Awake!, October 22, 1960
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Safety in the World Crisis
Don’t Forget Your Memory
Chieng Mai—Thailand’s Oriental Garden
Fill the Room with Music
OCTOBER 22. 1960
THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL
News source* that are able to keep yau awake to the vita! issues of our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. “Awoke!" hos no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ambitions or obligations; it is unhampered by advertisers whose toes must not be trodden on; it is unprejudiced by traditional creeds. This journal keeps itself free that It may speak freely to you. But it does not abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity to truth.
“Awake!" uses the regular news channels, but is not dependent on them. Its own correspondents are on all continents, in scores of nations. From the four corners of the earth their uncensored, on-the-scenes reports come to you through these columns. This journal's viewpoint is not narrow, but is international. It is read in many nations, in many languages, by persons of all ages. Through its pages many Reids of knowledge pass in review—government, commerce, religion, history, geography, science, social conditions, natural wonders—why, its coverage is as broad as the earth and as high as the heavens.
“Awoke!" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of a righteous New World.
Get acquainted with “Awake!" Keep awake by reading “Awake!"
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The Bible translation ued In “Awake!” la the New World Translation of the Holy Serlptira. When other translations are uud the following symbols will appear behind the citations:
AS -> American Standard Version AT- An American Translation AV — Authorised Version (1011) Dtj - J. N. Darby’.i version
Dv — Catholic Douay version ED- The Emphatic. Dlaglult JP - Jewish Publication Sot, Le - Isaac Letter's version
AfO- James Moffatt's VEir$iou Ed - J. B. Rotherham's version ES - Revised Standard Version V<7 - Robert Young's version
CONTENTS
Set a Good Example
Animals Use Tools Too
Safety in the World Crisis
"Shallow Materialistic Society”
Eyes Made for Owners' Needs
■8
Energy from a Bog
Don’t Forget Your Memory
The Design in Nature
How the Camel Beats the Heat
"Your Word Is Truth”
Chieng Mai—Thailand’s Oriental Garden
What Will Happen to Children
Fill the Room with Music
at Armageddon?
t
Youths Conscious of Their Spiritual Need
Watching the World
mbmpie
IN THIS age of expediency many would rather see a good example than he one. Setting a good example is not found convenient or advantageous in a competitive world. Accordingly, bad examples flourish. Rudeness is excused in the name of haste. Lying and hypocrisy masquerade as diplomacy. Marital infidelity comes under the heading of a psychological safety valve. Stealing equalizes the wealth. Obscene speech proves manhood and, not infrequently, womanhood. Cheating is winked at in school because “everybody does it.” Obviously the cult of expediency has many disciples.
Any twinge of conscience from all this is easily stifled. Some adopt the calloused retort of manslayer Cain: “Am I my brother’s guardian?” (Gen. 4:9) Others reason that, since we live in an age of specialization, we can leave the setting of good examples to the specialists such as clergymen, teachers and law-enforcement officers. “Is that not what they are paid for?” Two other philosophies must not be overlooked. One says things are not as bad as they look; there is a little good in everybody. The other says, “Cheer up’ You may not be completely worthless. You can always serve as a bad example.”
One thing escapes their notice. While the hardheartedness of Cain is not dead, neither is the God who judged him guilty. Expediency may have debased modern man, but it has not dethroned God. The Supreme Court of heaven has not adjourned to accommodate man’s lack of good example. Neither has man’s lack of spiritual vision blinded Jehovah, for his Lawbook declares: "The eyes of Jehovah are in every place, keeping watch upon the bad ones and the good ones.” (Prov. 15:3) To attempt to justify all kinds of bad examples in the name of expediency, including the matter of lying and vile speech, Jesus showed to be very unwise: “I tell you that every unprofitable saying that men speak, they will render an account concerning it on Judgment Day; for by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned.” —Matt. 12:36,. 37.
Assigning the duty of setting good examples to “specialists” is likewise unacceptable to God, as Paul indicated: “There is not a creation that is not manifest to his sight, but all things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of him with whom we have an accounting.” (Heb. 4: 13) Furthermore, it is not uncommon for leaders of the people to fail miserably at setting good examples. Yet Jesus showed that this does not excuse the people’s obligation to perform: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the seat of Moses. Therefore all the things they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds, for they say but do not perform.” (Matt. 23:2, 3) Likewise, if Christendom’s clergymen lean toward militarism in time of war and materialism in time of peace, that does not excuse you from the duty to set a good example by keeping God’s law. Search for the true Christian congregation, where those in positions of responsibility set a good example by working with their own hands, practicing what they preach, not “lording it over those who are Gqd’s inheritance, but becoming examples to the flock.”—1 Pet. 5:3.
The purpose in setting good examples is for others to copy. That is why young Timothy was counseled: “Become an example to the faithful ones in speaking, in conduct, in love, in faith, in chasteness.” (1 Tim. 4:12) If you are among the “faithful ones” who please God, then you must set a good example in all things. The words and deeds of man either honor or dishonor God, and he takes note accordingly.
Neither can the practice of setting a good example be relaxed at home among the family circle. The conduct of each member of the family influences the thinking of the other. What parents say and do determines what the children do. Dr. Art-gelo Patri made an interesting observation on this point in How'to Help Your Child Grow Up:
“Parents have to discipline themselves, make good models, set good patterns for children . . . you cannot teach religion to a child unless you possess it in your mind and soul and practice it while you live out your days beside him. ... If you have not kept faith with your religion, it is idle for you to send him for religious instruction. What you are, he knows; what you do, he registers as his pattern . . . Would you lead your children in the love of God? Love him and do his will, and they will go along with you . . , What you would have your child be, express in your daily example.”
