate means. If through other means it is sought to control the mind, the mind will appear to be controlled, but will again go forth. Through the control of breath also, the mind will become quiescent; but it will be quiescent only so long as the breath remains controlled, and when the breath resumes the mind also will again start moving and will wander as impelled by residual impressions. The source is the same for both mind and breath. Thought, indeed, is the nature of the mind. The thought "I" is the first thought of the mind; and that is egoity. It is from that whence egoity originates that breath also originates. Therefore, when the mind becomes quiescent, the breath is controlled, and when the breath is controlled the mind becomes quiescent. But in deep sleep, although the mind becomes quiescent, the breath does not stop. This is because of the will of God, so that the body may be preserved and other people may not be under the impression that it is dead. In the state of waking and in samadhi, when the mind becomes quiescent the breath is controlled. Breath is the gross form of mind. Till the time of death, the mind keeps breath in the body; and when the body dies the mind takes the breath along with it. Therefore, the exercise of breath-control is only an aid for rendering the mind quiescent (manonigraha); it will not destroy the mind (manonasa). Like the practice of breath-control. meditation on the forms of God, repetition of mantras, restriction on food, etc., are but aids for rendering the mind quiescent.
Through meditation on the forms of God and through repetition of mantras, the mind becomes one-pointed. The mind will always be wandering. Just as when a chain is given to an elephant to hold in its trunk it will go along grasping the chain and nothing else, so also when the mind is occupied with a name or form it will grasp that alone. When the mind expands in the form of countless thoughts, each thought becomes weak; but as thoughts get resolved the mind becomes one-pointed and strong; for such a mind Self-inquiry will become easy. Of all the restrictive rules, that relating to the taking of sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; by observing this rule, the sattvic quality of mind will increase, and that will be helpful to Self-inquiry.
13. The residual impressions (thoughts) of objects appear wending like the waves of an ocean. When will all of them get destroyed?
As the meditation on the Self rises higher and higher, the thoughts will get destroyed.
14. Is it possible for the residual impressions of objects that come from beginningless time, as it were, to be resolved, and for one to remain as the pure Self?
Without yielding to the doubt "Is it possible, or not?", one should persistently hold on to the meditation on the Self. Even if one be a great sinner, one should not worry and weep "O! I am a sinner, how can I be saved?"; one should completely renounce the thought "I am a sinner"; and concentrate keenly on meditation on the Self; then, one would surely succeed. There are not two minds - one good and the other evil; the mind is only one. It is the residual impressions that are of two kinds - auspicious and inauspicious. When the mind is under the influence of auspicious impressions it is called good; and when it is under the influence of inauspicious impressions it is regarded as evil.
The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people. However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them. Both desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that one gives to others one gives to one's self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others? When one's self arises all arises; when one's self becomes quiescent all becomes quiescent. To the extent we behave with humility, to that extent there will result good. If the mind is rendered quiescent, one may live anywhere.
15. How long should inquiry be practised?
As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry "Who am I?" is required. As thoughts arise they should be destroyed then and there in the very place of their origin, through inquiry. If one resorts to contemplation of the Self unintermittently, until the Self is gained, that alone would do. As long as there are enemies within the fortress, they will continue to sally forth; if they are destroyed as they emerge, the fortress will fall into our hands.
16. What is the nature of the Self?
What exists in truth is the Self alone. The world, the individual soul, and God are appearances in it. like silver in mother-of-pearl, these three appear at the same time, and disappear at the same time. The Self is that where there is absolutely no "I" thought. That is called "Silence". The Self itself is the world; the Self itself is "I"; the Self itself is God; all is Siva, the Self.
17. Is not everything the work of God?
Without desire, resolve, or effort, the sun rises; and in its mere presence, the sun-stone emits fire, the lotus blooms, water evaporates; people perform their various functions and then rest. Just as in the presence of the magnet the needle moves, it is by virtue of the mere presence of God that the souls governed by the three (cosmic) functions or the fivefold divine activity perform their actions and then rest, in accordance with their respective karmas. God has no resolve; no karma attaches itself to Him. That is like worldly actions not affecting the sun, or like the merits and demerits of the other four elements not affecting all pervading space.
18. Of the devotees, who is the greatest?
He who gives himself up to the Self that is God is the most excellent devotee. Giving one's self up to God means remaining constantly in the Self without giving room for the rise of any thoughts other than that of the Self. Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them. Since the supreme power of God makes all things move, why should we, without submitting ourselves to it, constantly worry ourselves with thoughts as to what should be done and how, and what should not be done and how not? We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting it down in the train and feeling at ease?
19. What is non-attachment?
As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment. Just as the pearl-diver ties a stone to his waist, sinks to the bottom of the sea and there takes the pearls, so each one of us should be endowed with non-attachment, dive within oneself and obtain the Self-Pearl.
20. Is it not possible for God and the Guru to effect the release of a soul?
God and the Guru will only show the way to release; they will not by themselves take the soul to the state of release. In truth, God and the Guru are not different. Just as the prey which has fallen into the jaws of a tiger has no escape, so those who have come within the ambit of the Guru's gracious look will be saved by the Guru and will not get lost; yet, each one should by his own effort pursue the path shown by God or Guru and gain release. One can know oneself only with one's own eye of knowledge, and not with somebody else's. Does he who is Rama require the help of a mirror to know that he is Rama?
21. Is it necessary for one who longs for release to inquire into the nature of categories (tattvas)?
Just as one who wants to throw away garbage has no need to analyse it and see what it is, so one who wants to know the Self has no need to count the number of categories or inquire into their characteristics; what he has to do is to reject altogether the categories that hide the Self. The world should be considered like a dream.
22. Is there no difference between waking and dream?
Waking is long and a dream short; other than this there is no difference. Just as waking happenings seem real while awake. so do those in a dream while dreaming. In dream the mind takes on another body. In both waking and dream states thoughts. names and forms occur simultaneously.
23. Is it any use reading books for those who long for release?
All the texts say that in order to gain release one should render the mind quiescent; therefore their conclusive teaching is that the mind should be rendered quiescent; once this has been understood there is no need for endless reading. In order to quieten the mind one has only to inquire within oneself what one's Self is; how could this search be done in books? One should know one's Self with one's own eye of wisdom. The Self is within the five sheaths; but books are outside them. Since the Self has to be inquired into by discarding the five sheaths, it is futile to search for it in books. There will come a time when one will have to forget all that one has learned.
24. What is happiness?
Happiness is the very nature of the Self; happiness and the Self are not different. There is no happiness in any object of the world. We imagine through our ignorance that we derive happiness from objects. When the mind goes out, it experiences misery. In truth, when its desires are fulfilled, it returns to its own place and enjoys the happiness that is the Self. Similarly, in the states of sleep, samadhi and fainting, and when the object desired is obtained or the object disliked is removed, the mind becomes inward-turned, and enjoys pure Self-Happiness. Thus the mind moves without rest alternately going out of the Self and returning to it. Under the tree the shade is pleasant; out in the open the heat is scorching. A person who has been going about in the sun feels cool when he reaches the shade. Someone who keeps on going from the shade into the sun and then back into the shade is a fool. A wise man stays permanently in the shade. Similarly, the mind of the one who knows the truth does not leave Brahman. The mind of the ignorant, on the contrary, revolves in the world, feeling miserable, and for a little time returns to Brahman to experience happiness. In fact, what is called the world is only thought. When the world disappears, i.e. when there is no thought, the mind experiences happiness; and when the world appears, it goes through misery.
25. What is wisdom-insight (jnana-drsti)?
Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self. Telepathy, knowing past, present and future happenings and clairvoyance do not constitute wisdom-insight.
26. What is the relation between desirelessness and wisdom?
Desirelessness is wisdom. The two are not different; they are the same. Desirelessness is refraining from turning the mind towards any object. Wisdom means the appearance of no object. In other words, not seeking what is other than the Self is detachment or desirelessness; not leaving the Self is wisdom.
27. What is the difference between inquiry and meditation?
Inquiry consists in retaining the mind in the Self. Meditation consists in thinking that one's self is Brahman, existence-consciousness-bliss.
28. What is release?
Inquiring into the nature of one's self that is in bondage, and realising one's true nature is release.
