But what constitutes "destruction" or "annihilation"? We are familiar with death - widely considered the most common form of inexistence. But some people believe that death is merely a transformation from one state of being to another. Sometimes all the constituents of a system remain intact but cease to interact. Does this amount to obliteration? And what about a machine that stops interacting with its environment altogether - though its internal processes continue unabated. Is it still "functioning"? It is near impossible to say when a "live" or "functioning" entity ceases to be so. Death is the form of destruction we are most acquainted with. For a discussion of death and the human condition - read this Death, Meaning, and Identity T H E A U T H O R SHMUEL (SAM) VAKNIN Curriculum Vitae Click on blue text to access relevant web sites - thank you. Born in 1961 in Qiryat-Yam, Israel. Served in the Israeli Defence Force (1979-1982) in training and education units. Education Graduated a few semesters in the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa. Ph.D. in Philosophy (major : Philosophy of Physics) - Pacific Western University, California. Graduate of numerous courses in Finance Theory and International Trading. Certified E-Commerce Concepts Analyst. Certified in Psychological Counselling Techniques. Full proficiency in Hebrew and in English. Business Experience 1980 to 1983 Founder and co-owner of a chain of computerized information kiosks in Tel-Aviv, Israel. 1982 to 1985 Senior positions with the Nessim D. Gaon Group of Companies in Geneva, Paris and New-York (NOGA and APROFIM SA): - Chief Analyst of Edible Commodities in the Group's Headquarters in Switzerland. - Manager of the Research and Analysis Division - Manager of the Data Processing Division - Project Manager of The Nigerian Computerized Census - Vice President in charge of RND and Advanced Technologies - Vice President in charge of Sovereign Debt Financing 1985 to 1986 Represented Canadian Venture Capital Funds in Israel. 1986 to 1987 General Manager of IPE Ltd. in London. The firm financed international multi-lateral countertrade and leasing transactions. 1988 to 1990 Co-founder and Director of "Mikbats - Tesuah", a portfolio management firm based in Tel-Aviv. Activities included large-scale portfolio management, underwriting, forex trading and general financial advisory services. 1990 to Present Free-lance consultant to many of Israel's Blue-Chip firms, mainly on issues related to the capital markets in Israel, Canada, the UK and the USA. Consultant to foreign RND ventures and to Governments on macro-economic matters. President of the Israel chapter of the Professors World Peace Academy (PWPA) and (briefly) Israel representative of the "Washington Times". 1993 to 1994 Co-owner and Director of many business enterprises: