The wrong man for the job: One of the biggest problems in many countries is not having the right man for the right job.

Decision Making: Another problem in many countries is the way decisions are made. Maybe most of the time, decisions made are not well-informed. Those people may not take all possibilities into account and all special cases that may arise into consideration.

Creativity and education: According to studies human intelligence decreases one point every five decades. So, contrary to the expectations of many people, technology advances are not making people more intelligent. Not just that, but also according to studies, education, in general, in both schools and universities is getting weaker and weaker. That is why in many countries there are too many university graduates but there aren't many qualified graduates. Also, that may remind us of the fact that not every person is qualified to study any major.

Elderly: When a society has more elderly it is wiser. Maybe one of the biggest sins is to sideline the elderly and not to offer them the respect they deserve.

Environment and Wildlife: One of the big problems in many countries is the destruction of wildlife and environment without recognizing that by their actions they are destroying their health slowly. They throw trash everywhere, cut trees, kill or capture or hunt wild animals and birds, destroy wild plants, wild flowers, wild trees, woods and forests. Destroy their water resources or damage them. Throw sewage everywhere, asbestos everywhere, glass everywhere, plastic everywhere, dead animals everywhere, slippery stuff everywhere without concern about the elderly who may fall on the ground because of that, etc.

Insecticides: It is worrisome when farmers in many countries do not know how to use insecticide or use them wrongly which results in damage to the health of the consumer. Some farmers may use the insecticide on the wrong plant, or apply the insecticide more times than they should, or harvest the crops a short time after applying the insecticide (i.e., without waiting for the safe period).

Ethics and intelligence: It is strange when some people think rudeness is cuteness, cheating and lying is intelligence, etc. It is strange when some people lie and argue that is not lying and when some people try to twist or change the meanings of basic concepts. That defeats the ethical standards and the standards used by humanity to judge behavior.

Social Intelligence: I find this an odd concept. I think many people who believe a person may be intelligent in one aspect but not in another (such as social life) are not defining the concepts really well. Maybe some people who are not considered intelligent (according to the original definition) may have decided to come up with intelligence types (such as social intelligence) in order to say they are intelligent in something. It is kind of odd to say that the person who behaves according to ethics, who is honest, who is straightforward and who is frank is not intelligent, while someone who lies or does not tell the truth or does not speak his mind or tells people what they want to hear or tells them things that do not reflect his true beliefs, is called "socially intelligent". Remember all religions call for good ethics.

Noise, fireworks, microphones and loudspeakers: When some people want to enjoy themselves on behalf of others, that is called selfishness. It is odd when people use fireworks with no concern whatsoever of the noise that fireworks cause to sick people, children, the elderly and others, with no concern to its smell which may hurt the elderly, children and other people who may suffer from some illnesses and with no concern to the other dangers it results in. What is even worse is using fireworks late in the night and after many people go to bed. What is odd is using fireworks in the daylight. What is the purpose of that?! Using fireworks during the daylight makes them just noise and nothing more. So, what is the point in using them at such times?! Similar thing can be said about loudspeakers that some young people have in their cars or that some sellers use in their cars. Many of those use loudspeakers early in the day while some people are still asleep, or in the afternoon when some people are resting, or late in the night and maybe after some people go to bed. The same thing can be said about loudspeakers used in weddings. This point is hard to understand, really. Why do people use such loudspeakers in weddings?! Why don't they use speakers that are enough for those who are present in the wedding? Why instead they want all people in town to hear?! Maybe some people do not want to hear. Some people want to sleep. Some may want to study. Some may want to focus and concentrate on their work. Some maybe sick and cannot tolerate noise. Some people may not enjoy those songs in the wedding. So, why force all people to hear?! What is worse is that some people may have recently lost a relative or a dear one and singing via loudspeakers may annoy them and make them feel bad. So, who don't people feel with those who are suffering from such a loss?!

People who are not themselves or not being original: It is odd when some people behave or speak according to the place they are in or according to the audience! It is odd when some people look at others and try to be a copy of them or make their houses copies of their houses or their lives copies of their lives. Why don’t you just be yourself?! Why don't you be original?! I saw educated people who try to play "professional", but they cannot do it right, because simply, it is not their type. It is not in their blood. I saw rich/wealthy people who try to play "Etiquette", but they can't get it right although they may think they do. Why? Because simply it is not in their blood. Money and education are just tools that cane change certain things, but there are things they cannot change. There are things that are "acquired".

