#us certificate attestation

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Find trustworthy UK Certificate Attestation and US Certificate Attestation services to ensure your documents meet legal requirements and are recognized abroad.

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USA Certificate Attestation: A Comprehensive Guide

The process of moving, working, or studying in a foreign country often involves the verification of academic credentials or personal documents. This is where document attestation comes into play. If you hold a US degree and plan to use it in the UAE, you’ll need to undergo the process of USA certificate attestation. This article provides a detailed overview of what USA certificate attestation entails, the steps involved, and essential information to guide you through the process.

https://ai.cheap/read-blog/26296

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US Certificate Attestation in UAE: Streamline your attestation process with our professional services. We specialize in authenticating US certificates, such as degrees, birth, marriage, and other documents, for legal and official use across the UAE. Our experienced team handles each step, including document verification, notarization, and final attestation from UAE authorities. Trust us for efficient and reliable attestation services to ensure your US certificates are recognized for all your needs in the UAE."

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Complete guide on legalization of US Master Degree certificate attestation

Legalization of a US master's degree certificate attestation may be required if you are planning to use your degree for employment or further education in a foreign country. The process involves verifying the authenticity of your degree and ensuring that it meets the standards of the destination country. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to legalize your US Master's degree certificate for use abroad:

Step 1: Obtain an Official Transcript

You will need an official transcript from the college or university where you got your Master's degree before you can start the legalization process. The transcript should show your degree completion and the courses you took while in the program. Contact your university or institution's registrar's office to obtain this document.

Step 2: Get the document notarized.

Once you have your official transcript, you will need to get it notarized. This involves having a notary public witness the signing of the document and verifying your identity. You can find a notary public at most banks, law offices, or government offices.

Step 3: Obtain an Apostille

After your certificate attestation has been notarized, you will need to obtain an apostille. An apostille is a special certification that verifies the authenticity of a US certificate attestation for use abroad. The apostille is issued by the Secretary of State's office in the state where your degree was conferred. Contact your state's Secretary of State's office for instructions on how to obtain an apostille.

Step 4: Legalization by the Consulate

Once you have obtained an apostille, you will need to have your document legalized by the consulate of the country where you plan to use it. Contact the consulate to obtain instructions on their specific requirements for legalizing your degree. Some consulates may require additional documents or translations, so it is important to follow their instructions carefully.

Step 5: Translate the Document

If the destination country does not speak English, you may need to have your document translated into its official language. A certified translator from the destination nation will be required to certify this translation. 

Here is the importance of legalizing a US master's degree certificate attestation:

·         Verification of Authenticity: A US Master's Degree Certificate of Attestation must be checked to make sure it is real before it can be used legally. This makes sure that the degree is real and not fake, which is important to keep the value of academic degrees.

·         Legalization ensures that the degree meets the standards of the country where it will be used. Without legalization, the country of destination might not recognize the degree. This could make it hard for the person to get a job or keep going to school.

·         Compliance with legal requirements: Many countries have specific legal requirements for individuals who wish to work or study in their country. Legalizing a US Master's degree certificate attestation makes sure that the person is following these laws, which can prevent legal problems.

·         Facilitation of Employment: The legalization of a US master's degree certificate attestation can facilitate employment opportunities in foreign countries. Many employers in foreign countries require legal certification of academic degrees before they will consider hiring an individual.

·         Opportunities for more schooling: Legalizing a US Master's Degree certificate attestation can also make it easier to get more schooling in other countries. Before they will let someone in, many universities and other academic institutions need proof that a person has a degree. 

Legalizing a US Master Degree Certificate Attestation is a crucial process for individuals who plan to use their degree for employment or further education in a foreign country. It involves verifying the authenticity of the degree, ensuring that it meets the standards of the destination country, and complying with legal requirements. Without legalization, the degree may not be recognized by the destination country, which can prevent the individual from obtaining employment or continuing their education. By following the steps outlined in the guide, individuals can properly legalize their US Master's degree certificate attestation and avoid any potential obstacles in using their degree abroad.

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Unlock Success: Best Attestation Agency in Dubai

Looking for comprehensive attestation agency in dubai? Trust in our capabilities to authenticate and translate marriage, degree, and birth certificates.We provide legal translation services and seamlessly handle Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Apostille attestation. Rely on us for swift UAE Embassy attestation to ensure your documents meet all legal standards.

For further details, please visit https://globoprime.com/

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Navigating Legal Procedures: Marriage Certificate Attestation Services in Dubai

In the UAE, a marriage certificate holds immense significance for various legal, residential, and official purposes. To ensure its recognition and validity in Dubai and across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), individuals often undergo the process of marriage certificate attestation. This authentication procedure involves several steps, making the document legally acceptable for visa applications, sponsorships, and other official requirements.

Understanding Marriage Certificate Attestation:

Marriage certificate attestation is a formal procedure that confirms the authenticity and legitimacy of the document. The process involves verification by both local and international authorities to ensure that the certificate is valid and recognized within the UAE. This authentication process is essential for individuals seeking to sponsor their spouses, apply for family visas, or address legal matters in Dubai or elsewhere in the UAE.

The Marriage Certificate Attestation Process:

The attestation process typically starts with the local verification of the marriage certificate. Following this, the document undergoes attestation by the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), which validates the certificate's credibility for use within the country. The final step often involves attestation by the applicant's home country's embassy or consulate in the UAE, ensuring the document's acceptance and validity.

Importance of Marriage Certificate Attestation in the UAE:

The attestation of a marriage certificate is crucial for legal and official reasons within the UAE. Whether it's for spousal sponsorship, applying for a family visa, or dealing with legal matters, an attested marriage certificate is indispensable. Without proper attestation, using the document for official purposes within Dubai or the UAE becomes challenging.

Marriage Certificate Attestation Services in Dubai:

Due to the complexity and multi-step nature of marriage certificate attestation, seeking professional services in Dubai is highly advisable. Numerous agencies specialize in providing marriage certificate attestation services, offering expertise in navigating the intricacies of the process. These services assist in managing the documentation and streamline the attestation process.

Keywords such as "Marriage Certificate attestation," "Marriage Certificate UAE," and "MOFA Attestation Dubai" are essential for optimizing online visibility and reaching individuals seeking assistance with their marriage certificate attestation in Dubai.

Agencies offering these services understand the nuances of the attestation process and provide tailored assistance to individuals, simplifying the bureaucratic requirements and ensuring a smooth and efficient attestation process.

In conclusion, marriage certificate attestation is fundamental for individuals needing their documents recognized and validated for legal and official purposes within the UAE. Understanding the significance of this process and seeking help from reputable attestation services in Dubai is crucial for a hassle-free experience.

Opting for professional services significantly eases the burden on individuals, offering guidance and expertise throughout the attestation journey, ensuring that marriage certificates are legally recognized and valid for various purposes within Dubai and the broader UAE.

