Reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 25

Reaction paper - Essay Example While moving around the camp he mentions the presence of a swimming pool but he fails to see the size of the swimming pool carefully enough. Cole is suggestive that the inmates were allowed to use a swimming pool the size of an ordinary carpet rug. Given that Auschwitz housed thousands of people at the same time, it seems strange to notice that a swimming pool would be available to serve them. Instead, it seems more likely that the camp’s senior most staff would have been allowed to use the swimming pool. In a similar manner, much of the evidence presented by Cole is weak and circumstantial. Another major allegation by Cole is the absence of millions of human bodies in mass graves to prove Auschwitz gruesome nature. An entire Polish army worth of officers terminated by the Soviets in the Second World War were only found a couple of years ago in a remote Siberian forest. In a similar manner this secret has been well hidden enough to escape the scrutiny of time. However, it is undeniable that the Third Reich was able to consume millions of innocent people because these people were never seen or heard from again. Trying to discredit the holocaust based on a gas chamber in a concentration camp hardly lends credence to any

Pest Analysis Essay Example for Free

Pest Analysis Essay Knowledge Representation question and answers 1. Consider the following statements a) Reema is a super star. b) All super stars are rich. c) All rich people have fast cars. d) All fast cars consume a lot of petrol. Use predicate logic and inference rules to draw the conclusion â€Å"Reema’s car consumed a lot of petrol†. a. List any two knowledge representation techniques. b. Write Modus Ponens rule. c. Define disjunctive normal form with suitable example. 2. Consider given sentences: It is crime to steal Ram stole in exam Is Ram criminal? Write above sentences in First Order Predicate calculus and use resolution algorithm to answer Is Ram Criminal? 1. Why are propositional logic statements converted into conjunctive normal form (CNF)? Convert given clause to CNF. d. Define logical consequence. e. Why is propositional logic used? 3. Consider given sentences: Ram is a boy. Gita is a girl. Ram is husband of Gita If girl has husband then she is married. Write above sentences in First Order Predicate calculus and resolution algorithm to show Gita is married. . Represent the following paragraph using predicate logic and convert each sentence into clausual form. â€Å"The law says that it is a crime for an American to sell weapons to hostile nations. The country Nono, an enemy of America, has some missiles, and all of its missiles were sold to it by Colonel West, who is American. † a. In propositional logic what is meant by contradict statement? b. What is meant by conjunctive normal form? Show the relation between universal quantifier and existential quantifier a. Define conjunctive normal form and disjunctive normal form. b. Why is predicate logic better than propositional logic? Parse the sentence â€Å"Ram is a good boy† using bottom up parsing 1. Represent the following sentence using propositional logic:- â€Å"If the unicorn is mythical, then it is immortal, but if it is not mythical, then it is a mortal mammal. If the unicorn is either immortal or a mammal, then it is horned. The unicorn is magical if it is horned. † Also prove using resolution that unicorn is magical and unicorn is horned.

Tv Violence :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is human nature to try to solve every problem that comes up. Humans just do not feel comfortable saying, â€Å"I don’t know,† so we work long hours searching and studying to find solutions to every problem that needs one. So when kids started torching cars, shooting students and teachers at school, smashing windows, assaulting bus drivers, and even decapitating each other, where did parents and law enforcement officers look? This is not an easy question with a definite answer, but after researchers studied hard, they found an answer: television. Could that little box that places images on the screen really affect the behavior of people so drastically? People now blame television for everything. Irresponsible parents who do not spend enough time with their kids and law enforcement officers who do not want to investigate to find a real cause to a problem are quick to blame television when their kids do something wrong. Instead of taking responsibili ty for their own kids, these parents lobby for restrictions to be placed on television and ruin things for everyone else. I see two problems with that. First, it is constitutionally wrong for someone to try to limit someone else’s free speech. The constitution does not specifically mention television, but it does not mention any other form of communication so it is assumed that television is included. Secondly, it does not make a lot of sense for a few angry people to try to control what everybody watches. I love to watch television, and I would be very angry if I could not watch what I wanted because it contained too much violence or if the producers of one of my favorite shows changed it to decrease the amount of violence in it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It seems like everyone has his or her own opinion on this subject. The two most obvious are that people think television violence is bad and something should be done about it or they think violence on television does not affect people’s behavior and nothing should be done. Jeffrey Klein, the author of the article â€Å"Fire Fighting Little,† believes television is causing problems everywhere in the world. In his article, he examines the causes of the rise in juvenile violence, not only in America, but worldwide. He tries to find the answer to the question, â€Å"Why is juvenile crime erupting worldwide at a time when adult crime is diminishing and there is much less violence among nations?

