THE POISON OF OUR CENTURY: SUGAR​

                                                                                                         

  White sugar or granulated sugar is the crystallized sucrose(C6H22O11) made from sugarcane or sugar beets. Sugarcanes and sugar beets are grown in India and the Middle Eastern countries but today, most of the countries prefer to produce sugar from sugar beets because of economic conditions. Nowadays, we use granulated sugar in the food sector in substances such as pastries, baked goods, beverages and mostly in junk food. As a result of this large usage of sugar, we may consume it excessively without being aware.

   Sugar has some effects on our body which can be both beneficial and harmful. First of all, controlled consumption of sugar affects us in a good way. For instance, the best known type of sugar that we call glucose, tells your brain to produce insulin, which helps the body to regulate blood sugar and it also interacts with other hormones, to help you feel satiated. Therewithal, the sugar which comes from fruit can provide some of the energy we need to get in a day but on the other hand, extreme usage of sugar harms us more than we imagine. For instance, excessive sugar consumption is associated with heart diseases, pancreatic cancer, kidney problems, and insulin resistance.The most common result of excessive usage of sugar is obesity.Rates of obesity are rising worldwide, and added sugar is thought to be one of the main culprits.

    The main point that we should notice about the effect of sugar is in our brain. The brain uses more energy than any other organ in the human body and glucose provides this energy.  Does this mean an excessive amount of glucose provides more energy? The answer is no. When you eat something sweet, your brain gives a signal about what you eat into the cerebral cortex and if it is sweet, the signal activates the brain’s reward system.It has a similar effect to the effect of drugs. As a result of this warm fuzzy feeling, you want to eat again. This continuous desire may cause people to eat excessively. Consequently, over activating of the reward system kick-starts a series of unfortunate events such as loss of control, craving and increased tolerance for sugar.The reason for this continuous desire is dopamine. Dopamine is a hormone which is responsible for our happiness and sugar is the substance which causes our brain to secrete dopamine. So, it explains our continuous desire and why we consume sugary things when we are sad.

   Recent research demonstrates the harms of sugar. For instance, a high sugar diet can lead to chromium deficiency. Chromium, a trace mineral, helps regulate blood sugar in the body. It can be found in meats, seafood, and plant food but most of the people who live in developed countries still don't get enough chromium because of refining starches. Another harmful effect of sugar is related to stress; Sugar increases stress. When we are under stress, our bodies immediately kick into fight or flight mode, releasing large amounts of hormones. Surprisingly, the body has the same chemical response when blood sugar is low. After you eat something sweet, stress hormones begin to compensate for the crash by raising your blood sugar. As a result of this situation, unexplained anxiousness, a depressive mood and, irritability begin. The last example is about sugar’s effect on the cognition of children. Three years ago, New York Public Schools reduced the amount of sugar in their meals. Consequently, their academic ranking increased by 15.7%.It explains the effect of sugar on our mental health and the ability to think correctly.

    What will happen if we stop using white sugar?.Actually, this experiment has been tried by someone who consumes sugar continuously.At the end of the experiment, the results were discernible physically and mentally.The first discernible effect was in his appearance: he lost  weight in his waist area. The second biological effect was having less lubrication in organs;this prevents hepatic

disease.Therewithal,his blood pressure stays constant.As a result, his probability of having heart disease dropped to normal levels. Consequently, we can try to change our habits and diets to live in a healthy way.So, limiting our usage of sugar may lead to this as a fresh start.

                                         Sueda Dinç

SELFCOMPASSION

It is a fact that man is the smallest part of society and, compassion is  one of his most valuable features. Humanbeings show love, empathy, patience and understanding to their best friends and loved ones, but can they show the  same behaviour to themselves? Generally ,people  are the ones  who save the worst criticism for themselves. Over and above that,people repeatedly do this in their daily life and, they pretend to be their own worst enemy .When they make a mistake or struggle, they insult themselves and criticize themselves  and question themselves.These internal judgements hinder them from reaching their goals.Instead of mercilessly judging and criticizing themselves for various inadequacies or shortcomings, people can overcome this situation by showing compassion to themselves and it is called self-compassion.Self-compassion is described  as  having three elements and even though there are several benefits of it, motivation and less anxiety can be claimed to be the most important two.

To begin with,according to Doç. Dr. Kristin Neff who is a  psychology expert; self-kindness is the primary component of self-compassion. This factor involves loving ourselves rather than judging ourselves mercilessly. Moreover, she says that common humanity is the second component. When a person makes a mistake and feels separate from the rest of the world, he should remember that the common of feature of all people is making  mistakes. Another element is mindfulness, (which # is) a non-judgmental, receptive mind state in which one observes thoughts and feelings as they are, without trying to suppress or deny them. As a result, when they realize what they do to themselves with brutal criticism, they can give themselves the compassion that they need.

