GROUP 12 HaTEAMgabi Reaction Papers

Bianca Isabella J. Ortiz

2013-14384

Thoughts on “Social Climbers” and “Food For Thought” from The Life of Mammals, a BBC documentary by David Attenborough.

On Social Climbers:

Monkeys as a species is not something I usually think about. True that they have been, time and time again, compared to humans but I always thought that their species was a far cry from ours in more ways than one. Turns out, as I learned from the documentary, that their social life is the 2nd richest among mammals. They have politics, a class system and the concept of “social climbing” which in a way can liken them to us to some degree.

Even though monkeys’ lives seem so much more simple than ours, they are definitely more complex than other animals’ by miles. Monkeys need to socialize to be able to do things efficiently such as mating, keeping safe from predators and gathering food. For this reason monkeys tend to live in a community. It was interesting finding out just how complex their social lives are. To illustrate, they have the concept of politics, which was very impressive.

The documentary enumerated various types of monkeys from around the world and each breed’s idiosyncratic way of interacting with each other within their own communities. One community of monkeys that can be found in the grasslands of Ethiopia, would socialize while grazing by broadcasting their thoughts not unlike how modern humans use twitter in present time.

On Food For Thought:

I never thought that it was possible for food scarcity in this day and age. When I go to the groceries, there is always an abundance of food. The shelves would be full of canned, boxed, foil-fresh food. They would also have a wide selection of fruits, vegetables and meat. What I learned from the documentary is that this is due to advancements in technology. Our population now is bigger than the planet’s population since recorded history, yet we find ways to cultivate crops, harvest and hunt that would satisfy the needs of all the people living in it.

In relation to this, one of the theories as to how the Mayan civilization collapsed is food scarcity. They exceeded the carrying capacity of where they settled thus bringing about famine and the eventual decline. If the Mayans knew of the technology and innovations we use today then their civilization would have thrived instead of collapsed.

In this day and age we modify nature to be able to sustain the billions of people in the world. We can now grow crops in desserts with artificial rain as shown in the documentary. Not only can we produce food more efficiently now, we can also produce electricity in ways our ancestors can only dream about. Now with innovations such as windmills, solar panels and hydro electronics to generate electricity from nature efficiently.

An issue that came to mind after watching the documentary and some reflection is that food is not evenly distributed. As I mentioned above, there is an abundance of food in every grocery store I’ve walked in to. Yet famine and food scarcity is still a problem in underdeveloped parts of the world. Similar to how wealth is not evenly distributed, food is also unevenly distributed. In my local grocery store, amounts of food is being thrown away everyday because they are close to rotting or close to expiration yet someone from halfway around the globe is in need of that food. Just goes to show how resources, no matter how abundant, if not evenly distributed, may seem scarce.

Thoughts on A Beautiful Mind (2001) directed by Ron Howard

A Beautiful Mind is one of those movies that my parents used to watch. The title was familiar, so was the cast, but for some reason I never got around to watching it. Now that it was shown in class, I found out what I’ve been missing out on.

The movie was loosely based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics. Maybe the reason I appreciated the movie is because I’m watching the life of the man who came up with the Nash Equilibrium, a huge contribution to the Game Theory, which, as an Economics major student, was discussed and used in our lessons and was indeed a major contribution in the field of economics and finance.

The movie and John Nash made me think of education in a different way. The movie taught me to be more creative. Instead of just merely studying and participating in class, which involves you consuming and studying other people’s ideas and contributions to the field, you should also try to come up with your own ideas and contributions.

I could say that I enjoyed the first part of the movie more. The second part was dark. It explored John Nash’s Schizophrenic side while the first part focused on introducing John Nash and what made him a genius during his stay in Princeton University. My favorite part was how they showed the conception of his Nobel prize- winning thesis on non-cooperative games which according to the film was because of a beautiful blonde and her friends in the bar. In the latter part of the movie it was truly heart-breaking when it was revealed that his “prodigal roommate”, his secret job for the US military and his roommate’s niece were all figments of his imagination.

What makes his mind beautiful is that it showed exactly how delicate and complex the human mind is. John was a genius yet he has a mental illness. And optimisticly enough he attributes some of his discoveries and outputs to his way of thinking,

including his mental illness. His paranoia actually helped him come up with some of his contributions in the field. I guess, in a way, his pyschosis is a method that his mind uses to deal with the boredom and lack of inspiration in his life.

During his recovery period he opted to not take medication because it dulled the mind. He valued his mind’s productivity over trying to be treated from his mind’s over-productivity. He was a man who valued his mind and it’s capabilities.

In the end he was able to shrug off his delusions as irrational like how the niece never seemed to age. And he was eventually able to live healthily. This and the whole movie showed how powerful the mind could be.

Thoughts on Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious directed by Roko Belik

The documentary discussed several important aspects about dreams and I found each aspect interesting.

An insight I got from the documentary is that dreams are a healthy form of psychosis. Healthy people have it as a healthy experience. “Everyone becomes psychotic at night” which I think is an interesting concept. Another insight I got is that the brain can’t tell the difference between dreams and reality. That’s why when we think we’re, for example, failing a test in our dream, we experience real emotions that we might have when we do fail a test in waking reality. This concept was further elaborated in the movie entitled Inception where the characters use dreams to accomplish goals, which works because the subject cannot tell the difference between the dream world and real life.

In the documentary I learned about the sleep paralysis mechanism which if we dream without can lead to serious consequences, an extreme case being unconscious murder as seen in the documentary. This shows how complex and how perfectly-built the human body is. I also learned that sometimes it’s impossible to recall dreams. We dream more frequently than we think. Sometimes we can dream multiple scenarios, and only be able to recall one or none.

Furthermore I learned that dreams are very personal and that if you try to tell people about it they won’t be able to actually understand and feel your dreams. Unlike how you can tell someone how to solve a math equation and they will be able to experience and recreate that process.

I also learned that sometimes we dream of worst-case scenarios as training for when and if it actually happens. Dreams are like a problem-solving and training simulation that occurs naturally and in our minds.

Another fascinating thing I learned about dreams is how there are universal dreams and symbols that appear in dreams. Someone in the Philippines can dream a dream

that is similar to a dream of someone from halfway around the world decades ago. Though not exactly the same, they would contain similar elements and symbols.

The documentary discussed both the scientific and existential aspects of dreams. We can explain the mental processes and chemical aspect of it but the events and it’s significance to people is still highly subjective. Overall, I was impressed by the documentary. It was both very entertaining and informative which is always a good mix.

References:

Attenborough, David (Presenter). The Life of Mammals: Social Climbers and Food For Thought. BBC. 2003.

Belic, Roko (Director). Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious. 2010.

Howard, Ron (Director). A Beautiful Mind. 2001.