Get in the habit of setting a good example, and you will find it easier as your mind is made over. Age or sex or race is no barrier. In 176 nations hundreds of thousands are learning to set a good example by studying the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses. Soon they learn what Jehovah requires and how to copy him. This is in keeping with the Bible counsel; “Become imitators of God.” (Eph. 5:1) From the pages of the Bible will come to life the principles of the one true religion that guided faithful men and women in setting good examples and gaining God’s favor and the hope of a resurrection into his new world. If you worship Jehovah in spirit and in truth, he will back you up with his active force. You will find it possible to copy the faith of Abraham, the endurance of Job, the meekness of Moses, the wifely submission of Sarah, the fearlessness of the early Christians and, in great measure, the love of Jesus.
Knowing how to set a good example and doing it not only bring peace to the mind and joy to the heart, but will preserve your soul alive into God’s new world, now very near. In that paradise earth no place will be found for the disciples of expediency, for Jehovah says: “There will prove to be no future for anyone bad; the very lamp of wicked people will be extinguished.” “In the path of righteousness there is life, and the journey in its pathway means no death.”—Prov. 24:20; 12:28.
Be practical, then, and set a good example!
Danger has no prejudice; it strikes regardless of race or creed. Yet people like yourself are finding true safety in the world crisis.
FIFTEEN short years ago the atomic bomb rang down a bloody curtain on the final act of World War II. The six-year tragedy was enacted at a horrible cost of 22 million lives, 34 million wounded and $1.3 trillion. Ironically, the same nuclear weapon raised the curtain on a new crisis potentially more stark and ugly—possible extinction of the human race through atomic war.
Newspaperman Bruce Hutchison spelled out the crisis in the Victoria TirzieB: “In an ultimate exercise of unconscious irony and quaint irrelevance, the world’s parliaments are devising measures of social security while talking absent-mindedly now and then about the prospective end of civilization. . . , Our crisis is different from any previous crisis not only in size but in kind because we have no assurance of time and we cannot tolerate another war.”
The United Nations World Health Organization revealed another ugly face to the global crisis in the form of disease. Said WHO: “The five great pestilences of history—plague, cholera, smallpox, typhus and yellow fever—still linger on, an ever-
in the World Crisis
present menace in our age of rapid air and sea transport. . . . Radioactive wastes, if not carefully disposed of, may dangerously pollute the air, soil and water, and increased background radiation may even have harmful effects on the heredity of the human race. . . . Malaria is the world’s most expensive disease. It renders vast fertile areas unfit for habitation, weakens agricultural production wherever it exists, and bars economic and social progress . . . Yaws, a crippling infection that threatens half the people in tropical areas . . . Tuberculosis still ranks among the world’s greatest killers . . . Where health services and medical care are well-advanced, diseases such as poliomyelitis, cancer and heart disease become leading causes of sickness and death . . . The sicknesses caused by bad sanitation are among the first five causes of death in the world as a whole ... Mental health is increasingly threatened by the stresses and strains of rapid progress and industrialization in countries at all stages of economic development.”
Rapid exhaustion of earth’s natural resources intensifies the world crisis. An example is the United States. According to biologist Julian Huxley, “The consumption of metals and mineral fuels by the United States since 1918 exceeds the total consumed by the whole of mankind in all preceding history!”
While millions already suffer from insufficient food, the world’s population is increasing so alarmingly that it is expected to double by the end of the century! In a number of highly developed countries such as England Huxley finds there is serious rivalry between use of land for producing vital food and for necessities such as housing and roads..
No generation has had such a desperate need of moral and spiritual strength to meet a crisis as ours does, yet spiritually and morally ours is one of the weakest. This is demonstrated daily by outbreaks of murder, muggings, adultery, robbery, rape and wholesale dishonesty.
Of even greater concern, however, is the fact that Armageddon, the war of the great day of God the Almighty, is to strike in this generation. Of it a United States congressman declared: “In very truth the world seems to be mobilizing for the great battle of Armageddon." Serious students of Bible prophecy have warned for some time that since 1914 numerous predicted events have come to pass with precision, clearly indicating that the terrible crisis of Armageddon stares us in the face. Of that worst-of-all crises, Jesus foretold: “There will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.” No wonder people everywhere “suffer from a deep sense of inadequacy and insecurity,” as one prominent minister observed.—Matt. 24:21; Rev. 16:16.
True Security
The decisions needed for safety in the world crisis are essentially moral and spiritual. Lacking strength for this, rulers and people fall back on the familiar but unsatisfactory security of armaments and money. Against this fallacy the Bible long ago warned: “Woe to those . . . who put their trust in war chariots, . . . but who have not looked to the Holy One of Israel and have not searched for Jehovah.” “The one trusting in his riches—he himself will fall.”-—Isa. 31:1-3; Prov. 11:28.
King Solomon, one of the wisest and wealthiest of men, was inspired to point the way to true security when he wrote: “Wisdom is for a protection the same as money is for a protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners.” Is such lifepreserving wisdom available to a generation facing Armageddon? Yes! God’s prophet Daniel foretold that in “the time of the end . . . the true knowledge will become abundant.” (Eccl. 7:12; Dan. 12:4) Christ Jesus, the Greater Solomon, predicted for our time a house-to-house distribution of this knowledge, saying: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in ah the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations, and then the accomplished end will come.” (Matt. 24:14) This witness work done in 176 lands today involves Bible doctrine and discipline that provide safety in the world crisis. Here hundreds of thousands of men and women like yourself are finding security and hope. You know them by their name Jehovah’s witnesses. Consider how they are able to face the world crisis and say, in the words of the psalmist: “Entirely in peace I will lie down and sleep, for you yourself alone, O Jehovah, make me dwell in security.” —Ps. 4:8.
