MUST READ: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell – Reviewed by Dr. Abdullah Bahi

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is a continuation of Malcolm’s observations on the reasons behind success. His first book, The Tipping Point, showed great success worldwide due to the fact that he presented theories on the tipping point of epidemics which he described in three rules: The Law of Few, The Stickiness Factor, and The Power of Context, which were theories that no one had thought of or at least wrote about before. He then went on with his second successful book, Blink, in which he wrote about how past experiences can lead people to make informed decisions very rapidly (in a blink!) with little information in hand.
Outliers, like his previous books, speaks about how a person’s environment, the conditions they were put in, how much they gave in to reach a certain level of profession, and how cultural differences play a role in the success of individuals and organizations. The word Outliers basically means ‘something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body’, an exceptional individual, if I may say.
He started the book by speaking about opportunity, mentioning stories of successful hockey players, Bill gates, Bill Joy, The Beetles and many others. He portrays the message that people aren’t born as geniuses, but they need to work hard in a certain way to get there, providing that they have an opportunity which they took. He writes, ‘There is a lot of confusion about the 10,000 rule that I talk about in Outliers. It doesn’t apply to sports. And practice isn’t a SUFFICIENT condition for success. I could play chess for 100 years and I would never be a grand master. The point is simply thatnatural ability requires a huge investment of time in order to be made manifest. Unfortunately sometimes complex ideas get oversimplified in translation’.

Gladwell writes about the successes and failures in the pages of Outliers, he puts out his conclusions and reasonings behind them, but still giving the reader space to put their own conclusions throughout the book. Some of the ideas he puts out there are obvious, like the fact that you need to practice to become an outlier. Many are new, at least to myself, like how birth datesaffect success or how cultural differences have an effect on being exceptional in a specific field.

Throughout the book, however, he goes on and on in long conversations trying to prove his point before reaching the exact point, which some readers might find a little too much, and other readers, on the other hand, find thrilling. As a person who read his previous books and was astonished by how he made conclusions and put the theories that were never discussed before in words, I found the Outliers as inspiring as The Tipping Point and Blink, maybe not as much, but I still enjoyed reading every page of it and surely do recommend reading it.

Malcolm Gladwell has proven himself to be an outlier by writing the Outliers, and as written by The Guardian,

‘Gladwell is not only a brilliant storyteller; he can see what those stories tell us, the lessons they contain’.

Knowledge and its Carriers – By Rukaya Idrees

While this article is mainly focused on the teachings of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his teachings, it is crucial to note that the message I am trying to convey applies to every single person out there — All of humanity with their different cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs,  life experiences, and heritage. So feel free to infer from the meaning of this article and apply it to your own life.

Your knowledge is the light you can shed on others’ lives. Share the love 🙂

Example of Knowledge and its carriers is evident in the teachings of prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He always presents us with amazing examples that are the most effective on the heart and the most simple in meaning.

We will talk about one of these examples:

The first example is about abundant rain.

What is the example of abundant rain as prophet Mohamad (pbuh) Said?

Photography Credits: Jill111

Abundant rain is like guidance and knowledge which Allah sent to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

We all know how rain is important.

We all know how much we need rain.

My Photo Gallery & Some Photography Tips – By Shatha Akeel

Photos can be taken all the time and at any place.  It’s become easy with the cameras of our mobile phones.

Here are some tips that may help you to take nice pictures:

1. Keep your photos simple

2. Get in close – zoom in

3. Shoot pictures every day

4. Use gridlines to balance your shot

To switch the grid on…

* iPhone: Go to “Settings,” choose “Photos & Camera,” and switch “Grid” on.

* Samsung: Launch the camera app, go to “Settings,” scroll down and switch the “grid lines” option to “on.”

5. Focus on one subject

Must Read: Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy – Reviewed by Dr. Hilana Omar

Photography Credits: Christoph

How many times did you have a long to-do list ready and nothing was ticked out ? I know, I do that every single night before I sleep, and only keep adding more to it through out my working hours with the hope of getting things done before I get to bed. I get home by the evening, thinking about what should be done first and about the long list I have, and I end up doing almost none. That’s frustrating! Delaying a lot of things till the weekend, and end up spending it doing them all at once. That cycle is a never-ending one leading to a sequence of disappointments. At the beginning of 2016, just as that of every year, I got a new agenda to keep my tasks and goals in one place in front of my eyes at all times. Every month passed by and I have barely achieved any of what’s on its first page.

On the 1st of September, I started reading a new book , looking for a change or any sort of guidance through my mess. “If you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day,” says Mark Twain. That doesn’t seem yummy at all. That is the quote Brian Tracy wrote his book around. In his book Eat that Frog, the same concept is discussed in depth saying that if you do the tasks you keep procrastinating first, everything else won’t seem that bad. Even if Mark did not mean it that way, Tracy made a quite clear point of it. He also said that if you eat the uglier frog first, then the second one won’t put much taste difference. He stated that the same idea would apply if you had an ugly frog to eat in the morning, but you spent too much time looking at it, the idea of eating it will be harder to swallow. In other words, do the heavier and delayed tasks first, everything else will follow easily. I decided to try that, but most of the time the heavier tasks are the ones that are time consuming and can’t be done during work time. I applied his advice, and tried to do it first, still I had to delay other tasks on my to-do list to the next day because of lack in energy and time.

