Between Paradise and Hell

Any success in a particular chaotic place located between paradise and hell does not require new skills or new knowledge; it requires new ways of thinking. If this statement is true then we are advised not to see the world as a clockwork mechanism but as a zigzag system composed of series of events randomly occurring.

By a zigzag series of events I mean a place full of uncertainty. A place where it is difficult to predict exactly what is going to happen at any given time. Be it the present or the nearest future. It is impossible to predict with certain accuracy what is going to happen next. Life is a nonlinear process. If you try to extrapolate, you may be disappointed. You may think that your boat is unsinkable. However, if you sail it enough times, eventually, it will sink. The future is a fuzzy business. Scientists and mathematicians are developing a theory to explain the nonlinearity phenomenon of life.

In the so called theory they recognize the importance of adaptation, and the need of improvisation but they did not really understand how new patterns of thinking can arise from group interactions and make the chaotic place look like paradise rather than hell. Paradise and hell are beliefs. No one has seen paradise as no one has seen hell. Our belief tell us that paradise is a perfect world, a world where accidents never happen. We also believe that hell is place where all kind of problems are encountered. Since we are not, yet in paradise we cannot be certain as to results.

Do what you think based on your education and experience when designing something. Your life is the way you want it to be and not the way they (they mainly refer to politicians) want. The experimental work I want to conduct on the zigzag event place will show that all the elements living in that place are capable of surviving the harsh environment and show success at various conditions. Here success is a relative variable. Success in the United States is not the same success achieved in Central Africa. Accelerating the process of learning how to avoid an accident decreases the rate of failure and makes one feel like he is in Paradise. However, increasing the load on one s back in general increases the rate of thinking but decreases the chance of success. Thus, one feels like he is in hell.

Subject: Between Paradise and Hell

Apr 09, 2005 12:31 AM By: Sandra Petrich
Between Paradise and Hell
From: Sandra Petrich On: April 04, 2005 11:04 AM

I am a mortal with a grade twelve education and carry years of life experience on a back bent by the school of hard knocks. In my opinion, I feel that the world has gone mad. The scenario of a rat on a treadmill, always rushing, but never getting to his destination comes to mind. Yes, conditions are harsh for most on this planet but so is the will to survive. However, intellectuals must take responsibility and make it their mission statement to design products and services and implement them into the world-not for corporate greed, or fame, or for politicians-but to make this planet a safer, kinder place to live whereby all earth's inhabitants can survive on a level playing field.


Apr 10, 2005 9:30 AM By: Cindy Perouty

Dr. Chaalal's article contains elements very similar to Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection. Life is definitely not linear, but is exposed to a variety of experiences from many directions. This nonlinearity requires adaptation by the person to their "environment" be it corporate, education, political or the external environment, as well as cultural mores, ethics and religion. Although humans have long begun to shape the world to their own needs, we are also shaped by the "memes" of our cultures and world. As stated in Wikipedia "The term meme was coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins in his bestselling book, The Selfish Gene. Inanimate sources of information have been termed 'retention systems'. In more specific terms, a meme is a self-propagating unit of cultural evolution having some resemblance to the gene (the unit of genetics). The difference lies in the replicative potential and minimally required resources to replicate. Memes can represent parts of ideas, languages, elemental particles, tunes, designs, skills, moral and aesthetic values and anything else that is commonly learned and passed on to others as a unit. The study of evolutionary models of information transfer is called memetics."
As Dr. Challal has stated in his article "Do what you think based on your education and experience when designing something. Your life is the way you want it to be and not the way they (they mainly refer to politicians) want." Although memes permit us to share a common thought or idea, memes can also be seen as akin to "thought viruses", especially those that come to us from the media. Not everything reported in any media, be it radio, TV, newspapers or the Internet is completely truthful. If you do not use your brain to think about what is being said, you pass on false information, which eventually becomes part of the "global myth" of lies that people considered true.
The world is a great and wonderful place filled with exciting ideas, unique cultures and more people who for the most part believe in the Golden Rule of do unto other as you would have them do to you. Being kind increases kindness. Being unkind increases anger and causes more unkindness. From the world we have those memes that shape our world politics and ideas, as well as those of good will, peace and global harmony going back in history to both the written word and the conscious memories shared over the generations.
Yes there are also the unkind, the dubious, the scammers and those who would hurt people for the sake of gain or because of mental disturbances. However, like our ancestors, we must adapt ourselves to these challenges as they come at us from all directions. Dr. Challal's zigzag theory is therefore quite Darwinian in concept!