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Genedyn Gems Mendoza
2010-28671

Lessons from our Relatives

Monkeys, those smart little creatures, are really interesting. It is a reason why many people study about them. Monkeys and apes are believed to be human’s ancestral relatives. The film “The Social Climbers” gives a great overview of the life of different monkeys. The film featured the most basic capuchin monkey. I really find them adorable while trying to smash open the clams for food. It is amazing to discover that they can spot antiseptic plants that serves as a mosquito repellant for them when rubbed in skin. Rubbing became a social event for them. Other tree climbing monkeys were introduced next. Monkeys of different colors, sizes, food, and way of living were featured. It is amazing to note that all of them have social relationships and groups, and even social classes. They can communicate very effectively, and can even identify their predators. Monkeys and apes are found in many different types of environment. There are monkeys who live at the forest, but there are also those that adapted to the grasslands. The size of the group is said to be proportional to the size of brain. Monkeys and apes are portrayed as creatures very similar to human beings. I find all these facts very amazing because I never thought that humans are very similar to monkeys. Monkeys like people have social attachments that directly affect way of life. I am convinced that they are indeed relatives of humans. It has taught me that other living creatures have families, and we should respect families.

The film “Food for Thought” gives a very strong claim. In this film, it is evident that it tells us that human beings evolved from apes. There are apes that can walk straight on their feet and because they have adapted to a wet environment. Human being might have evolved from this kind that searched for food in the land. It was shown that some human beings still live a primitive life, hunting with their strength to catch food. The film also shows the ancient civilization and how humans evolved to what we are today. I think that by associating people with monkeys and apes, the film has shown the possibility that we evolved from creatures on the same family as them. I am neutral about the theory of evolution but I know that it is possible. Animals adapt to their environment if there is a need to, and human beings might have adapted to survive. I have learned from that we are very closely related to apes but I believe that we should really help them if we can. This goes for all animals, and I also think that we will not be in our places today, a highly civilized animal species, if not for the nature that gave us resources. We should all take care of them because we are lucky to have the ability to do so.

Songs of the Birds

Birds are creatures that I normally hear at morning. They always produce nice songs that make me feel that I am with nature. I have been living in UP Diliman for four years, but it is only until recently that I have known that there are so many different kinds of birds there. I am able to experience bird watching or birding on one of our meetings in STS. I really don’t know what bird watching means before but now I understand what it is. On my first time birding, I have only been able to see three kinds. Gray doves, small black tree birds with a long tail feather, and Mayas are what I saw. I am amazed that many people actually goes to UP Diliman just to watch birds and take pictures of them. A picture of a bird professionally taken can be worth a hundred bucks. I appreciate researchers that exert a lot of effort to study about the birds in UP Diliman. They go bird watching everyday early in the morning, and walk many miles just to discover new kinds of birds. It is because of them that we are able to know that these birds live with us. I have also learned that some plants in UP Diliman are purposely planted to attract birds. This fact is very amazing and I think this should be continued so that many people could still enjoy bird watching, and also for birds to have a good supply for food.

I really enjoy nature and it does not really feel like I am with nature without the songs of birds. I cannot imagine that they would be gone. I believe that birds must be taken care of for them to survive for a long time, and for future generations to enjoy the songs of the birds. I imagine a future with many more different kinds of birds that lives in the trees. The only way to preserve and maintain their presence is to take care of their homes. People should learn to take care of nature by planting trees and plants, and we should refrain from destroying our environment. Of course, we should also take care of the birds. Taking care does not mean caging them but instead we should raise awareness that these birds must not be caught and hunted. Birds are creatures that coexist with us, merely human beings, and I believe we all have equal shares to live in a safe environment. We should really love nature not for our own sake only but also for the sake of our cute friends in nature.

POSTED: May 19, 2014, 12:05AM

Deep into our Dreams

“Dreams are my reality, the only kind of real fantasy.” Whenever I hear about the word dream, these famous lyrics of the song, Dreams are my Reality, always come to my mind. These lines perfectly describe a dream, a fantasy that is somehow a reality for the dreamer. Dreaming or the act of a dream is a really interesting subject for people and so far, there are still so many mysteries about dreaming. Scientists continually study about dreams because of its importance to understand one’s mental/psychological health and also because it has been an experience shared by all people in the world. The concept of a dream is really mind boggling and this might have been a reason why it has been fantasized in the famous movie, Inception.

Inception can be defined simply as a dream within a dream. The movie complicates the concept and introduces the rules of inception and dream sharing. Dream sharing is somehow like cinema making, there is a creative part, which is the architect, the storywriter or the forger, the one that makes it possible, which is the chemist, and the one that directs the audience into the message or idea. The subject is not just a simple viewer as he/she actually participates in the dream sharing. Every dream, there is only one dreamer and the dream sharers actually interact within the dreamer’s subconscious mind. These rules are not that quite clear but these actually make the movie mind boggling and interesting to watch.

The movie is very well made and really challenges its viewers mind, most especially the ending. The main character Cobb after going through the journey into the unconscious mind with his friends to fulfill a mission for Saito, a wealthy man, finally got his reward, which is a peace of mind, and the right to come home to his children. The ending leaves a big question to its viewers, if Cobb is really in real world. What makes the movie a hit is that everybody can relate to the concept of dreaming and some facts that we experience in dreaming are actually present in the movie. Facts such as how an event trigger when we’re asleep (such as a sound of alarm clock or our mommies waking us up) can actually manifest in our dreams, the scene by scene nature of dreaming and many more things are included in the movie.

The documentary by Gordon Levitt explains and gives facts about dreams. It really fascinated me because I have learned so much about the process of dreaming but it still leaves many things that cannot be explained. The main message both present in the movie and in the documentary is that people have different perceptions of reality; somehow we perceive dreams as real when we are experiencing it unless we realize it is not real or we wake up. I agree with the ideas presented in the documentary. Dreams have become a joint experience by people because we exist in one world. I believe that dreams can tell many things about a person; his/her desire, experiences, fears and memories. It is amazing how science can explain the process of dreaming but it can never explain what the dreamer’s interpretation of the dream is. Personally, I enjoy dreaming because it fulfills my hidden desires but there is pain when waking up and reality strikes. Different people have different dreams and even different perceptions of reality but I learned that these are minor details compared to our major focus which is our ultimate goals in life.

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Joshua L. Chan
2013-12882

Reaction Paper: Life of Mammals

After watching the documentary, I appreciated the lessons that I picked up. It showed me how complicated it is in the world of mammals. That it was not only in our daily human lives where everything is systematic and organized. Everything has complicated and simple ways of getting through them. The world of mammals, especially the monkeys also have a pretty complicated lifestyle. It was wrong for me to think at first that they are just animals, and they are only simple creatures that eat, sleep, and mate. They too have a social system. They too have prejudices. They too have problems that happen on an everyday basis. In short they are just like us in our everyday lives.

The documentary truly showed me the beauty of the life of mammals. The way they communicate and assign their roles in their society was incredible since they do not talk and have records of things the way we do. In a way, I could say they have it tougher than us. Even to get food on a daily basis is already a difficulty for them since it is always a competition with animals of the same group or other animals. Food is scarce for them and even if they do get the food, some of the foods are hard to acquire without tools for opening them. Sometimes food can even kill them since most in the wild are poisonous. It made me realize how blessed I am to be a human and have the blessing of technology to process my food and make it convenient for me. Well even if these mammals don't have the benefit of technology they survive on a daily basis which is an amazing feat. The lesson that is instilled in me is that since they have a hard time surviving already then we should as humans not make it harder for them in the environment.