Adam Gazzaley is one of those rare people whose work doesn’t slot neatly into any single category — nor does he try to make it fit. A trained neurologist, accomplished scientist, creative technologist, and entrepreneur, he has spent his career charting new paths across fields that often don’t speak the same language. And yet, with Adam at the helm, the conversation flows. He moves fluidly between the lab, the boardroom, and the stage, never seeming out of place in any of them. This portrait was made in 2024 at his apartment — a quiet moment amid the rhythm of a life always moving forward.
Adam’s story begins with the brain. As a cognitive neuroscientist at UCSF, he launched one of the first programs to study how digital experiences — especially video games — can shape cognition. That idea, once fringe, has since evolved into a new model of medicine. He was among the first to ask whether custom-built digital tools could not just measure attention and memory, but actually improve them. That question led to the development of NeuroRacer, a game shown to enhance cognitive control in older adults — and to the founding of Akili Interactive, which went on to create EndeavorRx, the first FDA-approved video game to treat pediatric ADHD.
But for Adam, that milestone wasn’t the destination. It was more like a signpost — proof that science could move faster, reach more people, and do so with creativity. In the years since, he’s turned his attention to a broader vision of experiential medicine. Through his lab and his companies, he’s developed closed-loop systems that integrate neural monitoring and stimulation in real time, designed immersive VR environments for cognitive training, and explored how music, movement, and attention interact in the brain. His work blurs boundaries: between therapy and play, art and data, medicine and media.
Equally at home in a university seminar or a venture pitch meeting, Adam has built a bridge between academia and entrepreneurship that others now walk across. He’s mentored scientists who want to build companies, founders who want to think more like researchers, and investors who believe science and business can be partners in impact. Through it all, he remains deeply curious — not just about the brain, but about how ideas spread, and how technology can be designed to genuinely improve people’s lives.
What makes him compelling isn’t just the range of what he does — it’s the coherence of it. Whether he’s speaking on stage, advising a startup, or mentoring a student, he’s always circling the same set of questions: How do we change minds? How do we heal them? And what does it mean to thrive, not just survive, in the 21st century?
His influence is hard to quantify but easy to feel. He’s inspired a generation of young neuroscientists to think more boldly, more creatively. He’s shown investors that scientific rigor and human empathy can sit at the same table. And for many, he’s made the future of mental health feel less like a mystery and more like something we can design, together.
There’s also the side of Adam that doesn’t show up on paper: his warmth, his humor, the way he really listens. He’s a father, a musician, a photographer, and a restless learner. The kind of person who reminds you that science is, at its core, a profoundly human endeavor.
And when you step back from the CV, the startups, the breakthroughs, that’s maybe the most enduring thing — the way he invites people in. Into the science. Into the story. Into the possibility that things could be different. And better.
CONCEPT
The design approach studies the impact of physical influences on our hearing perception and how to apply soundscape effects to alter our sensation through transforming and adopting building volumes and their material specifications. Contrary to our built environment, sound or music has no present materiality so it is always perceived at the moment of its generation. Because of this immediate perception of sound our sensations could range from supreme beauty to painful intolerability. In architecture and urban planni, soundscaping design approaches of exterior spaces are barley recognized and hardly ever applied; therefore many public spaces are unattractive in our psychological perception.
The Pavilions spatial structure acts as a “transformator” that changes our perception and sensation of the soundcape on the plaza around the Pavilion and music inside the performance space. The shapes and volume as well as its material specification were developed to recognizably reduce the ambient noise level of the urban plaza setting around the Pavilion. This generates an acoustical “black hole” that changes our perception close to the Pavilion and on the Marstallplatz and heightens our sensation additional to our visual cognition.
Parallel to acoustical approaches and simulations the generation of the form of the Pavilion was driven by the concept of materializing music into architecture. Selected sequences of songs become dynamic forces that transform and create spatial form. Here we transcribed a sequence of Jimi Hendrix’ “Purple Haze” “…’Scuse me while I kiss sky…”. Analyzing the frequencies of the sound file and linking it to the computer generated 3D model, the scripting tool then parametrically transforms the shell into pyramid shaped like spikes. Music becomes frozen and creates perceivable architectural space.
The position of the mobile Pavilion on the southern end of the Marstallplatz in front of the Marstall building and the new Opera rehearsal building meets three important design criteria, it maximizes its visibility in this urban setting, it improves the soundacpe of the plaza and also complies with local fire and building codes. The temporary building volume acts as a sound barrier to block emissions from cars passing by and creates a “zone of silence” around and in front of the Pavilions entrance area.
Towards the street and the Marstall plaza the double shell dissolves from the tilted façade and transforms into an interstitial space that offers a weather protected lounge and bar area. The “transcribed” crystal like inhabitable double skin performs as a transitional space from the plaza to the entrance and towards the main performance space. The main entrance is indicated and high lighted with a folded and cantilevering roof.
The mobile and temporary Pavilion is constructed as a “portable building”. Its modular structures are designed and constructed to be stored into regular sea containers for transport. The Pavilion is conceived to travel and be erected in different locations worldwide and to perform in different urban settings. It can be used with maximum flexibility for a wide range of functions. The primary steel structure is mounted as finished modules and completed with semi finished industrial products. The wall assembly consist of 3mm anodized brush finished aluminium sheets on the exterior, partially perforated with sound absorptive mineral wool panels, and standardized 60mm aluminium sandwich panels on the interior, partially perforated for sound absorption.
The exterior scape of the Pavilion is planned as a programmed ramping landscape to adopt to existing terrain and plaza height differences and create an even event platform and entrance. The surface of the podium is made of absorbing soft material to enhance the physical and psychological sensation on the created absorbing “zone of silence” while approaching the Pavilion.
The interior space is designed to be used for different types of performances and holds 300 seats for different stage settings. The uses are varying from opera, classical music to theatre, lectures and banquette events with focus on maximum flexibility for users and operators.
The interior surfaces can be varied to meet different acoustical and atmospheric settings using pyramid like shaped mobile elements for wall and ceiling to create different sceneries. Complying with standard clamps for production lighting and theatre devices the roof structure is designed to avoid extra technical rigging elements. The interior performance space has overall clear dimensions of 21 m length and 17m width and a variable clear height from 6m to 8m. The backstage service area is conceived as a flexible open space for artists changing room and storage.
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
A reasonably large request refused will increase the likelihood of a smaller related request being accepted. This is the door-in-the-face technique.
(Cialdini et al., 1975)
cargocollective.com/breelbourn
drown [droun]
verb. drowned, drown·ing, drowns
1. To deaden one's awareness of; blot out
un·con·scious [uhn-kon-shuhs]
adjective
1. not conscious; without awareness, sensation, or cognition.
2. temporarily devoid of consciousness.
3. not perceived at the level of awareness; occurring below the level of conscious thought: an unconscious impulse.
4. of or concerning the part of the mind of which one is not fully aware but which influences one's actions and feelings.
Water symbolizes the personal unconscious–the locked trunk in the back of your brain filled with experiences you'd never (consciously) known you've experienced. Your personal unconscious works as a security guard to shelter your conscious self from earlier experiences deemed threatening by your subconscious self. In Drowning Unconscious Bre creates a space where her subjects–enclosed in a tub of foggy, unclear water–remain trapped alike their own subconscious thoughts and experiences. The series–consisting of 3 diptych's–portrays an aerial view of the subject in the bathtub, paired with dream-like portrait of them submerged in water. By using powdered milk to create cloudy water, Bre creates a metaphor for the personal unconscious and through a lack of clothing, her subjects are given another glimpse of vulnerability. While the mind and bathroom both represent private spaces, Bre encloses her subjects "permanently" within these spaces allowing them play prisoner to their own subconscious self.
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
Brief synthesis
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum (underground cemetery) was discovered in 1902 on a hill overlooking the innermost part of the Grand Harbour of Valletta, in the town of Paola. It is a unique prehistoric monument, which seems to have been conceived as an underground cemetery, originally containing the remains of about 7,000 individuals. The cemetery was in use throughout the Żebbuġ, Ġgantija and Tarxien Phases of Maltese Prehistory, spanning from around 4000 B.C. to 2500 B.C.
