Virtual Reality and the limits of our brains

          The design of our brain is the most delicate and sophisticated creation in the whole universe. The brain is not a static material that doesn't change, yet the dynamics of the mind changes according to certain actions made by your senses. When you start exploring the environment around you with your senses, the brain starts to react according to what you feel through any of those five senses, hence your senses has a footprint onto your brain and, according to that footprint the mind works differently.

A famous technological application to this is Virtual Reality, which is already used in many fields. For examples, VR is now used in psychiatry to help patients who have certain psychological disorders, like someone who's afraid of heights. The patient goes to a clinic and wears the VR glasses, gloves, and sometimes a helmet depending on how far immersive is the system used. Then the patient starts to see a visual image of an environment like if he/she is on the rooftop of a building instead of risking his life. This helps psychiatrists diagnose and cure these psychological misconceptions. Doesn't it mean that our brains can adapt and change the way we perceive our environment according to the input from your senses?

 The new virtual spaces and the social media websites, are becoming as interactive as ever in terms of communications with people from remote places. Second Life has also proved to be a very good tool for researchers about virtual environments and how it can affect our lives. Social media and, Second Life both have a very good input in reducing the gap between virtual worlds and real worlds. However, Second Life has made it more possible with its custom environments and approach towards simulating real life environments. All these tools, and software, are more like a catalyst for our minds to recognizing virtual worlds and pushing the limits of our brains constrains.

Alexandria, from Diversity to Strife

While I was checking the news this morning, trying to find anything unrelated to politics, I stumbled upon an interesting article about how the -social- identity of the city has dramatically changed several times in the last 100 years. Unfortunately, it is still related to politics but indirectly, but I found the subject very rich for commenting and feedback...So here is the link to the article so you can read it before proceeding to my feedback:

Letter from Alexandria: Grasping for the past, falling into the future. Sonia Farid, AlArabiya

It's full of smart hints, and stating the obvious. As an architect from Alexandria, and I know just a little about the glorious history of my city, I think the author is right about Nasser indirect involvement in the establishment of Israel, and destroying the diverse social layers the city once had.

I was born in the 80's, 2 years after my family moved from Cairo to Alexandria, so cosmopolitan Alexandria was just a fairytale that I always liked to read before bedtime. I read that Alexandria beaches were limited to the elite; in the meantime, I only see flocks of half naked people in their underwear raiding the beaches and worse, blocking cars traffic. This created a black and white image in my mind, a conflict, a contradiction that has no single common in-between. and this image really fosters a belief that cosmopolitan Alex never existed, it's Utopia, it's Atlantis!! and it's even documented by a lot of stories, books and novels made about the city, my favorite of them is "The Alexandria Quartet," I think that this trilogy affirms what I mean.

I got some books about the treasures/monuments in Alexandria, and I managed to visit some of them that are out of the tourist maps! In these places (like the Greek area in Shatby which is limited to foreign researchers only & the Jewish cemeteries in the Latin district, many tombs were destroyed,) there I found few remains, fragments that formed a solid proof to the cosmopolitan city I used to read about. I think we really need more history education than ever.

I'm a kind of a person who doesn't like the past, or more in precise, to be drown in it. So I think speaking of cosmopolitan Alex is as what I said before a fairytale.

Of course, I witnessed all the latest three sectarian events mentioned in the article, and they are all painful. I'm a moderate, or more liberal, Muslim, and what's happening to Christians in Egypt reminding me of what happened to the Jews 60 years ago! I agree that the city has gone too much conservative than before, even more conservative than Cairo! I remember when I was in college, at the first year, most of my girl friends were unveiled, but by the 3rd year, there were only 3 or 4 Muslim girls unveiled, and when they got married/engaged I lost contact with them along with the 5 years good/bad memories! They even refused to send me MY pix because they appear unveiled in them! Veiled or not that's not the case but it's an indicator that shows how the community is closing the doors of diversity and becoming an introvert rather than an open one, a prey to all kinds of strife, misconceptions, and misunderstandings (remember when Khedive Ismail said: تفتح على البحرى) which means being an open community to the west? I'm glad he died before he witnesses this. We are digging deep in history and resurrecting the evil spirits of the strife that Alexandria was famous for at the beginning of Christianity

