Reaction Papers

Carl Anthony M. Abrenica
2010-11097

Sir Juned Sonido STS X2 

Reaction Paper on “A Beautiful Mind”

            Many people say that one should focus on the ability and not the disability.  This has been a cliché statement for many years now, but being on the situation itself is different.  What if you wanted to be a famous singer whilst experiencing dysphonia?  What if you wanted to be a famous boxer while experiencing early symptoms of punch-drunk syndrome?  What if your disability directly hinders you to use your ability at its finest? It is relatively easier to reach one’s desires if your disability is focused on other part of your body while your ability is on another.  But this is not the case for John Nash, the protagonist of the movie A Beautiful Mind.

            The movie focused on how John Nash was struggling to find his unique idea that would define himself.  Along the duration of looking for the said idea, which encloses his university and early marriage life, the obsession slowly takes over his mind which consequently made his life fall apart.  He started abandoning his duty as a professor, alienating himself from his friends and colleagues, and starting the so-called top secret job of decoding messages for a federal agency.  Of course, this wouldn’t be unnoticed for such a long time.  He was eventually taken to a hospital for a forced Schizophrenia medication and to guide him in accepting his condition.

            As the movie draws to a close, one would know that it would end in a happy ending, as most movies do.  He was able to contain his sickness and learned to live with it.  Eventually, Nash won his Nobel Prize which he dedicated to his greatest discovery, his wife.  “The Nobel Prize winner John Forbes Nash Jr. still teaches at Princeton, and walks to campus every day”, these words brought forth a heavier impact which lingered until the closing credits of the movie.

 
Carl Anthony M. Abrenica
2010-11097
Sir Juned Sonido STS X2

Reaction Paper on “Life of Mammals”

            Monkeys, according to genetic studies, are one of the closest relatives of the human race.  It is surprising how millions of years of evolution takes place and gives difference to how we adapt to our surroundings by means of natural selection (Charles Darwin, 1859).  The movie-documentary Social Climbers showed how different species of monkeys live their everyday lives.  These creatures have developed a number of much needed abilities such as acute vision, intelligence, and the ability to isolate useful from non-useful objects such as plants that serve as mosquito repellants.  Monkeys, as an individual, cannot do much and this is the reason why they form groups.  These groups find places with abundant source of food and protect this territory as long as the supply can support their population.  Having a territory doesn’t necessarily mean that one would assume that it would always be safe.  Due to this, monkeys use their abilities to protect their territory and consequently, they are also able to create a system of their own in which they would be able to use their abilities to its full potential not just as an individual but also as an organized group.  Different species of monkey acquire food mostly by just picking out leaves and fruits from trees but others are able to find clams and crack them open by pounding the clam on a tree.  As they continue living in this cycle, they are also able to socialize with one another.

            As you watch Food for Thought and the previous movie-documentary consecutively, you are able to see the main reason as to why all animals, especially monkeys and humans, continually develop different abilities –to survive.  For survival, one would need to find a place in which there is ample supply of food for a certain group of people.  This was the main hindrance as to why the human population was not growing before.  This is when we took a step away from being monkeys and become the most successful of all mammal, we started to manipulate and control our environment, then transforming it for us to be able to domesticate plants and animals that would serve as our food source.  We were able to increase the food supply way beyond its natural occurrence.  As of the present, through the use of science and technology, we continue to develop a more efficient way of producing our food and ensuring the survival of our kind.  And as the movie-documentary reaches its end, it looks back to a Mayan ruin to trace the rise and fall of a human civilization. It left an impression that if we focus on a single problem and leave the others unanswered, we would someday reach the same fate.

Carl Anthony M. Abrenica
2010-11097

Sir Juned Sonido STS X2

Reaction Paper on Future of Media Forum 2013

            When it comes to human communication, media is not just one of its most versatile and fast-evolving form but also one with the widest coverage.  The Future of Media Forum was attended by big names in the media industry such as Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan, Jim Paredes, and Maria Ressa, and many more.  On the Politics and Social Advocacy Track, it was pointed out that one should have his/her own advocacy and be comfortable with the word Revolution.  Once you have your own advocacy, you should stand by it and not be fickle.  The difference between being popular and being influential through social media was also clearly defined, and to simply put it, being popular only means that a lot of people know you but being influential means that you are able to significantly affect how people think and persuade how they would act.  Social media, being how influential it is today, is at its most meaningful when we use it to help those with no access to it.  Lastly, each and every one of us is capable of being a leader.  And to be a leader, you must choose to serve and be ready to place yourself on the frontline, not just safely commanding your people from behind the scenes.

            For the Technology Track, they focused on discussing the advances of technology when it comes to media.  As we are advancing in technology, Art Samaniego Jr. stated that “Newspaper is in trouble but news itself isn’t”. It was explained that as while social media (new media) will serve as the source of the news the newspaper companies (old media) would not die out due to the fact that they will be the ones to explain further what really is happening since news via social media doesn’t necessarily have the complete story with it and sometimes, the news itself is a hoax.

