Jonathan Rod S. De Guzman
2011-41117
STS X2 Group 5 Mai-team
Reaction Paper on Life of Mammals: Social Climbers and Food for Thought
2011-41117
STS X2 Group 5 Mai-team
Reaction Paper on Life of Mammals: Social Climbers and Food for Thought
The documentaries, Social Climbers and Food for Thought,
showed many of the similarities of the human race with, according to science
and evolutionary biology in particular, our closest relatives, the apes. The
first video showed that apes, like humans, are also very social in nature and
that they have unique characteristics individually which can define their
connections and social standing and, ultimately, their chances of survival and
their mortal longevity. It may also give a glimpse of what the primal ‘human’
society looks like—just like in the pre-modern societies of the human race and,
to a certain extent, in present times, patriarchy is also the ruling social
order. The apes, particularly those who mingle in large social groups, live
under a despotic form of leadership wherein the alpha male, usually the
biggest, the strongest, and, sometimes, the most ‘beautiful’ male, acts as the
despot and exercise full power and authority over the group.
On the other hand, the second video showed a
sort of Marxist materialistic take on how apes live and survive—material
conditions define how individuals live and act. The second video showed a very
good example of how living things adapt in order to survive. One thing I found
particularly surprising was the idea that apes could also be omnivores. Since
the baboons were living on flatlands, they needed to find a new food source and
that food source happened to be flamingos. It, in all probability, is a point
for my ignorance but still it is a foreign thought for me that apes could eat
animal flesh. The second documentary also refreshed the lesson on the Mayan
civilization, particularly environmental breakdown that led to the fall of
Tikal and eventually the whole Mayan civilization.
The past is not necessarily a blueprint of
what’s to come—in fact the past could better serve as a reminder of humanity’s
past mistakes which we in the present could learn from. The flourishing human
race could avoid the faith of the Maya should it open its eyes to the signs of
deterioration and should it listen to the cries of Mother Nature. Mr
Attenborough could not have put it more aptly:
Perhaps the time has now come to put that
process into reverse. 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. (David Attenborough)
TRINIDAD, Jonathan T.
2010-04313
#FutureMediaPH
Reaction on The Future of Media – Politics/Social
Advocacy Track
The Future
of Media is a series of forum on politics and social advocacy,
technology, lifestyle, and digital marketing featuring a panel of different
iconic personalities for each track of the conference. The one we attended
discussed how the current technology and media is used in promoting causes and
its impacts on the organizations and the community as a whole.
Throughout the discussion, it has been established that
the presence of new media with its wide reach, real-time updates and
accessibility, it can be considered to be a very powerful tool for promoting
causes and informing people. It has become an avenue for some issues and topics
that are underexposed by the “mainstream” media (e.g. TV, radio, newspaper,
etc.). With the internet and the multiple social networking sites, we can let
more people be informed and be aware with these issues for them to get
involved. However, with this great amount of power comes great responsibility.
Ideas and details that can be found in the internet is not always correct and
reliable. Not all people use the power of connecting and reaching others for
good; there are instances wherein false information, hoaxes, and scams are made.
It is our responsibility as users of this technology to verify and make sure
that what we share to others and what we support is true and is for the greater
good.
New media has become a part of our daily life and has
become a part of how we interact with the society. It is a powerful tool for
communication and spreading information. It could be used to spark change for
the better and make us better citizens of our nation. One of the most moving
statements made during the discussion was made by Ms. Mae Paner: “be
comfortable with the word ‘revolution’”. We must not be afraid of change, we
must rise up to the challenge of whatever we think is for the greater good.
TRINIDAD, Jonathan T.
2010-04313
The Life of
Mammals
Reaction on The Life of Mammals: Social Climbers and
Food for Thought
The Life
of Mammals is a series of documentaries discussing various behaviors of
mammals. For the class, we watched two episodes – Social Climbers and Food for
Thought. Both episodes featured primates’ way of living.
In Social
Climbers, it showed how different monkeys interact with each other for
survival. It was remarked that they are the most social animals around. Not
only that they live in groups, they do a lot of activities together. Another
awesome thing is that there are monkeys that exhibit interspecies cooperation.
Most activities featured involved food. They showed food and material sharing
and gathering among the group. Another cooperative activity featured was for
defense against predators, some team up to create a loud noise to fool their
predator and some team up with other species in order to create a strategic
warning system. They also featured a species where they group up to defend
their tree against another group of the same species. The episode also noted
the presence of hierarchy and social order among some species. The social
ranking plays a very crucial role in mating the females of the group. Some
monkeys can climb up the social ladder through social activities such as
grooming and speech while others through battle.