Originally, one entered the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum through a structure at ground level. Only a few blocks of this entrance building have been discovered, and its form and dimensions remain uncertain. The plan of the Hypogeum itself is a series of three superimposed levels of chambers cut into soft globigerina limestone, using only chert, flint and obsidian tools and antlers. The earliest of the three levels is the uppermost, scooped out of the brow of a hill. A number of openings and chambers for the burial of the dead were then cut into the sides of the cavity.
The two lower levels were also hewn entirely out of the natural rock. Some natural daylight reached the middle level through a small opening from the upper level, but artificial lighting must have been used to navigate through some of the middle level chambers and the lowest level, which is 10.60 m below the present ground level.
One of the most striking characteristics of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is that some of the chambers appear to have been cut in imitation of the architecture of the contemporary, above-ground megalithic temples. Features include false bays, inspired by trilithon doorways, and windows. Most importantly, some of the chambers have ceilings with one ring of carved stone overhanging the one below to imitate a roof of corbelled masonry. This form echoes the way in which some of the masonry walls of the contemporary above-ground temple chambers are corbelled inwards, suggesting that they too were originally roofed over.
Some of the walls and ceilings of the chambers were decorated with spiral and honey-comb designs in red ochre, a mineral pigment. These decorations are the only prehistoric wall paintings found on the Maltese Islands. In one of these decorated chambers, there is a small niche which echoes when someone speaks into it. While this effect may not have been created intentionally, it may well have been exploited as part of the rituals that took place within the chambers.
Excavation of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum produced a wealth of archaeological material, including numerous human bones, which suggests that the burial ritual had more than one stage. It appears that bodies were probably left exposed until the flesh had decomposed and fallen off. The remaining bones and what appear to be some of the personal belongings were then gathered and buried within the chambers together with copious amounts of red ochre. The use of ochre seems to have been a part of the ritual, perhaps to infuse the bones with the colour of blood and life. Individuals were not buried separately, but piled onto each other.
Artefacts recovered from the site include pottery vessels decorated in intricate designs, shell buttons, stone and clay beads and amulets, as well as little stone carved animals and birds that may have originally been worn as pendants. The most striking finds are stone and clay figurines depicting human figures. The most impressive of these figures is that showing a woman lying on a bed or ‘couch’, popularly known as the ‘Sleeping Lady’. This figure is a work of art in itself, demonstrating a keen eye for detail.
Criterion (iii): The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is a unique monument of exceptional value. It is the only known European example of a subterranean ‘labyrinth’ from about 4,000 B.C. to 2,500 B.C. The quality of its architecture and its remarkable state of preservation make it an essential prehistoric monument.
Integrity
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is one of the best preserved and most extensive environments that have survived from the Neolithic. With the exception of the fragmentary remains of the above-ground entrance, all the key attributes of the property, including the architectural details and painted wall decorations, have remained intact within the boundaries.
The main threats to the preservation of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum are the fluctuating temperature and relative humidity levels within the site, as well as water infiltration and biological infestations.
Authenticity
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is one of the two most important prehistoric burial sites in the Maltese islands and is very well preserved, unlike the fragmentary remains that usually survive from the above-ground structures of this period.
The unusual preservation of the rock-cut chambers allows the study of a system of interconnecting spaces very much as they were conceived and experienced by a Neolithic mind. The imitation of the interior of a megalithic temple built above ground not only provides evidence on the corbelling system that was used to roof the temples, but is also important in terms of the development of human processes of cognition and representation.
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum has also yielded several important artefacts of great artistic significance. Foremost amongst these is the so-called ‘Sleeping Lady’, a miniature ceramic figurine that is widely held to be one of the great masterpieces of prehistoric anthropomorphic representation.
Protection and management requirements
The principal legal instrument for the protection of cultural heritage resources in Malta is the Cultural Heritage Act (2002), which provides for and regulates national bodies for the protection and management of cultural heritage resources. Building development and land use is regulated by the Environment and Development Planning Act (2010 and subsequent amendments), which provides for and regulates the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is protected by a buffer zone, and both the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum and its buffer zone are formally designated by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority as a Grade A archaeological site, which means they are subject to wide-ranging restrictions of building development.
A programme of monitoring and research, launched in order to understand the microclimate of the Hypogeum, was followed by a project for the conservation of the property, designed and implemented in the 1990s. Houses directly above the site were acquired and dismantled; light levels within the property are strictly controlled; and visitor numbers limited. These measures have helped to maintain stable temperature and humidity levels, which continue to be monitored closely.
Brief synthesis
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum (underground cemetery) was discovered in 1902 on a hill overlooking the innermost part of the Grand Harbour of Valletta, in the town of Paola. It is a unique prehistoric monument, which seems to have been conceived as an underground cemetery, originally containing the remains of about 7,000 individuals. The cemetery was in use throughout the Żebbuġ, Ġgantija and Tarxien Phases of Maltese Prehistory, spanning from around 4000 B.C. to 2500 B.C.
Originally, one entered the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum through a structure at ground level. Only a few blocks of this entrance building have been discovered, and its form and dimensions remain uncertain. The plan of the Hypogeum itself is a series of three superimposed levels of chambers cut into soft globigerina limestone, using only chert, flint and obsidian tools and antlers. The earliest of the three levels is the uppermost, scooped out of the brow of a hill. A number of openings and chambers for the burial of the dead were then cut into the sides of the cavity.
The two lower levels were also hewn entirely out of the natural rock. Some natural daylight reached the middle level through a small opening from the upper level, but artificial lighting must have been used to navigate through some of the middle level chambers and the lowest level, which is 10.60 m below the present ground level.
One of the most striking characteristics of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is that some of the chambers appear to have been cut in imitation of the architecture of the contemporary, above-ground megalithic temples. Features include false bays, inspired by trilithon doorways, and windows. Most importantly, some of the chambers have ceilings with one ring of carved stone overhanging the one below to imitate a roof of corbelled masonry. This form echoes the way in which some of the masonry walls of the contemporary above-ground temple chambers are corbelled inwards, suggesting that they too were originally roofed over.
Some of the walls and ceilings of the chambers were decorated with spiral and honey-comb designs in red ochre, a mineral pigment. These decorations are the only prehistoric wall paintings found on the Maltese Islands. In one of these decorated chambers, there is a small niche which echoes when someone speaks into it. While this effect may not have been created intentionally, it may well have been exploited as part of the rituals that took place within the chambers.
Excavation of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum produced a wealth of archaeological material, including numerous human bones, which suggests that the burial ritual had more than one stage. It appears that bodies were probably left exposed until the flesh had decomposed and fallen off. The remaining bones and what appear to be some of the personal belongings were then gathered and buried within the chambers together with copious amounts of red ochre. The use of ochre seems to have been a part of the ritual, perhaps to infuse the bones with the colour of blood and life. Individuals were not buried separately, but piled onto each other.
Artefacts recovered from the site include pottery vessels decorated in intricate designs, shell buttons, stone and clay beads and amulets, as well as little stone carved animals and birds that may have originally been worn as pendants. The most striking finds are stone and clay figurines depicting human figures. The most impressive of these figures is that showing a woman lying on a bed or ‘couch’, popularly known as the ‘Sleeping Lady’. This figure is a work of art in itself, demonstrating a keen eye for detail.
Criterion (iii): The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is a unique monument of exceptional value. It is the only known European example of a subterranean ‘labyrinth’ from about 4,000 B.C. to 2,500 B.C. The quality of its architecture and its remarkable state of preservation make it an essential prehistoric monument.
Integrity
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is one of the best preserved and most extensive environments that have survived from the Neolithic. With the exception of the fragmentary remains of the above-ground entrance, all the key attributes of the property, including the architectural details and painted wall decorations, have remained intact within the boundaries.
The main threats to the preservation of the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum are the fluctuating temperature and relative humidity levels within the site, as well as water infiltration and biological infestations.
Authenticity
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is one of the two most important prehistoric burial sites in the Maltese islands and is very well preserved, unlike the fragmentary remains that usually survive from the above-ground structures of this period.
The unusual preservation of the rock-cut chambers allows the study of a system of interconnecting spaces very much as they were conceived and experienced by a Neolithic mind. The imitation of the interior of a megalithic temple built above ground not only provides evidence on the corbelling system that was used to roof the temples, but is also important in terms of the development of human processes of cognition and representation.