Structure of Language

he Structure of Language Language is a system of symbols and rules that is used for meaningful communication. A system of communication has to meet certain criteria in order to be considered a language: A language uses symbols, which are sounds, gestures, or written characters that represent objects, actions, events, and ideas. Symbols enable people to refer to objects that are in another place or events that occurred at a different time. A language is meaningful and therefore can be understood by other users of that language.A language is generative, which means that the symbols of a language can be combined to produce an infinite number of messages. A language has rules that govern how symbols can be arranged. These rules allow people to understand messages in that language even if they have never encountered those messages before. The Building Blocks of Language Language is organized hierarchically, from phonemes to morphemes to phrases and sentences that communicate meaning. Phon emes Phonemes are the smallest distinguishable units in a language.In the English language, many consonants, such as t, p, and m, correspond to single phonemes, while other consonants, such as c and g, can correspond to more than one phoneme. Vowels typically correspond to more than one phoneme. For example, o corresponds to different phonemes depending on whether it is pronounced as in bone or woman. Some phonemes correspond to combinations of consonants, such as ch, sh, and th. Morphemes Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units in a language. In the English language, only a few single letters, such as I and a, are morphemes. Morphemes are usually whole words or meaningful parts of words, such as refixes, suffixes, and word stems. Example: The word â€Å"disliked† has three morphemes: â€Å"dis,† â€Å"lik,† and â€Å"ed. † Syntax Syntax is a system of rules that governs how words can be meaningfully arranged to form phrases and sentences. Example: On e rule of syntax is that an article such as â€Å"the† must come before a noun, not after: â€Å"Read the book,† not â€Å"Read book the. † Language Development in Children Children develop language in a set sequence of stages, although sometimes particular skills develop at slightly different ages: Three-month-old infants can distinguish between the phonemes from any language.At around six months, infants begin babbling, or producing sounds that resemble many different languages. As time goes on, these sounds begin to resemble more closely the words of the languages the infant hears. At about thirteen months, children begin to produce simple single words. By about twenty-four months, children begin to combine two or three words to make short sentences. At this stage, their speech is usually telegraphic. Telegraphic speech, like telegrams, contains no articles or prepositions. By about age three years, children can usually use tenses and plurals.Children’ s language abilities continue to grow throughout the school-age years. They become able to recognize ambiguity and sarcasm in language and to use metaphors and puns. These abilities arise from metalinguistic awareness, or the capacity to think about how language is used. Ambiguous Language Language may sometimes be used correctly but still have an unclear meaning or multiple meanings. In these cases, language is ambiguous—it can be understood in several ways. Avoid biting dogs is an example of an ambiguous sentence. A person might interpret it as Keep out of the way of biting dogs or Don’t bite dogs.Theories of Language Acquisition The nature vs. nurture debate extends to the topic of language acquisition. Today, most researchers acknowledge that both nature and nurture play a role in language acquisition. However, some researchers emphasize the influences of learning on language acquisition, while others emphasize the biological influences. Receptive Language before E xpressive Language Children’s ability to understand language develops faster than their ability to speak it. Receptive language is the ability to understand language, and expressive language is the ability to use language to communicate.If a mother tells her fifteen-month-old child to put the toy back in the toy chest, he may follow her instructions even though he can’t repeat them himself. Environmental Influences on Language Acquisition A major proponent of the idea that language depends largely on environment was the behaviorist B. F. Skinner (see pages 145 and 276 for more information on Skinner). He believed that language is acquired through principles of conditioning, including association, imitation, and reinforcement. According to this view, children learn words by associating sounds with objects, actions, and events.They also learn words and syntax by imitating others. Adults enable children to learn words and syntax by reinforcing correct speech. Critics of t his idea argue that a behaviorist explanation is inadequate. They maintain several arguments: Learning cannot account for the rapid rate at which children acquire language. There can be an infinite number of sentences in a language. All these sentences cannot be learned by imitation. Children make errors, such as overregularizing verbs. For example, a child may say Billy hitted me, incorrectly adding the usual past tense suffix -ed to hit.Errors like these can’t result from imitation, since adults generally use correct verb forms. Children acquire language skills even though adults do not consistently correct their syntax. Neural Networks Some cognitive neuroscientists have created neural networks, or computer models, that can acquire some aspects of language. These neural networks are not preprogrammed with any rules. Instead, they are exposed to many examples of a language. Using these examples, the neural networks have been able to learn the language’s statistical s tructure and accurately make the past tense forms of verbs.The developers of these networks speculate that children may acquire language in a similar way, through exposure to multiple examples. Biological Influences on Language Acquisition The main proponent of the view that biological influences bring about language development is the well-known linguist Noam Chomsky. Chomsky argues that human brains have a language acquisition device (LAD), an innate mechanism or process that allows children to develop language skills. According to this view, all children are born with a universal grammar, which makes them receptive to the common features of all languages.Because of this hard-wired background in grammar, children easily pick up a language when they are exposed to its particular grammar. Evidence for an innate human capacity to acquire language skills comes from the following observations: The stages of language development occur at about the same ages in most children, even though different children experience very different environments. Children’s language development follows a similar pattern across cultures. Children generally acquire language skills quickly