Be honest: It is strange when people who do not know something do not say so, but act as if they do know. It is shameful when a teacher answers a question wrong (with a knowledge of being wrong) or makes a mistake and knows he made a mistake and does not correct it. It is tragic when a physician makes a wrong diagnosis without being sure about the case.

I know everything: When the student earns the Bachelor's degree, he may say I know everything. When he earns the Master's degree, he may say I know something. When he finishes the Ph.D., he may say I know nothing. At each stage, the person recognizes more and more how extensive knowledge is. But, unfortunately, there are people who may think they know everything after earning any of those degrees. That is a point of weakness and indicates how shallow the knowledge of that person is.

I am cultured or I became encyclopedia: There are people who may think they became an encyclopedia after reading a book or two! There are people whose knowledge is limited to one aspect or two and they know nothing or too little about other aspects and they claim or think they are cultured! In fact, those people may not recognize that it is not necessarily for the person to have a college degree in order to be cultured and they may not know that earning a college degree does not necessarily mean the person became cultured.

The elderly, oppressed people, weak people, and needy people: Doesn't feeling with and helping the elderly, oppressed people, people in need, and weak people, make you feel good. So, why don't you do that? This world is full of unfairness. So, why don't you make a difference and try to reduce this unfairness even if you can do a little difference only. Nothing better than drawing a smile on the face of an old man/woman, an oppressed person, a weak person or someone who suffered from unfairness. Even making a simple goodwill gesture may help.

Salary of scientists and celebrities: It is strange that people who make/made significant contributions to humanity by saving lives of millions of people or inventing devices that improved their lives significantly (e.g. those who invented vaccines, antibiotics, the telephone, the train, the car, the airplane, the computer, the Internet, electricity, etc) are/were paid much less than celebrities (singers, actors, actresses, singers, athletes, etc). The highest paid professor earns a little more than 4 million dollars a year. Compare that with what celebrities earn!

On the Web: I came across the following statements to Dr. Anatole in the US. He says "After California, I felt the need to immerse myself in the “real” world. That’s how I got my doctorate in ... ... and became a professor. It was fun intellectually but boring emotionally and painful spiritually. And I have never seen so many unhappy people, oblivious to their pain, because they came to believe that it is normal to live in misery."

Your Dark Side: Many people are shallow. Their true sizes are much smaller than they seem. When the smart person looks in their eyes carefully, he almost can see through them and he finds the real them. He sees what's hidden and discovers their weaknesses, their true agenda and the way they function or manipulate things. They may think they know him and they can manipulate him or mislead him. But, that is just in their fancy imagination. They may think of themselves as important significant numbers or try to sell people that impression about them, but they are just tiny fractions. Those people usually are incompetent, they overestimate their intelligence and try to sell people a different impression about themselves than what they are. In fact, there are, maybe, many dump people (or a punch of idiots) who may fall in their traps.They say every person has a dark side, every person has a good part and a bad part. But, for those people, apparently the winner is the bad side. A smart person can sniff the dark side in those people and their evil selfishness even if that is well-hidden. The smart person can uncover them and discover their reality, know what they all about and their "true" intentions, intelligence,qualifications and agenda.

1% Rich and 1% smart: According to studies 1% only of people have considerable higher intelligence than others and 1% of people have 48% of the wealth on this earth. In fact, according to recent studies only 9 or 8 people own half the wealth in this world. So, if you have a few millions or tens of millions or hundreds of millions, give me a break and don't claim you're rich! By the way, the 8 people are Bill Gates (Microsoft), Amancio Gaona (Inditex: fashion), Warren Buffett (Omaha, Nebraska, USA), Carlos Helú (Mexico), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Lawrence Ellison (Oracle), Michael Bloomberg (New York, USA). As you see more than half of those accumulated their wealth from technology and IT- related business. By the way, many of those spend some of their wealth on humanitarian matters unlike many rich people who may not care and may not bother or may not give a damn.