Yes, of course we need the environment and we use it to our benefit. Of course we control the environment for our well-being. That is already part of our everyday lifestyle and we do not need to change that. One thing we have to put in mind is that we should not control the environment in an abusive way. We should not only think about our personal benefits but also think about these mammals. It is not only us who lives in this world, they live here too. We should stop when we are already manipulating the environment to much for our own good. We should also think about changing ourselves for the benefit of the environment because this is not only for animals’ well-being because it is also for our own good.

The goal we should have for ourselves and other animals is for us humans to work in equilibrium with the environment. It is not about trying to make one side conform to the other, but it's about each and every side pursuing the good for the whole. Being the humans we must be the one to take the initiative on doing this since we are the ones who can think for ourselves.

Reaction Paper: How to ensure Bird Biodiversity in UP?

At first, I knew nothing about birds since I didn't care about them and felt like they were so common. My first impression on birds was that they are normal and boring animals since I always see them flying up in the air. They were nothing special to me but after hearing the talk about birds in our STS class and seeing some of the birds in person my attitude towards them changed a lot. I learned that they were very diverse and birds are a complicated bunch of species.

Birds are abundant in UP since there are many species, and it is a great place for people to observe them. Just like all other animals however, they too are in danger of getting extinct or becoming scarce. We must do something to keep the diversity of the birds in UP or better yet to make it more diverse. These birds are part of our community and we should treat them the way we want to be treated and of course give much importance to them.

First, the whole UP community of students, workers, teachers, and others have to agree to not harm these birds. They must take into heart the importance of these birds. We could educate the people on these birds so that they would develop a care for them. We should only allow the UP community to observe and study these birds. We cannot allow UP people to harm birds of UP or do hard experiments on them. To ensure this, we must allot punishments for those who go against this. For example, a penalty fine or a temporary suspension of one day just so The UP community would take this matter seriously. It needs to start with the UP people if we want visitors who go to UP to respect biodiversity here.

It is not only about avoiding harming these birds. We must take in to account that harming the environment is just the same as harming these birds. If we destroy the plants, trees, flowers, and fields, we destroy their habitats. We should also avoid littering, smoking, and polluting our atmosphere here in UP. Most of the birds that reside here are migratory birds. If the environment around them is destroyed through pollution then these birds would choose to migrate to other places and take refuge them. Destroying the environment is equivalent to driving these birds away. We then should also allot penalty for those who abuse our environment.

Putting up signs that say "Don't Harm the Birds “,” No Smoking or Littering or many others would already do a great help for bird biodiversity. Campaigns and focus groups with people who love birds is a great movement in accordance to keeping the diversity here in UP. Again, it starts with each and every one of us who would make a stand to protect the birds. We could also allot some of our funds to making areas that emphasizes bird protection or places that could provide shelter for these birds in times of storms or extreme heat.

Lastly, I became aware of these birds through one STS class that emphasized on these creatures. We must know that not all people especially freshies like me have a clue about this biodiversity. UP could choose to create a class apart from biology that tackles about wildlife and its biodiversity. The class could show how those animals are important to our world and the consequences of having them extinct. UP is a school that stands upon honor and excellence and protecting the animals and environment of our world should be part of the stand of UP. We can develop the care to protect and give birds importance through learning more about them.

POSTED: May 16, 2014, 1:48PM

Reaction Paper: Inception

Watching the movie, I see that the human mind truly is an amazing thing. The movie showed the limitless capabilities of the human mind to construct infinitely many ideas. Although it is only a dream in the movie, we would be able to see that human imagination can come a long way. They were able to imagine different worlds and amazing constructs in the movie. They were even able to break many laws of physics in most of their imagination. When we are sleeping and having dreams, it is unlike when we are awake because our minds are not contained in a box. In dreams, especially lucid dreams, the deeper we go the more our imagination breaks free from the concepts of reality and we are able to create.

It was shown in the movie various kinds of artwork in engineering and architecture. It all really boils down to how creative a person is and how he or she can stretch his or her imagination to the fullest. Art is based on one’s perspective. In the movie, the characters inside dreams are able to create art by their own preferences. Ariadne was expert at making mazes that go on forever. Their constructs and even how they formulate the storyline within the dream is a kind of art.

It was really hard to tell reality from a waking experience. Dreams definitely are a part of science since they are systematic and even though it is a very difficult task, we could still be able to observe, analyze, interpret, and study these dreams. It part of every human in our society today. It is a cultural thing as well to dream because people have understandings that relate to dreams within a society. We could also say that most of our inventions today are truly from the creativity and imagination of modern day dreamers.

The process of wandering around in a dream, like in the movie is a bit to unrealistic for me. Our technology today still cannot supply us the tools and ability to do so as we wish and travel inside dreams along with people. Dreams are still part of our existence. As depicted in the movie, in dreaming we are able to picture a lifestyle we want and try to achieve it as our life goals. We can also recall memories as we dream or be guided in how we live on with our lives. Ultimately, a dream has a great effect on the lives of those who experience it. A single dream can instill in our minds a goal or an idea that would arouse our interest or even change the way we go about in our everyday life.

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Loiue Stihl L. Balanquit 

2011­52681 

The Life of Mammals: 

Social Climbers and Food for Thought 

Earth as our habitat sustained us since the first emergence of living organisms. It has also provided us the necessary elements to survive. However, nature’s force is a force not to be reckoned with. It is a force that we, humans, tried to tame but failed. This force, with its enormity, required these powerless living organisms to evolve through the course of time and allowed  a myriad of species, including mammals, to proliferate. The nature of the environment and  evolution were the premises established by the Social Climbers and Food for Thought episodes of  The Life of Mammals with David Attenborough. 

The  two  episodes  of  the  series  documentary  mostly  showed  monkeys  and  their  social  dynamics. Monkeys  are social  animals. They  form  complex social relations that  contribute  to its  overall social dynamics much like of how humans preserve social bonds. Maintaining this complex social relations favor many abundant aspects in the thriving of such species.  

Social relations in monkey culture have many components. One component is food. Some monkeys form groups for  effective  hunting that  enables  them  to  gather  enough  food  in sustaining  the  group.  Then,  we have security  as  it  helps  the  monkeys  escape  the  fate  of  being  eaten  by  predators.  Monkeys developed security warning  signs  for  different  predators. Reproduction  is  another  component  as  it  determines the offsprings  and descendants  of the species and, in some monkey groups, mating is determined by social order. Lastly, we have the  grooming component.  Grooming is exhibited in many ways. Physical grooming is the most known and they also have the social grooming in which monkeys chatter with one another, although information transferred is still unknown it keeps the monkeys to form and stay in large groups. This ability to maintain social relations needs a large  amount  of  brain  processing  capabilities.  As  shown  in  Robin  Dunbar’s  studies,  group  size  in  primates corresponds  to  brain size. Bush  baby monkeys have small brain because they live in solitude, Colobus live in a group of 15 members upon which they have slightly larger brain than the former, Gremlin with 25 members in a  group has a larger brain than the Colobus, and the Baboon with 50 members has a large brain size amongst the said monkeys. 

