Davao

Davao (092919)

The last time I was in Davao was in 1995, and last week because of a convention held in this lovely city – I was back again in Davao after twenty-four (24) long years. 

I never really intended to be back in this city that ironically gave birth to the current Duterte presidency.  The fellow still has an ongoing martial law in effect in the entire island of Mindanao and for political reasons as well as for financial reasons, I made a promise to myself that I would only be returning to the land of my parents once it is rid of the martial law rule.

Life however has a different plan, a convention by the Psychological Association of the Philippines was held in Davao and though my attendance is not really that needed (for license renewal), an opportunity presented itself, a convention budget was won and made available and so, there I was in the epicenter of martial law rule in Mindanao.

A side story was that, even though the budget was already approved, and because of my reluctance to visit Davao, I even offered my slot to a co-faculty.  Fortunately or unfortunately, she declined the opportunity hence I had to option but to proceed and use the approved budget and off to the mouth of the wanna be dictator , I proceeded. 

Since I last remembered it, Davao have changed and ironically have not also changed.  The landscape has changed, there is a current construction boom – owning to the fact that the current occupant of the Malacanang Palace came from this city.  Twenty-four years ago, SM department store has yet to open a branch and now, SM has to malls operating inside Davao.

I stayed for three nights and four days in Davao, and since I lived for two years there previously, four days is obviously not enough to relive and re create by former stay in Davao.

I stayed at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, courtesy of RGO Review Center and it was a grand hotel in the process of renovating itself and still in the process of recapturing its lost glory years.  My stay however was pleasant and luxurious.  The hotel was in the middle of the city of Davao.  I was able to visit the site of the Philippine Eagle and the famous crocodile farm.  Between the two, the effort and the hassle of visiting the Philippine Eagle farm was worth the energy expended – the crocodile farm however was a big letdown.  It was no better than the Manila Zoo.

In my last day, I visited the San Pedro Church in the middle of the city and walked for a while revisiting the hustle and bustle of what life could have been had I stayed in Davao.  It is weird playing the what if game considering that it could really be an alternative life for me had life took another turn.  The possibilities really, are endless but the outcome would have been the same. 

I would be the same person but with a different credentials.  I really don’t think that I would be able to pursue my graduate studies and earned a doctorate degree had I stayed in Davao, but I think that I would be criminally richer.  Not that I am rich right now, but far wealthier had I stayed and gambled my luck in Davao.

092919

Judgments

Judgments

We make a hundred of decisions on a daily basis; some are important decisions while majority of them are done automatically (and most, if not all are unimportant decisions) with bias as a main driver.  Some are classified as unimportant because they are not life changing or life altering decisions. 

Taken as a whole judgement is an informed decision based on a collection of facts.  A judgement is based on reasoning; it could either be inductive reasoning or deductive reasoning.  Our reasoning could be swayed with prejudice and this prejudice could either be my side bias or confirmation bias.

Attitude can affect judgement.  And since attitude is the reaction of an individual on a certain person, place, thing or an event; an attitude is also subjective.  Hence, it is safe to assume that every judgement is also almost always subjective.  If you have a religious person as a head of government, then it is almost a certainty that most policies would be bent towards the spectrum of religious orientation.  If you have a gambler as a head of state, expect the blossoming of a gamblers mentality fused with governance.  Judgement would follow the bias, and the bias is determined by attitude.

My side bias shows how people can evaluate evidence in a way that is biased toward their own opinions and attitudes while confirmation bias occurs when people look for information that conforms to their hypothesis and ignore information that refutes it.

The ramification of a certain decision is felt for years.  If it was a good decision, people are glad for such a good decision, if it turns out to be a bad decision, people laments such an unfortunate decision.  In my experience, if you stretch a decision long enough; a good decision is actually bad in the long run, while a bad decision is actually a good one if the situation is stretch longer than what is expected.  In a series of events, pulled longer than usual, a protagonist becomes an antagonist while an antagonist could become a protagonist depending on the scenario, situation and perspective.