Again I went deep into the same cycle of procrastinating tasks to the next day, then it hit me that what if i rearrange my to-do list according to the priorities, that seems more convincing. That night, I wrote my to -do list as usual, but this time I renumbered them according to how important it was and when it was due. I had some articles and researches to read and summarize, and since it was a priority on my list , I had them done in the cab, on my break and through out the day as long as I had no patients. I had my stops on my way back home, according to how close the destination was from my house. I got my medications, grocery, my lab results that I was supposed to take two weeks ago in that order. True that on the first day, I had a lot of things done, yet I still had things pending to the next day. However, I could totally say that it was really a productive day, and most of what was on my list was done. Yet because it was being delayed for a while, I had so much left to be done. I wrote a list of things I have been delaying, and again in priority order, and on a different page I had my to-do list for the next day. That helped me get my daily tasks done, and if I had extra time, I would do something from the other list. Distributing them throughout the days of the week, I had all my procrastinated tasks done by the weekend and I had my day off peacefully relaxing.

However, eat that frog wasn’t all about the cutesy of the frog, it is very organized and comprehensible, pretty much inspires you on how to get your things done. A lot of reviews stated that it is the “definitive guide” on that matter. Go get your to-do list for the things you have to do tomorrow only and Eat that Frog !

Is it Coffee or Caffeine? – By Dr. Hilana Omar

Photograph Credits: Christoph

Coffee lovers are people who appreciate coffee in every way. Their mornings can’t start without it. Their moods swing along with its aroma into rainbows and butterflies. On the other side, normal people can’t seem to understand a love like that, and the first comment we hear is how unhealthy it is and how one will soon die with a heart attack because one has had 2-3 cups of coffee a day.

Debates and arguments over this topic are endless. Articles are being posted here and there with different information that lack evidence, and still not convincing enough. As a doctor and a coffee lover myself, I couldn’t stop myself from going through researches and studies published for the past 11 years and honestly what i found was astonishingly interesting. These articles are a result of 38 hours of reading and researching, I hope it will be beneficial to everyone.

How could you love something and not know its history ?

7 Tips for Learning a New Language – By Zatasha Kiran

Photography credits: Kaboompics

Learning a new language can be difficult, there are a lot of rules, ideas and new words to take in and it can get overwhelming.

Here are a few easy tips to help improve yourself every day:

1. Record yourself – you don’t always have to talk to someone else to speak your new language, record yourself speaking on a daily basis and listen back.

2. Write a diary – write a few sentences about your day, what you did, where you went, who you saw. Make a habit of it by doing it at the same time every day.

3. Use new words – practice the new words you learn by writing sentences and using them in conversation. Keep track of new words by putting them where you can see them (on the walls in your room etc).

4. Movies and music – listen to music you like in your new language and try to learn the lyrics. Watch movies too, you can use the subtitles option to read and look up any new words you don’t know.

5. Read, read, read – whether you like fashion magazines or local newspapers, try to read as much as you can. Be sure to choose things that actually interest you so you don’t get bored.

6. Vocabulary book – have a special book where you can write down new words you learn and their meanings.

7. Set goals – give yourself a target to achieve and work towards that. It could be learning how to spell a new word or learning to use a new phrase.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Sounds Frightening, But is it? ~ By Natalia Oparka

Photographed by stevepb

GMOs are organisms with an artificially manipulated genetic material. The science standing behind such procedures has been around for a fairly short time (past 20 years) and has found large groups of supporters and haters. Here are some facts about GMOs that are definitely worth considering:

• Over 70% of foods in the US contain genetically modified ingredients.
• There are resctrictions concerning the sale and production of GMOs products in the EU and other countries such as Japan and Australia.
• GMO products are rarely labelled.
• Many perceives GMOs as unhealthy due to the increasing number of health problems in the US since the introduction of GMOs in 1996. Those also include chronic food allergies, digestive problems and autism.

WikiFave: The Empire of the Dead Under the City of Lights ~ By Dr. Hilana Omer

Catacombes de Paris

L’ossuaire municipal was incorporated on the 1st of January 2013 in the public institution Paris Musees .

It’s one of the 14 museums in the city of Paris.  Earlier in the 4th century, Parisians’ burial grounds were to the southern outskirts of the Roman-era Left Bank city. After the Frankish invasions and the Roman Empire’s fall, Parisians abandoned this settlement for the marshy Right Bank. Their first settlement was in higher grounds of Saint-Etienne church and burial ground, by the 10th century these marshlands were at its fullest, thus instead of burying their dead away from inhabited areas, the Paris Right Bank settlement began its life with cemeteries at its center. Their most central cemetery was a burial ground  at Notre Dame de Bois church, which became a property of Saint-Opportune parish after the original church was destroyed in the 9th century by the Norman invasion, it then became its own parish under the Saints Innocents church from 1130, this burial ground is filling the land ,today, between Rue de la Lingerie and Rue Berger, had become the city’s main cemetery.

Playing with Your Child: Why it is So Crucial – By Suha Hosni Al Turki

Photography by PublicDomainPictures

Playing is a child’s purpose in life and the source of his or her entertainment and fun.

Playing provides a child with some important skills to build his or her personality. lt’s a fast way to get to know more about your child’s tendencies from a very young age.
It can develop his personality while having fun. Without playing, the child becomes less-skilled, and that proves the importance of playing, which is determined by adult awareness about how playing is significant for the child.

Uvadahlia Style Fun Facts – By Dalia Al Saad