I  fancied  how  monkeys  are  so much  alike  with  humans.  I  found  the  human­like  actions  of monkeys adorable just like when a capuchin tried to open a nut by hitting it with a stone, when a pygmy marmoset gazed through the  leaves  to  catch for  preys with the dexterity of its hands and nibbled on a gum tree to harvest sap, when  a  high­born  macaque force  t open the mouth  of  a low­born macaque to get food, and when the Gelada monkeys made gurgling noises to chatter with other members of the tribe.  The  documentaries gave me an exciting thrill of how these monkeys evolved to adapt with the circumstances  of its environment. It also is a package of fully understanding their social dynamics. I was also fascinated that these adaptations of monkeys formed a parallel likeness to us, humans. We may have not seen it with our own eyes but evidences suggest that these monkeys are our closest linkage to other living organisms. 

Overall, the  documentaries presented evolution as an amazing rudimentary  catalyst in the adaptation of living organisms and it is an inherent component to preserve the continuation of its species.  

References: 

Attenborough, David (Presenter). 2003. The Life of Mammals: Social Climbers (Documentary). United Kingdom. 

Dunbar, Robin. (1992). Neocortex size as a constraint on group size in primates. Journal of Human Evolution, 22, 6, 469­493. 

Dreams: 

Cinema of the Subconscious 

Perhaps  one  of the most regular yet  erratic  and subjective  phenomenon  in  our  life is the existence of dream. What  is  it  for?  What  can  I  get  out  of  it?  The  documentary,  Dreams: Cinema  of the  Subconscious, submerged me into an abysmal discussion of the neurological and anatomical  relevance of dreams.  The brain can not fully identify the difference between the waking and dreaming stage. The neurological activity  of  the brain during the waking stage and dreaming is almost the same. Emotions felt during the waking stage are the same with the emotions incurred during dreaming. A dream about solving math problems will lit up the corresponding brain area which functions for math logic. It was also said that dream is  an evolutionary trait for humans to practice dreadful situations so that in waking life, we can function outrightly. It is a training ground where we  can  exercise  being  able  to  out­run, feel  or act righteously of things that should we encounter in the waking stage. 

During the sleeping stage, the brain loses the ability to control the body as the muscle node in the brain stem trigger  the  body to  be  paralyzed. The  primary  reason for this is to protect the body from the emotionally engaging  experiences  that  may  evince. The  only muscle  that  heavily react  and move  during this stage  is  the muscle behind our eyes, thus, calling it Rapid Eye Movement or REM sleep. More so, if the paralysis mechanism failed to take over, dangerous situations may happen. 

Mostly depicted in dreams are dreadful and dark series of interactions with our subconscious. There are also light and  blissful  dreams  where  the  dreamer felt  joy  and  euphoria. The  dreaming stage manifests  many surreal experiences  that,  in  one  way  or  another,  help  the person to  become  better. There  are movements in interpreting these dreams. Such is a tad tedious work since every dream pose many ideas which are subjective to each  person.  However,  there  are  dreams that  are  widespread  and  common that general interpretations were formulated for them. 

The  documentary revealed  many hidden key factors that should be realized in the understanding of the very mechanism of what and how dreams work. Another astounding talking point that the documentary rendered was our  capability  to control our dreams and it is called Lucid dreaming. There were many recorded instances that lucid  dreaming  was  proven real  and  not  just  a figment  of  drifting  into  the hazy  boundary of  waking and dreaming stage.  Scientific  instruments  prove  the  validity  of  lucid  dreaming.  Controlled  eye  movement, brain waves  in  the scalp  and the muscle tone of the  chin during dreaming were the primary bases of verification for such.  The  documentary  disclosed  many  recorded  experiments  about  lucid  dreaming  and,  also,  the practical applications of such ability such as honing skills through repeated practice inside this occurrence. Lucid dreaming for  most people are for entertainment, fun, flying above cities and sceneries and, to some elating extent, sex dreaming.  

The  human  evolution  has  gave  us  a  brain  that  is  equipped  with  necessary  traits  to  survive the everchanging and dynamic environment that we are in. Clearly, one of such traits is the materialization of dreams which  help  us to  experience surreal  encounters. These interactions with the programmed worldly and abstract experiences during dreaming aided us  and will more so aid us in the most rudimentary predicaments that we will  encounter.  

References: 

Belic, Roko (Director). 2010. Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious (Documentary). USA.

Bird, bird talk 

As  I  try  to  fashion  a  précis  about  the  birding  talk,  I  remembered  an  advertisement  of  a  mortgage company. The advertisement is a part of a series of videos relating how people try to judge too quickly and the mortgage  company,  in  a  rather  humorous way,  proves  the  otherwise for their  company. Now, why does the advertisement  of the mortgage  company relevant  to the  birding  talk?  It is just simple because before, I barely noticed the birds  and just shrugged off that their existence is just as simple as pie. However, after the bird talk, the existence of such creatures correlated to a more complicated way of life.  

Almost  all  the  birds  in  the  campus,  with the  exception of chickens, are wild birds. Some of these wild birds live  locally  and some  are migratory  birds  which only stay for a certain season. Familiarizing the name of each creature is  a quite tad tedious dilemma because these birds sum up into almost 80 species, both local and migratory.  These wild birds include a wide range of spectra starting from the common blue woodpecker, a puny flycatcher,  a  long­tailed  shrike,  to  a  radiant  black­naped  Oriole.  The  only  way  to  familiarize  them  is  to get acquainted to them almost everyday and they call it Birding, lacking a better name for it.  

A scientific way is  needed  to  keep  track  of these numerous  birds. One of the method is to divide the campus into components and in each  component, you are required to walk randomly in these  area for a certain time. This method was done by the speaker everyday for more than a year. This was also done by the class after the presentation. We walked around the science complex and observed and tallied the birds that we saw. It was an exciting way of doing research aside from the fact that we almost got burnt by the heat and we were the last group to return because we went into the most outskirt of the science complex area. 

There  were  many  fascinating  facts  that  I  learned  as  the  class  was  immersed into  a  comprehensive discussion about the wild birds in the campus. More so, realizing the existence of the birds and trying to, in any way, help them to survive is a moral responsibility that we, humans, must effectuate. 

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King, Venice Victoria G.

The Life of Mammals: Social Climbers and Food for Thought

The episode “Social Climbers”, showed that monkeys have many great characteristics that make them adapt well to their environment. They have grasping hands and tails, stereoscopic vision, and the ability to see things in color. These abilities also help them to find sustenance. They also have big brains and good memory which help them recall previous experiences. Their intelligence is a big factor in their survival especially that there are many threats and predators in the wild. They utilize the things they can find on the environment just like how a species of monkey identified the plant that can be used as an insect repellent.

Other techniques the monkeys use for continued existence include living alongside other species, feeding during nighttime, and using facial and spoken communication. These also prove their ability to socialize. On larger groups of monkeys, complex relationships developed. There is a larger competition on finding a mate while at the same time there is also a larger team for finding food and greater alliance in avoiding predators.

