CULTURAL QA11-2023-04 All the BELOW QA are from Quora DIGEST to me on 04-11-2023.
QUORA ANSWERS NEEDNOT BE 100% CORRECT ANSWERS. Compiled and posted by R. GopalaKrishnan, 80, on 04-11-2023. Q1 Whydoes the pilot sit on the left? A1 JamesMarshall,Qantas Frequent Flyer Updated Jun 10 For most fixed wing aircraft, the Pilot In Command sits on the left,whilst the co-pilot (First Officer) sits in the right hand seat. Even in single pilot aircraft, the pilot will usuallysit on the left, leaving the right seat empty. Butwhy? The reason for this stems from the fact that around 90% of people areright handed. Flying an aircraft is a complexactivity that requires much more than holding onto the "steeringwheel" (known as a yoke). Most cockpit "dashboards"(known as the control panel or instrument panel) have a multitude of buttons,switches and knobs that need to be pushed/adjusted at different stages of theflight. Naturally, it is easier for right handed people to sit on the left sothat they can use their preferred hand to manage the control panel. Oneof the most important controls is the throttle. Planesdon't have an accelerator pedal, like they do in cars. Instead the throttle control is operated byhand. During thetake off roll, pilots are trained to keep one hand on the throttle, just incase the throttle gets bumped out of position by a bump in the runway, whichcould otherwise threaten the safety of the aircraft, or in case theyneed to pull the power quickly to abort the takeoff. It is much better forpilots to use their dominant hand for this task. Because most pilots therefore sit tothe left, most aircraft turns near an airport are also to the left, since the pilot will have the clearest view from the leftside windows. Other subsequent effects include aircraft usually being boardedfrom the left and aircraft being parked with terminal building to the left. It is not an absolute rule. Mostaircraft have dual controls, so can be safely operated by a pilot sitting inthe right hand seat, which happens frequently whenstudents are being trained by an instructor pilot, for example. Q2 Whatare some hard truths about life? A2 HafizSuboor, Oct 28 No one is coming to save you, Youeither work to create what you want for your life, or chances are you won't getit. No one cares.!! Whether you create the life youwant or not, No one gives a shit. You have to do what you need to do for you. Everybody hurts. No one goes through this lifewithout some kind of struggle. We are here to learn and grow, and a lot of thathappens through struggle. Everyone ages but not everyone matures. Life is not fair, you have to loveyourself, and not dwell and get stuck on that, Find a way to make yourcircumstances work for you. Or work hard to create better circumstances. Wepay the price for the things we don't do to take good care of ourselves. Everything catches up with us. (Not taking care of ourhealth, not saving more money, neglecting our loved ones..etc) Some of our greatest lessons and bestteachers are, 1)failures, and 2)heartaches. Q3 SteveJobs... He died a billionaire at the age of 56. And his last words make usthink about the meaning of life...What were his last words? A3 ViolettaCalvino,Apr 3 After all, wealth is just a life experience I've had the opportunity toknow. At this moment, as I lay sick in bed reminiscing myentire life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth Iachieved are insignificant and lack higher meaning in the face of impendingdeath... So, take my advice and be courteous andconsiderate of others. As we get older,we become smarter and we gradually realize that a $30 watch and a $300 watchshow the same time... Whether we wear $30 or $300 purses,the same amount of money can fit in both.. Whether we drive a $150,000 car or a$30,000 car, the journey and the distance are the same, we always reach thesame destination. Q4 What10 things have you stopped doing in your life? A4 Divyanshu,B.Ahons in Political Science, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (Graduated2022)1y 1. Stopped using Social Media- I used to be a social media addict till last year. Then one day decided to deactivate it asit was impacting my mental health. It's been 3 months and now i'm feeling much better mentally. 2. Stopped the habit of not trying new things- These past few months I've started learning Adobe Illustratorwhich i used to think was not made for me. 3. Stopped waiting for others' reply- I used to wait hours and hours for a reply from that one single person,which led me to waste my precious time. 4.Stopped hating others- There was a time when I usedto hate many of my classmates for no reason. 5.Stopped feeling sad- Till last year I used to feel sad and demotivated in my life, mostly because of my ‘NoFuture Plans' 6. Stopped checking my phone every few mins- I remember my daily phone unlocks was used to be around150. Now it's only 30-40. 