As you can see, our troubles do not end. Let me ask you a question: Think about all the problems we face. All personal, social, global problems… Do you know of a non-human problem among them? All of our problems seem to be human-induced; is it not?
We harm not only ourselves, but also nature. There is no other living creature that can harm nature in the way we do.
But there is more. Let me ask one more question: As a biological organism, what good does humans do to this world? Let’s think… What would be missing from this world if humans just disappear?
Nothing… In fact, as I have often claimed: If you remove man from this world, only “heaven” remains.
On the other hand, I think human beings cannot be reduced only to biological functions. We have many features that enable us to produce magnificent meanings, make amazing inventions, do the unthinkable and it seems like we are designed to tackle the impossible.
After all, we face a dreadful dilemma: On the one hand humans are extremely destructive and problematic; but on the other side we also have unimaginable creativity and almost devine characteristics. So, the big question remains: What are we actually?
This question is not new at all. For thousands of years, our ancestors have been pondering the same question. On the whole, they all seem to come to the same conclusion:
Aeschylus: γνῶθι σεαυτόν [gnōthi seauton] (Know yourself!)
Our job is to know. Living is enough for other creatures, but we want to “know”. We seek meaning, if we cannot find it, we create meaning.
For thousands of years, we have used every means to know. Logic, philosophy, art, thought, beliefs, traditions… All were means of knowing. But the youngest of these and the most popular nowadays is undoubtedly science and the scientific method.
Science is the best way to explain the universe we can observe; there is no doubt about it. Scientists constantly ask questions, collect evidence, test their hypotheses, and come up with theories accordingly. Theories are the highest levels of explanation in science. Everyone knows that when we let something down hite falls to the ground; but it takes Isaac Newton to establish the theory of gravity. Electric current strikes us all, everyone sees its effects; But when someone named James Maxwell comes out and comes up with a theory that explains this, it becomes a tool that we can understand. Quantum theory, chaos theory, string theory, big bang theory, evolutionary theory… These are just a few of the gigantic steps in our journey to understand the universe and the world.
But there is a slight problem with scientific theories. It is very difficult for lay people to understand what these theories actually mean. Because theories are formulated in the language of science and in a way that generally only the scientists can understand. Engineers and practitioners develop technologies and applications from those theories as they are fluent in this language. Theories are tremendous success; but they are always written for scientists and in the language of science.
Today you will actually meet a scientific theory. But this theory has a difference: This theory was written first and for the first time for you, for all people who are engaged in science as a profession or not. Although it is a theory based entirely on our scientific knowledge and experience, this theory, which has wider boundaries and is inspired by our ancient wisdom, is here today with its claim to make our lives better. Our theory is now complemented by the last volume published today, the third book of the trilogy, entitled “Crossing Borders”. Introducing: IFA: Factory Settings of Humans
As a biologist, a medical physiologist, a neuroscience researcher, and as a curious student of nature I am delighted to present to you this comprehensive explanation about humankind for anyone who wishes to know more about themselves.
IFA is an overarching theory that treats human as a natural but extraordinary result of a 3.5 billion years of natural R&D procedure.
It is a comprehensive explanation effort that deals with what kind of being a human is, from its basic biology to its most mysterious mental and spiritual characteristics.
It is an understandable, applicable, fresh perspective that sheds light on the sources of all the problems we have experienced in the modern world and in our civilization shaped by human choices for the last few thousand years …
It is an inclusive narrative which is born of the courage to combine the latest scientific findings with humans’ ancient wisdom.
And it is a scientific theory written in a way that everyone can understand and apply.
IFA consists of 5 items that can be summarized as movement, nutrition, relationships, stress and pushing the boundaries. In such a chaotic world, in the lap of unpredictable changes, the human generation has been shaped together with all other creatures for millions of years. IFA theory will explain this legacy of our ancestors’ neuroevolutionary past and its importance on our everyday lives. It seems that there are no problems, illnesses, troubles or human activities in our lives that are not covered by IFA or that we cannot address within the theory of IFA. Regardless of your job, your age, gender, geographical location, income level, education, beliefs, ideologies, political viewpoints and traditions, there is a very important starting point and a very important awareness for all of us in the theory of IFA.
The narrative of IFA is a theory that takes humans as a whole and tries to remind us the codes of living right. In five basic items, it enables us to realize our settings that are the legacy of our history of becoming human. The first article, movement, is about the necessity that our body, mind and emotions should be in motion; and explains the mechanism of problems arising from a sedentary life. The second article is on nutrition. It draws attention to a modern test of human physiology, which has turned hunger into an advantage in the world of scarcity, with the abundance of food in the modern world. This abundance is not just about nutrients. While we are surrounded by an unbearable abundance of knowledge, opportunities, alternatives and thoughts, we can experience great troubles with our limited minds, limited comprehensions and limited stomachs.
The third article emphasizes our relationships with other humans and once again underlines the increasing importance of real human connections in the world of virtual relationships. Our social settings, which tightly bind us with others of our species, as a weak and naked individuals, can cause us to be mentally, physically and spiritually injured and sometimes sick in today’s digital world.
The fourth item is about stress, perhaps the most dominant cause of death for urban people today. This setting aims to explain in a way that we can all understand why we can’t stand so much stress and give hints of how we can reduce the tensions caused by the endless troubles of the modern world.
Our fifth and final setting aims to remind us of our drive to “transcend borders”, which constitutes the third volume of the IFA trilogy. This article separates us from perhaps all other living things. As the only living species that has undertaken the challenge of realizing ourselves, human beings can only find happiness and satisfaction by first getting to know themselves and then living the requirements of the self they know. The unique opportunities and constraints offered by the unique circumstances in which we all come into the world, together with our unique biological equipment, make it clear to us that we must have a unique personal adventure that no formula or rule can cover. This life is lived once, and it is much easier to turn it into a magnificent epic than we think in order to do justice to this very, very special gift called “life”. Crossing borders is our most important weapon that makes human beings human, which we all believe should understand and place at the center of our lives.
In short, the IFA narrative is a reminder that aims to redefine the human being in the most comprehensible way with its biology, ecology and psychology and to realize what we have forgotten from the beginning. An innovative and applicable theory that tries to explain the human being holistically in the light of the latest scientific knowledge and ancient human experience.
Like all theories, the changes this theory will make in each of our lives will depend on how and to what extent each of us applies this theory to their lives.
You may not have met an “idea” like this before. But remember: IFA tells us almost nothing that “we don’t know”; but it reminds us again and again, in the most understandable way, of the vital facts we forgot.
We invite all of you to the invitation of IFA in order to live ourselves and our potential at the highest level, to read life and ourselves in it from a new perspective, and to redefine ourselves from a framework that we have not thought of before.
I talked about many areas where people are unique; but there is one more thing. We all actually have a “superpower”. Being able to imagine and build a future that does not yet exist, namely “imagination” is the name of this superpower. And being able to dream takes courage for most of us now.
Humans Default Settings was formulated for “brave people of the new world”. For anyone who dares to stop, think, understand himself or herself and people, say “I don’t know”, wonder what’s behind the scenes, relearn every moment, get rid of their memories, dream and live their dreams… İFA, which is a personal letter written to you, carries the foundation seeds of a hopeful future and a decent new civilization.
The seeds of HDS are with you as of today in order to meet the minds where it can sprout…
So that we can take better care of ourselves, come to ourselves…
May your mind, heart, luck, fortune, path and brain be open to brand new possibilities!