Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracry by Cathy O'Neil, A Review

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers, 

I always view the combo of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) with askance. Despite its many pros that are evident in our daily life, big data can entice majority of humans, the possessors of authentic intelligence, to quickly jump to conclusions without so much of a thought. It's ironic actually, considering we have all the data. We may also become entirely dependent on algorithms to make  decisions for us. At least, this is my opinion.

Now from this book, I learn that this deadly combo can also cause imbalance between IQ (intelligence quotient) and EQ (emotional quotient/emotional intelligence); leading to acts of oppression. This issue was pointed out ever so simply by the author, Cathy O'Neil (Except the part where the author made a comparison with baseball to which, as a Malaysian, can't quite relate. To generalize, Malaysians don't play baseball 😁) 

O'Neil started the book by introducing the concept of mathematical model, a familiar topic for me. Basically, a mathematical model tries to express any complex phenomena like the economic system, an office day-to-day operation, the weather, basically anything, in mathematical terms. Mostly with the use of statistics and assumptions (together with big data), a mathematical model can provide you with outcomes, predictions, and explanations. The assumptions are of course, based on evidence. With big data and AI, a mathematical model can be built more complex than ever.

The issue arises when the assumptions were not changed despite evidence proving otherwise (repeated use of the same model) or the outcome/prediction seemed illogical (see now what happens when you abandon reason?).

One may ask, "How come these cause oppression?" To illustrate the harm these pose, allow me to present to you two case studies from this book.  

Case Study 1 -Modelling teacher's competency

A teacher had scored 6 out of 100 on a teaching evaluation test. It's a ridiculous score because he had been teaching for 26 years. We suspect that the score is ridiculous out of moral ethics (EQ) and human reasoning (IQ) i.e. we recognize the teacher's experience and contribution that he made in spreading knowledge to his students. Curiously the next year, he scored 96 out of 100 despite maintaining his teaching methods.

Upon investigation, it was learned that in the year he got 6 out of 100, the teacher was teaching high achieving students and low achieving students. You see, it's difficult for low achieving students to score higher than their average marks. As for high achieving students, they had already scored high marks so they simply couldn't get higher marks. Therefore on the evaluation test, the non-increase in marks indicate that the teacher's teaching methods is abysmal.

On the other hand, in the year that the teacher scored 96 out of 100, he was teaching middle achievers. Middle achievers can either score below or higher than their average marks. That year, most were able to obtain higher than average marks. Due to this increase in marks, the evaluation test captured this as the teacher possessing excellent teaching methods. 

What does this tells us? The mathematical model was inaccurate in evaluating the teacher's ability to teach! The model was practically useless! Allow me to emphasize here, the inaccuracy of the model was detected by recognizing the value of the teacher and applying human reason. This is something that AI and Big Data are incapable of.

Case Study 2 - The United States (US) subprime mortgage crisis

Using algorithms (AI) and data on home mortgages (Big Data), a mathematical model was developed to segregate these mortgages into tranches. These tranches are then packaged into securities before selling them off to investors. The mathematical model had predicted that profit can be generated this way. The thing is, the outcome/prediction was illogical because these mortgages are held by people who are not eligible for loan in the first place. As such, the securities will induce loss sooner or later to the investors (see again why you need to apply human reason?). The mathematicians had somehow forgot about human beings from the model and only saw potential profit (EQ vs IQ). Due to this, many people defaulted on their loans and US suffered a recession.

 

There are many other case studies that O'Neil mentioned in her book. O'Neil concluded that in order to avoid these acts of oppression, the mathematical model of any phenomena must constantly be revised to include recent information. The author also alluded to the importance of reason (authentic intelligence) and moral values before trusting the outcome/prediction of a certain model. Only by holding on to these two traits reason and moral values), we are able to execute justice in this lifetime.

 

Source: O'neil, C. (2017). Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. Great Britain: Penguin Random House UK

Voltaire's B*st*rds: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West by John Ralston Saul. A Review.

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

I pray that everyone is safe 🙌. I recently discovered that emojis can be inserted in blog posts! These are only some discoveries that I made during this global pandemic... I pray that everyone is safe and sound. Ameen.

Alhamdulillah (all praise to God), after much brooding, I finally understood the crux of this book. It actually stems from these two schools of thoughts: Socrates's and Plato's.

To put it simply, Socrates believes in the societal well being through the establishment of an ethical system that is built upon human reason [1]. To arrive at that ethical system, Socrates would questioned and challenged people what true ethics actually is. When the assumption of ethics that people held are challenged, Socrates had instilled doubt; to which this book claims the Westerners' lack. This lack of doubt and attention towards the societal well being are the main causes for the degradation of the Western civilization.

On the other hand, the philosophy expounded by Plato attempts to answer what true ethics, or basically the truth of everything, is. According to Plato, everything has an ideal or form in another world that is unchanging. This is termed as the Theory of Forms [2][3]. Since there indeed exists a form or a true answer to the questions raised by Socrates in his dialogues with the people, little doubt is left. So, people just need to think critically, and use all the five senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch), what is the closest ideal version or the closest form of something in this world is. Using the five senses also means taking reality (of this world) into account. As such, this book argues that the West is obsessed with finding the forms of this world through efficiency and professional methodology (employment of technocrats); and views reflection (arising from doubt) as inefficient and the well being of society as secondary (I will argue later why despite thought and the use of five senses, well being of society is not primary). As such, the opening of this book argues that Plato's philosophy has put less emphasize on humanism that his mentor, Socrates, has preached. I, however, humbly disagrees.

