The feather and the turban

What prevents us from progressing? How can we constantly move in circles? ... We exert a superhuman effort that doesn''t lead us forward; rather, it brings us back to the same point from which we set out every time?! Why are we unable to resolve our affairs and issues, so we keep rehashing them, repeating and adding to them, arriving at nothing, and agreeing on nothing?! These are questions that occupy me—and they certainly occupy you—as I browse through the facts of what happened in our intellectual and cultural history, which I believe has not received the attention it deserves from all of us. Between the lines of this history lie thousands of intellectual battles; some well-known and famous; some completely obscure. Although these battles reflect our vitality and our capacity for dialogue and debate, unfortunately, the result is ultimately nothing. I emerged from writing the story of these battles convinced that something has changed inside me; something I am confident will happen with you. I will not belittle what is happening. Just; I''ll let you read... if you like.