In Food for
Thought, it featured some of the ways mammals gather food and how they
adapt through time. This episode featured the use of tools, migration, and
more. It showed how we evolved in order to survive. It also showed the
advantages of bipedalism and what circumstances pushed them to evolve that way.
Overall, Social
Climbers highlighted brain size while Food
for Thought highlighted bipedalism. The documentary related brain size to
how large our social group can have. They said that brain size is proportional
to how large our group can be and Mr. Sonido also shared a supplementary
thought that for humans, we can have up to 150 real and meaningful connections.
As for bipedalism, it showed that it is the more efficient than moving with
four legs and it allows us to use tools. The documentary shows how even though
these characteristics may be considered minor, it has a very large impact on
how we live today. It allowed us to advance and evolve to where we are today.
However, due to advancements, it was also shown how it negatively affected our
environment. The host’s parting words struck me as he said that we should also
work not only for our own survival but also for the survival of the
environment. And this I think is the most important idea we can take away from
watching the documentary.
TRINIDAD, Jonathan T.
2010-04313
John Nash
and his best friend
Reaction on A Beautiful Mind
A
Beautiful Mind is biographical film based on the life of John Nash –
a mathematician and a Nobel Prize awardee for Economics. The film featured his
university life as a student and teacher and also his life as a husband and
father. It also showed his struggle with schizophrenia and how it affected the
people around him.
Schizophrenia is a condition wherein the person sees
delusions. John Nash was diagnosed with this disorder. According to the film,
he imagined he had a roommate and a best friend during his time as a student at
the university. And through the years, we also thought he was working with the
government in decoding stuff. He was diagnosed long after he experienced these
events and these distorted his perception of reality. Even though these were
just delusions, it didn’t really became a burden to his scientific career until
he thought that his life is threatened. It was deduced that these images
manifest when he is stressed, his imagine best friend became his safe haven but
the secret agent delusion became problematic for him and his family. Because of
this, we has given medication to suppress these thoughts, however the
medication also altered his way of thinking in terms of mathematics and problem
solving. In the end, he decided not to take in the medication in order to
return to his true passion in life which is mathematics and problem solving and
continue life trying to learn how to suppress his delusions in which in the
end, he ultimately learned how to ignore them and live a normal life. As he
learned how to ignore these delusions, he continued his research and his life
in the academe.
In the film, it showed how remarkable Nash’s way of
thinking is. It was very awesome to see him solve problems mathematically and
how great his pattern recognition is. His struggle coming up with a thesis
topic and seeing that the main idea for this was because of a girl was
entertaining. The film showed how great of a person John Nash is; being a very
talented mathematician and being a “survivor” of schizophrenia. His passion for
the pursuit of knowledge is very inspiring, he would rather live a life with a
very complicated delusions and distractions than a “normal” life free of these
complications. In the film, his enthusiasm and curiosity for problem solving
and pattern recognition even on some trivial matters (like the pigeon) is also
really something people must emulate from his life. We should live curious and
never stop learning.
IGNACIO, Cara Isabela D. STS-X2
2013-13841 Group
5
Reaction Paper: Dreams
The producers of Inception
created a documentary film on dreams. It reveals the meaning, interpretation,
and nature of dreams. This paper aims to discuss the things I’ve learned from
the documentary. Also, it will include my understanding of the documentary.
A dream, according to the
Merriam Webster dictionary, is “a series of thoughts, visions, or feelings that
happen during sleep.” The mind operates unconsciously while a person is
dreaming.
Let me discuss sleep. There
are 3 stages of sleep: light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. Dreaming occurs
during the called Rapid-Eye Movement, or REM, sleep. A dream may happen in
other stages of sleep but it is more vivid during the REM stage. This is
because REM sleep is the stage wherein brain activity is high, as if an
individual is awake.
People have been wondering
whether dreams are scientific or existential. Some say it is either while
others say it is both. In my opinion, it is both scientific and existential.
Dreams are considered existential because a person uses his creativity and
imagination in order to dream. Emotions, memories, feelings, personal
experiences, and so much more, are some of the factors that may affect
dreaming. It may be considered a science, on the other hand, because science
studies dreams. It explains to us how our mind works. Dreaming is not purely
science because while someone dreams, he does not use logic. In other words,
dreaming is both existential and scientific.