7. Stopped shying away from eye contact- There was a time when I couldn't even hold eye contact for morethan a few sec with anyone. Now, whenever I talk to someone, I always make sureto keep eye contact. 8.Stopped feeling lonely- I was a lonely teenager forthe last few years and have only 2 best friends whom I used to meet only once amonth. Now, wherever I go, I try to enjoy my own company. I enjoy travellingalone on a metro. 9.Stopped keeping a serious face- There was a timewhen i used to have a serious face all the time everywhere I went. Now I alwayskeep a smile on my face, no matter what. 10. Stopped watching Netflix - I used to spend hours and hours on a show or a movie. For the past fewmonths, I haven't opened Netflix as I find it to be a time-wasting app. Hey Guys, it's my firstanswer here on quora. I know my English sucks but I'm here only to improve mywriting skills. Q5 Whatis the ugliest country in the world in terms of geography? A5 Peter Wade, visited79 countries, all 7 continents Updated Oct 14 Now this is a question I’ve neverbeen asked. We frequentlydiscuss the most beautiful countries on earth, whether it be theirnatural beauty, their architecture, or even their people. We talk about countries towhich we’ll never return for a variety of reasons. But identifying the countries with the leastattractive landscapes on the planet is an intriguing project. And I’ll use itto prove that everycountry has meritorious qualities. Criteria While beauty is obviously in the eyeof the beholder, I’m lookingfor nations that generally have the most unappealing average geographic scenerythroughout their land. That would likely entail bland colors,unimpressively flat regions devoid of mountainous terrain, an unappealing ornonexistent coastline, and sparse plant life. I also realized that a denselypopulated city-state with little to no natural landscape remaining would beespecially fitting. Honestly, all 79 countries I’vevisited have had at least brief moments of picturesque views that left usbreathless, whether they were natural or manmade.So I had to perform rigorous research on the other countries I have yet tovisit, reviewing expert opinion and scenic photography to compile an extensiveranking of the attractiveness of all 195 recognized countries. Thebiggest surprise What surprised me the most was that even the countries ranked mostunappealing still had at least a few gorgeous viewpoints, proving my original theory that our world is beautifuland that every sovereign nation has some sort of redeeming geographicqualities. As an example, thelesser visited African nation of Malawi is way off the tourist radar.That’s understandable, because it’s ranked the 32nd least beautiful country inthe world with largely ordinary scenery like this. But traveling into the Mount Mulanjeregion of Malawi affords views like this! Statistically speaking, Malawi ranks among the bottom 20% of the world innatural landscape! Yet it boasts that stunning view above!Indeed this world is so beautiful that every country has some sort ofgeographical wonder. But as beautiful as that corner ofMalawi may seem, as you ascend through the scenic rankings of all the earth’scountries, the pictures get more and more incredible. And more importantly,higher ranked countries become more densely occupied by those regions. Beautybecomes less of a novelty and far more prolific, while less appealing scenerydwindles to a small percentage by the time you analyze the world’s mostbeautiful nations. The bottom 10 So here we have a synthesis of expert opinion to producethe 10 countries with the least appealing natural scenery and geographic features. 1.) Vatican City This is a tremendously worthy stop onyour world travels, a microstate featuring jaw-dropping St. Peter’s Basilicaand Michelangelo’s priceless works in the Sistine Chapel. But the world’s smallest country only occupies 5.3 million square feet(492,100 square meters), covering less territory than Minnesota’s Mall ofAmerica. So when it comes to geography, the world’stiniest and least populated country essentially has no natural scenery. It’s acompletely manmade creation. But don’t let that stop youfrom visiting. 2.) Singapore Singapore is one of the 30 mostvisited countries in the world for good reason. Visitors enjoy the cuisine, themodern skyscrapers, the excitement of the big city, and arguably the most beautiful airport inthe world. But they’re not going for the natural scenery. In thiscity-state less than one-fifth the size of Rhode Island, you’ll have to exploreone of the local parks to find any semblance of nature. Singapore is covered with buildings, manmade parks,swamps, and a lackluster coastline. 