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UAE Residence Visa

In the bustling and vibrant United Arab Emirates (UAE), the residence visa holds the key to establishing legal residency for expatriates wishing to live and work in this dynamic country. Understanding the intricacies of the UAE residence visa is crucial for those seeking to call this nation their home. This comprehensive guide will delve into the requirements, types, and application process for obtaining a UAE residence visa.

Importance of UAE Residence Visa

The UAE residence visa is more than a mere legal requirement; it's a gateway to stability and opportunity. Holding a residence visa enables individuals to reside in the UAE, open a bank account, obtain a driver's license, sponsor family members, and much more. It provides a sense of security and access to various benefits and services.

Types of UAE Residence Visas

Employment Visa

The most common way to obtain a residence visa in the UAE is through employment. Individuals sponsored by an employer in the UAE can apply for this visa, which is typically valid for two to three years. The employer is responsible for initiating the visa process.

Family Visa

Residents with a valid UAE residence visa can sponsor their immediate family members (spouse, children, and, in some cases, parents) to live in the UAE. This visa is tied to the sponsor's residency status.

Investor Visa

Entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners who meet certain criteria can apply for an investor visa. This visa is often linked to a specific business or investment in the country.

Retirement Visa

In 2019, the UAE introduced a retirement visa for individuals over 55 years old, offering them the opportunity to live in the country post-retirement.

Requirements for Obtaining a UAE Residence Visa

The specific requirements for a UAE residence visa can vary based on the type of visa being applied for. However, some general documents are commonly required, including a valid passport, passport-sized photographs, a completed application form, a health check report, and a sponsor’s guarantee letter.

Application Process

The application process for a UAE residence visa involves several steps, including medical tests, document attestation, and biometric data submission. The process can differ slightly depending on the emirate where the visa is being processed. It's crucial to work closely with your sponsor or a reputable service provider to navigate through the process seamlessly.

Conclusion

Obtaining a UAE residence visa is a pivotal step for individuals aiming to live and work in this dynamic country. Understanding the different visa types, their requirements, and the application process is essential to ensure a smooth transition and legal stay in the UAE.

Whether it's for employment, family reunion, investment, or retirement, the UAE residence visa is the key that unlocks a world of opportunities and experiences in this thriving nation.

If you are considering a move to the UAE, be sure to research and seek guidance from official government sources or legal experts to ensure a successful and hassle-free visa application process.

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Exploring the Different Types of US Certificates and Their Advantages

Certificates have become effective instruments for skill development and job advancement in the dynamic field of American education. Certificates offer specific benefits, such as professional excellence, trade expertise, and academic development. This journey examines a variety of certificates, including professional, trade, completion, and graduate degrees, highlighting their distinct advantages and the opportunities they offer in a professional environment that is continually changing. US certifications, where opportunities abound for those ready to accept them and where expertise takes numerous shapes.

Following are some typical US certifications and their benefits:

Professional certifications: These certifications are made to offer particular knowledge and abilities needed for a certain career or occupation. Professional associations, trade associations, or educational institutions frequently provide them. Project management, digital marketing, coding boot camps, and paralegal studies are a few examples.

Advantages:

Focused Skill Development: Professional certificates provide specialized instruction in a particular subject, assisting students in gaining useful abilities fast.

Enhancing Your Career: Including a relevant professional qualification on your resume will improve your work prospects and possibly result in a greater income.

Career Change: People who want to change occupations or enter a new industry frequently obtain certificates instead of committing to a full degree program.

Trade and Technical Certificates: Developing practical abilities in trades like welding, plumbing, vehicle repair, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) is the goal of trade and technical certificates.

Advantages:

Trade and technical credentials place a strong emphasis on hands-on learning, preparing students for activities and needs found in the working world.

Demand in the labor market: Because skilled crafts are crucial for many businesses, people with these credentials are frequently in great demand.

Quick Entry: These programs typically last less time than regular degrees, making it possible to enter the workforce more quickly.

Certificate of Completion: These certificates, which confirm that the participant has finished the program, are frequently presented at the conclusion of short courses, workshops, or seminars.

Advantages:

Validation of newly gained skills: Certificates of completion offer proof of enrollment in and successful completion of a course.

These certificates are a means to show that you are dedicated to your professional development and ongoing learning.

Graduate Certificates: People who already have a bachelor's degree and wish to gain knowledge in a particular field without obtaining a complete master's degree frequently pursue these certificates.

Advantages:

Graduate certificates enable people to increase their expertise in a specialized sector without committing to a more time-consuming degree program.

Career Advancement: Including a graduate certificate on your resume might help you stand out in crowded job markets and may open up new career prospects or promotions for you.

Path to Master's Degree: If you decide to subsequently pursue a master's degree, you may be able to use some of the credits you earned through a graduate certificate program.

US Certificate Attestation in Abu Dhabi it is evident that education has advanced beyond the boundaries of the past. Certificates provide specialized skills for various objectives. Professional credentials advance careers for those with in-demand talents. Trade certificates offer practical experience. Certificates of completion attest to continuing education. Bachelor's degrees are refined by graduate certifications.

Certificates allow you to customize your education in a society that values flexibility and knowledge. To fulfill the demands of modern jobs, each type offers particular advantages. Recognize that certificates are more than just pieces of paper; they are steps toward your goals.

Accept the strength of certifications for your adventure. US credentials give avenues to development and shape your victories. Your journey begins right now, with the correct diploma guiding you toward a future of success and education.

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Embassy Attestation in Chennai

An Embassy Certificate is issued if you want to travel abroad. An attestation from the Embassy poses as one of the basic and third most important requirements in the overall process of attestation. An attestation from the Embassy is an important requirement for seeking important documents in a foreign country. An attested copy of an Embassy Certificate is also important for seeking a work or residential Visa. An attested copy of an Embassy Certificate is also important for seeking a permanent residency in the country you go to. It is also important for seeking important documents like a Police Clearance Certificate or other legal documents for going abroad. The attestation of an Indian Embassy Certificate is handled by the Indian Embassy for travelling to other countries. They will validate your documents well and will assign an attestation onto your Indian Embassy Certificate. An Indian Embassy Certificate Attestation is also important for seeking a job in a foreign country, for higher education or for starting a business in a foreign country. An attested copy of an Indian Embassy Certificate might also be used for getting a Citizenship in the country you travel to and also for immigrating from one country to another.

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Demon-haunted computers are back, baby

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

As a science fiction writer, I am professionally irritated by a lot of sf movies. Not only do those writers get paid a lot more than I do, they insist on including things like "self-destruct" buttons on the bridges of their starships.

Look, I get it. When the evil empire is closing in on your flagship with its secret transdimensional technology, it's important that you keep those secrets out of the emperor's hand. An irrevocable self-destruct switch there on the bridge gets the job done! (It has to be irrevocable, otherwise the baddies'll just swarm the bridge and toggle it off).