Dreaming is truly wonderful.
It may give meaning to some aspects in our lives. For example, in the
documentary, there was this girl who would always see the shadow of a man.
Slowly the man approached her then he hugged her. A week later, she met a guy
and felt the exact way she did in her dream. Another man in the film was a
chain smoker. One night he dreamt about getting lung cancer and this became his
wake up call to stop smoking.
Dreams prepare us for the
worst case scenarios. It is a defense mechanism that helps us practice what to
do when in danger, without really being in danger. Dreams allow us to enter
dangerous situations in order to be prepared when it happens to us in the real
world.
Lucid dreaming is when a
person is aware that he is dreaming. This type of dreaming happens when one
takes control over his dreams, but it takes a lot of practice. Lucid dreams are
very vivid and realistic. Most people remember it easily.
In summary, dreams are truly
amazing. First, dreams can give meaning to things in our lives. Second, it may
be controlled. Dreams may be affected by external factors when one is asleep.
It can also be affected by the dreamer himself. Third, people share dreams.
This connects us with people around the world. We may have the same dreams,
without knowing each other. Also, dreams serve as our defense mechanism by
putting us in worst case scenarios. These are just some of the wonders of
dreaming. It is only the tip of the iceberg.
IGNACIO, Cara Isabela D. STS-X2
2013-13841 Group
5
Reaction Paper: The Life of Mammals
The documentary film we
watched in class was entitled The Life of Mammals. The film introduced to us
the numerous types of monkeys, how they lived, and how they interacted. It was
very interesting because it showed the countless similarities we, human beings,
have with monkeys.
One of the things I learned
from the film is that monkeys have the richest social lives of all animals. Not
only that but, they too are the closest to us humans.
Monkeys have amazing color
vision. Without this, they would have a hard time distinguishing the things
they would eat. Their color vision compensates for their average sense of
smell. The Pygmy Marmosets, the
smallest monkeys in the world, use their clear color vision to catch insects
among the leaves. This helps them detect and even catch their prey. Howler monkeys, on the other hand, use
this to distinguish which leaves are poisonous. The color of the leaves
indicate which is ready to eat and this is why the howler monkeys need this
special ability.
Like humans, monkeys too have
a caste system. The Saki, for
example, use the different colors on their faces to determine the seniority of
an individual. The Toque Macaques of
Sri Lanka have another version of a caste system, more similar to ours. They
are born into classes and each class gets certain benefits.
Monkeys are very smart. They
have large brains. They can learn things by imitating people. The Orangutans are known for this. They have
big brains, can imitate people, and can use tools. Orangutans have a sort of
mental map and calendar. They live apart due to food scarcity but once a year,
there is an abundance of food in the forest, and they know when that is.
Orangutans are very sociable and they have an amazing memory. They can
recognize their friends even after several years apart.
Chimpanzees are highly
sociable and highly political. After catching a prey, they share it very
strategically with their clan. They give food to the monkeys that can become
their allies. This just shows how clever they are.
“Perhaps the time has now come to
put that process into reverse. 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." – David Attenborough
David Attenborough ended the
documentary film with this statement: “Perhaps
the time has now come to put that process into reverse.” Human beings are too
focused on change and development. We create the most outrageous inventions in
order to make life easier for us. We have been blinded by the wonders of
technology that we can’t see the main issue at hand. We do not need advance
machines and equipment for us to survive, what we need is to take care of our
environment.
Our world
is damaged and global warming is getting worse. If we continue neglecting our
planet, we may lose our home. Everyone must act now and help out the
environment. Even the little things, like planting a tree or turning of the
lights, can contribute to a better tomorrow.
To
summarize this paper, I invite everyone to do their part in saving our planet.
Prevention is always better than cure. We should act now so that we will have a
home to live in tomorrow.
Ladublan Julius Ceazar M.
2012 25 211
STS 9am-11am
Birding(bird
watching)
Bird watching in U.P Campus has created the campus to
Public tourist. There are different species of birds around the campus. Bird
watchers took pictures of these birds. Early morning these bird watchers record
these birds, habitats and traits. These watchers walk for about 20 minutes in
random places around a designated hectares. Every birds they see they try to
record and Identify them. Every day for 1 year they always record these birds.