Sometimes I blame the extremists for that, other times, I blame poverty, but the premier criminal here is ignorance which was created by decades of living in the dark, an era of no education. And please do not go through politics because we all know it's a dirty game, though it has the biggest share in the mess. I think the best may be the only way to restore the image of a cosmopolitan city is through creating a "global city" by fostering the education and spread the knowledge. ( I see the term global is more accurate and suitable to our time now).

I've been to the Easter mass in St. Mark church this year, it was my first time to share the feast experience with my Christian friends; it was joyous, and festive, just like our feasts. It was a great experience that I'd love to have again. It was a gathering of some people, peaceful, friendly, and happy people; they simply want to live their normal life in peace. After all they are humans, Egyptians, and Alexandrians.

Sakura - さくら

The "Hanami" はなみ is an old tradition in Japan which is related to the cherry blossoms every year and dating back to the Nara Period (700s A.D.). The Japanese watch with great admiration the “ume” うめ tree blossoms in a tradition that was limited to the imperials and the elite but then introduced to the larger society. Later it became a festive event (like Easter) when people go under the ume trees or Sakura さくら (cherry blossoms) and drink sake さけ (a kind of wine) while having their lunch and spending a joyful time.

Most Japanese schools and public buildings have cherry blossom trees outside of them. It’s also heavily planted in shrines, temples, and many public gardens.

The Hanami festivals are celebrated across Japan each year while the Japanese follow the blossoming of Sakura which starts in January in the southern parts of the Japanese islands then moves up to the north passing by Tokyo till it reaches Hokkaido, by mid-March or beginning of April. The festival is dedicated to the beauty of the cherry blossom (Sakura) and for many it’s a chance to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature.

The Sakura blossoms once a year for a very short of time and it is very rich in symbolic meanings, regarding its beauty and its nature of being fragile and dies very quickly. It’s unfortunate if you missed the blooming of Sakura.

Unfortunately, thousands of Japanese missed the beauty and joy of Sakura this year because of the triple disaster that hit Japan.

Meditation: Negative Energy

Remember when I told you about the negative and positive energies we have?! I've that feeling that I have a lot of negative energy for some long time, which really makes me feel down. I'm not wondering about the source, I guess living in an inert and conservative society is one of the good reasons for generating a negative energy but I'm not looking for the reasons of it. I'm looking on how to overcome this negative energy.

In order to do so, I thought of doing things that I love, like pursuing my PhD study which I stopped doing for a couple of years now! And I couldn't do that....and I'm still slowly moving towards my research.

Then I thought of doing other things, not work related. Like when creating lighting units out of paper...I kept dreaming about that and I'm so fond of it...So I got all the needed and unneeded materials, locked myself in the room and started doing it...I made 3 units, and then I got bored. I get bored easily.

Sometimes when I'm stressed of feeling sad, I look for a pen, my favorite pen, and I start doodling, I feel I wanna write something but I don't write anything, I just doodle. I'm not good in drawing, so I came out with just lines.
I listen to music, all kinds of music, but all this didn't release my negative energy. It's trapped inside. Music is life but not all the time.
I went to study Japanese, I love languages, and the effect of a new language/culture on the brain is real awesome and refreshing. I didn't expect to like the Japanese that much, but I found it very interesting…a totally new culture…and I loved the effect of learning this very different language on my brain. It seemed very nice at the first couple of weeks; then I also got bored.
Am I filled with negative energy up to my ears and nose? I still can't tell.
Writing on the keyboard releases some of the tension, which is good, but I’m not a kind of a person who likes to write, it takes a hell of an effort and needs a talent that I never had.