Fear of nuclear war does not paralyze the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses. Jehovah God promises that he will preserve many of this generation alive into his peaceful new world, and of that postArmageddon earth it is prophesied: "Behold the activities of Jehovah, how he has set astonishing events on the earth. He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.” Fulfilling Micah’s prophecy of the pre-Armageddon era, the international family of witnesses now “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. They will not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war any more ... and there will be no one making them tremble.” (Ps. 46: 8, 9; Mic. 4:3, 4) Diligently studying Jehovah’s laws and putting them into daily practice, these true Christians enjoy the secure “peace of God that excels all thought.” Their attention is focused on the early and complete fulfillment of Jesus’ model prayer for God’s kingdom to come and for Jehovah’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.—Phil. 4:7; Matt. 6:10.
Neither does the World Health Organization’s 999 categories of disease, injury and death despoil the security of true Christians. They know that beyond Armageddon lies the safety from sickness and death promisedin Holy Scripture:-“Look!” said the apostle John, “the tent of God is with humankind . . . And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any” more. The former things have passed away.” This promise, coupled with God’s power of resurrection, removes fear of disease and death.—Rev. 21:3, 4; 1 Cor. 15:25, 26.
Additionally, present application of Christian principles of clean living and moderation as well as happy mental outlook have delivered servants of Jehovah from much unnecessary illness that strikes the world in the form of heart trouble, venereal disease, lung cancer and many ailments attributed to tension. When illness does strike, they are in the best frame of mind to face it and co-operate with the medical treatment prescribed in harmony with God’s laws. A cheerful heart is itself a wonderful medicine. None is more joyful than the one with hope in Jehovah’s kingdom.
Economic and Domestic Security
Economic recessions, depressions or natural disasters likewise seem less painful for those safe under Jehovah’s provisions and promises. Men of all nations bound together with love for God and his kingdom delight to aid one another. This is done gladly among the world-wide association of Christian witnesses of Jehovah, who quickly respond to the material and spiritual needs of their neighbors. Their knowledge from God also gives assurance that Jehovah will shortly “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” After the Armageddon crisis is safely past, there will be no overcrowded earth or global food shortage, for God has promised: “The earth itself will certainly give its produce; God, our God, will bless us.” (Rev. 11:18; Ps. 67:6) Not even the powerful forces of nature will kill or maim as they do today. Jesus may choose to calm the storms as he once did on the Sea of Galilee, or warn his New World subjects to get to a safe place. (Mark 4:39) On man’s behalf Jehovah will even conclude a covenant with animal life, removing any mutual threat. Says the Creator: “I will make them lie down in .security.”—Hos. 2:18.
Domestically, there is great safety today in strict adherence to the high moral standards marked out in the Bible. In the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses immorality is not tolerated. In all the activities of life they are guided by the strong and healthful fear of Jehovah. Christian husbands obey the command to love their wives as their own bodies; wives deeply respect their marriage head, and children are trained from infancy to obey their parents in1 the Lord. Following these principles brings security to parents and children. (Eph. 5:22-33; 6:1-4) Youth raised “in the discipline and authoritative advice of Jehovah” have strong protection from a fall into juvenile delinquency, the modern plague of young people. The security of a happy family circle now and the prospect of even greater happiness in the righteous new world at hand are the delight of Jehovah’s servants.
Security for You
“The fear of Jehovah is the start of wisdom,” says the inspired proverb. By diligent Bible study get to know Jehovah now while he may be found, for therein lies your safety in the world crisis. Before you will stretch the hope of endless life in God’s new world, the security of which is guaranteed by such promises as this: “For this purpose the Son of God was made manifest, namely, to break up the works of the Devil.” (Prov. 9:10; 1 John 3:8) Yes, at Armageddon God’s kingdom under Christ will destroy Satan and his wicked spirit forces, who constitute the present wicked “heavens.” Armageddon will also mean an end to the visible organizations and governments opposing God’s rule, which visible parts of Satan’s world are the symbolic “earth.” For this reason the apostle Peter wrote: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.”—Eph. 6:12; 2 Pet 3:13.
If you are not yet among the more than 600,000 families or individuals receiving weekly free Bible instruction from one of Jehovah’s witnesses, write to the Awake! magazine for information. The abundant true knowledge of God’s Word and purposes foretold by the prophet Daniel is for your safety and preservation in the world crisis. Show appreciation to Jehovah God by seeking it and putting it into immediate practice. Have a part in helping others find the way to true security and happiness now and in God’s new world.—Rev. 22:17.
With Jehovah as your shield in the world crisis, you will then confidently say, in the words of the psalmist: “The salvation of the righteous ones is from Jehovah; he is their fortress in the time of distress. And Jehovah will help them and provide them with escape . . . and save them, because they have taken refuge in him.” —Ps. 37:39, 40.
EYES MADE FDR OWNERS' NEEDS
fl. "In 10 years I have taken some 5,000 animal photographs, including eye details in about 500,” writes Constance P. Warner in The National Geographic Magazine of April, 1959. “Reviewing them, I marvel at the logic that shines through nature's eyes. Each fits its owner alone.. . . The burrow-hiding prairie dog, for example, wears its eyes high upon its head and widely spaced, like many other hunted creatures. The eyes themselves can focus full circle without telltale movement. A dissected prairie dog' eyeball reveals an amber-tinted lens that Alters the glare of the plains. . . .
fl, “The common eel dwells in both fresh and salt water, among stones, in mud, at times even in drying air. Its eyes roll, well protected, beneath tough, transparent picture windows, clear places in its head skin. The Cuban shovel-nosed toad squatting in its burrow folds its upper lid far over the lower, forming a dirt-proof seal that rivals any envelope. The Southwest’s Gila monster digs through sand for water and eggs of other animals. Its tiny eyes, ringed with beaded scales, are shielded by thick third eyelids that resemble heavy white satin. . . . Birds have shown me nictitating membranes—third eyelids—in incredible variety of color, pattern, and texture. The hooded merganser wears a glass I ike membrane appropriate to underwater pursuit of fish. . . . The speedy duck hawk has a crystal-clear third lid that can take the buffeting of a 180-mile-an-hour power dive. The slower bluejay’s third lid flashes across its eye, opaque and beautifully crosshatched; that of the American robin is streaked like onion skin. . . ,
fl, "While studying the eye of a summer flounder at Woods Hole, I pondered a dainty ‘parasol’ projecting over its pupil. The related winter flounder lacks this eyeshade. Why? A few minutes at the library offered one explanation. The voracious summer species often pursues its dinner to the sunlit surface of the sea.”
WITHOUT it you would be unable to write your name, read a book, or speak your thoughts. In fact, you would not be able to think. Without it there would be no doctors, lawyers, butchers, bakers; no, not even unskilled laborers. Without it you would be inferior to the animals, for even they have it. You should be thankful that your Creator gave it to you. He gave you a memory.
The average person seldom thinks about his memory, and consequently rarely does anything to improve it. But with a little attention your memory can be improved and be helpful to you in many ways, if you remember to use it. Daily it can save you hours of work, retaining information for which you would otherwise have to search.
Your ability to remember is the basis for all the knowledge that you possess. To a large extent it determines whether you will be a success or a failure in whatever you undertake. For example, suppose you were ill and went to visit a doctor that recently moved into your neighborhood. How would you feel if, after your telling him about your ailment, he had no suggestion to offer, but picked up his medical school lecture notes and some reference books and feverishly leafed through the pages to discover what was wrong with you? He forgot what your symptoms meant! How much confidence would you place in him and bis diagnosis? A similar failure could be true in occupations where the memory plays even the smallest part.
Did you ever see a runner improve his stride by merely watching others run, or a skier develop speed by only watching others ski? No, something more than observing is necessary—exercise. Memory training parallels physical training and requires regular mental exercise. Without it there can be no improvement. In his book How to Develop a Super-Power Memory Harry Lorayne says: “The memory, in
many ways, is like a muscle. A muscle must be exercised and developed in order to give proper service and use; so must the memory.” At first it requires hard work, but in time it will become automatic. So train yourself to use your memory, and never forget to use it.
A word of caution: When engaged in memory training keep away from alcohol! The two do not mix. Alcohol hampers your ability to remember and causes you to forget. Jehovah, man’s Creator and the Bible’s Author, knew this fact, for he inspired King Lemuel to write: “It is not for kings to drink wine or for high officials to say: ‘Where is intoxicating liquor?’ that one may not drink and forget what is decreed ... Let one drink and forget one’s poverty, and let one remember one’s own trouble no more.”—Prov. 31:4-7.
Be Interested and Selective
One day a schoolboy was called to account by his mother for bringing home a very low history mark. In reply the youth said: “But, Mom, I just can’t remember all those names and dates!” Yet that same afternoon, when talking to his playmates about bis favorite baseball team, it was a different story. He poured out the record of his team, listing the number of home runs, hits, strike outs, double plays, errors, and batting averages for each player—all by memory! What made the difference? Why could our schoolboy remember baseball and not history? Because he was interested in one and not the other. This illustrates an important point for us to remember. Be interested in what you wish to memorize; otherwise, forget about it!
Once you have chosen a field of interest, select and memorize only the material that you need. Do not try to remember unnecessary information. Corey Ford, writing in the Saturday Evening Post, explains the reason why when he says; “Suppose I wanted to memorize Ocean 9-2561. The 9 is a baseball team, of course, and 2 and 5. are the respective ages of my wife’s sister’s two children, and 6 plus 1 makes 7, which is my hat size. So I can think of my wife’s sister’s two children playing baseball with my hat in the ocean, or else I can look up the number in the directory and save myself all the trouble.” So save yourself trouble and work. There is no need to remember many phone numbers, isolated facts and statistics that you seldom use. If you do use them often, you will remember them anyway. Select the material that will be useful to you in your work or personal life and determine to remember that.
Learn to Concentrate
Did you ever ask someone for the time during a conversation, and then shortly afterward ask: “What time did you say it was?” Lack of interest was not the only reason you failed to remember, because you had enough interest to ask. If you had an appointment, the time was probably on your mind. But was your mind on the time? Actually, this was more a case of not getting than forgetting. You really cannot forget something until you first get it. In order to get it you must concentrate on it. If you had concentrated upon the time when you first heard it, you would have remembered it. Most people have never learned to concentrate properly. Have you?
Would you like to test your ability to concentrate? The next time you are sitting in a room with the radio turned on, or perhaps on a subway with its high noise level, fix your eye on some specific object and concentrate on it. See how long you can keep your eyes and mind glued to that one object without allowing any other thought or object to divert your attention, even for an instant. The slightest distraction ends your concentration. At first it may be only a few seconds, but with practice you can learn to concentrate for indefinite periods of time.
Once you have learned to concentrate under distracting conditions, apply this ability under conditions that are not distracting; concentrate where it is quiet. You should try to be wide-awake and relaxed, both physically and mentally. Do not try to concentrate immediately after eating, because then you may be drowsy. Learn to concentrate on everything you do, and you will find that you enjoy it more and remember it longer.
The Bridge of Association
Are you embarrassed when you encounter a person that you know, but whose name you cannot seem to remember? No doubt you are, but quite possibly the other person is also, since he probably does not remember your name either. Failing to remember names is a common shortcoming. Yet history tells us that Cyrus was able to call every soldier in his army by name, and Lucius Scipio knew the name of every citizen of Rome. So you should be able to remember the names of most of the people you meet.