U.P campus has different species of Birds around. Most of them are often see
early in the morning. Watchers go for walk early morning to take pictures of
these birds. But these pictures can’t be sold or use for advertisement, unless
they would give part to U.P.
In order to preserve this birds we should take care of
their environtment. We should plant trees and avoid cutting them down. We
should take care of these bird so that they remain in within the visibility of
U.P campus. Through these we can gain more publicity and to encourage people to
know that we have these breed of birds.
Bird watching is hard to do. In birding you have to
devote your time to do these everyday for consistent record. You also need to
be quite in order to see these birds. While walking you don’t want to distract
the birds so they won’t fly away. Recording can help you to determine their
differences. You also have to look closely and focus to these differences.
Bird live along side us. Our society affects their
society. Our environment is their home.
Birds often work early so these watchers should also work early.
As the time goes by climate change, trees are running
dry, in order to preserve these birds we must maintain their homes. We should
water and grow trees more. Buildings and renovation takes place, soon trees are
gone if we will not preserve this.
We are the only campus which has this different society
of birds. So we should be proud and protect these for the next generations to see.
Ladublan, Julius Ceazar M
2012 25 211
STS 9am-11am
Beatiful Mind
The
movie was so interesting. I was amazed how John Nash’s minds work. The first
part I enjoyed specially the first scene where he decodes the patterns in
another man necktie. The movie tackles how his mind works. I never thought the
he would create that Dillussion. It seems to be Reality. John nash’s mind is
amazing, he can create another personas and make them real. John nash tried to
think and solve life through equations which lead his mind to not function.
The
movie shows how Great our mind work, we may never know what can we create. The
movie also shows how to determine what is reality from not. Excessive use of
mind may lead to stress. Eyes and brains can’t see what is true from not but heart can. In life
we can always choose to do whatever we want. It is us what truths and false
we’ll accept in life. Socializing with people can help our minds to be stress.
It also helps us create possibilities of seeing what beautiful mind can do.
The movie beautiful mind is an
inspirational movie on how can we define our minds.
Julius Ceazar M Ladublan reaction
paper
STS 9-11
“Social
Climber”
Monkeys tend to work in a group. The group are composed
by size and family. The create their
territories. The gathered food in groups to avoid Predetors, these mammals have
created society which everyone has its own function in their group/society.
These mammals have developed brains through repeated action and pattern of
their daily living. Each members help each other. These mammals are closely
related to us. They need to eat in order to survive. And they need to defend
their selves from other Group, and predator. These mammals also know how to
Groom, and make their population large. They use their sound to alert each one
in the group to be safe. The use their abilities to climb trees and gather
their food. Each of these mammals have different roles and abilities which they
have in order to live.
“Food for
Thought”
As Mammals they need to eat in order to live. Their
abilities improve as time goes by. The learn to create ways in order to get
food. they learn to create materials using their environtment. As the time Goes
by the food in which they are gathering are not enough to sustain their
society/Group. They move from one place to another. They have learned to cross
the water using their feet. They are now begin to learn by walking with feet.
Their brains expands as they learn new things from gathering information and
seeing what others do. These is related to our ethnic tribes which pass their
culture orally and through actions like dancing and rituals.
the evolution of the world started from experimenting and
creating possibilities to create and learn new things. Now we have technology
to produce our own need such as need in food. we have now created plantations
using technology. And it is in our
nature to explore and expand our society.
Therese Jueves
2013-78725
STS Group 5: Custer Deocaris
It was a great privilege to have met one of the
considered brilliant scientists in our society. During his visit in the
university as our resource speaker in STS class-- I listened intently to his
stories and I must say that I was somehow influenced to be like him someday in
some ways. He is none other than Dr. Custer Deocaris. Mr. Deocaris was able to attain
a doctorate degree in Chemistry and Biotechnology. As a young child, he has
already shown a preview of what life has in stored for him, at a young age he
showed his far advanced thinking skills and love for science. In his first year
in high school, he started reading Engineering books and even had a complete
collection of planets in his room. His toys were different from the common, he
enjoyed playing the microscope, and the reason behind this was that every summer his father would
buy gifts that were related to science. During his high school years, he solely
focused on academics only because of the scholarship he was part of, but when
college came, his life changed.