So, the only thing left to release this negative energy is to talk about it? or leak some through your friends and communicating with people?
Does communication with people releases this negative energy? and what if I talked to a person, does this negative energy moves to him/her? (We don’t have to talk about problems we have but, just talking about anything). Does it take a different form? Can we radiate energy?

Yes, I think so, I receive energy (+ve, or -ve) from people. And I also radiate energy. Like we are made of radiant materials that radiate energy just like nuclear radiation...Flesh is radiant.
It's like that we have the "aura" or when our circles of ectoplasm 01 come together they release energy.

Have you seen "Down the RabbitHole"? The quantum theory? Now, I'm trying to ask myself some questions...The ideas are the energy? Our imagination is energy? The more you imagine and think, the more energy you get...And our bodies can't keep energy for a long time, because it affects us, we have to implement our imagination and our ideas. Turn the ideas into whatever it can be, into drawings, into novels, into work, into inventions, turn it into anything but just get it out of your mind/body.
The more you think, the more you generate energy.
We have to get rid of it. You probably can’t discuss this with anyone, they might think you are nuts. You might think that I’m nuts writing this but, may be that's the thing. That's why we keep (thoughts, imagination = negative energy) trapped inside.
Then I step back and think, from where we get the positive energy? Is the positive energy the energy that keeping us alive? Moving, and working?

I don't know, I'm still confused!! Do you have an answer for this?

01-What's Ectoplasm?

God is in the Particle!

Racing to find God? Matter or Anti-matter!

Before I read about the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) on the news couple of years ago, I always thought that God exists in the details. They taught us that in art schools. And apparently that God doesn't only exist in the details but also in the particle according to the LHC.
The race between the US and the EU is now the most procurement scientific research in the history of mankind, so far. Both are spending billions of dollars and euros and packing highly qualified scientists, each with their own LHC and gigantic machines deep down the earth to find the "God particle"!

The EU LHC have seen several candidates for the heaviest elementary particle known to science recently. If this was confirmed, it would be a first for the EU; so far, the top quark particle has only been generated by the US. This discovery could assist physicists in the hunt for the elusive Higgs boson, or "God particle".

The Higgs boson is the only Standard Model particle that hasn't been observed and is thought to be the mediator of mass. Such experiments using the LHC would help explain the origins of mass in the universe and how the universe was formed either to confirm the Supernova theory or to eradicate it.

'The LHC is a massive machine under earth between the French-Swiss borders. It produces 2 beams of energy in different direction in circular forms, each beam can travel as fast as 11.000 times every second. When both beams meet, they produce VERY high amounts of energy and data. Such data can be used to unlock secrets of the universe and how the matter was formed'.

For more about the subject click here (BBC: Guide to the Large Hadron Collider)

Storming State Security Building in Alexandria

Minute-by-minute: On March 04, 8.45pm, protestors were storming state security building in Alexandria after being attacked by state security police with molotovs and gunfire while the protesters responded with rocks.

Egyptian Architecture and Jan25 Revolution

I’d like to thank all those who participated in the Jan25 events in Egypt, either physically or even by heart.

All revolutions that happened in the world throughout history has their pros and cons, here I’ll tell you about one of the shortcomings of Jan25. How Jan25 altered our architecture (from my point of view)

Through my personal experience in this revolution and as an architect I can tell that Jan25 has a negative profound effect on architecture in Egypt (so far). This can be ascribed to many reasons; first and most important is: fear, the absence of the police from the streets, while thugs and criminal escaped prisons and attacked people and properties.

Not just the lack of security but also the architectural ignorance among Egyptians, inefficiency of future planning, and unsustainable development. Many negative Egyptians (and they are the majority) limited their minds to think of protecting themselves without even thinking of the future and how to build our devastated country.