Through the years, there have been changes in the environment which forced monkeys to live on savannas. They communicate using more complex sounds. The social skills of these animals proved to be a defining characteristic especially that it enable them to live in larger populations, therefore creating complex societies.

The other episode, “Food for Thought” focused on the great apes. They are able to imitate human behavior and activities like nut-cracking, washing of clothes, and other skills. These are again related to having larger brain compared to other animals. The transfer of environment and the diet was said to have been a key fundamental in developing larger brain during the evolution of mankind.

From being arboreal to transferring to savannas, our ancestors took a step from being apes and became bipedal. It freed the hands which was later used to fulfill other tasks. Living in larger groups made it less risky. They lived in complex societies as the population got larger and technology became more advanced. Soon, humans started to control the environment; domestication and agriculture developed. Humans lived with their families and accumulated possessions, leading to a more complex social structure, which in turn lead to much larger population. When this happened, we can no longer go back to hunting and gathering.

Like humans, the monkeys and apes also developed complex social structure. There are alpha males, the strongest and the bravest, who serve as their leader and has advantages over the others in sustenance and in choosing his mate. Humans and monkeys and apes are alike in some ways but we should take the animals as role models in dealing with the environment. They used it for survival but they did not control and damage it. The last few lines from the documentary seem to be a wakeup call to humans to take action and find a way to once again create a balance with the environment.

POSTED: May 25, 2014, 10:00PM

Inception

Inception is a 2010 science fiction film whose story revolves around being able to construct and consciously navigate the dream world, and stealing and implanting ideas on someone’s mind by shared dreaming. The main character and the lead extractor, Cobb, was offered to do “inception” or to implant an idea to his target’s subconscious in exchange for being able to get back home to his children. He was set to form a team comprised of an identity forger, an architect who will build the dreamscape, a chemist who will formulate sedatives, and another extractor. At each dream level will be a dreamer, whose subconscious would fill up the landscape of the dream.

The movie was shown in class by parts, and we students could not hide our enthusiasm about the film. I think it is because all people experience dreaming. It is a topic we all could relate to even if there is no absolute way to study dreams. One cannot prove or disprove a dream except the dreamer. It is unique to an individual and only s/he could truly know what s/he dreamt of.

The movie is relatable even if I have not experienced lucid dreaming yet. I admit that sometimes I wake up from a dream, think about it again before getting back to sleep and end up continuing the dream. It is true that we do not realize it when we are dreaming because everything feels so real. Our senses work as it do in the real world. When we dream, we just find ourselves in a middle of a situation, as shown in the film. Dreams serve as alternate realities, at least while we are in them. A concept in the movie I could relate to is the “kick” or the sensation of waking up. The sound of an alarm clock, like the music played to warn the characters on the film, triggers the idea that I am dreaming and about to wake up.

I think we could use dreams as a guide to know ourselves better. We could use it to rest and ponder as our subconscious reveal our true hopes, goals, desires, and other things we sometimes do not know about ourselves. The human mind is mysterious and complex, and it sometimes betrays its owner. Some people lose a grip to the truth and try to escape into their sleep. But of course, in the end, we must learn to distinguish dream from reality and fight our thoughts also by using mind. We must use it to differentiate what’s real and what’s not and to escape the maze which was also created by ourselves.

I loved the ending of the film even if I saw it coming. I salute the filmmakers in letting it end that way, as if letting the viewers to experience the movie more. Open endings make you think of many possibilities. Inception has fueled my imagination and has left an impact on me by making me more curious about the concept of dreams.

Women’s Rights and ICTs

In my stay in the University of the Philippines, I have encountered diverse people and I am very grateful to have enjoyed the freedom here. Part of this freedom is the liberty to choose what clothes to wear on campus. You can wear almost anything and people won’t judge you. But the situation is very different outside. People are less open-minded.

I came across one graphic poster online, telling some things about rape culture, including the fact that it does not only happen to women. It implied that by blaming the victim for being raped, one also assumes that: every person is a rapist from the start; and that it is the responsibility of an individual not to provoke another person by how s/he carries her/himself and what clothes s/he wears. I could not agree more to the message of the poster, because having the wrong mindset re-victimizes the sufferer. It is unfortunate that many are still not aware of the whole concept of violence yet. Another form of violence is street harassment. Some people think that catcalls flatter a person instead of it being offensive.

Nowadays social networking sites are a huge part of the lives of the people. We encounter the same problems we do in the real world which just took on new forms. There are new trends in social media today which bring along problems when not used properly. Secret files allow people to submit confessions with the guarantee of anonymity. Sometimes the posts also offend the subject especially with the information shared about them and the photos that come along with it. It could make someone uncomfortable especially that their profiles may be tagged and known by the public. Websites where anyone can ask you questions are also thriving. Other forms of violence include: having stalkers, especially if one posts where s/he currently is or the places s/he visit; other people posing as somebody else by using their photos or personal information; posing “revealing” pictures of people on websites and objectifying them through the comments, as another manifestation of rape culture and an alternate form of catcall in cyberspace, and many more.

However, ICTs also have good sides. It helps in providing more support group for those being violated, and makes it easier for them to confide and find the assistance they need. Websites or pages like the secret files also helps people in confiding their secrets and other things they cannot express in real life.

No one can guarantee safety online. There is a total freedom on cyberspace but the challenge is to be fully aware of the consequences of our actions. Media takes a great role in portraying people and how they should be treated. We must use it accordingly to avoid damages. Firsthand users of ICTs must be consulted and everyone should take part in making a better law to guide how people must use it.

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Francis Paolo Santelices

2010-20219

Reaction Paper on “Life of Mammals”

Watching two episodes of the documentary entitled “Life of Mammals” at first seemed very boring to me.  But as the documentary progressed, I got more and more interested in what David Attenborough had to say about what they say are our closest relatives, the monkeys.  It basically talks about the capacity of monkeys and apes to be social and do so much more than other animals because of their big brains.

The first episode shown to the class was entitled, "Social Climbers”.  To me the title at first seemed like a pun.  Just a pun.  But apparently, it was a very suitable title for the episode in introducing monkeys.  Monkeys were climbers that have their own notion of society, their own way of being social.  The idea of being social comes is possible because the monkeys are intelligent species compared to other animals or mammals.  An example stated were the guenons of West Africa which Attenborough stated use the intricate patterns on their faces to send social messages.  Monkeys travel in anti-predatory groups with a high degree of vocal communication.  Many other species of monkeys were discussed by Attenborough with each one having their own distinct way and level of communication and social interaction.

The finals episode of Life of Mammals, “Food for Thought”, instead of monkeys now focuses on apes and the evolution of human society to what it is now.  In this episode Attenborough showed the capacity of apes particularly orangutans and chimpanzees to copy the activities of humans after having spent time with them.  This was the segue to the introduction of humans because apes are bipedal.  Being bipedal and standing upright, the humans learned to manipulate the environment in which they are in.  Which then leads to the invention of agriculture and domestication of animals.  These developments led to the increase in human population.  After this Attenborough mentions the Mayan civilization which attained one of the greatest advancements in culture but in the end could not sustain it and suddenly vanished.  He warns that, “Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, perhaps it's time we control the population to allow the survival of the environment.”

