The Sachach of Iraq | Ali Al Salmi | TEDxBasra
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM9MeJ6p50g Video ID: JM9MeJ6p50g ============================================================ Translator: Mohammed Saeed Reviewer: Lilav Ala Rashi Good evening. I am a nerd student but not like the others, I sit in the first row at school, but I don’t remind the teacher if they forgot the exam. I live in a small district surrounded by factories called "Khor Al Zubair" All its people are simple and working in these factories, including my father. However, my family has their own business in the food sector. Therefore, my childhood was a quite different, and as a man, I should assist my family in their work. After returning from school, I change my clothes and go to help my family. Although I get tired but... it’s my family’s work which I have learned and achieved a lot through it. Despite all these difficulties at work, the only place I enjoy is school. I had a lot of fun learning new things, I used to study the subjects... before the teachers asked for them. I’ve been passionate about science since childhood through documentaries and TV. Then I got a mobile phone and internet connection. Many doors were opened for me for acquisition knowledge... and sciences. Thus, my passion began to grow. Throughout high school, I began to learn new things that I had never heard of before through the internet. Sometimes I even learn new extracurriculars things, so I correct or add further information for teachers. But most of them were upset by this behavior and reprimanded me. I was doing this spontaneously because I love science... and enjoy it. When I learn new information I like sharing it with people. I didn’t even concerned with the grades I got in exams, what matters to me is learning. However, my grades were high... and I got "full exemption" (Exempt from exams for exceptional performance) It’s the result of my passion for science. I finished high school and didn’t have a specific university major to study, since I like learning everything. I believed that any major I study I’ll be successful whatever my GPA is, enjoy and master it. Due to the central admission system in Iraqi universities and my GPA I was accepted into the electrical engineering at the University of Basrah. At first, my performance was poor due to personal circumstances, and I didn’t like the college but then I loved it because... I found that it’s a combination of math and physics which I’m both interested in. During the first year, I was wondering how I passed all these academic levels how I passed middle and high school while most of students were... bored by these academic levels and out of the mood to study. whether they get high grades and pass or they fail. So I concluded two things. Firstly, the thing that helped me love studying, mastering it, and overcome those difficulties that most of students face is my passion and love for science, the online content.. I watch, YouTube videos, the articles I read in... global magazines, and others that expand my comprehension. Secondly, most of the content I was watching it on the Internet was in English. Until now, 62% of... online content in general is in English only. Only 1.1% is in Arabic, not to mention it is scientific content, and less than it is Iraqi content, as no Iraqis are highlighting these matters which I love. About the universe’s origin and its evolution, atoms and how they’re formed, and about the equations and physical systems that govern... our lovely world in which we live. Thus I decided not to wait for someone to come and create content to teach people, but rather I wanted to be that one just like that scientific content which I was watching and enjoying it and helped me excel in my academic career, I also want to inspire... people and youth to excel in their academic careers. So I started with a simple beginning and created a YouTube channel. I named it (Iraqi Nerd) which means the Iraqi person who... loves studying all the time. I remember that I created the first video about the Deja Vu phenomenon. Have you ever felt like you’ve seen a place before when you enter it? Or when something happens but you feel like you already knew about it. It’s just a brain malfunction causes a leak in long- term memory makes your brain confused. So I created that video without experience in editing and videography, I just put my phone in my brother’s room because it has a good filming spot... I created the video and posted it on YouTube and Facebook. I was scared of people’s reactions when they watch my first and new video that they weren’t used to watching before. So I posted the video and I got a great feedbacks from everyone in my city. Since then, I decided this is what I want to do from now on. So I started creating more videos and more topics, my views rate increased. But the video production process was slow due to the academic conditions as... electrical engineering requires a hard study. Once I graduated from the college, I had more time to create content and develop myself. So I moved from YouTube to Instagram because I found a greater opportunity to reach youth especially those in my age. I started with a simple content like photos or basic videos with text, but... later I made short videos, but many people disagreed with me, in comments and real life, saying, “Instagram users aren’t interested in everything. They... use it to post trip photos, food, and fashion, not to discuss science. No one pays attention” However, I replied “No, I’ll create a scientific videos on an entertainment platform and make people learn while having fun at the same time.” So I’ve started posting videos on Instagram and my Instagram views started getting increase. While creating content on Instagram, I noticed many people here... in our Iraqi society were waiting for... someone from the same society and language to come and talk about these topics they love which are scientific topics. But they didn’t find anyone who talks about these topics in a simplified way. I was creating videos about complex topics but in a simplified and understandable way, and in our local dialect. Currently, I have 65,000 followers on Instagram and I post on Tik Tok too, as I have more than 220,000 followers, I love them all and send my regards to them. After my journey on Instagram and Tik Tok my ambition has become bigger and I decided not only to create videos and people watch me on their phones, but also I want to expand my audience differently, so I decided to... do workshops too. Do a specific event in a place where people can come and see the things I do, experience and touch them in an authentic way. Initially, I held social issue workshops. This one was about non-violent communication, a way to communicate. Later, I held a workshop called “Physics is amazing” I worked hard on this workshop and arranged its content. I found the right place and created a registration form, many people signed up to attend the workshop. 30 people were selected, we conducted a very unique workshop All attendees said “We’ve never attended such a workshop, especially in Basra.” A workshop where we can come and discuss scientific topics in an entertaining way, see how beneficial and enjoyable studying is, and how physics is an essential part of human lives generally. These are some pictures of the workshop. I really enjoyed it, and this is one of the experiments I conducted. I get messages daily from my Instagram followers telling me that “Through your content we loved physics and... study more” While some say ”We don’t only want to listen to your content... but also it gives us the passion and motives us to.... study hard and excel in our studies.” Even some teachers told me that they watch my content and show it to their students at school so that they enjoy it. My purpose in creating content... is to fight unawareness, pseudoscience, and people who use this unawareness in society, to achieve their own gains. I want to show people... how useful and enjoyable science is, and it’s not like the way that school shows it as a boring and useless subject. But it’s on the contrary, we have to study and learn science because these physical laws and sciences shape our world, so we have to learn them to maintain our planet because through these sciences we can live. Finally, I want to conclude with two quotes from people I love. The first (Walter Lewin). He is a professor at MIT. Who is known for his amazing and enjoyable teaching method. He always says “Teachers who make physics boring are criminals.” Of course he doesn’t mean it literally, but he believes that physics is an entertaining subject that’s a crime... to be taught in a boring way that makes students feel bored with it. The second quote... is for the great person whom I love (Carl Sagan). He’s an American physicist and one of the first scientists to simplify sciences for the public, not just for scholars and universities. He made documentaries, most notably “Cosmos”, which many of you may know. He says “Science is more than a body of knowledge, it is a way of thinking.” Science is not only equations, math, and pieces of information that we study in universities, but... it’s also a way of learning and living, a way through which... we learn about the world around us, ourselves, and others. Sometimes students ask me “Why do we study math and physics when they’re useless?” I answer “You don’t just study physics and math... but when you study them that expands your thinking and teaches you how to approach matters, both in your academic field... and everyday life.” Finally, I want to say that our world... is greatly based on science... and technology, so it’s crucial that we learn about them and educate ourselves to differentiate between right and wrong, and protect our planet. Thank you.