People now are more intelligent than before! Here are evidences that negate this sentence. First, look at the intelligence studies in the previous item. Then, imagine that you found yourself on an isolated island with interaction with civilization and with no tools at all. Also, imagine that you had a memory loss of the past as a result of the incident and so you forgot the know how. What can you do? What tools will you be able to invent? Don't forget that humanity accumulate accomplishments and every generation builds on the achievements of the old generations. Also, remember that only a few individuals make significant difference. The contributions of the vast majority are too little. Remember also that there are things were done in the past, but people nowadays still don't know how the old generations/civilizations did them or can't do like them? Such as preserving the Egyptian mummies. Remember also that civilizations such as the Maya civilization had scientific accomplishments that were unknown until recently. It took people thousands of years to rediscover what the Maya civilization discovered long ago. So, don't think the Mobile, the computer, the microwave, the toaster, calculators, the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, Kit Kat, hair gel, torn low rise jeans, suits, ties, energy drink, cereal, pizza, KFC, Pringles, Satellite, TV, cars, etc, make you smart and civilized!

Arab Speaks English to Arab Audience: One of the biggest tragedies we have in the Arab World is that some people (ordinary, students, professors, politicians, celebrities, artists, etc) speak in English when they talk to each other or when they talk to audience on radio or TV or in speeches, or they speak in Arabic but use English words. They may think they look "civilized" or they look "etiquette" or they look "modern" when they do so. Also, those people are not fluent in English and they have a strong accent. The funny thing is that some of the audience don't know the meanings of such words. What's funnier is that they themselves may be not good enough in English and they may not speak English well at all! So, why do they do it?! They may think that will make them look better in the eyes of the hosts or the audience. On the contrary, many see that as a point of weakness and lack of confidence in those people. I never saw such a phenomenon in the United States. Most Americans speak Spanish and many speak other languages. But, they are proud of their English language (as do the British, the French and the Germans). So, they don't borrow words from any other language when they speak to each other or when they give speeches or when they talk to audience on radio or on TV. So, to those Arabs who do such a thing: wake up and get real! Be yourselves and be proud of your language. Give me a break and don't make fun of yourselves. Remember you are speaking to Arab Audience not to audience in Melbourne or York or New York or Halifax or Auckland!

Houses of Some Rich People or Celebrities: Some people may think that the houses of rich people or celebrities are fancy and distinguished. In fact, I was shocked when I saw many of such houses. They are similar to houses seen on TV or elsewhere. There is nothing special. No distinction. No creativity. What's worse is that their touches and their thoughts are not anywhere in the design. They simply let the engineers and the workers do what they know. That is called "uncreativity".

Traditional Way of Thinking: I become shocked when I see many people think on way as if they are driving in a one-direction street. For example, to measure the distance between two objects, they think only of the Euclidean distance (i.e. using the distance generated by the two norm). But, they don't think of the distance generated by the one norm or the infinity norm in which the notion here becomes a rhombus or a square instead of a circle. What's more is that (even most mathematicians) think only in terms of one topological space. That is a shame! What's worse is that most people don't distinguish between concepts such as maximum (the biggest) and maximal (nothing is bigger than it).

People Who Take Everything for Granted: I find it shocking when many people don't ask why? They simply hear and believe. No reasoning. No rational thinking. Sometimes emotions do the job for them. For example, people hear of computer and calculator. The first is from the verb "compute". The second is from the word "calculate". What is the difference between these two verbs? So, why the computer was called as such and why the calculator was called as such? Why the laptop was given this name? Similarly, when someone reads a book, he may believe everything in it without investigating the background of the author and where he belongs and without knowing (if it is a history book) that the victor (from the Latin word "Victoria") or the winner is the one who rights the history and the truth in many cases is lost.

The "p" and the "b": Many people whose native language is not English, pronounce the letter "p" as they pronounce the letter "b". When they do so, if they say "pear" and "bear", then how the listener will be able to tell whether they mean a fruit or an animal?!

C++ Versus C+: People who say "C plus" (for the programming language) instead of "C plus plus" most likely are ignorant of or don't know the origin of the name which comes from the post increment operator "++" (plus plus). This language contains the older C language, but it added more to it and it became object-oriented. This is similar to the role played by the post increment operator "++". By the way, before the language "C", there was a language "B".

Confusion of Terms: I find it amazing (in the negative sense) that some people don't distinguish between well-known words such as seminars, colloquiums, workshops, etc, and use one of the words for the other two.