But c'mon. If there's a facility built into your spaceship that causes it to explode no matter what the people on the bridge do, that is also a pretty big security risk! What if the bad guy figures out how to hijack the measure that – by design – the people who depend on the spaceship as a matter of life and death can't detect or override?

I mean, sure, you can try to simplify that self-destruct system to make it easier to audit and assure yourself that it doesn't have any bugs in it, but remember Schneier's Law: anyone can design a security system that works so well that they themselves can't think of a flaw in it. That doesn't mean you've made a security system that works – only that you've made a security system that works on people stupider than you.

I know it's weird to be worried about realism in movies that pretend we will ever find a practical means to visit other star systems and shuttle back and forth between them (which we are very, very unlikely to do):

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/09/astrobezzle/#send-robots-instead

But this kind of foolishness galls me. It galls me even more when it happens in the real world of technology design, which is why I've spent the past quarter-century being very cross about Digital Rights Management in general, and trusted computing in particular.

It all starts in 2002, when a team from Microsoft visited our offices at EFF to tell us about this new thing they'd dreamed up called "trusted computing":

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/05/trusting-trust/#thompsons-devil

The big idea was to stick a second computer inside your computer, a very secure little co-processor, that you couldn't access directly, let alone reprogram or interfere with. As far as this "trusted platform module" was concerned, you were the enemy. The "trust" in trusted computing was about other people being able to trust your computer, even if they didn't trust you.

So that little TPM would do all kinds of cute tricks. It could observe and produce a cryptographically signed manifest of the entire boot-chain of your computer, which was meant to be an unforgeable certificate attesting to which kind of computer you were running and what software you were running on it. That meant that programs on other computers could decide whether to talk to your computer based on whether they agreed with your choices about which code to run.

This process, called "remote attestation," is generally billed as a way to identify and block computers that have been compromised by malware, or to identify gamers who are running cheats and refuse to play with them. But inevitably it turns into a way to refuse service to computers that have privacy blockers turned on, or are running stream-ripping software, or whose owners are blocking ads:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai

After all, a system that treats the device's owner as an adversary is a natural ally for the owner's other, human adversaries. The rubric for treating the owner as an adversary focuses on the way that users can be fooled by bad people with bad programs. If your computer gets taken over by malicious software, that malware might intercept queries from your antivirus program and send it false data that lulls it into thinking your computer is fine, even as your private data is being plundered and your system is being used to launch malware attacks on others.

These separate, non-user-accessible, non-updateable secure systems serve a nubs of certainty, a remote fortress that observes and faithfully reports on the interior workings of your computer. This separate system can't be user-modifiable or field-updateable, because then malicious software could impersonate the user and disable the security chip.

It's true that compromised computers are a real and terrifying problem. Your computer is privy to your most intimate secrets and an attacker who can turn it against you can harm you in untold ways. But the widespread redesign of out computers to treat us as their enemies gives rise to a range of completely predictable and – I would argue – even worse harms. Building computers that treat their owners as untrusted parties is a system that works well, but fails badly.

First of all, there are the ways that trusted computing is designed to hurt you. The most reliable way to enshittify something is to supply it over a computer that runs programs you can't alter, and that rats you out to third parties if you run counter-programs that disenshittify the service you're using. That's how we get inkjet printers that refuse to use perfectly good third-party ink and cars that refuse to accept perfectly good engine repairs if they are performed by third-party mechanics:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

It's how we get cursed devices and appliances, from the juicer that won't squeeze third-party juice to the insulin pump that won't connect to a third-party continuous glucose monitor:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

But trusted computing doesn't just create an opaque veil between your computer and the programs you use to inspect and control it. Trusted computing creates a no-go zone where programs can change their behavior based on whether they think they're being observed.

The most prominent example of this is Dieselgate, where auto manufacturers murdered hundreds of people by gimmicking their cars to emit illegal amount of NOX. Key to Dieselgate was a program that sought to determine whether it was being observed by regulators (it checked for the telltale signs of the standard test-suite) and changed its behavior to color within the lines.

Software that is seeking to harm the owner of the device that's running it must be able to detect when it is being run inside a simulation, a test-suite, a virtual machine, or any other hallucinatory virtual world. Just as Descartes couldn't know whether anything was real until he assured himself that he could trust his senses, malware is always questing to discover whether it is running in the real universe, or in a simulation created by a wicked god:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/28/descartes-was-an-optimist/#uh-oh

That's why mobile malware uses clever gambits like periodically checking for readings from your device's accelerometer, on the theory that a virtual mobile phone running on a security researcher's test bench won't have the fidelity to generate plausible jiggles to match the real data that comes from a phone in your pocket:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/01/google-play-malware-used-phones-motion-sensors-to-conceal-itself/

Sometimes this backfires in absolutely delightful ways. When the Wannacry ransomware was holding the world hostage, the security researcher Marcus Hutchins noticed that its code made reference to a very weird website: iuqerfsodp9ifjaposdfjhgosurijfaewrwergwea.com. Hutchins stood up a website at that address and every Wannacry-infection in the world went instantly dormant:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/10/flintstone-delano-roosevelt/#the-matrix

It turns out that Wannacry's authors were using that ferkakte URL the same way that mobile malware authors were using accelerometer readings – to fulfill Descartes' imperative to distinguish the Matrix from reality. The malware authors knew that security researchers often ran malicious code inside sandboxes that answered every network query with fake data in hopes of eliciting responses that could be analyzed for weaknesses. So the Wannacry worm would periodically poll this nonexistent website and, if it got an answer, it would assume that it was being monitored by a security researcher and it would retreat to an encrypted blob, ceasing to operate lest it give intelligence to the enemy. When Hutchins put a webserver up at iuqerfsodp9ifjaposdfjhgosurijfaewrwergwea.com, every Wannacry instance in the world was instantly convinced that it was running on an enemy's simulator and withdrew into sulky hibernation.

The arms race to distinguish simulation from reality is critical and the stakes only get higher by the day. Malware abounds, even as our devices grow more intimately woven through our lives. We put our bodies into computers – cars, buildings – and computers inside our bodies. We absolutely want our computers to be able to faithfully convey what's going on inside them.

But we keep running as hard as we can in the opposite direction, leaning harder into secure computing models built on subsystems in our computers that treat us as the threat. Take UEFI, the ubiquitous security system that observes your computer's boot process, halting it if it sees something it doesn't approve of. On the one hand, this has made installing GNU/Linux and other alternative OSes vastly harder across a wide variety of devices. This means that when a vendor end-of-lifes a gadget, no one can make an alternative OS for it, so off the landfill it goes.

