Human beings are members of a whole

بنی آدم اعضای یک پیکرند
که در آفرينش ز یک گوهرند
چو عضوى به درد آورد روزگار
دگر عضوها را نماند قرار
تو کز محنت دیگران بی غمی
نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی

Human beings are members of a whole,

In creation of one essence and soul.

If one member is afflicted with pain,

Other members uneasy will remain.

If you have no sympathy for human pain,

The name of human you cannot retain.

(From Gulistan of Sa'di, Chapter 1, Story 10 - displayed in the entrance of the United Nations Hall of Nations)

Image credit:  Wikimedia Commons

Happiness is contagious

It is said that some people have a natural gift of making pleasant or valuable discoveries just by accident. There is a special word for such ability and it is called serendipity. Well, I don’t have that talent, but yesterday I came across an article about happiness while searching for something entirely different. You might say this is a natural course of events if someone is not focused while surfing on the net. I won’t argue about that but the findings are certainly worth sharing. 

According to this research article, thousands of people were studies for more than twenty years to assess the spread of happiness within social groups. The participants were asked to evaluate their level of happiness on the following four item scale.

How often during the past week:

1. I enjoyed life.

2. I was happy.

3. I felt hopeful about the future.

4. I felt that I was as good as other people.

The results, on the hindsight, seem quite obvious. People’s happiness depends on the people they live or connect with. Clusters of happy and unhappy people were visible on the network. Apparently, happiness can spread from person to person like an infectious disease. So, if you want to be happy, just hang around someone euphoric and try to avoid the company of gloomy ones. I would recommend checking the level of happiness on the above four item scale once in a while if not every week. After all, happiness and unhappiness both are contagious.

Image credit: www.gagdonkey.com

The five biggest unanswered questions

Globular Star Cluster Omega Centauri - Image courtesy: NASA

The leading scientific magazine Physics World in its 25th anniversary issue has listed the following top five unanswered questions in physics.

• What is the nature of the dark universe?
• What exactly is time?
• Is life on Earth unique?
• Can we unify quantum mechanics and gravity?
• Can we exploit the weirdness of quantum mechanics?

Some of these eternal riddles might get resolved within the lifetime of current generation, while others may continue to haunt scientists in the centuries to come. 

The question, I would like to know the answer to in my life-time, is about the rarity of life. According to the legendary science-fiction writer Arthur C Clarke "Two possibilities exist; either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."

To me, both possibilities are equally exciting.

On facing death

"Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not. The absence of life is not evil; death is no more alarming than the nothingness before birth." 

I was reading an article about ancient Greek philosophers a few days ago when I came across these lines by Epicurus. The ideas of this 3rd century B.C. philosopher were indeed unique. To him, the purpose of philosophy was to lead a happy and tranquil life with freedom from fear. Living such a self-sufficient life surrounded by good friends was considered the ultimate achievement by his school of thought.

The mind of God

 Pillars of creation and other star forming regions in the Eagle Nebula (constellation Serpens)

"If we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would truly know the mind of God."

Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time - concluding passage)

Image courtesy: NASA

A Pvblic Library?

A Pvblic Library! Why was the 'u' substituted by a 'v' on the facade of Yorkville library branch at 22 Yorkville Avenue? The front desk was not sure about that so she contacted a senior staff member. It turns out that it is true for most of the historical buildings. In old English and Latin, the letter 'V' was considered sufficient for both sounds. The letter 'U' was introduced at a much later time. This is certainly an example where the past is preserved in stone.

Seicho-no-Ie – The House of Growth

I wanted to sit quietly on the backbenches and watch the whole proceedings from there. But that was not possible in a big hall filled with just eleven people. Japanese priest welcomed me and I have to introduce myself. Then in his halting English, he talked about this new age religion and philosophy. This Japan based movement was started by Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi in 1930. It combines the basic elements from Buddhism, Christianity and Shintoism (which is the ancient spiritual tradition of Japan).  Seicho-no-Ie or the house of growth puts emphasis on gratitude for nature, the family and ancestors. Above all, they believe in one universal God. This facility is located just a few steps from where I live. After watching it day after day, finally curiosity got better of me and I ventured in. 