Furthermore ,motivation is the physiological effect of self-compassion. When people criticize themselves, the body activates the system of self-defense. This system has developed for threats targeting people’s body. But in modern times, the threat is generally not the body, but the perception of self. Thus, when they do not like themselves, they  threaten themselves. Ultimately, they attack the problem, so they attack themselves. In addition, when people criticize themselves, the problem is doubled because they are both aggressive and attacked at the same time. If people are constantly self-critical, they have a constant high level of stress and, in the end, the  body closes  to protect itself and becomes too depressed to cope with all this stress. In this process, anxiety is inevitable.In brief(Briefly), the more compassionate you are towards  yourself, the more motivated you  become and, the less anxiety you have.

To sum up,the level of both motivation and anxiety are connected with mental health.And according to experts,especially Kristin Neff, self-compassion, which ismade up of three components, is likely to be  a drug for mental health.I think , we do not need to feel special and above average, we must just get rid of social assessment dynamics and we must never forget that we are human.                                                                       

. BURAK ÖZÇİFÇİ

REWIRING YOUR BRAIN FOR HAPPINESS

Until recently, scientists believed that the brain would not change after puberty. However, with the use of new technologies in medicine, recent findings indicate that this is not true.It also shows that the brain  can change and evolve throughout  life.Acording to experts,the human brain can stretch and has just as much flexibility and adaptability as  plastic. This quality is named neuroplasticity by scientists.When a new habit, a new emotion, a new skill or a new thought is used, a new connection in the brain is formed.When they differ, a different connection is established in the brain. Thanks to neuroplasticity , reorganization of the brain takes place. However, can people use this for happiness?

To begin with,deciding to approach an issue more carefully is known to be  the primary way to rewire a person's brain for happiness.People generally forget how wonderful their lives really are.Many people are unaware that they have the freedom to choose whether they  want to focus on negative or positive experiences in their lives. Besides, many of them tend to have short-lived experiences of pleasure and extended experiences of pain. In order to be  happy , people can make conscious  decisions and they should transform the selection into a habit; this/, which/and this/ requires effort and repetition . Additionally, they must be aware that they can overcome every problem because they are the product of negativity bias and are changeable. Moreover, they can keep a gratitude journal. It is a powerful way to help balance their negativity bias, and write  their selection and what they do to feel happier. In short, they must constantly remind themselves of the positive experiences of happiness.

Furthermore, one of the best ways to avoid negativity is to prepare a list of important positive experiences. People should resort to this list the moment they feel negative thoughts starting to cloud their minds. To exemplify, people can focus on the love and the compassion of their peers. Another point is that , the brain is powerful and creative .The effect of  negativity bias  may be decreased by using visualization. For instance, each time people experience something negative   , they might visualize  drinking a hot a cup of tea on  Everest for example. Briefly, only making a conscious decision and applying it is enough to achieve happiness.

 To sum up, with  firm focus and enough repetition, the imagined behavior, way of thinking and skill  can be achieved by reorganizing the brain. As a result, the choice is in your brain. Use it or lose it.

BURAK ÖZÇİFÇİ

MARRIAGE VERSUS COHABITATION

Families are the smallest social unit of society and have existed, in various forms, ever since people first started living in settled communities. The decision to spend one’s life together with someone else and start a family is not one to be taken lightly so it is often formalized in a social, legal and / or religious ceremony. This ensures stability, peace and order in society. In the modern world, there are many who feel it is unnecessary to adhere to age the old rules of marriage and who feel that a promise made to a partner is sufficient to make the union binding. Such people feel marriage is a private union and does not concern the state or the Church. Although many people prefer going down the official route and formalize their marriage in the eyes of the law, there is, in fact very little difference between marriage and cohabitation. As a result, it is up to the couple which path they decide to take.

The decision to spend the rest of your life with someone and share everything with him/her is a tough one. Prospective partners may come from very different family backgrounds, may move in very different social circles and may have varying hobbies and interests. This being the case, the chances the marriage will not work are high and divorce a real possibility. Thus, is it wise to tie oneself up in a lot of legal red tape? Is it not better to keep things informal, make each other a promise and stick to it? Does it really matter if marriage vows are witnessed by the state and/or the clergy? Looking at it this way, it is obviously more practical to have a trial period at least to see how things go and then formalize the union at a later date should it be felt necessary to do so.

Cohabitation has often been strongly opposed by major religions and the state on moral grounds in the case of the former, and on practical terms in the case of the latter. Major religions wish to preserve monogamy to maintain law and order in society and prevent moral degeneration. The fear of eternal damnation is thought to be the best way to encourage monogamy and thus prevent debauchery. Yet is instilling fear really the best way to preserve moral integrity; would it not be better for people to uphold accepted moral values in society because they wish to? Assuming that the decision to live together outside marriage automatically leads to depravity is a false argument and completely nonsensical. As for the state, what is practical for the state may not necessarily be right to people who wish to cohabit. Thankfully, this fact has now been accepted in developed countries where the laws are rapidly catching up with social trends. The tax and inheritance laws that are valid for married couples are now valid for cohabiting couples too. The same is true for the status of children. The stigma attached to cohabitation is now a thing of the past in most developed countries.  

To conclude, whether cohabitation can be an alternative for marriage or not is a very tired topic that needs to be shelved. Society has moved on in most parts of the world, and demands have changed. There is no going back so in the words of Bob Dylan, those who disagree “should not block up the hallways” and should “move out of the way”.