Since the police disappeared from streets and people started to protect themselves on their own; those who stood by their homes, lands, or properties barehanded, or with tree branches, baseball bats, or even guns. This has generated more fear between civilians not just from thugs but also of the vague future. Hence, they started building very ugly and inefficient iron gates in front of their existing securit-glass doors. And if you are going to build a new home, the first things they insist on are; no big windows, no glass doors, and must be surrounded by a high fence!! On the other hand, elegant and inelegant shops, markets, and shopping malls built ugly walls to hide their displays and goods from the eyes of thugs. Is this what we are really looking for? Fear, and hiding behind walls and inside holes? Do you call this liberating Egypt?

Of course NOT, we need more freedom and democracy and this requires changing the mindset of people who lived in oppression and fear for more than 30 years to start thinking freely and with no fear to hinder them from developing.

People have to be aware of architecture and the building materials in order to choose the right ones to enhance their surroundings and its reflect on their behavior. The physical and behavioral effects between people and their physical environments became quite complex when elements of light and color (shade or tint, warm or cool), texture (materials and surfaces), acoustical characteristics (noise) are taken into account. “Our surroundings influence not only the way we think but our intellectual development.” Salingaros, N. A.

Environmental psychology would surely, but not completely, confirm why people might behave in awe at the sight of the awesome buildings either contemporary or medieval full of details and ornaments, and the varied materials and textures on the floors, walls and ceilings with fine detailing. Given these factors one would have to take into account the physical surroundings that assail the senses in any environment.

This, illustrating that people naturally seeks out places where they will feel competent, confident, where they will feel comfort or enjoyment. Thus the creation and preservation of a preferred environment is believed to increase the sense of well-being and behavioral effectiveness in people. (Like building walls and iron gates at the time being)

Space, form, building materials and light are elements that are often incorporated either purposefully of unconsciously for aesthetic or practical reasons but more pointedly give creatures meaning, purpose and stability amidst an ever changing physical universe of seeming chaos.

To conclude this, if we are really looking for freedom and democracy we have to be well-aware of these psychological effects that reflects on our architecture. Using the right materials, the colors and forms are the best way to enhance our sense-of-being and promote sustainable freedom!

العمارة المصرية و ثورة 25 يناير

على قد ما أنا فرحان بالي حصل على ما قد ما أنا مضايق معماريا!! هو طبعا كل ثورة في الدنيا لها مكاسب و لها مساوئ، بس للأسف هتكلم عن مسوء واحد فيها و هوا إنعكاس الثورة على شكل العمارة في مصر، من وجهة نظري طبعا.

عن تجربتي الشخصية في الثورة فأنا شايف إن الثورة أثرت على العمارة بشكل سلبي تماما حتى الأن. و ده ليه بقى؟ عشان عوامل كتير، أهمها إنعدام الأمان في البلد و غياب الشرطة أساسا و ده الى هتكلم عليه هنا فقط. و مش بس كدة لأ ده كمان الجهل المعماري و عدم التخطيط للمستقبل و إنعدام فكرة التنمية المستدامة. بقى كل واحد بيبص تحت رجليه بدون مايشوف إيه الي هيحصل بكرة و يفكر في الاتجاه ده!

نيجي على أول حاجة و أهم حاجة، و هي مفيش أمان: من أول ما الشرطة انسحبت و البلطجية ظهروا والناس مرعوبة و بتشكل لجان شعبية و بتحاول تحمي نفسها بأي شيء قدامها. تلاقي الناس نازله في الشارع بأي حاجه تضرب بيها. الي نازل بشومه والي نازل بعصاية كنبه و الي نازل بعوكاز. و الناس الشيك نزلة بمساداسات و عصاية جولف و كدة. و ده أثرنفسيا أكتر على الناس و الموضوع بدأ يتطور و الناس تعمل أبواب حديد على العمارات و المباني من بره. و شكل أمها زفت و معموله بطريقة منيله و حاطينها قدام الباب الشيك النظيف القزاز بتاع العمارة!! فدلوقتي كل واحد عايز يعمل عماره جديده هايحط عليها باب حديد!! يعني إحنا بنادي نقول يا جماعة الدنيا بتتقدم و الأبواب الحديد ديه حاجة من أيام الفراعنه. المفروض إحنا ندور على الشفافية و ندور على مواد البناء بتاعت العصر الي إحنا فيه تمثل العصر بتاعنا و بنبوس يد الناس عشان تفهم إن فيه حاجة إسمها قزاز و ألومنيوم و و فيبر و و و ...و في الأخر نرجع و نعمل حديد تاني!! هول إحنا بنطلع لقدام ولا بنرجع لورا؟؟

