External Memory : Brian not necessary

click here to read an interesting article titled "The Outsourced Brain." By "outsourced brain" the author argues that technology allows us to externalize our memories; that is, information that humans once had to store in their minds can now be stored in some external technological box.

Overall it is an interesting article because it highlights a change in life that is probably missed by most of people.

Dan's analysis

My roommate Dan recently posted a good entry on his blog about "Assumptions and Misconceptions" with respect to Egypt and the broader Middle East. Click here to read.

Update

I met with the managing editor of Egypt Today (ET) and Business Today (BT) and he asked me to be a freelance writer for them. Both magazines are owned by International Business Association (IBA). Egypt Today focuses on social issues and Business Today, obviously, focuses on business.

They want story ideas ASAP and I have no idea what I’m going to write about. Most of the readers of ET and BT are upper class Egyptians. So stories that may be interesting to a foreigner like me may be obvious to the readers. For example, one story I’m thinking about is “sex and drugs in Egypt.” This idea is the result of a recent conversation with a couple of Egyptian women who went on a lengthy tangent on the topic with each other. This was interesting to me because I came in with a lot of misconceptions with respect to those two issues. The problem is that though I found it interesting most readers are too familiar with the issue. Another idea is the immigration problem in Egypt. Immigration is always a pressing issue but I’m afraid it has been covered intensively. I did not ask about pay but I assume if they publish my work they would pay me.

A few management consulting firms are coming to AUC where they will be giving workshops and looking for possible recruits. I plan on attending and seeing if it materializes into anything. I assume these companies are looking to hire in there Middle East office and I would be open to the idea if they pay US standard and I feel I could learn a lot from the experience.

One of the best things about being a foreigner is that one is so observant: the mundane aspects of life become clear to your fresh eyes. Yet, the problem is you only see the surface. For example, Westerns are really race conscious and Egypt is kind of racially diverse. So when we see the easy intermingling among the different races were a little impressed: this is the surface. Yet, when you pay attention, listen a little closer, you’ll notice that it is not as peaceful and harmonious as the surface leads you to believe. So one of the hard parts is noticing phenomenon and wanting to make a conclusion and then quickly remembering that I could be wrong because my background knowledge is limited merely to the surface and lacks substance.

Before I came to Egypt I spoke to a couple of friends of mine about the need to keep the “tourist perspective.” Here in Egypt all the foreigners always find something to do and everyday is an adventure. When I’m bored in Egypt (which never happens) I would just get on the train and get off somewhere randomly. Then you just get into something. My advice is to be a full time tourist.

Ramadan just ended and now we enter what is referred to as Eid in Islam. I guess it is merely a short period for Muslims to enjoy the end of Ramadan by getting with friends and family. All three of my roommates left for Eid. Russ went to Turkey, Darin went to Lebanon, and Dan went to upper Egypt. I was thinking about going to Lebanon but decided against going anywhere. I’m going to Eritrea with my mom in December and I may have to make a trip to Dubai so I was afraid of over spending. This is why I need to make a budget.

I miss writing about politics so expect some political stuff soon.