IS TORTURE JUSTIFIED?

  There are various interrogation techniques to retrieve the requested information. One of them is torture, which  is the severe infliction of emotional and physical pain or suffering, and it is done to get compliance from an individual whether it is to get a confession, admission, and information or not. According to UN laws,  torture is the only crime that every state must punish, no matter who commits it or where. It is argued that torture is justified because it is a necessary technique to achieve requested goals whereas the others think that torture is unacceptable in any case since it is inhumane and degrading treatment.

  

    Firstly,  proponents of torture claim that information can matter a lot, which leads soldiers or the police to feel they have a right to torture when they suspect an individual of breaking the laws. People advocating torture think that torture is an advanced interrogation technique that is far more effective than others, and the information can be easily extracted from individuals. However, opponents of torture argue that in fact, torture is not guaranteed to be useful in producing accurate information since people will say or admit anything to avoid being  tortured, so the information they provide is unreliable anyway.

  

    Lastly,  proponents of torture assert that in case of emergencies, torture should be implemented to preserve public peace and security. For instance, if a person becomes a threat to public safety, he or she should be immediately arrested, so that officials can effortlessly learn what they want to do in society via various methods of torture like water boarding, mock executions, and so forth. Nevertheless, nobody has the right to deliberately harm other human beings with the intention of causing  physical and emotional pain although they  have committed a major crime because people who undergo  torture are adversely affected  by the experience throughout their whole lives. This is also a crime, and there isn't a person who deserves brutal torture in the world.

  In conclusion, whether torture is justified or not is a controversial issue because of a variety of clashing views. However, when it is considered from a humanitarian point of view, it does serious harm to people, and no  government has  a right to restrict people's right to life. Torture is not a  solution to anything. Accordingly, torture should never be practiced for any reason.

BIOMIMICRY

Human beings have always wanted to find new things that they can use in their lives from the beginning of the beginning of time to the present day, and of course, in the future. Actually, they are not always aware of it  but the answers are already out there in nature. So we don’t have to look for them far away, they are all created for us and waiting to be discovered. This new science is called “Biomimicry” and it is an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions. Thus, there can be no disadvantages, on the contrary, there are lots of advantages for people.

First of all, there is no doubt that Biomimicry enables us to improve existing technological devices in the best way. Consider the Wright Brothers who, in 1903,  invented the first flying machine based on the movements of a pigeon. This move is at the forefront for today’s scientists. For example, the invention of thermoregulation was inspired by polar bears’ fur. Likewise, the owl’s trailing edge fringe has provided clues to producing silent and more efficient onshore wind turbines because the owl is equipped to hunt in silence as a result of its wing structure. Finally, the best example of biomimicry is, I think,  that some bird species plunge into the water without spattering to see fishes clearly and this is a source of information which has been applied  to express trains in an effort  to make them quieter while traveling.

Secondly, Biomimicry can be used not only for technology but also for design. For instance, butterflies’ wing patterns are used in fashion for such things  as dresses, weddings or in decoration like the design of walls, carpets etc. Actually, even some little bugs’ beautiful crustshape is something that has inspired the design of curtains.

To sum up, the most important thing is that people should know a whole sustainable world already exists. We are just now beginning to open our eyes and realize that the questions are all around us. Therefore, we have to ask ourselves “How can we live here gracefully and maintain our lives without new inventions?” In order to do this, we need a way to remind ourselves of the existence of nature.

                                                               NİHAL TEKİN                  

WHAT IS CYBERCRIME?

Although computers and the Internet have made our lives easier in many ways, actually, they both have bad sides. This is because people also use these technologies to take advantage of others. For instance, an increasing number of domestic and international criminal activities are now using the Internet. Therefore, computers and other electronic devices can be tools used to commit  crimes or are targeted by criminals. We call this cybercrime and the real definition of cybercrime is that it is the commission of illegal acts through the use of a computers or against computer systems. However, there is more than one way to describe cybercrime.

First of all, cybercrime can involve identity theft which affects the personal life of the victim on a massive scale. Cybercriminals can do this by entering your personal information and login information such as user names and passwords, phone numbers, addresses creditcard numbers, bank account and other information that criminals can use. As a result, they can steal billions of dollars or important data in the twinkle of an eye.

Secondly, you might think that the only form of cybercrime you have to worry about is hackers stealing your financial information but unfortunately, there are far more concerns than just basic financial ones. Cybercrime can also take the form of cyberstalking, harassment, bullying and even child sexual exploitation and is a security breach before anything else . Moreover, it also includes nonmonetary offenses like creating and distributing viruses to other computers. Thus, hackers can easily access data with the intention of committing offenses.

In conclusion, nowadays cybercrime is increasing day by day in our world and it is impacting our lives. It can take many forms from stealing our information to cyberstalking. Big software providers and security agencies are in a contiual battle to best each other. However individuals should also take logical precautions by downloading the patches that security firms devise, having complicated passwords of more that 14 digits and installing effective firewalls.
                                                                      NİHAL TEKİN