It doesn't help that UEFI – and other trusted computing modules – are covered by Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which makes it a felony to publish information that can bypass or weaken the system. The threat of a five-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine means that UEFI and other trusted computing systems are understudied, leaving them festering with longstanding bugs:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/09/free-sample/#que-viva

Here's where it gets really bad. If an attacker can get inside UEFI, they can run malicious software that – by design – no program running on our computers can detect or block. That badware is running in "Ring -1" – a zone of privilege that overrides the operating system itself.

Here's the bad news: UEFI malware has already been detected in the wild:

https://securelist.com/cosmicstrand-uefi-firmware-rootkit/106973/

And here's the worst news: researchers have just identified another exploitable UEFI bug, dubbed Pixiefail:

https://blog.quarkslab.com/pixiefail-nine-vulnerabilities-in-tianocores-edk-ii-ipv6-network-stack.html

Writing in Ars Technica, Dan Goodin breaks down Pixiefail, describing how anyone on the same LAN as a vulnerable computer can infect its firmware:

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/01/new-uefi-vulnerabilities-send-firmware-devs-across-an-entire-ecosystem-scrambling/

That vulnerability extends to computers in a data-center where the attacker has a cloud computing instance. PXE – the system that Pixiefail attacks – isn't widely used in home or office environments, but it's very common in data-centers.

Again, once a computer is exploited with Pixiefail, software running on that computer can't detect or delete the Pixiefail code. When the compromised computer is queried by the operating system, Pixiefail undetectably lies to the OS. "Hey, OS, does this drive have a file called 'pixiefail?'" "Nope." "Hey, OS, are you running a process called 'pixiefail?'" "Nope."

This is a self-destruct switch that's been compromised by the enemy, and which no one on the bridge can de-activate – by design. It's not the first time this has happened, and it won't be the last.

There are models for helping your computer bust out of the Matrix. Back in 2016, Edward Snowden and bunnie Huang prototyped and published source code and schematics for an "introspection engine":

https://assets.pubpub.org/aacpjrja/AgainstTheLaw-CounteringLawfulAbusesofDigitalSurveillance.pdf

This is a single-board computer that lives in an ultraslim shim that you slide between your iPhone's mainboard and its case, leaving a ribbon cable poking out of the SIM slot. This connects to a case that has its own OLED display. The board has leads that physically contact each of the network interfaces on the phone, conveying any data they transit to the screen so that you can observe the data your phone is sending without having to trust your phone.

(I liked this gadget so much that I included it as a major plot point in my 2020 novel Attack Surface, the third book in the Little Brother series):

https://craphound.com/attacksurface/

We don't have to cede control over our devices in order to secure them. Indeed, we can't ever secure them unless we can control them. Self-destruct switches don't belong on the bridge of your spaceship, and trusted computing modules don't belong in your devices.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/17/descartes-delenda-est/#self-destruct-sequence-initiated

Image: Mike (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/stillwellmike/15676883261/

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

[attestation02]

Choosing Reliable Services for UK and US Certificate Attestation in UAE

Document attestation is now crucial in the present era where internationalization of information is inevitable especially for those residing in the UAE. If you are planning to move to the UK for studies, work in the US or even organizing a family visit, you need to have your certificates attested before you travel to another country. This is because the attestation process involves several steps and requirements which make you overwhelmed when your documents are being attested. That is why; it becomes crucial for applicants to select reputable executives in UK & US certificate attestation services in UAE.

Choosing the right agency may be a time saver, less stressful, and definitely a less disappointing task. Because there are so many choices out there, it helpful to understand what to expect from a service provider. Only if you know the need for document verification and all the complications associated with attestation, you can take proper decisions. They are intended to act as a complete guide for the reader when selecting reliable services for UK and US certificate attestation in UAE to enable you overcome this process with ease.

Here are the Choosing Reliable Services for UK and US Certificate Attestation in UAE

1. Check Credentials and Reviews

To get the best service for the US certificate attestation in UAE, one has to verify the accreditation of the agency. Choosing proper companies which are registered and have the best reputation in the markets is crucial. This is especially so when it comes to customer reviews that can depict the kind of experience other customer had with the service provider. Positive reviews will often be seen within the homepage of an agency or within their social media platforms.

2. Experience Matters

In the certificate attestation process, experience is important. Older agencies will not only have experience in filling out a variety of forms but if they have been in the business for long they know the correct authorities to approach. Whether you have to get UK Certificate Attestation in UAE or you need US attestation, it can be more beneficial to go with an experienced agency.

3. Transparency in Pricing

Before getting into a service provider, make sure that they are Supremely Transparent as pertains to price. Extra charges are often concealed and they may arise in future; hence a competent agency must estimate its services and the requisite fees. Try to find agencies that charge reasonably for their services but don’t affect the quality of work.

4. Comprehensive Services

Select your agency as the one that can provide you with all the services you need. This is from the time the client seeks their services to the time the attestation is done, and even drafting of documents. One stop solution can help you not deal with many service providers as well as guarantee that your documents will be processed similarly.

5. Excellent Customer Support

Good customer support goes a long way to influence the degree of attestation a buyer is likely to have. You should also withdraw from agencies that seem not to be willing to give responses to questions that you may ask them. Having a beneficial and friendly support team also comes in handy if you know if your application was approved or if you have questions as to how the process works.

Conclusion:

Thus, I can confirm that often the process of attestation of your documents can turn out as a complex ordeal but if you demystify all difficulties, it becomes a smooth run. Hiring the right UK and US Certificate Attestation in UAE therefore guarantees your important documents a professional touch. Note that if you spend your time searching for the right agency, at least you will not have wasted time and efforts in the future when you are planning your education, employment or family reunion in abroad.

In the end, the plan is to get things as seamless as they could be toward your relocation to either the UK or the US. Once you have acquired the right documents, you can proceed with your trip fully aware of the fact that your certificates have been attested and can easily be certified in your passport country. Use the guidelines highlighted in this blog to ensure that you make sound decisions to make the exercise of UK and US certificate attestation in UAE a memorable one without the stress. The future is yours and you are not far from it, congratulations!

