Liar you Lie

Jessica was in our room again, and she was talking about something more interesting this time. No, it was not about anime or her favorite band, but something more serious: Psychology.

Funny… She just taught me how to know what is going on inside a person’s brain by reading the involuntary movements of the eyes. This was not mind reading or something like that. Basically, you are just trying to know HOW the brain is working; the “thought process” as Jess referred to it. Is he trying to recall something? Is he creating something inside his mind? Then you connect what you see with his answers to the questions you asked. So actually, you are just analyzing HOW he thought. The whole concept was based on the fact that areas in our brain are specialized and that certain muscles are connected to these areas. It is similar to why left-handed people are more creative while those that are right-handed are more rational.

We just finished making lab rats out of our dorm mates. I can attest that the technique really works. I’m sorry, I can’t tell anything more about it because I promised Jess that I would keep it a secret. But really, it is a good way to catch someone who is lying.

This reminded me about the LifeSci film featuring facial expressions as windows to a person’s heart. It was a nice documentary. I could not believer you could actually tell what kind of relationships a person would most likely have just by looking at how he smiles at pictures.

And it kept me thinking too, about the guy who has a case of autism that makes him unable to recognize people emotions through facial expressions. He said he needed to study that. I wonder how he did it; because it to comes too naturally – at least for sensitive people – to recognize other people’s emotions that I could not magine ow someone could study that successfully. Jess said that is easy. I dare not contravene.

It suddenly crossed my mind that secrets agents study facial expressions, as mentioned from the film, because the knowledge is very useful with their type of work. That is why they can know how a person feels even if the person himself is not aware of the feeling. Although it seems so hard, there is this biological connection that signals a person if that someone he is speaking to is lying. This connection might also be the reason why emotions are contagious. I don’t remember this emotional bridge being explained in the film; it wasn’t in the books either. Maybe it is still a mystery as of now.

Reflections for Life Sci

“Everything is energy…” That is what physics claim. If that is true then I will say that life is the most mystical, whimsical and beautiful kind of energy there is. That is why I love biology: it is the study of life.

The three bio-ideas that fascinated me the most in the 2nd quarter are the concepts regarding beauty, recognizing people and the power of facial expressions.

In recognizing people, the brain is said to work in three major steps. First is perception. The brain constructs an image of the person he is trying to recognize through the data sent by his senses, particularly his eyes. Second is corresponding. The brain matches the image with a similar one contained in its database. This database is connected to another area that stores information (name, etc.) crucial to recognizing the person. The last – and not so obvious – step is the attaching of the emotional tag. Once the brain is able to match the face with that stored in memory, it sends out signals that make the person feel what he is supposed to feel for that person. Any failure in the process will lead to being unable to recognize the person, in denying the presence or in referring to the person as an impostor.

I love learning about life and I love the way life is trying to teach a hardheaded kid like me.
During the second quarter, I realized that learning is a matter of interest and will. Interest is needed because it is really hard to learn about something you hardly care about. On the other hand, learning becomes so natural when the topic stirs your interest.
It is also a matter of will because to be able to learn, one must put his mind and heart into it. One must also put in a considerable amount of effort because without any effort, even the sweetest victory is useless.

One must also aim perfection in his work. When I say perfection, it is not having the ideal work but for the work to reach its full potential. It is hard to reach it, but one must always aim high.

Lastly, it is necessary to be willing to improve. Without this kind of will, it is almost impossible to learn, since learning involves a lot of failing and improving from these failures.

Ang Ngipin ni Buknoy

I had my first shot on making children story books last year when our social science teachers asked us to make, as a project, one for cancer-stricken children. The experience was a mix of fun and frustration. Why? Because as an avid writer, I aim perfection with everything I write. . I realized then that writing for children is more challenging than writing to a general audience because there are a lot of restrictions in terms of style and plot. Moreover, the illustrations weren’t good. I remember Ma’am Bawagan commenting that the drawings looked like they were made by the sick children themselves. And perhaps, I no longer think like a child anymore.

After learning that the 2nd quarter project was a story book, I felt both dread and excitement: excitement because I can’t wait to prove to myself that I have improved, and dread because I don’t want things to be turning upside down again.

Now, I am thankful. Firstly, I definitely made a better script and storyline (although the plot was not my type). Secondly, since I am with Shayne and Patrick, the illustrations were lovely.

I am thankful because I got the chance to improve the way I write for children. However, I did not help much with the illustrations. I guess my inability to draw well is hopeless now. Oh well… that is life. One has to have both strengths and weaknesses.

In conclusion, the story book was an all-fun experience for me. I learned new ways to improve myself, and that made everything worthy to be cherished.

Beautiful Faces

Yeah! I knew it… For once my pessimistic thoughts were right. That was my first reaction when the film that we watched one life science class announced that there is an objective basis for beauty. I never really believed in beauty being in the eye of the beholder, physical beauty at least. Surely, there is a universal measure for beauty; I once thought. And why did I think that way? It is because I observed that all of us agree with who is beautiful and who is not. If there are disagreements, it happens usually when we are talking about average-looking people; or between those who are trying to rank gorgeous people, which is quite senseless because they are all beautiful anyway.

Watching the film had my mind getting conscious of how I look. It is not because I am dreaming to become a beauty queen or something, but I do believe the studies showing that beautiful people tend to become more successful. Maybe beauty can’t take you to the top, but it sure is a great asset.

After the film, I looked at the mirror and took a ruler. Then I started to ask myself questions based on what was presented in the film. “Is my face symmetric?” “Does it follow the 1 to phi ratio?” “Am I showing signs of good health?” I was not surprised to find the answers to be a resounding no. I asked the last question. “Is my face a mixture of adult and child proportions?” I laughed because I do. Then I laughed some more, because I realized that I was so childish to be measuring my face.

I laughed at the thought of beauty being as skin-deep as this. It dawned on me that real beauty does come from within. It may not be in the eyes of the beholder, but it is in the way a person thinks of himself or herself. I don’t think Paris Hilton is gorgeous; but in the way that she presents herself, you will really get attracted to her. It is the same with the beauty being a sign of health. Being healthy is not something you can acquire skin-deep. It is not even just in the physical aspect.

I smiled. Afterwards, I was feeling so good that I ate a full lunch. It has been a long time since I last did that… yum…

Does race exist ---> essay for life sci

Does race exist? I do believe so. I believe race is somewhat similar to the concept of strains in bacteria. Strains differentiate bacteria based on slight differences such as cell wall thickness, pathogenic tendencies and cilia formation. The concept of race is like that. It classifies us humans based on minimal differences such as skin-deep characteristics (facial characteristics, skin color, hair texture, etc.) and susceptibility to certain diseases. A more sociological approach would be that based on culture, behavioral mindset and attitudes based on territorial boundaries.

However, I also believe that the concept of race is already fading. Races have been brought about by geographical isolation that led to genetic drift. But in this era where we live in a globally interacting community, I don’t think that genetic drift still run its course. Genes are being exchanged between races all around the world due to the improvement in technology. Thousands of people travel across the globe everyday. We meet people from all walks of life, from different countries, from different races. Geographical boundaries are no longer a feat. Isolation has been conquered; and without its most important factor, genetic drift will subside. We will be mixing our genes, mixing our races; and maybe someday, we will live in a world without boundaries and racial discrimination. Isn’t that a good fate for the human species?