The atmosphere inside this Japanese style wooden temple was that of calm and serenity. After the service, every one thanked and hugged me as I was some long lost friend or a family member. This was rather a strange and moving experience for me. There is such an infinite variety of human beliefs and faiths. Just a different set of believing can change one’s whole perspective about this world, life and fellow beings.

What I remember is what I am

The world begins and ends in memory;
what I remember is what I am. 

Did that blade of grass I plucked
as a boy to vibrate with my breath 

really burst the air with shrillness?
A remembered world holds truth 

and realities far clearer than echoes.
In the cupped hands of remembrance 

the thin green reed of what we are
trembles with a sound so rare. 

(Aide Memoire by Glen Sorestad from Leaving Holds Me Here: Selected Poems)

I came across this beautiful poem while riding TTC Public transport. A cultural initiative places such short verses on every TTC subway car, bus and streetcar in the city. It is a wonderful idea. Sometimes small things like that can have a profound effect on a reader.

... I would like to add to the poet that we are only alive until someone remembers us in this world. We are truly gone when the last vista about us fades away in a person's mind. On this account, being a writer, philosopher, thinker, inventor or any other kind of creative talent is a path to eternal life.

CN Tower - View from the HTO Park

View of CN Tower, its main observation deck, sky pod and edge walk as seen from the HTO Park.

View from the CN Tower

At more than 1,100 feet, CN Tower's main pod offers spectacular panoramic views of the city. Identifying various buildings and the areas of the city is a fun exercise. Here is my take on it.

On the western side, one can see up to Humer Bay and High Park. The Railway corridor on the right and Gardiner Expressway on the left are snaking through the city.

East and West Islands in the southwest. Cinesphere movie theater and Budweiser concert hall are prominent on the islands.

A cruiser yacht on Lake Ontario.

Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and its closeup on the Center Island.

HTO Park East and Toronto Fire & Marine Station 334. The Quay Apartment complex is on the right.

Police Basin and Toronto Police Marine are on the top left. Harborfront is on the right, adjacent to HTO Park. 249 Queens Quay West apartment buildings and Radisson Admiral Hotel with its pool are on the bottom and center-left.

The Rivera Condos at 230 Queens Quay West.

Roundhouse Park and Railway Museum are on the south side of the tower.

CN Tower base and top of the Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, as seen from the glass floor.

Spadina Avenue bridge over rail corridor on the western side.

Part of the Roger Center skydome is visible at the bottom left. Canadian Broadcasting Centre is on the bottom right. Others include a number of residential and commercial towers.

The northern side of the city as seen from the tower.

Metro Hall, Canadian Broadcasting Centre (building with red and black cubes), The Ritz-Carlton hotel (just behind the small park at the bottom) and Simcoe place business center (bottom right).

Simcoe Park is just north of the tower. The "mountain", an aluminum sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor is also visible in the center.

Hyatt Regency and InterContinental Hotels are Just north and northeast of the tower respectively.

Art Gallery of Ontario and  OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design University) are a little bit further north of the tower. OCAD can be identified by its legs like structure on the right. Grange Park is in the middle. The tall building on the left is Gallery Towers apartment building, I think.

Empire Plaza and One University Apartments on the east side of the tower.

Eastside of the city. Union Station is on the bottom right with Hotel Fairmont Royal York in its front. The skyscrapers behind those form the core of the financial district. These include Royal Bank Plaza (shiny golden building on the right),  TD Canada Trust Tower, Bay Wellington Tower, Bank of Montreal building (tall white building in the center),  and Toronto Dominion Center among others.

A day in ROM

Main entrance – The Crystal building

Last time when I was in Toronto, I visited the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) twice. But still, there was so much to see and discover. This time I arrived early in the morning and tried to cover the whole museum in a day. A lot has changed in the past three years. New collections have been added and the old ones have been rearranged. Despite all the effort, when closing time was announced in the evening, nearly half a floor was still there to be explored and my knee joint pain was off the charts.

