Ugly people are Criminals, more often!?

I stubled upon this very interesting article in the washington post called The Ugly face of Crime.. The shocking news:

Not only are physically unattractive teenagers likely to be stay-at-homes on prom night, they're also more likely to grow up to be criminals, say two economists who tracked the life course of young people from high school through early adulthood.

I don't think we can take this study at face value since "attractive looks" are a result of both genetic makeup AND self-cair (clothes, hair style, clothes, etc.). Another way of reading the result of this study is:

People who have criminal-tendencies are less likely to take care of their looks (being less attractive, care less about what others think).

And, unfortunately, I can see how some people can get into a vicious circle as a result:

People who are born somewhat unattractive can grow hateful-tendencies to the world (because how it reacts to them), and thus care less about their looks and become even less attractive, .... and then turn into criminals.

This is very ugly thing to say... right?

Finally: I want to point out that the criminal-tendencies differences mentioned in the survey are SMALL. This means that there are so many other causes that drive people into crime that are much stronger than looks. And, these are statistical studies. It doesn't mean it'll happen to every person.

My own theory is that beauty is all in our minds (in the eye of the beholder). Thus, I can see any person as very nice is I connect his person with nice-deeds. And vica-versa. In a way, a nice person's look is the definition of beauty.

Fibonacci Numbers are for Rabbits!!!

In Highschool we studied about Fibonacci Series until it haunted us in our dreams... but I never knew that the origin of these numbers is ..... RABBITS!!
From Fibonacci's Liber Abaci famous book (English Translation, pages 404, 405):

How many pairs of rabbits can be produced in a year from a single pair if each pair produces a new pair every month, each new pair reproduces starting at the age of one month, and rabbits never die?

On a more serious note, The Liber Abaci (Book of Calculations) is considered to be the book that brought Arabic Numberals to the west. But how did this book do it?
- It was NOT the first to introduce Arabic numerals
- It did NOT include any profound mathematical discoveries (e.g. Fibonacci Numbers go back to 500 BC)
- It did NOT baffle the scientists of the time.

The book simply appealed to the merchants and not the academics. The book showed how Arabic numerals were much easier to use for commercial use, like profit-margin calculations and compound interest, than latin number.

This idea of making science "relevant" and useful to the people is very powerful and mostly overlooked. During 12 years of school, knowledge was forced into my mind because the teacher considered it "important" and "noble"... but very few things were actually useful and relevant to a boy living in Jordan. I know now much more about "Pteridophyta Plants of the Dinasour era" (سرخسيات وأبواغ) than the plants of the Jordan valley.

Universities are not better. Universities seem too busy getting through a "curriculum" they overlook the big picture of why students are here to learn. As Wael Attili (Sha3tili) put it:

In graphic design, we prefer candidates with institute diplomas over university graduates. Commercial institutes teach all the skills that are actually needed to do the job. University students usually need another year of training to get going.

We need a new original look at our curriculums to connect them to the real markets around them - to create that feedback cycle between what is studied, researched, and implemented. I've heard that JUST does a better job in that than UJ... I don't know, but I hope so.

Mosullini from Iraq! and Marco on Yemen

After the previous two Macro Polo posts (on Islam and Magic), I'd like to conclude with these amusing narrations of his book.

Mosullini, the great fascist, is originally from Iraq!

Chapter VI: All those cloths of gold and of silk which we call muslins are of the manufacture of Mosul, and all the great merchants termed Mossulini, who convey to another, are from this province.

So, somehow, Saddam Hussein and Mosullini are relatives... hm....

Baghdad, the great city of learning

Chapter VIII: The mohamotan law is here regularly studied, as are also magic, physics, astronomy, gomancy, and physiognomy. It is the noblest and most extensive city to be found in this part of the world.

It's saddening to see the state of these cities today and the ruins of their many historic sites. Anyways, Marco follows this sentence with a whole chapter on how the Tartars captured Baghdad... aah!

Yemen, where Cattle is fed fish!

In chapter XL of the third book, Marco described the Province of Aden. He goes to (or just narrates about - not sure, since maps never show his route to Africa and Yemen, although he describes them in his book) Hadramout, Mukalla, and then off to Oman. He mentions that the daily food of the people there was almost only fish and rice. Even the animals were fed dried fish ' which he found very weird. He goes on to describe also a kind of bread that Yemenis make out of crushed dried fish.

In 2004, and to my amusement, my Yemeni roommate confirmed that until today fish and rice are the foods of Yemeni people (especially in the south). Not just that, but he even confirms that until today the herds are fed dried fish. The bread made of fish is kind of rare now but can still be found.

Read 9-1-2003
Reviewed 5-27-2004
Edited & Blogged ... today

Marco on Magic and Weird Hospitality!

Marco Polo's book, while filled with descriptions of old nations and amusing stories, strikes the reader with his vivid and many narrations of works of Magic! and here's one from Chapter LXI (last chapter of the first volume):

Now when the Lord desires to drink, these magicians by the power of their magic cause the cups to move from their place without being touched by anybody, and to present themselves to the Emperor! This every one present may witness, and there are ofttimes more than 10,000 persons thus present. 'Tis a truth and no lie! and so will tell you the sages of our own country who understand necromancy, for they also can perform it.[NOTE 11]

The Yule Translation (a nicer translation here) adds a commentary of others who support Marco Polo's narration:

[Note 11] In a letter dated 1st December, 1875, written by Mr. R. B. Shaw, after his last return from Kashgar and Lahore, this distinguished traveller says; "I have heard stories related regarding a Buddhist high priest whose temple is said to be not far to the east of Lanchau, which reminds me of Marco Polo and Kúblái Khan. This high priest is said to have the magic power of attracting cups and plates to him from a distance, so that things fly through the air into his hands."

I find this very different from Ibn Battota's travels, where he never says he witnessed acts of Magic or the supernatural. He only narrates them as stories told to him. The weirdest thing Ibn Battota talked about was seeing the bones of a giant man. The man must have been 2.5-3 meters tall.
Marco Polo on Weird Hospitality!

Marco mentions some of the weirdest habits of some tribes in the middle of Asia (not sure where). The men of some of these tribes (chapter #tbd) supposedly invite any travelers to stay in their houses while they wait outside the city. The travelers are expected to live in the houses as if they were the men of the house ' including performing marital "obligations”!! (I love how old writers had "gentle” words for these matters). The travelers, at the end, were also expected to leave a "present" (well, more like a fee) for the stay. Not even just that, but when the Great Khan ordered these tribes to stop this "obscene habit”, they begged him to return to it since they feared the anger of the gods. He ended up giving up and letting them do whatever they found fit. Pure weirdness!

The art of taking a car apart!

We found this car in Shoneh. It has been STRIPPED TO THE BONES! what else could happen, you may ask!?
well, not surprisingly... this: