THE SUNNI-SHIITE DIVIDE IN A WIDER GEOPOLITICAL CONTEXT

Origin of the Sunni-Shiite Divide
The two man branches of Isalm are the Sunnis and Shiites. The original division between the two groups stems from the disagreement on who they believe is the is the true successor of Prophet Muhammed after his death in 632 CE. One group believed that it was Abu Bakr, a follower and friend of the Prophet who should be the successor while another believed that it was rather Ali, kin and son-in-law to the Prophet. The former group became known as the Sunnis whilst the latter became Shiites.

Today there are ca 1.6 billion Muslims in the world and the majority of them, 85-90% are Sunni Muslims. The rest, 10-15% are Shiite.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and most of the Gulf States are mostly Sunni Muslims while Iraq and Iran are the main followers of the Shiite tradition.

Tense relations between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran
The most influential Sunni and Shiite countries are Saudi Arabic and Iran respectively, where the relationship has a great deal of tension. The Iranian revolution in 1979 led the movement for an Islamic republic in Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini (the supreme leader) took power. Prior to the revolution Iran was considerably more liberal and westernised. After the revolution, the sectarian tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran increased. Saudi Arabia has a more amiable relationship with the United States while western ties with Iran have been poor. Eventually western -Iranian relationships are improving as oil sanctions were lifted in the summer of 2015 after a new deal on decreased Iranian nuclear activity was signed. Saudi Arabia and Iran are similar in that neither separates state and religion and their economies are heavily reliant on oil production and sales.

Sunni and Shiites in a Wider Geopolitical Context 2001 - 2015
In September 11, 2001 the Al-Qaeda terrorist group flew into the World Trade Center twin towers of New York. The US Government believed that removing Saddam Hussein from his dictatorship in Iraq would help relieve terrorism in the region, free the Iraqi people and also curtail the production of weapons of mass destruction. In 2003, the Saddam Sunni-lead regime was toppled. However, after the US-lead invasion, a power vacuum loomed in Iraq and a population of mostly Shiite majority was left without any proper leader. Amidst the uncertainty, new militant groups emerged.

The Arab Spring in 2010 erupted in the streets of Cairo, Egypt (prominently Sunni country) which lead to the overthrowing of President Hosni Mubarak who had been in power for nearly 30 years. This lead to other springs in countries such as Bahrain and also Syria. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria (an Alawite Shiite) however was not keen on leaving office after protests which began, first peacefully, in Syria 2011. Increased tensions lead to violence and insinuated the movement of rebel groups.

After the Iraqi invasion and the Arab Spring, two prominent terrorist groups crystallised in Iraq and Syria that were taking a more aggressive front than their al-Qaeda predecessor - ISIS and the al-Nusra front. ISIS - the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - is a terrorist group lead under the Iraqi-born Sunni leader Abu Bakhr al-Baghdadi. ISIS aims to create a Caliphate, a theocratic unified government, in Iraq and Syria - and probably even beyond these territories. The name in Arabic is "Daesh" or ad Dawla al-Islamiyya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham. The other prominent Salafist terrorist group is the Jabat al-Nusra front, Sunni-lead with origins in Syria and, like ISIS, have a desire to create a caliphate.

This text highlights the Sunni and Shiite divide in a wider geopolitical context. The sectarian divide from 1,400 years ago, after the death of Prophet Muhammed, is a factor in today's geopolitical context of the Middle East. There are tensions between governments of different religious groups, there are tensions between governments and their people of different groups, but also religions, language and culture, and there is also rising terrorist jihadist groups that spread calamity and pandemonium while acclaiming themselves to different religious sectors, but bear no relation to other followers of the religion.

QUANTUM PHYSICS AND PARALLEL WORLDS

Does the universe behave according to some law? 

Ionian science (ca 500 BC, in Greece/Turkey) suggested that the world could be explained by simple mathematical laws rather than religion. Aristotle (ca 300 BC) took a more philosophical approach to understanding life, where he still included God in the universal laws. He did not believe in the existence of atoms as this, according to him, defied the concept of a soul. Descartes (ca 1600 AD) was the first to explicitly state the concept of the "laws of nature", still including God in his paradigm. For many years, Newtonian science considered physics to be linear, but about 100 years ago this view of science was heavily questioned after the discovery of quantum physics. 