و مش بس كدة. تلاقي كل المولات و السوبر ماركت و المحلات المحترمه والغير محترمه دهنوا الواجهات بتاعتهم بلون معفن علشان البلطجية مايشوفوش إيه جوه (ولا إحنا كمان هنشوف فيه إية جوه) لأ والأنيل إن لو المحل كبير فبيعمل حوائط مصمتة مكان الواجهة القزاز و شكلها خراااا جدا.

ده ببساطة شديده يدل على إن الفكر المعماري الي عند الناس بيرجع لورا و ده لتمسكهم بالمرحلة القديمه بتاعت الأمان من عدمه و إنهم مش بيبصو لقدام. إحنا لو جبنا أي حد أهبل من بره و مشيناه في الشوارع هيقول ديه أفغانستان. هيقول ديه عالم لسه عايشة ورا المشربية و خايفين و داخلين جوا جحورهم.

يا جماعة مواد البناء ديه لها انطباعات نفسية مهمة جدا بتفرق من مادة للتانية. و لازم إستخدامها بعناية ، مثلا يعنى القزاز بيعبرعن الشفافية و الصدق في التعامل و كمان يعني الانفتاح و عدم الخوف.

فيه مواد تانية شكلها يوحي بعدم الاستقرار والرعب النفسي والجهل زي الحوائط الطوب الأحمرالي مدهونه غلط و ديه ما أكثرها في بلدنا.

ثم إن الشكل الجمالي طبعا أهم و أهم و أهم لأن برضو بيأثر على الذوق العام في البلد و على زوق المصرين نفسهم و على نفسيتهم و على حياتهم اليومية و طريقة تعملهم مع بعض و كمان طريقة تربيتهم لأولادهم . يمكن الناس مبتحسش بضخامة الموضوع و تأثيرة لأن للأسف الثقافة المعمارية و تأثير الأشكال المعمارية على نفسية الإنسان تعتبر منعدمة فى البلد تماما.

الي عايز أقوله إن إحنا بندور على الحرية و الديمقراطية فيبقى لازم نبص لقدام و نبتدي نتعامل على ذلك و نحرر أفكارنا مش بس نبص للمرحلة الي إحنا فيها دلوقتي والحنين للماضي و الخوف و نستخبى ورا الحيطان.

Wikileaks; making our world transparent

Wikileaks is a Wiki that has triggered the transparency of the world governments. This new wiki project was born big since they first published some important and confidential documents about the Afghan war 'leaked' from the CIA.
People around the world started sending them documents that shows how much corrupted their governments and authorities are. They received thousands of pages about many critical issues from different countries. Of course this angered the CIA, Afghan government and other authorities and demanded the identity of those who sent them the documents.
Wikileaks has created an army of fans and supporters against corruption around the world. They depend on high secured software and promised the "leakers" to keep their identity hidden from the authorities which encourages more people to send/leak more documents and show the world the truth behind a war, a case or global and minor issues.
It's a great project for the humanity to finally show the world the truth and make our world more transparent.

http://wikileaks.org

Is the Internet changing the way we think?

