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.

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…

Pisay and public school education

Fewer and fewer students from public schools get to avail of the quality education that Philippine Science High School promises; why?
Believe it or not, majority of the Filipinos do not know that a school such as Philippine Science High School, which provides quality science-oriented education for free plus additional living allowance[1], exist. And this majority I am referring to are those that belong to the low-income class. Ask a vendor in a wet market or a salesperson inside a mall, and you will see that Manila Science High School and Quezon City Science High School are more popular than Pisay. Or if they ever heard of Pisay, it’s not our prowess in the field of math and sciences that they are familiar with; it is the issue about Fabro’s poisoning. Talk about publicity.

And if parents of public school lads haven’t heard of Pisay, don’t think that their kids know better. My regular commuting gave me enough experience to prove that only a few know about PSHS.

Here’s the usual flow of conversation that I had with those I met on my way home, who happened to become interested with the way I look (either with my glasses or my mustard yellow skirt):

Someone: Ang weird naman ng uniform mo. (Your uniform looks weird.)/ Ang bata mo pa, nagsasalamin ka na. (You are too young to be wearing glasses.) Saan ka nag-aaral? (Where do you study?)
Jo: Sa Philippine Science High School po. (At Philippine Science High School.)
Someone: Saan yun?(Where is that?)
Jo: Sa Agham po… sa Diliman. (In agham road, diliman.)
Someone: Ah! Yung sa likod ng SM North? Magandang school raw yun. (Ah! The one behind SM North? I heard that is a good school.)
Jo: Hindi po, iba po yun. Quezon City Science High School po yun. Sa Philippine Science po ako nag-aaral. (No, the one you are referring to is Quezon City Science High School. That is different. I study at Philippine Science High School.)
Someone: Oo nga. Pareho lang yun. (Those two are the same.)
Jo: Hindi po. (No, sir.)
Someone: Ito talaga binibiro mo ako. Baka yung tinutukoy mong iba yung Manila Science? E sa Maynila yun, di ba? (You are kidding me. Maybe you are talking about Manila Science. That is in Manila.)
Jo: Hindi ko po kayo binibiro… Philippine Science po yung school sa tabi ng pcmc/ ombudsman/ wildlife. (I am not joking. Philippine Science is the school beside PCMC/ the office of the ombudsman/ wildlife.)
Someone: May school ba doon? (Is there a school there?)/ Saan yun? (Where is that?) / *Or, he falls silent because he didn’t understand what I said or he can’t imagine how a school can be constructed beside a zoo*
Jo: *sighs and walks away frustrated*

But seriously, we are not getting in touch with the hundreds of gifted children out there staying in the deteriorating halls of public schools, when those are the children that need the Pisay education the most.

Furthermore, the qualification exams tend to favor those who attended review centers, which, only kids from well-to-do families can afford; thus giving them the edge against public school kids. Which is quite saddening, because the kind of environment these well-to-do kids are exposed to already gives them the advantage versus public school lads. It is already a widely accepted fact that students from private schools have better facilities and have access to the resources needed to fully enrich one’s talents and capabilities, something most of our country’s public schools are deprived of.

And the media adds more to this! Before, informative shows such as Sineskwela and Math-tinik (which may seem cheap for you now, but really, these were a lot of help) were aired on mainstream television, thereby catering to a wide audience. But nowadays, informative shows can only be seen on cable TV. And hardly does public school children have access to the cable. Sad, really… I do think that the leading networks should begin educating our masses, as they used to when children-oriented shows, informative shows, documentaries and debates still occupied primetime slots on air. Moreover, they should stop feeding the public with crappy gag shows and telenovelas that always go overtime, thereby eating away precious airing time for shows that do matter for our brains and consciousness.

I think that the lowering percentage of public school students getting into good high schools (like Philippine Science High School), and even universities (like UP), should alarm the Department of Education. That could mean that they are losing their competence in producing students that can stand the competition; and that their the quality of education that they give their public school students is getting outdated and deteriorating.

And it should concern Pisay too, because the government is cutting our budget saying say we don’t need it anyway, since most people who study in pisay are rich and capable of sustaining themselves. Huh? Unreasonable, you may say, but that is how they think up there.
But more than the budget, it should concern us the most because Philippine Science High School should be in service of the people; and when you say the people, that includes the majority. We should be reaching out to those who are being deprived of what they need: quality education. We should be helping them improve the kind of learning they receive. We should be the prime movers of competence in the country. We are the premier high school, right?

Still wondering why the government keeps on slashing our budget? Or why they say that the investments on us are useless? Maybe, that is because we fail on doing something on our part.
[1] Why did I talked about the living allowance? It is because money is essential for low-income families. Believe me, they can hardly afford the needs posted by a competitive environment such as Pisay. I am referring to the funds being collected, the cost of the materials needed for school projects and the cost of joining the activities conducted in Pisay. Even the prices in the cafeteria can be aggravate them.

The Values of Our Politicians

This is a commentary to the articles written by Mr. Artemio V. Panganiban and Mr. Isagani A. Cruz for the February 25, 2007 issue of The Philippine Daily Inquirer

Convenient turncoatism; that is how our politicians switching sides is being referred to. One of the main issues in the coming May 10, 2007 elections is the changing of the political affiliations of most of the senatorial candidates. Mr. Cruz cited as examples were Edgardo Angara, Vicente Sotto III and Tessie Aquino-Oreta. The three were formerly associated with the opposition lead by Joseph Estrada, but are now running under the banner of Team Unity, the administration’s senatorial slate.

Is this political disloyalty? Experts say that the line-up presented by the administration made them weak because of the presence of what the public calls balimbing.
But do we really care? For years, the people have not really cared about the moral implications of who they are voting. I do believe that who we choose as leaders reflect the moral values we have in our country; because, those we place into position become our representatives. They become the icons with which other countries look at us. They are the images that carry our countries reputation. Therefore, they affect the prospects and economic ventures of our country. If it is so hard to trust our own politicians, how can you expect foreign investors to trust us even?

Moreover, the constant bickering between our political leaders and our tendency to carry every issue out into the streets scare away possible opportunities for economic expansion. We, the people and the leaders alike, disrespect the institutions in our country. Whenever nobody is keeping an eye on us, we tend to disobey our laws. Then whenever something bad happens we blame it on our laws and institutions; totally forgetting the fact that we also played a part in allowing that something bad to happen. The rampancy of graft and corruption cases in our country is a great clue. The high rate of road accidents, also serves the same. I will quote the words of Mr. Panganiban: “Our problem is the lack of visionary leaders who – by their own example – obey our laws, respect our institutions and place the public interest of the public above theirs.” Given that our leaders serve as icons, what do you think do other countries think of us, given that we lack leaders as such?

Allow me to leave out the issues regarding the inefficiency of our government due to the corruption and abuse of power done by everyone in position; it will never lead us unto anything, and aren’t we too tired to hear about it? Furthermore, do not make me talk about our political instability that hampers our economic growth, because we are immune to it already.
We are a nation grown tired of watching. The common notion nowadays is to vote for the lesser evil. We look at the harms; we choose the one who can harm us the least. Can’t we look at the other side of this all? Can’t we vote for the better good? Can’t we choose the one who can provide and serve the country the most?

We are a nation grown tired of caring. We focus only on our self-centered whim, which is good based on the principle of the invisible hand: “Let each pursue what is good for him alone and the common good shall follow.” However, aren’t we forgetting one thing? That as a nation we all should be moving forward together? Isn’t it that in our pursuit for personal fulfillment we tend to look down and step on others? That we leave others behind; or worse, we prevent them from pursuing their own happiness?