The Power of Imagination

lion-man, Ulmer Museum, Germany

We can imagine things that are not present in reality. We can also bring those images into existence through our actions. That is a pretty amazing capability if you think about that. It allows to go beyond the limitations of physical world. It opens ways to all sorts of inventions and ideas. It is what makes us truly human.

The above statute is probably the first example of this unique ability. It was found in a German cave in 1939. Its age has been established at around 40,000 years. Someone in the prehistoric times, spent countless hours to shape this piece of mammoth ivory, with simple stone tools and leather, into a thing that do not exist in nature: a lion-man. 

It may seem a trivial object to a modern eye but incredible when we are told that It took humans nearly 30,000 more years to settle down in some kind of small villages and start the domestication of crops. After that, a passage of 5,000 years was needed to see the rise of first kingdoms. All of our written history is limited to this period. Just 500 years ago, we truly started to understand the intricate workings of our world. Things accelerated after that. Once accumulation of knowledge, ideas and imagination reached a critical threshold, it started to multiply. More than ninety percent of our current knowledge was discovered and created in the past 100 years. It is really hard to imagine that what would be the state of affairs in a mere 100 years from now.

And it all started with such humble beginnings; a mental image of something that do not exist and a desire to bring it to the reality.

Image Credit: Wikipedia, Ulmer Museum, Germany

The Power of Stories

Very few people in Pakistan know that Polish citizens played a very important role in the early formation of Pakistan Air Force. After the WW II, when Poland became a communist country, many Polish Air Force officers working with the Royal Air Force began to move to United States, Australia, Norway and Canada. Around thirty Polish officers and technicians opted to move to Pakistan in 1948 on a three-year contract. They served as instructors and other technical staff. They were among the pioneers. A number of them stayed beyond their three-year contract.

Young training cadets of RPAF College Risalpur with instructor Pilot Flt Lt. M Gorzula

Air Commodore Wladyslaw Turowicz and his section at PAF Museum, Karachi

A fine Polish officer Wladyslaw Turowicz became a Pakistani citizen and rose to the rank of Air Commodore in 1960. In 1966, the Government of Pakistan transferred him to SUPARCO, as the administrator and chief scientist. As the administrator, he revitalized and initiated the space program. He was awarded Sitara-e-Pakistan, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, (Mil) among other honors for his services to the Pakistan’s space program. Zofia, Turowicz's wife, taught gliding to the cadets in Karachi and Rawalpindi between 1950 and 1954. Later, she joined Karachi University and taught applied mathematics and particle physics there. She was also awarded the Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz for her services. Turowicz's son is currently working at SUPARCO as an aerospace engineer and chief scientist.

We humans like to stereotype. Our perceptions about a group of people, communities and nations are based on our experiences with individuals and the stories that we hear about them. So what would a commoner have thought of Polish people if the above story was widely known in Pakistan. I think that the mental image would have changed from something distant, remote and unknown to friendly, intelligent and helpful people. Such mental images also affect all future interactions between communities and nations. After all, the Turkish image of Pakistani people is mainly based upon the Khilafat movement of 1920s. Same is true for a number of negative images and stereotypes. That is the power of stories.

Life in the Universe and Origins

“Origins of life is a fascinating question. How did we get here? Well, there are two questions: One is, what is the route from geology to biology - how did we get here? And the other question is, what did we start with? What material, if any, did we have to work with on this route? Those are two very, very interesting questions. The first question is a tortuous path from geology up to RNA or something like that - how did that all work? And the other, what do we have to work with? Well, more than we think. So what's pictured there is a star in formation. Now, every year in our Milky Way, which has 100 billion stars, about two new stars are created. Don't ask me how, but they're created. And it takes them about a million years to settle out. So, in steady state, there are about two million stars in formation at any time. That one is somewhere along this settling-down period. And there's all this crap sort of circling around it, dust and stuff. And it'll form probably a solar system, or whatever it forms. But here's the thing - in this dust that surrounds a forming star have been found, now, significant organic molecules. Molecules not just like methane, but formaldehyde and cyanide - things that are the building blocks - the seeds, if you will - of life. So, that may be typical. And it may be typical that planets around the universe start off with some of these basic building blocks. Now does that mean there's going to be life all around? Maybe. But it's a question of how tortuous this path is from those frail beginnings, those seeds, all the way to life. And most of those seeds will fall on fallow planets.

... if that path is tortuous enough, and so improbable, that no matter what you start with, we could be a singularity. But on the other hand, given all this organic dust that's floating around, we could have lots of friends out there. It'd be great to know.”

(Excerpt from an interview with Jim Simons on TED.com - Sep 2015)

Jim Simons was a mathematician and cryptographer who realized that the complex math he used to break codes could help explain patterns in the world of finance. Billions later, he’s working to support the next generation of math teachers and scholars. Research into the origins of life is one of the projects supported by his foundation.

Dentonia Park Plaque

Toronto Music Garden

It a small garden but it is unique in a way as it is inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach’s classic musical work. Its six sections are based on the six movements in Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major. For example, the first section of the garden is designed in such a way that it gives you a feeling of flowing river with granite boulders and low growing plants. The second section is a forest grove with wandering trails to represent an ancient German dance 'allemande' in Bach's work.

Its shady trees, copses, and labyrinth-like inner spots make you forget that it is actually located in a very busy area of the city. It is a perfect place to sit quietly, meditate, study, stroll or relax when you are in the waterfront area of downtown Toronto.

Summertime

View of CN Tower from the garden

Waterfront

I have seen you before