Simone Martine Marie Q. Dimalibot

Simone Martine Marie Q. Dimalibot                                                                                   May 11, 2014

2012-61190                                                                        Reaction Paper – The Life of Mammals

Monkey Business

            When someone calls another person a “monkey”, it is considered as an insult. Maybe it’s because we see them as not so beautiful creatures compared to other animals that we encounter. Maybe it’s because we are already accustomed to looking at them as lower versions of humans. Nonetheless, we fail to see the wonder monkeys bring into this world.

            “The Life of Mammals” showed its viewers a peek on the lives of different kinds of monkeys. There was a kind of monkeys that recognized seniority through their face colors, and there was another that helped each other when predators were near. Each kind of monkeys also had different ways of getting food, nonetheless all these methods proved to be effective. The two documentaries showed how they survived through their way of life, resourcefulness, intelligence, and their instinct to protect each other. Their different lifestyles were very interesting to watch since they are similar to how humans around the world have different cultures as well.

            Though it is evident that humans are more advanced in terms of knowledge and technology, we lack values that may help in making our society a better one. Monkeys have the ability to catch up to human intellect and it shows how much potential they have as a kind of species. They try to learn what we now know, and hopefully we also learn something from them. It is hard to admit that we can adapt something from the monkeys, but the way they unite for each other’s welfare is something that we humans need to imitate. We tend to disregard each other and use our abilities selfishly. The resourcefulness of the monkeys is also something that we can get from them. The earth is abundant in natural resources but it is obvious that do not use them wisely, leading to poverty and low quality of life.

            As David Attenborough mentioned in his closing speech for “Food for Thought”, instead of us controlling the environment for our benefit, maybe it’s time that we should change ourselves in order for the environment to benefit. It’s amazing how this kind of message is shown to us through taking a look at our mammal friends’ lives.

Simone Martine Marie Q. Dimalibot                                                                                   May 11, 2014

2012-61190                                                                               Reaction Paper – A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Life

            There’s a certain kind of pressure put into your shoulders when people know how smart you are. They expect you to be all-knowing and almost never to make mistakes. People ask you lots of questions, and demand answers as soon as they end their inquiries.

            “A Beautiful Mind” showed an interesting side of being an intelligent person. The film narrated the life of mathematician John Nash, who won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for the game theory. The pressure he created himself let his life become centered on making an impact in society through contributing breakthrough knowledge in society. People acknowledged his genius, but failed to see that he had a bigger problem to solve within himself.

            Nash is apparently hallucinating and has created three people in his life that had a big impact in his life, but nonetheless are products of his imagination. Alicia, as the girl who vowed to be by his side through thick and thin, was the one who noticed his strange behaviour and made a move to help her husband. She never gave up on him, even if there was a time that he didn’t want to help himself anymore. Eventually, the solution to the problem was thought of by Nash himself despite disobeying orders from the psychiatric center, yet Alicia still agreed to support the decision and continue to be with him for the rest of her days.

            Life brings us to circumstances that we think we can get through on our own because we see ourselves as very capable individuals. We do not acknowledge the fact that our weaknesses exist and can be the cause of a temporary downfall. The people we love are the ones who help us get back up and are there for us no matter what kind of people we become. It is not our ability to become great that makes our life beautiful, but others’ ability to love us for who we are.