In 1927, Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer were the first to conduct the infamous double-slit experiment. Electrons (or in other versions of the experiment, smaller particles called buckyballs) were sent through a wall where first one slit was open, and then again when both slits were open. When only one slit was open and electrons (or buckyballs) were sent out randomly to pass through the slit, the particles seemed to move like a beam. However, when both slits were open, a single particle created interference patterns - the particle acted like waves rather than a linear beam. This means that when both slits were open the particle entered the first slit, the second slit and neither slit simultaneously. These startling results was the discovery of quantum physics by which "nothing is ever located at a definite point... each particle has some probability of being found anywhere in the universe" (pg 93-94, "The Grand Design", 2010). All modifications of the double-slit experiment have confirmed similar results. At the micro-level, quantum physics is evident, however it is not so apparent at the macro-level. Is the elephant both on the savanna in South Africa but also in my apartment in Europe at the same time? There are hopes to test quantum theory on viruses, that would test the theory on living organisms. 

The question that quantum physics evokes: do parallel worlds exist?

Stephen Hawking's "The Grand Design" (2010) explains that laws of the universe can be described under a candidate theory called M-theory- the theory of physics that aims to explain everything. M-theory is the marriage of, amongst other things, Einsteins theory of relativity and quantum physics. 

SURVIVAL OF THE SELFISH GENE

Richard Dawkin's "The Selfish Gene" was originally published in 1976 and at that time brought a wave of revolution within the biological and general public community. He brings an enlightening perspective on why and how humans and organisms have developed in the way that they have. Before life was around, there were chemicals, H20, C02, ammonia and the like. Experiments in laboratories that have tried to create "life" through a few basic chemicals were able to create organic substances, purine and pyrimidines- the building blocks of deoxirybonucleic acid, DNA. Millions of years ago, DNA swam around in the so-called "primordial soup". And a conglomerate of DNA created genes.

Organisms, according to Dawkins, are like clouds. They come and go. They die. The material that composes the clouds however continue to thrive, even though the clouds disappear. With the background of a wild and aggressive world that the genes thrived in, the gene had to survive. Through evolution, the genes developed and coupled with other genes. Genes became the blueprint that told cells how and to create layers of skin/plant tissue, to create eyes to see, to make legs to run.

Through evolution, the gene created the "survival machine". The "survival machine" has taken many forms. It has taken the form of you, and I, of plants and animals. At the most core of evolution, lies the ultimate unit of interest, not the species, but the gene that wants to survive.

In his book, Dawkin's applies the context of the survival of the basic gene on the basic behaviour of organisms and animals. This paradigm is quite simple to grasp but it is nevertheless an entertaining way to see the world. Below are only a few of interpretations of Dawkin's examples.

Why do many female species hold off copulation with males? This is evident in many species, such as birds. This is also a behaviour or instinct developed for a reason by the gene. It is interesting to first note that females in most species (albeit not humans) are more aesthetically bland compared to males who are more vibrant-looking. The good-looking males have to win over the females which takes time and effort. The female cannot copulate with whomever, whenever because after the fertilization of the egg, she is stuck for some time waiting for that offspring (and later taking care of it). Males can however go about and enjoy copulation whenever they wish without much risk. The female wants to ensure that she does not copulate with an unreliable male that will not stick around after birth. Copulation with an unreliable male is sub-optimal in the perspective of the gene, as it entails greater risks for the survival of the offspring - or selfish gene.

Why do some species have an affinity to belong in a group? This desire was, according to Dawkins, developed by the gene. Aggregating individuals on the savanna and in the sea, can give a higher probability of survival for the gene. One or a few individuals may  have to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the gene pool by warning off members of the community on upcoming dangers.