The point that was most important for me in the two episodes was the last one even though these episodes were made back in 2003 and I believe that most people have come to recognize the problem and are trying to solve it step by step.  That despite all the evolution that humankind has achieved, despite all the advancements in technology, we may be headed down the Mayans’ paths as well.  To prevent this, the human race should change.  Maybe we have taken enough from mother nature.  This time, we should recognize the effects of excessive human manipulation on the environment.  If we do this and recognize the consequences, there will be  a change for the better and perhaps we won’t suffer the same fate as the Mayan civilization.

Reaction Paper on Birding 

When I first heard about the PE 2 Bird Watching class, I laughed.  I thought that it was a boring class and thought that it certainly didn’t need much of the “physical” in physical education.  And sure there were the “bird” jokes going on when this PE class was released and I think it still remains up to now.  But after the lecture and activity by the STS chairman, Sir Benjamin Vallejo, Birds and bird watching itself became more interesting to me primarily maybe because I also have a passion in photojournalism and photography.  I just don’t have the equipment nor the money.

The STS class that day not only awakened my love for photography again.  It also made me aware the the University of the Philippines Diliman is also the location in Luzon with one of the highest biodiversity of birds.  When our group went out to list down the different birds around the UP Science Complex, I only expected to see the normal brown birds or maya as others call it (though it has been said that not all of the brown birds we see are mayas).  I never expected to actually see birds with a yellow breast, a blue back, birds with a short body and a long tail.  Though I don’t know the actual names of these species of birds, it was very exciting to see these birds.  The feeling when after you see one you just can’t wait to continue your random walk and get to see another one.

Having learned that UP only charges bird watchers for their pictures if they use it for commercial purposes and not if they only use the pictures for personal use, I think it is just right since UP Diliman is a public institution and everyone is welcome to come in and out anytime of the day anyway.

It’s just a matter now of conserving the habitats and the ecosystem of these birds around UP so that the birds who migrate to UP would still do so and the birds that are living inside the campus also have their habitats taken care of.

As for bird watching or birding, if in the future I happen to get the money to buy cameras, lenses, and other equipment needed, I would definitely love to do birding as one of my hobbies.  I can also help spread awareness in environmental conservation and protection of the birds not only in UP but maybe also in other places through a “bird propaganda”.  Overall this lecture in STS was something very new, interesting, and worthwhile for me and I think also for my classmates.

Reaction Paper on “A Beautiful Mind” 

"A Beautiful Mind” is about the Nobel Prize winner and schizophrenic, John Nash Jr.  The film made me understand what a schizophrenic goes through in his/her everyday life.  Though I can’t be so sure if what the film portrayed was accurate since it WAS a only a film and me having only a lay man’s definition of schizophrenia. 

Being able to create people to be there for me and change my life would be a skill I would not be sad to have.  Having someone instantly there when you need help or encouragement at your times of need would make life relatively easier.  IF it was a skill that I can control voluntarily.  Having this skill that I cannot control would possibly drive me insane.  But that was not the case with John Nash.  He could not control when his “friends” would appear in the climax to the near end of the film when he realized that he did have schizophrenia.  His hallucinations were even one of the main reasons he reached great heights in his field.  Maybe this is why the movie is entitled, “A Beautiful Mind”.  That even a disorder that was as bad as schizophrenia can be a reason for something as beautiful as intelligence, and even the imaginary friends of Nash who helped him be who he was.

But I was wondering if it were a person that was not as intelligent as John Nash, if it were a normal person, if the person could handle the disorder by just shutting them out, ignoring them, and kept on being able to live a normal life like Nash did.  I think that he can only do this because he was a very intelligent person.  Or was it the disease that made him intelligent in the first place?

The story of John Nash still pursuing what he wants to do and even earning the Nobel Prize will serve as an inspiration to me.  If someone can rise up over something as schizophrenia, I can definitely rise up to any challenge put up in front of me in the future.

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Lois Abigail C. Jumawan

2012-75428

The Life of Mammals: Social Climbers and Food for Thought

‘Social Climbers’ explores how behavioural patterns are results of the monkeys’ high intelligence. They have their ingenious ways of obtaining food, using their brains to learn techniques such as using tools in opening clams (Capuchins). Having colour vision, monkeys have a great advantage when it comes to knowing whether or not their food is actually edible. Since feeding is an absolute must to almost all forms of life, it is inevitable for fierce competition to develop. One species, to minimize risk, evolved to be nocturnal. Complex social relationships seem to be a huge part in the monkey world. Some species determine ranks within their communities by colours of body parts. Others even establish ‘alliances’ with a different species (Tamarins) in order to increase security from predators.

The second episode ‘Food for Thought’ still discussed ape behaviour, but they’re now connected to human evolution. Orangutans have been known for their tendency to imitate humans out of their own accords. They have been observed using tools and imitating ‘human activities’ such as washing socks or hammering nails. Chimpanzees also demonstrate high intelligence, known for their resourcefulness and social order. These apes acquire food quite systematically; a thought much fascinating to me. Not long after was a segment in the video showing a trio of indigenous Africans participating in a ‘Persistence Hunt’, effectively giving us an idea of how our forefathers might have hunted.

We have plenty of reason to believe that the values we have today are a result of evolution driven by the need to use the environment in order to survive. Over the ages, our bodies have drastically changed in appearance – becoming bipedal or decreasing density of body hair. However, humans didn’t just evolve physically, but also psychologically. Aside from deepening the way we create and maintain relationships, people have evolved to the point where they start believing that living isn’t all about pure survival anymore. Not pure, rough survival, but survival in comfort. Our ancestors began to plant crops to make a ready food source, instead of having to search for it on a regular basis. Hunting became easier with the invention of weapons. Raising cattle then became a breakthrough, saving energy. As social structure developed, division of labour then enabled procreation. Civilizations flourished, but the story doesn’t end there.

At some point in history, the great classic Mayans have suddenly gone extinct. Despite all their success, there they were unable to sustain their environment, causing a natural disaster that forced them out from their advanced lifestyles. We have often been taught to dream of changing the world, but there’s an unspoken truth saying that there’s a limit as to how much we can do so.

Unless you’re up for a not-so-exciting life with catastrophe, it’s always a good idea to not destroy the only planet we live in. Change the world for the better, not the other way around.

It was so interesting to know how we started from animalistic four legged apes into this highly advanced species capable of moulding the earth according to our whims. I believe the documentary did a magnificent job; it felt like an episode of realization that we humans might be special after all.

Dreams – Cinema of the Unconscious Reaction Paper

A world so real that no one can even tell it’s nothing more than a mind-made fantasy – that’s how I used to define the term ‘Dream’ with a (laughable) serious look on my face. Words can’t even express how ignorant it felt to be proven so wrong. Well before watching a great documentary during class, there’s plenty of credible evidence saying that there’s more to dreaming than just subconscious fantasizing.