[triviallytrue]

I see the benefit in “was able to follow along each step and check for myself that the stated claim was true” but I’ve also seen people say the private vetting process can include things like “had a phone call with them where they fluently spoke the Palestinian dialect of Arabic” that can’t be checked by everyone, or “privately showed me their ID/birth certificate/bank info/official documents”, which probably shouldn’t be publicized. if these sorts of things (which seem fairly reliable if true) are indeed being involved in the process in at least some cases, how do you think people should vouch for that beyond a “trust me it’s vetted” without further clarification, or is it impossible to do so from your perspective since they could just lie?

so my suggested solution to these would be:

post a recording of the phone call, so that other Palestinian Arabic speakers can also attest that it's true

post redacted, watermarked versions of official documents

but you're getting at a very big problem: it takes a lot of information to vet people. the post i reblogged was only able to vet that one fundraiser because she's a PhD with a linkedin, instagram, tiktok, and pictures of her on a scientific organization's website. most people won't have that.

at a certain point, it also becomes a nightmare for the vetters (all or almost all of whom i suspect are just people trying their best in a horrific situation). if it takes an hour (or more) to fully vet one single gofundme, there are a single digit or low double digit number speakers of Palestinian Arabic on here with blog histories that stretch back before October 7th with the ability to vet people, and hundreds of gofundmes... well, you do the math.

this is the kind of work that is normally done by people who are paid to do it full-time, in a centralized fashion, not ad-hoc on the internet. amateurs are going to make mistakes - i've seen blogs successfully filtering out unsophisticated scammers, but this current discourse has already rooted out at least 3 scammers who made it onto the vetted lists. it's asymmetric - scammers can do this full time, hone their methods, figure out what exposed them last time and fix it, and overall iteratively improve the credibility of their scams, but vetters can't really keep raising the standards with the time and resources they have access to.

so unless we make the standards so high that they exclude many actual Palestinians (standards like the ones used in that ask), i think there will be some risk of even vetted fundraisers being scams. how big? 1%? 5%? 10%? i don't know, but it's definitely nonzero, and based on the uncovered scams so far, they are diverting thousands of dollars (possibly tens or hundreds of thousands) away from actual Palestinians.

which is why i think people should just donate to the UNRWA. there's a 100% chance your money will go to helping real Palestinians, and while it won't be as impactful for an individual as getting them across the Rafah crossing, that's only an option for a very small percentage of Palestinians anyway. as said before, there are 800,000 Palestinians in Rafah, something like 500 of which cross each day. those that can't cross and the Palestinians in other parts of Gaza deserve aid as well. people are at risk of starvation and have very limited access to medical care. donation to the UNRWA and organizations like it doesn't free anyone, but it does keep them alive, and the money doesn't end up in the pockets of corrupt Egyptian border officials who will wring every penny they can out of Palestinian refugees.

people are, of course, welcome to do whatever they want with their money, but those are my 2 cents.

[theother-will-grayson]

Well the class is over and I doubt a few years after wrap anyone is still under NDA so let me finally tell this story.

I just finished a stage combat SPT class (bear with me I'm about to drop a few fun facts but all of this is relevant info I promise) -- I was getting my certification in smallsword which for anyone not in the know is the smaller, faster, fancier son of the rapier -- the weapon of choice for dueling among nobility and the predecessor to modern day sport fencing. It was used around the time of the golden age of piracy. Think the Jack/Will fight in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Well if you hear that description, you might be like me and think "Oh like Our Flag Means Death" as well. (You have to also have a scene around the fight to get your SPT because they judge your acting as well as your technique.) So on the day we pitched scenes, I walked in and told my instructors I wanted to do the Izzy/Stede scene in Our Flag Means Death.

Instructor A gets this goofy little smirk on his face and turns to Instructor B and goes "I suppose you'll be coaching them on that one, then." (NOT a direct quote but it was something like that).

I go "Why."

A goes, "Oh because he worked on that scene."

WHAT

I never got full clarification whether he actually choreographed it or if he was just the style/technique coach but apparently he worked with Con O'neill for approximately 5 hours on smallsword technique and with Rhys Darby approximately 2 hours (because apparently Stede didn't need to be super good at it which is HORRIBLE practice for safety reasons. Like...the actor still needs to be good at it lmfao). He says he told Con that he's gonna teach him to wield a smallsword but they would undoubtedly give him a rapier because it's very common for Hollywood to just merge the two. He was like "I guess they'll explain it as he was trained in smallsword but the rapier would be whatever they could find laying around on a pirate ship which doesn't make sense because he's supposed to be this super skilled swordsman...I don't know." From what I can gather fight directors are generally perpetually tired.

Let me tell you as a fan that 5 hours SHOWS because Con definitely looks like a skilled swordsman. But half of that has to be Con himself because 5 hours is also in the grand scheme of things NOT THAT MUCH TIME especially for what I can attest to be a very difficult weapon. And also the additions this gives to Izzy's lore because he's so skilled a dueling with that weapon specifically...

Anyways if I ever get my hands on the video of me doing the scene I'll post it. Also this is not a homestuck cop story. I live in Los Angeles and all of my professors have been industry professionals. If I wasn't afraid of doxxing the guy I'd post proof. But the way my mind blew in that moment.

[power-chords]

But seriously, Solaris for Dummies is smarter than it seems. A fantastic example is in the translation from book to film of this key scene, where Norman alights at last at his destination* and he is introduced to the swarm of government gatekeepers as well as re-introduced to his fellow team members. In the novel, this is how we meet Beth:

And in the film:

Crichton's prose is not without its merits, but I wince from implications that Levinson would never permit. She says nothing before the Gatekeeper closes the door in Norman's face, and in lieu of the subtle dig at/flirtation with him she simply gazes at him. On her face is a mixture of confusion, intrigue, and trepidation. Since it would be difficult to perceive her "large and liquid eyes" in this medium, the textual metaphor of the Sphere — and make no mistake, that is exactly what Crichton is foreshadowing — gets transferred to a rather modest shirt of the same color and visual pattern. She's nervous, yes, and there's complicated history, but she comes in peace: check out the patch on her arm. She's as pretty as Crichton attests she is, but in the film that's just an accident of nature; nothing in the scene suggests that she's performing anything for anyone, masculine or feminine, seductive or standoffish. What Norman finds enchanting in her — and clearly, he's enchanted, not intimidated — goes beyond mere sex appeal. The visual motif of the Sphere is repeated around Norman's head in the partially obscured, slipped halo of the porthole light; there's a black turbine much more visible, and you can practically see the shadows spinning inside his head. He has eyeglasses on, a glint of reflection in them. He's trying to read her. She's doing the same with him.

Perhaps a part of Levinson needs to relate to Norman, and that requires some mensch-y modulation, for which I am grateful. There's a reason Norman Johnson becomes Norman Goodman. A definite improvement, here. And Norman has got some thinking to do, not just about why the hell he's here, but whether he's got some atoning to do.

This is how brilliant an actor Hoffman is: without a word, just in his body language and facial expression, he embodies the tortured fatherly professor-type and at the same time a teenager sulking in his dorm room. (And in that intro scene with Ted we do get the vibe of old friends and colleagues re-convening as if the naval ship were just host to a surprise college reunion, everybody interacting with both the ease and shock of instant familiarity, bristling with the same old affections and irritations.)

What I want to know is what the fuck those notices are, framed along the wall; when the gatekeeper departs, he passes by rows of them. Honorable discharge notices? Deck logs? Memorials to fallen comrades?** To a layman like me, the "search image" calls up certificates, diplomas, credentials you'd hang on an office wall. Reminders of station, occupation, legitimacy.