What is the biological reason to care for ones offspring? Why don't we just care for the offspring of a collective or the like? Genetically speaking, offspring is exactly 50% of one's own genetic makeup. Caring for one's offspring means that the selfish gene is ensuring it's own survival forward in time. According to Dawkins, this implies that one should actually be just as equally concerned for the well-being of ones offspring as ones full brother or sister, they also share of 50% of ones own genes.

As humans gather more knowledge, we are driven not only by genes but also by so-called "memes". Animals act the way they do because they are driven by the genes to do so.  Of course, there are also other factors that dictate human behaviour. This is what Dawkins calls "memes", or simply put, culture. We do not act solely because our genes tell us to act a certain way- there are obviously other factors at force. Just as how genes tell us how to act (mating, group-belonging, and caring for ones offspring), culture, religion and politics have propagated into the minds of different individuals and tell them how to act. Genes and memes are very similar in some sense. Individuals die, but religion, culture and politics can survive,  proliferate and morph. Individuals die, but our genes continue to survive, proliferate and evolve.

"I am trying to build up the idea that animal behaviour, altruistic or selfish, is under the control of genes only in an indirect, but still very powerful sense." pg. 60, "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins, 1989 version.

WHAT IS ANGKOR WAT?

Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu, later-turned, Buddhist temple complex from the Khmer Empire, 802 AD to 1432, located in Cambodia. Hinduism came to Cambodia through India. Angkor Wat (Angkor meaning temple) is surrounded by several other temples from the ancient Khmer Empire over a surface area the size of Los Angeles.

Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire founded by Jayavarman II who claimed himself to be god-king, or devaraja. The Khmer Empire was successful in their development of complex water systems. At their highest peak the Empire sustained a population of 1 million people, many of them fisherman, and probably many of them working with the creation of the 70+ massive temples. Why did the Khmer Empire collapse? It seems that the complexity of their water systems (which are best understood when looking from an aerial perspective) got the best of them. A period of drought is said to have taken place and lead to the collapse of the Empire.

Angkors located between two massive barays, or reservoirs

THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE IS SURFACE-VISIBLE IN ICELAND

The Eurasian and American tectonic plates are moving away from each other and create the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that runs through the Atlantic Ocean. This ridge is not visible above water, except for in one place, Iceland.

In  þingvellir, Iceland, one can see a large valley with a vista of two mountain ranges on both sides. This precise place is where the North American and Eurasian plates meet and are diverging from each other. The valley reflects the divergence.

Iceland itself was created because it lies between the two plates and was built by the volcanic activity that spurted from the rift 20 million years ago. There are only two places on earth where the meeting point of two major tectonic plates are visible on the Earth's surface. One is the valley in þingvellir and the other is in eastern Africa.

þingvellir National Park, Iceland. UNESCO World Heritage Site 

The easternmost point of the North American plate. 

WHAT CAUSES THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?

The Northern Lights otherwise known as Aurora Borealis are created when sun's ionic particles are exerted and move toward the Earth's North and South poles. Because of the speed, the sun particles knock electrons out of atoms in our atmosphere. These electrons then knock into other atoms, causing colors in the sky, often green.

The lights are visible when skies are clear from clouds near the north and south poles. The Northern Lights are seen from Northern Scandinavia, Iceland, Alaska, Canada, southern Greenland, and northern Siberia. The Southern Lights primarily are seen from Antarctica, but potentially are seen from New Zealand and Tasmania.

See link:

The Northern Lights

WHOSE BEEN ON EARTH THE LONGEST - DINOSAURS OR THE HOMO GENUS?

So who has been on this planet longer, dinosaurs or the human genus? Dinosaurs came about 230 million years ago and lived on Earth for 165 million years, becoming extinct 65 million years ago. The human genus came about 2.5 million years ago.

To understand who has lived on Earth longer, play with the idea that the time period from the beginning of the dinosaurs to today is compressed into a period of 365 days. In this context, the dinosaurs have lived from the 1st of January to about the 3rd week in September. Humans on the other hand have existed for only 1 day, the 31st of December. We have not occupied this planet for very long, and it is fascinating how much life has been here before us.

Check out the link:

Dinosaur facts