The video explains how it works during the REM sleeping stage, a rather curious brain state that enables the person to experience sensory input as if they’re awake. To prevent us from causing mayhem, our bodies are paralyzed whenever we dream, although there are disorders associated with this. One of such is the REM sleeping disorder, which causes the victim to act out everything in their dream, with sleepwalking as the most common case. But in a rare incident, a murder was committed by a man with REM disorder. Then we have Sleep Paralysis, a terrifying phenomenon I have unfortunately experienced once, specifically the Hypnopompic variant. It is where the victim wakes before the completion of a REM cycle, rendering them unable to move while experiencing hallucinations.

Aside from those, the most interesting part is that most of the time we can’t even tell that we’re dreaming, no matter how bizarre and illogical everything seemed to be. That’s what makes dreaming magical though, having that Alice in Wonderland kind of vibe. However, there are people who can actually distinguish what’s real and what’s not. They’re said to be lucid dreaming, and obviously it’s the kind that you actually experience consciously. Knowing you’re in a fantasy world and controlling everything, how exhilarating that might’ve been. So far, I’ve never been in one before, because the moment I realize everything, I wake up (cries).

I always thought that the funniest thing about dreaming is that we can’t explain why we can’t explain it. What makes us dream? Why do we dream? These are questions we still have yet to answer. But that’s not to say there aren’t any legitimate theories out there. One of these states (basically) that because of how they usually reflect the recent events experienced by the person, it’s probably a coping mechanism controlled by the brain itself. However, cases of prophetic dreaming seemed to defy any scientific explanation, hence the possibility of it being related to existentialism. Not only are they reflected by one’s own personality, but also the moral values and roles one wants to partake in life. Personally, I found both accounts to be equally credible, dreams being both scientific and existential.

Dreaming is an everyday occurrence, but a head scratching mystery. We understand so much yet so little. We find ourselves raising more questions than we could answer. That of course leads us to a question – just what is going on inside our heads? Well, we may never know for sure. But that won’t stop me from waiting for a solid answer.

POSTED: May 19, 2014, 8:16PM

INCEPTION – Reaction Paper

Inception is a 2010 sci-fi film that depicts a story about dreams, about ideas, about stealing and implanting ideas in another’s mind through dreams. It specifically revolves around a man named Cobb assembling a team of professionals in order to perform the biggest heist in his history as an extractor (people who steals ideas through dreams) – all for the slim chance of getting back home. Sounds simple enough, does it? Well, no, it’s not.

Watching this movie left me in a daze, both in awe and in confusion. It’s one of those films that keeps spinning your head around, but at the same time, explains how it’s doing the spinning. Since it’s focused on dreams, it’s no wonder. Inception, to me, was a movie less about the heist itself but more of the framework in making this possible. Why do we dream? How do they reflect our subconscious? Why do ideas seem to linger in them? Why are ideas depicted as powerful and life-changing?

I was very fascinated at how they depicted the mind as easily manipulated, unless you’ve been trained for it. Going deeper into one’s mind also means increasing the said person’s mental vulnerability. One tragic example is how Cobb became responsible for a tragedy for experimenting in Limbo – an expanse of infinite raw subconscious. For me, it kind of shows how little we actually understand our own subconscious minds. To me it wasn’t just about dreaming but about the human mind as a whole, because we create the dream world using our minds whether we are conscious of it or not. The usage of the concept of ideas reflects how humans operate generally because of them. Not just that, but also how we perceive and treat these ideas eventually influence our decisions in real life. Yes, all these, processed within the recesses of our mysterious minds. The film, even with its artistic liberties, recreates these processes, translating them perfectly to the big screen for us to ponder on and fawn over.

However, Inception is not all about the cold hard mechanics running the game, but also about taking leaps of faith and to never be afraid of dreaming big. I couldn’t even begin to imagine humanity without willpower to take risks and overcome failure. Also, what’s most important is that we must never lose sight of ourselves, and learn to separate dream from reality.

Out of all the things Inception had presented, one thing really stood out for me, and that is the ending. Whether or not it was real, there’s the lingering air of tragedy and comfort that, surprisingly, gave me satisfaction. In fact, I was glad the movie ended the way it did. I saw it coming, yes, but I couldn’t imagine it happening any other way. Leaving the clarity out is a sure way to leave everything to individual perception. Genius - because that’s what the Inception’s all about.

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Albert Paolo P. Bugayong

2011-01661

Life of Mammals: Social Climbers and Food For Thought

More monkeys are really a cut above the rest of the mammals. They are very intelligent and very well specialized in terms of their physiology, mental ability and skill set that each species use in their respective habitats.

I was a bit surprised to learn that monkeys particularly the capuchins too possess a trait called inquisitiveness which serves as the key that enable them to spot opportunities while collecting food and seizing it by many creative means with the aid of their excellent color vision. They also know the medicinal and insect repellent properties of some plants as demonstrated in the film. The smallest monkey in the world known as the Pygmy Monkey uses the gums from tree trunks as one of their food sources. They feed from the wounds they inflict the tree and reopen them as these wounds try to heal themselves providing them with a “Continuous” source of nutrition. This method is similar to our agriculture. Monkeys like the Owl Monkeys thought of a strategy to help them avoid competition while finding food. They feed in the night to avoid Tamarins, monkeys that feed during the day that also feed on the nectar. Monkeys are also capable of discovering new food sources. The Baboons in particular, tired from feeding smaller food source, managed to discover flamingos as a food source. Once the discovery has begun, the hunting methods used by the first hunters are then passed to other groups.

Monkeys are also capable of learning or discovering ways to use tools while eating food. Some would break the shells of clams on rocks to weaken the muscle inside and cause the shell to open. Some would use rocks or heavy large diameter wood to pound hard seed coats to obtain the edible part of the food inside. Other monkeys would try to imitate this method. Some would succeed while other would require more practice so that they could consider this as their viable food source and avoid starvation. Some monkeys adapted to their environments and an example of which are presently able to learn to walk in a bipedal manner like humans. They needed this skill to be able to transfer goods and their young through rivers as trees are no longer near each other making swinging across branches no longer an option.

Monkeys as I learned are also have social classes. Sankey monkeys use the color of their scarlet faces as the indicator of their social class with the brighter color being higher. Baboons have their own culture. They use grooming as a symbol of friendship and political alliance with each other. They often use this relationship in mating season where the alpha male asks his allies to guard the females from other males. On one part of the film, different species of monkeys are shown to coordinate with each other in spotting different predators. Some of them guard the forest floor for predators like leopards, some in the middle of the trees while others keep watch at the tree tops for predators like eagles.

Monkeys are truly remarkable as mammals. As superior or senior species to them we must do our part in helping take care of them and their habitat to protect them from extinction.

POSTED: May 19, 2014, 12:05AM

Women’s Rights and ICT’s Risks 

Previously access to internet was only limited to people who are able to afford PC’s which were very expensive back then. Today with the rise of tablets and smartphones, the internet has never been more accessible to the public than it was before. Some low end but capable tablets and smartphones could be bought for cheap and are easy to use for an average person. Also many places such as schools, malls and workplaces have Wi-Fi hotspots for public use. SMS now is no longer as widely used as it was before with the rise of free instant messaging and status updates through Facebook making communication much more convenient than before. 