            For the Lifestyle Track, the main topic was that a lot of people are having too much online life that they should go away from it from time to time.  One must not use the internet as a cover for false facts about yourself and you should have the same personality should it be online or offline.  As for the events in your life, one should feel the moment and don’t put everything online.

            As for the Digital Marketing Track, they explained the know-hows of different advertisements techniques.  They explained the pros and cons of prioritizing quality over quantity of the audience, and vice versa.  And as a final remark, Carlo Ople stated that “the brand that looks good naked are the ones that look good in social media”.  These brands are the ones that can survive black propagandas single-handedly.

Lorenz Aliwalas
2011-18065
Sir Juned Sonido STS X2

Reaction Paper on “A Beautiful Mind”

As the title states, the mind is indeed beautiful and is creatively depicted in this award winning movie. The story revolves around a famous mathematician and Nobel Prize awardee, John Nash, who suffers a mental disorder called “schizophrenia”. The movie starts out by introducing John Nash as a strange yet intellectual student, uninfluenced by the works of others and eager to prove himself by solving problems or formulating theories no one else could. Supported by his roommate, Charles, he was able to revolutionize economic thinking by coming up with one of his major works, Equilibrium. He soon becomes a well-known professor with another secret job which was to decode paper publications to retrieve information of suspected Russian terrorist activity in the United States. Despite his busy life, John manages to fall in love and eventually marry one of his students named Alicia. Things seem to be going well for the couple, until it was revealed that John had a mental disorder and part of his reality was just his imagination. John undergoes therapy and slowly recovers but the problem resurfaces, although this time, John discovers by himself that he is hallucinating. The story ends by showing John’s success academically by winning the Nobel Prize and showing John’s full ability to cope with his mental sickness.

Undoubtedly, John Nash was a genius. Not solely for the reason that he was a mathematical expert who was able to formulate his own ideas and concepts, but because of his ability to use his mind in ways most people cannot. John Nash was able to fill in different aspects of his life that it seemed he wanted. He was able to imagine Charles, to satisfy his desire of having a real friend that would support him until he grows old. He was able to imagine Parcher, to satisfy his desire of achieving something ground-breaking. He was able to use these people to guide and shape how he lived in real life, which may be in a positive or negative way. Nevertheless, this emphasizes the huge capability of the mind to create which is a crucial factor in the development of modern science and technology.

Our minds are truly fascinating, since they are so complex that even we cannot fully comprehend our own. The ability to solve problems, to come up with an idea and to reflect on information are just a few of the daily processes our minds undergo, but with a mind so beautiful, why stop there? Limitless possibilities are still waiting for each and every one of us and all we need to do is use our beautiful minds.

Lorenz Aliwalas
2011-18065
Sir Juned Sonido STS X2

Reaction Paper on Bird Watching

Birds constitute a major part of our ecosystem, although this fact is overlooked by most people as birds are just treated as winged animals that make chirping noises found almost everywhere. The talk by Prof. Benjamin Vallejo certainly helped us develop a deeper appreciation for birds, discussing their importance and implications in our society.

Most of us did not know how diverse and abundant the bird species are here in UP Diliman. The campus is said to host around 50 different species of birds since it is a relatively “greener” environment than most areas here in Metro Manila. Some of those birds are residents who stay all year round while others are just migrants who stopover in the Philippines before continuing to other countries. Birding is a viable hobby since birds are also very diverse when it comes to physical features. From the small but colourful kingfishers to the big and majestic egrets, it is no wonder why many professional photographers come to visit UP and take awesome shots of the birds which may be seen. Birding may also serve as a lucrative business opportunity for these professional photographers but again it requires experience over time. Although birding may seem to be tiring and requires a lot of patience and knowledge (as experienced in the brief birding activity), the mere glimpse of a rare bird species is enough to make you say that it is indeed worth it.

Birds are not completely for leisurely activities such as bird watching, but they are also important scientifically. Research papers have been done on bird species diversity and it is concluded that the number of birds in an area is direct indicator of that area’s biodiversity (includes all animals). Prof. Vallejo is one of the contributors of a scientific study done here in UP DIliman which involves the continuous surveying of the diversity and abundance of the bird species found in pre-determined areas around the campus. He discussed the proper methods and tools needed if such a big of a serious study was to be made. It requires patience, skill, knowledge and motivation to be able to gather, analyse and finalize data, as compared to our brief activity on that day. The task was to cover 25 hectares in 20 minutes by fast walking in a random path while identifying every single bird spotted along the way. It seems simple as compared to the methodologies in the research paper but it really is not. It emphasizes the hardwork that goes into ever kind of research and qualities that every scientist must possess.

In the end, the activity and the discussion helped me develop a better understanding of the scientific process as a whole and I would definitely try birding again after I have some basic knowledge on the subject and if provided with proper and better circumstances.