The Herd Theory: When to Follow and When to Lead

My bestfriend and I used to spend countless happy hours at the water fountain on campus contemplating what we thought was our 'herd theory.' We marvelled at the seemingly endless capacity of our fellow medical colleagues to  just follow the herd and stick with the crowd.

There is a total reliance among university students on word of mouth. They follow in the footsteps of those who came before them: which 'notes' to study from, which private lessons to take, whether to skip class and not give a damn or attempt to bribe to bribe the person in charge of attendance. Do you know why they do it? They are not necessarily dumb or uncreative. They do it because they know it works.

There is no room for textbook reading, note-taking, or even deducing facts from information. There is no room to try to be different, or approach things differently. If you want success, you have to follow the herd.

This is by no means applicable only to medical students. This scenario is the basis for our whole 'higher' education system. And, of course, it goes beyond education. You are also expected to follow the herd as you move on with your life. If you want to be accepted by society, you have to live as they do, marry whom they approve of, and follow the career path laid out in front of you.

Don't believe me? Just look at anyone who wants to get married to someone out of the norm. It is considered ok for Egyptian men to marry 'foreigners' as long as of course they are white. What if one decides to marry a far Easten/Asian, or a black woman? What about Egyptian gals?  Marriage Herd theories here allow them only to marry younger Egyptian men: marrying a guy from another culture--even if Muslim-- is generally not acceptable, neither is marrying a younger guy.

I am not claiming this phenomenon to be purely Egyptian, au contraire. It is charateristic of the human condition: straying away from the pack is dangerous for the pack, therefore, it is frowned upon.

But honestly, who cares about the pack??? Following the herd sure is a lot easier than exploring the undiscovered paths out there in life. But you know what? It's a lot less fun; and less rewarding. Happiness and achievements stem from putting yourself in challenging situations and conquering that challenge, and ,again, conquering INACTION.

So next time you want to stray away from the herd (make a wild career leap or  try out something new) by all means do so. The world is a better place because of those who innovate, not those who copy.

Meat Boycott Update

It's officialy THE hip-and-happening thing to boycott meat now in Egypt....
The Egyptian Consumer Protection agency,
the Giza Governorate ,
even the minister of agriculture are urging Egyptians to boycott meat.

Cattle breeders, farmers, and traders--along with butchers of course-- will have to do something about the prices if nobody buys meat from them, wouldn't they?

Meanwhile, what other creative culinary options are out there?

• The un-creative options are fish and chicken--don't just give in to the urge to rely on these only, or their prices might soar!
• Have Koshary once a week-- we'll call that 'Authentic Egyptian' day. 

• Mac'n'Cheese will also provide a hefty serving of proteins (Macaroni and cheese is quite simple --and utterly delicious!)
• Mexican-inspired day: cook some rice and eat it with a side of red kidney beans and salsa (chopped tomates, spring onions, green peppers). 
• Sauteed mushrooms with pasta ('al funghi'), or served with potatoes and green beans. 
• Lima beans with tomato sauce and rice. 
• Yellow lentils cooked with spinach and rice. 

• A nice warm Cheese souffle (also very elegant to serve).
• Shakshouka -- if anyone needs to know what that is let me know, I'll give you my grandma's recipe!
• fattet-hummus. Cook regular fatta but instead of meat on top, you add a scrumptuous mixture of hummus cooked with onions, cut-up tomatoes and tomato juice. Serve it with a side of tabouleh .
• Mushroom and onion quiche with a large mixed salad.

You should take this opportunity to tantalize your taste buds with an array of dishes  from all over the world...

International Universities In The 6 Of October

According to  Al Masry Alyom,  residents of the sixth of october city might finally be able to compete with our 'New Cairo' rivals!!




It's true that the American University in Cairo has moved far far away from us, but there maybe branches of The Sorbonne, Nottingham University, and even Georgetown University in our neighborhood sometime in the future.



Needless to say, these are not the educational institutes themselves, they will operate under affiliations. Unlike other flimsy 'affiliations' that did not offer much to attending students in profit-making private universities, this is supposed to be different. They will be affiliated with various faculties of Cairo University.

Currently, I have not been able to find out whether this has anything to do with the land Cairo University owns next, and is building upon, next to Hyper One market.



Does this translate into a glimmer of hope for Egyptian Higher education?

I believe so. Let's not forget that the Sorbonne-Faculty of Law affiliation in Cairo University (what is known as 'Faculty of Law, French division') was quite fruitful to Egyptian graduates.

My only concern is: will they recruit a teaching staff up to the job?

I guess we shall see....