When Dr. Custer Deocrasis entered the University of the
Philippines, he felt more “humane” because he was able to exposed his life in
different areas which did not only involved academics. He became active in his
various organizations and other extra curricular activities. One cool fact
about him is that he is not just your ordinary- nerd type of a guy but he also
shared that he enrolled himself into speech and drama courses, and was into
writing poems. I must say that he is a well-rounded person. Due to his sheer
love for science he was able to go to places and even given a chance to study
abroad at Tokyo University.
I admire how passionate and brilliant he is because he
was able to put into a good use his brilliance and smart ideas. He mentioned
that there is not much money in the world of a scientist but even though he
still gives so much effort in that field. I believe we need more of like him in
our present society. He is not only a man of great ideas, and a brilliant mind
but also a man of action, and an agent of change.
Therese Jueves
2013-78725
STS Group 5: Life of Mammals
David
Attenborough, an English broadcaster wrote and presented a nature documentary
film called, “Life of Mammals” The documentary had various presentation on mammals
and two of this are the monkeys and apes. The first part was the “Social
Climbers” which focused on monkeys, Attenborough mentioned how monkeys were
very similar to humans-- monkeys are also considered to be “smart” (compared to
other animals, determined), observant and patient. An example from the documentary was that, monkeys
showed perseverance in opening the nuts, they tried smashing the nuts on the
branches, even biting it and doing almost anything just to open it. I also learned that they have their own social
event activity wherein they put the insect repellant leaves on their body. The
documentary showed their way of life, not just in hunting for food, building
with relationships with others but also the sense of hierarchy also exists in
their nature. One interesting fact about them too is they are very well
connected with each other, they recognize voices/ signal from their fellow
monkeys in case there is a possible predator around them.
I really enjoyed watching
this documentary because I was more enlightened how monkeys and apes are
similar to us, humans. One thing that really caught my attention was how the
baboons form their friendships with one another, they help each other groom and
by looking after each other’s babies. It reflects how we humans also maintain
friendships with other people (except the grooming part.)
Jeanne Macalalad
STS Group 5
A Bautiful Mind
As a student in the field of science
the movie A Beautiful Mind is a relevant movie for me. Showing the life of a
great scientist, John Nash, I was really motivated to do my best in my field. I
like how the movie was made; I was really caught in the moment, carried away in
each scene. We have seen his life not only as a scientist but also as a
survivor, a fighter of his sickness. We knew from the movie that he had
Schizophrenia, and we know that having such illness is not an easy thing from
the treatments to the things you can experience because of it. We have seen so
much of his struggles and we saw that there are so much beautiful things, positive
things that can help us conquer our hardships in life.
As a student, with no illness like
John Nash, I can say that I am not as strong as him. The degree of difficulty I
am experiencing is nothing compared to what he has been through but I am still
helpless in times I think I am experiencing failure. I complain most of the
times I am not in a good situation when in fact I should be thinking positively
making ways of how I can fix my problems. Although I am not a pessimist there
are still times I experience stress and all I want is just to breakdown. Among
my friends I can say that I am the most optimistic and after watching the film
I can say that I want to keep this attitude and maybe be more optimistic than
ever, so I can become a better person every day. I also can’t deny that I was
touched with how his wife bears with him, showing how truly she loves him. Like
him I want to find a person who will never give up on me and will just fill up
all that I am lacking. Like John Nash I
will work hard for my goals, ignore distractions, conquer whatever comes my way
and just stand back up when life knocks me down.
Jeanne
Macalalad
STS
Group 5
Life of Mammals
The moment I saw the title “Social Climbers”, I don’t
know why but it kind of was funny to me, maybe because I took it literally
without having to see the documentary first. Watching the documentary I have
observed so much about how monkeys live. Like humans we can see that they live
in a society. We saw how different species interact with each other, how some
are superior to the other, and how some chose to stay up in the trees while
others take risks in the life spent on land. We also watched the next episode
of the series which is entitled “Food for Thought”. This wasn’t far from the
previous episode because in this we saw how apes are different from us. Also at
the end part of this episode a lesson can be picked up about the realtion of
the human population with the fate of our world.
In both episodes we saw how they
acquire skills from us to be able to survive. But what I admire most in them is
that even though competition can be seen, most of them still choose to help
each other to be able to let most survive. People also help each other in times
of need and I think it would be better if not only a few knows how to extend
their hands to those in need. Power is another issue shown in the documentary.
Humans even though we have the ability to think logically still choose to abuse
power which is very evident in our society. I think that being the smartest
creatures made we should not take chances on showing how superior we are even
to our own kind. We should all be treated equally because we are of the same
kind.