3.) Palestine Unlike Vatican City and Singapore,you can actually find a few places in Palestine with no buildings. However, the drab landscape and denselypopulated urban areas are largely unremarkable. This is the most scenicpicture I could find for Palestine. Its monotonous color and low safety rating make Palestineone of the 10 least visited nations in the world. 4.) Kuwait Vatican City and Palestine are bothUN non-member observer states while Singapore is a city-state. As far astraditionally recognized countries not restricted to city boundaries, Kuwaitranked the lowest in our statistical formula and fourth most ordinary geography. The uniquely futuristic skyline ofKuwait City is worth exploring. But the majority of this small, oil richnation - only about one-fifth the size of Greater Los Angeles - is covered in desert. 6.) Nauru Anisland nation of only eight square miles (21 sq km) - about 10 times the sizeof Monaco - Nauru is underdeveloped and unprepared for tourism. In fact, the third smallest country is often theplanet’s least visited nation (depending on the year). There are sections of its pristine coastline thatare moderately attractive, but its interior is devoid of beauty. You cansee the entire country above from an aerial image. Most South Pacific nationsare gorgeous, but not this one. 6.) Sudan About two-thirds of the country is covered in flat, uneventful,monochromatic desert. And while some deserts can bestunning, Sudan’s is quite ordinary. The pyramids are eerily beautiful, but we’re describing geography and notmanmade structures. In fact, an astonishingly largechunk of the Sahara Desert lies in Sudan that would cover more than France,Spain, Portugal, and Austria combined! The area around the Red Sea offers some variety (as pictured above)with its multicolored mountains. But the country primarily consists ofsand. Being one of the 15 most dangerous countries on earth doesn’t helptourism either. 7.) The Gambia The smallest country on the African mainland is a narrow sliver of landsurrounded by Senegal. Its 48-mile (78-km) Atlantic coastline mostlyunadulterated by tourism is serene, but not sufficient enoughto outweigh the rest of its rather ordinary terrain. Even the Gambia River running through the middleof the country isn’t much from ground level (it looks a little betterfrom the air). 8.) Monaco In yet another city-state little more than quadruple the size of VaticanCity, the steep hillside seen above is just as dramaticas the deep blue Mediterranean Sea bordering Monaco. There’s only one problem.The natural scenery pictured above doesn’t belong to Monaco. Mont Agel risingbehind the city actually lies in France. All of the hilly terrain within Monaco’s borders iscovered in concrete and skyscrapers. The amount of sea belonging toMonaco is negligible. Amanmade barrier holds back the Mediterranean along the majority of thewaterfront, with a true beachfront of only 1,637 feet (499 m) that lacksany waves. Visitors come to marvel at the billionaires’ yachts and the expensivesportscars, not the nonexistent natural features. 9.) South Sudan As the world’s newest country in 2011 that syphoned off the southern tipof Sudan, this is a much greener region lying just beyond the reaches of theSahara Desert that gives Sudan such a low rating.But the vast majority of South Sudan’s terrain, one of theworld’s five most dangerous nations, is rather uneventful. 10.) Equatorial Guinea The slopes of the Moca Valley (pictured above), vivid blue waters aroundCorisco, and cascading waterfall in theMonte Temelón Natural Reserve weren’t quite enough to surpass #11 Liberia inbeauty. But like allnations, Equatorial Guinea has its moments. This is another small Africannation with comparatively less beauty, but beauty nonetheless. Justbeyond the bottom 10 TheLiberian coastline (above) as well as its mountainous regions were sufficientto stave off a spot in the bottom ten for Liberia. And it seems the gap between10th and 11th was the most dramatic in the rankings. The 185 nations beyond thebottom 10 all showcase some pretty stellar scenery! And as Imentioned, even the countries of the bottom 10 have something spectacular tooffer. Q6 Whyare female humans slower than male humans in running when female animals arefaster than their male counterparts while still smaller? A6 ClaireJordan,Worked at National Health Service (NHS)2y In order to have higher intelligence we developed a bigger brain. In order to have a bigger brain we developed a biggerskull. In order to givebirth (fairly) safely to babies with a bigger skull, human women developed awider pelvis . This causes the hip joints to usually be farther apart in women than inmen of the same height, making the running action of women less efficientbecause energy is wasted rocking from side to side. Q7 GautamaBuddha said that each person has four wives or husbands in their lives.Can youelaborate? A7 Tounderstand what he meant, you should first read the short story of ‘A Man and His Four Wives.’ “Once there was a man who had four wives. According to the socialsystem and circumstances of ancient India, it was possible for a man to haveseveral wives. The Indian had become ill and wasabout to die. At the end of his life, he felt very lonely and so asked thefirst wife to accompany him to the other world. ‘My dear wife,’ he said, ‘I loved you day andnight, I took care of you throughout my whole life. Now I am about to die, willyou please go with me wherever I go after my death?’ He expected her to answer yes. But she answered, ‘My dear husband, I know you alwaysloved me. And you are going to die. Now it is time to separate from you. Goodbye, my dear.’ He called his second wife to his sickbed and begged her to follow him in death. He said, ‘My dearsecond wife, you know how I loved you. Sometimes I was afraid you might leaveme, but I held onto you strongly. My dear, please come with me.’ The second wife expressed herselfrather coldly. ‘Dear husband, your first wife refused to accompany you afteryour death. How can I follow you? You loved me only for your ownselfish sake.’ Lying in his deathbed, he called his third wife and asked her to followhim. The third wife replied, with tears in her eyes, ‘Mydear, I pity you and I feel sad for myself. Therefore I shallaccompany you to the graveyard. This is my last duty to you.’ The third wifethus also refused to follow him to death. Three wives had refused to follow himafter his death. Now he recalled that there was another wife, his fourth wife, for whom hedidn’t care very much. He had treated her like a slave and had always shown much displeasurewith her. He now thought that if he asked herto follow him to death, she certainly would say no. But his loneliness and fear were sosevere that he made the effort to ask her to accompany him to the other world. The fourth wife gladly accepted herhusband’s request. ‘My dear husband,’ she said, ‘I will go with you. Whatever happens, I amdetermined to be with you forever. I cannot be separated from you.” There is a powerful message imbued inthis tale. Once you understand its meaning,you’ll see the integrated wisdom inside. This is how Buddha concluded thestory: ‘Every man and woman has four wives orhusbands. What do these wives signify?’ The First Wife or Husband The first ‘wife’ is our body. We love our body day and night. Inthe morning, we wash our face, put on clothing and shoes. We give food to ourbody. We take care of our body, like the first wife in this story. Butunfortunately, at the end of our life, the body, the first ‘wife’ cannot followus to the next world. As it is stated in a commentary,‘When the last breath leaves our body, the healthy color of the face istransformed, and we lose the appearance of radiant life. Our loved ones maygather around and lament but to no avail. When such an event occurs, the bodyis sent into an open field and cremated, leaving only the white ashes.’ This isthe destination of our body. The Second Wife or Husband FORFORTUNE What is the meaning of the secondwife? The second ‘wife’ stands for our fortune, our material things, money, property, fame, position, andthe job that we worked hard to attain. We are attached to these materialpossessions. We are afraid to lose these material things and wish to possessmuch more. There is no limit.At the end of our life, these things cannot follow us to death. Whateverfortune we have piled up, we must leave it. We came into this world with empty hands.During our life in this world, we have the illusion that we obtained a fortune.At death, our hands are empty. We can’t hold our fortune after our death, justas the second wife told her husband: ‘You hold me with your ego-centeredselfishness. Now it is time to say goodbye.’ The Third Wife or Husband-RELATIONSHIPS What is meant by the third wife?Everyone has a third ‘wife’ or ‘husband’. This is the relationship between ourparents, sister and brother, all relatives, friends, and society. They will goas far as the graveyard, with tears in their eyes. They are sympathetic and saddened… Thus, we cannot depend on ourphysical body, our fortune, and our society. We are born alone and we die alone. No one willaccompany us after our death. TheFourth Wife or Husband- Our concious Sakyamuni Buddha mentioned the fourthwife, who would accompany herhusband after his death. What does that mean? The fourth ‘wife’ is our mind [orAlaya consciousness]. When we deeply observe and recognizethat our minds are filled with anger, greed, and dissatisfaction, we are havinga good look at our lives. The anger, greed, and dissatisfaction are karma, thelaw of causation. We cannot be separated from our own karma. Asthe fourth wife told her dying husband, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/520346337.1893317.1699083176155%40mail.yahoo.com.