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum has also yielded several important artefacts of great artistic significance. Foremost amongst these is the so-called ‘Sleeping Lady’, a miniature ceramic figurine that is widely held to be one of the great masterpieces of prehistoric anthropomorphic representation.
Protection and management requirements
The principal legal instrument for the protection of cultural heritage resources in Malta is the Cultural Heritage Act (2002), which provides for and regulates national bodies for the protection and management of cultural heritage resources. Building development and land use is regulated by the Environment and Development Planning Act (2010 and subsequent amendments), which provides for and regulates the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is protected by a buffer zone, and both the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum and its buffer zone are formally designated by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority as a Grade A archaeological site, which means they are subject to wide-ranging restrictions of building development.
A programme of monitoring and research, launched in order to understand the microclimate of the Hypogeum, was followed by a project for the conservation of the property, designed and implemented in the 1990s. Houses directly above the site were acquired and dismantled; light levels within the property are strictly controlled; and visitor numbers limited. These measures have helped to maintain stable temperature and humidity levels, which continue to be monitored closely.
article kind courtesy
moralsandethics.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/what-is-muharram/
What is Muharram ?
January 11, 2008 — moralsandethics
What is Muharram?
Muharram (Arabic: محرم) It is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Instead of joyous celebration, Muslims mark the beginning of the New Year by taking up the black attire of sorrow and participate in mourning gatherings in which the sacrifices of Husayn and his companions are commemorated.It is one of the four months of the year in which fighting is prohibited. Since the Islamic calendar is lunar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared with the Gregorian calendar.
Muharram is so called because it was unlawful to fight during this month; the word is derived from the word ‘haram’ meaning forbidden. It is held to be the most sacred of all the months, excluding Ramadan.It is the same month when Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was brutally massacred in Karbala alongside his family and friends in the year 680 CE/61 AH.
Their martyrdom is a sad day for all Muslims, especially the Shi’a, who hold mourning ceremonies to recall the righteous virtues for which the valiant martyrs stood and the grave calamities that they thus had to bear. The commemoration of this brutal massacre (Battle of Karbala) begins on the first day of Muharram and reaches its climax on the 10th of Muharram, the day of the battle, known as Ashurah and continues for 40 days or 69 days.
What is Ashura ?
Ashura (عاشوراء transliteration: ‘Āshūrā’, Ashura, Ashoura, and other spellings) It is on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram but not the Islamic month. It is also called Yaumu-l ‘Ashurah, or simply Ashura meaning, ‘the tenth day’.
It is well-known because of historical significance and mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680). It is a day of speeches, public processions, and great grief. Men and women chant and weep, mourning Husayn, his family, and his followers. Speeches emphasize the importance of the values for which Husayn sacrificed himself, his family, and his followers. For centuries Shi’a pilgrims flocked here during Muharram, a practice which was severely limited under the regime of Saddam Hussein
What is Karbala ?
Karbala (Arabic: كربلاء; BGN: Al-Karbalā’; also spelled Karbala al-Muqaddasah) is a city in Iraq, located about 100 km (60 mi) southwest of Baghdad at 32.61°N, 44.08°E.
In the time of Husayn ibn Ali’s life, the place was also known as al-Ghadiriyah, Naynawa, and Shathi’ul-Furaat.The city’s association with Shīˤa Islām have made it a centre of religious instruction as well as worship; it has more than 100 mosques and 23 religious schools, of which possibly the most famous is that of Ibn Fahid, constructed some 440 years ago.
Karbala’s prominence in Shīˤī is the result of the Battle of Karbala, fought on the site of the modern city on October 10, 680.Both Husayn and his half-brother ˤAbbās ibn ˤAlī were buried by the local Banī Asad tribe at what later became known as the Mashhad Al-Husayn. Later on city grew up around the tombs. Husayn’s tomb (View Larger Map) is a place of pilgrimage for many Shīˤa Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Āshūrā.
On January 19, 2008, 2 million Iraqi Shia pilgrims marched through Karbala city, Iraq to celebrate Ashura. Shi’a Muslims consider Karbala to be one of their holiest cities after Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem and Najaf. The city is best known as the location of the Battle of Karbala.
Battle of Karbala (Truth V/s Falsehood)
Date October 10, 680 (Muharram 10, 61 AH)
Location Karbala, The battlefield was a desert region located beside one of the branches of the Euphrates River, landscape about 100 kilometers south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad,
Reason Yazid l.a demanded allegiance from Husain - he knew too well that the acceptance of the entire Muslim community was of no value without Hussain’s acceptance. In reply to this unacceptable demand, Hussain majestically replied: “a person like me can never pledge allegiance to a person like him”, thereby highlighting the universality of the principles from which his stand stemmed from. Hussain rose to restore freedom, peace, equality and justice; qualities which the Divine Message had perfected but were constantly undermined by those who hijacked religion and acted in its name.
In a will which he wrote before leaving Medina, Hussain wrote; “I have risen as I seek to reform the community of my grandfather. I wish to bid the good and forbid the evil.”
Result VICTORY OF TRUTH
“The tyrant dies and his rule ends, the martyr dies and his rule begins.” — Soren Kierkegard
Umayyad military gain victory physically but with in 3 years Yazid died and after a few decades the rule of Banu Umayya crumbled and came to an end. Being such a big king (of that time) there is no mark of his grave & not a single follower.
Husayn ibn Ali is still alive in the hearts of Humanity millions of devotees who pay homage to them and renew, through their message, their eternal struggle against humiliation and oppression by visiting the Imam Hussein Shrine regularly & especially in Muharram on the Day of Ashura, the anniversary of Husayn ibn Ali’s death.
You can check out this right away from live link www.imamhussain.org/html&docs/ar/live.html
The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Karbala is that Hussayn and his Companions were the rigid believers of God. They illustrated that numerical superiority does not count when it comes to truth and falsehood. The victory of Hussayn despite his minority marvels me. Thomas Carlye
Combatants
Yazid ibn Muawiya (la)He was not physically present in the battle as he send the troops under the command of Umar ibn Sa’ad Husayn ibn Ali (The Grandson of the Last prophet Mohammad [P.B.U.H])
Commanders
Umar ibn Sa’ad Abbas ibn Ali
Strength
On the other side were the armed forces of Yazid I, about 30 - 40,000+ men led by Umar ibn Sa’ad. Hussein ibn Ali’s group consisted of notable members of Muhammad’s close relatives, around 72 men (Which were 18 family members and 54 supporters including a 6 month old baby and elderly persons) and their womens and childrens
Casualties
5000 + (according to Shia tradition) 123 (72 Men and 51 children)
Duration
Despite the figures of 72 men against thousands, it is recorded that the battle went on from dawn to dusk. Just Imagine the courage that 72 stood in front of thousands for such a long time.
Summary
It intrigues historians that Hurr, one of the highest ranked commanders of Yazid’s army, who was the man responsible for stopping Hussein at Karbala, left the overwhelming force of thousands of soldiers and joined Hussein with his son and a slave.At the 10th of Muharram he died by Husain’s side in the battle killing 41 soldiers.
According to Arab culture, anyone accompanying women and children with him is a sign of peace. It was here that Hussain, his family and Shi’a (Partisans) were confronted by the army of Yazeed. Hussain refused to pledge allegiance to the tyrant and Yazeed declared war on him. Hussain was forced to battle the army of Yazeed, but not before the army had cut off their food and water supply for three days. For three whole days and nights, enduring temperatures around 55°C without food or water, the males of the camp, totaling 72 (including the elderly and children) fought valiantly and were all brutally slaughtered.
Hussain was forced to witness the savage mutilation of Abbas - his brother, the callous murder of his nephew Qasim, the torture and execution of his innocent son Ali Akbar and finally the depraved murder of his six month old baby boy - Ali Asghar. Left alone finally Hussain was also attacked, his body was showered with arrows, his head was severed and the hooves of the horses of Yazeed’s cavalry trampled on his body. Husain and their supporters were decapitated; their bodies were mutilated and trampled by horses.