I have no fucking idea what they actually are, as I know fuck-all about the Navy, but then again, we know this is no ordinary military vessel. I just did some cursory googling, and, well:

Just as a town or city has a system using street signs and addresses to help you find your way around, so does a Navy ship. Each space in a Navy vessel has a unique identifier that consists of a yellow rectangle with black letters and numbers, known as the bullseye. It will have several lines of information, with the topmost line, made up of numbers and letters, providing location information. For example: 4–95–3–M.

That's weird. Not a whole hell of a lot of clear, helpful labeling that I can see around here.

Definitely some clear, hostile labeling Before the Law Restricted Area, though! Barnes is such an asshole, but he's great. Man, Peter Coyote is so good. You know I love a jobbing character actor who always gives 110%.

*His destination is always a doorway. The Sphere is also a doorway. But you knew that already.

**I suspect it's this, purely on a gut hunch. Why? Levinson makes a point to show a pin, a mark, on this officer's collar. Later, the scar on Beth's neck is revealed to be the result of a car accident. And as Harry deduces after their first glimpse of the Sphere... they were not supposed to make it out of there alive.

[cerastes]

Hey, would you recommend nabbing Gnosis or nah?

For context, I'm a Day 1 Player with 289 total Operators. Mainly just missing Gnosis, Archetto, Swire Alter and Ejya Alter.

I'm like 5 certificates away from affording him in Gold Cert shop, just trying to balance the scales on to use them for him or continue to hoard the monthly headhunters like a dragon sitting a top their funny little gold.

Hey, dope icon first of all.

Yes, but I need to elaborate on that yes a little: I'm very biased in favor of Supporters, and specifically I like Gnosis a lot, both as a character (fail INTJ garbage guy) and as a gameplay element.

So, why is this a Yes with an asterisk? It depends on how you go about your gameplay, really. Specialists and Supporters, or as I call them, "Also Specialists", are the classes that most heavily fall into "some players may not even use them". They are powerful, but generally require more than activating Thorns S3 twice and calling yourself the strongest Doctor in the landship.

Now, Gnosis himself: Is he powerful? Very much so! His Freezing crowd control and how easily he can inflict it, in addition to the immense Fragile he inflicts on Frozen enemies, his Hexer range, and the ability to knock low altitude hovering enemies with Freeze make him a valuable unit is a ton of different situations. In SSS, if you stack ASPD on him, he permafreezes (and thus, permafragiles) his target. In IS, he synergizes with a baffling about of items, with S1 and S2 being Spinach skills, benefiting from every CC buffing item besides the new Levitate items (so, he benefits from extended duration and Arts dmg during Frozen very easily), and in general gameplay, Hexer range is very good, and can enable incredibly solid killboxes with S2 and S3.

His obvious weakness is Freeze-immune enemies. He's not completely useless, because he can still land Cold on them if they are not Cold immune, but still, that's where his weakness lays. Still, even in those cases, it's important to note that he's still very good at dealing with every other enemy in the map, since bosses don't come alone in a vacuum. For example, the Trees of Rot enemies, the ones that become stronger the more enemies you kill before they bloom? When those start getting out of control due to engaging them late, Gnosis is god tier at handling them with constant Freezing and Fragile. Again, Supporters are Also Specialists, and when they are in their zone, they perform.

The trick to Gnosis is that, for single priority targets, you want to activate uncharged S2 right after he uses an autoattack. That way, that enemy will be frozen for 4 seconds (at S2M3) on a charge of 6 seconds. That makes that particular enemy actionable for (approximately) 2 seconds and then on Fragile Timeout for 4 seconds before repeating. That's very powerful! If you have many enemies in range, you let the skill overcharge and Freeze everyone, making a nice, nice Fragile killbox for Fia, Horn, Firewhistle, Dusk, Mostima, Omertosa S3, you name it. Please keep in mind that enemies Frozen in Gnosis E2 range receive 50%(!!!) Fragile, 60% with Module and no Potentials! That's a lot of Fragile!

So, if you're going to use him? Yes, he's a stupidly powerful support unit. If his gameplay or inclusion to your general playstyle doesn't spark light in your heart? You should continue cosplaying Reed and sitting nice and cute on your golden hoard. I personally use him a lot, as people that come to my Arknights streams can attest to!

*As an extra: Enemies with Cold have -30 ASPD, and enemies that are Frozen have -15 RES.

[justforbooks]

Are we losing the ability to write by hand?

We are far more likely to use our hands to type or swipe than pick up a pen. But in the process we are in danger of losing cognitive skills, sensory experience – and a connection to history

Humming away in offices on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon and in the White House is a technology that represents the pragmatism, efficiency and unsentimental nature of American bureaucracy: the autopen. It is a device that stores a person’s signature, replicating it as needed using a mechanical arm that holds a real pen.

Like many technologies, this rudimentary robotic signature-maker has always provoked ambivalence. We invest signatures with meaning, particularly when the signer is well known. During the George W Bush administration, the secretary of defence, Donald Rumsfeld, generated a small wave of outrage when reporters revealed that he had been using an autopen for his signature on the condolence letters that he sent to the families of fallen soldiers.

Fans of singer Bob Dylan expressed ire when they discovered that the limited edition of his book The Philosophy of Modern Song, which cost nearly $600 and came with an official certificate “attesting to its having been individually signed by Dylan”, in fact had made unlimited use of an autopen. Dylan took the unusual step of issuing a statement on his Facebook page: “With contractual deadlines looming,” Dylan wrote, “the idea of using an autopen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.” He also acknowledged that: “Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately.”

Our mixed feelings about machine-made signatures make plain our broader relationship to handwriting: it offers a glimpse of individuality. Any time spent doing archival research is a humbling lesson in the challenges and rewards of deciphering the handwritten word. You come to know your long-dead subjects through the quirks of their handwriting; one man’s script becomes spidery and small when he writes something emotionally charged, while another’s pristine pages suggest the diligence of a medieval monk. The calligraphist Bernard Maisner argues that calligraphy, and handwriting more broadly, is “not meant to reproduce something over and over again. It’s meant to show the humanity, the responsiveness and variation within.”

But handwriting is disappearing. A high-school student who took the preliminary SAT used for college admittance in the US confessed to the Wall Street Journal that “audible gasps broke out in the room” when students learned they would have to write a one-sentence statement that all the work is the student’s own, in cursive, or joined-up handwriting. “Cursive? Most students my age have only encountered this foreign language in letters from Grandma.”

The Common Core State Standards for education in the US, which outline the skills students are expected to achieve at each grade level, no longer require students to learn cursive writing. Finland removed cursive writing from its schools in 2016, and Switzerland, among other countries, has also reduced instruction in cursive handwriting. One assessment claimed that more than 33% of students struggle to achieve competency in basic handwriting, meaning the ability to write legibly the letters of the alphabet (in both upper and lower case). “We’re trying to be realistic about skills that kids are going to need,” said one school board member in Greenville, South Carolina. “You can’t do everything. Something’s got to go.” Children who cannot write in cursive also can’t read it.