Plato did say to take into account reality. The reality is that majority of Westerners value individual freedom more than societal well being. In other words, the West views individual freedom as the form of ethics, and that translates as the reality of this world. Thus it is not that Plato's philosophy is wrong, but it is the people's thought process and the use of five senses that had led to the assumption that individual freedom is the form of ethics. This belief is so ingrained in Westerners so much so that there is no doubt about it. Yes, despite this issue, the conclusion to the problem is still lack of doubt, similar to what Saul (2013) have said in this book. Yet again, I will also show one crucial point from the philosophy of Plato that the book did not highlight.

Saul (2013) had given countless real life examples where efficiency and professional methodology fails to solve a particular problem. He asserts that the current system that we have, politics, education, finance, economy, basically almost everything, are in shambles. The author pinpointed the source of the structural problems to the lack of humanism; where its foundation was built excessively on the Theory of Forms, the discouragement of doubt to permeate, and the inconsequential of societal well-being .

I feel that I need to tackle one particular system or two, in particular education, in particular social science, in particular finance and economics. These are two fields of study that I am familiar with. But this requires, God willing, another blog post for it will be quite lengthy.

Remember before I said that Saul (2013) had missed one important point about Plato's philosophy? That point is the form exists in another world that is unchanging and constant. So frankly, there is no perfect solution for this world. That world i.e. another world that Plato expounded, as to my belief, should be the afterlife. Plato himself was not able to arrive at that conclusion because his philosophical thinking, even Socrates's, does not take religion into consideration. They did not acknowledge, or was not able to arrive at the deduction, that there exists a Supreme Being that is All Knowledgeable.

By extension, try reflecting on this phrase:

Like most religions, reason presents itself as the solution to the problems it has created.

Saul (2013) had written this phrase in the opening vignette in Part I Argument of his book. Reading this statement in passing, one would think that the author views religion in askance for religion is the one who had created these problems in the first place and without shame, claims that it has the solutions.

Yet, notice that Saul (2013) said most religions. Meaning, one can also interpret that the author believes that there exists few religions that can provide answers to mitigate problems that these few religions did not create. Or perhaps Saul (2013) is simply being neutral? I would like to assume that he is in the former category.

In my humble opinion, we should combine doubt, the theory of forms, and religion (or ideas that you can get from it) to arrive at a solution that balances between societal well being and individual well being. When problems of each unit of society (individual/family) is addressed, consequently, the problems of society as a whole will be addressed too. In addition, one cannot be complacent but must constantly evaluate from time to time (stemming from the virtue of doubt), whether the solution presented before, is still practical for the present and future. It is worth emphasizing that ideas from religion is quintessential as human has limit to his/her thinking capacity. Thus, it is only reasonable to deduce that there exists a Supreme Being that is All Knowledgeable, constant, unchanging, and never dies. Plato indirectly said so in his theory of forms.

Before I end this post, I would like to address the other crucial point that the book did not highlight, or probably even consider. Our thought process should be guided by our heart. Sounds corny, I know. But ponder on this example:
You have only $10 and you come across a homeless mother with a child crying out of hunger. Nearby, there's a food stall that sells food for exactly $10. You are hungry yourself. But if your thought process is guided by your heart, there is a very high possibility that you will buy the food for the child instead of you eating it yourself.
Thus in religion, one's thought process is guided by the heart or "eye of the soul" where in Malay we termed it as "matahati". Perhaps, the deduction that individual freedom is the form of ethics comes from the disregarding of matahati.

It is important to be mentioned here that our matahati needs to be guided too. And that guidance can only come from the All Knowledgeable.

Main source: 
Saul, J. R. (2013). Voltaire's B*st*rds: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.

Di Tepi Sungai Dajlah: Kembara ke Kota Baghdad, Iraq by HAMKA

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

On rare occasion, I would accidentally come across a book that is simultaneously unputdownable, on-point, well mannered in its words, and coincides with current world event. This is that book translated in English; On the Banks of Dajlah River: Travel to the City of Baghdad, Iraq.

Di Tepi Sungai Dajlah narrates HAMKA's travelings in Iraq with a backdrop of the region's history. Due to the fact that I had visited Iran last year, the never ending Sunni-Shiite quandary, and the assassination of Iranian General Suleimani, I immediately felt an affinity to this book.

For this post, allow me to concisely discuss the lessons that we can derive from the Sunni-Shiite quandary within the context of this book.

Let me first state one thing (lest I'll be judge in the social media tribunal), that I am a Sunni and disagrees with the Shiite doctrine. Yet, I feel the pure hatred that half, if not majority of Malaysian Sunnis, have on Shiite has caused a dangerous rift between Muslims. I am well aware that there are fatwas saying that Shiite are not Muslims, but I will reserve my comments on this matter. Instead, let me turn your attention to HAMKA's narration in pages 75 to 78 [1] (brief explanation in English is provided after):

Maka bilamana kami telah masuk ke dalam perkarangan makam Abbas itu, mulailah mutawwif kami mengajarkann bacaan-bacaan. Mula sekali mengucapkan salam pada Rasulullah, sesudah itu kepada Ali bin Abi Talib, sesudah itu kepada Hasan dan Husain, barulah langsung kepada Abbas ini. Bermacam-macam pujian diberikan kepadanya, dan kami turutkan. Kemudian mulailah bacaan berisi politik itu, iaitu mengutuk kepada orang yang membunuhnya dan mengutuk kepada orang yang menyuruh bunuh! Tentu saja Yazid!