The aftermath of the battle led to the humiliation of the women of Hussain’s camp. Their tents were looted and burnt, leaving the women to the mercy of Yazeed’s soldiers. The aggrieved children who had lost their fathers were beaten. The captives were made to travel from Karbala to Syria - Damascus, a journey of approximately 750 miles. Their Headscarves were snatched off and they were made to trek barefoot, chained, shackled, and taken on camels without saddles, due to which many of the children fell off the camels and the women were not allowed to even stop and help their children. The graves of these children can still be seen in the desert between Karbala and Kufa.
Ø Distance between Medina and Karbala about 1,100 miles.
Ø Distance between Ibn Ziyad in Kufa and Yazid in Damascus about 750 miles.
Ø Average travel by camel per day: 30-45 miles.
The heads of all the males including that of Hussain’s six -month old son were impaled on spikes (as war trophies) and paraded through the streets. On arriving at Damascus, they were paraded in the town, for all to see and shun. A barrage of stones, rubbish and verbal abuse bombarded them. They were kept in prison for over a year It is to be noted that people who did this with the family of Mohammad were themselves Muslims.
Check out Movies on Karbala
The Route of Imam Hussain from Makkah to Karbala
Research and preparation by Syed M.R. Shabbar
After leaving Makkah there were 14 places mentioned in history books where Imam either stayed Or met people or gave sermons.
Saffah: Here Imam met Farazzdaq the poet whom Imam asked about conditions in Kufa. He said, ‘He said, ‘People’s hearts were with you but their swords were against you.’ Imam replied, ‘Allah does what he wishes. Ileave it to him who proposes the just cause.
Dhat-el-Irq: Here Imam’s cousin Abdullah Ibne Jafar brought his two sons Auwn and Mohammed to their mother Hazrat Zainab and to help the imam. He tried to persuade the Imam to return to Madina but Imam replied, ‘my destiny is in the hands of Allah.’
Batn-er-Rumma: Imam sent a letter to Kufa with Qais bin Mashir, met Abdullah bin Mutee who came from Iraq. When he heard of Imam’s intention, he tried to stop him. He said Kufans were not faithful and could not be trusted. But Imam continued his journey.
Zurud: Imam met Zohair Ibne Qain. Zohair was not among the followers of Ahlulbait. But when Imam told him of the purpose of his journey Zohair gave all his possesions to his wife, told her to go home and said that he wished to be martyred with the Imam.
Zabala: Imam learnt from two tribesmen coming from Kufa of the death of Hazrat Muslim. Imam said, ‘Innan Lillahe wa Inna Elaihe Rajeoon. Indallah-Nahtasib Anfusana.’ ‘We are for Allah and we shall return to Him who surely accouts for our sacrifices. Asadi Tribesmen tried to dissuade the Imam from his journey but he persisted. Here Imam told his companions the news of the death of Muslim and Hani and that people in Kufa were not prepared to be their helpers. Imam said, ‘Those who want to depart leave now.’ Hoards of various tribesmen who had followed the Imam in the hope of collecting the booty realised their false hopes and scattered to their own homes. Only 50 odd people remained.
Batn-e-Aqeeq: Imam met a man from the Tribe of Akrama who told him that Kufa was no more a friendly town and was now surrounded by Yazid’s army. No one could get in or out of the town. But the Imam carried on.
Sorat: Imam stayed the night here and in the morning ordered his companions to take as much water as they can.
Sharaf: While the Imam was passing from this place, one of his companions shouted that he could see the approach of an army. Imam asked for a safe place, preferably a mountain behind them. A guide took them to the nearest mountain.
Zuhasm: It was here that Imam met Hurr’s army of 1000 men. They wre thirsty so Imam ordered his men to give them water. Imam himself helped several thirsty soldiers to drink. Even animals were given water to drink. Zohr prayers were led by the Imam and all followed him including Hurr’s soldiers. Here Imam told hurr about many letters from Kufa. He said, ‘O People of Kufa, you sent me your delegations and wrote me letters that you had no Imam and that I should come to unite you and lead you in the way of Allah. You wrote that we Ahlulbait are more qualified to govern your affairs than those who claim things to which they have no right and act unjustly and wrongly. But if you have changed your mind, have become ignorant of our Rights and have forgotten your promises, I shall turn back. But he was denied to turn back by Hurr’s army and was lead to by-pass Kufa.
Baiza: Imam reached Baiza the next day and delivered one of his most famous sermons. ‘O People, the Prophet has said that if a man sees a tyrannical ruler transgressing against Allah and the Prophet and oppressing people but does nothing by word or action to change the situation then it will be just for Allah to place him where he deservingly belongs. Do you not see to what low level the affairs have come down…? Do you not observe that truth has not adhered to and falsehood has no limit? And as for me, I look upon death as but a means of attaining martyrdom and I consider life among transgressors as nothing but an agony and an affliction.’
Uzaibul Hajanat: Here Imam stayed away from the army of Hurr and met Trimmah bin Adi. After having learnt about the Kufan abandonment of his envoy it was clear that he had no hope of support or even survival in Kufa. Nevertheless he refused an offer of safety, if not success extended to him. Trimmah pleaded to him to accept the offer of 20,000 trained men of his tribe to help him if he wanted to go to Kufa or he could retire to the mountains and safety. Imam replied to Ibne Adi, ‘Allah bless you and your people. I cannot go from my word. Things are destined. It is clear from this reply that he was fully aware of the dangers he would face and that he had a certain strategy and plan in mind to bring about a revolution in the conscience of the Muslim Ummah. He did not try to mobilise military support which he could easily have done in Hejaz nor did he try to exploit whatever physical strength was available to him.
Qasr-e-Bani Makatil: It was evident here that Kufa was no more his destination. As Hurr did not want to leave him, he by-passed Kufa and took a new route. Resting in the afternoon he uttered ‘Inna Lillah.’ His 18 years old son Ali Akber approached him and enquired. Imam said that in his sleep he had heard someone saying that these people were going to their deaths. Ali Akber asked, ‘Are we not on the Right path. Death meant nothing to them. Death of this kind transforms into the glory of martyrdom.
Nainawa: At this place a messenger of Ibne Zaid brought a message for Hurr not to leave the Imam. The battered caravan passed through Ghaziriya to a place called Karbala. Imam sighed, asked for the name of the place. Someone said Kerbala. Imam said, yes, this is the place of Kerbin-wa-bala. (a place of pain and torture.) Let us stop here for we have arrived at our destination. This is the place of our Martyrdom. This is Karbala.
Karbala: On the orders of the Imam, the tents were erected near the river which was a tributary of the River Eupheretes some miles away.
This is a day by day account of Husayn’s time in Karbala leading up to the massacre on Ashura.Day 1 AH 61 (1st October 680)
Day 1: Husayn and his followers are prevented from reaching Kufa by Caliphate general, al-Hurr, at-Tamini’s 1,000-strong army, and are forced to make camp in the desert at Karbala, 75km from Kufa. It is here at this fateful place that Husayn and his followers’ torment began
Day 2: Husayn speaks to his followers at the camp and assures them of their goodness and truth. In return, they pledge their loyalty to him. Then, foreseeing his death, Husayn purchases about four square miles of land to be the site for his and his family’s graves from the local residents of the area.
Day 3: Four thousand additional troops under the command of Umar ibn Sa’d arrive with instructions from Ubaydu’llah ibn Ziyad that they should prevent Husayn from leaving until he signs a pledge to the Caliph, Yazid. Ibn Sa’d’s men prepare for battle and surround Husayn’s party, cutting them off from the river, their only source of water.
Day 4: Husayn begins negotiations with ibn sa’d stressing he has no desire to initiate bloodshed and asks to be allowed to withdraw to Arabia but ibn sa’d refuse to relent. Meanwhile the situation in Husayn’s camp is becoming more and more desperate due to the lack of water and fresh supplies.
Day 5: The size of the army facing Husayn’s small band of followers swells as even more troops arrive to join their brothers in arms on the banks of the Euphrates River.
Day 6: The lack of water leads to desperate measures. Husayn uses a tent pole to dig a well, but their relief is short-lived as it dries up. Ibn Ziyad sensing their anguish sends 500 troops to reinforce the cordon around the Euphrates.