Limited Knowledge: I become shocked when people believe only in what they see and they dismiss everything they don't know or consider it a lie or imagination or artificial. For example, if people know one kind of pears or eggplants, they think no other kinds exist. If they know only a few kinds of figs, they don't believe there are hundreds and if they know only a few kinds of dates, they dismiss the existence of hundreds of types. By the way, for those who don't know, there are 4 confirmed cases of ancient viable seeds of extinct plants or trees that have been grown successfully. The oldest is in Siberia, Russia which in which the seed is between 32,000 and 33,000 years old. It was grown in 2007. The second of a palm tree in Palestine in which the seed is about 2,000 years old. It was grown in 2005. The third of a lotus in China in which the seed is about 1,300 years old. It was grown in 1995. The fourth is in Canada of a squash in which the seed is about 800 years old. It was grown in 2015. By the way, there is a seed bank in Norway since 1984. It is called Svalbard Global Seed Vault. It stores seeds from different parts of the world. I think Syria has ordered some of the Syrian seeds stored there because of the tragic war there.

Black and White, Love and Hatred: Apparently many people are color-blind (not in the dictionary meaning of the word). They see only black and white if they like someone or a country or whatever, then that someone or country is always right, and if they hate someone or a country or whatever, then that person or country is always wrong! How can that be?! What's wrong with you people? This is the real world. No person or country is right all the time. So, why do you people see one side only of the story and look only from just one corner or from just a narrow window for the view? Does this make the person narrow-minded?

Radicalism: Does radicalism make the person under control of his own beliefs and his own interpretation of concepts, views and opinions? Does that limit the maneuver abilities of the person and affect his rational in judging matters?

Admitting Mistakes: It is really idiotic that many people don't admit their mistakes and if they are pushed to the corner and admit their mistakes under pressure, then they blame others for making the mistake or blame the circumstances. That means they will never learn from their mistakes and may repeat those mistakes again and again.

Underestimating the Intelligence of Others: Many people overestimate their intelligence and their capabilities and underestimate the intelligence of others. That may turn to be a big mistake.

Playing Low Ethics: Many people succeed in their plans because of using low ethics, but they may think they succeeded because they are smart. Those people may have to keep in mind that many people may bypass them and achieve better positions than them. But, they don't do that because they are ethical people who don't use bad means to achieve their goals.

How to read a resume/CV: Usually what is more important is what's missing from the CV not what is on it. What's also important is the contradictions in the CV and the inaccuracies in it. Remember that many people consult with others when they write the CV or ask others to write it for them. Also, many people try to make themselves look as good as possible in the CV in order to market themselves. Imagine, for example, if someone claimed he is fluent in, say, English. But, then in the interview it turned out he is wrong. Imagine if someone claimed his specialization is "this". But, he spelled "this" wrong on the CV not just in one location but in more than one location on the CV.

Getting the Right Answer: Does getting the right answer of the question good enough? In fact, it may turn out that the answer was reached in an absurd way. Imagine for example if I ask someone to simplify 64/16 (i.e. to divide 64 by 16), then the person may cancel the 6 in the numerator with the 6 in the denominator and ends up with 4/1 which is 4. Of course, the answer is correct. But, the way the answer was obtained is more than wrong. By the way, this example is not mine.

Be Humane: Animals are not just to be killed for their meat or used for their skin or milk or eggs or medicine or to use parts of their bodies for souvenirs or decorations or whatever or to ride them or to use them for entertainment or to put them in zoos or to enjoy them at home. Mistreating animals is a problem. The same thing applies to trees, wild flowers and plants. You can enjoy them without harming them. Remember they help bring rain, they help the climate, they prevent land from becoming desert, they provide you with fresh air to breath and they are useful in many other aspects. So, don't cut them off to use them for heat! By the way, do you know that the ear of the African elephant is similar to shape of the African continent and the ear of the Indian elephant is similar to the shape of the Indian subcontinent?

I think I Am the Best: No, probably, there is always another person who is better than you.

People Who Think They Are Whole Numbers and Others Are Just Fractions: Maybe there are people who think of themselves as whole numbers (in terms of money such a person he thinks he is one full dollar) and others are fractions (in terms of money such a person thinks the others are just money change) if they are rounded up to the nearest integer, then they won't reach the number 1. Maybe people who think this way are sick!

There is one and only one way to handle things! Why don't you try other ways and use different perspectives?! Is this called "creativity"?

I have face, do you? Yes, I do. I also have legs and hands. This is the question that many people who have account on Facebook nowadays ask. By the way, no I don't have a facebook account, nor twitter, nor anything else except this website on my own domain name.

Fork Left Knife Right: What if you found yourself in a situation in which all people present carried the forks and the knifes in the wrong hands? What shall you do? If you carry them in the right hands, then most likely they'll think you are the one who is wrong not them. What if the people are high profile people?