Not all languages are created equal

Not all languages are created equal

The mastery or usage of a language is never a determinant of a person’s intelligence but just like any normal individual, people commonly equate a language mastery with intellectual superiority.

Right or wrong, in the Philippines, English proficiency is unfairly equated with above-average intelligence; whenever an individual displays a certain mastery of the colonial English language, the unstated assumption always is that this person must be an intelligent person, hence must be treated differently.

To the common mind, usually operating under the Helmholz likelihood principle and unconscious inference might be true but for the uncommon mind with a complex uncommon sense, such an assumption does not necessary follows.  For the select few, they look at the content of the message, they examine the language, and more on the fallacy of logic used to argue a certain point.

The same argument in the same context and usage but delivered in either in English and Filipino yields different consideration and affirmation.  Depending on the recipient of the message, not all languages are created equal.  The common masses now tend to view Filipino as common while the English language as something that is a notch above.

The twist here is that value of English is deemed high though the impact on the intended recipients is lesser as opposed to the usage of the Filipino nomenclature.

Hence, if one wants to reach a broader audience, the use of Filipino is more effective while English appears more elitist.  Currently, the use of either English and Filipino and its effectiveness in the delivery of message is dependent on the recipient of the message.

And at the risk of being redundant, not all languages are created equal, some are just plainly more effective compared to others.  Besides, using “shit” is always better than using “tae”.

September 9, 2019

Perception

Perception

Philosophically, perception is just an image of something that is more tangible.  Psychologically, perception is an interpretation of a person, a place, a thing or even an event.  And since this is psychological, such is subjective and such is far from reality.  Perception might approximate reality but it will never be an equivalent of reality.

Herman von Helmholz (1821-1894) postulated that the human eye sees things differently, hence there is a multitude of version of what one is actually perceiving, the main reason that we are seeing things uniformly is because of the existence of likelihood principle and the process of unconscious inference.  Theoretically, perception could distort reality depending on the state of the senses and cognition of an individual.

One way of using and manipulating the concept of perception is the usage of words and language.  Joseph Goebbels once said that a lie oftentimes repeated becomes the truth.  So a practical application of perception would be to lie so as to distort reality and bending a reality according to what one would like it be.  Just like a painter, reality is your canvass.  According to the usage, manipulation and subtlety of reality bending lies being utilized.

A caveat for this perception bending design (i.e lying), though one could get away for a time, or even get away most of the time; one cannot get away with lying all the time.  Philosophically, the truth eventually comes out.  Reality eventually supersedes perception.

In the realm of cognitive psychology, for a time, perception could be distorted but eventually, reality exposes everything. 

September 7, 2019  

Fury

The God of Fury

Somewhere in the realm of Olympus, there is a god of fury.  Though there is much focus and stories expended on the exploits of Zeus, Athena, Loki or even Mercury, there is a god that is seldom mentioned and whispered only when necessary, among trusted friends.

He is the god of fury.  Now this god doesn’t even have a proper name but all of the named and famous Greek gods have played host and most assuredly played second fiddle to his ploys, whims and exploits.  Behind every godly tantrum, his signature is always found and established.  In fact, only a handful is aware that the first Great War in Olympus that eventually banished the titans bears the signature of this unknown god.

Yes, there is a god of intrigue, a god of deception and even a god of lies.  The god of fury however is very subtle.  He doesn’t take the credit but his creation is there to see for those who are willing to see and appreciate his tapestry of creation.

And now, in this era, time and age.  The age principally dedicated to the advancement of science, pleasure and comfort.  This god lives amongst us.  He is unknown, he is seldom noticed, but he is always lurking within the fringe of our psyche.

Crimes of passion are his usual handiworks, but the more subtle art of bearing grudges is his masterpiece.

Humans have committed crimes in his name.  Death, injury and chaos are the usual derivative of his work.  Sometimes, people wake up angry – sometimes, people sleep with anger in their hearts.  But regardless whether one is sleeping or waking up, one’s anger always lead to something regrettable later on.

