Hamid Azizi

Part of the mantra of a secular and democratic society is to live in harmony with other community members, be it minorities or majorities.  Another tenet of a free democratic society is to allow for the co-existence of opposing ideas within the context of a legal framework of a fair law, with justice for all.  Many great qualities and amazing achievements are attributable to this forum and platform of state-building and governance. Religious conservatism also prides itself on the structural-functionalism that it has brought to the world and has shaped the value system of billions of people throughout human history for "good or for bad."  Whether we are religious or secular is not the point of discussion here. The point of discussion is the idealism of the co-existence of opposing views of the world under one secular system. Does such a system have the moral and ethical authenticity to be trusted for fair treatment of all?  It is a bit ironic to ask the relig...

In a traditional sense, a free market is one where a capable willing and well-informed buyer will pay a reasonable comparable price for a product and or services under normal conditions without pressure or duress. The only force that determines the price is supply and demand. What impacts the amount and requirements are the external factors.  What others forces impact the housing market and how mixed is the whole economy and what economic indicators are to watch for when looking at the housing market?  For long it was considered that the real estate market was local, is it still true? In this blog we will test some of the narrative and the dynamic interplay of these forces and if the traditional definition of the market still fits the bill in the era of globalization?  Further, does a free market really exists? We start off by the market indicators that shape both sides of the supply and demand equation. Real Unemployment Rate  vs. Reported Unemployment Rate: ...

Attention, concentration, focus, flow… These are words associated with mental states that assist in doing work. If we can focus our attention, we might be able to concentrate long enough to reach flow state, and actually get some work done. In this stimulation-rich world, focusing attention and finding flow is more easily discussed than done, but the scientific understanding of attentional processes can simplify the challenge. Our senses are constantly inundated with information: the light streaming in the windows, the sight of people passing by on the street, the smells of a cafe, the sounds of conversations and dogs barking over the din of city traffic, the light scrape of oxford cloth around your neck, the pressure of the hardwood table on your elbows. Each time you notice something in your environment, you are paying attention to it. The ability to focus your attention on something while ignoring competing stimuli is called selective attention by psychologists, and we would neve...