Book Review: EDUCATION AGAINST EXTREMISM

'EDUCATION AGAINST EXTREMISM'  by Lynn Davies is about another solution to the question of extremism. "There are political and military solutions to extremism – sometimes more extremism, or extremism disguised as liberation", the book says, " but I want to look at educational strategies".  It begins with two questions. One, How do you prevent individuals joining extremist or violent movements? and two, How do you enable people to make challenges to extremist or violent movements or to extremist or violent governments?   The book identifies the link between religion and terrorism is a complex one, with the state sponsorship of extremism being the core issue.

The book analyzes how, education can act as an expedient. It can produce three significant effects. One, to give children a secure, but hybrid sense of identity, so that they are less likely to be drawn to membership? of single identity, single-issue, ends-justify-the-means groups;  

Two, to demonstrate and act out fair and non-violent ways of achieving justice; and 

Three to give skills in critical appraisal, critical values and critical action.

The book ends by telling us of a likely news report, which tells us why, politicians and religious leaders cannot be taken seriously.

"Math Teacher arrested at airport 

New York: a public school teacher was arrested today at JFK international airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square and a calculator.  At a morning press conference, Attorney Alberto Gonazales said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement.  He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.   "Al-gebra is a problem to us" Gonzales said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes and sometimes go off at tangents in search of absolute values.  They use secret code names like x and y and refer to themselves as unknowns, but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval, with coordinates in every country."   

When asked to comment on their arrest, President Bush said "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes."  White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent and profound statement by the President."

Book Review: Religious extremism: the good, the bad, and the deadly

'Religious extremism: the good, the bad, and the deadly' by Laurence R. Iannaccone and Eli Berman, appeared in a special issue of Public Choice.

This paper begins by acknowledging the link between religious extremism and terrorism. Religious extremists are willing to murder because they embrace theologies that sanction violence in the service of God.  They have no sympathy for their victims, because they view those victims as enemies of God.  And they readily sacrifice their own lives because they expect huge and immediate afterlife rewards in return form “martyrdom.” But upon closer examination, theological explanations raise more questions than they answer.  

Where We see religious behavior as an instance of rational choice, rather than an exception to it, economists have analyzed religious behavior as an 'effective response', where, supernaturalism emerges as an alternative technology – a natural, understandable, and perhaps even fully rational attempt to enhance individual and collective welfare, in spite of the limitations imposed by scarcity. "Demand for the supernatural can be viewed as a reasonable response to 

inescapable scarcity, insatiable wants, and irrepressible hope", the book says.

About the role played by our governments in fostering extremism, the book says, "Had each European government not enlisted the aid of a single sect (and returned the favor by suppressing all other competing sects), there would have been “a great multitude of religious sects.”  Competition would then have induced moderation, rather than the furious, fanatical violence, we are saddled with.

An open religious market is what the paper suggest, which shall encourage religious moderation by facilitating the entry of numerous competing religious groups, virtually none of whom can hope to benefit from government control of religion. 

Religious radicals, then are less likely to flourish and less likely to embrace violence when there is strong competition from other fields, like education, health care, poverty programs, and political representation.  This paper poses many fundamental questions. If theology is so important, why are most terrorist organizations not religious?  And if afterlife rewards are key, why has a nonreligious group – the LTTE “Tamil Tigers” – been responsible for more suicide attacks than another other organization?  Why is suicide bombing associated with all sorts of theologies but just one style of religious organization (best described as “sectarian”)?   And why do most militant sects devote much of their energy to benign and noble activities, such as running schools, health clinics, and social services agencies?   

If religious militancy is most effectively controlled through a combination of policies that raise the direct costs of violence, foster religious competition, improve social services, and encourage private enterprise, why the country which has an exemplary society of that sorts is a top target?

I think this paper is right, there is more to extremism than religious fundamentalism. I find it difficult to agree, when the book puts religious extremism and religious militancy as totally different. Also, the book merits religion of promoting group activities, intense commitment, long-term relationships, loyalty, exclusivity, contribution-based financing, and collective goods. I think all human institutions do this, whether of arts, sports, or culture. Though the mechanism of conflict in religion is well analyzed, the question, why religion leads to violence, remains unanswered. 

Book Review: Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth

Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth, by Michel Foucault. This is a collection of all of Foucault's published texts (prefaces, introductions, presentations, interviews, articles, interventions, lectures, and so on) that are not included in his books.  

The first chapter of part one of this two part book examines the the link between knowledge, pleasure, and truth in the satisfaction it carries. As well as the other extreme, the happiness of theoretical contemplation. Various philosophers have reached altogether different conclusions about this, the book says, like Nietzche's idea that knowledge results from the interplay of instincts, impulses, desires, fear, and other emotions. Subsequent chapters examine the penal system and the establishment of punishments by a society, psychiatric power, mental instabilities and the society's role, as well as, the need for reforms.