Schoolchildren are not the only ones who can no longer write or read cursive. Fewer and fewer of us put pen to paper to record our thoughts, correspond with friends, or even to jot down a grocery list. Instead of begging a celebrity for an autograph, we request a selfie. Many people no longer have the skill to do more than scrawl their name in an illegible script, and those who do will see that skill atrophy as they rely more on computers and smartphones. A newspaper in Toronto recorded the lament of a pastry instructor who realised that many of his culinary students couldn’t properly pipe an inscription in icing on a cake – their cursive writing was too shaky and indistinct to begin with.

As a practical skill in the digital world, handwriting seems useless. There is a term in Chinese, tibiwangzi, which means “take pen, forget character”. It describes how more frequent use of computers and smartphones has discouraged the use of traditional Chinese handwriting, including the ability to write traditional characters. Chinese children pick up a pen to write (“take pen”) but experience a kind of “character amnesia” when it comes to putting pen to paper (“forget character”). According to the China Youth Daily Social Survey Center, 4% of Chinese youth are “already living without handwriting”.

What does it mean to live without handwriting? The skill has deteriorated gradually, and many of us don’t notice our own loss until we’re asked to handwrite something and find ourselves bumbling as we put pen to paper. Some people still write in script for special occasions (a condolence letter, an elaborately calligraphed wedding invitation) or dash off a bastardised cursive on the rare occasions when they write a cheque, but apart from teachers, few people insist on a continued place for handwriting in everyday life.

But we lose something when handwriting disappears. We lose measurable cognitive skills, and we also lose the pleasure of using our hands and a writing implement in a process that for thousands of years has allowed humans to make our thoughts visible to one another. We lose the sensory experience of ink and paper and the visual pleasure of the handwritten word. We lose the ability to read the words of the dead.

We are far more likely to use our hands to type or swipe. We communicate more but with less physical effort, forgetting the vast evolutionary history that fitted us for physical movement and expression as a means of understanding our world.

In 2000, physicians at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles took a remedial handwriting course. “Many of our physicians don’t write legibly,” the chief of the medical staff explained to Science Daily. And unlike many professions, doctors’ bad writing can have serious consequences, including medical errors and even death; a woman in Texas won a $450,000 award after her husband took the wrong prescription medicine and died. The pharmacist had misread the doctor’s poorly handwritten instructions. Even though many medical records are now stored on computers, physicians still spend a lot of their time writing notes on charts or writing prescriptions by hand.

Clarity in handwriting isn’t merely an aid to communication. In some significant way, writing by hand, unlike tracing a letter or typing it, primes the brain for learning to read. Psychologists Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer compared students taking class notes by hand or on a laptop computer to test whether the medium mattered for student performance. Earlier studies of laptop use in the classroom had focused on how distracting computer use was for students. Not surprisingly, the answer was very distracting, and not just for the notetaker but for nearby peers as well.

Mueller and Oppenheimer instead studied how laptop use affected the learning process for students who used them. They found that “even when laptops are used solely to take notes, they may still be impairing learning because their use results in shallower processing”. In three different experiments, their research concluded that students who used laptop computers performed worse on conceptual questions in comparison with students who took notes by hand. “Laptop note takers’ tendency to transcribe lectures verbatim rather than processing information and reframing it in their own words is detrimental to learning,” they wrote. In other words, we retain information better when we write by hand because the slower pace of writing forces us to summarise as we write, as opposed to the greater speed of transcribing on a keyboard.

The researchers studying how technology transforms the way we write and learn are akin to ecologists who warn of species decline or environmental pollution. We face a future without handwriting. Researchers worry that abandoning the pen for the keyboard will lead to any number of unforeseen negative consequences. “The digitisation of writing entails radical transformations of the very act of writing at a sensorimotor, physical level and the (potentially far-reaching) implications of such transformations are far from properly understood,” notes Anne Mangen, who studies how technology transforms literacy. Writing on a keyboard with the words appearing on the screen is more “abstract and detached”, something she believes has “far-reaching implications, educationally and practically”. Like species decline, skills decline gradually.

It is popular to assume that we have replaced one old-fashioned, inefficient tool (handwriting) with a more convenient and efficient alternative (keyboarding). But like the decline of face-to-face interactions, we are not accounting for what we lose in this tradeoff for efficiency, and for the unrecoverable ways of learning and knowing, particularly for children. A child who has mastered the keyboard but grows into an adult who still struggles to sign his own name is not an example of progress.

As a physical act, writing requires dexterity in the hands and fingers as well as the forearms. The labour of writing by hand is also part of the pleasure of the experience, argues the novelist Mary Gordon. “I believe that the labour has virtue, because of its very physicality,” she writes. “For one thing it involves flesh, blood and the thingness of pen and paper, those anchors that remind us that, however thoroughly we lose ourselves in the vortex of our invention, we inhabit a corporeal world.”

Handwriting is also evocative in a way the printed word is not. Literature abounds with plot twists prompted by the appearance of a handwritten letter or signature. In Charles Dickens’s Bleak House, Lady Dedlock recognises the unusual handwriting of her former fiance, whom she thought dead, on a legal document, prompting the events that lead to the revelation of her greatest secret.

Our own handwriting can be a surprisingly effective prompt to memory. When American chef and cookbook author Deborah Madison stumbled upon some old handwritten recipes from the 1970s, she was transported back in time. Jotted down in brown notebooks along with notes and doodles and food stains and lists of suppliers that she used for the restaurant Greens in San Francisco, the recipes were “a record of time spent fitting new thoughts together”, she wrote. “At times it looks careful and deliberate. Other times my hand gets distracted and strays, looks sloppy and tired. But mostly it conveys such a deep sense of discovery that reading through these notebooks, I am reinfected with the obsessive excitement I felt then.” She doesn’t think the same feeling would emerge from a list written on a computer: “There’s much to be said for the mark of the hand.”

The novelist Mohsin Hamid takes notes by hand in notebooks and tries to remove himself from the online world when he is working on a novel, although he writes his novels on a computer. “The technology is shaping me, configuring me” when he uses it, he told the BBC, and he sees danger in embracing machine-like ways of doing things. The human way of doing things imposes limits, depending on our tools. Ten fingers can fly across a keyboard, but the experience of writing with a pen or pencil in one hand requires more patience. The average American can type 40 words a minute but can only write 13 words a minute by hand. As the calligraphist Paul Antonio notes, when he teaches children to write, he is really teaching them to slow down.

As the IT way of looking at the world replaces other ways of knowing, our wilful deskilling of longstanding human activities is not only happening with handwriting. Other embodied skills, also valuable, are at risk of disappearing.