Oleh kami adalah kaum Sunni, dan pasal kutuk mengutuk itu tidak ada dalam ajaran kepercayaan kami, maka di waktu bacaan sampai di sana, kami berdiam diri. Diulang oleh mutawwif kami itu sampai dua kali, kami tidak mahu menurutkan...mutawwif kami kelihatan agak kurang gembiranya...

Lalu di tengah jalan saya suruh mutawwif itu mendekat dan saya berkata: "Kami ini bangsa Indonesia, mazhab kami ialah Sunni, Syafie. Tetapi kami bukanlah membenci zuriat Rasul (keturunan Rasul). Kami ziarah kemari dari tempat yang jauh karena kami pun cinta kepada Husain... Sebab itu tuntunlah kami, tunjukkan kepada kami tempat-tempat yang penting, tempat berziarah. Cuma satu permintaan kami, janganlah dibawakan lafaz-lafaz yang mengutuk kepada orang yang telah mati". 

"Maafkan saya! Maafkan saya!" Jawabnya...

"Dahulu Imam Syafie difitnahkan orang di hadapan Raja Harun al-Rashid, dikatakan pembela Syi'ah, sehingga nyaris berbahaya bagi jiwanya" kataku pula. 

"Oh Tuan orang alim. Tuan banyak pengetahuan. Maafkan saya!"

Saya jawab pula: "Alim benar pun tidak, cuma tahu sedikit-sedikit saya kenal nama Ulama Syi'ah yang terbesar di zaman ini. Syed Al-Mujtahid Al-Akbar Syeikh Al Kasyif Ghita".   

"Oh , Tuan kenal nama beliau? Wahai, itu adalah ulama besar kami, pimpinan besar kami. Tuan kenal namanya?"

"Selama orang Islam membaca bahasa Arab, tentu akan kenal buah fikiran beliau. Kenal cita-cita beliau yang luas dan faham beliau yang mendalam". 

Brief English explanation:

When HAMKA and his companion was in the tomb of Abbas, the mutawwif (guide) ask them to praise Muhammad the Prophet (may peace be upon him), then Ali, then Hasan, Husain, and finally Abbas. They did so. But when the mutawwif went into politics and ask them to curse/condemn the killer and the plotter i.e. Yazid, they refused to do so and just kept quiet. The mutawwif was not happy.

HAMKA then explains that they are Sunnis and Sunnis are not supposed to curse. Yet, they do love the lineage of the Prophet. The founder of the Syafie madhab, Imam Syafie himself was slandered in front of a king saying that he's the defender of Shiite. HAMKA proceeded in stating that he also appreciates the thoughts of one of the Shiite's ulama namely Syed Al-Mujtahid Al-Akbar Syeikh Al Kasyif Ghita.  

It is a known fact that Shiite originated from a political disagreement; the reason why I ardently believe the mutawwif had asked HAMKA and his companion to curse/condemn Yazid. Interested readers may read this book to know the exact account of this historic event.

To return back to our main purpose, we can certainly derive two important lessons from HAMKA's narration in pages 75 to 78:
(1) Politics combined with any supremacist ideology can lead to a treacherous schism
(2) Yet, a bridge can be built over the schism by speaking the truth kindly and wisely

Certainly, in this dark age where people defined freedom of expression as freedom to express crudely, it is refreshing to read how HAMKA stood firm on his faith and politely disagreed. At the same time, he had also been respectful and sought common ground to further diffuse the tension. Nowadays, this courteous manner is almost an art form. I give this book 5 stars.

[1] HAMKA. (2018). Di Tepi Sungai Dajlah: Kembara ke Kota Baghdad, Iraq. Kajang: Jejak Tarbiah Publication.

The Charm of Knowledge

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

When my emotion and physique are not exhausted from work, I would pick up a non fiction book. I have piles of them waiting to be consumed in my office and my apartment. The one I'm currently reading is the The First Command by M. Jamal Haider. It is about Muslim intellectualism in the past.

But don't misunderstand, this is not a post about book review. This is a post on how I am inspired and at the same time stressed, by the Muslim savants from history at which the book highlights. I am inspired because their thirst for knowledge is so pure and sincere, and I am stressed because as an academician, I don't think I can reach their heights.

Source: Wikimedia

Martyrs of knowledge
The curiosity that these group of men possessed were immeasurable. They would go to great lengths for knowledge; always willing to sacrifice almost anything to get an ounce of it. Below is a bullet list of some of them:

• Ibn Sina, or most Westerns would call him Avicenna, had cured the King of Bukhara from an illness when he was mere 17 years old. The King had hired many physicians beforehand but all were unsuccessful. Out of gratefulness, the King wished to present him with a reward. Instead of asking for wealth or power, Ibn Sina asked for access to the King's extraordinary library.
• Abu al-Nasr al-Farabi or better known simply as al-Farabi, did not marry for he was highly focused in academia. I dare say that if most of you had known him, you would say that he doesn't have a life! Before that, he had endured poverty. He was employed as a gardener at first, and at last became the King's companion. He taught us that patience, determination and passion can help one pull through. Perhaps, he understood the meaning of life the most! 
• Abu Ali Hasan ibn al-Haytham or Ibn al-Haytham or Alhazen loved other fields except engineering. He hated it so much to the extent that he pretended to be mentally unstable when Caliph al-Hakim asked him to figure out how to stop floods. After the Caliph died, he pursued other fields of knowledge in Spain. This is another example of what passion, patience, and persistence can lead us to. In addition to all those lessons, we also learn what line of action to take when person(s) of authority asked us to do something that we don't like 😜
• Prince Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah had abdicated his throne in order to study chemistry. People nowadays would call him a fool.

Most of them are also Mathematicians
It is interesting to know that regardless what their expertise were, most of them were also excellent in Mathematics! Below are some of them:

• Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (died c.840) - Geographer, Astronomer, and Mathematician 
• Banu Musa brothers (9th century) - Mathematicians and Mechanics 
• Thabit ibn Qurrah (836 - 901) - Mathematician, Astronomer, Mechanics and Translator from Greek to Arabic 
• Abu Abdullah al-Battani (858 - 929 CE) - Mathematician, Astronomer, and Mathematician 
• Al-Razi (864 - 930) - Studied medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, music and philosophy 
• Abu al-Nasr al-Farabi - Studied philosophy, logic, sociology, music, medicine, and mathematics 
• Abu al-Wafa Muhammad al-Buzjani (940 - 997) - Mathematician and Astronomer 
• Abu Ali Hasan ibn al-Haytham (965 - 1040) - Studied optics, mathematics, physics, and medicine 
• Omar Khayyam (1044 - 1123) - Studied mathematics, astronomy, poetry, and metaphysics

This fact is exceptionally intriguing for me because:

Reason 1: My undergraduate Degree was in Mathematical Science
When I entered into the last semester of my sophomore year in university, it began to dawn on me that Mathematics is not for me. I found it harder to learn and understand. Despite my interest in it, I can't seem to grapple with most of the concepts. But somehow when I did my Masters and Doctorate Degree, I always steered back towards some form of Mathematics. I suppose just like human love, I can't really forget Mathematics. Ever since I started reading this book, I decided that I should incorporate more Mathematics in my research; even if it turns out to be mediocre.

Reason 2: Philosophy, poetry, AND mathematics?!
This is utterly mind boggling. In Malaysia at least, there is no one who would be an expert in philosophy or poetry WITH mathematics (if I'm wrong, please correct me). Those three different fields are just that, THREE DIFFERENT FIELDS! I however, do have have a few theories why, though. That my friends, will be in another post in the future, inshALLAH (God willing).


Still, there is one pertinent question to the current post that must be addressed; why was knowledge so alluring to the point that these Muslim scholars fell head over heels for it? I believe the words from M. Jamal Haider holds the obvious answer:

If now some scholars are using such verses (Quranic verses regarding geology, zoology, astrophysics etc.) as proof of authenticity of the Quran, in the past, such verses had directed the Muslims into an incredible quest for scientific knowledge that had lasted over a century.

Rationality vs Deep Thought

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

I'm reading a book written by John Ralston Saul entitled "Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West". I started reading it in 2016 and even after two years, haven't finish. This is record breaking for me as I've always been a fast reader. Still, it is unsurprising because the writer is a philosopher. Like most philosophers, it's so difficult to fathom his thoughts!

Fortunately (and alhamdulillah), his ideas got across to me recently. I am able to boil down his points into one simple sentence:
People make wrong decisions when they confuse rationality with deep thought.
You are questioning this sentence, aren't you? "Is not rationality similar to deep thought," you ask? Even Thesaurus lists wise as a synonym to rational. Well, you and Thesaurus have never been more wrong.

No, this post is not a book review to support that fact. The book review might come in the future, God willing. Probably eons away in the future. The actual purpose of this post is to explain how rationality is different from deep thought based on two simplest examples.

Image by tsukiko-kiyomidzu

1. Social media posts
It is easy to say that a person is narcissistic when (s)he post a lot of selfies on social media. People quickly presume that someone is an attention seeker when (s)he post a lot of personal struggles online. These conclusions are rationale, after all.
But should we think deeper, we might arrive at a different conclusion; the former might be suffering from a mental condition (which a study had recently pointed out) while the latter could view writing in social media as a form of therapy.

O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.
[Quran: Chapter 49 Verse 12]


2. Stages in life
We are often advised to embark in life by following these steps: obtain an education, get a high paying career, get married, and have kids. These stages must be followed accordingly and religiously. The masses have agreed that to skip any step or to not follow them in order would translate into a difficult life. To clarify further: If you don't get an education, it will be difficult for you to find a high paying job. And if you can't find a high paying job, you won't have enough money to start a family. This insecurity will cause difficulties. Difficulties in turn, cause restlessness and sadness. These are the lines of a rational thought.
But if we pause for awhile and observe, we'll notice that this isn't necessarily so. People go through these stages of life at different times and at a different pace. Some might not go through one or more of these stages at all. Thus you wonder sometimes, how can the poor still smile and be at peace amidst chaos? How are the rich can be so serious and worried though in stability?

But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not. [Quran: Chapter 2 Verse 216]


You may surmise two things from the above examples. One, cliche and two, morality or ethics.

Well my dear readers, these cliches can be analogous with what Saul wrote in his book. Politics and economics, topics that we would deem novel, have been made complicated by a rational line of thinking. These complexities then have been confused with deep thought. This is because rationally, anyone who possess deep thought, would be able to figure it out. The reality is, these complexities are to create a class or a caste that would separate people by "knowledge" (I think the strike through together with the quote will further emphasize how knowledge, in this sentence, is an oxymoron).

Anyhow, like I said earlier, I'm not going to elaborate further what Saul wrote in his book; at least not in this post. But I'd like to share a conclusion that I've arrived at.

To be a person with deep thought we need:
1) Simplicity
2) Morality/ethics
Do you agree with me? Or you simply don't care?

The House Dilemma

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers!

I am now a part time lecturer teaching Foundation of Islamic Finance at a public university in Malaysia. It was not long before I realise that students, no matter how boring the topic may be, pay attention when the lecturer is passionate. One such occasion happened when I was arguing on the necessity of a house bought through mortgage.  