and effortlessly. Deaf children who have not been exposed to a language may make up their own language.These new languages resemble each other in sentence structure, even when they are created in different cultures. Biology and Environment Some researchers have proposed theories that emphasize the importance of both nature and nurture in language acquisition. These theorists believe that humans do have an innate capacity for acquiring the rules of language. However, they believe that children develop language skills through interaction with others rather than acquire the knowledge automatically. Language, Culture, and Thought Researchers have differing views about the extent to which language and culture influence the way people think.In the 1950s, Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed the linguistic re lativity hypothesis. He said language determines the way people think. For example, Whorf said that Eskimo people and English-speaking people think about snow differently because the Eskimo language has many more words for snow than the English language does. Most subsequent research has not supported Whorf’s hypothesis. Researchers do acknowledge, however, that language can influence thought in subtle ways. For example, the use of sexist terminology may influence how people think about women.Two ways that people commonly use language to influence thinking are semantic slanting and name calling. Semantic Slanting Semantic slanting is a way of making statements so that they will evoke specific emotional responses. Example: Military personnel use the term â€Å"preemptive counterattack† rather than â€Å"invasion,† since â€Å"invasion† is likely to produce more negative feelings in people. Name Calling Name calling is a strategy of labeling people in order to influence their thinking. In anticipatory name calling, it is implied that if someone thinks in a particular way, he or she will receive an unfavorable label.Example: On the day a student buys a new desk, he might say, â€Å"Only a slob would pile junk on a desk like this. † This might help ensure that his roommate keeps it free of junk. Bilingualism Although people sometimes assume that bilingualism impairs children’s language development, there is no evidence to support this assumption. Bilingual children develop language at the same rate as children who speak only one language. In general, people who begin learning a new language in childhood master it more quickly and thoroughly than do people who learn a language in adulthood. Language and Nonhuman PrimatesSome researchers have tried to teach apes to use language. Because of the structure of their vocal organs, apes can’t say words, but they can communicate using signs or computers. Using these means, a pes can make requests, respond to questions, and follow instructions. The Case of Washoe the Chimpanzee Researchers at Central Washington University taught a chimpanzee named Washoe to use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate. She could sign not only single words but also meaningful combinations of words. She could follow instructions and respond to questions given in ASL.Later, Washoe’s foster child, Loulis, learned signs just by watching Washoe and other chimps that had been trained to use language. Some research even suggested that language-trained chimps may use signs spontaneously to communicate with each other or to talk to themselves, although this behavior is not thoroughly documented. Skepticism about Ape Language Critics of the idea that apes can learn and use language have maintained several arguments: Apes, unlike people, can be trained to learn only a limited number of words and only with difficulty.Apes use signs or computers to get a reward, in the same way that other animals can be taught tricks. But learning tricks is not equivalent to learning language. Apes don’t use syntax. For example, they don’t recognize the difference between Me eat apple and Apple eat me. Trainers may be reading meanings into signs apes make and unintentionally providing cues that help them to respond correctly to questions. Clearly, communication in nonhuman animals differs drastically from language in humans. The spontaneity, uniqueness, and reflective content of human language remains unmatched. Nonprimates Can CommunicateResearchers have taught nonprimate animals, such as parrots, to communicate meaningfully. Parrots that participated in language acquisition studies learned to identify dozens of objects, distinguish colors, and make simple requests in English. One famous example is Alex the African gray parrot, owned by Irene Pepperberg from the University of Arizona. Alex can â€Å"speak† hundreds of words, but what makes him mor e unique is that he appears to do more than just vocalize. Though Pepperberg does not claim that Alex uses â€Å"language,† she does believe that when Alex talks, he is expressing his thoughts, not just mimicking.The Structure of Cognition Cognition, or thinking, involves mental activities such as understanding, problem solving, and decision making. Cognition also makes creativity possible. The Building Blocks of Cognition When humans think, they manipulate mental representations of objects, actions, events, and ideas. Humans commonly use mental representations such as concepts, prototypes, and cognitive schemas. Concepts A concept is a mental category that groups similar objects, events, qualities, or actions. Concepts summarize information, enabling humans to think quickly.Example: The concept â€Å"fish† includes specific creatures, such as an eel, a goldfish, a shark, and a flying fish. Prototypes A prototype is a typical example of a concept. Humans use prototypes to decide whether a particular instance of something belongs to a concept. Example: Goldfish and eels are both fish, but most people will agree that a goldfish is a fish more quickly than they will agree that an eel is a fish. A goldfish fits the â€Å"fish† prototype better than an eel does. Cognitive Schemas Cognitive schemas are mental models of different aspects of the world. They contain knowledge, beliefs, assumptions, associations, and expectations.Example: People may have a schema about New York that includes information they’ve learned about New York in school, their memories of New York, things people have told them about New York, information from movies and books about New York, what they assume to be true about New York, and so on. Theories of Cognitive Development Cognitive development refers to the change in children’s patterns of thinking as they grow older. Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory The scientist best known for research on cognitive dev elopment is Jean Piaget (see pages 72–75), who proposed that children’s thinking goes through a set eries of four major stages. Piaget believed that children’s cognitive skills unfold naturally as they mature and explore their environment. Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of Sociocultural Influences Psychologist Lev Vygotsky believed that children’s sociocultural environment plays an important role in how they develop cognitively. In Vygotsky’s view, the acquisition of language is a crucial part of cognitive development. After children acquire language, they don’t just go through a set series of stages. Rather, their cognitive development depends on interactions with adults, cultural norms, and their environmental circumstances.Private Speech Vygotsky pointed out that children use language to control their own behavior. After children acquire language skills and learn the rules of their culture, they start to engage in private speech. They first talk to themselves out loud, and then, as they grow older, silently, giving themselves instructions about how to behave. Current Research on Cognitive Development Current research indicates that children have complex cognitive abilities at much younger ages than Piaget suggested. As early as four months of age, infants appear to understand basic laws of physics.For example, a four-month-old infant can recognize that solid objects cannot pass through other solid objects and that objects roll down slopes instead of rolling up. At five months of age, infants can recognize the correct answers to addition and subtraction problems involving small numbers. These observations have led some researchers to speculate that humans are born with some basic cognitive abilities. Critics argue that researchers who find these results are overinterpreting the behavior of the infants they study. Quick Review The Structure of LanguageLanguage is a system of symbols and rules used for meaningful communi cation. A language uses symbols and syntax and is meaningful and generative. Language is organized hierarchically from phonemes to morphemes to phrases and sentences. Children develop language in a set sequence of stages. Theories of Language Acquisition Behaviorist B. F. Skinner strongly supported the idea that language depends largely on environment. Skinner believed that people acquire language through principles of conditioning. Critics argue the inadequacy of behaviorist explanations.Some cognitive neuroscientists have created neural networks that can acquire some aspects of language by encountering many examples of language. They think children may acquire language in the same way. Noam Chomsky is the main proponent of the importance of biological influences on language development. Chomsky proposed that human brains have a language acquisition device that allows children to acquire language easily. Some researchers believe that language is both biologically and environmentall y determined. The linguistic relativity hypothesis states that language determines the way people think.Today, researchers believe language influences, rather than determines, thought. Two ways that people use language to influence thinking are semantic slanting and name calling. People master a new language better if they begin learning it in childhood. Nonhuman animals can learn some aspects of language. Language and Nonhuman Primates Some researchers have tried to teach apes to use language. Apes can communicate, but researchers are divided on whether this communication can really be considered â€Å"learning language. † The Structure of CognitionCognition involves activities such as understanding, problem solving, decision making, and being creative. People use mental representations such as concepts, prototypes, and cognitive schemas when they think. Theories of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget believed that children’s cognitive skills unfold naturally as they ma ture and explore their environment. Lev Vygotsky believed that children’s sociocultural environment plays an important role in cognitive development. Some researchers have shown that humans are born with some basic cognitive abilities. Problem-SolvingProblem-solving is the active effort people make to achieve a goal that is not easily attained. Three common types of problems involve inducing structure, arranging, and transformation. Some approaches to problem-solving are trial and error, deductive and inductive reasoning, use of algorithms and heuristics, dialectical reasoning, creation of subgoals, use of similar problems, and changes in the way the problems are represented. Researchers have identified many obstacles to effective problem-solving, such as focus on irrelevant information, functional fixedness, mental set, and assumptions about unnecessary constraints.Decision-Making Decision-making involves weighing alternatives and choosing among them. Additive strategies and elimination strategies are ways of making decisions about preferences. Using expected value, subjective utility, the availability heuristic, and the representativeness heuristic are all ways of making risky decisions. Using the representativeness heuristic can make people susceptible to biases, such as the tendency to ignore base rates and the gambler’s fallacy. Using the availability heuristic can make people susceptible to overestimating the improbable or underestimating the probable.In an effort to minimize risk, people also make decision-making errors, such as the overconfidence effect, the confirmation bias, and belief perseverance. Creativity Creativity is the ability to generate novel, useful ideas. Creativity is characterized by divergent, rather than convergent, thinking. Some characteristics of creative people are expertise, nonconformity, curiosity, persistence, and intrinsic motivation. People can best realize their creative potential if they are in environmental circumstances that promote creativity.

Khalifa Ali

IntroductionAli was born to Abu Talib himself a renowned Quraish chief and custodian of the Holy Kaaba. Abu Talib’s father, Abdul Muttalib was the son of the great Hashim. Ali’s mother was Fatima, daughter of Asad who too was a son of Hashim. Fatima was a cousin of Abu Talib. Thus both of Ali’s parents were Hashemite, which was considered quite prestigious.Ancestry of AliThe Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was Abdul Muttalib’s grandson. His father Abdullah was Abu Talib’s brother, which therefore made Abu Talib the prophet’s uncle and Ali his first cousin.Birth of AliAlthough his exact date of birth is not confirmed tradition says, Ali was born on the thirteenth of â€Å"Rajab† in the 28th year of the Elephant Era (whose commencement is marked by Yemen’s ruler Abraha’s failed attempt to invade Makkah and destroy the Kaaba) The Holy Prophet of Islam was born in the Year of the Elephant which according to scholars corresponds to the year 571 A.D. If we calculate then, Ali must have been born around 599 or 600 C.E.His birth was quite an unusual one. That day, his mother Fatima visited the Kaaba for pilgrimage. It was during her pilgrimage that she felt maternal pains and retired to a corner of the Kaaba and that is where Ali was born. Thus, Ali had the unparalleled honor of being born in the House of Allah bestowed upon him.The NameLegend goes that when Ali was born the Holy prophet and his wife Khadija came to see the infant. That the little boy had not yet opened his eyes was a matter of great worry for everyone. But when the prophet Muhammad held him in his hands young Ali opened his eyes, making the prophet the first person he saw after birth. The Holy Prophet named him ‘Ali’ the derivative of Allah, since he was born the Ka’aba.Physical AppearanceAli was of a moderate height. He held a gracious face which reflected his personality. His facial features were striking wi th a straight nose and a beautifully formed mouth. He possessed commanding eyes, full of light and luster.   