The last point I want to give
emphasis to was mentioned in the last part of the Food for Thought episode
which mentioned things about how we should control population or at least the
use of resources for the safety of our environment. I am sensitive when it
comes to topics about the world we live in and I was struck with the message, I
think that we should take full responsibility with our world and take more care
of it to ensure if not a better place to live in at least a decent one not only
for us but for the future generation.
ANTONIO, Louise Sigrid C.
2011 - 48992
REACTION PAPER ON THE
"LIFE OF MAMMALS: THE SOCIAL CLIMBERS"
David Attenborough discussed several
interesting facts about monkeys and about the traits and characteristics of
several of their kind in his documentary. Every specie of monkey has its
desirable traits. Every monkey is equipped with their specific talents for
their survival in the forest. I have learned a lot from the documentary. I have
learned a lot from the activity, one thing I have learned is how interesting
monkeys really are. Monkeys are fascinating creatures. They know how to survive
and to adapt to their environment. Some monkeys like the one shown in the first
part of the documentary had already discovered a way to get through the shell
of the clams. They hit the clams in the trees so that it would relax and later
on the shell will open. Athough it takes time for monkeys to acquire this skill
I am very amazed that they have formed a solution to open the clam. Other monkeys display their intelligence and
skills on finding food for themselves as well as in getting it also. The
smallest monkey as discussed by Mr. David Attenborough in the video
has this amazing speed that
enables it to catch small insects without that much effort. Also, their nails
were specifically designed to make them grasp branches and for them not to fall
of. Their small size makes them an easy prey for a lot so they live at the top
most branches of the trees to stay away from those wanting to eat them. Another
kind of monkeys are able to distinguish the colors of the leaves. With this skill
they can ignore the leaves which are poisonous and not edible yet. Monkeys have
a lot of traits similar to humans. Like humans, monkeys adapt well to their
environment. An example of
this is the scene where Mr. David Attenborough showed a dummy of a tiger and
the monkeys started making sounds. This sounds are warning signals for all of
the monkeys to stay out of the tigers way. They work in teams. Each sound they
make is distinct to every threat that comes. Both humans and monkeys also have
their social classes among themselves. They also have this inequality going on
in their groups. Monkeys who are in the higher class comes with the benefit of
being royalty while the ones at the foot of the pyramid is pitiful. Monkeys
from the upper class can get food directly from the mouth of the other monkey
in the lower class even though the monkey refuses. Also, upper class male
monkeys always chooses first who he mates with. In order for the monkeys
included in the lower class to mate, they still need to hide.
ANTONIO, Louise Sigrid C.
2011 - 48992
REACTION PAPER ON THE MOVIE
"A BEAUTIFUL MIND"
At first I was not that interesed in the
movie. I was not able to follow the storyline. But then when it came to the end
when it was revealed that John Nash is suffering from Schizophrenia, I
understood the story already and gained interest in watching it. I saw that
people suffering with Schizophrenia before was very unfortunate because of the
treatment they undergo. Medicines that are more patient-friendly had not been
introduced yet. The film has a very good message to the viewers attitute
towards schizophrenic people and to the world itself. It exposes the audiences
to the world of the people who suffers from schizophrenia. The movie helps
people accept and know more about people who has this kind of mental illness.
"A Beautiful Mind" shows the ordinary people the right way on how to
deal
with people who experiences
schizoprenia. With the help of the people and the loved ones of the person with
the disability, the patient can overcome anything. Upon watching this film,
people may realize that it is truly the "ability not the disability".
Even though people have disabilities they could still contribute something big
and something great to this world. Same
goes for the people who have schitzophrenia and other illnesses, the movie
serves as an inspiration for them. John Nash serves as an inspiration for the
people who suffers from their own diseases. They can still do something about
their condition. They should never lose
hope, they should continue
life and enjoy it to the fullest.
ANTONIO, Louise Sigrid C.
2011 - 48992
REACTION PAPER ON BIRDING
I had no idea there were so much bird species
in the campus. The only bird I see around everytime are the Mayas. Mayas are
the only one I can distinguish, except for the parrots the eagle and the other
well-known birds we see in the parks. For one thing, I do not have that of a
strong interest in birds. Second, the only bird I can see everyday are the
Mayas and the eagle printed on my ID.
The bird watching activity
the class made was a real challenge. Birds are very sensitive animals. They are
very distant creatures. It's either they are out of our line of sight or they
are too quick in flying away whenever people comes or we were just too loud and
we were so good at scaring them away.