Source: Binyamin Mellish

No, it is not the purpose of this post to debate on whether Islamic home financing is truly Islamic. Instead, it is to point out some obvious realities of home financing that people dismiss simply because the realities are not attach to any financial nor economic jargon. It is my personal opinion that when  making decision to buy a house, one should also be aware of the realities and repercussions attached to that decision.

1. Does house equates to a home?
Pause and observe; do all house owners view their house as a home? Some view their house as a long term investment which is not wrong; but some also view their house as a burden. Burden in two senses; burden of debt and burden of not having a real home. A real home is where we view our house as a sanctuary from the elements; both realistically and metaphorically. To describe the latter, most people are working long hours just to pay off the house. This causes fatigue and instead of feeling happy to spend time with their family when they get home from work, they would feel disgruntled. Hence a house that should by default be a home, becomes a mere symbol of financial security. I used the strikethroughs on purpose.  

2. Does house ownership equals to fulfillment of basic need?
Most tolerate the long working hours and family time because they argue that owning a house is a basic human need. House provides shelter and protection for their families, after all.
The fact of the matter is, other choice of housing like renting and mobile homes also give similar protection too. In relation to this, developed countries of Europe chose to rent instead of buying which could be mind boggling for people coming from less developed countries. Taking some points from the link, potential house owners should consider other costs attached to owning a house such as insurance and upkeep before making their final decision.

3. Does a house on a mortgage is truly our house?
It is always wise to be aware of the fact that the house we own is not really our house; at least not until we finish paying the monthly installments that often take up decades. I repeat, in underline and bold, decades. Until then, the house that we see as a financial security, is actually a mirage.
How so?
Consider these risks; losing our job, savings and investments dried up, major health issues (assuming no health insurance was taken), economic crisis etc. Wouldn't this affect our ability to pay the monthly installments? And when we can't pay, the bank will seize our house. Notice the strike through.
I had a conversation with my husband regarding this which I would like to add as a side note. Imagine that we face a religious, morale, and/or principle clash at work. But because of the need to pay down debt, we would easily step on our principles instead of quitting the job. It is as though we become slave to our employers due to debt which had enslaved us in the first place. It's as though we are worshiping two gods without us even realising.

4. Is living within our means and in moderation are backward concepts in this modern era?
This question reminds me of this book, "Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West"  which I am still reading. John Ralston Saul, the author of this book, strongly critiques the technocrats that ivy league universities are producing. According to the author in page 22, technocrat is "the man who understands the organization, makes use of the technology and controls access to the information, which is a compendium of "facts"". The education they receive, according to him, emphasized more on technical jargons instead of analysing real problems. Even when the problems were address, the solutions were often superficial.
Corresponding to this, it is to my believe that living within our means and in moderation are not backward concepts at all. Instead, they are two simple yet wise principles grounded to reality. Hence, one should not feel dejected when (s)he is being accused by the community as idiots for not taking a mortgage. You are merely considering your physical and mental capacity to shoulder debt.

I would like to end this post with a clarification. I am not criticising those who have taken mortgage. I am merely pointing out the fact that acquiring a mortgage is not necessarily an indicator of financial security. At least, that is what I believe. What do YOU believe?

Freedom Fantasy

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers!

Excluding prisoners in jail and those poor souls trapped in modern slavery, everyone has freedom. But that my friend, is a foolhardy assumption. To prove this claim, let's begin with the most basic; the meaning of slave.

Oxford Dictionary defines slave as (especially in the past) a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. This includes:
- A person who works very hard without proper remuneration or appreciation.
- A person who is excessively dependent upon or controlled by something.
- A device, or part of one, directly controlled by another.   

Photo credit: Comfreak

Definition 1: A person who works very hard without proper remuneration or appreciation.
All around the world, we find cases of employees being paid wages that are lower than the inflation rate. In the United States, one of the economic super powers, millions of full time workers still rely on the government to get by due to their low pay. You could say that they get low wages because not much skills are required for the job. The fact of the matter is different, however. According to Low Wage Work, "these jobs require knowledge, patience, care and communication".

Not more repulsive than child labour, though. Amnesty International claim that companies like Samsung, Sony, and Microsoft had workers as young as seven years old working in hazardous environment. This brings memories about the infamous Blood Diamond controversy.


Definition 2: A person who is excessively dependent upon or controlled by something.
I personally believe that this form of slavery is the most widespread but always ignored.

Have you ever noticed how the media uses certain words to manipulate you? I would like to give you an example that was pointed out by The Patriots from this article piece that they uploaded in their Facebook page:

A normal person would just read this piece and concur that it is beyond a shred of a doubt that Majapahit relics were there in the Malacca river. Not many would notice the word "possibly" and "believed" in the first paragraph which means Majapahit origin hasn't actually been confirmed. Also notice that it was "a group of professional divers" and not archeologists (persons having solid knowledge of history) who had found these relics.

However, one not need go far to see this kind of slavery in action; it can happen within our family circles too. Abused spouses almost always believe that it is their fault for being abused; a classic example of how one can control another. In fact, there are also cases where one just succumb to the abuse because they feel like they can't survive without their partner.

Then there's the case where an individual feels pressured to conform with society's view. A person over 40 can feel dejected when s(he) is still single, a person can feel depressed when s(he) only has a cheap car, a teenager can feel ashamed with his peers for still being a virgin, and multitudes of other examples.

This can result in people becoming a slave to their desires too. To get an expensive car, (s)he would be willing to take bribe and a teenager can resort to rape to satisfy his lust. 


Definition 3: A device, or part of one, directly controlled by another.
This definition doesn't concern humans.