So how do we control and contained this destructive god?  An effective mantra was devised to counter his influence.  “It is not right to be angry, if you are right – you do not have to, if you are wrong – you cannot afford to”.

We really have to control our fury, because if we don’t?  We will always be under the influence of this crafty god.

There is a battle for supremacy that is being waged in his name.  We really ought to triumph over this challenge or we will be forever under his rule and whims.  He who controls his anger wins. He may gnash his teeth, beat his chest or even shout inside your mind – but if you don’t give in to his impulse and influence, one is usually able to tame him.  And he might leave you alone.  But such is no guarantee that he wouldn’t be back later.

If you listen hard enough, you might even hear the whisper of his name…  He goes by the name of Temper…

Displacement

Displacement

In the field of psychology, displacement denotes an emotion that is directed to somebody else.  It is a type of defense mechanism, where the ego feels threatened and as a defense, displaces the object of the said action from A to B. 

More commonly, the emotion is anger.  The person, for one reason or another, cannot expressed the anger for subject A, and since emotions needs expression, such anger was finally directed to subject B. 

Now, there is a variety of emotions.  It could be joy, fear, disgust, desire and sorrow (there are many more emotions, but for the sake of simplicity, we are just limiting ourselves in the enumerated emotions).  Displacement is a close relative of compensation theory.  This happens when a person makes up for something that is perceived to be lacking.  Grandparents tend to spoil their grandchildren to make up for the perceived shortcomings that they committed (or did not commit) with their children.

Desire is also an unexplored topic in displacement.  Men turned on by other women turn their desires to their better half.   Indirectly, a desire for other women led to a happy sexual life for married women. The sexual stimulation for men needs an outlet, and usually, the nearest and the most convenient outlet is the wife (and/or girlfriend).

May 8, 2019

Government Bureaucracy

Government Bureaucracy

It is a common knowledge that government by its very nature is an inefficient entity.  Never let a government agency run anything or operate anything, it will always be hounded by inefficient system and redundant processes.  Nobody wants to take responsibility and its personnel have the tendency to be lazy.  Delay is always inevitable and mindless procedures and protocols are the constant rulers.

Stupidity, like a moon, is always hovering around when there is scent of irrationality in any government transaction.  Except for some notable exceptions, such is the very state of Philippine bureaucracy.

The Philippine educational system, which is supposed to be the bastion of hope and intelligence, is also not immune to this mindless monster.  It is supposed to educate students, but instead – the reverse is transpiring and defeating the very source of its existence.  While there are over 100 state universities and colleges, only handfuls are worth mentioning, the rest are mediocre and downright corrupt.

The same is true for the other branches or agencies of the government.  I stay clear of government offices and institutions.  They are greedy, they are ridden with corruption, and they are stupid and downright inefficient.

Last week, I had a brush in with a government entity.  I was supposed to deliver a check payment for an affiliation fee.  The check is in the name of the agency, and surprisingly, the government hospital refuses to accept the check since we cannot establish the name of the student.  From the billing department, I was told to go to the accounting office, and from the accounting office, I was told to go to the psychiatric office and from the psychiatric office, I was told to proceed to the administration office and all to no avail.  At the end of the day, the check was not accepted and I was told to go back when I already know the identity of the student.

Now this is wrong on so many levels.  I was bearing a check which is potential revenue for the government hospital.  But I was pointed to proceed to different offices and ended up wasting time with my transaction still not satisfied.  Here you are, with a check on hand and still refused the simple service of accepting the customary payment for a simple service.

If the transaction was with private organization, it would have been a simple deal.  But since it was with the government, trust them to make it complicated and a waste of time procedure.

All in all, it was a classical government transaction that is inherent in all government agencies and offices.  Inefficient and full of bureaucratic redundancies.  I am supposed to go back this week and I do not relish the thought of towing their line of stupidity.

May 7, 2019