I found this article posted by a friend on facebook from The Guardian, it is about a very interesting subject which is how the internet is changing our minds and the way we think. I guess it's a crucial issue because there are many people who doesn't value the internet, especially the elderly people.
Well, upon reading this article I noticed that, writer or critics were actually expressing themselves or their point of view, showing the intangible change that the internet caused..while neuroscientists and psychiatrists were comparing the human brain with the internet showing the tangible neuros that have changed in our minds, they also didn't use the term "humans". One called us the "homo sapiens" and another said "...our younger species", of course both has almost the same meaning but it's the fact of using these terms..I don't know why this big difference between both of their "way of thinking" but the great thing is, thanks to the internet that is diverse enough and -as one of the writers said- undiscriminating; we are provided with such huge information..
From my point of view, I guess they missed that, the internet is more a transitional phase between the information society (which the internet has created) to the knowledge society..the latter is the new generations that are actually USING the information available, we are not in a reading phase, we already now have the info. The new knowledge society is about using the information available not just reading it...
Anyways, our mind has developed in a way or another, which is pretty normal and evolutionary.

You can read the full article here:
The internet: is it changing the way we think?

My Life is Average

This is one of my favorite websites that I check daily and I spend a long time reading (MLIA) stories everyday. MyLifeIsAverage or (MLIA) is a website where you can share very short stories about your everyday life or an incident or even an event in your life. Such stories are real fun, and you can vote either "Average" if you like it or "meh" if you don't...the more "average" a story is, the more likely to be published. I've posted more than 7 stories ever since I knew about it and I had none posted. You will see how many people like me are dying to get their stories published. Check out the About section and the FAQ and other affiliate sites. It is FUN. (MLIA)

http://mylifeisaverage.com

Faces

When I first heard this song, I thought of how many faces/masks do we have to wear everyday, and everywhere. People are very good in wearing masks and hide the real them from you, and it's a must and a fact of life that we all can't change or do anything about. We know it's a lie or a cheat but we do it unintentionally and intentionally, we do it with the close ones and with strangers. I thought, how many faces do we have to wear?

1st: At work; you have to be the serious person who really cares about the place you work at (though most people don't like the place they work at). You pretend that you are a radical person to coop with your radical colleagues and you also pretend that you very open-minded to your boss. You do this deliberately to get a promotion or unintentionally to de-stress yourself at work instead of cursing the day you stepped in that place.

2nd: with your family; do you actually wear a mask with your family?! I don't know but I guess it's face-less time, your family is the people who know you very well that you can't put on any mask in front of them. Unless, you left your homeland for several years and have different thoughts so you have to wear the (old mask) when you see your family again.

3rd: with your friends; the masquerade?! your friends are those who are close to you, they are the people whom you enjoy your time with but, sometimes you have to put on the mask of (grieve) when they are sad but you are not, or the mask of (happiness) when they are happy at the time you are not and so on. And sometimes, when you have lots of different friends with different ways of thinking, you have to wear different masks to enjoy that part of you with a specific friend that you can't enjoy with another.

4th: in public; if you went to a bar, shopping mall, or even wander the streets you will see how different people are and, if someone approaches you to talk to you or ask you for directions or whatever, you will wear the (stranger danger) mask.

5th: with yourself, and I'll leave it for you to decide.

I believe there are much more than those 5 faces we fake but these are what I might have for now.
The song name is Faces for Andy Moor, Ashley Wallbridge and it's about confronting obstacles and facing the fears that you might have, yet, it reminded me of the faces we wear too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea0Lr55TOds
-Andy Moor & Ashley Wallbridge feat Meighan Nealon - Faces

This is not a pipe!

no, it's not a pipe! It was a night I spent with my friends at the plaza of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA). It was my first time to experience a shooting of a movie; the cameras, lightning, cast and a director chair. There was no director chair! The film is called "This is not a pipe", one of the Plaza films produced by the BAs' Plaza Project Fund and directed by an amateur director. It will be displayed at the BA in the next couple of months. It was fun and I took some photos with my cam.

My first blog :)

Oh I finally did it! :) I think blogging is very interesting because you can express your ideas to everyone and let the world hear you. Thanks to my friend David Hayes for his encouragement for me last night. I hope my blog will be enjoyable and able to deliver interesting ideas to the world and everyone who reads it. Enjoy.