Thus the truth is, we are slaves to something or someone. You can deny it all you want.

But remember, we are human beings endowed with freedom of choice; we can choose who our masters are. And it's high time for us to choose. 

In the name of Allah , the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
[All] praise is [due] to Allah , Lord of the worlds -
The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path -
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.

(Quran - Chapter 1)

 

A Horror Story

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

From my observation, there are two types of movies that Malaysians like to watch: horror and romantic. I myself loved to watch horror films when I was young. I dared myself to watch the most scary films and trained myself to be calm (I looked calm but inside I was terrified!) during the gripping suspense before the devil shows its face. I also love the ghost stories that my aunt used to tell me when I was small and to read the Malay magazine "Mastika" that had its fair share of people succumbed by black magic.

That was me when I was in primary and a few years into secondary school. But as I get a bit older, I realize that horror movies turned me into someone I was horrified of.

Credit to Comfreak

 
1. I feared and focused on the wrong things
For one, I became afraid to sleep at my grandparents' house when I was little just because the house looks quite shabby inside. It's pathetic of me not to spend more time with my grandmother (although I was always at her house after school, gobbling down my grandmother's delicious cookings). Now that the house has been renovated into a common city home, I really miss the historic-Malay-village-house facade; especially during Eid ul Fitri. It's true, "you only know a good thing till it's gone" (Kris Allen).

The worst part of it is, I learned and memorized certain chapters and verses of the Quran for the sole purpose of guarding myself from evil spirits. Why? Because I see religious people in movies recite the Quran to get rid of evil spirits! God, I am so sorry for being so shallow and narrow minded before!

Thanks to ALLAH, I come to embrace and understand that the Quran is more than that; it's a book that provokes human to think, it's a book that calms the heart, it's a book that brings glad tidings, and much much more. Bringing the point home, the Quran's purpose is much larger than getting rid of evil spirits.

2. I feared the evil supernatural entity more than I feared God
When I was in secondary school, I really love to go camping in the woods. I was a girl scout, you see. Whenever we set up tents, we were told (I won't give names) that we should ask permission from the spirits that live in the woods. We were told to behave.

I obeyed. Besides, that's what people in the movies do too. But wait, didn't ALLAH say in the Quran:

"HIS is the dominion of the heavens and earth. HE gives life and causes death, and HE is over all things competent". (Surah Al-Hadid: 2)

Yes, the woods belong to God so we should have asked permission from God. I should fear God, not the spirits! Plus do you know what kind of mentality that these movies taught me? That I need to behave only in the woods while elsewhere I can do whatever I want even if it's wrong. Stupid movies. Such a silly girl, I was.

3. I didn't gave much attention to good supernatural entity 
As a Muslim, it is mandatory to believe in the Six Pillars of Iman and the second pillar is to believe in the angels. I didn't realise that angels were also supernatural entities. I mean, I did believe in the angels when I was small (still do), but I didn't acquire more knowledge about them which I was supposed to! Why? Because I was too embroiled with the knowledge of the djinns (why don't you google that yourself) and how to avoid from being the victim of withcraft ! I still can't fathom why I want to know about the dark rather than the light. Oh I know why...it's because of the horror movies (And to be honest, because Malaysian children were made scared of evil spirits so we would behave)!

For him (each person), there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the command of Allah...” (Surah Ar-Ra'd: 11) 

It is liberating to get personal with the above verse. It makes you feel privileged to have angels near you. I couldn't believe that I was terrified of the devil's slaves. I am so sorry, my Lord.

4. I was unable to appreciate the beauty of nature
In the Malay lore, there's this evil spirit called pontianak which is sort of like a woman vampire (of course there is no such thing as a pontianak, it is a major sin to believe in the existence of this creature). This creature likes to perch on tree branches to scan its victim; wearing all white, red eyes and long eerie black hair. Because of this, I didn't like to see huge trees at night for fear of meeting eyes with it. Again, this was a major defect I had. Let's read this beautiful verse from the Quran:

Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allah has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every [kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and the earth are signs for a people who use reason. (Surah Al-Baqarah: 164)

It's a shame that I had averted my eyes from the signs of ALLAH. It was a total waste of my time for not using the intellect that ALLAH had bestowed to me...to us.


Were (Are) you a horror movie fan? Have (had) you experience the above horrors?

   

What to do when we are "Festively Challenged"

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

It has been a little over two months since I posted anything here. I was consumed by my studies before an overwhelming sense of lethargic swallowed me whole. I thought this lifeless feeling is normal because it is a sign that I'm doing something of impact to the world. I'm sure this is the same case for all of us. There's always a point in everyone's life where we want to inspire others, mend a broken system, and make this world a better place.

But it soon dawn on me that doing too much or too little of almost anything is hazardous to the inner self. In my case, everything suddenly transforms into a burden. Washing dishes was tiring, dressing up became daunting, getting up from bed seems unnecessary; and when I did got up, I shifted my focus to watching movie after movie online, or constantly scroll down the world of Facebook.

Then like the blaring sound of a fire alarm, I was forced to consciousness. My conscience began to function as I stirred. I came to realize that I am slowly losing part of myself to the fire caused by non other than me. My love for reading had gone, my passion for writing and blogging disappeared, and most importantly, the root of optimism had been pulled out while hopelessness was budding inside of me. As a result, I was brimming with worry and fear, and it was projected on my illogical theoretical model.