I thought I was very
fortunate that day because I was bringing along my camera and I had the chance
to take pictures of these cute little creatures. Unfortunately for me, I was
too good of a scarecrow. Only the Mayas were not afraid. There were scarcity of
birds other than the Mayas during the activity. The closest thing the group got
to interesting is the nest we saw at the top of the tree, but unfortunately the
lens of my camera was not prepared for that distance. I cannot do anything. It
was out of my line of sight. Some birds that were flying around I cannot
distinguish and are also too far above the ground. The environment in the
university is no doubt very eco-friendly. The university must be so proud of
that. Even though I haven't seen any of the "birds other than Mayas",
I believe that they are there. If the university will just continue and protect
the environment that they have the future generations, both
humans and birds will be
extremely happy. I have a photo attached
below of the brave Mayas who were willing and kind enough to pose for the
camera.
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.
Mariñas, Anna Beatrice F. STS
May 11, 2014
2011-78869 Social
Climbers-Food for Thought Prof. Juned Sonido
Monkeys are highly intelligent creatures that live similarly to
how humans do and David Attenborough claims that they do have the richest
social lives, (which I cannot (yet) completely agree to since there are much
more animals I have yet to learn about). One thing I find to be the most
important trait of these monkeys is their ability to be highly inquisitive of
their environment. Like humans, they are very observant and investigate
everything that cross their paths and construct discoveries to be beneficial
for them. What particularly caught my interest was their knack for cracking
nuts and coating themselves with insect repellent. This phenomenon describes,
in the simplest ways, how nature is in itself a threshold for protecting,
providing for and propagating life.
In a land mass where multiple species do live amongst each
other, similarly, it also amazes me how they are able to thrive in the same
environment while maintaining different ways of surviving, adapting and
co-existing within social roles. It seeks to describe how animals are
instinctively brilliant in and physically very adaptable to varying changes in
their environment. At the same time, it bewilders me how their advanced brains
are able to schedule a calendar of seasons for fruit-picking which might
probably be similar to how Mayans predict weather through astronomy. A new idea I’ve acquired is their handedness.
I am not aware whether this may indicate the same left-brained or right-brained
inclinations as one will find in humans but this is an interesting study to
look into.
Another film in relation to this narrates how chimps start to
mix their diet with meat and begin to walk upright on two feet; behaviors which
they believe may have led to the domestication of animals. The idea of chimps
(or any primate for that matter) domesticating any other animal is strange, but
fortunately enough, evolutionary theories make this plausible and slightly
believable. It remains a question to me as to how advanced primates thought for
themselves and the future circumstances such as food preservation and
propagation. But I think that such adaptations to the biological and environmental
demands would have eventually lead to genetic modifications (e.g. larger brain)
that ultimately lead to emergence of culture.
The spectrum and
depth of evolutionary theories and constant research in this field have implied
that we do not yet have full answers to our ancestors, and that while we remain
to be inquisitive, it is ironic that modern technology can helps us unearth the
an untold journey. Despite knowing our present, it must be part of humanity to
know where he came from, and these explanations strive to fill that gap of
wonder and doubt-for now.
On a
completely different note, the documentary implies that the
earth is a temple to sacred and prosperous wild life which remains hidden and
unknown to many. The life which thrives beyond the books we’ve grown accustomed
to in school and the in-depth documentaries in the university will never be
able to encapsulate the life entwined among the branches of the wilderness.
Many are not aware of, nor are they interested in our natural resources, but if
they knew any of the intricacies of nature, they would not bring about
potential threats to these creatures such as construction, hunting practices,
poaching and all destructive activities that extend the list. If such reasons
are known to them and self-profit remains to be a priority, then we talk of an
immorality, or maybe, amorality.
Mariñas,
Anna Beatrice F. STS May 11, 2014
2011-78869 Bird
watching Prof. Juned Sonido
Bird watching was and still is one of the most interesting and
highly unlikely subjects I came across in UP. It did not surprise me that UP,
being among the greenest communities in the metro, housed 56 species of birds.