To hurdle the obstacle of remembering, you need a bridge—the bridge of association. The use of association enables you to bridge the things you wish to remember to the things you already know. It is therefore essential to know the three ways in which you can use association: visually, logically, and by classification.
Whenever you learn something new, you learn it by association with something you have in your memory. At first children learn only by visualizing things that can be seen and are real. Thus parents are often frightened when they see their child poking an electric plug into a wall outlet. The child does not understand what he is doing; he only remembers seeing the plug fit into the outlet because of previous visual association.
hi forming the bridge of association, you are often called upon to visualize things that cannot be seen, such as names and thoughts. For this you must call upon your imagination. You can apply both real and imaginative visual association to remembering names and faces. Since no two •persons look exactly alike, remember a person’s face by the differences you see. Note specific features, such as the shape of the eyes and eyebrows, the particular way in which the hair is combed, whether the mouth is long, short, full, or thin, and any special marks or scars. Then take the name and associate it with one or more of these features.
The bridge of ■ association by logic is available to those who are old enough to develop their thinking ability. For example, if you wish to think about the subject of television, your mind will take in more than just the TV set that may be in your living room. Your mind will also think of the television station, cameras, actors, transmitters, antennas (and the TV repairman) ; things you know are related to television because of logic based upon previous experience or knowledge of the subject. It is this logical association of related subjects that enables you to bridge to your memory material that you read, and lectures and stories that you hear.
Every book or article you read and every lecture you hear generally has one underlying thought or theme that the rest of the material supports or explains. There are major supporting points, minor supporting points, and, of course, a mass of detail. The major points are found in chapter titles of a book; the minor points occupy the positions of subheadings within the chapters.
In order to remember what you read, you must learn the underlying thought, the major and minor points, and the logical relationship between them. First, look through the table of contents and try to establish a relationship between the chapters. Keep this relationship in mind as you read through the book. Then follow this same pattern with the minor points. Remember, each sentence is part of a paragraph, each paragraph is part of a subheading, each subheading is part of a chapter, and each chapter is part of the underlying thought or theme of the book.
Next, condense each point into a single word, a key word. By remembering these key words, and by knowing the logical relationship that exists between them, you can remember the complete outline of anything that you read. Apply these same principles to listening, being sure to listen carefully.
If you find it necessary to memorize lists of items, you will obtain a better bridge of association by first classifying them. Classification makes it possible to find books in libraries, food in supermarkets, and letters in files. Develop your own categories for lists of items and then use them. It may save you hours of work.
Say It Again, Again and Again
Association will bridge information to your memory. Repetition will keep it there. You must learn, however, to use repetition over a period of time, because you forget more the first day after memorizing than during the next thirty days. Remember the outline first, then each day fill in more detail. Once the material is committed to memory, repeat it each day for about a week, then each week for about a month, and then review it every few months. You will find that it will take less time to remember more material.
Use repetition in all your memory tasks. To remember a person’s name, be sure to get the name first, next associate it with the face, and then repeatedly address the person by his or her name. The principle of repetition applies to everything. If you want to remember news that you heard, sights that you saw, jokes that you heard, or books that you read, repeat them to yourself, think about them, tell them to others. Yes, say it again, again and again!
There is no time like the present to begin developing your memory. It will aid you if you keep in mind this brief outline or summary of the principles involved: (1) Determine what you want to remember; develop interest in it; be selective in your material. (2) How to remember? By concentration, association (visual, logical, by classification) and repetition.
These key points are essential. Be sure that you understand why. Associate them logically in your mind. Then, as opportunity affords, teach these points to others and you will remember them yourself.
Learn to use your memory and use it well. It is a God-given gift that acts as a constant, valuable companion. Use it often and it will always be faithful. Your memory will not fail you if you do not fail to use your memory.
Reporting on studies made on camels in the Sahara Desert, Knut Schmidt-Nielsen writes in the Scientific American of December, 1959: "In the burning heat of the desert an Inanimate object such as a rock may reach a temperature of more than 150 degrees F. A camel in such an environment, like a man, maintains a tolerable body temperature by sweating. But where the temperature of the man remains virtually constant as the day grows hotter, the temperature of the camel Increases slowly to about 105 degrees. As the temperature of the camel rises, the animal sweats very little; only when its temperature reaches 105 degrees does it sweat freely. The camel’s elevated temperature also lessens its absorption of heat, which of course depends on the difference between the temperature of Its body and that of the environment.
"The camel lowers the heat load on its body still further by letting its temperature fall below normal during the cool desert night. ... As a result of its flexible body temperature the camel sweats little except during the hottest hours of the day, where a man in the same environment perspires almost from sunrise to sunset. . . . The camel employs camel-hair Insulation to lower its heat load still further. Even during the summer, when the camel sheds much of its wool, it retains a layer several Inches thick on its back where the sun beats down. When we sheared the wool from one of our camels, we found that the shorn animal produced 60 per cent more sweat than an unshorn one. . . . The camel’s hump also helps indirectly to lessen the heat load on the animal. Nearly all mammals possess a food reserve in the form of fat, but in most of them the fat is distributed fairly uniformly over the body just beneath the skin. In having Its fat concentrated in one place the camel lacks insulation between its body and its skin, where evaporative cooling takes place. The absence of insulation facilitates the flow of heat outward, just as the insulating wool slows the flow of heat inward.”
eWIBNG MAI
Thailand's Oriental ’'garden
SfiQTAY here three years and it will be-
O come home to you; you will not want to leave.” Such was the advice given to a new resident of Chieng Mai, Thailand.
It was good advice, for while great earth-shaking events have not made Chieng Mai world famous, undoubtedly memories of this truly charming city will linger long in the hearts of those who have ever lived or visited here. One who has shared some of Chieng Mai’s fascinating sights and customs will surely agree that it really is an Oriental garden of natural beauty.
Located in the northern part of the country, this city of 75,000 people is nestled close to the foot of Thailand’s third-highest mountain peak, Doi Su Tep. It is well connected with the capital, Bangkok, by train, plane or road. Traveling by train is the most popular, as the airplane proves too expensive for most, and the road is veiy rough and often very muddy.
From Bangkok to Chieng Mai
The trip from Bangkok by train takes twenty hours. After a magnificent sunset the train starts its long, laborious climb into the mountainous regions of northern Thailand. Soon the night has passed and the gray of dawn gives way to the rising sun. Like a beautiful Oriental lady garbed in brilliant colors, it spreads a fan of vermilion across the sky. The water in the fields below, planted with a soft green carpet of young rice, looks as if the artist of this beautify! scene had dropped his palette of paints.
As the hours and the train speed on together whole families are observed at work
85®
"Awata!'* Correipandant in Thailand
in the rice paddies, plowing and planting according to ancient methods. Water buffaloes soak in pools of mud, unmindful of the crows perched on their backs. Villages of bamboo huts flash by as little naked children look up from their play to wave happily. About noon the train slows down and comes to a smooth halt. Ah! You have arrived.
Our railway station offers a warm welcome to Chieng Mai. The visitor or native coming home is met by crowds of happy, laughing people eagerly reaching up to receive baggage of all sizes and shapes, which is handed out through train windows. You see, to alight from a train here in Thailand with your baggage would result in a disastrous traffic jam, as the aisles are so narrow. So the custom is to hand your baggage out the window to waiting friends or relatives. If no one is meeting you, some kind fellow passenger will hand you your possessions after you have alighted.
Amid all the happy confusion take time to notice the artistically arranged flower gardens that border the platform. Their cheerfulness seems to say: “Welcome to Chieng Mai, Thailand’s Garden City.”
As you emerge from the station you will be met with a rush of blue-garbed men in short pants, swarming around you like bees. Keep a careful grip on your baggage or it may soon be scattered beyond recovery. But, you may ask, surely these men are not thieves! Oh, no! They are samlOT drivers and they just want your business; Samlor is a Thai word that means “three wheels.” In this case the samlor refers to the tricycle-type taxi or pedicab, which seats two people unless you are native Thai, in which case as many as two adults and four children can be crowded in!
At this point many questions may fill your mind. What is the nature of the Thai people? How do they live? What are their hopes and dreams?
A Friendly People
One needs only to stand on the street corner a few minutes to get an insight into the Thai nature. The people are kind, hospitable, fun-loving and intensely curious. Proof of the latter is this; if you stand there five minutes someone is certain to come over and ask, “Where are you going?” Or show a letter to a friend on the street and very likely an old man will approach and peer over your shoulder to see what you have. It is not rudeness, just curiosity. Visit a Thai home and you will have to satisfy such questions as: “Where do you come from? Are you married? How many children do you have?” before you can state the purpose of your call.
Making a business or social call on a Thai household is an enjoyable experience in itself. You cannot knock on a door, because usually an open porch serves as the living room. Simply mount the stairs, call out a greeting and wait for the housewife to come. Soon she appears, wiping soapsuds off her hands, and greets you as if you were a life-long friend. It is really an honor that you have called. To show this she hurriedly unrolls a red straw mat for you to sit on. Just as good as a red carpet, isn’t it? Next she brings you an earthenware jug of water with an intricately hand-beaten silver bowl from which to drink. Afterward, when you are ready to leave, she will thank you many times for calling.
Truly you have been warmly welcomed.
When one speaks with the Thai people it becomes apparent that they have no real hope for the future. Their religion teaches them to be indifferent about everything. So their thoughts rest only with today. They all want happiness but feel that such cannot be gained in the flesh, so their ultimate goal is nippan, a state of nonexistence. However, in this scenic Oriental garden city where there is every kind of tree and flower to delight the eyes, there are also trees to delight the heart; these are human “trees of righteousness.” For here, as in all parts of the earth, Jehovah’s witnesses preach and teach about God’s kingdom, the heavenly government that will shortly transform this whole earth into a garden Paradise for all men of good will.
The Thai Bouse
A visit to the friendly Thais affords an excellent opportunity to see how a typical Thai house is, constructed. Besides the living-room-porch there is often only one other room, which serves as the family bedroom. Because there may be many in the family who must sleep in a small area, the mattresses laid on the floor at night are folded up during the day to allow more room.
The kitchen is very often a corner of the open porch, with a woven bamboo mat to separate it from the living quarters. Utensils consist of one or more charcoal burners, a pan for washing dishes, two or three pots for cooking and a wooden bucket with a removable bottom for steaming the rice.
Tables and chairs are not needed, as the food is placed on a tray and set on the floor, with the family grouped around it. A meal may consist of a large bowl of glutinous rice, several small bowls of curries, vegetables and a little bit of meat. The Thai people never eat meat in the quantities that their Western neighbors do. The sticky rice is formed into a small bite-sized ball, dipped into the curries and other foods and eaten. If boiled rice is used, the curries and vegetables are placed on top of the rice and eaten with a spoon.
The foundation of the house is composed of thick bamboo poles or wooden posts protruding about six feet out of the ground. On this the floor frame is placed. Next comes the bamboo flooring, which has been split and spread out flat.
The walls and doors are constructed of woven bamboo, and the roof is of dried teak leaves laid like shingles. This house can be built for about twenty-five to thirty dollars and can easily be dismantled and moved to another location.
When children grow up and marry they often build a house near the husband’s parents, since family life in Chieng Mai is something of a patriarchal one. A fence surrounds the entire group of houses, and this fenced-in area is commonly called a “compound.”