It was as if rays of spirituality   beamed through him , and there was a certain sense of personal magnetism that attracted people towards him. As a young man, Ali was handsome, while in his later age, he became bulky with his gray hair of the head giving way to baldness. His beard, which was often dyed red, remained thick and luxuriant.Marriage of AliInitially when the Holy Prophet migrated to Yathrib he went alone but later Yathrib was named ‘Medina’ in his honor and he called his family and other Muslims there as well. At that time the prophet’s beloved wife Khadija had expired and he had married a woman called Sauda. A year later, he married Abu Bakr’s ( Islam’s first Caliph’s)daughter Ayesha. The Holy Prophet’s youngest daughter Fatima was also old enough to be married by that time. Abu Bakr and Omar both asked for her hand in marriage but there was no answer on the part of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.In those simpler times, age differences were not a concern in marriage. Khadija had been fifteen years older to Muhammad and he himself was much older to Ayesha at the time of marriage. It is thus important to note that this was not the reason the Prophet Muhammad remained silent to these proposals but it is reasonable to conclude that he was waiting for God’s approval and guidance in making this decision. After the Battle of Badr, it was Ali’s turn to ask for Fatima’s hand in marriage and he did so. The Holy Prophet replied that he needed Fatima’s consent. When he consulted Fatima she remained silent, a   sign of approval. The prophet also received a revelation signifying Allah’s approval of the marriage. Both families also mutually agreed.The marriage of Ali and Fatima is said to be the perfect one. Indeed two pure and blessed souls unified and bonded together. Ha fsa, a daughter of Omar and later a wife of the Holy Prophet described Fatima as an exemplary woman, one who’s face shone like the moon and who married a man with a superior personality.Induction of Ali as a member of the family of the Holy ProphetWhen Ali visited the Holy Prophet from the desert where he had been living, the occasion was also attended by a close few including Abu Talib and his family. The Holy Prophet loved Ali very much so much so that he requested Abu Talib to place Ali under his care. Abu Talib agreed to entrust Ali with the prophet because he knew he would care for him better than anyone else could.It is believed that the Holy Prophet did this to relieve Abu Talib’s increasing financial worries. However, this view seems to be untrue because Abu Talib was a Quraish chief and a trader. And had he been in any financial trouble the trouble he prophet would surely have helped him. Therefore it seems that it was because of the prophet’s fondness of Ali that he took him under his responsibility. Abu Talib would often visit and Ali would meet his parents everyday. The Holy Prophet kept Ali as a younger brother with much affection.Companionship of the Holy Prophet:The period of Ali's life which was spent with the Holy Prophet can be termed as the period of education and action. It was during these 32 years, from Ali's birth till the demise of the Holy Prophet, that Ali received his education under the loving care of the Last Prophet of Allah; embedded in himself the values of Islam; and acquired all the attributes that contribute to greatness. After the migration to Medina, he came to be known as a valiant soldier. His spoils in the battles of Badr, Uhud and the Ditch and his awe inspiring success at Khyber earned him the title of â€Å"Lion of God†.   He acted as the Governor of Yemen, and acquired good deal of experience as an administrator and judge, acquiring fame for his wise and well reasoned judgments.The First Three Caliphs and Ali:At the time of the demise of the Holy Prophet, Ali was a young enlightened, experienced, wise and valiant man. Despite all his qualities, Ali was passed over in the election for a caliph, as Abu Bakr took the state of affairs under his control. Ali would have to wait for 24 years before he could hold the office of caliph. During these years, Ali acted as an adviser to the caliphs in office. This was a period of inaction and contemplation, inaction on the political front as Ali kept aloof from politics and contemplation on the spiritual front as this period of Ali’s life was spent mostly in seeking spiritual perfection through prayer and remembrance of God.The Caliphate of Ali:Following Uthman's assassination, Ali took office as the next caliph of the Islamic empire. His term was a short one, marred by political upheaval, defections of close aides and civil war.   Ali was accused of involvement in the assassination of Uthman by Amer Muawiya, who mounte d an anti Ali campaign. The results were the Battles of the Camel, Siffin and Nahrawan. During the course of these battles, many of his closest aides betrayed him and defected. The list of betrayals is long and includes Ali's brother, cousins, mother in law and the whole cities of Medina and Basra. The Kharijites who had originally supported Ali also seceded and Ali was finally martyred by a Kharijite.Ali's concept of GodIn his various sermons, Ali has dwelt upon on the various attributes of God in a skillful way. Extracts from some of his sermons are as follows:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"All praise is due to the creator of the world whose wisdom is hidden. The various subjects of nature openly confirm his existence. He is not surpassed in strength and superiority. He is the nearest to us. No one can be nearer to us than He.His distance height has not segregated Him from His creation, and His nearness has not established His equality with His creation. He is that sublime and matchless Being in com prehending when the intellect cannot reach the bottom of His attributes, yet nothing prevents a person from comprehending Him. He is that being whose existence even an atheist feels in His heart of hearts. Undoubtedly God is free and sublime and bears no comparison with anyone, then how can anyone have the audacity to deny Him.†Father of SufismAli's religious devotion and nearness to God has earned him the title of â€Å"Father of Sufism†. Most of the Sufi orders claim their descent from Ali, and according to Ali Hajjweri, Ali is ranked very high in the line of Sufism.   