CAIRO: Everybody knows that when you cut your hair, it grows faster. Everybody knows this because that s what the hairdressers say, it s what your aunts say, and it s what fashion show hosts say. The only problem is does this make any sense? Well, no, it doesn t really. The last time I cut my hair I didn t even wince, which means that my hair, and presumably most other people's hair, does not have nerves running from the crackled ends up to my brain. How on earth, and why, would such a mechanism exist whereby the roots suddenly speed up production when a few dead cells are clipped off in what must seem like miles away? I am sure my scalp could care less when I trim, cut, braid, or keep my hair. Of course, this is not the only problem. It may in fact be one of the least problematic concerns of the 21st century thus far. The real problem is the adoption of a similar fact-by-repetition method used with so many other matters that do actually mean something. Truth becomes truth when it is said enough times. Individuals count for about one point towards truth each, bloggers about two, government officials minus one, experts maybe 10, sheikhs, television hosts and print media 20-25 and Al-Jazeera 28. Oprah Winfrey doesn t need any supplementary points. And then evidence for important religious, political, or societal matters becomes that s what they say. The reasons or logic for the initial proclamations disappear (if they ever existed) and it becomes enough that that s what they say. Of course, if that s what everybody in the universe is saying, there is probably some truth to it. The sun is indeed probably hot. Smoking is probably not a healthy habit. On most issues, however, one will rarely be the only dissenter. How can we blame Americans for trusting most of what is fed to them through government and media when we ourselves trust what any sheikh, reporter, or hairdresser has to say without question? It actually takes a lot of effort to try to understand everything. I admit I still do not really understand the benefits of water, and would not be able to argue the case for it effectively, but I do get the general feeling that it s good for me and so I drink it. But there are just some things I find harder to swallow than water - things that need to make sense before I believe and repeat them. Back to hair, what may be true is that it appears healthier when cut. It may be that instead of split ends (making them appear shorter), they stay on, giving an overall longer appearance. This could be. But this is not the same as arguing adamantly that hair grows faster when cut. The Daily Star Egypt will print a full rebuttal by any scientist, biologist, or hairdresser willing to argue the case that hair does indeed grow faster after a cut.