A huge skeleton of Futalognkosaurus now adorns the main lobby. This tongue-twisting name actually means “giant chief lizard”. Despite their imposing structures, these were plant-eating Sauropods dinosaurs. I don’t need to tell you that nowadays even pre-school children know all about Sauropods. These are at number three in favorite dino list by my little nephew Shaheer after T-Rex and Triceratops.

 Chinese, Korean and Japanese civilization sections are at ground level.

Mithras was a god of light, truth and promised word in Persian Zoroastrianism.

To me, visiting a museum is relevant and quite a humbling experience on two accounts. One, its natural history sections tell us that human life and civilization covers just a tiny bit when measured against the immensity of time on this planet. Secondly, relics from different civilization are a testament to the fact that ours is just one of the many possible ways of being. Names of once-powerful gods and god-like rules are now just restricted to few references in books and displays.

Islamic and Middle Eastern sections are at level 3. This is a kind of sight that made our Allama Iqbal quite depressed actually when he was visiting Europe. Nevertheless, I would like to differ with him at this point. I think that these artifacts are much better preserved and cared for here than in the native countries.

A section on the same level is devoted to Gandhara Civilization. According to museum plaque, most of the works were purchased in the 1930s by the first director of the museum, from a single dealer in Peshawar named Ram Das.

Flight - Nature section

This T-Rex doesn't seem too happy about this photo op with the author.

It is said that Rome was not built in a day. On the same note, this ROM also needs more than a day, may be a full month to be explored in totality. I plan to buy its annual membership on the next visit.

Glass Floor

The Tower

CN Tower is the icon of Toronto. A trip to this city is never complete without a visit to this towering monument. View of the city from its observation deck is certainly grand but any tall building can offer such a sight. However, there is one thing in this tower that makes its tour a truly breathtaking experience. Standing on its glass floor and looking down to more than 1100 feet below is enough to trigger acrophobia or fear of heights in most people. It is a kind of eerie feeling. Your eyes would tell that you are safe but your mind finds it hard to believe. I would recommend visiting it early in the morning on weekdays when very few people are there. You will need to muster some courage to be first on the glass floor.

Glass floor and the hesitation of grown-ups

But on second thoughts, this is not too important either. You would see children and teenagers jumping on the floor while it would be hard for older persons to overcome their apprehension. Now, statistically speaking, a child or a younger person has more to lose in term of the average number of the year left to enjoy, while an older person has very little to lose in this context. So logically, a senior person should be more of a risk-taker, but practically very opposite happens. This is a paradox to me. What do you think?

Black Squirrels

On the watch

When I first spotted a black squirrel here in Toronto, I thought, wow this is another strange thing about Canada. I added this to my collection of other peculiar items like vehicles driving with lights turned on during the daytime, inverted power switches and door handles, absolute lack of honking et cetera. But weirder was the sight of black and grey squirrels playing and running side by side. Different species usually don’t mingle together and symbiotic relationships are rare. A little research (googling) and an afternoon at Queens Park showed that black squirrels are just a melanistic version of regular grey squirrels. Now melanism is the development of black pigmentation in the skin. It is the direct opposite of albinism where lack of pigmentation gives the appearance of white skin. While albinism is known to express in a large number of animals including humans, melanism is rare. Black Panther is one example which is a pigmented form of a leopard. 

Black and grey squirrels playing hide and seek at Queens Park

Black squirrels get their coloring from a mutant pigment gene and it can range from jet black to brown-black. Environmental advantages like cold tolerance and better concealment from prey have resulted in their higher populations in eastern Canada but these are not common in other areas. Due to their rarity, several US educational institutions and towns are using black squirrel as their official mascot.

A black squirrel trying to meld with tree bark

Anyway, it was fun chasing and photographing squirrels under cool shades of cedar and maple trees at Queens Park. Both varieties of squirrels seem to go along rather happily like their human counterparts in multicultural Toronto.