Ali is considered the Shaykh as regards the principles and practices of Sufism, as stated by Junayd of Baghdad.Communion with GodAt times, Ali would pray the whole night sobbing out of love and fear of God. For Ali, the purpose of knowledge was to awaken the spiritual faculties that every man possesses which in turn enable man to find his true and inner self.   Ali observed that man could only enjoy communion with God if he would stop being proud, embody discipline, overcome his lust and submit to the Will of God.He stressed on the people in his various sermons to lead a simple and pious life and not to indulge blindly in the pleasures of the world as the case was before Islam.. Ali said, â€Å"Man is a wave in the boundless Sea of God. As long as man's vision is clouded by ignorance and sensuality he will consider himself a separate entity, different from God. But when the veil between him and God is lifted, he will then know what he really is, the wave will then merge with the ocean†.Ali on the Spiritual Front:Ali was a wealth of knowledge. Several of the traditions (Ahadith) of the Holy Prophet are narrated by him. He was one of those companions of the Holy Prophet who used to learn the verses of the Quran as they were revealed. Later, after the death of the Holy Prophet, Ali also used to give sermons. In one such sermon, he explains the attributes of God with skillf ul oratory. Excerpts â€Å"All praise is due to the creator of the world whose wisdom is hidden. The various subjects of nature openly confirm his existence. He is not surpassed in strength and superiority. He is the nearest to us.No one can be nearer to us than He. His distance height has not segregated Him from His creation, and His nearness has not established His equality with His creation. He is that sublime and matchless Being in comprehending when the intellect cannot reach the bottom of His attributes, yet nothing prevents a person from comprehending Him. He is that being whose existence even an atheist feels in His heart of hearts. Undoubtedly God is free and sublime and bears no comparison with anyone, then how can anyone have the audacity to deny Him.†In another sermon, he reflected on the transitory stature of this world by remarking â€Å"For the wise, the world is a shadow, which may appear at one moment, and soon disappear.† In another sermon he makes pr ofound remarks by stating â€Å"Many men buy clothes, which instead of being worn by them are used in their coffin. Many persons build houses that instead of becoming abodes become their graves. No one has lived forever in this world, and no one has invented such a medicine which may make men immune from the clutches of death†. In another sermon, he discusses heaven and hell, stating his anxiety on man's subservience to lust, the excess of his longings. In yet another sermon, he termed the world as superficial, mortal and perishable.ConclusionShakespeare once remarked â€Å"Some people are born great, some achieve greatness while some have greatness thrust upon them†. As far as Ali goes, he achieved greatness through his excellent education under the watchful eye of the Holy Prophet, his absorption of Islamic teachings and virtues, his thirst for knowledge, bravery on the battlefield and the spiritual perfection that he embodied. Greatness need not be confused with suc cess. From the political point of view Ali may seem like a failure that was unable to quell the civil strife that raged his people and was eventually slay Ed. Instead Ali's greatness is of an unworldly nature for he set out to spiritually perfect those around him, in times of affluence and wealth.Ali was a man of remarkable qualities and principles. His personality embodied an unusual mix of spiritual perfection, bravery, knowledge and humbleness. He was one of those few people of his time, who could stare in the eyes of death so much that even death would start fearing of him He was an administrator, a judge, a philosopher, a statesman, a general and above all an exemplary for those seeking spiritual perfection.

The Great Gatsby Assignment Essay Example

The Great Gatsby Assignment Essay Example The Great Gatsby Assignment Essay The Great Gatsby Assignment Essay Essay Topic: The Great Gatsby ts a new year and after 2 seasons on my last steed I am lucky enough to be able to build up my new ride for the 07 season. While todays off the shelf rigs can offer an amazing value for what you pay, I wanted to build something unique that stands out a bit. What I ended up with is a 36. 3 lbs coil sprung DH bike that you wont see anywhere else. I have to say that coming in a close second to the actual riding, the technical aspect of mountain biking is what really excites me. I am a self admitted tech nerd. I can spend hours reading about the latest gadgets from any sport, be it Fl, MotoGP or ven tennis. If its lighter, faster or uses a new material then I am interested. The great part about our particular sport is that if you have the time, money and knowledge you can build some really neat things. I dont have a great deal of any of those three things but I still try, even though a smart guy once told me it was the first step towards failure. So what I did was try to build up a light and very functional DH bike. Actually what I built is a full on DH race bike. I Just happen to not race all the much, only hitting up a few each year. But what I do like to do is pin it. All-the-time. Weight was a huge concern for me, not because of any delusions of getting my pro number plate, but because this is my only bike. I have had more XC-type bikes in the past and I hated descending on them. It was not worth the uphill gain. I want to ride everything on my DH bike and to make that a little more enjoyable I had to pick my parts real carefull like. I Just happend to end up with a really light DH race bike! Fact: All 3 current Honda factory riders have raced World Cups on Oranges Fact: All 3 current Honda factory riders have raced World Cups on Oranges The biggest decision to make when building up your dream bike is which frame you will decide to hang all your parts on. I had a few on my short list so there was some thinking to be done. The U. S. made Iron Horse Sunday frame is one that Ive always had my eyes on (not that Id ever rail a corner like Sam even if I was on his bike). The Glory from Giant was also hard to say no to, being one of the best deals out there. The DW Link and Giants Maestro designs look similar but work in different ways and are about as far away as you can get from a well thought out single pivot design as seen on the Orange 224 frame. I have spent the last two seasons on an Orange 223 and came to love the light weight and simple bike, so even though the 224 frame is almost more than the Glory and Sunday put together, I still wanted one. After doing my homework on the frames the decision was made for me. The 224 was the only one that had the geometry that I liked. A bikes angles are absolutely the most important factor in its performance. There are a lot of different takes on suspension out there but the truth is that while some work different, they all do work good. But a DH bike with a 67 degree head angle will be ntirely different beast than a 64 degree monster. The 224 has that slack 64 degrees up front and also the low b. b. height and longer wheelbase that I feel at home on. Another consideration of mine was a full length seat tube on the frame. Some of my best rides are xc rides from home with my iPod and the seat on my DH bike Jacked up to the max. Oh, and it is light. The 224 is claimed to be one of the lightest production DH frames which is key when trying to piece together a light bike, might as well start off on the right foot. Suspension is the second most important part of any rig. Again, there are a lot of hings out there that do work great so it is more important to pick something based on your needs instead of Just looking for the trickiest possible set of sliders. But what if I could have a fork that came in at under 6. 