Subject: Between Paradise and Hell

Apr 10, 2005 11:45 AM By: Cindy S.

I have one theroy on this matter and that is life is what you make it .It can be paradise or it can be hell we all need to put our own lives in prospective we cant let politacians or any one else do our thinking for us or expect any one to make our lives what they are we can only do that ourselves .

Subject: Heaven or Hell

Apr 14, 2005 9:29 AM By: C. Jean Hiers

While I agree that life is not linear, I disagree that life's twists and turns are random or coincidental. I don't believe that. Call it faith, but I believe there is a reason for everything, though we may not be privy to that reason. As mortals on this earth, we strive to achieve and to be the best we can be.
While I agree that we cannot predict the future, we can only strive to do whatever we have control of to attain the end product we desire. When that desired result is not attained, there is generally a reason.... sometime clearly obvious, other times vague and disapppointing. Haven't you ever realized after the fact that it was a good thing that you didn't get what you wished for?
Education, whether formal or simply the school of hard knocks, is never wasted. But to add value to our lives, we must be able to learn from it; to take our failures and avoid making the same mistakes again. It's how we grow, spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually.
I don't consider myself the eternal optimist, but I do view the world full of optimism and joy. We cannot attain perfection or live in paradise while on this earth, but we can strive for a good life, a productive life.
We all have to learn the art of compromise; be it in our personal lives, or learning to live with the decisions of our chosen leaders, but that doesn't mean we must become complacent and accepting of ideas we deem weak or filled with falacies. All the more reason for us to be active, not passive.
Some say life is what you make it, and to an extent, this is true. But more accurate, I think, is that life is a condition of how we react to the challenges it presents.

Subject: Between Pradise and Hell

Apr 19, 2005 5:49 AM By: Richard Fielder

Very interesting, Omar, as was the discussion that you precipitated. I agree that much of what happens to us is out of our control, and also that we have a great deal of control over how we react to what happens--in effect, that we create our own reality (as you say, your life is the way you want it to be). The key is to choose wisely when choosing the reality you create. Richard

Subject: Between Paradise And Hell

Apr 19, 2005 6:27 AM By: Shirley Billingsley

Your ideology is somewhat unique. I would like to tell you about the story of Jesus, and introduce to you the real world - the Bible, which is the Word of God. God made all things, and without Him, nothing was made.

Subject: Heaven and Hell

Apr 21, 2005 10:15 AM By: Joyce Faulkner, Author and Freelance Writer

To add to Dr. Chaalal thoughts, I wonder if success and failure, heaven and hell are internal concepts -- I am successful because I'm achieving those things that I was put on earth to achieve and I know it, rather than trying to accomplish something external. In other words, success isn't something that can be measured by society but only in the heart of the individual. I'm not saying that others don't make judgements -- that's what prizes and accolades and condemnations and accusations are all about...people judging people. However, many a prize winner is morose -- feeling that the judgements of others are overblown compared to his/her own assessments. In the long run, no matter what others think, it's what I think that makes me happy or sad, successful or unsuccessful -- and heaven and hell belongs to the mind in much the same way. Dr. Chaalal's zigzag image still holds through this perspective -- because thoughts are indeed nonlinear -- and heaven and hell are far more complex ideas than the simple black and white, good versus evil constructs that have become cliches around the world.