However despite of the benefits these advancements present, it also come with a whole lot of disadvantages. Because of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites, sharing information whether intentional or unintentional is very frighteningly easy. The pictures, geo-tagged status messages and other information about the user can be easily accessible to people with bad intentions if the user of this services is not careful enough. Cyber bullying has become a major problem with some victims committing suicide unable to cope with the pressure. Hate speeches has also become a problem with the internet community as people despite knowing their right of freedom of free speech forget that with this right, they have an important obligation to keep what they say from hurting and defaming others. Stalking has also become a problem especially with Facebook users with many losing their right of privacy. 

We must recognize that ICT’s may be used as tools of violence whether verbal, mental or spiritual violence against women and others. People can freely voice their thoughts against other people without fear because of the mask of anonymity and they can do it from a distance. Sharing of information whether it violates the privacy of an individual or puts them into shame is automated and propagates fast through various domains making it hard to trace and take down. 

These present challenges on how to protect the rights of ICT’s users particularly the women. Awareness of the risks involved and their rights is key. Smart government intervention is also needed to make laws that would protect these users and enforce them. This is how the Anti-Cybercrime bill came about in the senate but unfortunately it’s still too young to be passed and must still be subjected to rigorous reviews before it becomes a truly beneficial law to the people not only to the ones in power who seek means to shut up people who voice their opinions against them through threats of libel. 

ICT’s are truly remarkable inventions but must be used with caution as they may serve as means for some to hurt others. As users of these ICT’s we must be vigilant in protecting ourselves and others falling victim to the misuse of this technology. We must also protect our right in using these mediums of speech to freely voice our thought while being mindful of our obligations. 

Internet Based Information for Meteorological Application

Last week we were given a talk about the topic stated in the title of this paper. The talk was delivered by Robert B. Badrina. He was a project development officer at PAG-ASA. He demonstrated a broad knowledge of his field. At the start of his talk I appreciated the fact that he gave us a review of some of the concepts we needed to recall in order to related and understand correctly what he was talking about from the simple concepts of the different kinds of clouds and the difference between climate and weather to the more fundamental concepts such as the Cold, Warm, and Stationary Fronts and how the interactions of these things come to bring about the typhoons we come to know and experience in our country.

He also introduced many interesting trivia such as why the typhoons were previously given girls’ names. It turns out that pilots were the one responsible for bringing this convention about. They would name these typhoons from their wives or their daughters to better distinguish them in giving reports while in flight. Today, the naming schemes used on our typhoons were based on a contest winning template. If a particular typhoon such Ondoy and Yolanda became too destructive and devastating, the name used will no longer be used in the next cycle but will be replaced with a new one.

I recalled some of the memories I had in my high school and the previous years in my college life. Whenever PAG-ASA gives a Signal Number warning I never really took it seriously because most of the time I thought that they’re probably wrong again and it isn’t going to rain. This was one of some of the misconceptions about the warnings that PAG-ASA announces that was cleared up. It turns out that depending on the signal given, there is also a waiting time when the rains and since rain is not uniform per city, some might experience rain while others won’t. So in the end the weather prediction is correct. To help us better understand how they predict the weather, he taught us the different processes involved in doing so. First is Observation where raw data such as atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity of the air and other variables are collected through radars, satellites and other weather observation devices. Next these data are then sent and processed by a numerical weather prediction model. The data is then plotted and analysed and the used to formulate weather forcasts.

He also informed us of many internet sources we may look up to keep us informed of the weather or possible incoming storms. Unfortunately he was only able to show us a peek of NOAH which is their star project but due to the lack of Wi-Fi connection he wasn’t able to demonstrate the program itself. Regardless of this I was able to have fun learning a lot from his lecture and I know that this knowledge is going to be helpful in our daily lives as we keep on being vigilant on impeding typhoon related disasters.

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Jessica G. Anoos

2009-31811

POSTED: May 18, 2014, 7:52PM

MOBILE PHONES

Mobile phones are getting more interesting nowadays. This technology is one of the most widely used around the globe today. Its purpose has also evolved from merely an instrument of communication before to a handy computer with various uses and applications at present. I remember one professor who told us how awkward it was to send a personal message via beeper before. The class was laughing the whole time. It was funny and weird.

It could have helped if the speaker prepared a presentation, especially in the part where he historicized the development of mobile phones. I was able to relate to some, I wonder if my classmates did. Mobile phones are interesting gadgets. And today t seems that there will be new better models and versions every quarter of the year. Yet, I do not even know the difference of android from i-phones. As of now, I don’t really care much. Nah, I can’t afford them. I think I am somewhere in the boarder of the digital divide. I have a phone, a not so fancy one. I can access the internet but only in a limited time because computer shops usually close between 8:00 and 9:00 in the evening.

I am also interested about imitation phones. I don’t know exactly what is it about those phones, but I think it would be interesting if imitation phones has been tackled also. Well, I can’t blame the speaker for that. This question just popped out while I’m writing this paper.

I wonder what will be the revolutionary change in mobile phones. But as of now, I’ll stick to may not so fancy and simple Samsung cellphone. For now.

METEOROLOGY

Engaging yung guest speaker tungkol sa meteorology. Kaso lang parang nagklase lang ulit ako ng geog nung araw na iyon. Pero sa bagay, hindi naman lahat ng UP students nagkaroon ng ganoong topic sa mga klase nila.

Unang puntong natatandaan ko ay ang pagiging easily available ng mga data at information tungkol sa klima hindi lang bansa kundi kahit ng buong mundo. Dahil sa internet, mas nagiging madali para sa lahat ng may access ditto na malaman ang mga bagay na may kinalaman sa nangyayari sa atmospera ng mundo, o kahit ng particular na kalagayan ng panahon sa kanilang lugar.

Sana lang, mas natalakay kung paanong nagging magkaugnay angpag-unlad ng siyensya at teknolohiya sa kung kasalukuyang kalagayan ng klima ng buong mundo o kaya ng Pilipinas.

INCEPTION

I was very much engrossed in this film that n fact, I even asked one of my group mates for a copy of this film. It is such a bizarre and interesting idea to think that someone can penetrate another’s subconscious through dreams and to steal or plant ideas through a very systematic process.

I remember the other documentary about dreams saying that dreaming is just another state of consciousness. After watching inception, I am starting to accept that people can still be productive in their sleep, particularly in their dream although maybe not so exactly like in the movie.

The problem with the dream is that although it is considered as another state of consciousness, it is still far from reality. Being productive in the dream is enhancing whatever we can enhance in our minds; it is a theoretical, conceptual exercise that people experience. It may even involve emotional elements. But whatever idea, thought, concept or decision that we may have created in our dreams still needs to be executed in reality for them to be actually real or concrete. But taking dreams as if they are reality or treating reality as if it is just a dream is what can make it problematic, take Mal for example. It is just so difficult to mess up with our minds. The mind can prompt us to create or destruct, even our own lives.

Despite the mystery and the potentials of unraveling these mysteries about dreams, I still do not know if I am ready to witness or even accept it. Inception is amazing, interesting and scary and threatening to our most private room or world.