Admitting that I have a problem was my first brave step. Realizing that it's affecting my potential was my second. Then I took these rites:



1. Reality check: It takes hard work, patience, and sufficient rest to have a high chance of success.
(To know why I write "high chance of success" instead of "definite chance of success", go directly to rites number 4 and 5)

My first attempt of designing my theoretical model was replied back with general comments. The second attempt was returned to me with countless red inks. I was at my wits end in figuring out my theoretical model. I was at it since morning. If you include the first and second attempt, then I was at it for months.

On top of that (and to my utter embarrassment), I've been trying to understand the research method that I'm applying since last year. As my background was Mathematics and Finance, it really took a lot of time, hard work, and patience to grasp the theories as well as the workings of both conventional economics and Islamic economics. So I felt furious at my inability to perfect my model despite numerous attempts and learning of theories within an expansive time span.

I glanced at the clock. It was only 9.30pm, a very early time for me to go to bed. But I forced myself to leave my study table, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. In bed though, the dysfunctional theoretical model still lingered on my mind.  
 


2. Call out for support from someone who is emphatic and non-judgmental.
All of a sudden, I felt the weight of past dark events piled atop that theoretical model. They proceeded by shattering me into pieces. I had no control of my tears nor my wailing. I quickly wrap myself and curl inside my fleece blanket to muffle out my crying. But somehow, my wailing escaped from the blanket.

"Why are you crying, honey?" my husband asked worriedly.
But I refused to leave the comforts of the blanket. My being declined to face my husband. My voice doesn't want to spell out my predicament.

Realizing that I was unwilling to talk, my husband hugged me from behind instead and lay down with me in silence until I stop crying. Soon after, I was able to face him and I spilled out my guts. We talked and the burden slowly lifted.


3. Take a moment and observe the natural world.
After the fajr prayer (a prayer offered to ALLAH before sunrise), I didn't sleep back like I use to. Instead I pushed the curtains from my window and watch rays of sun light slowly penetrate the remnants of night. It was an uplifting experience. After having breakfast, I tackled my theoretical model once again. While studying, I felt like a barrier was lifted and I can finally see what was wrong with the model.  As the night slowly beckons, I took a moment to myself and watched the sunset and discoloration of the sky from our high rise apartment.

4. Reality check: Life is not and will never be perfect.
After watching the sunset and praying, I checked my theoretical model for the last time. There's still some uncertainty but I know that I had given it my all. Thus without further ado, I printed and handed the theoretical model to my supervisor for his review.

There will be two possible reviews; good or bad. We have to accept that no matter how hardworking and patient we are, no matter how sufficient our rest is, those two possibilities still exist simply because this world is never meant to be perfect.
  

5.  Constantly repair our relationship with God.  
There is never really a definite success in this world. However, should we constantly repair our relationship with God, there's a 100% chance of inner peace despite ANYTHING. On top of that, we are guaranteed success in the next world. Hence, this is the most important rite that we must hold on tight to. And should we ever forget the rest, this fifth rite will remind us of them. 

Elysium - A Reality Shrouded in Ignorance

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear readers,

Walking through the Masjid Jamek subway to hop on to another train, I caught sight of a movie poster. That movie was Elysium. Matt Damon was featured in the poster, obviously the main character looking like Robocop.

Putting Star Wars and Star Trek aside, I'm not a fan of sci fi movies. I like Star Wars because I grew up watching it and I like the movie Star Trek because Benedict Cumberbatch was in it. The Star Trek series on the other hand, is not my type of series at all.

So I don't know why I IMDB-ed Elysium. I then read the synopsis and I said to myself that I must watch this. And today finally, I got a chance to do so.

To me, Elysium is an almost perfect depiction of the kind of economy that we live in. In the movie Elysium, the Earth is overpopulated and diseases are rife. Those who are wealthy moved out to Elysium, a man made planet which is clean, hygienic, beautiful, peaceful and in order. The poor on the other hand, is stuck leaving on ruined Earth where medical attention is lacking and Los Angeles is basically a slum. Working conditions are terrible and  the lives of people there meaningless.

Meanwhile up in Elysium, dirty politics are taking place. It's typical how greed for power can easily be assumed as good intention. And it's puzzling how politicians can assume themselves as the upholder of justice when what they do is only speak pretty words and campaigning without dirtying their hands. I assumed this is what Neill Blomkamp, the writer and director of Elysium had characterized in Delacourt and President Patel. And I think this is what Neill sees in many real life politicians and leaders nowadays.

But what I'm really interested in is, being a student of Finance and having a modest knowledge in economy, is the fact that in year 2154, which is the year this movie takes place, the gap in inequality is very wide. If you have been reading or paying some attention to the news, this is actually happening in reality. Look at the figures of homeless people in the United States (US), the rural poverty of US's rival in economy - China and the world's environment index.

All of these clearly shows that the present economy and financial system are flawed. In Elysium, Max whom had acquired the code of Elysium's system, had managed to rewrite it with the help of Spider. Spider had ensured that in the current system, all the poor citizens on Earth will be given the citizenship of Elysium thus closing the gap in inequality.

Before I end this post, I would like to bring your attention to Max. Max was involved in grand theft auto and went to prison before working at a factory where he was exposed to extreme radiation. When I watched him, I see that he's just a low life criminal but this low life criminal was the one who made equality possible and gave new lives to the poor people on Earth. Thus, I'm pretty sure that we, mere normal human beings, can bring about change too; no matter how small it is.  

Culture and Religion

Assalamualaikum and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers!

Acts of crime can be found everywhere now. Rape, killing, robbery, abduction and many other hideous crimes are not alien anymore. Even in my country Malaysia, shootings and gang members are becoming common; not forgetting the social ills that we are experiencing now: adultery, alcohol intake, drugs,women getting pregnant before marrying, abortion and many others.