But as soon as the guest speaker flashed a series of pictures of local birds of
varying shades, shapes and sizes, I was in disbelief. The thought that those
humble creatures were elegantly circling above my head as I was pre-occupied
with the pressure of school work and the unbearable heat struck me. The
ignorance to tiny creatures was a sin. Suddenly the curiosity and enthusiasm to
meet them jolted me. It was an unexpected happy activity for the day to be
tasked to walk around campus to spot these birds. But as my group wandered
aimlessly to and from unmarked pathways, I never saw any of the birds projected
to us, and it felt like an empty promise. I did, however, spot a brood of
native hens strutting and clucking, as if annoyed to see me in anticipation to
see rarer species, so we helplessly proceeded in hopes of finding one, but we
just never were at the right place at the right time.
After this day of bird-watching, I really have taken a huge step
to make sure I look up among the tress and listen to the healthy bushes, still
in high hopes of finding a bird. Within the week, I did spot a bird. It was
sitting on a frail branch beside the College of Science with its back to me. It
had a healthy black coat from top to bottom except for a long white strip on
its tail-I believe it was a fan-tailed bird. Even if it was not, I was happy
for the rest of the day. My attempts of bird-watching were not futile. Since
then I remained keen eye and kept a sharp ear to my surroundings. In my
tranquil searches, my cluttered mind wondered how scientists regularly visit
these creatures for research purposes. Could I have been so drawn and
hypnotized towards technological means of entertainment that I fail to find
happiness around me and that bird watching, a simple nature activity now seems
so noble and unique?
What I take away from this class activity is that we are
disconnected from nature. The solace that we find it in seems to be too foreign
from the familiarity of technology in our hands. The quiet beauty that
surrounds us every day goes by unnoticed and unappreciated, until we come to a
conscious effort to look beyond the seemingly empty trees and peaceful air. I
also have noticed that people do not behave in correspondence to nature. The
boisterous noise we have grown accustomed to from loud music, video games,
television shows and etc. have been too tightly pressed in us and as a result,
pulled us away from the tranquil corners of Mother Nature.
Finally, as I was contemplating for this paper, I began to
conceptualize a possible project for future STS classes. I propose that the
professor collaborate with a class and brainstorm on a feasible nature
preserving project that would be executed semester after semester until
completed, where another consultation shall be arranged., (e.g. tree-planting,
recycling, campus clean up, bird-feeder project). This way, as students, we
maintain a harmonious ecological environment; improve holistic wellness and
hands-on learning.
Apes,
Primates, Monkeys
Jiorjohn Aurius Co 2010-25802
Humans and monkeys belong to the same ape family. Both
are using tools to cope with their everyday lives. We just have a larger and a
developed brain so we use more advanced tools. It can be said that the monkeys
are living in the early years of our old stone age. When they spot an
opportunity that can be beneficial, they exploit it. They have also developed
culture and tradition. From the video, the rubbing of insect repellent leaves
is a social gathering for some monkey species.
Monkeys are always seen in small or big groups. For me,
this is the main point of the video which said that the size of the group
depends on the brain size. As for humans, we can have real friends numbering
only to 150.
As I watched the documentary, I remember the movie “The
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. Then I thought that at some point in our
future the monkeys could have reached the intelligence level of the monkeys in
the movie. It can be supported by the fact that they have the ability to
imitate and to apply some basic human skills. The skills they learned are
passed on to the next generation. Given the right amount of time, maybe a
hundred or a thousand of years, they can learn how to speak or how to talk.
My main take away from the documentary is that change is
really the permanent thing in this world. We could be the chimpanzees from the
past. Evolution is a constant process. We just have to be ready for what’s to
come to us.
The Great Scientists
Jiorjohn Aurius Co 2010-25802
When I was a kid, I watched the cartoon, “Dexter’s Laboratory”, this gave me the idea that scientists are people who create or discover something new in his world. In order to discover new things, they must not think like an average person. John Nash’s condition helped him discover his own theory. There is a point in the movie that he couldn’t solve the problems because he can’t see his delusions. They have also the passion for their study that eats up their time and social life.
Without them, our life would be the same as today. Our life would not be better than the ancient past. Their discoveries help to improve our society. Discoveries lead to create new technologies. At some point in the past, I can’t believe that preserving the environment is not their priority. They were not proactive. They became concerned only when the problem lies in front of them.
They have also bad inventions and discoveries like the nuclear bomb. Using just one in a particular place, the place will not be habitable for a very long time. Instead of being the protector of this planet, we are destroying it and are making it inhabitable to the future generations. Will the discovery of cure for cancer or the discovery of the right technology to cover farther distance in space travel me it even before the living things in the planet to die.
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