Day 7: Fearing for the health of the women and children, Husayn asks his brother ‘Abbas to conduct a midnight raid past the Caliphate troops to bring back water from the river. Despite a brief skirmish ‘Abbas brings back some precious water to camp earning himself the title, ‘Saqqa’, or water bearer. The water is a godsend but does little to assuage the thirst of the entire camp.
Day 8: In desperation Husayn sends a message to Sa’d requesting they meet, he questions Sa’d’s allegiance to Yazid by asking, “Don’t you fear God on the Day of Judgement? You know who I am”. Sa’d’s loyalty is unshaken; he considers trying to act as a peacemaker between Husayn and Yazid but is dissuaded when his supporters urge him not to compromise.
Day 9: After a long, hot day in the desert filled with the cries of children for water, Husayn’s camp prepares for the attack they know is coming and are powerless to stop. Husayn gathers his companions together and pleads with them; “Whoever remains with me will be killed tomorrow; so consider this opportunity as Allah sent and take advantage of the darkness and go home to your villages.” He then extinguishes all the lights in the camp to allow those who want to leave to do so. His followers weep and reply, “Oh master do not thus shame us before Allah…were we to desert you, may the wild beasts of the jungle tear us to pieces.” Husayn sends one last message to Sa’d asking to be spared one last night so that they may pray to Allah and recite the Qur’an. Sa’d reluctantly agrees and the Imam gathers his followers together for one last sermon. Again, his followers protest their loyalty and vow to die alongside their master.Such was the power of their faith that when the enemy saw them praying 32 soldiers switched sides and joined them including Hurr, the commander of the original army that had routed Husayn from Kufa. He became one of the first martyrs to fall.
Day 10: ‘Ashura’ Friday 10th Muharram, 61 AH (10th October AD680) On what was to be his last day Husayn and some of his followers implore the ibn Sa’d troops for the final time not to shed the blood of the Prophet’s house. Leading by example, ibn Sa’d is the first to shoot an arrow into the pitifully small camp. Despite their lack of numbers, Husayn’s followers’ fight ferociously refusing to give up.By mid-afternoon Husayn and his relatives face the marauding army, their defence spent. One by one they fall including Husayn’s sons aged just 11 and 13. Husayn continues to appeal to the enemy’s humanity; he takes his six-month-old baby son and pleads for water. The enemy responds by shooting poisoned arrows which pierce the neck of the baby killing it instantly. Finally Husayn is the last left standing finally falling on the battlefield next to his dead comrades. Covered in wounds, Husayn is then decapitated and his body is mutilated in order to send souvenirs back to Yazid. His followers suffer a similar fate. Their bodies are trampled by enemy horses and left where they fell denying them a Muslim burial.Yazid’s soldiers then loot and plunder the remains of the camp taking the women and children prisoner including ‘Ali, the only surviving son of Husayn.
Why it is called as Battle for Truth?
The battle of Karbala finds great similarity with the one at Badr – Islam’s first battle. It was the holy Prophet [PBUH] at Badr who fought with 313 die-hard supporters against a formidable army of some 1000 men. That day against all odds the small group won a decisive victory, and paved the way for a future Muslim empire. 56 years later it was his grandson with just 72 loyal men, who fought against an impossible opposition of several thousands to save Islam from the clutches of tyranny.
Karbala was a battle of truth against falsehood, humanity against villainy, righteousness against evil, justice against corruption. The much loved grandson of the Prophet [PBUH] stood in the scorching heat of Karbala along with his companions, devoid of water but determined. His loved ones, including his six month old son, fell martyr one after the other. In spite of this he repeatedly invited the other party towards righteousness and forbade them from evil and immorality, but it all fell on deaf ears. When the time arrived for him to march ahead all alone, he did it in a fashion which was reminiscent of his illustrious father Ali.
One of those who fought the battle of Karbala against him says, “I have never seen a person bereaved of his sons, menfolk and his companions more Lion-hearted than him. The foot soldiers were scattering to his right and left like goats when a wolf come upon them.” — –Ibne Aseer, Tareekh Kamil
Husain fell in the desert of Karbala on that fateful Friday, the 10th of Moharram 61H. Worse was to follow. The bodies of the martyrs including the Imam were not only refused a proper burial but were trampled under the horses’ hooves and were left for the birds. The Kufan army looted the belongings of Husain. Imam’s family including his women-folk and tender children were humiliated and taken captives after burning down their camps. The women were paraded with uncovered heads. It wasn’t Islam!
“If Hussain fought to quench his worldly desires, then I do not understand why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore that he sacrificed purely for Islam.” —Charles Dickens
The severed heads of the martyrs including Husain were raised on spears. How Yazid played with Husain’s head and the emotions of Imam’s family is a well documented fact. Karbala to this day remains a heart-wrenching story of exemplary courage and bravery to uphold the real principles of Islam.
“In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Husain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.” — Edward Gibbon
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the famous English translator of Qurán, has beautifully summed up the whole essence of this epic battle. There is of course the physical suffering in martyrdom, and all sorrow and suffering claim our sympathy, —
- The dearest, purest, most out-flowing sympathy that we can give. But there is a greater suffering than physical suffering. That is when a valiant soul seems to stand against the world; when the noblest motives are reviled and mocked; when truth seems to suffer an eclipse. It may even seem that the martyr has but to say a word of compliance, do a little deed of non-resistance; and much sorrow and suffering would be saved; and the insidious whisper comes: “Truth after all can never die.” That is perfectly true. Abstract truth can never die. It is independent of man’s cognition. But the whole battle is for man’s keeping hold of truth and righteousness. And that can only be done by the highest examples of man’s conduct - spiritual striving and suffering enduring firmness of faith and purpose, patience and courage where ordinary mortals would give in or be cowed down, the sacrifice of ordinary motives to supreme truth in scorn of consequence. The martyr bears witness, and the witness redeems what would otherwise be called failure. It so happened with Husain. For all were touched by the story of his martyrdom, and it gave the deathblow to the politics of Damascus and all it stood for.
What Lessons do we learn from Karbala?
Karbala stands for courage, self-sacrifice, integrity, honesty, vision, and bravery beyond words. It symbolises all that is pure and true. Karbala teaches us that real battles are always fought in the minds and not on ground. Yazid was powerful and yet he lost the battle for truth. “I learned from Hussain how to be wronged and be a winner.” —Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi in 1924 writing in ‘Young India’’ about the battle of Karbala said among other things ‘’ I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind….the utter self-effacement of Hussain, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission to save Islam.’’
Also, being in the majority need not necessarily make you right. “The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Karbala is that Hussain and his companions were the rigid believers of God. They illustrated that numerical superiority does not count when it comes to truth and falsehood. The victory of Hussain despite his minority marvels me! —Thomas Carlyle
As the old adage goes, “Nothing lasts for ever.” Husain and his followers made sure that their martyrdom gave a fatal blow to Yazid’s oppressive rule. Karbala haunted Yazid till his eventual death two years later.
“Imam Husayn uprooted despotism forever till the Day of Resurrection. He watered the dry garden of freedom with the surging wave of his blood, and indeed he awakened the sleeping Muslim nation. Husayn weltered in blood and dust for the sake of truth. Verily he, therefore, became the bed-rock (foundation) of the Muslim creed; la ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but Allah).” —Sir Muhammad Iqbal
It also teaches us to be patient and stand up against any form of wrong treatment. We curse Yazid and his army for their inhuman treatment of people, yet the cruel treatment of captives by the so called jihadis meets little protest. Muslims must recognize and protest against the savagery of inhuman treatment at all times, no matter who does it and where it takes place.
“If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him.” — Surah An-Nisa (Chapter 4), Verse 93
The best homage that we can pay to the great tragedy is to do some soul-searching. Do we have the right to be called the followers of the Prophet [PBUH]? Have we really understood the message of Imam Husain? Are the tears for Husain drawn merely by the scenes of mere butchery? Would we ever stand up to the false narrations of the events at Karbala by some maulanas to generate excessive grief? Was Karbala a political war or a struggle for true faith?
Are we ready to shed aside our differences and respect each others’ view during our religious discourses during Moharram?
And when we finally have all the answers then we would understand the real message of Karbala.
Posted in Books & writing.