I come from the East side of the world. Our culture are supposed to be shy, gentle, having good manners and respectful to the elderly. I remembered watching a documentary on TV where an elderly taxi driver from Japan said, "It is very rare to find a boy and a girl sitting so closely together in my days". These attributes of the Eastern culture are becoming uncommon now. Instead, the influx of Western culture are causing the true Eastern culture to dissolve slowly. Bear in mind that not all of the Western culture are bad. It's just that the Eastern citizens prone to take the negative attributes of the Western culture. By the way, I hope you understand that when I said Western culture, I did not mean Christianity or Judaism.

Speaking about Christianity, I would like to say something about religion as a whole. Because when I come to think of it, all religion abhor these acts of crime and social ills. For example, adultery is prohibited in Islam, Christianity and Judaism. So...how come crimes and social ills are becoming common?

I then remembered something that Harun Yahya had posted on his Facebook page:

And suddenly a light bulb lit up in my brain: Godlessness! The answer is Godlessness!

When a person doesn't believe in God, he or she won't believe that their actions have consequences. He or she won't have principals and will easily follow what is normal without pausing to think whether it is right or wrong. I know that to believe that humans are without faults is naive. But to justify that crimes and social ills are common because humans are imperfect; is pure ignorance.

At least when a person believes in God, he or she will think millions of time whether what he/she is doing is right or wrong. At least a person will strive to become better. At least, when a person sees another person doing something wrong, he/she will give advice or try to stop him/her.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -Edmund Burke 

Thus, believe in God. Seek for the ultimate Truth. Beware of the trap of Godlessness.  

The True Dreamer (Sang Pemimpi Sejati)

Alhamdulillah, I've just enrolled in IIUM as a postgraduate student, pursuing  Masters of Science in Finance. It was quite a tough transition at first, being lazy at home, watching Merlin, facing Facebook the whole day; to a life with responsibilities, datelines and commitments.

I thought at first that I will be the only one from IIUM Kuantan campus who would be enrolling in Gombak campus. Master J would be continuing his's at Kuantan, nuurraihan was still thinking about it and they were the only ones that I know who would be enrolling back at IIUM. Lonely, scary (sometimes I feel that I'm such a weak person, huhu) and having to be completely independent was what I had prepared myself for; somewhat. But thank ALLAH,  nuurraihan had finally decided to further her Masters here too. At least I know a familiar face :)

Deciding to take up postgraduate studies means that you need to make choices on what course you would like to learn. Most people of course, pursue what they had first studied during their Bachelor's Degree, performing more focused research in matters related to their previous studies. Most also take up Masters programme in order to embark through another step in their career ladder. Some on the other hand, sees this as an opportunity to really pursue the course that they really want to learn, but at the same time are afraid that they had registered in a course that will be very different. Then the fretting begins, mostly revolving about the past.
"Why didn't I took up this course when I was an undergraduate?"
"Why wasn't I brave enough to change course on the first place?"
"Why only now did I discover what I really want to do?"
Well, do you know what I think? I think you're strong! Yes, you did read it correctly, I said you're strong.

There are people in this world who choose to live their life the easy way, who always live in their comfortable zone, never wanting to move. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm cool with those who had achieved all this through their hard effort and prayer. In fact, I'm truly happy for you :) and also jealous! Hehe. But I am certainly not cool with those who have a dream and they wouldn't chase it simply because they are being a perfectionist; they simply don't want to face the down side at all, only wanting to be on the top. To me, these people are cowards.

There are also people who choose to chase their dreams. No matter how poor, how oppressed, how misunderstood and other hows they are experiencing, they refuse to give up their dreams. They are like Sirius Black who was still able to maintain his sanity and dream to one day achieve freedom despite the happiness sucking Dementors who guarded Azkaban. They are like JK Rowling who is now one of the richest woman in the United Kingdom just because she fiercely believes in the Harry Potter idea. Before that, she was an unemployed bump, and one step down, would be homeless. And most importantly, they had followed the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad saw who had never back down on his dakwah despite powerful resistance from the oppositions. They (people who chase their dreams) knows that ALLAH's support is always near, helping them to enjoy through and overcome all the hardships that they are facing in achieving their dream.
Therefore you fretters are actually strong men, the ones who are brave; once you stop fretting.

Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: Richness does not lie in the abundance of (worldly) goods but richness is the richness of the soul (heart, self).

"Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of bliss) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? they encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: ' When (will come) the help of Allah? Ah! Verily, the help of Allah is (always) near!' " 
(Al-Baqarah: 214)
The late decisions that you had made is something that I cannot answer why. I believe life is an odyssey, different scenes for different people; and the hikmah, or the reason behind it, only ALLAH knows. Or maybe if ALLAH permits it, you will find it someday. That, the former and the latter, I truly have faith in. Because I had experienced it myself. I now know why it's not my takdir to enroll in Bangor University (and I'm not going to tell you! huhu). Or maybe I know only bits and pieces of it, for ALLAH is the ALL KNOWER.

But when the road has come to an end, and you find that it was not what you had hoped for, don't despair. Despite all your good intention of seeking the blessings of ALLAH, hard effort, positivity and prayer; you still fail, don't be forlorn. For ALLAH had promised the mukmins and mukminuns a fine resting place, definitely more rewarding than any worldly dreams and rewards.

"But it is for those who fear their Lord. That lofty mansions, one above another, have been built: beneath them flow rivers (of delight): (such is) the Promise of Allah. Never doth Allah fail in (His) promise." (Az-Zumar: 20)