51b, had a super low crown to axle length and worked great to boot? Id say that would be a pretty trick fork! So what I built is most likely one of the more unique forks out there. I started with a set of white 07 Boxxer lowers that use the Maxle system. Dropping the pinch bolts helped save a bit of weight but also means I only need a single allen key to get my wheel off. It doesnt hurt that the athena white lowers look dope next to my white 224 frame. I had originally planned on tracking down some of the old gold ti-nitrite stanction tubes, I did find a few but nothing in usable condition. Thankfully Tyler had some of the slippery silver tubes laying about from a buddies wrecked fork. The rest of the fork was garbage but the silver stanctions were mint so a small amount of money was exchanged and I nearly had a complete fork. Instead of dropping in some boring (but good working) World Cup internals, I installed a MOJO Boxxcart in the right leg and the ingle MOJO spring in the left. MOJO decals MOJO decals Now, you may or may not be aware that MOJO does not even produce these nice little units anymore. So why am I telling you about this stuff if its not made anymore? Because it is by far the best suspension I have even ridden. Ill admit, its not for everyone. It feels like ass in the parking lot (but thanks for telling me, everyone! ) but once you open it up on dirt it will blow you away. Stay tuned for pictures and details of the Boxxcart that will be in the (really long) review of the whole bike this summer. So what I ended up with is a 6. 1b coil sprung and MOJO damped Boxxer. The MOJO rebound knob Out back the boing is handled quite well by a Fox DHX 5. 0. Fox obviously know how to produce top end stuff as they have been in the suspension game for a long, long time. The great thing about the 5. 0 is the range of adjustment. If I am on a trail or course that would normally be faster on a smaller travel (read: stiffer) bike I can turn my 224 into that bike without to much hassle. Likewise, she can be a rock and root eating machine and all I need to do it is a single 4mm allen key and a simple shock pump. Another plus is the range of rebound adjustment. Some of the newer shocks on the market seem to have no noticeable difference in return speed until the final turn of the adjuster. All this adjustment is great if you know what is going on back there but one thing I did want was a slightly more active ride out of my 5. 0 shock. After some top secret trickery on a late night at the shop I think I have get her dialed. 5. 0 w/ Ti spring So you may be starting to see a trend here. I am building a very single purpose bike. A bike that is meant to pin it fast down fast trails. I am not the rider who stops to hit p the skinnys a few times or goes to sesh the local gravel pit drop, all I want to do is go. Sometimes the most important part of going is the stopping or Just slowing down a bit. Only a little bit though. I am a huge Avid fan, having spent time on the original Juicy 7s, 5s and Juicy Carbons. You cant really go wrong with any of those setups but I wanted something a little bit special. Last season some of the top SRAM riders were sporting the new Juicy Ultimate levers mated with Code calipers. Since I am nobodies top rider I had to spend my personal booty. Lucky for us peons the Code and Ultimate parts can be bought seperately. Using the Ultimates upper end saved some grams over the 7s master cylinders plus there are no finicky red dials for friends to play with. You still have the ability to fine tune the bite point but youll need an allen key to do it. Code caliper Code caliper The Code calipers bump up the power a bit by using four pistons and more importantly a much larger pad surface area. After a few bleeds the Ultimate/Code combo works great, much to my relief as SRAM does not advise combining the two systems. Two years ago I saw a picture of Fabian Barels bike sporting a 6 rear rotor o I decided to give it a try. It worked great with my old Juicy Carbons, actually saves nearly a 1/4 pound and should perform Just fine with the even more powerful Code calipers. I expect a lot of power but will my hybrid brakes keep the Juicy modulation that I love so much? X. O shifter and Ultimate lever mounted using Avids sweet Matchmaker bar clamp X. O shifter and Ultimate lever mounted using Avids sweet Matchmaker bar clamp It is no different with the wheels I chose but I did decide to avoid the more expensive rims out there. I put a rim thats on a DH bike in the same category as brake pads or a hain: Disposable. I wanted something light but nothing to expensive as I would most likely be going through a few as the season got bigger and badder. I have had nothing but great results with my set of Alex Supra Ds, under 600 grams, easy to build and very reliable (gotta love the anodized gold option! ). But at $90 msrp canadian they are a little expensive to be turning them into squares. The SingleTrack from Sun seemed to be the perfect choice. Closer to 500 grams then 600, a decent width and cheap! The msrp here in Canada is only $40 so it was hard to say no. Hubs re a hard one. There are a lot of amazing hubs out there, some seem to be more art then a bike component. The truth is that they all use wheel bearings that I can buy from local hardware store or distributor so why drop more on a rear hub then most regular people spend on a whole bike? Well.. l cant! As much as I wanted a Hadley or DT I could not Justify it. I would rather put that money into my suspension or brakes. I did manage to find a sweet set of hubs that come in at nearly half as much as some others, are lighter and are easy to service. WTB may not Jump out at you hen you are thinking about hubs for your big bike but you should really look them up. The Super Duty rear hub is an amazing little bit of work. Unlike most hubs, everything is a push fit which makes it super easy to disassemble and clean. The 12/150mm Super Duty rear hub has been stripped of absolutely any extra material that it does not need. You also slide your cassette onto a aluminum freehub body which is where most of the weight savings come from. WTB SuperDuty hub Check the aluminium freehub body Actually, the