The second part is about ethics. How men think that the idea of their submitting to another man, especially of being under another man in the act of love, would destroy their image in the eyes of women. Which is the reason for heterosexual encounters to be considered superior to homosexual, the book posits. Intellectuals are more tolerant toward, or receptive to,  different modes of sexual behavior than other people, as they can appreciate the 'drives' better. Sexuality is  a part of our behavior, the book says, and it's a part of our world freedom.

The book conceives sexuality as  a general type of behavior whose particular elements might vary according to demographic, economic, social, or ideological conditions. It tries to analyze sexuality as a historically singular form of experience, and treat sexuality as just another normal experience, while trying to explain, how, in Western societies, a complex experience is constituted from it. What is then analyzed is the many facets of philosophical thoughts, like humanism and its forms like Marxism, discourses of Kant, etc.

While reading this book, what attracted me most was the question, the author poses. "If one wants to behave rationally and regulate one's action according to true principles, what part of one's self should one renounce? In fact this question hides the seeds of certain shortfall we all feel, which is what led to all of my books, primarily 'The Unsure Male'

Book Review: How Much Joy Can You Stand

"How Much Joy Can You Stand? How to Push Past Your Fears and Create Your Dreams": by Suzanne Falter, is a book about the creative process, the engine that drives one's dreams.

If one is trying to pursue any kind of dream, one can't help but get run over by obstacles once in a while. Hopefully, armed with enough information and clarity, one can dodge those and, this book in an attempt to prevent further road kill.

'We're basically a doubting, disbelieving breed', the book tells. People cling to more lies that render them absolutely powerless, believing these lies will keep them gloriously afloat. Forget this and start being creative. There is joy available to all of us, forever and ever, says the book. All great success stories through history, every one of them came about because someone was dreamy enough to think they could actually do something in their own weird way. 

Some of us may not know yet what our dream is. And may think that if we don't know exactly what we want to do in life, we're doomed to failure. To locate our dreams, we just have to drop the histrionics and self-criticism for a while, and allow ourselves to simply explore, says the book. That is, there are going to be impulses, some of which lead to major discoveries and successes, others of which lead to nothing. We need to choose to act on those impulses and craft dreams from them.

Book then talks about commitment, not some coat one puts on and take off as desired, but, a promise one need to make to oneself that must be renewed every single day, and always in the context of work. About failure, the book says, "There really is no such thing as failure. There is only the rearrangement of plans, and the surrender of ego. There is only the twist in the road we never expect. As long as we remain true to our vision and ourselves, we simply cannot fail. That is all we have to remember."

This is an isnspiring book, whatever one might have experienced, failure, success or, indifference, this book can give one loads of arguments as to why, one must go ahead with one's dream. As the author mentions in the beginning, "If this book does its job properly, you'll be up and running in no time".

Book Review: Designing for Emotion

 How to make, what we make, remarkable? How can we make our work to stand out from the rest. 'Designing for Emotion' by Aarron Walter

 is a book about such questions. In the first chapter, Emotional Design, author examines the path human progress took through industrial revolution, and how the presence of human hand in everyday objects slowly faded. Thereafter comes the principle to be kept in mind: 'people will forgive shortcomings, follow your lead, and sing your praises, if you reward them with positive emotion'. How, emotional design can turn casual users into fanatics ready to tell others about their positive experience. A chapter about the psychological firmware we share and, how to make a foundation on which we can build emotional design strategies, then follows,

 which describes the use of various techniques to adapt to our environment, like contrast. The influence shown by our unique qualities and perspectives we possess, also referred to as personality, is what is covered next. Quite intuitively, how to correct if we make mistakes here, is then covered. As all brand personalities may not accord the liberal use of say, humor, there are times where we need to resort to different emotions. The last chapter looks so natural, I wonder why I haven't been able to see it elsewhere. It explains how to express your failings without losing the goodwill of your audience.

I found this a very interesting read. Simple principles, quite logical explanations, and a plethora of real-life stories for validation. It made one thing amply clear to me: preserving the human touch and showing ourselves in our work isn't optional: it’s essential.

 And it is all written in this book.

Veg - NonVeg Divide

This blog is about dinosaur excreta. It seems, though remnants of tree logs and plant remains could be seen in abundance, the 'presence of considerable amount of shell material from crustaceans and mollusk can lead one to think that dinosaurs were used to animal prey'. 

I think one has to agree with the findings, just as we are nowadays, they too were flexible with their diet and were enjoying a wide array of behavioral and culinary options available to them. 

(Perhaps some of us are the descendants of veg dinosaurs and others of nonveg ones!)