“When we focus on making a physical object, or on playing a musical instrument, our concentration level is mainly self-directed,” the sociologist Richard Sennett argues. The act of manipulating a tool or of drawing a bow across a string forces us to feel and do simultaneously, and the more skilled we become at the act, the less we have to think about what we are doing. This form of “situated cognition”, as Sennett calls it, takes time to develop. It also forces us to slow down, as we see when we study people who make things by hand. “Part of craft’s anchoring role is that it helps to slow down labour,” Sennett told American Craft magazine. “Making is thinking.”

Lee Miller, a bootmaker in Austin, Texas, spends up to 40 hours hand-crafting a single pair of boots using tools that are more than 100 years old. Miller notes how the time dedicated to his craft is inseparable from what he creates. “No automated machine can do as fine work as the human hand can,” he argues. His customers, who are willing to wait years for the custom boots he makes, agree.

The significance of the handmade object derives from our knowledge of the time and effort and skill that went into making it; even the most sophisticated machine churning out identically sophisticated objects doesn’t inspire the same feeling. “We are knowing as well as sensing creatures,” the philosopher  Julian Baggini writes. “Knowing where things come from, and how their makers are treated, does and should affect how we feel about them.” One need not belong to the elite to enjoy the luxury of owning handmade goods; platforms such as Etsy offer a wide array of handmade goods for every budget.

Some critics argue that our desire for handmade goods is increasing because so much of what we buy is now mass-produced, alienating us from a human connection to the objects we use. This is perhaps one reason that the revelations of horrific working conditions at the Chinese factories that make iPhones prompted outrage. The recognition that these sleek technologies emerged from overworked – even suicidal – human hands changed the way we understood them, at least until the outrage faded and the new version of the iPhone landed in stores.

Our desire for the mark of the human hand hasn’t diminished. Today we satisfy it in a novel way, however. We embrace a vicarious form of craftsmanship comprised of images of well-made things rather than the things themselves. We look at perfectly prepared meals on Instagram, or the efforts of strangers on home remodelling TV shows and do-it-yourself videos on YouTube, which range in quality from highly produced plumbing tutorials to boring, badly lit snippets of people mowing their lawns (which still somehow garner tens of millions of views). This is in keeping with the growth of other vicarious pursuits.

New forms of hands-on making have arisen, forms more in step with our technological age, such as the maker movement, which grew out of a late-20th-century hacker culture that sought to give individuals more power over how their technologies worked. Chris Anderson, who left his position as editor of Wired magazine to join a DIY drone-making company, argues that this new breed of DIY tech tinkerers and 3D printing mavens are responding to a culture that has become too invested in the virtual. “Making something that starts virtual but quickly becomes tactile and usable in the everyday world is satisfying in a way that pure pixels are not,” he wrote, predicting that the growing number of “makerspaces” would usher in a new industrial revolution. Critics such as Evgeny Morozov argue that the movement hasn’t produced a revolution but rather another form of “consumerism and DIY tinkering” sponsored by large corporations and the US military.

On a beam in the library of 16th-century essayist Michel de Montaigne’s home near Périgord, France, is carved a liberal paraphrase of a passage from the book of Ecclesiastes: “You who do not know how the mind is joined to the body know nothing of the works of God.” Montaigne embraced the human body in all its glorious and alarming incarnations (his essays contain gleeful descriptions of his own and others’ bouts of flatulence) and he criticised the hypocrisy of those who deny their corporeality. Our bodies are one of the central ways we understand ourselves, Montaigne believed. They are a reminder of our frailty and a check on the ego. “And upon the highest throne in the world, we are seated, still, upon our arses,” he wrote.

The physical requirements of everyday life in Montaigne’s time were fundamentally different from our own, and far more difficult, prompting greater humility. Such humility is rare in our technological age. The mundane tasks we perform every day with our bodies seem insignificant compared with the powers available to us when midwifed by our new technologies. It’s easier, physically, to send a message to the other side of the world than it is to tie your own shoelace.

But our instruments and tools remain extensions of our bodies in crucial ways. As the computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum observed in his book Computer Power and Human Reason, we must “internalise aspects of [our tools] in the form of kinesthetic and perceptual habits”. Our tools become part of us. In a similar way, our bodies help us find our way in the world. “The body is our first and most natural technical object,” the French sociologist Marcel Mauss observed.

Our choice of tools and the way we use them facilitate not only habits of hand but also habits of mind. Our embodied experiences shape not only how we learn to do mundane things, but also how we understand the world around us. In Wallace Stegner’s novel Angle of Repose, one of the characters describes the mores of an earlier generation: his grandmother, who grew up on a farm, “could kill a chicken, and dress it, and eat it afterward, with as little repugnance as her neighbour”. Her generation had a different relationship to the physical world, which was reflected in the way they understood its challenges. “When animals died, the family had to deal with their bodies; when people died, the family’s women laid them out.”

Today, we experience less discomfort and don’t confront our bodies’ failures as often. Our increased comfort may mean that we struggle more with our bodies’ inevitable decline, often using technology to prolong life for as long as possible.

Some of our disappearing habits, such as handwriting and drawing, might not seem important. They are modest skills whose benefits are experienced privately, cannot easily be monetised (unless you are that rare thing, a professional calligrapher), and whose use in daily life no longer makes sense for an increasing number of people.

Yet the quiet disappearance of handwriting from our lives shows how the extinction of certain experiences happens: experiences recede gradually, not through some top-down edict or bottom-up populist campaign. And we rationalise their obsolescence not as a loss but as another mark of progress and improvement. A skill fades, and with it a human experience that spans millennia. Even those experiences leave a trace, like the cave drawings in Altamira and Lascaux, painted about 40,000 years ago and hundreds of miles apart, which both contain images of the same thing: the human hand.

Handwriting’s rapid decline in a world dominated by screens is also a symbol of how thoughtlessly we’ve settled between the old and the new. New technologies don’t have to destroy old ways of doing things. The printing press didn’t destroy handwriting. There is no reason to assume the triumph of the keyboard and touchscreen over pen and paper is inevitable, or that software spells the end of drawing by hand, or that the encroachment of technology in the classroom need force out more traditional embodied forms of learning. We can achieve some form of coexistence, even if it is likely to be an uneasy rather than a peaceful one.

“For our flesh surrounds us with its own desires,” the poet Philip Larkin wrote. It also surrounds us with opportunities – to learn, to understand, to feel in a way that our vicarious, screen-based experiences do not. As our world becomes ever more saturated with images and virtualisations, we shouldn’t let our desire for alluring technologies eclipse the human need to see, touch and make things with our hands.

🔴 This is an edited extract from The Extinction of Experience: Reclaiming Our Humanity in a Digital World, published by the Bodley Head

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?