Old and New
Many improvements are being made in Chieng Mai’s shopping district. Streets are being widened to accommodate the heavier traffic of cars and buses, and new sidewalks are being laid to accommodate the pedestrians. You may note with a touch of humor, however, that the old ways have not given up without a struggle. Along the main street you may see a flock of goats sauntering casually through a red light, blissfully ignorant of the snarled-up traffic left behind. Yet it is not anger at the harmless animals that appears on the faces of motorists and pedestrians, but amused expressions of indifference, for the people here have one common way of meeting most situations in their lives, whether of sorrow or joy, and that is with a mildly spoken, “Afdi ben rai” or “Never mind.”
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In the next tame/
The city has built a new, attractive bridge spanning the Mae Ping River, which divides the city. The scene from the center of this bridge is a delight to the heart. It appears that you have entered a tropical garden of pure loveliness. The lazily flowing river will almost make you forget that there are so many troubles in the world. Its banks are lined with graceful coconut palms gaily waving their branches in the air as if to say they delight in making their part of the earth beautiful. Comfortable trees, heavy with fruit, harbor happily chattering birds. Here and there pagodas from Buddhist wats or temples tower above the trees in reminder that this lovely garden is an Oriental one.
Filled with deep satisfaction at this lovely sight, it is not difficult to believe that in a short while Chieng Mai would indeed become home to you; you would not want to leave.
"TOTALLY VULNERABLE"
“All the power, plus wealth, plus armament, which exist in the world are now totally vulnerable to the trigger-finger of some irresponsible small state, or even of some little band of insurgents who possess, or will possess, those nuclear weapons which daily become more commonplace.”—Lord Rea, in an address to the House of Lords. {Manchester Guardian Weekly, February 18, -1960)
home the musical realism that stereo makes possible.
AS A room that is attractively furnished and artistically decorated brings pleasure to the eye, so a room that is filled with good music brings pleasure to the ear. This pleasure has been greatly enhanced by the thrilling realism made possible by modem soundreproducing equipment. The vibrant sound of a xylophone and the clear tone of violins are so clearly reproduced that the instruments seem to be right there in the room.
A listener can have the feeling of being in the center section of a concert hall when a stereophonic sound system brings the music of a symphony orchestra into his home with startling reality. The same fullness and concert-hall spaciousness appear to be there as well as the same clarity of tones and delicate shadings in volume. Even the sense of direction is there, as instruments are heard playing on the left, others in the center and still others on the right. The entire orchestra seems to be spread out across the room. This remarkable musical realism is the wonder of stereophonic sound.
Since the advent of the stereo record in 1957, the popularity of stereophonic home music systems has grown tremendously, and, as might be expected with something that is popular, there are many machines bearing the stereophonic label that are not actually that at all. They have caused many persons to be disillusioned about stereo. A person should, therefore, know what to look for when he decides to bring to his
iWffflUSlC
How Stereo la Different
The biggest difference in stereo from other means for reproducing music is the sense of spaciousness and depth it gives.
It creates the illusion that the performance is in a large hall by reproducing the reverberations that would strike the two ears of a listener in the original hall. Approximately 90 percent of the sound energy that reaches the audience at a live performance may have been reflected from the walls and other surfaces in the auditorium. Although many of these secondary sounds are of short duration and may not be heard separately, they affect the over-all sound.
A sense of direction in the music must also be created for the feeling of realism to exist. Although music coming from one speaker may be beautifully reproduced, as when coming from a good high-fidelity system, the sense of realism is not as great as in stereo because direction is lacking.
Then, too, your good sense tells you that the orchestra could not be crammed into one spot in a room.
By adding an extra speaker to a nonstereo music sys-
tern, the music can be spread across the room, but it will still
direction, depth and spaciousness. This is due to the fact that the sound from the two speakers is identical; whereas in a live performance your two ears do not hear identical sounds coming from both sides of an orchestra. Your ears can detect the location of distinct sounds, especially sounds with high frequencies, because of the infinitesimal difference in time from when a sound wave strikes one ear until it strikes the other.
The over-all blend of sound from the orchestra, along with its reverberations from the walls of the hall around the listener at a live performance, gives a specific impression upon each ear. The stereophonic music system attempts to reproduce these distinct impressions. This gives the reproduced music direction, depth and spaciousness that cannot be had when the sound is reproduced by a nonstereo music system.
The quality of reproduced music is also essential in conveying an illusion of musical realism. In the radio-phonograph combinations that people were accustomed to before high fidelity made its appearance, the quality of reproduced sound was atrociously poor by comparison. These machines not only failed to reproduce all the music but greatly distorted it, besides adding various background noises such as loud hum, rumble, popping and cracking. They very often gave out a tinny sound. The music they reproduced might be compared to a picture that is out of focus. Although the picture may be indistinct, the images in it may still be recognizable because your imagination fills in what is lacking. The same is true, in a greater sense, with music that is poorly reproduced. The fuzzy sound from the old radio-phonographs with their muddy bass tones beat upon your ears, but your mind ignored the distortion and concentrated upon what you wanted to hear. Your imagination made up for what was lacking. Listening fatigue, caused by the distorted sound, probably made you feel a sense of pleasant relief when the machine was turned off.
The old radio-phonographs failed to reproduce sounds much higher than 5,000 or 8,000 cycles, and, also, in the very low musical region they had no response. The high tones of a musical triangle might be heard coming from the phonograph needle but not from the speaker. Obviously, the music system that reproduces sounds up to 15,000 cycles and clear bass tones down to fifty cycles or lower gives more realism and beauty to music. When direction, spaciousness and depth are added by stereo to this high quality and range of sound, you have a startling sense of realism.
The ability to make clear reproductions of transient sounds is another requirement of a good stereophonic sound system. A transient is the subtle tone that lasts for but a brief moment, such as the click of a castanet, the clash of a cymbal, the twang of a guitar string or the beat of a drum. Regarding transients, Edward Canby states, in his book Home Music Systems: “An excellent aural test for transients, by the way, is a sustained drum roll, snare drum or any smaller drum. The sharp, rapid thumps, following each other at tiny intervals, should sound as dear and distinct as they are in live music. Poor transient response in your phonograph’s innards will blur the drum tones together, sometimes so badly that individual beats disappear and we hear no more than a steady, muffled rumble. You may interpret it as a drum, roll—thanks to your imagination—especially if you know the music well; but you cannot honestly say that it sounds like a drum roll.”
What Is Needed for Stereo?
A stereophonic music system requires nearly twice as much equipment as the monophonic, nonstereo system. It requires two speakers, two amplifiers and, at present, two radio tuners. If a third speaker is used a third amplifier may be necessary. The two amplifiers are needed because two signals are used to produce the stereo effect. One is fed through the left speaker and the other through the right. These separate signals are obtained by using two or more microphones when recording the music. Each signal must be reproduced through a separate amplifier.
At times stereophonic programs are broadcast over the radio by using two FM stations or, more commonly, one FM and one AM station. To receive the latter broadcast an FM radio tuner must be connected to one amplifier and an AM tuner to the other amplifier. The FM signal will then be reproduced through one speaker and the AM signal through the other speaker.
Good equipment is needed for goodquality stereo. While it is true that you can walk into many stores and find relatively inexpensive machines that are labeled stereophonic, they will not give you the realism that a good stereophonic music system gives. The cabinet work on them may look fine, but the audio equipment in them is incapable of producing high-quality sound.
The stereophonic music system that gives a good illusion of realism to the music it reproduces is not cheap. The speakers alone may cost more than many of the pseudo stereo consoles with their beautiful cabinets. Good high-fidelity speakers are precision-made instruments. They might be considered the most important part of the stereophonic music system, as they do the actual reproducing of the sound waves and so determine the over-all quality of the sound. Cheaply made speakers with very light magnets cannot reproduce music with high quality and faithfulness to the original. The speaker is the most inaccurate of all the parts of the home music system, because it is not easy to design and make it so that it will vibrate well from the lowest to the highest sound. Two matched, high-quality speaker systems are what a good stereophonic system requires.
For the best results each speaker system should have its own enclosure. This usually consists of an attractively finished box in a size recommended by the manufacturer of the speakers. There should be a back to the enclosure that is tightly screwed in place. Radio-phonograph consoles that are not true stereophonic machines generally have their speakers exposed in the back, instead of having them sealed in an enclosure that is insulated from the rest of the machine. Insulation is essential when the speakers are in the same cabinet as the phonograph pickup. It prevents vibrations from being picked up by the very sensitive stereo-phonograph stylus.
By having separate speaker systems that can be moved about the room, a listener can adjust the space between them for the best stereo effect. This is usually six to ten feet in a room that is about fifteen by eighteen feet. When the speakers are placed excessively far apart the optimum listening area for the stereo effect is greatly reduced. The distance between the speakers, however, is determined by the size of the room and how far the listener sits from them. If he is so far away that the listening angle is very small, the music will lose the feeling of separation. It will fuse together and appear to come from one source. In pseudo stereo consoles the speakers are generally two to three feet apart, which is not sufficient to give a sense of space and direction unless the listener sits about three feet from the machine.
Two amplifiers of good quality are required to operate the speaker systems. They may be two completely separate units or two amplifiers on one chassis. Whatever is used, there must be a means of coordinating the two amplifiers and the two speaker systems so volume and tone can be kept properly balanced. Some amplifiers have a phase switch so the speakers can be adjusted to operate in the same direction. If they do not, the illusion of realism is seriously affected.
The amplifiers should be capable of reproducing the loudest sounds of an orchestra without noticeable distortion, and they should be able to reproduce the weakest sounds against any background noise that may be present from the reproduction. They should by all means be free from loud hum. There are a number of good stereo amplifiers on the market that can be obtained from stores that handle high-fidelity components, but do not expect them to be cheap.
The stylus of a stereo phonograph pickup moves vertically as well as in a lateral direction. This fact makes the stereo pickup much more sensitive to the manner in which record-playing equipment functions. Any noise in the turntable mechanism can be easily picked up by the stylus and mixed with the music. Since this is the case, stereo requires a good turntable that operates with very little noise, and its movement must be consistently steady, as any variation in speed will cause a change in the music. The pickup arm should be one designed for stereo because of the vertical movement of the stylus.
As the stylus follows the stereo record groove it moves up and down for music that goes through one amplifier and speaker, and it moves laterally for music that goes through the other amplifier and speaker. The record groove is in the shape of a V, with music for one speaker on one side of the groove and music for the other speaker on the other side. This ability of the stylus to move vertically and laterally causes it to pick up the two different signals of stereo music from a single record groove. The stereo pickup will work well on monophonic records, but this cannot be said of the nonstereo pickup with regard to a stereo record. If it is used on a stereophonic record, it will damage the record, because it is not designed to move vertically.
Although an FM radio tuner is not essential for a stereo music system, it is good to have, because a person may not want to play records every time he desires music. Then, too, stereo may eventually be broadcast over a single FM station. The equipment for doing this is now available.
Those who buy high-fidelity components can purchase one piece at a time and thus make the cost of a stereo system easier to bear. Because the components are usually handsomely designed, they look good in a room without an expensive cabinet to enclose them.
The stereophonic home music system has been enthusiastically acclaimed by music lovers as a decided improvement over previous instruments for bringing music into the home. It is a big step toward creating concert-hall realism in the room it fills with music.
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