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Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

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Articles

Editorial: Looking Ahead

30 June 2015 | The Fountain | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

There is a quote in our main article this issue which has stuck with us here at The Fountain: "Those whose vision is in the future, and who promise to raise that future on their shoulders, need to feel the responsibility of their work within their souls in every step they take. Only then will they…

A New Existence

30 June 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Each individual owes his or her success and happiness to the peace and the trustworthiness of their society. Conversely, each society owes its health and security to its altruistic and sincere members. Egotistic individuals, paralyzed by unhealthy obsessions, cannot form a healthy society. If a soc…

The Precise Numbers of the Universe

30 June 2015 | Betul Gul | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

In a 2014 article for The Conversation, Prof. Jonathan Borwein, from Newcastle University, and Dr. David H. Bailey, from the University of California, Davis, stated, "In recent years physicists and cosmologists have uncovered numerous eye-popping remarkable instances of apparent 'fine tuning’ of th…

What Waits in the Future?

30 June 2015 | Kemal Serce | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Scientific advances have gained major momentum in the last century; many of the things seen in science-fiction movies in the past have become ordinary things today. High technology products like supersonic planes, mobile phones, satellite communication systems, and super computers are now regular p…

A Symphony of Compassion

30 June 2015 | Anthony J. Ciorra | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

God calls us to make music in our world; to perform in a global symphony of compassion. If each human being lived by the law of compassion, what a wonderful world this would be! I can't help but think that this is God's plan for us. It is Fethullah Gulen who coined the phrase, "A Symphony of Compas…

Open Systems to Avoid Decay

30 June 2015 | Ihsan Kose | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Why do natural systems in our universe age? Why do social systems cause errors? Why do both die? Why does inactivity lead to degradation? Why don't flowing waters get polluted but still waters do? Why do certain institutions work like a clock, whereas others fail to develop common sense and die? T…

How Fair Are We When Looking into the Past

30 June 2015 | Alparslan Zora | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

I remember that in fourth grade one of my classmates was impersonating George Washington, the first president of the United States. As a class project, students had to dress up as historical American figures, and give an interview in front of the class. My classmate had chosen George Washington, we…

Survival of the Local and Cultural Identity

30 June 2015 | Harun Parpucu | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Ermek Tursynov's Shal (2012) ("The Old Man") is one of the many masterpieces Kazakh cinema produced both during the Soviet era and following independence. It depicts a few days in the life of an old man on the steppes in beautiful Kazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world. In the midst of…

The Neurobiology of Imitation

30 June 2015 | Hamza Aydin | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

There are approximately 100 billion nerve cells (neurons) in the brain of an adult person. Each nerve cell is created with a capacity to establish around 1,000-10,000 connections with each of the surrounding neurons. The number of connections in the brain is larger than the number of all essential…

Let's Take a Coffee Break

30 June 2015 | Asli Ceren Tahan | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Coffee is the second most common beverage in the world after water and the second most widely used product after oil. Some people start their day by drinking a cup while others may turn to it for a break from their daily lives or to chat with friends. It is easy to find a coffee shop around the cor…

Ilm (Knowledge)

30 June 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Ilm, (knowledge) means information obtained through the human senses or through the Revelations or inspiration of God. It is also used to denote information that is in agreement with facts or realities, and to denote understanding something with its real, whole meaning and content. In addition, we…

Kangaroo Mother Care

30 June 2015 | Nuh Ozdin | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Iwoke up to the sound of a phone ringing, which broke the night's silence. I answered it while still sleepy. The call was from our neighbor, Peter. He said, "Let's go, neighbor! Time is up; be quick!" I was surprised and asked myself for a couple of seconds, "What time has come?"

Hear to Heal: A New Approach to the Healing Power of Sufi Music

30 June 2015 | Volkan Efe | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

It is widely accepted that music influences and affects people in different ways, starting from the first days of life. Humans are born with a strong sense of hearing as well as the ability to respond to sound. For instance, according to Prof. Keith Moore, the first sense to develop in a human embr…

Leiden: Living the Poems of Tolerance

30 June 2015 | Katharine Branning | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

The events of early January, 2015, in Paris, France, have left many people angry, confused, repulsed, and afraid. The supposed "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam is now on everyone's lips in Europe more than ever - and perhaps understandably so. Yet a recent visit to Leiden, Hollan…

Piri Reis and His World Map

30 June 2015 | Ahmet Urguplu | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Piri Reis was the founder of Turkish cartography. From a Turkish family who immigrated to Gallipoli from Karaman in central Asia Minor, he was the nephew of Kemal Reis, one of the notorious seamen of the Sultan Bayezid II era. His birthplace, Gallipoli, was - and is - one of Turkey's major ports…

Antisocial Personality Disorder

30 June 2015 | Alaeddin Hekim | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

His scores are dropping. He does not attend most of the classes. He does not like any of the rules. He asks all the time, "Why are we supposed to obey these rules which limit our freedoms anyway?" While driving, he hates red lights and speed limits, but he extremely enjoys tailgating and scaring ot…

The Uncertainties of Energy Supplies

30 June 2015 | Omer Said Gonullu | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

What are the main reasons for the energy shortage we are facing today? Is this problem due to the extreme population growth, more people living in cities, increased agricultural production, and a boom in other industries like mining? What is the effect on nature of our current energy consumption ha…

The Perfect Conditions for Oxygen

30 June 2015 | Nuh Ozdin | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

Close your mouth and nose tightly. See how long you can stay like this without breathing. It is two to three minutes at most, isn't it? Or, imagine breathing a gas other than oxygen. How would your body react to it? How would it impact your health? The human body is built from the elements found o…

Islam and Reactionary Movements

30 June 2015 | M. Fethullah Gulen | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

QUESTION: There are reactionary movements in different parts of the world. These are waged against established systems, and their perpetrators argue that they do it on behalf of Islam. What is your take on such movements? Reactionary movements have never been beneficial to the larger society, nor…

Science Square (Issue 106)

30 June 2015 | The Fountain | Issue 106 (July - August 2015)

A New Blood Test Can Tell Every Virus You've Ever Had Engineers have developed a new tool which can test for both past and current viral infections by analyzing a single drop of a patient's blood. The new method, known as VirScan (Systematic Viral Epitope Scanning), is superior to existing technol…

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