rear hub weighs 305 grams and the front comes in at only 190. The folks at WTB are also good people which has a lot to do with me picking their hubs over some others. Poor spokes. No one ever thinks about them and they do so much work. I really did want to build these wheels with Sapims super high end CX-Ray spokes but time was not on Sapims side. All my parts were where they needed to be and I had some very nice black DT Champion spokes to hold everything together so that is what I chose, pertinence be damned! The CX-Rays do make a lot of sense though and I hope to use them on my next wheelset. I have not had a spoke break in years but hey are light and the minimal middle section is bladed which makes building and truing alot easier as I can hold the spoke with a special tool to prevent and wind-up (wind-up is when a spoke turns with the nipple when truing, it makes things difficult). Aluminum nipples get such a bad rap but as long as you treat them right they work great. I weigh in at 1701b. which is not huge but I have run al. nipples exclusively for years now with no problems. I am sure I have had no trouble because I look after my wheels though. With A1. ipples you need to keep the tension from getting to low as he constant loading and unloading of spokes can snap the heads off. I also use a four sided spoke wrench to finish the build, tension and true. Holding onto all four sides minimizes the chance of rounding the corners on the softer metal and also dropping a touch of thin lube into the nipple now and then keeps things from seizing up. A light wheelset can be the k ey to a fun and nimble bike so I thought it was important to choose parts carefully to end up with the right package, something I think has been done. Everyone go buy Srams X. O shifters and derailleurs. And if you cant afford them then ell a liver or something because you owe it to yourself to roll with X. O. I like nice stuff (obviously) but my rides dont depend on it. If I am on a test bike with a lower end group set I will have Just as much fun as on some rare super bike. But this X. O stuff is amazing. Basically, you put it on your bike and then 6 months later you scrape the dirt off it and maybe make a small adjustment. The 1:1 cable pull ratio means that stretch and other variables that can cause shifting to go haywire will have half the effect that it would on Shimanos traditional 2:1 pull. I love how I am able to move the lower shift paddle to a more comfortable position for my tiny girls hands. Its a feature that I thought was more gimmick than function but now I Just would not be comfortable with a stock non adjustable shifter. All around quality parts and despite the fragile look they can take a beating. 0k people, stop buying outboard bearing cranksets. They are not better. In the real world they do not last longer and you can not tell me that you can feel a differance in stiffness on your mountain bike with big knobby tires and suspension. k, you can ell me whatever you want but I wont believe you. I will go through two ISIS b. bs in a year of riding. I gave outboards a shot a while back and if I had stuck with it would have gone through four sets of cups. Lame. Take your chain off your external bearing crankset and give it a spin, not to great eh? Even on a broken in external bearing b. b. you will have a ridiculious amount of seal drag, way too much to be accept able for the meager amount of power we put out. Unfortunetly, the amount of companies putting out nice light ISIS cranks is shrinking so hit up e-bay and scoop up what you can get

Parentheses, Braces, and Brackets in Math

Parentheses, Braces, and Brackets in Math Youll come across many symbols in mathematics and arithmetic. In fact, the language of math is written in symbols, with some text inserted as needed for clarification. Three important- and related- symbols youll see often in math are parentheses, brackets, and braces. You will encounter parentheses, brackets, and braces frequently in  prealgebra  and  algebra, so its important to understand the specific uses  of  these symbols as you move into higher math. Using Parentheses ( ) Parentheses are used to group numbers or variables, or both. When you see a math problem containing parentheses, you need to use the order of operations to solve it. Take as an  example the problem: 9 - 5 à · (8 - 3) x 2 6 You must calculate the operation within the parentheses first, even if it is an operation that would normally come after the other operations in the problem. In this problem, the times and division operations would normally come before subtraction (minus), but since 8 - 3  falls within the parentheses, you would work this part of the problem first. Once youve taken care of the calculation that falls within the parentheses, you would remove them.  In this case (8  -  3) becomes 5, so you would solve the problem as follows: 9 - 5  Ãƒ ·Ã‚  (8 - 3) x 2 6 9 - 5 à · 5 x 2 6 9 - 1  x  2 6 9 - 2 6 7 6 13 Note that per the order of operations, you would work whats in the parentheses first, then calculate numbers with exponents, then multiply and/or divide, then add or subtract. Multiplication and division, as well as addition and subtraction, hold an equal place in the order of operations, so you work these from left to right. In the problem above, after taking care of the subtraction in the parentheses, you need to divide 5 by 5 first, yielding  1;  then multiply 1 by 2, yielding  2;  then subtract  2  from  9, yielding  7;  and then add  7 and  6, yielding a final answer of 13. Parentheses Can Also Mean Multiplication In the problem 3(2 5), the parentheses tell you to multiply. However, you wont multiply until you complete the operation inside the parentheses, 2 5, so you would solve the problem as follows: 3(2 5) 3(7) 21 Examples of Brackets [ ] Brackets are used after the parentheses to group numbers and variables as well. Typically, you would use the parentheses first, then brackets, followed by braces. Here is an example of a problem using brackets:   4 - 3[4 - 2(6 - 3)] à · 3 4 - 3[4 - 2(3)] à · 3 (Do the operation in the parentheses first; leave the parentheses.) 4 - 3[4 - 6] à · 3 (Do the operation in the brackets.) 4 - 3[-2] à · 3 (The bracket informs you to multiply the number within,   which is -3 x -2.) 4 6 à · 3 4 2 6 Examples of Braces { } Braces are also used to group numbers and variables. This example problem uses parentheses, brackets, and braces. Parentheses inside other parentheses (or brackets and braces) are also referred to as nested parentheses. Remember, when you have parentheses inside brackets and braces, or nested parentheses, always work from the inside out:   2{1 [4(2 1) 3]} 2{1 [4(3) 3]} 2{1 [12 3]} 2{1 [15]} 2{16} 32 Notes About Parentheses, Brackets, and Braces Parentheses, brackets, and braces are sometimes referred to as  round, square, and curly brackets, respectively. Braces are also used in sets, as in: {2, 3, 6, 8, 10...} When working with nested parentheses, the order will always be parentheses, brackets, braces, as follows: {[( )]}