Stupid Movie Mistakes: Do you notice that there are famous movies with stupid mistakes? For example, a historic movie in which there is something that wasn't available in that era? Or a movie in which a crime was committed and the mobile of the person who disappeared was found. The whole movie was centered about that and the movie ended without charging anyone. The whole story could have been solved by simply requesting the calls records from the mobile company because the last call received by the victim was from the criminal.

Your Tongue May Hurt People: When you see something or hear something sometimes talking about it to other people may cause a lot of trouble to other people or hurt them. For example, if you witness a conflict between two people, if you talk about it, then that may incite one side or make it feel embarrassed and that may result in a bad reaction. Now, think about people who not only talk to other people, but who may lie about it and don't tell the story exactly as it is. Instead of doing that, why don't you try to resolve the conflict? How much happiness that will bring you? There are cases in which I came up with creative ideas and suggested them to people who got involved in resolving the conflict. My ideas made things settle down and the two sides of the conflict didn't know till this moment that it was me who came up with the ideas.

Don't tell people what they want to hear: Instead mention your opinions frankly or keep silent. Also, remember if you talk bad about someone in front of a group of people even if you think they don't like that person, then none of them will trust you, because they may think you'll do the same to them when they are not present.

Old Chinese Traditions: One of the things I like the most about old Chinese traditions is taking care of parents, respecting them and obeying them especially in villages and towns. I will never forget the story of the Chinese village that expelled one of its residents because he was not treating his mother well. Till this day, people still remember the story. They made from that person a bad person who doesn't belong to the society.

People and the Herd of Sheep: I also cannot forget what that person who lived in the North Pole for one year said after she returned from there (after seeing life from a different perspective and the world from a different angle). She looked at people and said they look like a "herd of sheep". They live in a routine and keep themselves busy with that routine as if they don't understand life. Of course, that person saw how hard life can be. Even the concept of day and light differs since there is no sunrise there for months and there is no sunset for months. Also, the green and orange lights that appear in the sky there are not seen anywhere else. I am talking about the so called "northern lights" or bright dancing lights of the aurora.

Honking the Car Horn to Say Hi: It is strange and hard to understand when someone honks the car horn in order to say hi to someone. Is it reasonable to annoy many people in order to say hi to someone?!

Car horns that sound like sirens: When your car horn sounds like an ambulance siren or a fire truck siren or an ambulance siren, don't you think that is inappropriate and that may confuse some people?!

Black Car Glass: This is another questionable phenomenon.

The Road to Happiness: There are two rules of thumb. Don't build your happiness on someone else's unhappiness. Don't follow the path of others who may think they reached happiness, because what makes them happy may not make you happy and the path they followed may not suit you or may be out of reach for you.

The Best Thing to Do at Work: It is to work for the company, institute, institution or organization you work for not for your own self selfish sick interests. If you became an official, do the same, because working for your own interests and putting those ahead of the interests of the place you work for is unprofessional and destructive.

Odd but Familiar Behavior: When a group of people form an alliance and they hate each other and dig for each other, then what the common factor could be? It is having a common target or a common enemy.

When You Don't Distinguish between Your Enemies and Your Friends: That is nothing but a sign of being stupid.

When You Don't Appreciate Those Who Are Loyal to You: If you don't know or believe they are loyal, then you're stupid and your intelligence is questionable. If you do know, then your ethics and your character are both questionable.

When You Are Afraid of Your Enemy: That means you are coward. You are like a rabbit. That will make me look nothing in the eyes of your enemy.

When yo are stupid but you think you're smart: That is trivial as most stupid people think the same.

When you are rude but you think you're cute: That is trivial as most rude people think the same.

When an enemy does something bad to you: If you keep silent about it, he will do more and more and he'll think either you don't know it is him or you're coward.

When you're blackmailed: Just ignore it and never give in to blackmail. That will make things much worse and that is the road to total destruction.

When you tolerate your enemy or think he has changed: If you think your former enemy has changed, then you're wrong. If you tolerate him because you don't want him to cause more damage to you or because you don't want him to be an obstacle in achieving your goal or you think he may help you in that, then you are stupid, because your enemy will not change, he will not help you and he will do the damage to you anyway. But, for you to tolerate him will make things even worse.

Some people are like landimes: Some people are like landmines. You must keep them under your shoes. If you move your shoes from them, they will become rebels. Exactly like the landmine. If your shoes is on the landmine and you're pressing on it, then it will not explode and it will cause no harm to you. But, if you lift your foot from it, then it will explode and it will destroy you.