Djavolja Varos "Devil's Town"

The Djavolja Varos natural landmark is situated on the south slopes of Mt. Radan, on the right bank of the tuta reka (Yellow river), in the central part of eastern Yugoslavia.Djavolja varos is a unique example of the action of erosion. It is a complex of stone pyramids located in the watershed between Djavolja jaruga and Paklena jaruga (Devil's Gully and Hellts Gully). On an area of 4,300 sq.m. water erosion has shaped andesite material and volcanic tufa into over 200 pyramids - towers standing from 2 -15 m. tall, width at base 4 to 6 m. and at the summit 1 - 2 m.
Most of these pyramids have caps or heads - andesite blocks protecting them from fast decey. The absolute height of the locality is 700-720 m. Stone pyramids are ephemeral forms, for they disintegrate relatively quickly (when they lose their protective "cap"), and are formed equally quickly through water erosion. Hence the name Djavolja Varos (Devil's Town), because the locals believe that these changes occur as devils fight each other for power.

These pyramids came into existence by water erosion, in heterogeneous material; the more massive block on the surface prevented the material beneath it from being destroyed and eroded away, resulting in the formation of the "towers" - pyramids. Two hydrological phenomena characterize the locality: one known as Devil's Water ( a highly mineralized spring, the water of which is used in traditional medicine), and another called the Devil's Well (a pressurized spring). The water is of a markedly red colour, while the area surrounding this natural phenomenon, the soil and the rocks, as well as the pyramids themselves, are of different colours giving a bizarre appearance to the entire scenery. This miraculous worid also features acoustic phenomena which justity the designation "Devil's Town": the wind which hums between the pyramids crestes strange murmurs, howling, sighs, squeaking, which has frightened the local population for centuries and is behind their superstitious lore.

The remains of two old churches stand in the vicinity of this natural sculpture; the rich tradition and folk customs of this region are closely associated with this natural phenomenon. Throughout the centuries this area has seen an intertwining of natural phenomena and the life of man.

INTELLIGENCE : What is it?

Christian Heinecken, an 18^th century child prodigy and historian, died in 1725 at the age of four and a half years.His knowledge of sacred and secular history, geography, anatomy and law, and his perfect command of Latin and French, astonished all who met him.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart learned to play the harpsichord at the age of four, composed his first sonata at the age of six and wrote his first opera at the age of 12.

The age-old question regarding intelligence still remains.. Why are some people more intelligent than others?

Some children are exceptionally gifted from an early age, they learn more quickly and efficiently than most adults and soon outstand them in the areas of science, literature, music , painting and sports.

Psychologists use the term ‘precocious’.While they are in every way normal there are specific features of the brain that are more developed.Hence it is not the anatomy but their ability to possess information that makes them gifted.

But since not enough is known about the complex network of the brain, scientists do not know yet these individual abilities in the micro structures of the brain.

Another difficulty is the lack of general definition of intelligence.We know it as a general term to combine a number of brain functions.We know that everybody has intelligence, even animals.

There are also many aspects related to it such as ability to understand , and ability to convert information into action, the capacity for abstraction, recalling information and the most important- common sense.It is therefore found difficult to evolve a definition that the would completely define the term INTELLIGENCE.

WHAT IS A GENIUS ?

Moderately gifted people are much more common than geniuses, of course.The modern world has seen great strides in many fields with people attracting public attention and acclaim.

One of the most popular is physicist Albert Einstein.His contemporaries were also remarkably knowledgeable, and perhaps just as creative and inventive, But he stood out from the crowd because of his genius.

THE IQ TEST: how we measure intelligence.

Our intelligence quotient [IQ] is measured with specially designed tests that assess different aspects of intelligence, such as logical thinking, numerical ability, spatial ability and memory.Each exercise varies in difficulty, and each one has a time limit.

REASON FOR CAUTION

Did you know that Louis Pasteur was a weak student and yet bacame France’s greatest scientist.

Albert Einstein also showed no special distinction in at school.Yet in later life his research and theories caused a revolution in science and philosophy.

Similarly Thomas Edison gave no reason to suspect intellectual brilliance.

Then how do we spot such children? Do the definition of intelligence explain such a change in mental abilities ? Are IQ tests sufficient?

I think NOT. Since IQ test do not take a person’s creativity and imagination into account, they cannot provide a full measure of intelligence.A precocious child tends to be an IQ whiz; while the average value is about 100, the gifted people typically exceed 125 points at an early age.

I am not making vague comments.I support my views with the following example-

The American twins Charles and George could name the day of the week for any randomly selected calender date- in addition to coping with several other complex mathematical challenges.And yet in a test taken in 1964, when they were 24 years old, both were classified as ‘MENTALLY RETARDED’, as the IQ test score was between 60 and 70 !!!