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
Chocolates can be called as a mostly consumed item during Easter and on other occasions of celebration for enjoying the time shared with family. However, we hardly ask this question, is chocolate good for our teeth? Some of us would like to have dark, white and milk chocolate as they release hormones that uplift your mood and induces happiness in us. There are many types of research that indicate that chocolates are not only good for your body, but it also improves the oral health. However, some of the people show concern for the teeth whitening as well. According to the dentists, a moderate amount of chocolate, consumption is beneficial for dental heath. It can affect your teeth if you have cavities and if the enamel of teeth is not in good condition.
According to recent studies, eating chocolates increase your brain activity by increasing the cognition, especially if you consume it on daily basis. This study has practically experimented on 968 participants over the period of 18-year and the results of the study showed the people who consumed chocolate score higher in comparison to those who were not taking chocolate in their diet. The relationship between chocolate consumption and brain activity is directly responsible for brain productivity in form of sharpening the mind. The people who consume chocolates also get good scores that are designed to test the intelligence of individuals.
Is Milk Chocolate Bad for Your Teeth?
The milk chocolate is most widely used and liked by people of all ages in almost all parts of the world. According to dentists, it is not good for the oral health and your teeth in particular, because it contains sugar which damages the enamel of teeth in comparison to the dark chocolate, as it contains fewer amounts of processed elements. The over consumption of milk chocolate can harm your teeth by exposing them to bacterial activity in the mouth. Therefore, the teeth are prone to get cavities and plaque if proper care is not taken to clean the teeth and to avoid the formation of tartar.
The combustion of the milk chocolate consists of cocoa, powdered milk, and sugar. The amount of real cocoa is around 20-30% and rest of it contains a balanced amount of sugar and powdered milk. Milk Chocolate contains a large quantity of sugar in the chocolate that can cause gum diseases and tooth decay as it increases the chance of bacterial activity in the mouth. According to a dentist, the over consumption of milk chocolate can harm teeth of kids if they start having these at the young age. Parents can protect the teeth of the children by not giving milk chocolate during their growing period.
Is Dark Chocolate Bad for Your Teeth?
According to the experts, the use of dark chocolate is a better option as it helps in keeping your teeth protected from cavities. Some of the research studies indicate that dark chocolate is required for fighting the cavity formation in the mouth. Moreover, the chocolate is made up of over 300 compounds and which makes it a complex substance. The usage of dark chocolate is suggested for people who are fond of having chocolates but due to tooth decay, they cannot have it. The dark chocolate comprises of polyphenols that are effective in fighting the bacterial activity in the mouth by safeguarding the teeth.
The dark chocolate is helpful in neutralizing the effect of organisms which causes bad breath and is needed for preventing the reaction of the sugars that transforms it into the acid. The acid can destroy the outer layer of teeth called enamel that causes tooth decay and cavities. Dark chocolate consists of flavonoids which are very effective in preventing the tooth decay and it boosts the oral health. It has antioxidants which are needed for improving the health of a body along with the oral health. And it increases the production of the salvia which is required for preventing gum diseases and other dental issues.
Dark chocolate is considered as a “real chocolate” because it is composed of around 70% cocoa and 30% powdered milk and sugar. When the amount of sugar is less, it decreases the harmful effects of milk chocolate and you can make it part of your lifestyle by replacing it with the dark chocolate. According to a recent research on dark chocolate, it is highly recommended for those who want to maintain good oral heath, as it helps in fighting against the bacteria and the mouth which is often the reason of other related complex issues of gums. The daily use of dark chocolate increases the immunity of human body by preventing diseases.
How Tooth Decay Occurs & How You Can Prevent It?
Tooth decay takes place when bacteria in your mouth reacts with the sugar and changes it into acids. These acids start degrading the layers of your teeth; as a result, it causes decay and cavities.
The process of tooth decay is a slow and gradual process, it happens over the certain period of time. Moreover, one can avoid tooth decay by decreasing the sugar intake and improving the diet, in addition to changing the type of food for daily consumption. Furthermore, you can improve oral health by brushing and flossing the teeth on regular basis. Additionally, one must visit the dentist twice a year to diagnose the oral problems early and to remove plaque and tartar buildup.
The use of tannins that are plant compounds can make dark chocolate taste little bitter, and it gives it the dark color. The dark chocolate is an effective mean that prevents bacteria from sticking to your teeth. The small molecules of chocolate combine with bacteria and eventually it cause the formation of plague. Additionally, the tannins can cause staining of the teeth. It can be avoided by using whitening strips to improve the health of enamel. But a lot of tannins in dark chocolate degrade the advantages of it and for your oral health. Hence, one can consult the dentist to know about the consumption of dark chocolate.
To conclude, it is a myth that chocolate is harmful to the oral health. According to recent researches, it is good for the health of teeth as it effective in fighting against the bacteria and preventing plaque formation in your mouth. The use of dark chocolate is recommended in comparison to milk chocolate because it contains more sugars which are damaging for dental health.
meta_creation lab: inter-actors, attractors and the aesthetics of complexity
marlon barrios solano
www.dance-tech.net/page/meta-creation
A collaborative workshop interfacing movement art practices, digital creativity, portable computation and networked systems.
This workshop is a collaborative lab to creatively explore the contemporary approaches, practices and aesthetics of self organization and of complex systems within the dynamic couplings of mind, body and information/data flows.
This workshop is an open space for experimentation and inquiry within a well defined theoretical/aesthetic frame and open space format: the participants self-organize in different node projects (collaborative and flexible groups) in order to investigate and deploy bottom-up architectures as compositional prototyping strategies and processes. It explores interactivity plus generativity.
An embodied/distributed cognition approach is used to generate physical activities and games, guided discussions/conversations about relevant artists works and concepts exploring the aesthetic of complex systems and emergence.
Open source technologies and methodologies will be explored in combination with composition in real-time.
Inter and trans-disciplinary explorations are encouraged and diversity is the main asset.
Several nodes of research projects are suggested:
Sampling, recombinations and mashups
New Internet technologies (web 2.0) and collaborative creation
Post-pc technologies apps, tablets and mobile technologies
Life logging and creative process
Media Capturing and Real time processing
Bottom-up architectures of generative systems
Hybrid realities and alternative sites
Portable cameras and video production
Online video and video straming
Cloud/social computing
Locative media/Mobile
Performance, rule systems and algorithms.
Computer aided choreography
Portable hardware as interfaces/interactive media control
Social media for distributed creativity and knowledge production
Networked documentaries/storytelling.
Photos from workshops in Beirut, Lebanon.
October 2011
MARLON VINCENT SILI 👑KING 💗🌍1⃣💡
MOST GENIUS ✊😘✊😚✊😄✊😗😊😙✊😘😗😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😋😚😚😚😚😚😚😇😇😇😇😇😇😊😊😊😊😊👍😘
IF YOU CAN READ ALL AND UNDERSTAND IT CLEARLY WHERE FRIENDS 👑💖🌍
What is Cognitivism?
Cognitivism is "the psychology of learning which emphasizes human cognition or intelligence as a special endowment enabling man to form hypotheses and develop intellectually" (Cognitivism) and is also known as cognitive development. The underlying concepts of cognitivism involve how we think and gain knowledge. Cognitivism involves examining learning, memory, problem solving skills, and intelligence. Cognitive theorists may want to understand how problem solving changes throughout childhood, how cultural differences affect the way we view our own academic achievements, language development, and much more. (Feldman, Cognitivism)
Cognitivism is Seen from Different Viewpoints
Willhelm Wundt started the first psychology laboratory in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany. He believed in "the development of introspection as a means for studying the mind." (Cognitivism) Though he was not specifically involved in the field of Educational Psychology, he began the study of the mind. Therefore, he is an important name in the history of psychology, educational or otherwise.
Jean Piaget theorized that there are four stages of Cognitive Development. The first is a sensorimotor stage. This stage typically lasts until a child is about two years old. During the sensorimotor stage, a child explores the world through his senses: taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. A child will develop an awareness that things and people exist even when the child is not there. For example, at the completion of this stage, a child is aware that his toys are still in the living room, even when he is in his room and cannot see them. A child will also develop some motor skills during this time. However, children typically have no understanding of symbolic representation.
The final three stages are operational stages. The preoperational stage occurs when a child begins and continues to develop language and thinking skills, and typically lasts from age two until age seven. The child also becomes focused on himself and how the world relates to him.
The concrete operational stage usually occurs between the ages of seven and twelve. During the concrete operational stage, a child begins to see the world in relation to others, not just himself. Children also begin to develop locigal thinking; they begin to understand that the way objects are set up has nothing to do with the amount of an object. For example, children will begin to understand that in the following pictures, even though they are set up differently, different colors, etc., there are still only four boxes in each picture.
The final stage of Piaget's theory is known as the formal operational stage. The formal operational stage begins around age twelve and lasts throughout our adult lives. During this stage we develop both logical and abstract thinking. Our thought process is ever changing. For example, if you ask a four year old girl why she eat apples, she may say, "they're yummy." Asking the same question to a twelve year old girl may get you a response such as, "they're good for me" Asking a college student in a nutrition class why a person eats apples can lead to an entire discussion on what foods you should eat and what they do for you. During each stage we gain life experiences and increase our knowledge through them. Piaget also believed that a child who hadn't completed certain developmental stages could not learn things from higher developmental stages. For example, a child who has not learned language could not think logically.
Besides his four stages of cognitive development, Piaget influenced the study of cognitivism in many other ways. He believed that the human mind is embedded with specific ways of doing things. For example, a baby knows how to suck his thumb without being taught, we breathe unconsciously, and our hearts beat without being ordered to. There are three major concepts when dealing with changing ingrained schemes. Assimilation occurs when a person perceives a new object in terms of existing knowledge. Accommodation occurs when you modify existing cognitive structures based on new information. Equilibration includes both assimilation and accommodation and is considered the master developmental process. For example, a child who has only been around sports cars will believe that a car is small, has two doors, and is fast. When he sees a minivan, he must change his belief about what a car is. Once he accepts that a minivan is a type of car and a sports car is another type of car, equilibration is achieved. (Blessing, Cherry, Classroom, Computers, Cognitivism, Feldman, Free, Sauers)
Lev Vygotsky had another view on cognitive development. He believed that learning was passed down from generation to generation; that it was a result of guided social interactions in which children worked with their peers and a mentor to solve problems and that cognitive development could only be understood if you took cultural and social context into account. He believed that you were unable to think until you knew and understood a language. Vygotsky came up with the Zone of Proximal Development, which he defined as the difference between the developmental level of a child and the developmental level a child could reach with the right amount of guidance. He called this guidance scaffolding and believed that teachers should foster learning, independence, and growth among students. (Blessing, Cherry, Classroom, Computers, Cognitivism, Feldman, Free, Sauers)
Classroom Implications
In a classroom environment, there are many variables that influence and contribute to learning. When creating and implementing a learning environment, it is imperative that the teachers not only create a setting that promotes learning, but also take the time to understand each child. Classrooms are widely diverse and complex. Students learn differently and are at various developmental levels. Teachers who properly manage their classrooms and establish expectations will be able to incorporate diverse teaching philosophies and create an excellent learning environment for each student. It is important that teachers create a learning environment that encourages students to do their best and makes learning interesting. This creates a motivational climate within the classroom. There are two factors that are critical to motivate students, value and effort. (Classroom Management) Students must understand that the work they are performing is worthwhile. Value measures the importance of a student's work to himself and others. Effort is the amount of time and energy students put into their work. Understanding the value of academic tasks and the effort needed to complete those tasks can motivate students to perform better in the classroom environment (Classroom Management).
Cognitive Development Implied in the Classroom (“Piaget’s Theory”)
Teachers should carefully assess the current stage of a child's cognitive development and only assign tasks for which the child is prepared. The child can then be given tasks that are tailored to their developmental level and are motivating.
Teachers must provide children with learning opportunities that enable them to advance through each developmental stage. This is achieved by creating disequilibrium. Teachers should maintain a proper balance between actively guiding the child and allowing opportunities for them to explore things on their own to learn through discovery.
Teachers should be concerned with the process of learning rather than the end product. For example, the teacher should observe the way a child manipulates play dough instead of concentrating on a finished shape.
Children should be encouraged to learn from each other. Hearing others' views can help breakdown egocentrism. It is important for teachers to provide multiple opportunities for small group activities.
Piaget believed that teachers should act as guides to children's learning processes and that the curriculum should be adapted to individual needs and developmental levels.
Examples of Cognitive Games in the Classroom
Cognitive games are designed to help stimulate various regions of the brain. These games are used to improve reflexes, help people learn, promote critical thinking, and help people learn different patterns of association. Cognitive games are helpful when used to learn a foreign language and memorize new material. Various learning techniques are used in the classroom because there are various learning styles. There are many games that promote and influence cognitive learning.
Examples of cognitive games include:
Educational Websites and Computer Games
Most educational websites computer games focus on stimulating a young child's senses while engaging them in various cognitive tasks. Below are three of the many learning websites that are available to enhance cognitive development in young children.
ABCmouse.com
PBS Kids Educational Games
Spelling City
Cognitive Fun Games
Sorting Games
Sorting games require individuals to utilize recognition and reasoning. Teachers can engage children in games in which the children sort items by various criteria, such as color, size, texture, and other physical attributes of the items. A more advanced approach to sorting is discussing how the items are similar. This process promotes critical thinking.
Flash Cards
Flash cards can be used various tasks. This involves notecards or even scraps of paper in which two parts of information is written on either side of the notecard. These can be as simple as having cards with a red dot on one side and the word red on the other. Flash cards are typically used in a classroom for drills or in private study. These cards are used to aid memorization. Pre-made flash cards are available for many subjects. Teachers and students may also make homemade flash cards, depending on how and what they are studying. Flash cards may also be personalized and printed from certain websites. (Flashcards) Flash cards can be utilized into various games as well.
Board Games
Teachers may include board games in their classrooms to promote cognitive development. Unlike computer and video games, boardgames are tangible. Children can manipulate different pieces in the game. Board games can be implemented to enhance mathematical and linguistic skills and enhance a child's ability to understand and follow directions. Monopoly and Bingo are two examples of games that may be considered in the classroom.
Puzzles
Finding a solution to a puzzle develops a child's problem solving ability. Puzzles require a child to consider patterns, orders, and associations. Some children are better problem, and puzzle, solvers than others. Children who actively solve puzzles that they are able to touch and piece together are more likely to understand certain concepts and develop their own theories about those concepts.
Implications Related to Technology Use
The introduction of computers into the educational system was led by the assumption, which persisted through the 1970s, that computers would replace teachers. (Computers for Cognitive) This was an innovation that required extensive involvement of teachers to change teaching methods and define their role in the classroom setting. Children are familiar with multiple aspects of computer technology because they have most likely been using it for most of their life. However, many older parents, grandparents, and teachers are unfamiliar with technology. Adults must learn to use new or unfamiliar technology for the safety and education of children. Implementing computer technology in the classroom is best when the teacher can guide the students through unfamiliar technology. The learning process is enhanced when students are guided by teachers.
Computers are an essential part of education and are only becoming more frequent in the classroom. Educational technology is advancing and is becoming easier for children to use. Children are already using websites to practice almost every aspect of learning. Children who use computers should be closely monitored for safety purposes. Children who do use computers should always use computers on a desk and males should never use laptop computers on their laps. This affects physical development in later years. Finding the right balance between computer games and hands on activities is essential when children are in the developmental stages of life. Studies have indicated that computers do not necessarily enhance cognitive development. They have actually found that the use of computers in early childhood may impede the intellectual and social development of young children. (Computers for Cognitive) These studies indicated that computers may prevent children from interacting with classmates, teachers, and adults, and hinders the development of certain social skills.
teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/31012664/Cog...
a messy 365, but i'm playing around with ideas since i'm planning on doing my final project this semester on memory. since i'm in a cognition class right now (and double majoring in psych!), we just did four whole sections on memory so i have all these science facts tumbling around my mind that need to be artistically used. often times i hear the "poetic" interpretation of memory that is sort of correct and i want to try my own version of it with the actual facts. did that sound pretentious? woops.
________
today i went to columbia's bacchanal spring concert-esque fest (claudia goes there :))and saw macklemore!!! IT WAS AWESOME and i have never been in close contact with that many people. ever.